Applications are available for download underneath the admissions tab above.

Features of PPA Open House:

• School-wide tour
• Detailed explanation of curriculum and guiding philosophy of education
• Staff introduction
• Question/Answer period regarding the application/admission process

Appointments are not necessary.

“Letter O is for Octopus Week” was Outrageous, Out Of this world, and Obviously Outstanding!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

Monday began with the students’ shares.  Some of the highlights included Oranges, Octagons, Overalls, Olivia dolls, Origami, and Of course, many Octopus and Ocean-themed items!  Jellyfish, sharks, and several Nemos made their way in which only helped further enhance the Ocean conversation!  For their morning work on Monday and Tuesday, the students practiced identifying the letter O in their writing and tracing activities!  Later in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday, the students had some fun getting silly with the Letter O as they created their lists but also BECAME O’s!  Take a look below!

Tuesday afternoon was all about Valentine’s Day!  The students selected a lucky person (or people) as their valentine then added tiny conversation hearts to the valentine for some extra pizazz. 

Here is how they turned out!  It was clear from the smiles on the parents’ faces at pick-up time that the valentines were a huge hit!

By Wednesday, Octopus was at the forefront as the students created their first letter O craft of the week – an Outrageous Octopus!  Starting with the head of the octopus, the students used glue to add the arms of the octopus.  Do YOU know how many arms an octopus has?  (Hint – OCTO-pus has OCHO legs!)  If you said, “Eight!” then you are correct!  One by one, the arms of the octopus were added.  Next came the eyes and a big smile and finally some sparkly sequins! 

Here is how they turned out – Pretty Outstanding right? 

During the afternoon on Wednesday (and Thursday), the students participated in a technology presentation all about the Letter O, Octopuses, and the Ocean!  The students learned fun facts about octopuses including: 

1.  Octopuses are extremely bendy because they do not have any bones like people.

2.  Octopuses squirt a dark ink to protect themselves by blinding predators (hungry fish/ocean animals trying to hurt or eat them!) 

3.  Octopuses are AMAZING hiders!  They can change the color of their body to blend in with their surroundings (camouflage).   See for yourself!

WOW!  Isn’t that AMAZING?  Did you know that octopus was there?  The students decided that the Octopus must be the best “hider” in the entire ocean with that talent!  To test this idea, the teachers asked the students to search and find the octopuses in the following well-known clip!  The students had such a great time singing along and shouting out, “OCTOPUS!” each time the ocean creatures flashed on screen!  In total, the octopuses appear 11 times!  The students concluded that they must not have been camouflaging while dancing with all the other ocean friends!  Enjoy!

To help discover just how flexible and bendy octopuses actually are, the students mixed together and made some jiggly Jell-O jigglers in the shape of, you guessed it, an octopus!  Just as the students were about to get started, there was a knock at the door!  The students were paid a visit by our favorite Jersey City Police Officer, Officer Tosado!  Always in the neighborhood, Officer Tosado decided to pop in to say “Hello” to everyone at PPA!  It did not take long for the students to realize that Officer Tosado begins with the letter O!  The students spent some time catching up with Officer Tosado before he headed out to patrol the city. 

The students got back to work on their Jiggly Octopuses! 

After a few hours in the refrigerator, the Jell-O had set.  Using a cookie cutter, the students punched out Jell-O in the shape of an octopus!

Each student and a partner split a jiggly octopus!  As you can see, they were Obviously enjoyed!

On Thursday afternoon, the students began their new unit in Spanish class – La Ropa (Clothing).  Here is the vocabulary the students discussed during Letter O week. 

Camisa – Shirt

 Pantalones – Pants

Zapatos – Shoes

Media – Socks

Gorro – Cap

Vestido – Dress

They also learned a new song!  (Sung to the tune of “Skip to My Lou”)

camisa – shirt,

pantalones – pants,

vestido – dress,

medias – socks,

zapatos – shoes,

gorro – cap,

these are the clothes that we wear!

The strangest thing happened at PPA on Friday – the students arrived as children but left as OCTOPUSES! 

Ahhhhhh!  How did that happen?  Take a look below to find out!

What beautiful Octopuses the students make!    Well, that is all for “Letter O is for Octopus Week”.  As always, thank you for reading!  Have a fun and safe weekend! 

-PPA

REMINDERS:

SCHOOL IS CLOSED ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20th

THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

DRESS UP FOR LETTER P WEEK!

Next week the students will be learning all about the letter P.  As a way to make letter P week a little more exciting, we ask that the students (if they wish) come to school dressed in “costume” as their favorite of the following P words – a Prince, a Princess, or a Pirate!  Students are welcome to come dressed up every day that they attend school.  Thursday and Friday will be Pajama Day(s) where students are encouraged to wear their favorite pajamas to school.

For those students who attend school on Friday, we will have a P week Pizza Lunch.  If you do not wish for your child to have pizza, please pack a full lunch on Friday.

The students will be photographed throughout the week and an album with the students working hard while in costume will be added to the blog and photo gallery on Friday afternoon.

Feel free to search the 2011 P Week photo gallery to get some ideas and see what the students arrived wearing last year.  The “costume” can be as elaborate or simple as they wish; we just ask that it is practical for the school day.

2011 P Week Photo Gallery

“Letter N is for Noodles” Week was Neat, Nice, Nifty and “g-Narly”.  Read on below to learn about all the fun and learning that took place!

Monday began with the students’ shares.  Some of the highlights include Necklaces, Nests, Noodles, Nets, Nutcrackers, Necktie and a map of New Jersey!  There were several shares that came in having to do with the Superbowl 46 Champions – the New York Giants!  Such great shares came in during N week!

