Dear Parents and Guardians,

I think we all are looking forward to a little time away from early morning emails and distance learning agendas!  The staff will be taking this time to recharge so we are ready for our fourth week of distance learning. We will begin at 9:00 am on Monday, April 13^th.

We would like to send you off with a photo montage from our entire staff! We think the children will like it!

Harrison Staff Slideshow

Just in case you need some activities to get you thru the week - the district has prepared a site full of resources. http://www.livingston.org/springbreak2020

Mrs. Imbimbo also has a lesson for you as you begin Spring Break! 

Happy Friday! Today is an extra special Friday because it is the kick-off to spring break! 

We are all so proud of you for being such flexible learners, being helpful friends to each other with learning how to use technology and for joining in on the Harrison School Spirit! 

We all went outside at 12:00pm and waved hello to our neighbors, people walking outside, and even each other! A simple wave hello brings a smile to others and we all know that smiles are contagious! 

Keep it up!

I think you are experts, but it is always important to practice. 

Let's practice how to wave from some examples below:

This bear is waving hello!

 This puppy is waving hello!

 This cat is waving hello!

Now that you have practiced waving hello, you are ready to wave at 12:00 any day over our Spring Break! It's time to celebrate that Spring break is here. One of my favorite ways to celebrate is by dancing!

So turn up the volume and get on your feet!

Follow along to a Renegade Dance Tutorial by the creator, 14 year old Jalaiah Harmon!

OR

Learn the choreography of Can't Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake

OR

Kick off your shoes and dance along to Footloose! Follow the moves or just dance the way you want!

There are so many fun things you can do this week! Use your imagination and try new things! 

To help you get started, we are going to be sending out a list of different activities or fun games for you and your family to enjoy!

Enjoy your spring break! I am so excited to see you all again soon!

- Mrs. Imbimbo

Dear Parents and Guardians,

What a great day !

Thank you so much for embracing our Harrison H Hunt ! We met as a staff via google meet today and shared all the wonderful ways the children are making this experience better for all of us. Their smiles, drawings, songs and notes have certainly brightened our days! Thank you also for recognizing the teachers’ hard work and dedication! I totally agree –they are doing a wonderful job keeping us all on the right track! I am so proud of the efforts we have made as a TEAM-parents, students and staff! The Harrison Spirit will meet and rise above!

My husband and I have been driving thru town to see all of the Hs. I was able to see some families out for their walks!  Didn’t quite realize how many Harrison neighborhoods there are so we will keep going thru the weekend! I know a few families found my H and beeped! So fun!

IMPORTANT -12:00 tomorrow –open you door and wave hello to your neighbors!

A HARRISON HELLO!  Mrs. Sachs will be so happy!  Please see Mrs. Sachs' Letter to the Editor here.

Here is my weekly message for the children!  https://www.wevideo.com/view/1635235293  

Enjoy!

Keeping sending your family H pictures -we will share all of them with you soon!

Dear Parent and Guardians,

Our Spirit Day is tomorrow! The kids are very excited –I’ve already gotten pictures from many of the children. Everyone is preparing! It looks like we will have a great HARRISON H HUNT!

If you are able- please leave the Hs up thru the weekend. This will give the kids time to search for them.  Teachers who live in town (and elsewhere) are also hanging Hs.

I have a really big H on my front door! I wonder if you can find it.  HINT –I do not actually live at Harrison School. ;)  Beep when you pass if you happen to see it!

We are going to try to drive around and take pictures to see how many we can find. I’ll beep too!

Kids can the take data too as their families  move along. Maybe use their math skills to tally how many they find.

Let me know how many you have found and send pictures of yours! It may take several family walks or drives !

NEW

IMPORTANT

FRIDAY we will celebrate HARRISON HELLO DAY. Our beloved Mrs. Sachs, who retired last year, has started a movement to go outside at noon each day and wave to your neighbors. Maybe even cheer a cheer!  ! So this Friday-let's  spread some Harrison Happiness-at 12:00 please go out onto your front lawn and wave to your friends and neighbors.

Tonight’s optional activity comes from Mrs. Rodriguez-our math supervisor! Click here.

Please visit twitter- HarrisonHawks90 or our Harrison School website for uplifting messages from our Harrison community!

Enjoy !

Hello,

Please remember to add physical activity to your child’s day. We will continue to send PE lessons as well as resources for games and movement opportunities which you may find helpful for your whole family. Don’t forget the children can also use GoNoodle and walk as part of our Harrison Happy Feet program.

Go Noodle for Families is a little different from the school version: https://www.gonoodle.com/for-families/

Harrison’ s Happy Feet:  Harrison's Happy Feet at Home!  

Today’s enrichment lessons are presented by Dr. Gemellaro –our science supervisor!

