Maple Avenue Elementary

June 1, 2020

Dear Parents,

Wow! This has certainly been a year! I can honestly say in 23 years of teaching, this has been the greatest learning experience of my life! In September, we lost our sweet friend, Alaysha. That was something most children never have to experience. Then in March, never getting a true chance to say our goodbyes. I know this is not how things should be, but we all did our best! I commend you for all your efforts! Your children and YOU have certainly earned the right to relax and enjoy your summer. I hope things are somewhat back to normal in September. 

Please do not delete your Dojo until I give you the green light. I still hope to connect with you there, also on my email, ppileggi@nfschools.net. In August, I will have to change the Dojo over to my new group, but you can always reach me through my email. I also hope to post some fun stress free learning links on my webpage throughout the summer as well. In addition, I have heard that Moby Max and Smarty Ants will continue on throughout the summer, most likely through mid-August. I don't know for sure about Epic. 

I will have special gifts for you children. Please see Dojo for more information regarding gifts. This was a VERY SPECIAL group I will never ever forget, and I don't want to skip out on their special memory gift simply because we are not together. 

Please make sure you read with your child every night. Practice sight words. That is so important. Post the kindegarten goals sheet that is up on the website this week and sent home in the final packet. 

I will continue to post here and there over the summer. But for now, adios! It has been a pleasure! I have missed you children for some time now, but I will always have the most special place saved in my heart for them!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pileggi

May 25, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope you all enjoyed a nice Memorial Day weekend with your family! Parents, please take a moment to share with your children what Memorial Day is all about.  I hope everyone is feeling healthy and happy, and ready to take on this new 4 day work week. After this one, we will have only one more week of online plans. How many of you are smiling right now? The weather is getting better, and we all have sunshine on our minds.  As you know the official end of the school year is June 9. I will continue to push out ideas/ suggestions as long I can on ClassDojo and here on my website. I will do my best to make sure that your child is as ready as they can be for the upcoming year! Keep doing what you are doing! You are AMAZING!!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pileggi

May 18, 2020

Dear Parents,

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well! If you have not heard, our last official day this school year is June 9th. After this week, we will have two more full weeks of instruction. I know that some days are better than others. All I can ask you to do is your best! I love the  pictures sent through Dojo and the videos through my email. I am so proud at how far some of your children have come during this time. Keep up the great work! Keep those Little Flat Mrs. Pileggi pictures coming in! They make me so happy! I miss my students so much!  Remember to log on to Smarty Ants, Moby Max, and Epic. Those are great sites that document progress, too. Have a great week. Remember to check in with me through email or Dojo if you have any questions at all. Take time to enjoy the sunshine! 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pileggi

 May 11, 2020

Dear Parents,

First of all, I hope all you moms had a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope you enjoyed our little video presentation posted on Class Dojo. Now that we have more clarity regarding work collection, thank you to those who have turned in work to school. Please make sure all work is in an envelope or large clear baggy clearly labeled with their name, my name, and kindergarten. Thank you also to those who sent pictures of all dated work through Dojo messaging. You are all doing such a great job! Keep up the great work. I am also noticing more consistent work on the 3 websites the District has suggested; Smarty Ants, Moby Max, and Epic. I can see those on my end. Thank you to those who have sent videos to my email. I love hearing their reading progress!

In closing, just a reminder to please hop on Class Dojo every day. I post all throughout the day, and check messages hourly. Please continue to send pics of your children with little paper Mrs. Pileggi. I love seeing those sweet faces, and it helps for them to see their friends, especially now. Please let me know if your child did not receive one for whatever reason. I will send one asap. 

Stay Healthy,

Mrs. Pileggi

May 4, 2020

Dear Parents,

First, I would like to let you know what an amazing job you are doing! I sincerely appreciate the messages and pictures! I am also very proud of the work I am seeing on Moby Max, Smarty Ants, and Epic Books! Learning is still happening in so many ways. Keep in mind what I put up on the website is suggested. It may be too much to fit into your day. And some days might be better than others!  Try to do the very best you can.  And if something you and your child are doing inspires you to suggest a diferent writing task, make that work. I see a lot of fun family field trips happening. Those are also wonderful real life learning experiences. 

If you would like to turn completed work in, you may do so now. Please make sure that all is in a large envelope or gallon sized  baggy,  clearly marked with your child's name, my name, and kindergarten. I hear they have bins ready at the school.  If you wish to submit electronically, snap pics of 3 samples per week, and send my way through Dojo messages. 