On Monday and Tuesday, the students worked on their letter N tracing and identification activity sheets. Some of the N words included: noodles, nests, nurses, noses, and more!  Much to the surprise of the teachers, the students had quite an extensive vocabulary for noodles!  Spaghetti, pasta, macaroni, and ziti were just a few of the words students used to  describe the pictures of noodles.  After a little reminder as to what the letter of the week was, the students quickly shifted their answer to  the umbrella term, noodle!  In the afternoon, the students used their noggins to create this N List.

It was time to get artsy on Wednesday!  The students learned that they would be making Noodle Necklaces but not just Normal Noodle Necklaces – these Noodle Necklaces would be fancy!  In pairs, the students took turns painting a handful of noodles a particular color.

Once the noodles were painted, the teachers spread them out on a foil sheet so they would dry quickly.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, the noodles were dry and ready to be strung into a necklace!  The students selected twelve noodles of any color and strung them one by one onto their string!

Here is how the completed necklace looked!

The noodle art continued on Thursday as the students created their Noodle Names!  The students filled in the letters of their name by gluing all sorts of assorted noodles including - ziti (wide), penne (skinny), tri-color fiori (flowers) , and rotelle (wheels).

The students did an AMAZING job on this project!  Here is how the final projects turned out!

During the afternoon on both Thursday and Friday, the students participated in Spanish class where they completed the unit – Mi Cuerpo (My Body).   Watch below to see the students in action!

On Friday, the students were all about numbers – Noodle Numbers!  Again using noodles, the students practiced tracing/writing numbers along with counting!

The students filled each box on their page with the correct Number of Noodles Needed! :)

The younger students worked with numbers 0-5 while the older students worked with the higher numbers 6-10 and even added their own mystery number!  Great job!

Well, that is all for Letter N Week. We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog entry. As always, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

2011-2012 Re-enrollment Contracts and Deposit are due back

before or by Wednesday.

Next School Closing:

Monday, February 20th – Observation of Presidents’ Day

THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

Letter M week was Musical, Marvelous, Magnificent, Miraculous, and Much easier to find adjectives for than some of our previous letters! Throughout the week, the students were immersed in different forms of music from all around the world. They met a musical guest and even made music and musical instruments themselves!  Read on below to learn about the fun and learning that took place!

On Monday and Tuesday morning, the students completed their letter M tracing and identification activity sheets. Some of the M words included: mailboxes, moons, monkeys, muffins, and more!  The teachers were very impressed with the quality of the students’ work. One after another, the students meticulously colored and completed their pictures then held up their work for the teachers to admire. Later in the day, the students created a letter M word list and went hunting for M’s around the classroom!  Here is the letter M list they came up with.

Also on Monday afternoon, the teachers introduced the students to music from Asia!  The students listened to both traditional and current music from countries such as Japan, China, India and Korea.  The students all commented that the traditional music sounded very different than music heard on the radio in the U.S. today.  The teachers mentioned that this mainly had to do with the different instruments used in these countries.  Watch below to see a girl playing a Gayageum, a Korean string instrument, to hear how different traditional Korean music sounds from American music today.  Do you remember the word for her beautiful Korean dress that a PPA Mommy taught us in our Korean Lesson during Letter K week?  (A hanbok!)

The students were so excited to hear music from other countries that sounded just like music they know!  Needless to say, the Indian “Bollywood” inspired dance party had the students really moving and grooving – particularly the “Jai Ho” song which was featured in the feature film Slumdog Millionaire!

During Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, the teachers switched continents as the students headed over to Europe as they listened to and learned about music from Germany, Ireland, along with others!  The students noted that some songs, particularly the Irish music by the group U2 sounded very familiar.  The German music on the other hand did not seem so familiar.  The teachers explained that this might be because of the language difference between English and German.

On Wednesday morning, the students began creating the first of three musical art projects for the week.  The students made their very own music notes!  One thing was for sure, these notes were jazzy and jeweled!  Seeing that the notes looked so beautiful, the teachers decided to put them into a new classroom bulletin board!  The final step of this project involved each student answering the question, “What is your favorite song?”  The answers ranged from preschool favorites including, “The ABC’s” and “The Farmer in the Dell” to more current hits including, “Baby” by Justin Bieber or “Rumour Has It” by Adele.  The bulletin board turned out great!

On Thursday, the students had a blast learning about the three different classifications (or groupings) of instruments.   The students discovered the first grouping was called WIND instruments.  This grouping of instruments contains any instrument that a musician blows into!  Can you think of any wind instruments?  (Here’s a hint – Think of an instrument that sounds like telephone! – Answer: Saxophone!)  The second grouping of instruments was called STRING instruments.  This grouping contains any instrument that has strings for a musician to pluck, strum, or bow.  Can you think of any string instruments?  (Here’s a hint – Think of an instrument that you play near your ear! – Answer: Violin!)  The final grouping was called PERCUSSION instruments.  This grouping of instruments contains any instrument that musicians have to bang!  Needless to say, the students LOVED this grouping!  Can you think of any percussion instruments?  (Here’s a hint – Which instrument comes in a set? – Answer: DRUMS!)

After that discussion, the students were so excited to learn that they would be creating their very own percussion instrument- a xylophone!  The first step was to decorate the xylophone body with some paint on a sponge!

Next, the students glued on the xylophone bars.

