A Day of Play…
Cydney
Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth.
The way to find a friend is to be a friend.
Emilia
Your life is a story. Go write it.
Selah
Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.
Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.
Laughter is sunshine,
it chases winter from the human face.
If you want to learn about the world,
then go out in it.
If you are lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.
You’re like a bird, spread your wings and
soar above the clouds.
When given the choice to be kind or to be right,
choose kind.
Shaffer
Time is like your imagination it never stops growing.
What is beautiful is good and
who is good will soon be beautiful.
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.
Keep a green tree in your heart
and a singing bird may come.
I loved to see their transformations. But then one sad day we got news that it was the day that we had to let the butterflies go. I was really sad but when our class got to the park I felt happy for the butterflies, I felt excited. It was very fun to watch them all fly away, all in different directions. They seemed excited to be outside, where they belong.
Julian’s Memory from his Fours Year
The Fours
Rest time was something I loved because I got to sleep/rest during the school day. Also it was the most relaxing part of the day. 1 person actually slept past the end of rest time.
Kindergarden
I loved the 100th day of school when we made a lot of crafts. We made 100 beads necklace, counted to 100, and had bracelets that said, “I can count to 100.” It was so fun.
First grade
I remember the restaurant. It was a great/ fun experience. I was a bartender. That was not fun we hardly did anything. Something funny that happened was Graydon set a pizza on fire!! I was part of the entertainment.
Second grade
I remember Bill dumping the box of snowballs, made out of recycled paper, on my head. I loved it, I also got to start the snowball fights. Having snowball fights was so fun I am going to miss Bill so much.
Third grade
I remember the Lenape museum, it was so fun. Me and Will were explaining the long house. There was to sides the Dutch and the Lenape. I was on the Lenape. Me and Will’s station was right by the entrance.
Fourth grade
I remember making my summer reading poster. I made Captain Underpants, it was so fun and my drawing actually kind of looked like Captain Underpants. I was very proud of my work.
First year: 4’s.
When I started LREI I loved it. All we did was play with blocks and put one and two together sometimes. We did not have homework as well. We just ran around like maniacs for six hours. Poor Diane. If I could tell my past self something it would be, “enjoy this when it lasts, in 4th grade you will know why.”
Kindergarten: Desperate times
In kindergarten I tried to make some friends but in the process I made some enemies as well. At one point I had more friends than enemies so… I was pretty desperate it feel like ½ of the class hated me and ⅛ of the class actually liked me. So I just made books by myself.
1st Grade: Two New Friends
Kindergarten was going pretty bad for me. When I thought things couldn’t get any worse guess what. They got worse I did not like first grade I got the worst part in the restaurant. I realized that I now had two new best friends, Sawyer and Vincent. We had all been together for all 3 years.
2nd Grade: Awesome
Second grade was awesome. We read cool books, there were cool kids, and one awesome teacher. Sawyer, Vincent and I were in the same class together poor, poor Sawyer and Vincent. Sawyer and I went on vacation together over Spring Break, which would start a tradition lasting a while. Our teacher Bill (William Miller) was the best teacher in my opinion. He was always there. Through every hard time, bad hair cut, normal cut, scrape, or times I was hurt on the inside he was there.
3rd Grade
I don’t have anything about third grade to write about but Sawyer Vincent and I were in the same class Again poor, poor Sawyer and Vincent. When we made the Lenape museum I was a rattlewatch I didn’t even now what that was but it sounded cool so I did it.
4th Grade
I loved poetry in fourth grade so let me recite a poem about it;
Fourth Grade, Fourth Grade
What about you
With heroes and plays
There’s so much to do
I will miss you not just you the whole lower school
I am out of things to say but before I go
Promise me you won’t forget this,
Good bye
Kindergarten:
I remember when we went to the Bronx Zoo. It was fun because we got to see a lot of different animals from a nice and cute flamingo to a big and growly bear.
First Grade:
I remember when we did the restaurant and I was a busser. I remember when I had to clean up my sister’s chocolate milk, that we served at the restaurant.
Second Grade:
I remember when we did the block city, we all made different things, but I made the school. For me it was very fun because I loved playing with blocks in second grade.
Third Grade
I remember when we did the Lenape and Dutch museum. It was kind of scary because it was my first day back from vacation and I was sort of unprepared.
Fourth Grade:
I remember when we did the hero’s project/share. It was the best because I got to share work that I was proud of. My exhibit contained: a Malala doll, a school bus, a backpack, a chair and a desk (and a description card).
Diane and Daniel’s 4’s: My memory from the 4’s is letting the butterflies free! We let the butterflies free at Downing playground. Everyone was so happy, but sad to let the butterflies go. They were free and happy butterflies.
Elisabeth and Will’s Kindergarten: My memory from Kindergarten is picking out what chicks we get/picking up the chicks at a farm. Driving up and up with Jasmine, my mom, Ceci, and Jasmine’s mom, up a hill to get the chick eggs. Which ones should we pick but we were running out of time so we picked our chicks. Then drove and drove all the way back to LREI.
Ariane and Sarah’s First Grade: My memory from First Grade is the Restaurant. I’m a “cashier” who delivers the food. People order I deliver. People ask I answer. Back and forth from table to counter, table to counter all day long. All day at the pizza place.
Bill and Shaina’s Second Grade: My memory from Second Grade is snowball fights. Gaby threw a messed up piece of paper at Bill and then it happened, we started collecting crumpled papers. About once every other week we would have a snowball fight. We would dump the bin on top of someones head then started throwing all of the papers everywhere.
Elaine and Julie’s Third Grade: My Third Grade memory is the Lenape and Dutch museum. Creating the ground and props for the fishing station. Very enjoyable to answer so many questions it was also very enjoyable to use our props that we made.
