Conti Chatter Dr. Michael Conti School PS 5

May 2, 2025

(*HELPFUL HINT: To enlarge any photo in this newsletter, simply click on the picture*)

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2025 Project Gallery Walk Recap:

A record-breaking more than 250 guests attended the Conti School's 9th Annual Project Gallery Walk, providing visitors a first-hand look at our students' outstanding work. Project Based Learning, an important component of the instructional program, encourages critical thinking, creativity, real world problem-solving, cooperative learning, and integrates technology.

AMPLIFYING STUDENT VOICE

Each morning of PS5's Project Gallery Walk, held over a period of 3 days right before spring break, kicked off with TEDEd STUDENT TALKS. The audience - comprised of fellow students, parents, faculty, leaders from the school district and Jersey City's community at large - praised our students' ability to articulate with passion & precision.

Kudos to our student TEDEd speakers and to the Conti School TEDEd Club facilitator, Social Studies teacher Jonathan Nunez!

IMPACTING THE WORLD, ONE PROJECT AT A TIME!

In addition to the showcased student projects, PGW tours were also led by our pupils, who eloquently shared all they learned by working on projects designed to make a difference in their communities. On hand to hear what our students had to say were JCPS Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez; JCBOE Board President Noemi Velazquez ; Board Trustee/PS5 parent Dr. Matt Schneider; JC Councilman/PS5 parent James Solomon; Assistant Superintendent/Division A Dr. Magda Savino; Director of Division B, Dr. Joe Galano; Director/Early Childhood Dr. Ruth Cummings Hypolite; Director of Human Resources Edwin Rivera; Principal Assigned to Human Resources, Mr. Derek Stanton; Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Ann Beirne; Executive Assistant/Equity, Family, Community Outreach & Communications, Cynthia Small; Former JC Division Analyst Renee Walker; Supervisor of ESL Teresita Eldridge; Supervisor of Health & Physical Education Valerie Craig-Ndiaye; and NJDOE Data Specialist Jennifer Hobbs...To all our guests - parents, educators, district staff, community leaders & neighbors, too many to mention individually in this one story - we truly appreciate you for supporting our children in their learning journey!

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A PEEK AT SOME PROJECTS:

K to 2

Grades 3-5

Middle School

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING VIA PBL

By immersing themselves in authentic tasks & inquiries, Project Based Learning not only deepens students' understanding of academic content but also cultivates other vital skills for success in an ever-evolving world, including social-emotional competencies. As a model Project Resilience school, PS5 highly prioritizes S.E.L, where the school community - teachers, parents, and students alike - become familiar with trauma-informed practices, such as community circles, restorative justice, and lessons aimed at self-accountability & self-empowerment, reflected for example, in the recent marking period's Driving Questions for Ms. Iraida Cesar's Mission Read students: How can I understand & overcome my fears so they do not stop me from achieving my goals?  and How can setting goals, visualizing success, & maintaining a positive attitude help me succeed in school?

Ms. Cesar had her students work on "visualizing success & believing in it" as they wrote autobiographies from the P.O.V. of their "adult" selves reflecting back on their lives after having achieved their respective career goals...created dioramas placing themselves in the workplace setting they aspire to be in...and practiced meditation & mindfulness techniques designed to help combat stress & negative self-talk.

WELLNESS FAMILY EVENTS

Healthy pastimes for the whole family was the focus of PS5's Wellness Family events held on two Saturdays in April - which also happened to be National Stress Awareness Month. Activities included yoga, Zumba dance, & mindfulness art sessions.

Families got loose, limber, and groovy during yoga & Zumba classes in the school gym....In the art sessions, attendees were first led in a 5-minute guided meditation and afterwards got creative making their own stress balls. Using balloons filled with flour and a sprinkle of “calming dust” (aka confetti), students personalized their stress balls with colorful patterns, faces, and inspiring words or phrases that help them feel calm and relaxed. Overall, fun sessions promoting physical & mental health.

PS5 Wins Another Sustainable Jersey Grant

The Dr. Michael Conti School has been awarded a Sustainable Jersey grant to implement learning revolving around gardening - through both the afterschool Gardening Club held outdoors, as well as the hydroponic towers inside the classrooms...This is the second grant awarded to our school by Sustainable Jersey & the NJEA within the last 3 years. Thank you to members of the PTA Gardening Committee led by parent Amanda Annelli and to PS5 LMS Keung Sexton who serves as grants coordinator. [Photo above, NJEA President & gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller presents the grant check to Principal John J. Rivero, along with Div. B Director Dr. Joe Galano, teacher Iraida Cesar, and PTA President Paola Martinez, at a recent awards luncheon at the College of NJ in Ewing.]

RAIN GARDEN PROJECT

Rosana Wright's middle school classroom continues to focus on identifying solutions for sea level rise and flooding in Jersey City. One of their solutions was to upgrade the existing garden at the front of our school, by planting flowers that better absorb rainwater. The class researched, conducted interviews with scientists, and collaboratively drafted a letter to our PTA requesting support for the project, which the organization generously agreed to fund. The students then planted the flowers on a lovely spring day, and now take great pride in maintaining the latest species thriving in the rain garden.

Student Recognition

DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM HONORS PS5 STUDENT

Conti 5th-grader Michaella Avegno was recognized as Dual Language Student of the Year at the JCPS Bilingual/ESL/World Languages multicultural ceremony held this morning May 2nd. On hand to congratulate honorees were (from left to right back row) ESL Supervisor Teresita Eldrige, JCBOE Board President Noemi Velazquez, Asst. Superintendent/Div. A Dr. Magda Savino, General Counsel Robert Pruchnik, Dir. of Human Resources Edwin Rivera, Dir. of Early Childhood Dr. Ruth Cummings-Hypolite, Dir. of Bilingual/ESL Education Aldo Sanchez-Abreu, Dir. of Division C & Professional Growth Terry Watkins; in the front row with Michaella are PS5 Dual Language teacher Ana Flores and Principal Rivero.

