Grand Island Charlotte Sidway School

Charlotte Sidway Elementary School News Web Page - 2007

2451 Baseline Road - 773-8870

Charlotte Sidway Elementary School District's Website

Sidway School News 2006
Previous Sidway School News 2004
Previous Sidway School News 2000-2003

Principal
Denise Dunbar

Charlotte Sidway School Orientation - May 2007

(left) Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Patricia Hitcho and orientation students working on pictures of shapes.
(right) First grade teacher Mrs. Cheryl Stott reads to orientation students.
Jodi Robinson Photos - Click for larger view
   An orientation program for kindergarten children registered for 2007/2008 in the Grand Island Central School District was held at Charlotte Sidway School at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, 2007.
   All registered children and their parents were invited to attend. A special program for the new Kinder-kids included classroom activities and a ride on the big yellow bus. While the boys and girls were engaged in classrooms, parents participated in an informative workshop.
   See also "GIHS Class of 2020"

Charlotte Sidway School Orientation - May 2007
   An orientation program for kindergarten children registered for 2007/2008 in the Grand Island Central School District will be held at Charlotte Sidway School at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, 2007.
   All registered children and their parents are invited to attend. A special program for the new Kinder-kids will include classroom activities and a ride on the big yellow bus. While the boys and girls are actively engaged in classrooms, parents will participate in an informative workshop.
   At the conclusion of the program, there will be an Open House. This program is designed for new kindergartners and their parents only. No siblings please.

Sidway Students
Gotta Love Those Little Sabres Fans - 2007

Jodi Robinson Photo - - Click for larger view.
   School district bus driver Lorie Digati, a very fun and enthusiastic driver of a group of Sidway School kindergarten and first graders, decorated her "Bear Bus" Sabres style on Thursday, May 26, 2007 and led the children in singing their own Sabres song to the tune of "Five Little Monkeys."

Exploring Pioneer Life at Sidway - 2007

(left) Mrs. Ethel Yuhas, Mrs. Karen Beacher and students.
(right) Marissa Hovey models a hair comb with Mrs. Ethel Yuhas.

(left) Mrs. Ethel Yuhas displays a starioptican, (middle) Alyssa Butcher, Mrs. Margaret Hoover and Savanna Stoddard
(right) Mrs. Karen Beacher, Mrs. Margaret Hoover display a bathing costume.
Jodi Robinson Photos
Click photos for larger view.
   Mrs. Ethel Yuhas, a retired Grand Island teacher, visited the school on Monday and Tuesday, April 23-24, 2007, and gave a presentation in the library for students and teachers. The subject was "Let's Go Back in Time-Exploring Pioneer Life." Mrs. Yuhas demonstrated spinning on an old spinning wheel, and talked about the process of getting raw wool ready for spinning. In addition, Mrs. Yuhas spoke much about pioneer life in America, and she had many household implements to show the students such as leather button baby shoes and a button hook, a real working oil lamp and a stereopticon to view pictures. Also displayed was a wooden potato masher that was used by Mrs. Yuhas' mother and a shaving mug and brush used by her father. Mrs. Yuhas mentioned that baby boys wore dresses and bonnets and that got quite a laugh out of the students.
   Mrs. Yuhas was assisted by her sister, Mrs. Margaret Hoover. While Mrs. Yuhas showed the students Christmas ornaments over 100 years old, Mrs. Hoover was making butter in a canning jar. The students took crackers and fresh made butter back to their rooms for a treat. Librarian Mrs. Karen Beacher and Mrs. Hoover displayed three of Mrs. Yuhas' beautiful handmade quilts during the presentation. Each class was presented with a copy of "Pioneer Dictionary" by Bobbie Kalman and Jane Lewis for their classrooms. Students pictured above are from the classes of Mrs. Melissa Taylor and Mrs. Patricia Kwarciak. The presentation and books were provided by a mini-grant procured by Librarian Karen Beacher.

Sidway Artists Honored - 2007

(Left) Art teacher Mrs. Theresa Barnack with Trevor Samplinkski and featured art.
Jodi Robinson Photos
Click photos for larger view.
   Art teacher Mrs. Theresa Barnack chose six of her students to represent Sidway School at the New York State Art Teachers Association (NYSATAs) Region One Teacher and Student Art Exhibition entitled "Artitude!" The Exhibition is being held at the Amherst Museum from March 11-22nd. The students, first graders, Steven Bachman, Thomas Cecere, Tess LaRiviere, and Thomas Thompson, were also recognized at the March 26th school board meeting. Kindergarten students chosen are Anna DiBello and Trevor Samplinski.