Deborah and Alicia’s Fourth Grade: My Fourth Grade memory is writing so many poems. I started to really enjoy writing poetry and I do believe that I have gotten better at writing poetry. I also enjoyed getting some compliments about my poetry like for example, “You should be a poet when you are older.”
THE FOURS- The one main thing I remember about the fours at LREI is when we got a bunch of little caterpillars. We had the caterpillars for about a month, I think, then after that month they turned into butterflies. The fours was when I Earned that caterpillars turn into butterflies. I loved the butterflies, I loved to see their transformations. But then one sad day we got news that it was the day that we had to let the butterflies go. I was really sad but when our class got to the park I felt happy for the butterflies, I felt excited. It was very fun to watch them all fly away, all in different directions. They seemed excited to be outside, where they belong.
KINDERGARTEN- I think my best memory of Kindergarten was when we got our chicks. What happened was we got the eggs and we waited, and waited, and waited. After some time the chicks hatched out of their eggs. When they came out they looked very adorable. They were very small. The one bad thing about this is I remember one of the chicks passed away. I also remember we named them. The only name I can remember we came up with was, Sleepy.
FIRST GRADE- My favorite part of first grade at LREI was creating the restaurant. It was so fun to cook food, mostly pizza, for everybody. It was also pretty fun to make come up with the food for the restaurant, the name for the restaurant, etc. The thing I remember most about the restaurant though is when there was a fire. It was a little fire on a trey. I’m not exactly sure how it happened. I think the paper on the trey caught on fire. It was very scary though.
SECOND GRADE- In Second Grade our main studies were about the city. We went on lots of field trips, and visited museums about the city. We visited all five boroughs in New York City. And at the end of the year we built our own city, out of paper, cardboard, and other materials. We made residential, comercial pieces of land. We all made a few properties with our small groups. Then at the end, we put them all together and made our own little city.
THIRD GRADE– in third grade there were two main things we studied. These are the Lenape, and the Dutch. After studying these things for a very long time, and learning a lot about these people, we made a museum about them. It was really fun to make. What happened was there were little groups assigned and each group works on a specific thing. For example, my group worked on the dutch beds. I worked in the dutch section. There was also a Lenape section. Where they talked about the Lenape. It was really exciting to get to share everything we had learned that year and shared it with everyone.
FOURTH GRADE – Practically all year long, we’ve been studying immigration. We made slideshows, read books, and listened to oral histories, all leading up to our immigration play. This was my highlight for the year because it was exciting to act for my first time ever. It was particularly fun for me because my scene was really funny and it was cool when the whole audience laughed at me.
I remember when Daniel told me that capital E’s only had three lines. Not a bunch, like what I was doing. From then on I remembered that.
Kindergarten:
I remember when we went to the Jane’s Carousel with our fourth grade buddies, I remember thinking “I’m so small and they are so big!
First Grade:
I remember when we were trying to think of a name for our restaurant, and then I learned we would vote. I remember thinking “This is so fun! I’m so big!” Then, our name was announced, and I was like, “darn!”
Second Grade:
I remember making the block town. It was pretty big and I was proud and happy. I guess I was a bit rude because I said “OUR’S is the best!”
Third Grade:
I remember when I might had strep throat the day before the Lenape/Dutch museum and I was really annoyed. Turned out I had strep. I was mad, but I got a video of some classmates.
Fourth Grade:
I remember being so freaked out at the beginning of the year about doing the play. I thought that is world be so hard. But it wasn’t.
Fours
Doing the little skits that we did in the fours was one of my favorite parts. I was in a group with Buster and Will. At that time I was going through a huge Little Mermaid phase, just like my Boba Tea phase I’m going through right now. So, of course, I was the Little Mermaid, Buster was Hulk, and I sort of forgot what Will was! Oops! But it was a long time ago.
Kindergarten
The chicks in kindergarten were really cute. They were soft and fluffy and SOOOOO adorable!!! I was scared that if I held them they would poop all over me, but when I did pick one up it just sat there in my palm and I loved that little chick! Then about ten minutes after I picked my chick up, one of the other chicks pooped in Ivy’s hand!
First Grade
My favorite memory from First Grade was the food court that my class made. I was in the smoothie group, and we sold out pretty quick. Lucie, Sadie’s sister, bought so many smoothies and our group was so happy. Then right before the food court closed she told us she just bought so many because she wanted to waste her mom’s money.
Third grade
My favorite part of Third Grade was the museum. I did the windmill in the New Amsterdam part of the museum with one of my BEST friends! We got real dried corn and made a spinning windmill. Then we let all of the little kids smash the dried corn and spin the windmill and they loved it. For the older kids we talked about what it was like to be a miller in New Amsterdam.
Fourth grade
Fourth grade was one of my favorite years. There were some ups, the play, friends, the geometry, and more. And there were some downs, how it rained on Founders Day, and how it’s coming close to the last day of school. But despite all of those downs I loved fourth grade and it was awesome!!!
4’s
In the 4s a memory that I have is letting the butterflies go. I remember after we had the caterpillars came out we had the butterflies for 2 days and then we had to let them go, we took them to Downing and let them go. Then the next day I remember we all begged to go and try and see them. And we thought that we did.
Kindergarten
I remember when we got the ducks and they were in the thing that keeps them warm. Every morning there was a line to go and see them and if they hatched. Finally one morning they started coming out and everyone was freaking out before all of them hatched we decorate a box for them and then set up everything. And then over the time that we had them we got to take them home for a night.
First grade
A memory that I have from first grade is going to a fire station and we got to try on the big fire suits and when it was my turn I put the whole thing on and I feel over because it was so heavy and then I could n’t get out so finally they had to take it off when I was on the floor and then I was sweating from trying to get up and off the floor.
