The “Sharing with Seuss” book swap at Nicely Elementary was so
successful that even a certain cat would tip his striped hat in honor
of the effort. Promoted, organized, and managed by the school PTO,
Nicely families donated over 2,900 gently-used soft and hardcover
books that were suitable for children ages kindergarten through fifth
grade. On March 7th, all students got to “shop” for a few books to take
home. All extra books are being used in classroom libraries or will be
distributed to students through Greensburg Salem summer programs.
Proudly displaying their new reading materials are students from Mrs.
Genard’s second grade class
(l-r) Annaliese Lewis, Mackenzie Span, Ashlan Price and, Luke
Dinkel.
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@ HUTCHINSON
Heroes visited Hutchinson Elementary to help prepare third, fourth and fifth
graders for the annual PSSA testing period. Not only did the above teachers
fly through the school dressed as superheroes but they gave super answers
to student questions about test taking strategies. They also tried to help
reduce the stress and anxiety that can accompany standardized testing. Local
community heroes, including policemen, firefighters, doctors, and educational
professionals, also shared words of encouragement with the students. Special
PSSA-themed songs were performed by Mrs. Derbish’s and Mr. Edward’s
classes and the kindergarten, first, and second grade students lined the halls
and cheered on the older students as they left the assembly. Thanks to this
heroic effort, the students knew they were unstoppable when taking the
PSSAs. Students from the life skills classes prepared treats that were distributed
daily during testing to remind the Hutchinson students to do their very best.
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@ METZGAR
A group of high school freshmen shared their love of math with fourth
graders at Metzgar Elementary through MMC — the Metzgar Math Club.
Grounded in the high school’s CLASS (Character, Leadership, for All students,
Scholarship, and Service) philosophy, the older students met with the
Metzgar students every other week from November through March. MMC
is the vision of ninth grader Grace Leonard, who recruited help in creating
and delivering the lessons from friends Rachel Amundeson, Arianna
Bisel, Danielle Burnetta, Emma Cribbs, Emily Parker, Taylor Shea, and
Nikki Tomci. Each meeting combined math lessons with a math lab. The
high school students enjoyed it so much that they are looking forward to
continuing the program next school year. Pictured are (l-r) front: Aiden
Lauer, Zach Marincheck; second row: Abbe Stevens, Hayden Teska,
Matthew Kaboly; third row: Roni Kaufmann, Rebecca Shissler, Nicole Elias;
back row: Lilly Kosoglow, Abby Sharp, Melina Vandenberg, Shana Larimer,
Grace Leonard, Mackenzie Lisenbigler, Ella Slezak and, Kaylee Joseph.
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COOKING UP THE COMMON CORE
The January 2014 elementary in-service day was designed to support
leadership, learning, literacy, and lesson design. Teams of teachers met
in cross-grade-level teams to share lessons, materials, and resources they
designed that are aligned to Pennsylvania’s new Core Standards. Teachers
left each session with over twenty new lessons to implement and apply
to classroom practices. The day truly was a celebration of
excellence as “teachers were teaching teachers” through this
highly collegial and collaborative experience.
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Common
Core
Greensburg-Salem | Summer 2014 | icmags.com 25
GRE E N SBU R G SAL E M SC HOOL N E WS
@ NICELY
Greensburg Salem
Snapshot of the Elementary Schools