Welcome to School #4!

School Four's Field Day took place at Holster Park on June 12th.  The students enjoyed the creative activities planned by Mr. Mark Tomaskovic, our Physical Education instructor.  Staff and over thirty parent volunteers assisted with the games and BBQ lunch, collectively making it THE BEST DAY EVER!

Dinosaur remains discovered at School Four!  Dinosaur Day found Second Grade students spending the morning digging up fossils, measuring, researching, writing and SMILING. Students visited various stations designed to provide memorable, hands-on learning opportunities.

Second Grade students and their teachers Mrs. Juliann Vigiletti and Mrs. Dana DerSookias gathered in the Learning Garden to release their beautiful butterflies.  Much to the delight of the eager onlookers, most of the butterflies were instantly attracted to the colorful flowers and settled in the nearby planters.  Hopefully they will make School Four their new home.

Congratulations to Third Graders, Alethia Lucas (Second Place) and Juhyna Alkurdi (Third Place) winners for the 2013 Youth Week Creative Writing Contest.

A round of applause for Fourth Graders, Henry Guardia (First Place)  for the 2013 Youth Week Bowling Contest and Matthew Barrientos (Third Place)  for the Dribble, Pass and Score Soccer Skills Contest.

Congratulations to Afifa Ijbara- Grade 1, Hadeel Aref- Grade 4 and Ameer Ijbara- Grade 5, School Four's First Place Youth Week Poster Contest winners.

Take a bow ladies!  Chavi Lassiter, Anisa Fagan, Amanda Roman and Annaliese Fagan recently participated in the Talent Show and delivered outstanding performances

On May 17th School Four students took a virtual trip around the world with Krissy's Kritter Adventure.  The children came face to face with exotic species from Brazil, Africa, Australia, Asia, Pakistan, India, Russia, Indonesia, New Caledonia and Mexico   Some of the animals included an Australian bearded dragon, leopard gecko, dwarf opossum, African pygmy hedgehog, hairless rat, Madagascar hissing cockroach, Mexican redknee tarantula, Florida kingsnake, emperor scorpion, Pacman frog and a 14 foot Burmese python.

A special thank you to our library (and so much more) volunteers.  The School Four family thanks you for your dedication and commitment to inspiring the joy of reading.

Talented, young Chinese Acrobats dazzled the audience with daring feats during a fun-filled, high-energy assembly on April 5th.  In addition to learning about the Chinese culture, School Four students experienced firsthand the importance of dedication and perseverance.

School Four students stepped back into Colonial America on March 8th as they learned about colonial life, including the role of women in the war effort, the education of children, and clothing/rations/equipment  for Revolutionary War soldiers. 
Student groups rotated through several stations manned by colonial representatives including  an explanation of how wives provided cooking and laundry services in return for half ration army provisions. Students smelled molasses samples and tasted sugar candy, beef jerky and hardtack (soldiers bread).  Other aspects of colonial life including educational resources, money, flax thread, weaving and clothing were presented.
Another station  introduced students to the specifics of a soldier’s handmade Revolutionary War uniform and the equipment he carried 10 to 15 miles daily from one camp to the next. The soldier representative explained the significance of a uniform’s colors and decorations as well as the contents of a soldier’s haversack and knapsack.

The Kindergarten students at School Four are very busy indeed!  Today they celebrated Theodore Geisel's birthday (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) in style complete with green eggs, ham, French toast sticks, green syrup and a "rainbowlicious" fresh fruit platter.  The best part was the surprise guest appearance from none other than Thing 1!

School Four's Kindergarten students celebrated the 100th day of school in style.  They put on their thinking caps and imagined what they would look like at the ripe old age of 100!  The parade of white hair, canes and thick reading glasses had everyone in stitches. Their creativity also flowed into a writing project that included a colorful self-portrait.

Celebrating New Jersey Day at School Four found Mrs. Kopko's fourth graders immersed in research on a variety of topics including important people, places and things associated with New Jersey - the Garden State. Original essays and decorated letter signs featuring the first letter of student topics were read and presented to the other grade levels. While learning about New Jersey's Pinelands, blueberries, cranberries, cities, the Atlantic Ocean and the Lenni Lenape, students in K-5 were treated to a taste of blueberries (N.J. is the second largest U.S.producer )and cranberries (N.J.is the third largest U.S. producer). Trays of these treats prepared using the idea of arrays and multiplication provided a tasty reminder of great New Jersey facts.

School Four welcomed a special guest on Valentine's Day!  The Cat in the Hat's visit put a smile on everyone's face.

Author! Author!  Congratulations to the School Four kindergarteners and their teachers, Mrs. Jennifer Fantry and Mrs. Joelle Rosetti on hosting their first publishing party for families and friends.  Following a lively presentation on stage, every "author" read original illustrated stories about their favorite season to an attentive audience.
Publishing parties are an integral part of the Reading/Writing Workshop connection, a district initiative.

Former Clifton Reading Specialist , Mrs.Elaine Puzio volunteers her time and imparts 45 years of expertise weekly to support School Four's reading initiative.

On January 4th, Second Grade teacher, Mrs. DerSookias invited parents to observe her students' "How To" presentations.  The students worked diligently to plan, write and create their projects.  Some of the most popular (and yummy) assignments included a moist, frosted cake and a colorful tossed salad which were enjoyed by all. Keep up the great work!

On January 25th,  Mrs. Vigiletti's Second Grade students eagerly presented their "How To" projects to their proud parents.  Great job everyone!

School Four celebrated friends and family and the spirit of the season at the Winter Concert on December 19th.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house when the students sang a beautiful rendition of Auld Lang Syne, accompanied by violins and tuba.

School Four families attended a Family Math Night on December 12th.  Students participated in a variety of activities at stations that included Number Cube Toss, Creative Shape Building, Number Bingo, Shape Twister, Fishing for Patterns, Symmetry, Tangrams, Fun with Roman Numerals, Arrays and Fraction Fun. The students especially loved the bag of treats they received as a reward for all their hard work!

Ronald McDonald visited School Four on December 7th and presented a lively, interactive show about the elements of good character — trustworthiness, responsibility, respect and fairness.

Kindergarteners gathered for a traditional Native American Thanksgiving feast complete with drums, headdresses and vests!

School Four student "elves" were busy at work creating personalized picture frames at the Holiday Craft Night.

Students in Grades 2-5 were awarded prizes for reaching their Accelerated Reader goals and surpassing their comprehension percentages. Keep up the great work! School Four is #1 in the district with 100% student AR participation.

School spirit is alive and well at School Four!

On November 14th, the School Four family joined together to celebrate our cultural diversity at the Second Annual Family Dinner. Tables were lined with delicious main dishes and desserts from across the globe. Hungry guests feasted on falafel and hummus, empanadas, stuffed cabbage, baked manicotti and so much more!