Conti Chatter Dr. Michael Conti School PS 5

April 11, 2024

WELCOME BACK - HOPE EVERYONE HAD A LOVELY SPRING BREAK!

2024 Project Gallery Walk

The Conti School's 8th Annual Project Gallery Walk gave members of the Jersey City community a first-hand view of the stellar projects created by our students. More than 175 guests showed up to this year's event, held right before Spring Break, making this PGW the most-attended at our school ever! Project Based Learning, an important component of our instructional program, encourages critical thinking, real world problem-solving, cooperative learning, and integrates technology. PBL is designed to amplify children's voice, creativity & imagination. In addition to the showcased student-work, gallery tours were also student-led...Here's a video, with some highlights:

[**Click on a photo to enlarge**] Students enthusiastically & eloquently shared all they learned while working on projects designed to make a difference in their communities. To our guests - parents, educators, district staff (including Division B Director Dr. Joseph Galano, Director of Human Resources Edwin Rivera, & Director of Professional Growth Terry Watkins-Williams), and members of the community at large - a heartfelt thank you for joining us & supporting our students in their learning journey!

PS5 Student Brings Home the District Spelling Bee Trophy

Our 5th-grader Benjamin Friedman won FIRST-PRIZE in the 2024 Jersey City Public Schools Spelling Bee, making it the third consecutive year that a Conti student garnered the district championship title! Benjamin rose to the top of the field on March 23rd, competing against grade 3-5 students from throughout the district. Congratulations!

On hand to congratulate Benjamin on his win were (from left to right) Assistant Superintendent Ellen Ruane, Board Trustees Noemi Velazquez & Christopher Tisdale, JCPS Superintendent Norma Fernandez, PS5 Principal John J. Rivero, and Board President Dejon Morris.

"Dual" Dual Language Program Honors

Kudos to Conti 5th-grader ADRIANA CASTILLO, who the Jersey City Public Schools Bilingual/ESL/World Languages Department has selected as the Grade 3-5 DUAL LANGUAGE STUDENT OF THE YEAR...and to PS5 Teacher HILDA TRINIDAD who was named district DUAL LANGUAGE EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR! Both Adriana and Ms. Trinidad will be honored at a Proclamation Ceremony next month -- stay tuned for coverage of that event!

Students of the Month

The focus TRAIT for the prior month of MARCH was KINDNESS.

STUDENTS of the MONTH, some in their DRESS DOWN & PAJAMA DAY attire, in celebration of the current Week of the Young Child festivities [*Click on thumbnail photos to enlarge*]

Speranza Success

What a thrill it was for our 4th & 5th grade classes to have their work read aloud by a group of professional actors - the culmination of this year's Speranza playwriting workshop! PS5's partnership with Speranza Theatre, now in it's third year, has given our students a wonderful opportunity to develop as writers & performers. Over a span of 11 weeks, K-1 classes participated in Storybooks to Stage, focusing on new books and crafting stage props. Grades 2 & 3 focused on Elements of Theatre, emphasizing storytelling & parts that go into a successful production, with students performing the folktale Stone Soup, which was filmed & screened this year at cast parties held in each classroom....Special thanks to our PTA for funding the contract for grades K-1...to Conti LMS/Literacy Support teacher K.K. Sexton for organizing & facilitating artistic-literary partnerships at PS5...and to Principal Clerk Diane Wilson for her help with the necessary paperwork -- you all helped make theater come alive for our students!

An Order of Art, Please!

During the months of March & April, merchants in Jersey City have kindly shown their support for YOUTH ART MONTH by allowing district students to display artwork at the business venues. Conti students have their work on display at Carmine’s Pizza Factory on 8th street in Jersey City. Feel free to drop by!

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Conti E-Sports Club

A PS5 afterschool club for 7th & 8th grade students who may not necessarily be interested in traditional athletics, but want to be part of a team and learn new skills - is now in full swing. E-Sports, short for electronic sports, consists of organized gaming competitions among players and teams. Facilitated by middle school teachers Bill Tserpes & Jillian Quirk, the Conti E-Sport Club promotes many of the same benefits of traditional athletics, like sportsmanship, leadership, communication, & teamwork. In addition to connecting participants to STEM education, the aim is to foster Social-Emotional Learning skills, by establishing community, inclusion, & school spirit.

STEM Saturday

PS5's most recent STEM SATURDAY, our third one of the school year, this one geared to students in grades K-2, was yet another fun & engaging experience for students!

