Kindergarten Honors the Bessed Mother

Our Kindergarten Kids honored Mother Mary this week with flowers, prayers, and a May Crowning.
    

Sixth Grade Field Trip to Sandy Hook

Our 6th graders spent the day outside at Sandy Hook's New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium on a recent field trip. They had the opportunity to put on hip waders and seine for ocean creatures. Not only did the students learn about marine life at Sandy Hook, but also the rich history it holds for our military.
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Makerspace Monday: Third Grade

The students in 3rd grade had their choice to work together on designing & building a working marble run, or the LEGO Race Cars or Gear Bots sets.  Here are some examples of what they came up with.
    

School Band Concert

Our students and parents were treated to a Band Concert today, led by Mr. & Mrs. Mallinson. They work very hard teaching our students to become accomplished musicians. Congrats to all our band members for their dedication in learning how to play their instrument in our band. Thank you to the Mallinsons, for always encouraging the musical talents of our students!
   

6th Grade Students Learn About Circuits with LEDs and Clay?

Our 6th graders are beginning their Makerspace Project by learning about circuits through the use of conductive clay and LED lights. Stay tuned as they continue exploring circuits and complete their 4th qtr. Makerspace projects.
    

National Kindergarten Day

Our Kindergarten Kids were happy to celebrate National Kindergarten Day on Friday, April 21st. Friedrich Frobel, a German educator, was born on April 21. In 1837, he established the first kindergarten, a play and activity institution. (Kindergarten is a German word from the mid-19th century that literally means “children’s garden.”) According to Frobel, young children should freely investigate their individual interests. For this reason, kindergartens incorporate chanting, dancing, and imaginative play.
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Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a Happy & Blessed Easter from our adorable Little Knights! Enjoy your Easter Sunday; may it be filled with sweet treats, good food, family and friends! "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad!" Alleluia! Alleluia! He is Risen!
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Fine Arts Spotlight: Grades 5, 3, and 2

The spotlight shines on our Art students in 5th grade who designed a Scratch Board after learning about King Tut, our 3rd graders who drew bugs and insects in a jar, and our 2nd graders who used primary colors to paint root vegetables. Thanks to Mrs. Minsavage for always bringing out the creativity in all of our students.
      

1st Grade Takes a Virtual Field Trip to LEGO HQ

Our Future Engineers in First Grade went on a virtual field trip to LEGO Headquarters in Billund, Denmark. During this virtual trip, they learned how important play is to learning and creativity, as well as the ways that LEGO is attempting to make their products more sustainable and better for our environment.  Then they virtually put together LEGO kits using their computer mouse.
     

3rd Graders Create Masks for Mardi Gras

On Shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent begins, Mrs. Duarte's 3rd grade class continued the tradition of designing masks for their Mardi Gras Parade throughout the school. Along the way, the students encountered some happy siblings on the parade route.
      

The Grand Fallons Visit St. A's

St. A's welcomed back The GRAND FALLOONS, who presented an enjoyable and informative presentation based on the K-6 Earth Science Curriculum in the New York and New Jersey Board of Education. "Our Earth; What A Gas!" follows the further adventures of Professor Winklebottom and Meatloaf at the next meeting of
the Science Club as they examine the bubble of our atmosphere, the basics we need to survive in that bubble and the delicate cycles of the Carbon/Oxygen/Hydrogen exchange between the Plant and Animal Kingdoms. They then illustrated how wasted resources, litter and other pollution threaten that simple but delicate balance, trapping gasses and warming the Earth's atmosphere, and the simple ways we can all chip in to take care of Our Earth. Thank you to the GRAND FALLOONS for making learning a fun experience!   

5th Grade STEM Spotlight: Science and Math

Our 5th grade students are completing STEM projects in both Science and Math. Our Scientists in 5th grade predicted how shadows move to learn more about the rotation of the Earth. Our Mathematicians in 5th grade completed a Pizza Box Project, where they had to convert fractions into equivalent fractions, and come up with word problems about their pizza. 
    

