Mary D's Middle School News

    The most exciting part of the class was the study of the earthquakes and volcanoes in the past two months. The class had been discovering about the Ring of Fire where the earthquakes and volcanoes occurred on the world map. We studied the plate boundaries and how the Earth's crust was constantly changing. We studied about the forces within the Earth's crust. We had the opportunities to find many different names of volcanoes all over the world on Internet.

    In the end of the unit, we made a mock volcano out of empty water bottle, newspaper, flour and water. We invited other classes to observe the volcano erupt. We made the eruption by mixing the vinegar, red food coloring and baking soda! The children were thrilled to watch how it erupted like a real volcano.

Watch our video of our mock volcano.

Miss Fran's Oral Preschool

      We are proud to announce two new additions to our Oral Preschool class, 'Fancy' the dwarf hamster and 'Captain Ralph' our Beta fish!

      On Tuesday, January 15, 2008, we took a trip to "Scales and Tails" our local pet shop. We saw dogs, fish, turtles, ferrets, rabbits and even a bearded dragon! We decided to bring back a little grey and white hamster to welcome to our class as our newest mascot! We also had the good fortune of adopting a beautiful blue Beta, as well.

      We all are sure enjoying caring for our newest friends and watching them grow!

News from George Moon and Michele Pannacchione

      Elementary Classes 1 and 2 have two new students. We welcomed Gissell Aridano and Colby Ramierz on January 14th. We celebrated their arrival by reading Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak. The story made us so hungry; we decided to make our own chicken soup with rice. Our soup was delicious!! We all enjoyed it.

The students and staff of Cleary were given a special treat on Friday, February 15th. Manhattan Taiko drummers performed for the school. Janet Youngblood and Peter Brown amazed and delighted the children with each beat of the drums.

Taiko means drum in Japanese. Taiko drums traditionally were used in battle and in religious ceremonies. Modern Taiko is a blend of Taiko drumming with movement.

The children participated in workshops using the various drums, cymbals, and gong. They used drumsticks of various widths and weights. Each part of the drum makes a different sound. The children not only could hear the low frequency sounds of the drums but could also feel the vibrations.

Smiling faces and bright eyes filled with happiness were everywhere in Cleary. The music of the drums lifted the spirits of young and old alike and brought a shared joy that lasted all day.

The Middle School Special Needs class during a group reading lesson. Each student is working on skills at their own level. One student is learning to recognize the alphabet. Another is learning alphabetical order. Others are learning spelling. The group lesson reinforces cooperation and turn taking.