CHESS CHAMPIONS

A fine performance by the PS5 Chess Club, whose members attended the the Bryant Park Chess Tournament last Sunday to compete against ~200 other students from some of the best public & private schools in NYC. The club coach, PS5 parent Jon Huang, reports that Conti 2nd-grader Lincoln Schneider won his division, Novice K-2 rated under 600, attaining 1st place with a perfect 4-0 score. As a team, PS5 was awarded the 3rd place trophy based on combined scores in the Novice division. Way to go, Conti Cougars!

ARTISTS' WORK ON PUBLIC DISPLAY

Members of the Conti Artistically Talented Curriculum (ATC) Club were excited to see their work exhibited when they, along with PS5 Art specialist Mike Markman, toured the Jersey City Public Schools Arts Showcase held recently at NJCU.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

The focus TRAIT for the prior month of APRIL was INCLUSIVENESS - valuing diversity & differences.

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The focus TRAIT for the month of MARCH was KINDNESS.

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Read Across America

Although every day at PS5 is a celebration of reading, Read Across America is when we go all out, with this year's festivities revolving around an outer space theme. Whether our rocket readers "explored new frontiers" or "blasted off with a good book" the theme was a fun launchpad for our kids to celebrate reading. Students also greatly enjoyed the read-a-louds shared by our guest readers. Much thanks to everyone who joined us in making the day a success!

A round of applause to ALL our guest readers, including JCPS Director of Student Life & Personnel Services Candace Coccaro, JC Councilman/PS5 parent James Solomon, district supervisors & personnel, Big Brother Big Sister mentors, PS5 administration, faculty & staff, parents, students, and the READ ACROSS AMERICA Committee - steered by Reading Specialist Maryann Curti and LMS/Literacy Support teacher Keung Sexton - for helping make 2025 RAA a success!

STEM News

STEMotional SATURDAY

A packed house at PS5's most recent STEMotional SATURDAY, the third such event this school year, this time geared to students in grades 6-8. The middle school event, implemented with staff from Rutgers University Cooperative, had our students engage in hands-on experiments, exciting challenges, and activities combining STEM with Social -Emotional Learning. Interactive stations included Using Makey Makey, Programming Spheros, and Decoding Cosmic Ciphers. As during previous STEMotional Saturdays, our middle school attendees had a chance to win free bikes, courtesy of an anonymous donor, and the services of the JC Bicycle Company, providing the bike recipients free annual tune-ups & safety checks.

WATER CONSERVATION

Grade 3 students engaged in The Incredible Journey, an immersive workshop where participants identify as water droplets, journeying through the Earth’s water cycle. The program, facilitated by a Veolia Water educator, emphasized the importance of water conservation through interactive experiments and activities, engaging in a read-a-loud of the book Drop and learning about a droplet's journey through the water cycle, students enjoyed creating beaded bracelets to track each step of the journey.

TO CATCH A LEPRECHAUN

Students in 210 followed the engineering process to try to catch a leprechaun. They created great traps but no luck this year!

MARCH MADNESS MAKES LEARNING FUN!

During March Madness, 1st graders in Rm. 208 class kicked things off by playing a math-based game that helped sharpen their addition & subtraction skills. They also created a bracket featuring favorite books read throughout the school year. As the actual basketball games progressed, students voted for their favorite titles in each round, just like the teams in the tournament! It was a fantastic way to combine both STEM & literacy learning with the excitement of March Madness.

PI DAY

1st-graders in Rm. 210 measured the circumference & diameter of round classroom objects to prove that Pi equals 3.14...Rm. 309 6th-graders created PI chain links...and 3rd-graders were tasked to recall as many digits of PI as possible, designed skylines based on PI, and devoured yummy pizza pies for lunch.

POSITIVE MINDSET

PS5 is in the midst of standardized testing, with students immersed in the NJSLA throughout the month of May. Leading up, we held a series of countdowns & pep rallies to get our students in the best frame of mind to tackle the weeks ahead: showing up to school each day well-rested and with a calm, steady approach. Students in rooms 204 & 205 wrote positive self-affirmations to help get through the process with peace of mind, while fellow 3rd-graders in Rm. 310 got some assistance from neighboring middle school pupils in Rm. 308 who drafted encouraging notes to the younger students.

SHARING CULTURES

Conti 1st-grade classes celebrate diverse backgrounds by researching & sharing traditions unique to their cultures. Family visits & interviews are often part of the learning process. For example, a parent in Rm. 209 recently shared customs surrounding Ramadan and Eid...while another child's grandmother talked about French culture & landmarks, taught students a French word game & some French songs.

SOME RECENT PS5 PTA EVENTS:

Art Auction

This fundraiser was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the creativity of Conti student artists and artists from our community, while also supporting our marvelous PTA!

Multicultural Celebrations Series: EID

Teacher Appreciation Luncheon

Our PTA treated faculty & staff today to a lovely meal catered by Jersey City's El Ranchero Taqueria, along with raffle prizes. We believe PS5's PTA to be unmatched by any other such organization in the district in terms of strong advocacy and support for our children!

...and a reminder about the upcoming PTA sponsored SPRING DANCE:

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MARK YOU CALENDARS WITH FURTHER KEY DATES:

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We close out this Chatter with an update:

ALMOST FINISHED!

OUR NEW GYM FLOOR -- WHAT A BEAUTY!

Thank you!

Conti Chatter @ 2024-25 Created by Keung Sexton, PS5 LMS & Literacy Support

Principal John J. Rivero

Assistant Principal Albert Padilla

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CREATED BY
K. S.