2nd grade
My memory from 2nd grade are the snowball fights bill would just at any time just start throwing snowballs and we would have thought them at each other. All the balls where full size recycle paper. Finally all the kids would always scream and then at the end of the year we had a big snowball fight at Houston.
3rd grade
A memory that I have from 3rd grade is after art and shop we came back up to the classroom and it was transformed into a boat. Next we had to say goodbye to our families and then we went on the boat because we were coming to Manhattan to try and live for 6 years with the Lenape.
4th grade
A memory that I have from 4th grade is going to Ellis island and dressing up as immigrants and we had to answer questions and that was hard because the questions were on the spot and you had to answer fast. But it was worth it because we got in.
4s, “Beth and Jen’s class”
I remember when we let the butterflies free. We got caterpillars and watched them grow. Then we let them out in Downing.
Kindergarten, “ Alisa and Sarah’s class.
I remember when we had ducklings. When the ducklings hatched we practiced holding them. Then we got to take them home. When I brought them home they were very cute. We put them in the bathtub and let them swim. They pooped all over it.
First grade, “Sarah and Lea’s class”
I remember the restaurant. I was a bartender although I wanted to be manager. One day we were working and Graydon set the pizza on fire but luckily that day Sarah was wearing wooden high heels so she stomped on it. And the fire went out.
Second grade, “Bill and Shayna’s class”
I remember snowball fights with paper. There was a cardboard box and we would fill it with crumpled up paper that we did not use. Then sometimes we would dump the box out and have snowball fights.
Third grade, “ Jessie and Wing Mai’s class”
I remember the Lenape and Dutch museum. I was a farmer and I painted a horse that June helped me with. I had corn and tools.
Fourth grade, “Deborah and Alicia’s class”
The play. It took a long time but I would say it went well. It was fun and easy to memorize the lines.
Kindergarten was my first year. I remember when we made rooms in the school out of shoe boxes. I remember that we made a map of the school so we could choose the room we wanted to make. We made blueprints for our rooms. My room was the music room – the music room is a bit different, though. For example, there were two chairs at the front of the room and there used to be a big piano instead of the small one, but otherwise it’s the same. I also remember we had chicks, one of the chicks died, though; that was sad. (It died because it was premature.) But otherwise, the chicks were fun!
In first grade we made a restaurant, we set up our classroom entirely different. I also remember that our restaurant had entertainment. I was a hostess and I was very busy at first, and then when everyone was seated I was SO bored. Vincent was the host and he made up a game; we took turns playing it. We also had a bit of excitement when there was a mini-fire. I also remember our class guinea pigs Calipso and Miss Mixsolot. We got to vote what animal we got and they won!
In second grade we made city. (It was make-believe, of course.) We made a bridge and everything. We each made a block. I made a block with a school, a pool and a police station. ( I don’t remember what else I put on my block. I remember we got to play in the city when we finished it.
In third grade we made a Lenape and Dutch museum. I was on the Dutch side and in the hearth group. The other kids that were in the hearth group was Grace, Sydney and Tyler. I also remember when we did our ideas to make the city a better place. My partner was Ziva we made a robot that planted seeds.
In fourth grade we did the play. I was Josefina in the Esperanza Rising group. It was fun to pretend to cook. It was really fun to make the skit. It was fun to do a lot of things for the play, but Charissa was right, so parts were really boring.
4s
In the 4s my favorite time was when we got to go over to the other class and we all got to play together. Then when all the teachers would say that we had to leave we would all soy no! And then hug our friends and say goodbye and then leave.
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten my favorite thing to do was to cook, every Thursday we would cook something as a class. Also I love cooking so that was really fun.
First Grade
In first grade the most fun thing that happened was definitely the restaurant because I was in the smoothie part and I love smoothies! So I got to do something that I liked in school and that is fun.
Second Grade
In second grade the best thing was Bill. Bill. Bill. Bill was soooo funny and he always made us laugh! He always had a joke in his head. Also the city made out of blocks was fun. (And he gave us candy.)
Third Grade
In third grade my favorite thing was the farm trip. We walked cows, slept with friends and had fun. Also Jessie was really great!
Fourth Grade
This year the most fun thing that we did was the farm trip and the play. You know from the thing from third grade what the farm trip was like but the play was sooooo fun! I was Hâ and I was 10 so I pretty much nailed that! And my favorite thing was I was mean to my siblings and trust me I have had practice. But my best thing was I refused to do all the things my mom told me to do and that was easy. Another fun thing about fourth grade is sometimes when a lot of people do all of their homework they all get “non sugar” lollipops.
4s
Having my first pizza at this school in the fours is my first memory. It was so good. It tasted so cheesy. It is the best pizza I ever had. Now I am bored of it.
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten I liked a rest time. We played pattern maker the whole time. It was so fun. Everyone had a good time.
First Grade
I loved first grade. One moment stuck out to me. It was when I had a crossword puzzle. It was impossible. One very important letter was missing! It was so funny when I found out.
Second Grade
I loved second grade even more than first. For the first time the teacher, Bill, was my best friend. My memory was the first time Bill called me Crosby. Everyone laughed even Bill laughed. Bill made a deal. I could call Bill Tasha if he called me Crosby.
Third Grade
I didn’t like third grade that much. My memory is the first time seeing Dr. Art.E.Fact. She looked pretty funny. She was obviously our teacher. She barged into the classroom.
Fourth Grade
Last, but the best fourth grade. The fourth grade play is my memory. My group did the first act. It was nerve racking. It turned out amazing when I saw my mom. It also was so fun when I saw my brother talking to his friends.
Kindergarten: I remember when everybody in my class had to turn the eggs so they would hatch into chicks. I also remember turning the eggs for a week or maybe two. Finally they eggs hatched in June and they were cute, except one because he died.
