![3D"http://dbs.myflorida.com/images/newspaper_5.gif"](3D"News_files/image024.jpg")
In The “NEWS”
Phantoms Mascot Visits Salem School -=
“Dax” the Adirondack Phan=
toms
mascot recently visited Salem Central Elementary School. Dax is a 7-foot tall beaver that is
yellow, orange and neon green, has a tail, wears a cape, and is adored by t=
he
elementary students at Salem! Dax
and his Phantom assistant, presented a program they promote called GOAL, Get
Out And Live to help fight childhood obesity. The program promotes fitness for k=
ids
which includes a more active lifestyle and eating healthy. They talked to the students about =
always
drinking lots of water instead of sugary drinks and to try to start your day
with a healthy breakfast even when you have to eat on the go. They also discussed the importance=
of
eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and to make sure you eat the colo=
rful
ones. Other topics included
different ways to stay active, to make sure that ti=
me
spent watching TV and playing video games is limited, and that everyone
participates in some form of physical activity. Before the program was over, Dax h=
ad
every student in the elementary school up on their feet, move, move,
……moving. The
Adirondack Phantoms generously left a free ticket for every student to atte=
nd
one of their hockey games. The
Salem Central School students were invigorated by Dax’s amazing
presentation!
![3D"Phantoms](3D"News_files/image028.jpg")
President’s Day Contest Winners=
- In honor of President’s Day, TD=
Bank
in Salem sponsored a President’s Day Contest. The 3rd grade students =
at
Salem Central School each wrote an essay on their favorite president and
explained why they chose that particular president. In the essay, they told whether or=
not
they would like to someday be President of the United States and talked abo=
ut
how they would govern if they were elected. Community members read the essays =
and
selected 3 finalists. The jud=
ges, who
did not know who had written the essays, judged the essays on originality.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The judges were very impressed wit=
h the
fantastic writing and found it very hard to choose the best ones. They were also astonished by the
profound compassion exhibited in the pieces written by these remarkable
students. The first place win=
ner of
the $25 gift certificate was Keenan Fronhofer, $10 gift certificates went to
both 2nd place winner Douglas Pennington and 3rd place
winner Sarah McCauliffe. Ms. =
Sheri
Bourn, TD Bank Store Manager presented the certificates and also gave every
single third grade student a container of “bubbles” for their h=
ard
work. TD Bank promotes the lo=
ve of
reading and learning!
![3D"President's](3D"News_files/image029.jpg")
Identify Mystery Matter - =
The fourth grade classes at Salem Cen=
tral
School recently finished a Science unit on exploring Physical and Chemical
properties of powders. Studen=
ts had
to compare and contrast the different properties of unidentified materials.=
The materials in this unit were all
familiar household items such as baking soda, salt, starch and sugar. One of the experiments performed w=
as the
heat test, heat was added to an unknown material, and the students in Mrs.
Luke-Byk’s and Mrs. Skelly’s classes had to document the result=
s of
the physical reaction. Based =
on the
data the students collected from their observations and knowledge from their
investigations, the students wrote a hypothesis. Reinforcement of all safety precau=
tions
and the proper use of safety equipment were discussed prior the
experiments. These amazing
scientists, after running other various tests, deciphered what each of the
mystery substances were. This
hands-on science unit gave the 4th graders an opportunity to wor=
k on
interpreting data along with their decision making skills.
![3D"Identify](3D"News_files/image030.jpg")
Practice Fractions - Third grade
students at Salem Central School have been studying fractions! Identifying and correctly naming b=
asic
fractions is a math skill they continually work to improve. The students in Mrs. Kruchinski=
217;s
and Mr. Merryman’s classes practice different ways to remember their =
math
terms, such as denominator, numerator, improper fraction, and equivalent, e=
very
day in their math class. As an
enjoyable reinforcing fraction activity, the 3rd grade
mathematicians traveled around to twelve different stations discovering and
writing the fraction posted. =
Some
of the displays were in the form of pictures; some were shapes, while some
stations had listings as numbers.
This was a great way to practice math and build 3rd grade
teamwork.
![3D"Practice](3D"News_files/image031.jpg")
Meas=
urement
with “Flavor” - At
a recent after school meeting, the GO Science girls at Salem Central School
participated in an experiment using measurement. Mrs. Dawn Parker, the creator of t=
he
science club for girls, informed the girls that for today’s experiment
they would be working with measurement.&nb=
sp;
Each group of girls took a gallon freezer bag and put some ice in
it. On top of the ice they me=
asured
1 cup of rock salt while Mrs. Parker explained that the salt would lower the
freezing point of the ice causing the temperature of it to drop. In a separate freezer bag they
accurately measured 1 cup of milk with a dash of vanilla flavoring, some su=
gar
and sealed this bag. Using a
thermometer the girls measured the temperature of the ice/salt mixture and
noted the temperature. Sealin=
g the
container with the milk mixture in the bag with the ice mixture, the girls
shook the bag back and forth. When
the temperature drops it caused the liquid (milk) to freeze in a shorter pe=
riod
of time. Within 15 minutes, t=
he excited
GO Science girls discovered they had created a yummy ice-cream treat which =
they
could not wait to sample. This
experiment demonstrated accurate measurement, reading a thermometer, the
changing forms of matter and how to make your own dessert! The GO Science after school club
provides a fantastic learning environment to experiment and talk about scie=
nce!