St. A's Lady Knights Head to Rutgers to Support their Namesakes at Play4Kay Game

Our 3th & 4th grade Lady Knights (as well as some of our future Lady Knights) supported the Rutgers Women's Basketball Lady Scarlet Knights Sunday during their Breast Cancer Awareness Big Ten game against Wisconsin. This special Rutgers Athletics Play4Kay game honored cancer survivors, including assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson. McCray-Penson is one of several cancer survivors that were celebrated on Sunday afternoon. They also saluted 12-year-old Scarlett Stiso as the RWJBarnabas Health Shining Knight of the Game. The Rutgets Lady Knights wore special pink uniforms and shoes and won the game, 73-67!! Way to support an awesome cause Lady Knights! 
    

Fourth Grade Parent Day!

Our 4th grade Parent Day this January, had a fun winter theme, as the families were challenged to design and build a snowball structure & a hibernation station, as well as completing a snowflake symmetry project.
           
Visit our Facebook page for many, many more photos from this event!

Second Graders Play Online Chess in Technology Class

Some of our 2nd graders were introduced to a new website in Tech Class today, and they automatically chose to play an online Chess game. One of them even beat the computer! Playing chess is great for a child's brain development, as it develops logic, critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills.
     

Portable Planetarium Comes to St. A's

Although the pictures look dark, the students saw the light, stars, planets and constellations the minute they entered this incredible traveling Planetarium with Mr. Meyer. What an outstanding real-world STEM lesson for every grade!
       

Kindergarten Learns About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our Kindergarten Kids in Mrs. Young's Class are learning a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They made peace signs and came up with ways that they could promote peace, and recognized that love comes in all different colors. As Dr. King said, "Love is the only force capable of turning an enemy into a friend."
   

Fine Arts Showcase: 2nd Grade

Today we find our 2nd grade artists in Mrs. Minsavage's art class mixing warm colors to paint hearts in anticipation of Valentine's Day.
       

Something's Cooking in 5th Grade for World Language Class

Our 5th grade students completed a tasty homework assignment for their French World Language class, and made Ratatouille for the entire family to enjoy.
       

7th Grade Students Show Off Their Marble Roller Coasters

In Mr. Tackett's 7th grade Science class, the students studied potential and kinetic energy and were tasked with building a functioning and creative marble roller coaster. They also got a chance to share their knowledge and their coasters with our 1st grade students, who were amazed at what they saw and learned.
         

Kindergarten and 8th Grade Buddies Write Letters to Santa

With lots of Christmas spirit in their hearts, our 8th graders helped their Kindergarten buddies write letters to Santa, and will mail them to The North Pole for Santa to read. This tradition of 8th grade and Kindergarten buddies allows the students to develop a strong bond with each other as they spend quality time together.
       

Sixth Grade Babysitting Club Reaches Milestone

Thanks to Mrs. Hermosilla, our School Nurse, our 6th grade babysitters have now completed the Babysitting 101 course and are ready to learn CPR and First Aid for more advanced training.
        

St. A's Girl Scouts Contribute to the Giving Tree

Our Girl Scout Troops 81785 & 80090 worked together and participated in the Giving Tree at St. Augustine Church. The girls each picked out a tag and then purchased and donated a gift. The St. A's Girl Scouts are keeping the true meaning of Christmas by giving to those in need during this time of Advent.  
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Advent Family Night

Our HSA hosted a Family Celebration of Advent Night, which was held in person for the first time in two years.  Our St. A's families enjoyed a fun filled night of festive music, delicious desserts, and an Advent craft.  
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Fine Arts Showcase: Second and Third Grade

In Art class, our 2nd and 3rd grade students are getting in the holiday mood by creating Christmas trees using different artistic mediums.
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Pre-K Students Learn to Code

Even our Little Knights in Preschool can get excited and learn about coding.  They did some offline Hopscotch coding and coded Daisy the Dinosaur on the iPads! 
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Early Learners Celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas

It was a very Happy St. Nicholas Feast Day for our Little Knights as they received some yummy treats in the morning after they put out their shoes the previous night.
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Coding the World Cup for the "Hour of Code"

Since 2013, our students have celebrated the Hour of Code by completing a one-hour introduction to computer science designed to demystify "code" to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. This year our students in grades 4-8 are coding the World Cup of Soccer using Tynker's Blockly codes. They are learning to use basic programming concepts such as sequencing, conditional logic, and more while playing this fun soccer-themed game. 
 

