November Newsletter 2021

CEDAR HILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

November Newsletter

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House System Officer Elections 2021-2022 On Friday, October 29th, the CHP House System held its officer elections for the 2021-2022 school year. The candidates each ran a great campaign, with promotional visuals designed by each student displayed all around the Middle School building, announcing their campaign message and candidate qualifications. Each House gathered as a group and listened to their candidates speeches, before taking turns voting electronically in booths divided by their respective Houses.

The winners were announced at the end of the day on the 29th and were sworn in on Thursday, November 3rd. The newly elected Leaders and Assistant Leaders are supported by a new cabinet in each House, with positions for Arbitrators, Speaker, Scribe, Steward, and Historian.

Nina Barnes & Suhani Davda won for House Leaders of the Cherokee Bears, with Kailee Shannon elected Assistant House Leader. The Lenape Owls elected Lielle Parker as their new House Leader and Jasmine Hanna as Assistant Leader. The Ramapo Falcons saw Tea Florencio and Ayden Raju victorious in their candidate race, while Motunrayo Odukoya was named Assistant Leader. Meanwhile, the Shawnee Beavers elected Neal Patel and Daniel Yuh as their House Leaders and Tanvi Potluri as Assistant House Leader.

Congratulations on a well run campaign to all our candidates and especially to our newly appointed student cabinet members!

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PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS Veterans Day Veterans Day is a day to honor all of the men and women who have served our country in war or in peace. Children at Cedar Hill Prep preschool and Pre-Kindergarten classes had the fortunate opportunity to listen to our own Christine Smith Petty Officer First Class. She talked about the meaning of Veteran’s Day, the importance of our flag and demonstrated how to correctly fold the American flag. There is a special way to fold it 13 times into a tight triangle. Thank you for your service to our great country!!!

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Family Traditions With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we think of family and friends getting together to celebrate traditions. Children in our preschool classes were asked to make a “family tradition” collage of pictures that capture the memories of their family and friends. The students learned that there are many traditions that can be celebrated. Some of their family traditions included birthday celebrations, annual summer or holiday trips, and holiday parties. Each student presented their poster of pictures as they shared their culture and traditions with the class.

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Preschool Thanksgiving Pilgrims and Native Americans were seen in the preschool classrooms at Cedar Hill Prep school. While wearing the Pilgrim and Native American headwear, the preschoolers reenacted the first Thanksgiving.

The children learned about the Pilgrims coming to America on the Mayflower and the Native Americans helping the Pilgrims grow crops and hunt to survive.

They feasted on turkey, corn, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, followed by a delicious apple pie.

After their feast, the children listened to a Thanksgiving Bracelet story. As color was mentioned in the story, the children placed that colored bead onto a pipe cleaner. Each colored bead represented the hardships that the Pilgrims overcame during their first year in their new land. The children proudly wore their beautifully colored bracelets.

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PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS Pre-Kindergarten Thanksgiving The Pre-Kindergarten class celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with a class party! We learned about different Thanksgiving traditions and talked about the different things that may be on our dinner tables for this holiday. We also discussed what it means to be thankful. Each student had the opportunity to tell their classmates what they are thankful for. Afterward, the children had a great time making edible cornucopias!

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Election Day in Kindergarten The Kindergarten children learned all about Election Day!! We read Duck For President. We learned that all of us have the freedom to choose who or what we like best, but it is the most accumulated votes that determine the winner. The candidates were Chocolate Chip cookies, Oreo cookies and Animal cookies. Each child voted and we tallied up the votes. Oreo cookies won!!! We will eat them tomorrow!!

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Veterans Day

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One of our Veterans, Ms. Christine (Noah and Oliver’s mom) visited the Kindergarten children this morning to talk about Veterans Day and our American flag. The American flag is an important symbol of our country. The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well; red symbolizes strength and bravery, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. We learned how to properly fold and unfold our flag and we know that the flag should never touch the ground! Thank you to all of our Veterans who risk their lives to keep us safe and free! Happy Veterans Day to our heroes!

PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS Thanksgiving Feast Just as the Pilgrims and Native Americans joined together for their Thanksgiving Feast, both Kindergarten classes got together and created their own cornucopia. Each child filled their sugar cone with delicious grapes, blueberries, mangoes, strawberries, and apples. This made for a great Pre-Thanksgiving treat! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

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Chanukah Celebration The Kindergarten children took a magic carpet ride using their imagination to see the festival of Chanukah celebrated magnificently in Israel. We saw beautifully lit menorahs, gifts for every night of Chanukah, children playing the dreidel game, a gathering of families enjoying and eating potato latkes and so much more!! The children wrote all about their experiences in their Kindergarten Passports and then drew their illustrations. We also made dreidels and they are hanging up in the hallway! Throughout this month we will continue going on magic carpet rides to see other holiday celebrations around the world.

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS First Grade learns about Diwali First Grade had a fun time learning about Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights. They read a book, Binny’s Diwali by Thriti Umrigar. Through this heartwarming book, they learned about the victory of light over dark and good over evil. They also learned about the delicious treats shared during the festivities, the lighting of clay lamps called diyas, and fireworks that light up the sky. Additionally, the children found out about the significance of the 5 days of Diwali!

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Turkey Project This November, CHP 1st graders have been involved in a “Disguise a Turkey” project. First, we read and discussed the book, Turkey Trouble. In this delightful story, the main character, Turkey, dresses up to save himself from Thanksgiving dinner. Then, each student received a turkey template with directions to create a disguise to save their turkey. Students worked with their parents to generate a creative disguise. CHP 1st graders were delighted when they viewed their classmates’ projects! Click to See More Images

Second Grade Celebrates Veterans Day 2nd Grade enjoyed a visit yesterday from Ms. Christine Smith, a Petty Officer First Class, to help us learn about the importance of Veterans Day. Ms. Smith also talked about how to respect the American flag and showed the children the proper way to fold the flag. Did you know that it takes 13 folds to fold it properly? Thank you for your service, Ms. Smith, and to all our Veterans! Click to See More Images

Thankful Thoughts 2nd grade enjoyed writing paragraphs entitled “Thankful Thoughts.” After brainstorming ideas, each child selected three important things that they were thankful for this year. As a way for the whole grade to celebrate together, the children worked to create a gratitude chain, where the links represented what each 2nd grader is thankful for. The links included amazing friends, loving families, a fabulous school, and a warm home using adjectives and nouns.

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Third Grade Science Activity

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Third graders enjoyed a spooky science lesson. In this fun activity, students combine art and science to create a colorful paper “x-ray” of their hands. In the “Skeleton Hand” students traced their hands, then added see-through bones to their picture, making their own skeleton hand. The students then compared their hand bones to the bones of a mystery animal.

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Mystery Reader On Friday, November 19th, third graders were treated to a mystery reader - it was Shivad’s mom! Based on her clues, Shivad and other students had a feeling it may be her. Over Zoom, she read the story It’s Ok to be Different by Sharon Purtill. The book encourages kids to embrace their differences and be kind to those who are different from themselves.

This was an important message to get across to our impressionable third graders. We can’t wait for our next mystery reader!

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Third Grade Flashlight Third graders were introduced to electricity as a form of energy. In this activity, the students built a flashlight, investigated how electrical energy requires a circuit, and made their own mini flashlights from LEDs, button batteries, and strips of aluminum foil. Along the way, they learned about the anatomy of a battery, began to see how circuits work, and discovered how handy an on-off switch can be. The students challenged themselves by turning their flashlights On and Off. Their light-up card worked as a flashlight.

