We want to let our families know Gardner-Dickinson practiced a lockdown drill on May 16.
The drill was completely precautionary and provided us an opportunity to practice keeping our students safe in the event of an emergency.
We would like to thank the North Greenbush Police Department for their assistance with the drill.
School districts are required to practice four lockdown drills and eight fire drills each year.
Here is a parent letter with more info.
Author and illustrator Dan Miyares visited Gardner-Dickinson School on May 10 to talk with students about writing and drawing books such as “Surf’s Up”.
Mr. Miyares also took time to sign students’ books. The author visit was organized by Library Media Specialist Linda Fecura.
Thank you Mr. Miyares for inspiring our students!
Gardner-Dickinson’s youngest learners are making huge strides in reading this year due to a new approach that places a reading specialist in kindergarten and first grade each day.
Spending at least an hour in each class, Andrew Newmark works with students in small groups, reading with them and assessing areas where they need help. The additional support also provides teachers the same opportunity to work more closely with students.
“Every student rotates through me then their regular teacher so they get a double dose of small group instruction,” explained Mr. Newmark. “Small group instruction is the most effective instruction. We try to do that as much as possible.”
Guided reading time typically starts with students rereading a book they are familiar with to build their confidence and fluency. It also gives educators an opportunity to evaluate how reading strategies are working for a student.
Students then move on to work with words, using magnetic letters or dry-erase boards to build words and make word analogies. “That gives students a better sense of language and how words fit together in different spelling patterns that create words,” explained Mr. Newmark.
A new book is then introduced to students. Teachers first review vocabulary that students may struggle with and make reading engaging by asking students their predictions about the book or how it may connect to their lives. As students read quietly, educators periodically check in with them to evaluate their reading accuracy and the strategies they use to guide them.
Outside of the classroom, teachers and Mr. Newmark discuss their teaching strategies. This helps educators learn from each other about what approaches are working best for students. Students who struggle receive additional reading support as needed.
“The more we can collaborate, the more we can talk about each student, the more we can know about each student, the better we can help each student. That’s been a huge part of their success,” said Mr. Newmark. “The best part of the job is seeing how well students are doing.”
Principal Mary Yodis explained the new teaching approach came out of discussions with teachers on how the district could improve students’ reading and writing skills. Instead of bringing an outside person to provide professional development, Dr. Yodis said teachers preferred to work with Mr. Newmark.
“Andrew’s knowledge on literacy, particularly on how children acquire reading and writing skills is phenomenal,” said Dr. Yodis. “He’s such a benefit to the children and also helping teachers become even stronger at their craft.”
The results have been impressive already, said Dr. Yodis. Almost every kindergartner and first grader is reading at or above their grade level.
“All the research shows that providing intervention in kindergarten and first grade really makes a substantial contribution to reading achievement in students,” said Dr. Yodis.
First graders shared the non-fiction books they wrote in March with classmates from other grades.
Students first borrowed books on animals from the library then filled in a graphic organizer, a visual map that helped students organize what they learned. First graders then wrote their books, complete with a Table of Contents, and shared it with other students.
“You can ask any 1st grader what the best part of the project was and they will reply ‘sharing it with other students at GD’,” said Teacher Jennifer Kelleher. Great job!
Kindergartners harvested lollipops on Apr. 11 that grew from magic jelly beans they planted earlier in the week.
Each year, Food Services Director Lori Audi helps students plant the jelly beans that Easter Bunny gives her.
Gardner-Dickinson kicked off Parents As Reading Partners month with teachers taking time at the end of the day to switch classrooms to read to other grades. The goal of PARP is to encourage a love of reading in students and build their reading skills by having parents and children read together for at least 15 minutes each day.