Conti Chatter Dr. Michael Conti School PS 5

December 23, 2023

PS5 Science Fair

Conti students in grades 5-8 presented their projects to a panel of judges from Hudson County Community College earlier this month, 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 28th, 2025, at the Liberty Science Center:

Congratulations to all our winners! Special thanks to HCCC Dean Dr. Burl Yearwood and Professor Raffi Manjikian for their generous support in sending science students to serve as judges for our science fair. We are truly thankful for their continued partnership and look forward to future collaborations that inspire and encourage the pursuit of STEM among our Conti Cougars.

Bee Buzz

Presenting the winners of our Class Spelling Bees:

These Class Bee winners will compete in our SCHOOL SPELLING BEE, to be held January 8, 2025, so this winter break will give them some time to study new words...The winner of our School Bee will then proceed onto both the Scripps Hudson County Spelling Bee...as well as compete in the Jersey City Public Schools District Bee (a stand-alone competition unaffiliated with Scripps.)...The champions of the JCPS District Bees for each of the past 3 years have been Conti students!

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PATH spotlights Conti student artwork

Two Conti artists, 4th-graders Skyla Farrell & Gia Song, were named finalists in the grade 3-5 category of the 2024 PATH Holiday Poster Contest, with their works on public display in the Journal Square train station. Fantastic!

Gia's poster is the one on the left, Skyla's on the right; the contest theme this year was "Peace on Earth" and entrants had their works judged on excellence in design and composition.

Conti Creativity on Display

Students from Ms. Cesar’s class participated in the 19th Annual Snowflake Award Contest and in recognition of their talent & efforts, the Conti team's ornaments & decorated Christmas tree will be showcased at Jersey City's iconic Liberty House Restaurant for the entire holiday season.

This year, PS5 students crafted handmade ornaments centered around the theme of upcycling & sustainability. The Christmas tree above, currently on display at Liberty House Restaurant, is decorated entirely of ornaments Ms. Cesar's students created out of recycled materials like disposable utensils, plastic bottles, cardboard toilet rolls, egg cartons, etc. Such ingenuity!

NOVEMBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

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

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DECEMBER STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

The focus TRAIT for this month was GENEROSITY: a willingness to give help & support.

2024 DISTRICT HOLIDAY GREETING: Our December Students of the Month got to participate in the JC Public Schools Holiday Greeting video, set to air beginning this week on JCETV, the district's Educational Access TV station (and also on their You Tube channel starting sometime this week as well.)

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MARKING PERIOD 1 AWARDS ASSEMBLY

Students who achieved Perfect Attendance, Effort Roll, Second Honors & First Honors were recognized before an assembly of their peers. Congrats to all!

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ELA Events

HOLIDAY BOOK FAIR

For a week in December, our school's utilitarian multi-purpose room transforms into a colorful bazaar. Studies show that children read more when they get to choose books for themselves, and our fairs provide a smorgasbord of titles that appeal to kids. "The fair gets our students - even preschoolers who can't yet read on their own - excited, and associating good feelings with books helps pave the way for reading buy-in as they get older," says Book Fair Chair/PS5 LMS Keung Sexton. "Thankful for our school community - faculty, admin, families, and especially our ever-supportive PTA and volunteer crew made up of parents & students - who help make this event so successful!" PS5 sold a record $15,000+ in books at this year's fair, with the school receiving a 25% cut of sales for our Student Activities Fund, supporting enrichment learning like theatre workshops, and events like the the Spring Carnival.

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ACHIEVE 300O INCENTIVE: READ AROUND THE BASES

The mascot from the NJ Jackals, a professional baseball team in the Atlantic Conference, visited PS5 last week to get our kids excited about a reading initiative called Read Around the Bases. Students in grades 2-5 will be using ACHIEVE 3000, the differentiated program that has been a helpful tool in raising our students' reading comprehension levels, to try to reach a specific reading goal by April. Every child who achieves their goal will score two free tickets to a Jackals game and participate in a pre-game parade. Let’s hit our reading goals out of the park!

PS5 PLCs examine MP1 Project Based Learning

PS5 faculty regularly meet in cohorts through Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to collaborate on enhancing student learning. In December, our PLC focused on Project Based Learning (PBL), with particular attention to identifying the key attributes of high-quality PBL as outlined in the Project Design Rubric. Faculty participated in a Project Gallery Walk, reviewing project displays from Marking Period 1, and examining them for essential features such as student voice, critical thinking, problem-solving, and sustained inquiry into real-world issues. Afterward, the teams engaged in debriefing sessions to provide constructive feedback and identify areas for improvement. This collaborative process ensures that we continue refining our approach to PBL and work together to help our students succeed. Looking ahead, we are excited to host our community Project Gallery Walk in early April 2025, where we will showcase the continued growth and development of our students’ projects.

A peek at some of the PBL our students engaged in during Marking Period 1 (Topics requiring further sustained inquiry have continued into the 2nd marking period as well.)

Community Partnerships

BIKE ANGELS

Shortly before the Covid pandemic, PS5 received a generous donation of bicycles from an anonymous donor to give away to students at a celebratory event. However, when the building closed, the bikes were stored in a sub-basement, which was not an ideal environment. By the time the quarantine ended, many bikes had required tune-ups and safety checks. Local bike shops quoted around $100 per bike for repairs, which was beyond our budget. Fortunately, this local bike shop came to our rescue:

At no cost to our school, specialists from the Jersey City Bicycle Company spent the day at PS5 last week providing safety checks & tune ups of the bikes that were stored in our school basement [photo above]...Apart from this local business's extreme generosity, the owner Chris De Los Angeles, store manager Angie Borrello, and their staff were consummate professionals from the get-go. After tune ups & safety checks on the several dozen bikes were complete, they emailed us that, "All of the bikes have been tagged with JCBC stickers & your community is always welcome to bring them to the shop for complimentary followup safety checks should they need further assistance...So glad your students will be able to enjoy the bikes!."

