Buddy Activities

Buddy activities have been existing for a while, and they still continue on. 5th graders work with 2nd, 4th with 1st, and 3rd with kindergarten. Simply working with younger or older students will help your learning perspectives, so you don’t forget the previous lessons you learned (Remember some older information), or simply learn some new ones, (Time teaches you.) Usually students in a grade level are more comfortable working with their age group, and Buddy activities try to even that situation.

So far, the activities that have been participated in were the peace necklaces and the food drive posters. The upcoming activity is responsibility snowflakes.

 

Peace Necklaces: At the buddy activities the group of children usually watches a video and of course explains ‘peace’ for a few minutes. The actual activity is coloring a peace representing necklace and writing your name on it. On the back of the paper, students have the opportunity to draw a picture, and label it. It you hadn’t assumed so, it had to be an example of acting peaceful. At the end of the activity the children put a string through the ornament and tie it, a simple necklace!

 

Food Drive Posters: Like any other activity, in the beginning they explain the topic, so in this case, the teachers explained the Food Drive. Which was basically being kind and generous to help local Washington School Family’s who wouldn’t have an efficient Thanksgiving without our donations. In the activity, groups of students create poster made on a tan construction paper. The younger students would cut out Thanksgiving meals in a Newspaper, or cut and color a personal picture. The older students would write a captain or one main line such as “Sharing is caring.” The younger students were allowed to help them decide an idea, as well as the older kids could color and cut, however it was preferred the older kids only helped them if they needed it.  Now at the end of this.. wait, that was the end! Teachers would collect these and hang them in the hall, but the students would already be dismissed.

 

Responsibility Snowflakes: The December project is a paper snowflake where you’d write an example of responsibility and simply visually draw the image represented in the writing. This project has just begun. The best snowflakes from each group will be chosen to hang on a schoolwide tree, so be sure to try your hardest!

 

The Camp Bernie Experience

 

The Fifth grade classes travel to Camp Bernie yearly. Every new generation of students spreading their independence in an overnight trip. Going to Camp Bernie is like a tradition taken in the beginning of the year, ordinarily in October. This year’s trip 1 was on Oct. 19-20, 2015, trip 2 was Oct. 21-22. The bus ride is around 1 and a half hours, this year the classes left around 10:00 and arrived at approximately 12:05. Camp Bernie is located at 327 Turkey Top Rd, Lebanon Township, NJ 07865. If you ever need an overnight summer camp, or a fun family ‘vacation’ Camp Bernie is an option.

The activities in Camp Bernie are fun, and they prepare you for life. There are only 4 activities that the Fifth Graders at Washington had done. Those 4 activities were: Survival Training, Sensory Trail, Teamwork, and the Climbing Tower. Many students struggled with the Climbing Tower, but everybody got a chance to get a turn. Then, the Teamwork games were also fun.

When students arrived at Camp Bernie, they were provided with Lunch, however a unique quality about this is, to help expose children to the future, students had ‘jobs’. During Lunch, Dinner, and Breakfast students were either a waiter, cruiser, or weather team. The weather team was obviously explaining the weather forecast at the time. A Camp Bernie official showed them how to examine the surroundings to explain the weather. Waiters and cruisers had relation in jobs, they both cleaned the tables before and after meals, and they set the tables, brought down the chairs, and during the meal, they carried the food to their table.

The Lunch was an old memory for the school, the stuffed crust cheese pizza the school used to serve on Fridays. There were snacks of carrots, pepperoni, and more. The salad bar was also open and refills for pink lemonade and water. At Dinner, Baked Ziti was on the menu, you could either have sauce with meat, or plain. Meatballs were also offered as well as Garlic Bread. Water and Iced Tea was provided, and the salad bar was again open. For dessert was a ‘dirt cup’. Basically pudding with oreo or graham crumbs. There was also S’mores at the campfire, and lastly ice cream choices of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and a orange sorbet flavor. In the morning for breakfast was eggs and cheese served on a croissant with pork sausage. Water and orange juice were the beverages, and instead of a salad bar, was a breakfast bar with cereals and fruits.

Students left Camp Bernie at 12:00pm on the second day, returning to Washington school for lunch and going home between 2:00-3:00.

Barnes and Noble Night

Thursday, December 10.

5:30pm- 8:30pm

Barnes and Noble at the Menlo Park Mall.  

Where the adventure will begin.

 

This is where all of us, even the parents, will have a great time participating in many activities:

• Mrs. Mounts 3rd grade recorder club
• Washington chorus performing
• Band and Chorus members
• Artwork display
• Special readings
• Sweet treats
• A special coffee just for us

It may not look like it, but it’s actually also a fundraiser. While you are having fun, you are also a hero. We hope to see you there!

Meet the Newspaper Team

Meet Our New Principal, Mrs. Schlatter

 

 

• How has your time at Washington School been so far?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: It has been wonderful.

 

• What plans do you have  to improve this school?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: I would like to bring a sense of family to this school and get everybody involved.

 

• For new students who are new to Washington, do you have any suggestions to make this a better year for them?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: I would tell them to get involved in clubs and make new friends. Everybody should try his or her best to be involved.

 

• What are your expectations for the students at Washington School?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: “I have high expectations for this school. I expect students to always try their best and never be satisfied.”

 

• Do you like elementary school better than high school? Why or why not?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: It’s nice to be back with people that I worked with before. I like both the same. But it’s really nice to be back in my own Washington school

 

• What is it like to be both a mom and a principal?

 

Mrs. Schlatter: Being a mom is like being a principal. I have two kids, named Maddie and Brady.

• Thank you so much for meeting with us. Be sure to look for the interview in our online newspaper.