Middle School Kindness Chains

During Mrs. Falk's Religion class, the 6th and 7th grade students have been creating kindness chains. Each student wrote acts of kindness they can perform during the Advent season. The decoration of the chains in 6B's homeroom doorway is an excellent reminder of the kind acts we need to do each day to make the world a better place. 
   

Pre-K Students Learn About Advent

Our Little Knights in Preschool are learning all about Advent and made their own Advent wreaths to remind them that we are all joyfully waiting for Baby Jesus to come on Christmas morning.
       

Sixth Grade Parent Day

Our 6th grade families got to spend Parent's Day with their children, by attending morning mass together. Then they put together Blessings Bags for Elijah's Promise, and created Advent calendars of good deeds. It was a joyful day to have our parents back in school with us and enjoying quality family time together!
         

Pre-K Students Learn About Advent

Our Little Knights in Preschool are learning all about Advent and made their own Advent wreaths to remind them that we are all joyfully waiting for Baby Jesus to come on Christmas morning.
       

Eighth Grade Science Project with 3D Printer

Mr. Tackett's 8th grade Science class is integrating Science with Technology and using our 3D printers to create keychains that use elements in the Periodic Table to spell out the students' first names. They used Tinkercad to design their Periodic Table keychains, and Mr. De Bari, our Tech Guru, will be printing them out on our 3D printers. This is an excellent project to complete their unit on the Periodic Table.
       

Third Grade Thanksgiving STREAM with Ozobots

Mrs. Duarte's  3rd grade class read the book, Balloons Over Broadway, and then completed a fun STREAM project, and here is what they learned:
Science - what forces does it take to hold the balloons up in the parade and also how will weather effect the parade.
Technology - coding the Ozobots route. 
Religion - wrote prayers for those involved in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade
Engineering- attaching the balloon to the Ozobots. 
Art - drawing and decorating their balloon.
Math - making an array for the buildings and house that Ozobots traveled through to get to the parade.
+ Social Studies - the students selected a type of community for their array, since we are learning about the three types of communities. They wrote a small story about how they knew their Ozobots came from that community.
The students than added the balloons to the Ozobots and launched them around! Everyone stopped at the Macy’s sign to complete their Thanksgiving Day Parade!
       

November Service Projects

Our Little Knights In Mrs. Straughn's Preschool class proudly show the food they have collected to donate to our Thanksgiving Food Drive. Even our youngest know that "God loves a cheerful giver!"

The 5th and 2nd Grade classes joined together and worked on a Thanksgiving Service Project.  They decorated and assembled 150 snack bags with donated items to give to those who attended a sit down Thanksgiving Dinner. Two of our students handed out the bags this Sunday at the PeopleCare Center For Nonprofits, Inc. in Bridgewater.
   
Students in Mrs. Duarte’s 3rd grade class completed two services projects this month. They collected food for the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry, and decorated tissue boxes to donate to a nursing home.
 
Our 7th grade students spent the morning today packing over 400 bags for Elijah's Promise in New Brunswick. They also added special messages to each bag, so the person receiving it will know that they are loved and are being prayed for, and wished a very Happy Thanksgiving.
     

Remembering Our Veterans on Veteran's Day

From Mr. Modzelewski, our Principal, and all our St. A's Knights in honor of our veterans:  "We remember all Veterans, past and present, for their sacrifices and selflessness.  We especially remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their life for the greater good.  We especially thank all the Veterans in our school community.  To the United States Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, we salute you and ask God to bestow His blessing upon you." 
     

Kindergarten Science Class

Our Kindergarten Kids became scientists in a Science Museum set up by Mrs. Young in their classroom. The scientists experimented with rocks, telescopes, a magnifying glass, gems, plasma balls, glow sticks, balloons, microscopes, and more. Each student had to use their five senses and observe "matter from Mars" that was similar to slime. 
         

Class of 2023 Debuts First Friday T-Shirts

At the November First Friday breakfast, the 8th grade class were presented with thier "First Friday Breakfast Club" t-shirts, a beloved St. A's tradition.  Special thanks to the class moms who prepare and serve the breakfast every month.
   

Buddies Dress Up for Halloween

Our Kindergarten and 8th Grade buddies got together for a Halloween parade to show off their costumes.  Afterwards, they all posed together for a group photo and then got down to the serious business of Trunk-or-Treating.  Many thanks to all of our school families who make Halloween extra special for our students!