Finally, the students were ready to play!  :)

After Spanish class on Thursday afternoon, the students were paid a visit by a musical PPA Daddy!  Can you guess which instrument grouping his guitar belongs to – Wind, String, or Percussion?  (Answer:  String!)  

The students were treated to some music from all over the world!  First, the students enjoyed listening to (and moving along with) Rhythm and Blues music which is popular in the southern part of the United States of America.  The PPA Daddy explained that what makes Rhythm and Blues music so special is that it blends together music from not just one place in the world but many!  The Rhythm and Blues music the students listened to below has hints of musical sounds from Africa, Spain, and the South-western part of the U.S.  Take a listen for yourself!

The students were clearly feeling the rhythm as they could not help but get up and dance along with the music!  A special PPA Thank You to our musical guest for coming in and performing for us!

On Friday, the students created one of the most fun percussion instruments to play – the Maraca!  Hailing from Latin America, the maraca is also known as a rumba shaker.  The students all had a good giggle when they heard this and commented that it was so silly that their instruments shared a name with Rumba’s Cafe next door to school!   For their morning work, the students reused mini-water bottles as the shell of their maraca.  After selecting various beans, sparkles and gems, the students placed the pieces inside their bottle.

A label and a little glue on the lid and Voilá!

The students had created their maraca!

Friday afternoon wrapped up with Spanish class along with a technology presentation where the students listened to music from all over the world!  The students loved seeing people all over the world sing and dance to music as seen in this video from Greece!

Or this one from Ghana!

Or this one from Tahiti!

By far, the most enjoyable video that the students viewed was from Britain – actually, Britain’s Got Talent.  See why for yourself.  Enjoy, it is quite silly!  :)

Well, that is all for “Letter M is for Multicultural Music Week”.  As always, thank you for reading.  Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

2011-2012 Re-enrollment Contracts and Deposit are due back

before or by Wednesday, February 15th.

Next School Closing:

Monday, February 20th – Observation of Presidents’ Day

Theme for Next Week:

Letter “L is for Library Week” was lovely, laughable, likable, loopy but certainly not lousy!  Whether it was their own library card or a Lebanese folk outfit, the students loved sharing all of their letter L shares!  Read on below to learn about all the fun and learning that took place.

The teachers mixed things up a bit by starting Monday and Tuesday morning with art projects!  Much to the surprise of the students, the PPA classroom was transformed into an actual library!  The students were thrilled to learn that they would be practicing the entire experience of what it is like to go to a library.  First and foremost, they needed to get their library cards. For their morning work, the students crafted their very own library cards which would later allow them “entrance” to the newly establish Park Prep Academy Library. In order to construct the library cards, the students had to select the colors they wanted, write their name, and draw a self-portrait.

Once the cards were assembled, they needed to be decorated. Choosing from assorted buttons and gems, the students added some pizazz to their library cards.

During the afternoon, the students and the teachers discussed the difference between libraries and bookstores. Was there a difference? The students were able to explain that unlike at a bookstore, the books you select at a library do not belong to you forever – you just borrow it for a while. This made a lot of sense to all of the PPA preschoolers who know that all of the toys/games at PPA belong to everyone, not just one person.  After the discussion, the students transitioned over to another part of the classroom. Their eyes widened as they saw the library display.

The excitement only grew when they learned that they would actually be able to select one book to take home with them!  One by one, the students waited until their library card was called. Each child then took their library card around the “shelves” and peeked at all the books before making a selection!

Once the selection had been made, each student brought their book and library card over to the librarian station. The librarians took their library card to keep a record of all the books selected – after all, without these library cards, how would they know which books were taken out of the library?

The students headed home at the end of the day more proud than ever and, of course, very excited to read those library selections!

“Letter L for Library Week” also featured several visitors!  “Grandpa Larry”, seen below, came to visit the PPA students all the way from Hawaii!  He read a Hawaiian ABC story with Leis as the letter L word!

On Wednesday afternoon, the mommy photographed below read a story to the students also.  This story was called, “Library Lion” and featured a great big ROARRRRRRRRR!  Thank you to both of this week’s visitors for spending time in our classroom!  We surely had a great time!

The students returned to school on Wednesday and Thursday and so did their library books! The students could hardly wait to tell the teachers about how much they enjoyed reading their library books at home!  Some of the students read and re-read their library book while others read their library books at bedtime! Regardless of when or how many times the library book was read, one thing was certain – the library project was a huge hit!  With all the excitement over their library books, it made sense that morning work on Wednesday and Thursday had to do with the students’ library selections! 

After completing their letter L identification and writing activities, the students created their first ever book report about the book they selected from the library!  The teachers interviewed each student about the book they selected and read.  Each student identified his book choice and then gave a brief recap as to what happened in the story while the teachers recorded their words. The teachers were so impressed with how well the students were able to retell the stories they had heard earlier in the week.  In order to complete the book report, the students had to draw their own illustration from the book!   Take a look at one completed book report below! Didn’t this student’s first book report turn out great?

The students also created quite an impressive Letter L word lists!  Here is the letter list from Thursday afternoon.  

On Friday morning, the students took a turn at free painting! 

They made such beautiful creations! 

Thursday and Friday afternoon wrapped up with a Spanish lesson all about food!  The students did a great job practicing some of their new Spanish vocabulary!  See for yourself.

Well, that is all for “Letter L is for Library Week!”  What a Lovely week it was!  As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful and safe weekend! See you next week!

 -PPA

Reminders:

February Tuition is due on Monday and Tuesday. 

2011-2011 Re-enrollment Contracts and Deposit are due back before or by Wednesday, February 15th.

