Nursery/Pre-K Hop-A-Thon Raises $2K for MDA
Posted on March 29th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia Schoolby Tammy Crowe, Lisa Crandall, and Donna Kwiatkowski
Allendale Columbia Nursery and Pre-K students hopped and raised $2,150.00 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the MDA Hop-A-Thon on Wednesday, March 28th. The MDA disability awareness program helps children to learn about awareness, acceptance, and assistance. We were joined this year by Heather Powers, MDA Regional Fundraising Coordinator, who honored us with her praise of the students’ enthusiastic participation.
Our 4th grade friends join us for this special event every year. The 4th graders are the “counters”, and the Nursery and Pre-K students are the “hoppers”. We hop for 2 minutes! This is our class community service project.
Leading up to the project, the class watched some short videos and learned “hands-on” how to move in a wheelchair. We also learned that:
- Everybody is different, nobody is perfect…But all of us are special!
- Our bodies are amazing and can do lots of things. Every person has different abilities.
- When somebody has a lot of trouble doing something — no matter how hard they try or how old they get — they have a “disability”.
- There are many kinds of disabilities. People don’t have disabilities because they are bad or lazy. You can’t “catch” a disability the way you catch a cold.
- Some kids have a disability in their muscles caused by a disease called muscular dystrophy. They might use leg braces or wheelchairs, but they still like to play and be friends.
- Doctors and scientists are working to help kids and adults with muscular dystrophy. We can help, too, by being in the MDA Hop-a-Thon!
Thank you to all of our Nursery & Pre-K “Hoppers”, our 4th grade “counters” and all of the family and friends who sponsored our students.
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Tammy CroweTammy joined Allendale Columbia over 15 years ago working in the Pre-Primary School and Rainbow Room after school program before becoming a pre-kindergarten teacher full-time. Prior to AC, Tammy taught in a variety of educational settings including creative arts, the YMCA, and daycare programs. She's a graduate of SUNY Brockport where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Arts for Children. Tammy was honored with the Virginia and Fred Gordon Chair in Elementary Education in 2007. |
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Lisa CrandallLisa has been working at Allendale Columbia School since 1996, starting in our Admissions Department as the Admissions Assistant as well as a substitute teacher before securing her current role as a Pre-K teacher in 2002. Prior to joining AC she worked at Monroe Community College as the Student Association Secretary where she supervised office operations for the Student Senate, and at Progressive Childcare Center as a preschool teacher. Lisa is a graduate of Nazareth College where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in English Literature with a concentration in Elementary Education. |
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Donna KwiatkowskiDonna has been teaching nursery school at Allendale Columbia for 30 years! Prior to teaching at AC, Donna was a Graduate Assistant at the Early Childhood Research Center at the University of Buffalo while getting her master's degree in Elementary Education with Specialization in Early Childhood Education. She is also New York State certified in nursery through grade six and holds two bachelor's degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology. |
Posted in: Centers for Impact, Fourth Grade, Highlights, Lower School, LS Birches, Nursery, Partnerships, Pre-Primary School, PreKindergarten, The Birches
Creativity Abounds at Evening of the Arts
Posted on March 27th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia SchoolCreativity knows no bounds, as Allendale Columbia School students demonstrated at the biennial Evening of the Arts event on Friday, March 23rd. The exhibition featured over a hundred works of art from students in grades N – 12 displayed throughout the school. This year’s theme was “Art Around the World”.
Honors and Portfolio Seminar Art students plied their craft in the Bruce B. Bates Design and Innovation Lab, previewing their work for the upcoming spring thesis exhibition in April. Senior Madison DeCory appreciated the opportunity to help stimulate artistic creativity in younger students, as she mentioned in an interview with News 8 Rochester: “What we want to do tonight is showcase what we’ve been doing, showcase our talents, and get other students interested in the artwork that we’re doing.”
“It’s a variety of work all the way from photography — we have a black and white darkroom which is incredible for our students to have that experience — to printmaking, painting, drawing, design, digital work, and hands on work,” said Amy Oliveri, AC art teacher and Director of the AC Center for Entrepreneurship. A group of 5th graders even demonstrated their “crankie” from the Lower School musical, “I’m Not Sleepy…Yet!”.
Students working in the Global Engagement Diploma program also participated in a bit of social entrepreneurism, selling handmade baskets from a women’s collective and shade-grown coffee to benefit the program’s partners in El Sauce, Nicaragua.
News 8 Rochester summarized the event on their evening news show.
Posted in: AC in the News, Alumni News, Centers for Impact, Eighth Grade, Eleventh Grade, Entrepreneurship, Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Global Engagement, Highlights, Invent, Kindergarten, Lower School, LS Birches, Middle School, MS Birches, Ninth Grade, Nursery, Partnerships, Pre-Primary School, PreKindergarten, Second Grade, Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, Tenth Grade, The Birches, Third Grade, Twelfth Grade, Upper School, US Birches
Wax Museum Portrays African American Historical Figures
Posted on March 16th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia Schoolby Arielle Gillman and Shari Ellmaker
On Tuesday, March 13th, AC 3rd grade students commemorated African American historical figures with a Wax Museum exhibit.
