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lynneshapiro627@yahoo.com (Elysian)

After 40 years of teaching both here at Elysian and in New York City, 1st grade teacher, Pam Cushing, has announced her retirement at the end of the school year. We will miss Pam VERY much, but also
appreciate her enthusiasm for what lies ahead!

Sincerely,
Carol

It was so great to see so many of you at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday the 18^th. We had a great turnout. 89 members were signed in and 127 members cast ballots.

I would like to publicly thank the many people who helped with the set up and organization of the evening. A special thanks to; Carol Stock, Susan Gilbertson, John Mercado, Kathy Prussack, Tracey Calvanico, Sonya Chazin, Nicole Walsh, Frank Musumici and Gene Steinhart. If I left anyone out; I apologize!

Many parents stayed after the meeting was over to help pitch in with clean up. A special thanks to Jacklyn Cherubini from the Hoboken Clergy Coalition and Shelter for monitoring our voting process.

We welcome our new Board members; Josephine Buonsanto, Susan Shaw, Joan Abel and Kristen Jordan. I know that they are all looking forward to working hard for Elysian.

We say goodbye to four very hardworking Board members; Kathy Prussack, Steve Feinstein, Richard Kurland and Donna Olah-Reiken. Thanks to all of you for your hard work.

I hope that some of you will consider being part of the Nominating Committee next year. Our total membership is 253, lets aim for 100% participation in this process in 2009!

During the past week there have been a number of students sent to school who have been ill. All of these children had to be sent home at the beginning of the school day.

As a working mother myself, I know the difficulty of securing last minute child care in an emergency situation. However, if you choose to send your child to school when he or she is sick, YOUR CHILD WILL BE SENT HOME.

When students are sent to school with a fever, virus or severe cold, it exposes their classmates and teacher to the illness. Flu,

colds, stomach viruses, pink eye, strep throat and a myriad of other illnesses are contagious and can quickly spread in a

classroom. Even though students are strongly encouraged to follow thorough hand-washing procedures, many of these viruses and flues are spread through droplets in coughs and sneezes.

If your child is running a fever or suffering from vomiting or diarrhea, he or she must be symptom free for at least 24 hours

before returning to school. Highly contagious illnesses such as strep throat and pink eye must be treated with medication for a minimum of 24 hours before a student can come back to school, and in these instances the child must have a physician's note.

If you have any questions, please call me at school (201)876-0102. With everyone's cooperation, we can have a healthy

I want to let you know the dates of our Spring Concerts. Please put these dates on your calendars!!! The Special chorus concert is Friday, April 25^th as part of our April community meeting. The Spring Concert for 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 6^th Grade students is Friday May 23^rd at 9:00 am. Both concerts will be in the OLG Auditorium. I will send more detailed information home to you through your child’s teacher. I, and your children, look forward to seeing you at the concerts!!

In a previous newsletter, I wrote about what our oldest students were doing. Now, I’d like to write about the vocal component of the music program, grades K- 5. I believe the most fundamental reason for singing is that most people, especially young people, find a profound connection to their emotions through their singing voices. Singing provides a way for people to directly express their feelings, and to understand the feelings of others.

In addition, singing can most readily provide the fundamental opening into the world of pitch and melody as a means of internalizing the language of music. The repetition of rhythm and pitch patterns (short memorable rhythm figures and melodic patterns) in traditional folk music and the study of solfege (scales and melodic patterns, and tonality) teaches children a basic vocabulary of musical “words” which they will learn to recognize in many other styles of music.

For many children, singing is the first and most natural way of relating to music. The ability to sing also assists in instrumental work because the voice is often the model for expressive affect on instruments.

In weekly classroom work, all children sing age appropriate (content), and vocally appropriate (physically) folk music in the form of short chants, ballads and canons. They study very basic use of the voice, and apply Dalcroze Eurhythmy principles and games to vocal work, including improvisation and composition.