Science Enrichment: A Virtual Escape Room

OH NO!
The door has been locked...and you can't get out of the science lab! The only way to escape is to use your SCIENCE KNOWLEDGE and PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. In this week's science enrichment students (and parents) can try and escape the room!

Click Science Virtual Escape Room

REMINDER

THURSDAY is Spirit Day -Please wear you Harrison gear and/or colors on THURSDAY for your Google Meet /ZOOM ! This is a change in date due to the weather!

IMPORTANT

We will have a virtual Spirit Day on Thursday-HARRISON at HOME! We are asking that EVERY family create and put a big decorated H in one of their windows by noon on THURSDAY. Families can hunt for the different Hs as they walk or drive thru the neighborhoods on Thursday or Friday. Let’s see how many we can find! The weather should be sunny and beautiful. Please remember to keep your social distance.

We already have some windows decorated! Send photos to me if you wish and we will post –we are so excited!

Warmly,

Mrs. Healy

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Thank you for all the scribbles! Keep this activity in your back pocket in case the weather turns as predicted!  Mrs. Imbimbo has a great lesson planned which you might also find helpful and fun. Please see below!

Have a great weekend! We will see you on Monday! NEXT Wednesday will be Spirit Day and NEXT FRIDAY will be Say Hello Day! More info to come!

Warmly,

Mrs. Healy

Dear Parents and students, 

Happy Friday! Fridays are so much fun to celebrate! You work so hard during the week and the weekend is a great time to rest and play! 

There is something to celebrate everyday! We celebrate National Pizza Day, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, National Scribble Day, and the list goes on. 

Today, on March 27th, we celebrate National Social Emotional Learning Day! Now that is a tongue twister, try saying that 5 times fast.

National Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Day is all about YOU! That's right Y-O-U ! It is about celebrating the MAGIC that is in YOU as a student and the wonderful ways that you learn and grow every day!

Click the link below labeled, "The Magic is in YOU" and join me while we read a story and practice some of these magic skills. Be sure to send me photos of you completing some of the fun tasks! 

The Magic is in YOU!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Imbimbo

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Almost Friday!

We are almost done with the second week of distance learning and are truly getting into the swing of things! The teachers have done a fabulous job –as have all of you! We have noticed that every family’s situation is different. There are times when children have difficulty finishing their work on the day assigned and other days where they finish quickly. Please know that we understand that this situation brings stress, at different times, to every household. We will continue to handle these unprecedented circumstances with grace, patience, and kindness. If you need extra time or assistance please reach out! Additionally, we have also sent home optional activities for those days when your child needs a little extra. Education has never been one size fits all and one day never looks like the next in any classroom!   Together we will meet this challenge!

Please click on the following subject areas for some fun optional activities from our district Math and Science Supervisors. Enjoy!

Here is a link to my Friday message: https://www.wevideo.com/view/1625470391  

Tomorrow is Scribble Day. If you would like to participate. Here is the link: https://dianealber.com/scribbleday/

Can’t wait to see your scribbles!

Warmly,

Mrs. Healy

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

I’ve added a link to Baby Don’t Go Outside, from LHS graduate, Bailey Grey and her friend Mark Rogers. Both are studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Just a fun parody to lighten this cloudy day!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IaBDiaF9so 

Here are some additional activities from Mr. Bickel our Social Studies Supervisor! Please see his note below.

“I’m going to add this to the Google Classroom, but you get a sneak peek.  Same concept, different theme.  I get "dropped" into different locations around town and kids have to guess where I am.  When they get it right, they get to earn a digital badge and links to the sites I visited. Some sites are recreational, some civic, some cultural and some are historic. In "Survival Games" I get dropped into areas of town heavy with wood, metal or brick.  All good resources for shelter building which appear in games like Minecraft!” 

https://forms.gle/aWi33ChvgQNLT53w6  

Warmly,
Mrs. Healy

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine with the kids at some point today !

I also hope you enjoy the following link to Neil Diamond’s Public Service Announcement.

Sweet Caroline is an old favorite and any Red Sox fan knows it indicates the 7^th Inning Stretch at Fenway. FYI –The Livingston Healys are Yankee fans but our Boston Healys love that other team!!

So listen and smile to this old favorite in honor of  the 7^th day of Remote Learning!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxnETrhOIAE

Please see the optional activities below which have been recommended by Mrs. Baxter! These webcams /sites support curriculum units but may also help with planning future family trips !  I‘ll post a few of my favorite webcams in future notes. Great for rainy afternoons!

Enjoy! 

Hello LPS Families!

During our second week of Remote Learning, it is important to remember, we can connect with the books and articles we read by visiting amazing communities, historical landmarks, museums and other locations around the world from the comfort of our home.