**Any student whose file does not have documentation of the annual Influenza vaccination will not be permitted to enter school on Wednesday, February 1st**

If your child has received the vaccine please have your pediatrician’s office fax the record to PPA at (201) 217-0209 before Tuesday**

Next School Closing:

Monday, February 20st – Observation of Presidents’ Day

Theme for Next Week:

Letter K week was short but definitely sweet!  On Monday, the school was closed in observation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.   The students returned to school and kicked off the week by bringing in some great K shares.  The share box was the heaviest it has ever been.   From kazoos to key chains, Kermit to kaleidoscopes, the kids did not hold back.   One student even brought a stuffed koala that he purchased on a trip to Australia!  Speaking of koalas, the students had a blast learning about and creating Koala artwork!  Be sure to keep reading to learn more about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the students completed their letter K tracing and identification activity sheets.  Some of the K words included: keys, kangaroos, koalas, kids, kitchen and more!  The kitchen picture proved to be quite puzzling as some students identified the picture as “cooking” or “baking”.  Since both words contain the letter K the teachers deemed these guesses close enough.  Things only got more interesting when it came time to create the Letter K list.  As was the case with Letter C week, there was some confusion as to exactly which words begin with letter K.  The students rattled off one letter C word after another – “Kuh Kuh Cookie starts with K!”  Since the students have encountered the issue of tricky letters in the past (J week – “Giraffe starts with J because it says juh”), they were a little more accepting of this idea and kept building the list.  All things considered, they still came up with a pretty extensive list.  Take a peek for yourself!

A funny thing happened on Wednesday morning as the students were singing songs while walking to the park.  While singing the song, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”, the students took turns suggesting animals that the famer had.  The students suggested many common animals such as pigs, cows, sheep, ducks, whose sounds are easily recognized.  The interesting part came when one student suggested that the old farmer had a Koala on his farm.  The song came to a screeching halt at “With a… here”.  What sound does a Koala make?  It was clear that the students (and teachers alike) did not know!  The students made up sounds that they thought a koala might make and the song continued.  Upon re-entry into the classroom, the teachers got right to work on solving the mystery!  Miss Caitlin read a Koala book which described the Koala sound as a heavy grunting sound.  Miss Jocelyn headed to the classroom computers.  With the help of the following YouTube clip, the students were able to learn about, see, and hear Koalas making their grunting sounds!  They made sure to re-sing that “Old MacDonald Had a Koala” verse before heading off to the sinks to wash up before snack!

The 2011-2012 school year has featured some amazing parent visits including storybook reading, foreign language and culture lessons, and musical performances (to name a few).  The PPA parent fun continued on Wednesday afternoon when another PPA Mommy decided to give it a shot!  After participating in French and Greek lessons led by PPA Mommies, the daughter of the Mommy pictured below went home from school and asked if her Mommy would come in to school and teach her friends about their native language – Korean – during Letter K Week!  

As you can see, the Mommy went above and beyond to teach the students about the Korean language and Korean culture.  Dressed in a hanbok, the Mommy above explained that hanboks are traditional dresses worn by Korean women during formal events or celebrations such as weddings or parties.  In fact, the hanbok this Mommy wore to PPA was the one she wore at her wedding and her daughter’s first birthday!  As you can see in the picture below, a hanbok is not only worn by Mommies – the birthday girl (a PPA student) also wore one at her first birthday, a major holiday in Korean household (known as Doljanchi).

After learning a bit about Korean culture, the students had the opportunity to hear a bit about Korean language.  During a storybook reading, the students noted that the Korean language sounds quite different than English!  Shockingly, the PPA Mommy pulled up a website to disprove this theory.  Watch below as the students listen to Korean letters and try to guess what they might be!  You will definitely be surprised by the similiarities!

To conclude their Korean lesson, the students were treated to a special delicious Korean snack – Gim (pronounced like kim).  Do you know what it is? 

If you said, “Seaweed” then you are correct!  Would you believe it if we told you that almost every single one of the preschoolers DEVOURED this salty (and healthy) Korean snack – some even asked for seconds and thirds! 

What an amazing experience, what an amazing day!  A special thank you to the PPA Mommy and her daughter for teaching us all about the Korean language and culture!  We certainly had a great time!

On Thursday morning, the students learned that they would be creating some Koala art!  Unlike the usual grayish-brown color that Koalas are, the students painted their Koala in an extra colorful way to look super KooKy! 

The excitement really kicked up at the end of the day as the students noses were painted black like a real Koala! 

On Friday, the students created the final Koala craft of the week.  Seeing that Koalas spend a lot of time hanging around treetops, the students assembled their Koalas in a Eucalyptus tree!  The excitement only grew as Miss Elizabeth entered the classroom with beautiful smelling Eucalyptus leaves for all to smell!  The students surely liked smelling those branches during their morning work that they decided to add some real ones to their work!

Here is how the final project turned out! 

During the afternoon on both Thursday and Friday, the students participated in Spanish where they began their new unit – La Partes De Cuerpo (the parts of the body).  See below for a list of their vocabulary.

Cabeza – Head

Brazos – Arms

Manos – Hands

Peirnas – Legs

Pies – Feet

Ojos – Eyes

Boca – Mouth

Nariz – Nose

Orejas – Ears

To help learn this vocabulary, the students played some fun games, one of which was Simon Dice (Simon Says).  Would you like to play now?  If so, look below!

Simon Dice – Touch your Nariz.

(nose)

Simon Dice – Touch your Boca.

(mouth)

Simon Dice – Touch your Cabeza.