5th Grade Parent Day

What a wonderful parent day for our 5th graders! The students and their parents attended 9:00 Mass and prayed together. After eating some delicious treats brought by their parents, they helped their child create famous landmarks and other objects with Play Dough and Legos! It was so good to have our families back in school with us again.
       
Check out our Facebook page for many more photos from this wonderful event!

8th Graders Meet Their Kindergarten Buddies

One of our most treasured St. A's traditions is our 8th grade and Kindergarten Buddies program. They develop a strong bond between them and some of them stay close for many years to come. Our 8th graders helped their Kindergarten Buddies paint and design their wooden Halloween pumpkin, as a remembrance of their first time together. Our Kindergarten Kids will now be going to mass each month with their 8th grade Buddies as their spiritual role models in church.
     
See all of the buddies and their pumpkins on our Facebook page!

3rd Grade Pumpkin STEM Project

Third grade completed their STEM pumpkin pulley systems today in our Makerspace Room. They are learning about force, motion and simple machines in Science. They read the book, "The Biggest Pumpkin Ever," and then created a pulley system to move the “biggest pumpkin” (for a mouse it’s the biggest which would be the smallest pumpkin for us). Congratulations to Mrs. Duarte and her 3rd grade students for a job well done!

5th Grade Science Experiment

What happens when you combine vinegar and baking soda? An "explosion" of course! Fifth grade used the chemical reaction to blow up balloons and put out fires! Our budding scientists also investigated if the state of matter affects movement -- and found it does! The scientists used eggs to represent the different states of matter: hard boiled represented solids, raw represented liquids, and "empty" (filled with air) represented gas. Our principal, Mr. M joined in the investigation. Not sure who had more fun--the students or the adults? 
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School Rosary for Our Lady of Fatima

On the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, we prayed the Rosary together as a school community, and our Kindergarten Kids joined us in church with some of our 8th Grade students. 
     

Early Grades Return to the Computer Lab After a Long Hiatus

Our First Graders are quite happy to be back in our Computer Lab and learning on our new DELL computers. They have been practicing their awesome mouse skills, while learning their numbers up to 100 and finding the placement of the keys on the keyboard. This year, they will work on both the Chromebooks in their classroom, as well as on the desktops in the lab. 
        

Happy Birthday, Johnny Appleseed!

Our Little Knights in Kindergarten and Preschool celebrated the birthday of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, by completing activities and crafts all about apples and trees. Chapman was an American pioneer who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. 
       

Focus on Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Mrs. Geisler is working with our Middle School classes on a daily basis to facilitate and advise the students on the progress of their PBL projects. Pictured below are some of the 6th grade projects in their early stages.  We look forward to all of the students presenting their final projects to Mr. M and the rest of the school. 
     

Red Carpet Reading Event

To encourage the love of reading, Mrs. Duarte hosted a Red Carpet Reading event opening up her classroom library for our third grade students to enjoy. The students practiced making a book stack of five books ranging from too easy, to just right, and too difficult to read books. They walked the red carpet, got a gold star with their name, and star sunglasses to encourage them to become "STAR READERS WHO MAKE GREAT LEADERS!"
         

Puzzles on the Patio

Our whole fifth grade worked together to complete puzzles…but first they had to figure out where the missing pieces were!! Way to work together as a team!
     

School Mass on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

On the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Superintendent of Schools Mrs. Barbara Stevens joined us for our first school mass of the year.  Mrs. Stevens gave a special new principal blessing to Mr. Modzewleski and welcomed him and his family to our school liturgy. Sister Mary Louise Shulas, MPF, the new Director of Curriculum for the Diocese, also joined us and blessed us with the relic of St. Lucy Filippini. Father Bob told the story of how Mr. M. received all of his sacraments at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church, and met his wife in Kindergarten as a student in our school. We wish "Mr. M" (Class of 1997) an awesome first year as our principal, and we ask Our Lady to bless and protect him and his family on his new journey here at St. A's.
     

We're Back!  Snapshots from the First Days of School

The 2022-2023 school year began on Tuesday, September 6th for grades 1 to 8.  Kindergarten joined us on Friday, September 9th, and our Little Knights in Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 began on Monday, September 12th.  Here are just a few snapshots from our first week.  Please visit our Facebook page for many, many more photos.