First Grade: I remember when we did the restaurant and I was a chef. Then I made, well I remember, pizza and salad. I also burned my arm.
Second Grade: I remember when we, I think, went to the NY Skyline. I was partnered up with someone.
Third Grade: I remember when we did the Lenape Museum. The whole LS came to the Lenape Museum and our parents. I was in the Hunting Station with Patrick and Skylar.
Fourth Grade: I remember doing the immigration play and I played Papa from Esperanza Rising. My parents and the LS came to the play.
What I liked in 3rd grade: I liked making the Lenape house because it was fun to be creative. I also loved it because we got to paint a lot.
In 4th grade: I loved making my Hopes and Dreams bird and egg at the beginning of the year. I also liked looking back. I completed one of my goals and my goal was to get better handwriting. Math is awesome and I am better at it now too.
Kindergarten
In kindergarten I remember the ducklings we had. I also remember the hamsters. At recess we would go to different playground every day. Like on Monday we would go to the Roof. On Tuesday we would go to Meneda. And on Wednesday we went to Downing.
First grade
I remember in first grade we made a restaurant for our restaurant study. In the restaurant there were smoothies, pizza, and chocolate chocolate chip waffles.In first grade was the first grade we had homework but we only had it on Tuesday and Wednesday. For our restaurant study in first grade me and Penelope went to JG Melon and got free burgers and fries.
Second grade
I liked second grade because I got to meet new people like Zara and play charades during grammar with Mala. When I was in second grade, I LOVED my teacher Tasha. Second grade it was like a new year a new time to shin.
Third grade
We studied the Lenape and Dutch and made a museum out of it. It was my first time going to a farm for the farm trip and spend the night with my friends. At the farm, there was a hay jump where we all jumped into hay. There were only a few animals on this farm (2 goats, a few sheep and a tadpole pond). The farm grew vegetables and plants.
It was the first time I met my reading teacher Charissa and with Charissa, my group learned about dogs. We learned if their tail wagged to the left, they are worried but if it wags to the right, they are excited. Another trip we went on was to Phillipsburg Manor which was a plantation where slaves worked. We also went to an old Lenape village in New Jersey where we were able to see how they lived and hunt.
Fourth grade
In fourth grade we learned about immigration. During our study of immigration, we put on an immigration play. Before the immigration play, we went to Ellis Island on a ferry and some of us dressed as immigrants to learn more about immigration. On Ellis Island, we learned where immigrants first came to America. Later on in the year, we went to the Statue of Liberty and my group went up the pedestal with my mom. There was another farm trip but it was not the same farm as the third grade farm and there wasn’t a hay jump either. The fourth grade farm was an organic farm and there were animals there.
Kindergarten:
Chicks
The chicks were very fun because we got to take them home for a weekend if we wanted to. They were also fun because of the incubator and seeing them hatching was great. They were adorable and we all had a favorite. My favorite was on that I called spot. This is because it was all tan and yellow with a brown spot on his back.
First Grade:
The restaurant
The restaurant was an unforgettable memory not only because it was very fun but because of the exciting event of the fire! It was also one of the first times I played the cello in front of an audience. I was the host and it was shocking to see how much money we made. It was also fun to be waiter when someone was absent. Making the plates was also a fun part.
Second Grade:
The Food Drive
I liked helping to organize the St. John’s Food Pantry canned food drive at LREI. It was fun because we got to count how much money we made. It was also fun because we got to go to St. John’s food pantry and help them out a bit.
Third Grade:
Lenape Museum
The Lenape Museum was a great experience because we got to pretend to be in a different time period and be doing the things that people in that time period would be doing. I also had a good time learning about all of the different aspects of Lenape and Dutch life. And lastly, it was a new experience to be in the other class and be with people from the other class.
Fourth Grade:
Everything
So, the happy memories of Fourth Grade were: the Farm Trip, news articles, all field trips, the Fourth Grade Play, everything in Math, everything in Tech, all specials, everything in Reading, and EVERYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!!!!
I liked Lower School because we learned, we had fun, and more.
In the fours we had butterflies, rest time, and when we had our stuffed animals. I also liked the time in the morning when we had music on and our parents were there. Another one of my favorite things to do in the Fours was the mini doll area because it was fun.
I liked Kindergarten because we had rest time, and we made the apple headed people. I also liked when we went to a zoo and saw the eagle that we made out of clay.
I liked First Grade because we made the restaurant and we had the 100th day of school activities. I remember 3 of the stations with the 100 cheerio necklace, the origami things, and the workout thing. I also liked when we learned how to write lowercase letters and words.
In Second Grade I really liked the study of NYC. I liked how we made the cardboard box city city, the information of our block, the picture that we all made that we could choose which place we wanted to make it from, and I chose central park, and of course the paper snowball fights.
In Third Grade I loved the study of the Lenape and the Dutch, I loved the farm trip with like six hours of free time. But the study of the Lenape and Dutch was still the best. I also loved the team X thing because it was so fun and everybody had a lot of energy when we did it.
In Fourth grade I loved the the study of immigration and all of the field trips we went on like Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, the Tenement Museum, and more. And most of all I loved the play. I also loved when all of the visitors came like the maybe new principals, and the people who wrote books. Finally I loved the news article interviews.
My favorite memory of second grade is read aloud because all we had to do was sit and listen and back then I didn’t like or want to do anything because I was lazy. Another favorite memory from second grade is the third grade teacher, Elaine, used to come into our classroom to do drama. The last favorite memory of second grade is lunch time being 12:00 because that is an early lunch.
My favorite memory from third grade is doing more drama with Elaine, Another favorite memory from third grade is doing the Manahatta museum. The last favorite memory from third grade is cursive bootcamp with Charissa.