(head)

Clap your Manos (hands). 

Ahh!  !Simon no dice! (Simon did  not say!)  Well, how did you do? 

Well, that is all for Letter K is for Koala Week – short but definitely action-packed!  We hope you enjoyed this week’s blog entry.  As always, thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

**Any student whose file does not have documentation of the annual Influenza vaccination will not be permitted to enter school on Wednesday, February 1st**

If your child has received the vaccine please have your pediatrician’s office fax the record to PPA at (201) 217-0209 before Tuesday**

Theme for Next Week:

“Letter J is for Jungle Week” was joyful, jubilant, jovial and just jazzy!  Read on below to learn about the fun that was had and learning that took place!

Monday and Tuesday morning were spent working on letter J activities!  The students had to trace or write the letter J as well as make the sounds of the letter J!  When it came time for the letter J lists and hunting in the afternoon, the students added some great words and MANY names to the list.  Who knew there was so many children (and even teachers) at PPA with J-names?  As was the case during letter G week, the word “Juh-Juh-raffe” (or giraffe) was suggested for the J list.  Fortunately, the students remembered that some letters are super tricky and have different sounds – silly G!  Here is the list from Monday’s class.

During Monday and Tuesday afternoon, the students raced around the classroom in search for Letter J’s!  Can you identify the J items shown below?

 (Answer: Jaguar, Juice, Jewelry, Jacket)

On Wednesday, the students began their art exploration of Jungles!  Take a look at the photograph below to see what the created.

The lion is known as the “King of the Jungle” despite actually living in savannahs.  The students had a blast listening to the following song while creating their tissue paper lion heads!

During the afternoon on both Wednesday and Thursday, the students had Spanish class where they completed their La Comida (Food) unit!  See previous blog entries for the full vocabulary from the unit! 

On Thursday morning, the students created their very own jungle which featured quite possibly the most playful jungle animal of all.  Can you think of which animal that is?  Here is a hint – This animal likes to “hang around” the jungle!  If you said, “Monkey!” then you are correct!  The students began by coloring in a coloring page of a monkey!

Next, they glued on the trunks of two trees and added some thick green leaves to the treetops!

With some help from the teachers, the monkeys were cut out and threaded through a jungle vine which hung between the two trees!  Here is what the completed project looked like!  What fun!

On Friday, the students were ready to get cooking and what better to cook during “Letter J is for Jungle Week” than Jell-O Jigglers!  The students were called over in small groups to mix together and prepare the Jell-O mix.  They were so excited to learn that they would be using jungle animal cookie cutters to make Jungle Jell-O Jigglers!  Look below to see the students in action! 

Needless to say, the Jungle Jell-O Jigglers were en-Joyed!   

Friday afternoon wrapped up with a Jungle-themed technology presentation!  The students loved seeing photographs and footage of the jungle animals in their natural habitat!  Just like during “Letter I is for Insect Week” the students played a game that required them to identify the jungle animal by listening to the animal sound!  With the computer screen covered, the sound clip below proved to be quite puzzling!  The students assumed the noise they heard was that of a jaguar or other large jungle animal.  They were SHOCKED to see who it was actually making the noise!  See and listen for yourself, it really is quite surprising!

Can you believe that big loud noise came from a monkey?  Well, not just any monkey -  a Howler Monkey!  The teachers asked the students why the Howler Monkey might make such a noise.  Hands flew up into the air with excitement!  The students concluded that Howler Monkeys make such a loud noise to trick and scare away other bigger animals that might be trying to eat them.  When asked what other animals do things to trick or scare animals away, the students came up with a bunch of animals including the porcupine with sharp quills, chameleons who camouflage, and fish with dots like eyes on their back fin.  Can you think of any other ways animals trick or scare away bigger animals who are trying to eat them?  (Here is a hint – Think of a striped, stinky animal!) 

Wow!  “Letter J is for Jungle Week” was surely amazing!  As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful and safe weekend!  See you next week!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

School is Closed Monday

January 17th – Observation of Martin Luther King Day

**Any student whose file does not have documentation of the annual Influenza vaccination will not be permitted to enter school on Wednesday, February 1st**

If your child has received the vaccine please have your pediatrician’s office fax the record to PPA at (201) 217-0209 before Tuesday

Theme for Next Week:

The 2012 year kicked off with an awe-Inspiring week at PPA!  The students returned to Park Prep ready to get back into the swing of things by studying the letter I!   What the students found out early in the week was that the letter I is not the easiest letter to find shares for.  Fortunately, the I week theme – insects- was very easy to find shares for!   The students brought in some Icky Insects including beetles, ants, butterflies, grasshoppers, praying mantises, and cockroaches!  Thankfully all of the insects that came in for the sharebox were fake like this crawly one below that Miss Elizabeth brought in! 

Tuesday and Wednesday morning were spent working on Letter I tracing/writing activities.  The students had to I-solate the sound that the letter I makes which was a little tricky – particularly because it makes two different sounds!  The students realized this fact when they began making their Letter I Word List.  Some words like Ireland or Island make a long I sound where the I “says its name”.  Other words like Insect and Iguana make a short I sound where the I “says its sound”.  Regardless of whether the I words were long or short sounding, one thing was for sure, the students made a LONG I word list.

By Thursday, the students were ready to learn about Insects!  A spider in Thursday morning’s sharebox helped spur a very informative discussion about what makes an insect an insect.  The teachers read a book all about different types of bugs that revealed the main features of insects.  From the story, the students learned that all animals/bugs can be grouped into different categories.  The name of the category that each animal is grouped in depends on many different things.  One fact that the students learned was that in order to be called an Insect (belonging to the Insecta Class) the “bug” has to have six legs (along with a segmented body of three parts, antennae and usually wings).