![3D"Measurement](3D"News_files/image032.jpg")
Enchanted Evening of Reading - Salem Central Elementary School recen=
tly
hosted an Enchanted Evening of Reading for students in 1st and 2=
nd
grades. This Friday evening e=
vent
focused on well known, classic fairy tales. The students arrived at school very
excited to participate in this magical evening and were immediately mesmeri=
zed
to see beloved characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, King Midas,
Rumpelstiltskin, and the Tin Man greeting them. Each of the teachers read a fairy =
tale
and there were activities that accompanied the story. The first grade students read Jack and the Beanstalk and then pl=
anted
their own beans so they could watch them grow. The second graders read The Three Little Pigs and then
constructed a puppet of the Big Bad Wolf.&=
nbsp;
The enchantment continued as they watched two short movies and had a
healthy snack of popcorn and juice.
As this wondrous evening came to an end, each student that participa=
ted
was able to take home a brand new fairy tale book that was donated by the B=
ooks
in Kids Hands program. A very
special “Thank You” to the high school students who made the fa=
iry
tales come “alive” for these terrific students. This Enchanted Evening of Reading
promotes family reading and reinforces - Reading is Fun!
=
&nb=
sp; =
=
![3DEnchanted2.JPG](3D"News_files/image033.jpg")
=
&nb=
sp; =
![3DEnchanted1.JPG](3D"News_files/image034.jpg")
Benefits of Multiplication - <=
/b>Third grade students at Salem Central
School continually work on learning their multiplication facts. To emphasize the importance of kno=
wing
these valuable math facts, Mrs. Kruchinski’s class visited Mr.
Dalton’s high school Physics class.&=
nbsp;
Mr. Dalton and his phenomenal physic scholars worked with small grou=
ps
of 3rd graders and demonstrated the use of scientific
calculators. They talked with=
the
students and stressed how often high school students use their math facts
inside and outside of school.
Before they left the high school, student Caleb Allison and Mrs.
Kruchinski participated in a “race”. Both were presented with the same =
math
problem to solve – 120 X 10; Mrs. Kruchinski used addition and Caleb =
used
his multiplication skills. Ca=
leb
demonstrated how much faster the multiplication skill is. This cooperative learning experien=
ce
where high school students work with elementary students was coordinated by
third grade teacher, Mrs. Mary Kruchinski and high school teacher, Mr. Steve
Dalton.
![3D"Benefits](3D"News_files/image035.jpg")
Drama Club Donates to Organizations -= Every year the Drama Club at Salem Ce= ntral School donates the money they raise to a charitable organization. This year’s Drama Club voted= to use the money they raised from their production of “Beauty and the Beast” in December to benefit two very worthwhile programs. The prog= rams chosen were: The Salem Courthouse’s Lunch, Learn & Play Program and the Books In Kids Ha= nds Program. Accepting the check = on behalf of Lunch, Learn & Play were Mr. Herb Perkins and Ms. Donna Farringer. They spoke to the = Drama Club about the importance of the Lunch, Learn & Play program and how mu= ch this donation will benefit the children of the community. Accepting for the Books In Kids Ha= nds Program were Mrs. Karen Fronhofer and Mrs. Lori Stokem who also told the cl= ub how much the generous donation was appreciated. The effort of these young thespians exemplifies how teamwork and perseverance benefits their entire community!<= o:p>
![3D"Drama](3D"News_files/image036.jpg")
Gizmos and Gadgets - The students in grades 3-4 at Salem C=
entral
School recently had the opportunity to travel back in time. As part of the Museum Outreach Pro=
gram,
Ms. Christine Campeau an educator from the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mounta=
in
Lake visited the school with lots of “Gizmos and Gadgets”. She talked to the students about t=
he
history of the Adirondack region and about how many of the conveniences enj=
oyed
today did not exist in the same form in the early 19th century.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Pictured above, Ms. Campeau shows =
the
students a shoulder yoke with wooden buckets used to carry water from one p=
lace
to another. Fourth grade stud=
ent,
Eli Truehart, demonstrated how the yoke help disperse the weight across a
person’s shoulders. Ms.
Campeau also explained how clothes were washed in a tub, rinsed in a separa=
te
tub and then the excess water removed by running them through a hand
wringer. Some of the other si=
mple
machines the students were privileged to try were an ice cream maker, a cof=
fee
bean grinder, a hand mixer and a vegetable masher. The Salem students were fascinated=
by
the interesting artifacts from long ago.
![3D"Gizmos](3D"News_files/image037.jpg")
Starfish - Recently the first grade classes at S=
alem
Central School learned about Starfish.&nbs=
p;
Starfish vary in size and they are many different colors. The students discovered that the
starfish is an invertebrate and is not really a fish. In their writing activity th=
ey
wrote that starfish do not have eyes, legs, noses or ears but on their
underside they have a mouth and feet.
Their feet are called tube feet and that is how they move slowly
around. The inquisitive 1
![3DStarfish.JPG](3D"News_files/image038.jpg")
This is a Fantastic Year!
<=
o:p>