A favorite memory from fourth grade is doing words of the day. Another favorite memory is doing the play. The last favorite memory from fourth grade is art and shop.
4’s (Beth+Jen’s Class)
In the 4’s I remember meeting new people like Delaney, who I met then, and was one of my good friends. I also remember making Flubber and having big red table that would open up and inside would be Flubber! I remember it was really fun and we would use it a lot for choice time. I also remember there being a play area with dolls that were babies and we would fight over who got it because everybody wanted it.
Kindergarten (Alisa+Sarah’s Class)
In Kindergarten I remember having an older buddy, Mia, Zoe’s older sister, and it was nice because you got gifts and they read to you and doing art and projects with them and I do remember going to Jane’s Carousel with my older buddy and I remember taking a bus ride with them. I also remember hatching ducks and I remember taking them home and putting them in the bathtub. I also remember that one of the ducks didn’t come out of its egg too well and it was sick and died. Then we buried it right outside of Downing Park and put the duck in a box and it was SO sad.
First Grade (Sarah+Leah’s Class)
In First Grade I remember making the restaurant called the Star Cafe and I was a waiter and I had to serve firefighters, which to me was embarrassing. I also remember there was a tiny fire in the kitchen heating up a pizza so then Sarah starting stepping on it because she was wearing wooden high heels and everyone was getting worried. I also remember we painted a star on the floor because it was called Star Cafe and then that night when the custodians came to clean the room they cleaned off the star, so that was a disappointment.
Second Grade (Bill+Shayna’s Class)
I remember in Second Grade having snowball fights made from paper we didn’t need and crumpling them up into balls and then in morning meeting Bill would get the big box of them and throw them on top of somebody’s head and I remember he put them on top of my head once:) Also, we got A LOT OF EXTRA RECESS because I remember staying out past the third graders and to the fourth graders time at recess. I think it was one of my favorite years also because we walked the whole Brooklyn Bridge WHILE IT WAS RAINING and learned North, South, East and West. It was fun walking the Brooklyn Bridge except that it was raining. Also when we were walking along the Hudson River people kept saying “Can we take the subway?” and “I’m tired!” but then we walked 5 miles without anyone realizing it and Bill was keeping it a secret. Since I was in the front of the line and a few other people, Bill told us and we were so surprised. It didn’t even feel like that long of a walk, but when we heard that, it was actually a REALLY long walk.
Third Grade (Jessie+Wing Mai+Caroline’s Class)
I remember in Third Grade learning about the Lenape and Dutch and using our time machines to go back in time like when the Lenape and Dutch were settling in. I also remember I was in the Dutch museum and me and Gaby did the Wall, which was on Wall Street, and we would talk about it and how the Dutch and Lenape would come and trade there. It was fun making all the things that we would trade, but it was also fun making the gate separating the Dutch and Lenape because we made a lock on it and I remember people would always break it because they would play with it. I also remember we were doing math story problem and we would use the character Muffle’s Truffle’s because we were doing equations on how many could fit in a box because we were learning area. And since it was Muffles Truffles Caroline, our teacher, made homemade truffles for us. They were really good:)
Fourth Grade (Deborah+Alicia’s Class)
In Fourth Grade in the beginning of the year we made birds out of paper and wrote out hopes and dreams on them. We decorated them and used watercolor on them. It was really fun to make. Then later on in the year we made eggs that had our new hopes and dreams on them and we made little nests for them too and watercolored them too. I also really enjoyed meeting our Kindergarten buddies and mine was, Emmie, and I really like her as my buddy. It was fun doing activities with them and doing art with them. I also really enjoyed making the play and especially performing it was the best part. I think doing poetry I also really liked and we did it a lot this year and I think my favorite poem is my Carlos Vegas poem. And I liked the farm trip a lot because there was tetherball and being in the bunks at night was fun too:) I also REALLY LIKED going on the hike because it was steep and at the end we ran through the woods and found our own way back. The hike was REALLY FUN and just being outside was fun. I also liked the burritos there because they were amazing and the apple pie things were delicious for dessert. And I remember at the farm trip the first night when they announced how loud and noisy our bunks were we were got a bad score, so then the night after we tried really hard and were actually quiet and then, they didn’t announce how the bunks did! Also on the bus ride there it took like 4 hours because in the beginning the bus driver was going to the third grade farm, and THEN the bus driver went to somebody’s house, and THEN finally we got there, but we were late. And the bus had no air conditioning so it was REALLY hot. Since when we were on the bus for so long, Deborah, our teacher had emergency gummy worms and gave them to us because it was an emergency! So then we got gummy worms on the bus because it was an emergency. I think Fourth Grade was also one of my favorite years.
Something that people could do is take five to ten minutes out of their day and sit down and think about things they are thankful for. I think that that would help them because my mom told me that people who do this have a happier day.
This week we learned about some of the traditions of the Wampanoag Tribe. In an article we read, Gladys Widdiss, a tribal elder, described how the Wampanoag experience thankfulness, “Every day is a day of thanksgiving for the Wampanoag.” With that thought in mind, fourth graders considered some of the things they are thankful for in their everyday lives.
Will: “I am thankful for my family. I am also thankful for my pets. Our family can celebrate it by cooking and eating a meal together. I can celebrate with my pets by dancing with them.”
Lila: “I am thankful for my family, my school, my room, my food, and my trampoline…I could celebrate my thankfulness by just thinking about how thankful I am…I know everyday when I wake up to my mom sitting in my room I should be thankful for someone to care so much about me that they sit in my room and wait.”
Nico: “I am thankful for having a roof over my head and food and running water. We could go around the table and say what we are thankful for.”