After hearing this fact, the students commented that spiders have eight legs, not six!  They determined that spiders must not be insects because they have too many legs!  The teachers informed them they were correct!  Spiders are not insects; they are actually arachnids which have eight legs.  After that very “big-kid” discussion, the students began listing some other insects.  Here is the list they came up with. 

The students concluded that a lot of insects were a bit “yucky” or “scary”.  The teachers picked out a special story featuring an insect that is not yucky or scary.  Do you know the name of this insect?

If you said, “Dragonfly” then you are correct!  After listening to the Dragonfly story, the students assembled and decorated their own dragonfly to keep! 

Here is how the final project turned out – Not yucky or scary at all!

During the afternoon on Thursday, the students had Spanish class where they reviewed the third unit in Spanish class at PPA – Las Comidas (Food).  Below is the vocabulary that the students studied.   

Papa – Potato

Queso – Cheese

Leche – Milk

Jugo – Juice 

To help them learn the vocabulary, the teachers taught them a song which is sung to the tune of “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”. 

Queso is cheese – yum, yum, yum!

Leche is milk – yum, yum, yum!

Papa is potato, Jugo is juice,

these are the things we like to eat and drink!

On Friday, the students listened to a reading of another insect story.  This one was a classroom favorite written by Eric Carle all about a particularly illuminated insect – the firefly (also known as a lightning bug).  Much to the surprise of the teachers, not many of the students knew about fireflies!  A technology presentation about fireflies proved to be perfect for introducing the students to these Incredible Insects!   The students could not believe their eyes when they saw the insects bottom glow! 

For their morning work, the students created their own fireflies! 

Once the fireflies were assembled entirely, the students added the special extra part – some glow in the dark paint!  Later in the day, the students checked to see if their dry fireflies glowed just like real ones!   Believe it or not, they actually did!    

These fireflies were so beautiful that the teachers decided to hang onto them to help brighten up the classroom!  Here is the Letter I week inspired bulletin board!

Later in the afternoon, the technology fun continued as the students observed a technology presentation all about – you guessed it – Insects!  During the presentation, the students listened to different insect sounds and had to try to guess which insect was making the sound.  The students nailed the sounds of the crickets and bees but had some trouble with the cicadas noisy sounds!  Video clips like the ones below helped the students observe how these noises are made.  Can you tell which part of their body, insects use to make noise?  Here is a hint – it is not the mouth like people!  Take a look!

Isn’t that amazing?  Grasshoppers rub their hind legs together to make sound.  Take a look at the cricket below!  Can you tell what body part he uses to make his chirping sound?

(Answer – Wings – just like bees!)

Watch below to view one of the video clips that was incorporated into the presentation.  This one has some great close ups of insects and also a catchy hook!

Well, that is all for Letter I is for Insect Week!  What an Incredible start to the 2011 year!  As always, thank you for reading and have safe and fun weekend!

-PPA

Reminders:

Next School Closing:

Monday, January 16th – Observation of Martin Luther King Day

Parents please remember to submit your child’s

 annual updated Influenza Vaccine Record ASAP! 

Children without this record will not be permitted

to attend school after January 31st.

If your child has received the flu shot for this year, please have your pediatrician fax the record to Park Prep ASAP. 

PPA’s fax number is (201)217-0209. 

Theme for Next Week:

Winter week was short but certainly sweet!  Read on below to see all that took place during this chilly but cheerful week!

The students welcomed winter this week although they all noted that the end of fall did not really seem much different!  With temperatures much colder than usual, the end of fall seemed like the middle of winter!  The students arrived at school on Monday bundled up in their winter warmest and were ready to get started!

For their morning work on Monday, the students crafted a pair of mittens!  First, they selected the color mittens they wanted and then strung them together with some yarn and tape!  Next, the students added some glittery gems and sequins to give some pizazz to their mittens!

On each of the mittens read the following poem , “Stripes or dots or sparkling white, mittens in winter fit just right!”  Wow!  That sure is a lot of mittens!

During the afternoon, the students brainstormed a list of their favorite things about the winter and the winter holidays!  After they began the list, the students were paid a visit by a PPA Daddy!  The Daddy pictured below read a special winter story to all of the students!  A special thank you to the PPA Daddy for coming in and spending the afternoon with us!  The PPA parents really are the best around!

On Tuesday morning, the students crafted another winter holiday favorite – an iceskate!  First, the students colored in their skate.  The next step was all about the blade!  Using a paintbrush, the students spread the glue onto their skate’s blade to get it ready to be glittered!

Here is how the final project turned out!

During the afternoon, the students added to their Winter Favorite List.  Here is the list that they came up with!

They also participated in a technology presentation where they listened to and practiced singing along with some winter holiday songs including (but not limited to) ”Jingle Bells”, “Frosty the Snowman”, ”Feliz Navidad” and “Dreidel, Dreidel, Driedel” to name a few!

The holiday fun continued on Wednesday as the students spent the morning preparing for the PPA Winter Celebration that afternoon!  Beforelong, it was time to party!  The PPA parents began arriving at 2:00 p.m. and the party began!

To start the party, Miss Justine read a special winter story about snowmen!

The students (with their parents) headed to the tables to create a special winter holiday project – a Gingerbread House!  Using all sorts of yummy treats, the students (and their parents) assembled and decorated their Winter Holiday Gingerbread Houses!

