13th Avenue School hosts 2010 Arbor Day Celebration

Thirteenth Avenue School hosted New Jersey's 61st Arbor Day Celebrating Trees, Stewardship and Neighborhood Engagement. Volunteers arrived at the school at 8 a.m. where they registered, and were greeted by our Arbor Day Choral Ensemmble, staff and students. Afterwards they ventured outside of the school and planted 231 trees. Students from the school watered trees after they were planted. There were numerous supporters, partners, and volunteers including Greater Newark Conservancy, Newark Department of Recreation & Parks, Fairmount Super Neighborhood Group, The Tate George Group, Youth Corps, Shade Tree Federation, USDA forest Service, Community Forestry Council, Essex County SLAP, Essex County Roads Department, AARP, Covenant House, Westward Abandoned Property Initiative, USDA Forest Service, Youth Build, PSE&G, Logan Hall of Newark, Mayor's Office, Environmental Commission, DEP Forest Service, Tree Foundation, GNC Clean & Green, Neighborhood and Recreation Services, and Thirteenth Avenue School. Attendees packed the school's auditorium for an 11-a.m. Arbor Day Celebration Program. The Thirteenth Avenue School Color Guard opened the Program with the Pledge of Allegiance, The Thirteenth Dance Club performed after the flag salute. Ms. Iris Matthews, School Leadership Council Chair at the school served as mistress of Ceremonies. There were also performances by the Arts High School Choir and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. State Forrester, Mr. James Berresi delivered greetings and Official Welcome as given by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Schools Superintendent, Dr. Janey. Both praised the school for serving as host and recognized school Principal, Lynn Irby-Jackson and PTA President, Lyndon Brown for their excellent Leadership. A Guitar signed by Arbor Day Volunteers was presented to the Superintendent who in turn presented the Guitar to 13th Avenue School.
Arbor Day Greetings were given by: West Ward Councilman Ronald Rice, Mr. Tate George from the George Group, Environmental Commission Chair, Ms. Kim Gaddy, Principal, Lynn Irby-Jackson, and Frank Miller, Covanta Director of Field Services.
Student Contest Awards were given to students who won first place in the Arbor Day art Contests. National Arbor Day Foundation Awards were presented to Tree Line USA & Tree City USA. A Ceremonial Tree Planting was held at the conclusion of the Program.
"It was a great day for the school, a great day for the community, and a great day for Newark" remarked, Mr. Lyndon Brown, PTA President.

Eno PolyVision WhiteBoard in Room 401

Ms Caputo’s classroom where children are all functioning at different levels, and often find learning a challenge, it is imperative for me to find new ways to engage the class and keep their interest in the lessons I am teaching. I have found the use of the Smart Boards to be very useful in this capacity. The children enjoy using this technology and are eager to participate in the lessons being taught. I have used the Smart Boards in my Math, Literacy and, Science lessons, allowing the children to take turns filling in the correct answers to questions and problems. Changing up the lessons and keeping the children engaged in hands on activity is one of the best ways to reach my students and to keep their attention.

20th Annual Elementary Math Olympics

Thirteenth Avenue School participated in the 20th Annual Elementary Math Olympics on April 1, 2010. Our students placed 36th of 41 eligible teams. The team members are Shania Kirby 8th grade, Brianna Jackson 7th grade, Orisingbubeve Ogbi 8th grade, Gabriela Ramirez 8th grade and Mahalia Bazile 8th grade all worked very hard to make this event a memorable experience.

NJASK Saturday Academy

The Thirteenth Avenue School Saturday Academy has enhanced students learning and enthusiasm for the 2010 NJASK Test. Students in grades 3-8 have been attending Saturday Prep Sessions from 10 a.m.-12 noon since March 1st. Ms. Irby-Jackson, School Principal has been prepping students for Literacy along with retired Literacy Coach, Mrs. Eleanor Giles. Mr. Willie Perry, 6th Grade Math Teacher has also volunteered his time on Saturdays to Prep students. Our PTA's Education Committee has been sponsoring a hot breakfast for students each Saturday Morning.

Eno PolyVision WhiteBoard in Room 216

Ms. Castillo’s k-I autistic classroom can be seen here answering the question of the day. The question of the day dealt with the students’ favorite colors. The information from the class poll was assessed by the students. The students then constructed a tally sheet in relation to their responses, as well as, created a graph to represent the information provided. Each student was given a chance to participate by writing their response on the smart board seen in the photo. Students were able to visualize the information and gain a greater understanding of the data.

Eno PolyVision WhiteBoard in Room 212

Ms. LoConti’s Grade K-1 Autistic students in Room 212 are learning to identify their high-frequency sight word “see” and use it in various types of sentencing. A great accent to the lesson is involving the students to interact with the Eno Smart Board because for most students Easiteach program has plenty of opportunity to work effectively with the students. There is a wide spread of different learning styles within the classroom, therefore with letter recognition and write and read icons has made it easier for students to see and hear the information in various types of ways. Ms. LoConti has found the Eno Smart Board to be very valuable and beneficial to her as well as her students.

13th Avenue School celebrates "Jersey Day"

On Friday, April 9, 2010, Staff & Students celebrated Jersey Day at Thirteenth Avenue School. Students wore Jerseys to represent thier favorite Sports Teams.
Form the NY Giants to the Pittsburg Steelers Jerseys were plentiful. Students also were surpised to learn that they were avid fans of the same sports teams as some of their teachers and peers. Photos were taken for the School Bulletin Board and School yearbook.