Conti Chatter Dr. Michael Conti School PS 5

December 21, 2023

STEM @ Conti

PS 5 SCIENCE FAIR

Conti students in grades 5-8 presented their projects to a panel of judges on December 5th, and the following top 3 winners from each grade will represent P.S.#5 at the Jersey City Public School District Science Fair on January 17th, 2024, at the Liberty Science Center:

DNA & GENETICS

PS5 middle schoolers extract and analyze strawberry DNA in our STEM lab. Why? Conti Science specialist Marc Papish says it's the "hook" lesson before delving deeper into the study of genetics. “We want students to physically see the DNA rather than just reading about it," he explains. And of course the ability to analyze DNA is the precursor to examining the genetic cause of disease and for the development of diagnostics & drugs, as well as essential to forensic science, sequencing genomes, detecting bacteria and viruses in the environment, and for determining paternity.

TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL

5th graders have spent some of the last month completing a PBL assignment on how to lead a more responsible life online. They researched and surveyed peers in the building on topics like data privacy, cyberbullying, and artificial intelligence, and are learning that technology should be a tool, rather than an end in itself.

LOSING THEIR MARBLES?

Our 4th-graders in 202 & 203 learn about Force & Motion through a marble collision experiment.

LEGO LAB

Second-graders from Rm. 216 recently visited PS5's state-of-the art Lego Lab, where they were tasked with constructing either a home for Santa, a dwelling for his reindeers, or a new sleigh. Opened just a year ago, our lab continues to draw enthusiastic Conti students who learn STEM concepts through construction & design.

TALLEST TREE CHALLENGE

First graders in Rm. 208 completed a holiday STEM Challenge. After a read-aloud of The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever, students worked in groups, challenged to create the tallest Christmas tree they could, using only the supplies provided. They were innovative and creative using just straws, a cup, beads, pipe cleaners, and stickers. Group 1 finished with the tallest tree, but all of the assemblages turned out amazingly well!

ELA @ Conti

HOLIDAY BOOK FAIR

Shelves lined with titles appealing to kids transformed our school's multi-purpose room this month at the 2023 Holiday Book Fair, one of PS5's most highly anticipated annual literacy events. "It gets our kids excited about reading & the smiles on their faces when they first enter the fair is wonderful to see," says Book Fair Chair/P.S.5 Librarian K.K. Sexton. "So very thankful for our school community -- faculty, administrators, families, and especially our marvelous parent & student volunteer crew who help make this event so successful!"

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Much appreciation to the PTA Book Fairies who help fund book purchases for teachers!

WHO's THE SLACKER: SANTA OR THE TOOTH FAIRY??

Opinion writing with a SEASONAL THEME: 3rd-graders in Rms. 204 & 205 are finishing up their Persuasive Essays on the topic of Who has the harder job: Santa Claus or The Tooth Fairy? They also created a SNOWMAN OF SIMILES as a demonstration of their grasp of figurative language.

ELA DETECTIVES

Third-graders in Rm. 310 were actively engaged in using their investigational skills during an Inferencing activity. They enjoyed working collaboratively and looking for clues around the room to find answers to riddles.

Student Council Elections

Congratulations to the newly elected Student Council officers of the Class of 2024! From left: Secretary Saim Shakeeluddin; President Olive Moulaison; Vice President Seth Sullivan.

1ST MARKING PERIOD AWARDS ASSEMBLY

Students who achieved Perfect Attendance, Effort Roll, Second or First Honors were recognized before an assembly of their peers. Also lauded were students who completed at least twenty Achieve 3000 ELA activities with 75% or above accuracy by the end of the 1st Marking Period. Congratulations to all!

DID YOU KNOW?

Out of more than the 2500 Elementary Schools in the state of New Jersey, the Dr. Michael Conti School ranks in the top 235 schools. This is according to the 2024 US News & World Report rankings. PS5 was also named the Top 2 Schools in the Jersey City Public School District in these rankings.

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SEL @ Conti

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

The focus TRAIT for the last month was GRATITUDE: feeling and expressing thankful appreciation for benefits received.

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KINDNESS CLUB

Middle-school members of the Conti Kindness Club, along with parent volunteers Raquel D'Apice & Dana Patton, are visiting classrooms in grades 1-5 to facilitate activities that promote self-reflection and kindness. For example, after read-alouds of the life stories of activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, students are tasked with exploring ways to a safer, kinder, more respectful classroom environment.

ART THERAPY

Students in Rm. 207 made feeling boxes in art therapy with Ms. Bonnie

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STRONG GIRLS CLUB

STRONG GIRLS GROUP, a new afterschool club facilitated by our school counselors, has already begun meeting regularly. In recent sessions, members set group rules, role-played best approaches to conflicts, discussed ways to be a better friend, and "are learning to be all that they can be with female peer support," says counselor Emma Santiago- Hernandez.

FRIENDSGIVING DAY

To commemorate GRATITUDE, the focus-TRAIT of the past month, 1st -graders shared thankful thoughts about their friends and added them to a class gratitude tree.

Community Partnerships & the Spirit of Giving

HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE for YORK STREET PROJECT

Conti students collected toys for kids in need for the YORK STREET PROJECT, a Jersey City non-profit that supports homeless and low-income families. Thanks to PS School Counselor Emma Santiago-Hernandez for guiding our students on this annual event.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS MENTORING PROGRAM

Bigs, Littles & family members were able to gather recently & celebrate the holiday season making memories with lunch, crafts and games. The program, facilitated at PS5 by Conti CIT Lou DeCarlo, is now in its twelfth year at our school.

JERSEY CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT & JCPS

Thank you to Jersey City firefighters Buddy Hayes, Steve Petruceli, Dan Kilpatrick....and JCPS Special Ed. Dept. Lead Teachers Eric Pawlowski and Steven Lenardo for bringing holiday cheer to several of our classes!

COAT GIVEAWAY

Much thanks to the Jersey City Public Schools Department of Special Education for gifting some of our students with new winter coats!

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PS5 ANGEL TREE

Appreciation to Conti School staff & faculty who generously donate to the PS#5 ANNUAL TOY- GIVE-AWAY, resulting in a lots of smiles from many of our students!

PTA MULTICULTURAL CELEBRATIONS

'TIS THE SEASON

This month, PS5's calendar has been jam-packed with activities for students and staff to celebrate the holiday season:

[Click on each photo to enlarge]

Enjoy this video highlighting some of the festivities this month:

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LA PARRANDA

La Parranda is the Latin American caroling tradition where the Christmas party goes from house to house, singing all night long. Earlier this week, our dual language classes treated our school with their version of La Parranda.

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Thank you!

Conti Chatter @ 2023-24 Created by K. Sexton, Library Media Specialist

Principal John J. Rivero

Assistant Principal Albert Padilla