In the Audition Chorus, children who are especially interested in vocal work, have the opportunity take their work to a higher level. The aim of this group is to learn how to fully prepare a program for performance in as professional a manner as possible. The children are singing a wide variety of songs –from Broadway show tunes, to Latin American style dance music written for young people’s chorus, to madrigals.

Kindergarteners are singing songs, including “Grandma Grunts”, “Who’s that Tapping at the Window?” “Put the Kettle On”, “Let us Chase the Squirrel” (song game), “The Paw Paw Patch” (song game), “Bye, Bye Baby”, “Old Bald Eagle”, “Bow Wow Wow” and “There Was A Man”.

First and Second graders are singing: the “Snake Baked a Hoe Cake”, “Five Little Ducks”, “Over in the Meadow”, “Go Tell Aunt Rhody”, “Frog in the Bog”, “Mole in the Ground”, “The Animal Song” (with the names of 64 different kinds of animals!), “Donkeys are in Love with Carrots”. They are also playing song games including: “Closet Key”, “Willum had Seven Sons”, “Hop Old Squirrel”, “Mighty Pretty Motion” and “Circle Round the Zero”. The second graders are also beginning to work on to work on longer song tales such as “Let’s Go Hunting”, “Old Blue”, “Frog went a Courtin”.

The Third Graders have just started singing a group of humorous song tales (short ballads) including: “Frog and Crow”, “Risseldy Rosseldy”, “Kitty Alone”, “Michael Finnegan”, “The Tailor and The Mouse”, “Old Joe Clark”, “Froggie Went A Courtin’” (New York City Version by Marjorie Priceman).

Fourth Graders are beginning to sing: “Yankee Doodle” (all verses), “In Good Old Colony Times”, “Stewball”, “Paddy Works on the Railway”, “Cape Cod Girls”, “I Gave My Love a Cherry” (a riddle song).

Fifth Graders have just started singing (or will be): “The Housewife’s Lament”, “Gathering Olives”, “Scarborough Fair”, “The Gypsy Rover”, “John Henry”, “Drunken Sailor” and will be working on the Ray Charles “Fifty Nifty States” song.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to call me.

· Little Eagles Playoffs! Wallace School, 10 AM, Come and cheer us on to victory!

Ed. Note: I realize that last week I attached the following form with a typo. Since we are living at a time of full disclosure, I would like to admit my mistake. As you may know, most of my typing errors involve numbers, and these errors are notoriously difficult to catch. Though the form was proof-read, the error went unnoticed.

What are your plans

for the next school year?

We are already planning for the next school year, and we need to know your plans as soon as possible.

All children who attend Elysian this year are guaranteed a space next year, as are any siblings, space permitting. If you let us know there’s a chance you might not return, we will continue to hold your child’s place until you make a final decision. With this information we can encourage some wait-listed families to "hang on" because there's a chance a space might open up before September.

Please help us to begin the next school year with full enrollment, by answering honestly and in a timely fashion.

We’re asking the Elysian community to share their photographs of school events and class trips that you can share. Please send them to John at Rue. We’re looking for pictures of all classes/grades from this school year. As well, for our graduating 8^th graders, we’re looking from any images of them, K-8.

Mardi Gras 2008 photos!

1) Log onto www.pictage.com

2) Find your event: Mardi Gras 2008

3) Event location: Elysian Charter School

4) Event code is 431501.

Purchase photos until April 1.

10% donated to the Friends of Elysian.

4^th and 5^th grade parents –

Save the Date

Middle School Night

Wednesday, April 2, 6PM

Rue Building

PTSO Seeking Vice President and Secretary for Next Year: Please speak with Tracey Calvanico if interested.

Mark Your Calendar….

Spring Rummage Sale

May 10th

From the Music Room

For many children, singing is the first and most natural way of relating to music. The ability to sing also assists in instrumental work because the voice is often the model for expressive affect on instruments.