Mission Read & SEL

Promoting a culture of kindness is a priority at the Dr. Michael Conti School, with ongoing social-emotional learning embedded into our school vision and curriculum. So marking National S.E.L. Day last month was a "typical" day at our school -- whether starting off mornings with breathing exercises, or reading literature that celebrates inclusion, diversity, and the importance of self-awareness...As was reported in a prior Conti Chatter, students in Ms. Cesar's Mission Read classes won the district S.E.L. Day Poster Contest...but we want to discuss how PS5's Mission Read specialist demonstrates that teaching students teamwork & kindness also builds self-esteem, which we believe is integral in getting kids to improve at anything, in this case becoming better readers & writers...The amazing play (The Fruit Bowl) & auto-biographies that Ms. Cesar's students produced for their PBL this year shows that struggles in learning usually have less to do with levels of innate intelligence, but is more about not knowing how to play to strengths or not understanding how to use targeted strategies to systematically address areas needing improvement...and S.E.L. plays an essential part in helping students counter frustration, stay motivated, & on track for the long-haul.

TOP LEFT PHOTO: Special thanks to Director of Student Life & Services Candace Coccaro for being on hand to present our students with their SEL Poster Contest awards...OTHER PHOTOS: In Ms. Cesar's reading groups, teaching kids to value themselves & others contributes to them making academic strides...Some of Ms. Cesar's former students who at one time had reading difficulties later went on to become members of PS5's National Junior Honor Society.

Week of the Young Child

The Week of the Young Child (April 6-12) has been jam-packed with fun activities & themed days for our young 'uns...Our Pre-K & Kindergarten classes had Tasty Tuesday, Workout Wednesday, STEM Creation Thursday, and even an assembly with performances by Disney Princesses...1st graders kicked off the week with Team Day, where kids wore their favorite sports team shirts and had extra time outside for play & exercise. Wednesday students arrived at school as Tourists, sharing souvenirs & experiences of various places they have visited! Thursday students sported their class color and spent time playing board games in class! Friday ended the week with pajama day and a class movie & snack!

Hunting for Pots o' Gold...& eggs too!

First-graders in Rms. 208 &210 celebrated St. Paddy's Day with a STEAM Activity: building leprechaun traps. While no leprechauns were caught (those wee creatures instead left a big mess in the classrooms!), our students used teamwork & creativity to construct these traps...and enjoyed some Irish soda bread as well. Before heading off to Spring Break, Ms. Johnson's students also went on a hunt for over 100 eggs hidden in the classroom.

Pi Day...if only it could go on forever!

Kindergarteners in Rm. 112 celebrated the day by learning where the number Pi comes from...1st-graders in Rm. 210 were tasked with measuring the circumference & diameter of round classroom objects to prove that Pi equals 3.14...As a nod to the infinite quality of Pi, students in Rms. 208 & 209 chose 3 colors and had 14 minutes to design the boxes however they liked - infinite combinations!...4th graders in Rms. 202 & 203 created "Pi-scapes"...Students in Rm. 212 likewise created Pi-themed art, and also enjoyed some yummy pie.

Sharing Cultures

For their PBL, Conti 1st-grade classes celebrated diverse backgrounds by researching & sharing the traditions that make their cultures both unique...and universal. Parent visits & interviews were also part of the learning process. For example, a parent in Rm 210 presented Mexican history and led the students in a reenactment of the Battle of Puebla. Later, students joined paper rings in the colors of the Mexican flag to decorate for Cinco de Mayo. Another parent talked about French culture & landmarks. Students practiced some French phrases and made drawings of the Eiffel Tower.
To commemorate the recent Islamic holidays, PS5 parent Namna Nawaz, mom to Kindergartener Rayan, stopped by Rm. 112 to share the traditions of Ramadan and Eid.

DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER, THE PTA AFTERSCHOOL EID CELEBRATION IN OUR SCHOOL GARDEN HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, APRIL 15TH:

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REMINDER: THE PTA-SPONSORED ART AUCTION IS THIS WEEKEND, SATURDAY APRIL 13TH @ Jersey City Theater Center - 165 Newark Avenue, a 10 min. walk from our school:

SOME RECENT PS5 PTA EVENTS:

INTERNET SAFETY: The Smart Talk

Sponsored by the National PTA and Norton Security, this workshop was aimed at educating PS5 parents & children on the importance of staying safe online. Our PTA hosted the guest speakers and conducted activities for families to do together.

PANCAKE FUNDRAISER for 8TH GRADE CLASS TRIP

All the pancakes one could eat, and for a great cause: the 8th-grade overnight trip to Philadelphia, coming up in June...sure to be an amazing experience for our soon-to-be-graduating class, as it was for last year's Conti 8th-graders!

ALSO THIS WEEKEND: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR DOWNTOWN CLEAN UP!

Thank you!

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

Principal John J. Rivero

Assistant Principal Albert Padilla

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