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Third Grade Super Students Every month, third grade students are selected as Super Students. They exhibit the qualities of exceptional behavior inside the classroom and beyond. They complete a poster that showcases who they are, including their “super student power” and what they would do to make the world a better place. The students take this honor very seriously and are able to showcase their artistic talent through this activity. The following are our Super Students for the month of November: Armaan - a marvelous mathematician and honorable helper! He would make the world a better place by building homes for the homeless. Isha - a tip-top team player and rad reader! To make the world a better place, she would like to stop climate change. Quinton - a great geographer and a magnificent musician. To make the world a better place, he has a wonderful list to tackle. This includes stopping homelessness and ending world hunger. Great job third graders!

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS I Am Thankful Wheel On the day before the Thanksgiving holiday break, third graders created “I Am Thankful” wheels. They had to come up with five different people, things, or places that they are thankful for. They wrote each down in a circle and then illustrated each one. They then colored in the front to create a beautiful project.

The bottom rotates so that they can spin it around and see all of the wonderful things they are grateful for! Third graders genuinely enjoyed this activity and shared what they are thankful for this holiday season with their peers. Sometimes it takes activities like this to help us to slow down and realize all of the true blessings we have in our lives.

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Grade 4 French Class In French Class the Fourth Grade students celebrated the Thanksgiving tradition through the lens of a foreign culture. The students enjoyed coloring in their turkey images, as well as using their knowledge of written French in order to express the things they are thankful for this season. It was a nice celebration of the occasion, seen from a new perspective.o See More Images

Grade 4 Celebrates November Birthdays!

November was another busy month for birthdays as Grade 4 celebrated the birthdays of Aaron Garg on November 2nd, Zeni Morian on November 20th, and Vishnu Badhan on November 29th. Best wishes to all!

We hope your birthdays were filled with joy!

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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Hop on Board!

Grade 4 students gathered globes, atlases, and hand lenses as they embarked on a journey along the Equator and Prime Meridian. As they traveled along each major line of the global grid, they logged the oceans, seas, continents, and countries that they crossed. Next journey…the Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer, and the International Date Line!

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Poetry in Grade 4 After reading “A Walk in the Desert” and exploring the specific pattern of Cinquain poems, Grade 4 students researched the various desert animals they had read about to decide which they would like to use as the subject of their Cinquain poems. After studying the use of assonance, similes, and metaphors in poetry, the students began to write… and were amazed at how unique and expressive they were! Great job Grade 4!

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MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Science Escape Room Grades 5 and 6 celebrated Halloween in class by entering the Science Escape Room. No one dared leave until all of the clues had been figured out. Lots of facts were learned and fun was had by all. I am glad to say they were all released from the Escape Room!

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AROUND THE SCHOOL

Jeans for Troops For the month of November, the entire Cedar Hill Prep School community came together to help the veterans of our nation. On Nov.10th, CHP students and staff participated in the nation’s largest Dress Down Day, “Jeans for Troops,” to support military families who have struggled through the pandemic with homelessness and unemployment. Our goal was to raise $500 for the GI Go Fund, but with the support of the entire school, we raised almost $1300! GI Go is a nonprofit organization which aims to serve veterans with finding employment, connecting with mental health support, accessing benefits, starting small businesses, and many other important services.

To Still Donate for Jeans for Troops, Please Click Here

Lunch with the Principal The students chosen for the month of October sat down with Principal Don Seeley to enjoy a conversation over pizza. Each homeroom had one student nominated to join Mr. Seeley for lunch. Every month he will eat with both the lower school and the middle school students.

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The November students chosen for Pizza with the Principal joined Mr. Seeley for some casual conversation and a couple hot pies. One student is nominated per homeroom each month, in both the lower school and the middle school.

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AROUND THE SCHOOL House Scarecrows Our Cedar Hill Prep Families created incredible “House Scarecrows” and they are all sensational!!! It was a difficult task for our judges to narrow it down to 1st - 3rd place winners. However, the winners have been chosen and here they are. We have a tie for first place and a tie for 3rd place. Our first-place winners with 50 points each are: Milan Williams is in grade 1 and she is a Cherokee Bear and Ian Johnson is in Kindergarten and he is a Shawnee Beaver. Our second-place winner with 35 points is: Ishana Vasanthan is in grade 2 and she is a Lenape Owl. Our 3rd place winners with 15 points each are: Lilly Trotta is in grade 4 and she is a Lenape Owl and Connor Mitchell is in Kindergarten and he is a Ramapo Falcon. Congratulations to all!!!