Click here for more photos and videos from the Wax Museum.
To give a bit of background, we started this project in early February with a discussion about African Americans and their contributions. We gave the students a wide spread of nonfiction books and biographies to explore and read. From there, they chose one person to research further. We supported their learning with whole group instruction on nonfiction text features so they could dig deeper and navigate through headings, bolded text, glossaries, and other research-based features. Students used appropriate-level articles and books to find details pertaining to their person and compiled them on a rough draft.
From there, they conferenced with teachers and peers to collaborate on editing and expanding. Once each student had a wealth of knowledge about their figure, they typed up a final report on Google Docs (check out our “Wax Museum of African American History” bulletin board in the third grade staircase to see their reports).
To prepare for the presentation part of the project, we demonstrated what a “living wax museum” was like, showing them plenty of examples on Youtube and modeling how to freeze like a wax figure before someone comes up to “press play.” At home, students completed displays to go along with their learning and also prepared a thoughtful costume to represent their person.
We are continually impressed with our class’s abilities. They really took the expectations of the project and made them their own. The students really dug deep to find personal details and displayed empathy while learning about African American History. They asked thoughtful questions, made connections, and showed us their growing academic skills throughout the whole project.
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Sharon EllmakerShari has been an educator for over 26 years, and teaching at Allendale Columbia for 19. She has taught second, third, and fourth grade with experience in public school, suburban, inner-city, independent, and college-level settings. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from Bluffton University. |
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Arielle GillmanArielle has been involved in the field of education, either through volunteering, as a college student, or as a teacher, since she was 14 years old. She has taught students in multiple grades in Penfield, Fairport, Webster, and Newark and has also worked at the Mary Cariola Children's Center and The Community Place of Greater Rochester. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Childhood Education from SUNY Fredonia and her Master of Science Degree in Literacy Education from SUNY Geneseo. |
Fearless Friday: Pea Hummus with Mint
Posted on March 9th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia SchoolSuper Chef’s Fearless Friday treat at Lower School lunch today is Pea Hummus with Mint, using peas from Kern Farm through our partner, Headwater Food Hub. The students all liked it, but Chef Laura wasn’t so crazy about the peas, although she did remark on the mint and cayenne pepper flavors that came through.
On Fearless Fridays, four Lower School student volunteers join AC Lunch Lady in Chief Laura Reynolds-Gorsuch, who doesn’t often like vegetables, to try a new vegetable dish created by Super Chef Yessie Roman and give their reviews. The dish is then available to everyone, and you’d be surprised at how many adventurous students try and enjoy these healthy and delicious veggie treats. Make them at home!
Recipe: Pea Hummus with Mint
Ingredients
3 cups fresh or frozen peas (thaw frozen peas; cook fresh peas until they’re cooked, but still firm)
2 cloves garlic – blanched
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
8 mint leaves
1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use ¼ teaspoon if you prefer less spicy hummus)
½ teaspoon ground sea salt
Instructions
Thaw frozen peas or cook fresh peas (make sure they are not mushy)
Peel and blanch garlic cloves in boiling water for 2 minutes
Put peas, garlic, lemon juice, mint leaves, olive oil, cayenne pepper, and sea salt in food processor and blend until it is thick and creamy
Posted in: Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Kindergarten, Lower School, LS Birches, MS Birches, Second Grade, The Birches, Third Grade, US Birches
AC Teams Get Trophies at VEX State Championships
Posted on March 9th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia SchoolOn Sunday, March 4th, 2018, Allendale Columbia Schools hosted the Northern New York State VEX IQ Robotic Championships. Fourteen teams, with team members ranging in age from grade 4 to grade 8, from across Upstate New York participated. Ten trophies were presented at this robotics competition and the Allendale Columbia Lower School teams took home four of them.
Posted in: Centers for Impact, Fifth Grade, Highlights, Invent, Lower School, LS Birches, MS Birches, The Birches
Evening of the Arts Presents “Art Around the World” March 23rd
Posted on March 8th, 2018 by Allendale Columbia School
The festive opening reception for Allendale Columbia School’s Evening of the Arts Biennial will take place Friday, March 23rd, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The exhibition features hundreds of works of art from students in grades N – 12 displayed throughout the school. This year’s theme is “Art Around the World”.
Highlights of the event will include a group of 5th graders demonstrating their “crankie” from the LS musical, “I’m Not Sleepy…Yet!”, and the Honors and Portfolio Seminar Art students will be working in studio locations on campus as a preview for their upcoming spring thesis exhibition in April.
Refreshments will be served. Everyone from the AC community is invited! It is a great chance to socialize with other families and friends while taking in the talent and creativity of our AC students.
Parent volunteers are also needed for the Wolf Den, welcome table, and helping to direct people through the exhibits. Sign up here.
Posted in: Eighth Grade, Eleventh Grade, Fifth Grade, First Grade, Fourth Grade, Highlights, Kindergarten, Lower School, LS Birches, Middle School, MS Birches, Ninth Grade, Nursery, Pre-Primary School, PreKindergarten, Second Grade, Seventh Grade, Sixth Grade, Tenth Grade, The Birches, Third Grade, Twelfth Grade, Upper School, US Birches