Wow!  They really turned out great!

The students surely worked up an appetite after completing that project!  Good thing the teachers had picked up a lot of yummy treats for all to enjoy!

The 2011 PPA Winter Celebration, like all PPA parties, had a phenominal family turn out.  Be sure to view all of the photos from the party by clicking the link at the bottom of this blog entry!  Everyone at Park Prep Academy would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the students and their families a wonderful, happy, healthy holiday and new year!  As always, thank you for reading and we will see you next year!

-PPA

REMINDERS:

School Closed for Winter Recess

12/22/11 – 1/2/12

School Resumes on

Tuesday, January 3rd

THEME FOR NEXT WEEK:

Click here to view all of the photos from the

2011 PPA Winter Celebration!

Letter H is for Helping Week was honorable, humbling, and of course FULL of Helping!   For the first time this year, the students held off on bringing shares to school so the sharebox was completely empty.  However, the students did not come to school empty handed.  All week long, the students (and their parents) entered PPA with assorted canned goods and dried food.  This food was collected throughout the week and on Friday was donated to the C.A.U.S.E. Food Pantry, a local organization located at 739 Bergen Avenue that helps feed families from all over the surrounding area.  Take a look at the photo below to see the donation from the extremely generous students (and families) of Park Prep.  We are sure that this donation will help fill the bellies of so many people this holiday season.  Thank you to all of the families that contributed to this large and impressive donation!

For their morning work on Monday and Tuesday, the students studied the letter H by completing their letter H coloring and writing/tracing activities.  In the afternoon, the student collaborated to create a list of words beginning with the letter H – also known as a letter H word list!  Here is the list they came up with.

The helping really began on Tuesday morning when the students had a discussion about what it means to help someone.  They concluded that helping was when you do something nice for someone else.  The students decided that everyone can help!  Below are some examples of ways that people help others every day.

1.  “Mommy helps me feel better when she gives me hugs and kisses after I fall down.”

2.  ”I helped Grandpa feel happy when I made him a card when he was sick.”

3.  “Teachers help kids learn.”

4.  ”Doctors help kids and grown-ups get better when they are sick.”

After hearing about all the helping that is done each and every day, the teachers informed the students that they would be helping a very special group of people – the servicemen and servicewomen of the United States Military.  These brave men and women spend the holidays (and other days!) all over the world, away from their homes and families to help keep all of the people living in the United States safe!  While it is hard to express our gratitude entirely, the PPA students were eager to help in any way possible!

The PPA teachers knew just who to call to help the U.S. military!   The teachers contacted a very helpful and special Paramus, New Jersey school teacher named Jane Cosco.  Back in 2003, Mrs. Cosco was driving in her car and listening to the radio when a woman called in to inform the public of plans to cut military holiday budgets and ask for civilian donations for soldiers stationed overseas during the holiday season.

Finding this unacceptable, Mrs. Cosco rallied her middle school students to volunteer their time to stuff goodybags with special treats that would be sent over to the troops stationed in Iraq and away from their families during the holiday season.  Operation Goodybag, as it was named, started out as an afterschool activity seven years ago and has grown tremendously!  Mrs. Cosco and her helpers have stuffed and sent over 217,000 goodybags to thank our troops!  In 2009, the students of PPA contributed 300 bags to that amazing and impressive number!  In 2010, the PPA students contributed another 373 bags to that number!  For her efforts, Mrs. Cosco was the recipient of the Call to Service Award by former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.  For all of the hardwork and generosity over the years, Operation Goodybag was recently awarded a federal grant from the Corporation of National and Community Service!   Talk about Helping others!

The students were thrilled to learn that they would be responsible for making goodybags later in the day with Mrs. Cosco and a few surprise guests!  The teachers explained that step one of making the goodybags involved decorating the bags!  The students got right to work that morning by coloring in the star and heart coloring pages that were later cut out and glued onto each bag.

Finally the time had arrived!  The afternoon was here and so was Mrs. Cosco!  Thanks to Miss Patty, Mrs. Cosco was accompanied by two Marine Corporals!  Childhood friends of Miss Patty, both Corporal Jonathan Rodriguez and Corporal Luis Cerna volunteered their time to come visit the students of PPA and discuss a bit about the Marine Corps.

 The students were so excited to meet Mrs. Cosco, Cpl. Rodriguez, and Cpl. Cerna!  After a quick welcome, Mrs. Cosco spoke a bit about the goodybags then began a technology presentation which contained PowerPoints created by her students!

Take a peek at the Marine Corps. PowerPoint!

The students also observed a PowerPoint which showed students, just like them, stuffing and giving out goodybags to actual military servicemen and servicewomen!  From the looks on their faces, the servicemen and servicewomen really appreciated these bags!

After observing the presentations and seeing actual sailors and soldiers receiving goodybags, the students could hardly wait to get started creating them!  Watch below to see how each bag was created.

The students and Marines worked feverishly until every last piece of candy was packed and goodybag was stuffed!

Take a guess as to how many goodybags they made!  100?  No! 200? No! 300?  No!

400 GOODYBAGS!

That brings PPA total to 1,073 goodybags in all!  That is A LOT of goodybags!

After all the goodybags were packed, the students had the opportunity to chat with Cpl. Rodriquez and Cpl. Cerna about their fancy uniforms!  Dress blues, as they are called, are the most formal of all Marine uniforms and are the only military uniform which incorporates all of the colors of the American flag!  Cpl. Rodriquez and Cpl. Cerna wore their uniforms proudly and explained all of the different parts of their uniform including their buttons, belts, ribbons, and badges.  They explained that the colorful ribbons on their chest were not worn simply for fashion, they are symbols that represent the different places around the world they have traveled to and the awards they have attained!  Each ribbon and badge was earned through hard work and determination!