Author/Illustrator Tedd Arnold Visits Sidway Students - 2007

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   The famous children's author and illustrator, Tedd Arnold, made a special visit to the students and faculty at Charlotte Sidway Elementary School on Monday March 26th.
   The day began with a “Meet the Author” breakfast held in the Teachers Dining Room with the Faculty and Staff of Charlotte Sidway Elementary. Breakfast was followed by a series of assemblies throughout the school day for the kindergarten and first grade students. The children have been reading his books for weeks and have done many projects in preparation for his visit. They were very excited to finally meet Mr. Arnold. Students had the opportunity to pre-order his books and Mr. Arnold took the time to autograph them throughout the day.
   Mr. Arnold’s day did not end once the bell rang. While in the area, he sampled the flavors of the Island while eating dinner with the author committee at The Village Inn.
   Mr. Arnold’s picture books are full of lively humor, and colorful pictures. He has a terrific talent for capturing the attention of his young audiences, and enlivens his presentations with on-the-spot illustrations. More information on Tedd Arnold can also be found on his website "www.teddarnold"

Sidway/Kaegebein School News
"Read Across America Day" - 2007

(Left) Natalie Baldassarre; (right) Mrs. Pam Shoemaker's first graders.
Jodi Robinson Photos
Click photos for larger view.
   Sidway School celebrated "Read Across America Day" and Dr. Seuss' birthday on Friday, March 2, 2007. Readers from Kaegebein Elementary arrived early in the morning and in pairs were escorted by Sidway students to their classroom. Each read a book of their choosing in the classroom to the kindergarten and first grade students. After reading, the Kaegebein students were treated to cookies in the dining room before they went back to school.

Sidway School News
100 Days Of School Celebrated - 2007

(Left) Principal Denise Dunbar's collection of 100 pins; (right) 100 Barbie Shoes

(Left) 100 Pictures; (right) Collection of 100 Collections.
Jodi Robinson Photos
Click photos for larger view.
   This year's Sidway 100 Day Celebration was rescheduled a couple of times due to snow and cold days. But finally, it just happened to land on Valentine's Day, February 14, which is also a very special day at Sidway. Many posters can be seen displayed in the hallways throughout the school. Even Principal Dunbar has a collection of 100 pins displayed on a sweater on her office door. She is quite the collector, as she mentioned she has many more!

Sidway's Winter Play - 2007

The first grade and kindergarten cast.

Santa played by Christopher O'Connor, Mama Bird soloist, Savanna Stoddard.
Jodi Robinson Photos - Click for larger view
   An original play was performed on Thursday, February 1, 2007 by the kindergarten class of Miss Susan Andrews and the first grade class of Mrs. Patti Kwarciak. "Share A Winter Smile" is a story of a little girl who lives in Buffalo, NY and doesn't like the winter. Through many songs, including Let It Snow, Sleigh Ride and Must Be Santa among others, the children convince the little girl it is not so bad. The set, music and costumes along with the actors were first rate. Music teacher Mrs. Christine Clendening accompanied on the piano.

Sidway Art - 2007

"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another..." Mrs. Patricia Hitcho's class

"And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!" Mrs. Lani Black's class (left), Mr. Patrick Lester's class (right).
Jodi Robinson Photos - Click for larger view
   The kindergartners have gone wild at Sidway with their "Wild Things!" After listening to the story, "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak, each kindergarten class voted on which scene they wanted to illustrate; the jungle, the forest, the lake, or the night scene. They created their own wild things after learning about texture and how to draw their creature. Then they had to create the parts to the environment in a large collage banner. After the banner was completed the children placed their wild thing to complete their piece. All the banners are hung throughout the school. This project was done in collaboration with student teacher Miss Neidlinger and Sidway School art teacher, Mrs. Theresa Barnack.

Sidway Art - 2007

Ceramic tiles displayed in foyer of Sidway School.
Jodi Robinson Photos - Click for larger view
   Sidway School first graders learned about the painter, Georgia O’Keefe in their art class. Miss Neidlinger, a student teacher at Sidway, read the story, “My Name is Georgia,” by Jeanette Winter. The children also observed Georgia’s style of painting and created their painting on a ceramic bisque-fired tile. First they glazed a clear glaze on the tile, then they painted a close-up view of the flower. If they were in Monday or Tuesday’s art classes they learned about the parts of the flower. Wednesday and Thursday’s art classes painted landscapes of the desert and mountains inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. First graders also learned about foreground, middle ground and background in the landscape. This project was done in collaboration with Mrs. Theresa Barnack, the art teacher at Sidway School and Miss Neidlinger.

      
“Sun-bleached bones were most wonderful against the blue… that blue that will always be there as it is now after all man's destruction is finished.” ~Georgia O'Keeffe 
 
 “I said to myself … I'll paint what I see … what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it … I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.” 
                        ~Georgia O’Keeffe

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