Shaffer: “I am thankful for an amazing home and going to a great school. The way I can celebrate is by being more thoughtful. I can listen more to my mom. I can hug my dad more. I can listen more carefully and respect my teachers.”
Paloma: “I am thankful for my family. I can show that by taking care of them. I can also show that by doing stuff for them like washing the dishes or folding up the clean laundry. I can care for them in simple ways like holding the door or passing something they need to them…”
Vincent: “One way we could celebrate is by having food, not just having food but also having family/company over while eating. I could celebrate this by maybe holding hands and singing the song we sang at the farm….Another way that I could celebrate is by just walking around the house/apartment and thinking how lucky I am to have this.”
Ziva: “I am thankful for food…a warm cozy home…my family…my friends….A way that I celebrate is eat berries when they are in season.”
Julian: “I am thankful that my parents are really good at cooking…I can celebrate being thankful for that by saying a prayer every time I eat a meal, kind of like what we did at the farm. I can always thank my parents for what they do for me. I can give people who are homeless food from my home.”
Selah: “I might celebrate by praying. Another way is singing. My last way is dancing.”
Skylar: “I am thankful for my family and three dogs because my dogs are so cute. I love my family because they give me a home to live in and we make really good food on Thanksgiving.”
Cydney: “ I am thankful for school. I would celebrate it by always paying attention and focusing. I am thankful for my family. I would celebrate them by spending time with them.
June: “…On Thursday, I am thankful for my kitty because that is the day of the week we got him. I celebrate by playing with him and cuddling him.”
Penelope: “Things that I am thankful for are my family, food, friends, my house, my life, my school, earth, art, soccer, music, me, my personality, health, more that what I need, electronics, no disabilities, fresh air, fresh water, skiing and books. Something that people could do is take five to ten minutes out of their day and sit down and think about things they are thankful for. I think that that would help them because my mom told me that people who do this have a happier day.”
Zara: “My dog…my dog is fun and keeps me entertained. I probably wouldn’t be so interactive without my dog.”
Sawyer: “I am thankful for being alive so I’ll play outside…I am thankful for my parents. I might show them that by hugging them.”
Dante: “I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for my family….I am thankful for peace. I am thankful for each day.”
Lily: “I am thankful for my family and how I will celebrate that is by caring for them and loving them.”
Ivy: “One way I celebrate things daily is I help my family. I help by setting the table, feeding my dog, giving my dog water, and making them feel good.”
Fours
Sarah: Fours Memories. I remember in the fours k when we were sorting a variety of buttons. Different colors, shapes, and sizes, but still the same inside. Like us.
Bayo: 4s: A memory I have from the 4s is when it was the last day of school, it was my first year here. It was time for pick up and my mom was picking me up. As soon as she got there, Diane and Melanie’s fours, and it was time to leave, I broke out in tears because I was young and I was never going to see Melanie again and I was just too emotional in general. Also I thought I was never coming back to the school but I didn’t realize it was just summer break.
Cy: As I walk into my 4s classroom for the first time and I see all the new faces. I recognize one and begin my nervous stroll toward him. Later in the year we become best friends. I always loved stories. I pour my thoughts out onto that piece of paper. I write until my hands feel sore. I was always a big story-teller but not like this…
Kindergarten
Giselle: My kindergarten memory is …. We were at recess then the clouds started crying. Down down the teardrops went down the shed to the ground. The ground was soggy like a sponge in a bathtub. Then everyone yells “ Take cover!” We all ran in the shed to hide from the rain and that is my kindergarten story!
Henry: In Kindergarten I remember having no homework. I remember bringing home chickens from kindergarten and playing with chickens for the first time at LREI!
Alejandro: My memory in first grade is everyone thought homework would be amazing and literally everyone was cheering when we first got homework. The first homework was a math game, even though that’s easy homework, everyone that said it was fun the next day, was lying.
Cece: In first grade I remember that we made a restaurant. At the restaurant I was the maitre d. I got so excited because a matradie my first option and got to greet people and I love greeting people.
Hanako: I remember in first grade when we heard we wouldn’t be getting nap time, we wanted to go back to Kindergarten. When we heard we were getting homework, we wanted to go back to kindergarten even more. It would take magic, but we could still try.
Second Grade
Saffron: I remember in second grade Maggie, Macy and I, had matching coats, big and orange with fur. Now it is too small for me.
Bo: In second grade, we learned a ton of information. We learned literally you could learn about the Brooklyn Bridge. Here’s a fact, John Roebling came up with the idea to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Also, Chester Arthur, the president at the time, walked across the bridge when it opened.
Harley: I remember studying food and herbs with Rehan and Elodie, and we brought back dragon fruit for the class. And at the end of the study, we made dumplings, rice and tea. I didn’t like the tea that much, and I took all of the filling out of the dumpling, but the rice was amazing. I really like rice. I remember having around 3 servings.
Palma: In third grade we had the Lenape study and share. We studied tribes from long ago and their lives. We made a museum with different stations that taught people about different parts of Lenape life.
Sebastian: I loved being a part of the Lenape and Dutch museum because it teaches people about the Lenape and Dutch, I love teaching people things. I was teaching people about the Dutch with Arlo and we were talking about the Dutch door, we made a really cool door knocker that was a lion.
Sonia: I remember making moccasins, it was so much fun because I love crafts and at the same time as doing something I love, I was learning about the Lenape. The moccasins were really interesting because they were so different from what I am used to like sneakers, but they still work.
Theo: In third grade I remember learning everything about the Lenape, Learning about the ancient world is awesome. I remember going walking down Wall Street and imagining all of the flora and fauna that was there before.
Fourth Grade
Arlo: My favorite moment in 4th grade was when we worked on the play. I remember when I had to change my name from Joe Johnson to Jim Johnson, the reason I had to change my name is because Joe Johnson is already a basketball player for the Houston Rockets.