The students took a break from creating the goodybags to say thank you to Cpl. Rodriguez and Cpl. Cerna as they presented them with extra special goodybags.  The students were so proud of their hard work and the Marines were very appreciative.  Cpl. Rodriquez and Cpl. Cerna were so appreciative that they let the students try on their hats!

A special thank you to Mrs. Cosco and Cpl. Rodriguez and Cpl. Cerna for spending time with us and for keeping us safe!  After the students’ efforts today, Mrs. Cosco’ s Operation Goodybag is  now 217,400 goodybags!  Keep up the great work Mrs. C!

The holiday helping continued on Wednesday as the students discussed another group that would benefit from a little Park Prep help – the seniors!  The teachers explained that seniors are people who have been alive for a VERY long time!  One student raised his hand and asked, “Alive for a long time – like 7 years?”  The teachers explained that seniors were more like SEVENTY-SEVEN!

Like everyone from time to time, seniors need a little extra care – particularly around the holidays.  The seniors that the PPA students decided to help are the permanent residents of the Hamilton Park Health Care Center located at 525 Montgomery Street in Jersey City.  The students spent their morning crafting beautiful and elaborate holiday cards for each of the 124 residents.  They turned out incredible!

Later that day, the teachers visited the Hamilton Park Health Care Center to hand out the cards to the senior residents.  The cards helped make everyone at the H.P.H.C.C. feel so special and happy during the holidays!

Thursday’s helping activity was all about Animals!  The teachers explained that some animals do not have a home or owners to take care of them.  Unlike the animals in the students’ houses, these animals have to find their own food and take care of themselves.  Fortunately, there are wonderful people who spend  their time to help these special animals by keeping them healthy, finding them a home and providing them with food to eat.

The students were so excited to learn that they would be helping these animals by spending the morning baking homemade cat and dog treats for them to eat!  Following the directions in the recipes, the students mixed together special ingredients and then placed them on baking trays which the teachers baked later that day.

Once all of the treats had been baked, the students colored  little dog and cat coloring pages and stuffed each bag with the appropriate picture to match the treat.  The doggie poems went into the bags for the doggies and the kitty poems were for the kitties.

The students could hardly contain their excitement when they learned that they would be paid a visit by two amazing representatives from the Hudson County Animal League, an organization that helps injured, stray or lost animals find homes with owners who will love and take care of them.  These representatives would be coming to PPA in the afternoon to help teach the students about the efforts of the H.C.A.L. and also to accept the students homemade dog and cat treats to be distributed and shared by all the animals helped by the H.C.A.L.  Miss Kathleen, pictured below, surprised the students by bringing a very special guest – Harry, a seven month old cat that was rescued by the H.C.A.L.

Miss Kathleen explained how Harry was all alone before the H.C.A.L. found him. Doesn’t Harry look so happy and healthy now?

The students presented the baked treats from the morning to Miss Kathleen who was so grateful for all of the students’ hardwork.

After the treats had been presented, the students had an opportunity to meet (and pet) Harry!  Needless to say, this was a highlight of the day!  Miss Kathleen (and probably Harry) was shocked to see how gentle the preschoolers were when handling an animal.  Before Miss Kathleen left PPA, the students presented her with a monetary donation to the H.C.A.L. on behalf of Park Prep Academy.  Miss Kathleen explained that this donation will help pay for food, veternariary visits, toys, and housing for animals just like Harry!  Fortunately Harry’s story has a very happy ending because immediately following his visit to PPA, Harry the cat was on his way to his “Forever Home”.  A “Forever Home” is what the H.C.A.L. calls it when one of their rescue animals is adopted by a family who will love and care for him forever!  The family was kind enough to delay Harry’s arrival so he could have a “star-moment” before heading to his new home.   A special thank you to Miss Kathleen and Harry for coming to PPA and teaching us about the H.C.A.L.  Also, a special thank you to Harry’s new family for allowing him to come to school and make his special day a bit more exciting!  :)

After school, a few of the teachers took four full cookie trays over to the Liberty Humane Society facility located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard.  The Liberty Humane Society houses both cats and dogs, all of whom were in the mood for a tasty treat!  The animals seemed so happy as they devoured the treats the students baked.  As the teachers recalled from last year, a video of the feedings was out of the question as it sounded like the doggies were in a “Who can bark the loudest?” contest!   The cats were much quieter and took their time eating the treats.  The cats all seemed to have a general rule about the cookies- play with the treat first, lick the treat, then eat the treat!  Regardless of how they went about eating them, one thing was clear – they were yummy!  Here are some of the highlights from our visit to the Liberty Humane Society.

On Friday, the students spent the morning preparing holiday treats and cards for local community helpers – the Jersey City Police and Firefighters!  Here are photographs of the police and firefighters accepting their treats!  Happy holidays and thank you for keeping us safe!

During the afternoon, the students participated in a technology presentation and discussion about all of the organizations that they helped this week!  Wow!  What a wonderful and busy week of helping!  The students will surely be in the holiday spirit as we head into next week!  Park Prep Academy staff and students would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the organizations that opened their doors to us this week.   Donations on behalf of Park Prep Academy were made to each of the groups that helped make H week so special.  We hope that everyone enjoyed spending time with us as much as we did with them.  See you next week!