Finally, while the Conti Chatter is not in the habit of endorsing products or businesses, in this case, the next time you’re in need of a tune up or a new bike, please consider going to the Jersey City Bicycle Co - terrific owner & staff! And you can follow them on Instagram (@jcbicycleco) for updates on their sales and services.

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BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS HOLIDAY SOCIAL

Bigs, Littles & family members gathered recently to share in seasonal festivities with lunch, crafts, & games. Everyone took time to reflect on everything they had to be thankful for, and students, along with their mentors. painted canvases that will be delivered to Peace Care St. Joseph's to spread some holiday cheer. The Big Brother Big Sister mentoring program, facilitated at PS5 by Conti CIT Lou DeCarlo, is now in its thirteenth year at our school.

Club News

LEGO ROBOTICS CLUB

The Conti Robotics Club, facilitated by teachers Marc Papish & Rosana Wright, participated in the JCPS First Lego League Robotics competition held on Saturday December 7th at M.S. #7. Competing against 23 other schools across the district, our students were immersed in different aspects of the First Lego League standards such as Core Values, Robot Design, Robot Competition and Innovation Project.

STRONG GIRLS CLUB

Strong Girls Club, facilitated by school counselor Emma Santiago Hernandez and teacher Jillian Quirk, kicked off their their first meeting of the school year by signing off on club rules. Members also completed a pre-survey reflecting their feelings on issues involving self image, self esteem, views on gossip, use of social media, body language, etc. Then a fun icebreaker game designed to discover common interests. The meeting concluded with feedback from group members. Some of their responses: "I feel safe here"; "Nice to know there are others I have things in common with"; "Feel like I can be myself & be accepted with no judgment."

CULTURE CLUB

Members of the Conti Culture Club continue to visit classrooms in grades 1-5 with activities promoting self-reflection. Recently, students were asked to write down 3 things they are grateful for to remind themselves when feeling down. These post-it reminders were placed in a large case to hang in their classroom for easy reach for anyone needing a positive pick me up.

WELLNESS CLUB

Self reflection is likewise an integral part of the Conti Wellness Club, led by teacher Nicole Pilla. Members of this group learn ways to keep healthy - emotionally, socially, & physically - and recent activities focused on "What makes you truly happy?"

The Spirit of Giving

WELCOMING IMMIGRANTS

For the past several months, our 3rd grade classrooms have been learning about the challenges facing immigrant families here in Jersey City, and their PBL was driven by the question, "How Can We Help Immigrants Thrive in Our Communities?" Students got to interview leaders from Welcome Home Jersey City, a non-profit immigrant support group; heard stories directly from newly immigrated families; and organized a food drive with the collections donated to Welcome Home & to World Church Services.

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PS5 ANGEL TREE

Each year, PS5 staff come together to spread holiday cheer through our school Angel Tree. This heartwarming tradition helps ensure that every student feels the joy and warmth of the season, fostering a strong sense of community and support within our school.

Tis the Season!

HOLIDAY CONCERT

Dressed in their seasonal best, our students - under the direction of PS5 Music specialist Claire Tsiporukha - treated a packed house of family & friends to a medley of holiday songs. Bravo!

JERSEY CITY NUTCRACKER

Students in grades K- 3 were treated to matinee performances of Nimbus Danceworks Jersey City Nutcracker. This has become something of an annual holiday tradition for our kids, thanks to the Conti PTA, whose funding made this field trip possible.

Oh, what fun it is!

This month, PS5's calendar was bursting to the brim with activities for students & staff to celebrate the holiday season:

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CONTI TREE LIGHTING

Kicking off the season with song & read-a-louds!

THE ELF HAS LANDED...

Right after Thanksgiving break, 1st-graders in Rm 208 got a call from the front office saying a package from the North Pole had arrived for them. In the box was Mylo, by then a rather jet-lagged elf sent by you-know-who...Once the elf rested up a bit, then the fun with Mylo began! Whether sending the kids on a candy cane hunt, bringing them Christmas stickers & pencils, and magic pinecones from the indigenous Christmas tree forests of the North Pole, Ms. Johnson's students loved having Mylo in their classroom this past month!

Whereas Mylo the Elf traveled from the North Pole via airmail, students in Rms. 206 & 207 got train tickets to go to the North Pole, via The Polar Express.

FLAKY POETRY

The 4th-grade family made snowflake decorations to accompany their SNOWFLAKE acrostic poems...

FESTIVE CRAFTING

...while other classes designed their own ugly sweaters; made ornaments, dreidels & menorahs; had a greeting card exchange; enjoyed visits from parents who shared holiday stories; and even celebrated the recent winter solstice using cookies to learn about the phases of the moon - yum!...
...and our hallways are festive too, thanks to Ms. Charles & Mr. Markman.

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MULTICULTURAL HOLIDAY PARENT LUNCHEON

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Reminder that holiday celebrations continue the week we come back from winter break:

The above Hanukkah & 3 Kings Day festivities, sponsored by the PTA, will be held in our school garden, so bundle up & stop by after school for the fun...Our PTA would also like to thank the school community for another successful Colorfest, and special shout outs to the following who had outstanding results in their fundraising: Tomas Escobar Velasco (Pre K 4), Kya Boheim-Desai (Pre K 4), & Ms. Boodoosingh (Pre K 3 Teacher).

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In closing out the final Conti Chatter of 2024, may the magic of the season bring you peace & joy...

SEE EVERYONE BACK AT SCHOOL ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025!

Thank you!

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

Principal John J. Rivero

Assistant Principal Albert Padilla

Created By
K. S.