Libi: As I walked in the shining glass doors, I had this feeling of a spark in my heart. Knowing that this will be my final year of lower school… I’m finally here. I remember a blond curly haired woman with blue glasses and a smile on her face. Welcome to fourth grade she said and shook my hand. And then on June 12, 2018 I say goodbye and hello.
Macy: I remember when we walked out the doors of the theater. Parents and kids watching every move we made. We started singing America and walked up the stage. The play “This is Our America” started. Lights, sounds of laughter. We amazed the crowd with all the information we know. The part of the play I am most proud of is how the scenes connected with each other. I felt like that it was powerful that we want to make change, when The Children’s March is talking about how kids made change in 1963 and then we can make a change today.
Salutations, As fourth graders, you encountered Words Of The Day almost every morning in morning meeting. We have an exciting and absurd surprise for you, 37 new vocabulary words to be mastered over the summer! Rumor has it your parents are enthusiastic and benevolent supporters of the WOTD program and thoroughly enjoy quizzing you at the dinner table. This our gift to your grown ups as well.
WOTD | Definition | Example |
Alejandro (adjective) | humorous, witty | After reading the news, the student wrote an illustrated article that was not only on point, it was also very alejandro. |
Adrian (noun) | To make tremendous progress | The artist could not believe how much adrian he made on his sculpture in such a short period of time. |
Arlo (verb) | To speak up with a fresh idea | Once I fully understood the topic, I arloed and inspired my classmates. |
Atticus (noun) | A sense of fairness, justice | The protesters stood silently to send a message of atticus for all. |
Bayo (noun) | A strong force, power, that shines brightest when engaging with injustice | May the bayo be with you. |
Bo (verb) | To build with creativity and enthusiasm | The innovative engineer boed a mechanism to raise the wreck of the Titanic. |
Cece (noun) | A sweet layer or coating that can be added to just about anything | She was having a terrible time until her friend brought some cece into her day. |
Clyde (noun) | A beautiful piece of art | The tourists flocked to The Whitney to see the magnificent clydes on display. |
Cy (verb) | To investigate, seek answers | The super sleuth cyed for hours and eventually pieced the clues together. |
Dorsey (verb) | To think deeply, ponder | Aristotle sat down in a nice quiet, space to dorsey up some new ideas. |
Elodie (adjective) | Happy, elated, proud | The child felt so elodie about finishing her 100 page story. |
Giselle (noun) | Beautiful language | The teachers kept talking about how much giselle the author used in the story. |
Hanako (noun) | A specific form of poetry which typically includes surprising metaphors and juicy adjectives. | The sun filtering through her window, inspired the child to compose a hanako. |
Harley
(adjective) |
Thoughtful, caring | It was not surprising that the whole class respected their harley classmate. |
Henry (verb) | To think outside of the box | The group was not getting anywhere but then he henried with an interesting new idea. |
Hudson (verb) | To think from the perspective of others | Being able to hudson is an important skill to have if you want to be a good writer. |
Libi (verb) | To be inquisitive | The candidate wasn’t prepared for the in depth libi’ing by the media. |
Lucy (verb) | To sing one’s heart out | The popstar felt so moved by her audience’s attention that she lucied like she’d never lucied before. |
Macy (verb) | To make order out of chaos | The process seemed hectic but the students macied through to produce an amazing play. |
Maggie (verb) | To speak convincingly, believably | The actress maggied so eloquently to the audience that they really enjoyed her performance. |
Max (adjective) | Precise, accurate, detailed | The world map was so max that the students need look no further to finish their geography work. |
Nazir (verb) | To use feeling and emotion in performance | Under the starry sky, the student nazired his harmonica beautifully. |
Oliver (adverb) | With energy and a great sense of fun | At recess, while the sun shone brightly, the children played Bounce Out oliverly. |
Olivia (verb) | To produce a pleasantly unexpected outburst of volume | The seemingly quiet Ellis Island inspector oliviaed a hearty “Welcome to America” to the arriving immigrants. |
Palma (adjective) | To be in tune with the natural world | I feel so palma when I’m outside. |
Quinn (verb) | To persist, try several strategies until succeeding | The way she quinned was an inspiration to all. |
Rehan (verb) | To bide one’s time until it is the exact right time to act | The tennis player rehaned until just the right moment before serving an ace! |
Romy (verb) | To brighten a room | She wanted to romy the room so she pulled back the curtains to let in the sunshine. |
Saffron (adjective) | To be fearless, courageous | The saffron lioness strutted across the vast savannah. |
Sarah (noun) | Of or with many perspectives | The author was able to write with great sarah and produce a novel of enormous complexity. |
Sebastian
(adjective) |
Passionate, with fervor | The sebastian chef reworked his recipes over and over until he made the perfect salmon dinner. |
Sonia (noun) | An underlying power not to be overtaken | The activists channeled all of their sonia into the protest and succeeded in creating change. |
Stella (adverb) | With a quick wit and sharp sense of humor | The comedian recounted the story so stellaly that the audience cracked up. |
Tallulah (verb) | To join a team and integrate seamlessly | Although the team had only just met, they tallulahed immediately and played like they had been working together for years. |
Tate (noun) | When eyes light up with the realisation of a connection | Her face was full of tate when she finished reading the last chapter and her questions about the characters were answered. |
Theo (adjective) | Happy go lucky | The boy was so theo that he never let minor problems ruin his cheerful demeanor. |
William (verb) | To score maximum points | The way the NBA player williamed in the final minutes was fierce. |
With this exuberant vocabulary we are not complacent, indifferent, or reluctant, are we! On the contrary, on the penultimate day of fourth grade, there is still the opportunity to take initiative.