In closing, wishing all you wonderful moms a fabulous Mother's Day. I wish we could have made you an awesome gift in class! You most certainly deserve it! Keep checking Class Dojo daily! And be on the lookout for some special mail this week, from me.  Have a super week! 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pileggi

April 27, 2020

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe our last day physically together in my classroom was over 6 weeks ago. I miss my students very much! Thank you for working so hard to keep your children learning as best you can, given these circumstances. You continue to amaze me every day!

I hope with this week, you are more comfortable navigating through my website, and have a solid plan for figuring this into your day. Again, I fully undertand how everyone has different situations at home. I ask that you do the best you can. I know you are. Always save everything they complete as collections will happen at a future date. And beginning this week, choose 2 to 3 work samples (math or reading), take pictures,  and send to my phone. I want to make sure that you are all covered. 

It seems the biggest issue this past  week was technology. Some frozen websites, passwords not working. I hope all are fixed now. I think by now, all know to go through "Clever" for Moby Max and Smarty Ants. There is no password required for Starfall, and I sent you seperate info for Epic Books. If you have not logged on that yet, give that a go. It is wonderful. There are "read to me books" great for kindergarten. Smarty Ants, Moby Max and Epic are all programs  that can be tailored to meet your child's individual needs and all usage  is stored and saved. And with more practice, I find they really are great! 

With this closing, I guess this is the week that we will find out Gov. Cuomo's decision about the remainder of the school year. I still carry a little hope that we may one day meet up as a class again. This is truly heartbreaking, though I understand the purpose. 

Have a good week! Give my honeys a big hug, and please tell them I miss them. Please let me know if I can help you in any way or if you need clarification on anything on my website. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pileggi

April 20, 2020

Dear Parents,

We have made it into the 6th week of learning from home. I hope that you were able to play around with my website and now feel more confident with getting kids logged on to websites through "Clever", and have a better idea of how to make this all fit in to your day the best you can. I fully recognize the challenges of working from home, and know that many of you have more than one child  you are working with at home. You are doing an amazing job! Please know that I am here to help you in any way that I can. Remember, these are suggested tasks. You might not be able to fit all in due to circumstances beyond your control. Do what you can, and remember to save what they do. Discussions are taking place this week regarding the collection of materials. I will keep you updated. 

Remember to check Class Dojo every day, as that is the quickest way I can distribute information. Please continue to send me pics through Dojo. If you would like to send me a video, send to my email, ppileggi@nfschools.net.  

You may go ahead and have your child take the Moby Max math placement test, if you haven't already. Make sure you do NOT help them at all. If done independently, it will provide them with individualized lessons perfect for them.  I have been playing around with it. The foundational skills section is really good, too. Check out Epic Books, too for extra learning. The "Read to Me" books are awesome!

Best wishes as you enter into this week!

Mrs. Pileggi 

 April 7, 2020

Dear Parents,

First of all, I want to let you know how much I miss you children! This is a really tough time for so many of us! Please know that I am thinking of you, and I am still very much here to help you navigate through this unusual time.  To keep communication flowing, please check Dojo each day. You can even send pictures of your children as they complete work or simply doing something fun they would like their friends to see. Though it is not the same, I like how we can stay connected with technology.  

Regarding work: Please know that I want you to take care of yourself first. Do the best you can! Many of you are working from home, or have several children who need you to support them in academics more than ever! The last thing I want to do is stress you out. Each Monday, I will post lessons to be completed throughout the week. For accountability, please have a notebook ready, and date assignments. You will notice there are three main books with follow up activities for reading each week. Some books and activities take longer than others. If your child is to finish within a 3 day window, they can use additional books at home or on Epic, AbC mouse, or any other website to practice. For Fundations, I will keep it simple. The main goal is for students to be able to put sounds together to form words. A little bit of that each day goes a long way. In math, we have always learned in center based activities. I am still working through how that might look for upcoming weeks as we move into new concepts. Video links on Dojo might come in handy. So again, please check that daily. I will continue to post readalouds there, too. In addition to the assignment page, I have links to other activities, songs, and websites.  

Please continue to contact me through Dojo or email me if you have any questions. Please stay safe! Give you kiddos a BIG hug from me. 

With Hope and Love,

Mrs. Pileggi