Heritage Winter band and chorus performance

Wednesday, December 18^th, Heritage students and faculty gathered in the gym to hear a wonderful holiday concert presented by the 5^th grade band and chorus. The Heritage students displayed their best audience behavior as the band began the performance with an array of holiday favorites, including “Up On the Housetop” and “Greensleeves.” Student speakers introduced each song with a brief history of the tunes and the musical challenges presented in each piece.

The chorus followed with six songs, including “Hanukkah Lights” and a fun performance of “Frosty and the Hand Jive.” The students proudly displayed their strong voices and their great dance moves.”

    

1st Grade Author Celebration

Early this December, 1st graders gathered for their first Author Celebration of the year. After lots of work writing, revising, and adding details, the writers chose their very best "small moment" stories from October’s and November’s Writing Workshop to share with classmates, parents, teachers and administrators—they even completed an “all about me” writing piece to share at the final presentation.

Once teachers modeled how a sharing session might unfold, students practiced reading their stories to one another. During the celebration, visitors mingled across the 1st grade students and listened to the stories that the children wrote. The visitors listened intently, leaning in to see pictures and smiling to show appreciation. At the end of the ceremony, the children shared cookies and punch with their families in recognition of their accomplishments.

The 1st grade writing philosophy draws on the work of Lucy Calkins, Professor of Curriculum and Founding Director of The Reading and Writing Project at Columbia Teachers College. It encourages Heritage students to fully engage in the practice of writing, while teaching them valuable lessons about the overall process.

                                                   

 

2nd grade reads with High School Students

Members of the Franklin Regional National Honor Society, under the supervision of Mrs. Bruno, visited Mrs. Seymour's 2nd grade classroom for the third time this school year. The high school students work with 2nd graders as reading buddies. Our high school friends brought their favorite stories to share.  

36 high school students have volunteered to work with reading buddies so far this school year, and future sessions are planned for February and March.

Gingerbread Center Day

On Friday, December 13th, Heritage Kindergarten students participated in Gingerbread Center Day activities in their classrooms.  Fun and learning was centered around this holiday tradition that was studied in class through stories and discussions of traditions around the world.  Parent volunteers helped make the experience special as we rotated through stations of gingerbread art, reading, math, and games.  

Author's Celebration in Mrs. Sberna's 5th Grade Class

Fifth grade students in Mrs. Sberna’s language arts classes have been working diligently on their narrative writings, and today they celebrated their hard work!  Each student work shopped their piece from prewriting through peer conferencing, revising, teacher conferencing, editing, and, finally, publication.  Stories ranged from fictional tales of the lost colony of Roanoke to personal stories about achieving a goal or taking a trip.  If you see one of these authors, congratulate them on their latest writing success!

Soldier Holiday Project-2nd & 3rd Grade

With the holidays quickly approaching and our 2nd & 3rd grade students wanted to send a special thanks to the men and women serving overseas who cannot be with their families during the holiday season. Classrooms decorated bags and filled them with small goodies that will make the holidays merrier for our soldiers. Bags were decorated and filled on November 26th in the Heritage cafeteria. Parent volunteers and donations help made this project possible. Below you will find a list of items that the soldiers requested.

• Beef Jerky
• Individual Drink Mixes
• Granola Bars
• Protein Bars
• Fruit Snacks
• Crackers
• Trail Mix
• Gum
• Holiday Candy
• Pens/Pencils
• Writing Paper
• Travel Size Kleenex
• Playing Cards
• Disposable Cameras
• Crossword and Word Search Books
• Envelopes
• Board Games

**Anything that can be easily carried when the soldiers are out on missions is greatly appreciated**

1st Grade Pumpkins

1st grade used pumpkins to do many fun investigations in math/science before Thanksgiving!  

They also made pumpkin pie in a cup!

           

                                               

Stomp Out Bullying-Wear Blue Day

Friendship

Respect

Solidarity

Devotion

October is National Bully-Awareness month!!

To show our support and unite against bullying in our schools and community, students at Heritage were encouraged to wear a blue shirt in solidarity to STOMP OUT BULLYING!! 

“GO BLUE” was held on October 10, 2013 in conjunction with our first Heritage Elementary walk-a thon.

In addition students decorated and hung blue feet with key phrases and words around our school that remind us of the character traits we need to follow in order to keep our school bully free.

Click here to learn more about the nationwide "Stomp Out Bullying Day" at Heritage.

Cookout

Students enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on the grill outside by their principal Mr. B. and Mr. Sonny from Metz food services. Also on the menu for the children was pasta salad, baked beans, strawberries, watermelon, chips, and cookies. The weather was beautiful and everyone enjoyed the change in atmosphere as they soaked up the sun.

Johnny Appleseed

Students in grades K & 1 celebrated Johnny Appleseed's birthday which is on September 26th. John Chapman (September 26, 1774 – March 11, 1845), often called Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, including the northern counties of present day West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance he attributed to apples.
Students & teachers along with the assistance of National Honor Society students from our high school integrated the apple theme into math and language arts activities. Pictured you will see some of the examples such as: apple prints, apple jack necklaces, apple sauce, along with many other lessons, which were all "stemmed" from a math or language arts curricular standard.

Hoofin' It with Heritage

Walkathon - Hoofin' It With Heritage Parent Info Sheet by robbuffone

Hat Day at Heritage

Wear a Hat for Cancer at Heritage! 

On Friday, September, 20, 2013, Heritage Elementary allowed their students to make a $2 donation in order to wear their favorite hat to school. Supported by the Cancer & Blood Disorders Auxiliary of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, this day-long event raised vital funds to benefit children being treated for cancer at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. 

Wear a Hat is a sign of support for children battling the difficult side effects, including hair loss, and emotional struggles confronted during cancer treatment. Together, we can let children know they are not alone in their fight against cancer. 

Our donations will directly support the needs of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children's Hospital.

First Day of School 2013