After a year of exquisite and relevant vocabulary, perseverance and marcusing, we wish you a dan summer full of deborah. A handy tip for fifth grade: use your best shelby in everything you do or you may risk being charissa’ed!
Students have been working hard on end the year reflections. Below is a sneak preview (of portions) of their reflections sprinkled with photographs documenting our wonderful year together. The full reflection will be included in the year-end progress report in late June. We are very proud of these outgoing Fourth Graders! What a year!!
Alejandro: At the end of this school year I am most proud of my poetry. I feel like I have grown as a poet and I’ve grown better senses of what’s around me and how to describe it. Now I think of poems I could write in my head sometimes, because I observe my surroundings closely.
Arlo: I noticed I improved in math because we are learning more challenging math, like division and fractions (I like to use the U.S algorithm to reason through problems). Also, I think I have improved my writing because of google drive. I have improved by writing faster and better.
Bayo: Some of my favorite projects that I’ve made through the year are my letter to Avery, my Collaborative Flag that I made in art to show everyone in the world is welcome here, my Powerpoint for gun control, my Statue of Liberty article, Immigrant Persona, Wonder homework, Ai Weiwei Gilded Cage article and probably most of all, my Rubik’s cube solving robot even though the programing didn’t work. The reason I’m proud of it even though it didn’t work is because I still built it and it still looks pretty cool.
Bo: I can use what I learned in school for things outside of school for:
Math, I can use with just about anything.
Social Studied/facts, I can impress people with my facts.
P.E. I can use skills when having fun.
Play, I can use talking skills for things later in life for say, a job interview.
Cece: At the end of my Fourth Grade year I am most proud of: how my poetic language expanded, my news article, reading and the piece of writing that we wrote in the persona of a tenement inspector. One of my favorite poems that I wrote was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory poem. Two of my favorite pieces of writing are the Gilded Cage article and the Tenement Inspector paragraphs that I wrote in the persona of a tenement inspector. Those where my favorite because I thought they had the most meaning.
Cy: This year has been a wonderful year and I have learned so much. I have accomplished a great deal of things and I am sad to leave the lower school. Goodbye to all of the great teachers and hello to a new way of learning. I am proud of so many of the things that I’ve done but here are a few. I am proud of my current interpretation of the Statue of Liberty that I made with my friends Theo, Bo and Alejandro. It is an eagle escaping a cage and that represents freedom. I also think that I have gotten way better at my poetry. I include lots of metaphors and beautiful language. I found out a lot about my research topic which was the 1963 Birmingham, Alabama children’s marches. I enjoyed presenting my knowledge to the class after all of the resources I had used. It was a fun way of using my loud voice.
Hanako: I think I learned a lot in science, too because we study some of the same things each year and each year I get something different out of it. I also got better at note taking because the teachers made us practice with articles and told us to THINK THINK THINK!!!!! I also got better at eating more types of food at lunch. 🙂
…My favorite part of fourth grade is that you can use creativity in so many different subjects.
Harley: I like current events because I like learning about problems in the world, and what people are doing to fix them. I don’t think this counts as curriculum, but i also like planning for the play, because it feels like it is led by the students, and if the students aren’t ready, then the whole play will seem not rehearsed.
…Through Social Studies, I have learned that everyone is human, and someone’s appearance does not affect their personality.
Henry: I am most proud of the 2 books I read, Project 1065 and Code of Honor and my reading check-ins for them because I really like the author. I am also proud of my farm poem and my Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Poem because they are different and unique.
Giselle: In DS4 I have learned that if you work together you can accomplish anything. That you can find fun in everything. You can think beyond your dreams. You can get help and be corrected, (this is for you Charissa.)…This has been the best year of my Lower School experience. It has been smooth stream down the bumpy rocks. Sometimes the rocks are too big, but we always push through.
Libi: I have learned that to learn best I need to be detailed, have a full stomach and experience the thing we are learning about. Like when we learned about the Statue of Liberty, we went to see it. Once I saw it, it had a very strong effect.
Macy: This year I am most proud of the math story problems about Ellis Island that we made in math lab. I am most proud of this because it was my first activity that included three subjects, that are, Math Lab, Tech and Social Studies (the Ellis Island part). This was fun because I got to step in to some of the math problems immigrants had when they went through Ellis Island.
…Here is a thing that I learned outside of school and that help me in school. That thing is, “Every mistake you make helps you learn.”
Palma: My favorite part of the curriculum was social studies. To be more specific it was many things that related to social studies such as learning about the past/ learning how people before you lived, learning about immigration the process of coming to this country/how people came here. from what I already know I think the upcoming play is part of this too.
Saffron: I have noticed that I’ve improved in math, because the other kids in my class are very helpful add supporting when you need help. I have also noticed that I’ve improved in Spanish, because we started learning easy things and slowly it’s getting harder, and I think that helps.
Sarah: My strategies for when I have trouble with subjects or people are try my hardest and read. Trying my hardest helps me because if you don’t try, what’s the point? Reading helps me because it lets me put myself in another person’s life and problems and forget my own.
Sebastian: I have noticed that I’ve improved in writing descriptively because in third grade if we had to write a poem I would only want to do an acrostic poem because if I did any other type of poem I thought it would be bad before even doing it. And an acrostic poem in my opinion is the easiest poem to write. But now in fourth grade I can do almost any kind of poem.
Sonia: Something else that I am proud of is my page in reading group called Lower School Beautiful Language. This page is really important to me because it tells me and others that I have learned how to form beautiful language and all you really have to do is put your mind to it and play around. In a way, it’s kind of like playing a game with your head.
Theo: This school is like a home to me, and it will never stop being one, it’s a huge part of my life. I came in kindergarten, and look at me now! I am part of a huge community, and I will be going into a bigger one next year, MIDDLE SCHOOL!