The integrated activities below are optional and are a wonderful way to share the love of reading and social studies with one another!  Try one virtual field trip or try them all! 

Enjoy! - Mrs. Leala Baxter, PreK-6 ELA Supervisor

Activities for Grades PreK-2:  

Activity 1: Social Studies - Communities

What type of community do you live in? Enjoy reading or listening to Giggle, Giggle, Quack and Living on Farms, even watch the video, Home in Three Communities. Then, create your own community...Draw it, describe it using labels (nouns and proper nouns), and don’t forget to identify your community.  Is your community rural, urban, or suburban? To access the activity, click on the link below.

Social Studies - Communities  (Day 4 activity)

Watch a video about different types of communities:

All Kinds of Communities Username: Learning20 & Password: Clifford (see Social Studies folder) 

Take a Virtual Field Trip to a Farm!

FarmFresh360

The Little Farm

Caring for Cows and Nourishing Communities

Egg Farm Field Trips

Activity 2: Social Studies - A Visit to the White House

If you lived at the White House, what pets would you bring? Enjoy reading or listening to Children Make Terrible Pets and Pets at the White House, then visit the Presidential Pet Museum to learn about all the pets owned by each of the U.S. presidents. To access the activity, click on the link below.

A Visit to the White House 

Take a Virtual Field Trip to the White House

Visit the White House Username: Learning20 & Password: Clifford (see Social Studies folder)

Tour of the White House

Activities for Grades 3-6:  Join several authors as they provide virtual field trips that introduce us to where their ideas were born to write their best-selling books.

Activity 1: “Washington’s Secrets Revealed”

Are you interested in discovering secrets about our first president of the United States?  Read or listen to “Washington’s Secrets Revealed” and learn more about our first president by watching the video, “The Life of George Washington.” Continue your journey by creating five fun facts that only you know about you! Consider sharing your facts with your family or friends.  To access the activity, click on the link below. Then, take a virtual field trip to the Museum of the American Revolution - Museum of the American Revolution.

“Washington’s Secrets Revealed” -activity link

Activity 2: Virtual Field Trips!

Tired of being inside your home?  Would you like to take a field trip? Enjoy learning about best-selling books and where the ideas were born to write them!

1)    Join Lauren Tarshis, author of the best-selling “I Survived” book series on a virtual trip to the American Revolution! Did you know that her goal when writing, I Survived the American Revolution, 1776, was to look for details that would bring history to life? To access the American Revolution virtual field trip, click on the link below.

Museum of the American Revolution

2)   Visit the American Museum of Natural History with Brian Selznick, author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. Did you know much of Wonderstruck took place here?

American Museum of Natural History  

3) Join Brian Baldacci, author of The 39 Clues series as he takes a field

trip to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Similar to the adventures of Amy and Dan Cahill, the main characters in The 39 Clues series, join Brain Baldacci’s adventure of seeking clues to learn about history. Click on the link below to join his adventure.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Dear Parents and Guardians!

Reminder:  Report Cards will be posted today for Grades 1-5.

This was a grey start to our second week of distance learning! Hopefully, the children have found something to engage their creativity on this dismal day! One fantastic way for children to express themselves is through drawing, cartooning and doodling.  Diane Alber is the author of a series of books which help children explore their feelings. Her simple illustrations, which remind the children of an emoji or doodle, introduce much deeper messages. I introduced her books at a PTA meeting earlier in the year and we have begun to use them in the classrooms. Titles include A Little Spot of Kindness, A Little Spot of Sadness, A Little Spot of Anger etc. While simple illustrations are utilized, the language and message are appropriate to all children. These books might come in handy as we all move through these upcoming weeks!

Ms. Alber also wrote the Scribble series which uses scribbles as the characters. The illustrations are silly but like emojis, the drawings focus students on facial expression!  The ability to read expression is HUGE in social situations –especially as we get older.

Participation is Harrison Scribble Day is voluntary. Older children can create scribbles for our younger kids and share with siblings, cousins or younger friends through email or with a parents’ help thru social media. If your child wants to participate, please read or listen to one of the books on Youtube. Then just create. I’ll be showing my scribbles during my Friday message. You can send photos of your child’s scribbles to me via email at any time.

*Scribble faces can be drawn on white paper and glued over the scribble or just drawn in black crayon right onto the scribble. No need to purchase anything! Once you read the books you will understand.

You can find Diane Albers’ books on youtube.   

A Little Scribble Spot  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyZFaVBRyXA

I’m Not Just a Scribble 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8go4ZveIcU

Scribble Stones 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmxjQoV-w20

Have a great evening –hopefully better weather tomorrow!

Warmly, Mrs. Healy

If you want to participate in the formal event –please see below.