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Diwali Celebration Cedar Hill Prep celebrated Diwali on November 12th at Deewan Banquet Hall. Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil. The festival of lights is generally a time for visiting, exchanging gifts, cleaning and decorating houses, feasting, setting off fireworks displays, and wearing new clothes. People celebrate by decorating their homes with lights and flowers. Cedar Hill Prep parents and students sang and danced to foot-tapping music that entertained the audience. They also enjoyed a delicious dinner.

A mehendi (temporary tattoo) station was also set up.

A great evening was had by all. Click to See More Images

Book Fair CHP had another successful Book Fair! We sold $5232.53 our largest total ever and raised $2453.70 in Scholastic Dollars to be used to purchase books and supplies for our classrooms. In addition, The All for Books Coin Donations totaled $129.93, which was used to purchase books for classroom libraries.

Thank you all for supporting our Book Fair and fostering a climate of reading within our community.

A special thank you to all the volunteers who gave of their time in setting up, selling, and closing the Book Fair. Our last event, the raffle, took place during morning assemblies. There was an air of excitement as the names of the winners were called to receive their prizes... either a book or poster of their choice.

Great fun was had by all!

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SPECIALS National French Week Organized by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), National French Week is an annual celebration of French language and francophone cultures. The purpose of National French Week is to increase our community’s understanding and appreciation of the francophone world by finding interesting and entertaining ways of looking at how French touches our lives. It’s also a chance to learn about the dozens of countries and millions of people who speak this beautiful language. The event included a skit, written by Mr. Homiak the Drama teacher and performed by 8th graders, about the importance of the French language which featured information about French facts, scientists, singers, artists, and French culture in general. Click to See More Images Click to See Video

ART Marbled Turkeys Kindergarten students created turkeys first by stretching, coloring, pounding, and rolling Model Magic dough. Next, using markers, students added eyes and wings. Lastly, synthetic feathers were affixed to the turkeys for the crowning touch!

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Dancing Scarecrows First and second graders composed paintings of scarecrows. Using a brush, students were required to mix two or three colors of tempera paint for each section of their scarecrows. By way of applying loose gesture strokes onto the paper, the scarecrows looked as if they were dancing!

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SPECIALS CHP Haunted Houses Grades 3 through 8 painted watercolor paintings based on Victorian and Gothic Architecture at their gloomiest.

Watch CHP Haunted House Presentations Click to See their Work

DRAMA Drama Masks and Stage Names Students from Third through Eighth Grade discovered a whole new side of themselves in Drama class this fall. Each child decorated a blank paper-mâché mask, modeled after the traditional comedy and tragedy masks commonly utilized in theatre. They were encouraged to express themselves via the imagery which they adorned the mask with. Some students took on an alter ego depicted in the mask, a notion which grew out of each class’s introduction to stage names. The students all chose pseudonyms of their own, as a further expression of their individuality and personal identity. Many of the identity masks are currently on display throughout the buildings on campus, credited to both the students’ real and pretend names. Click to See More Images

Fall Play On Thursday, November 18th, Mr. Homiak and Miss Duncan, the CHP Drama teachers led an ensemble of CHP’s finest aspiring young thespians in a performance of a series of connected monologues about various Greek myths. Adapted from MythO-Logues by Janice Harris, the play featured solo recitations from students in Second through Eighth Grade as they embodied characters from throughout mythology. The audience heard about the tragic tale of Orpheus and Euridice, met mythical creatures like the Centaur and the Siren, learned about the heroic exploits in the Trojan War, and discovered the stories of legendary figures like Pandora, Pygmalion, and Persephone. A great time was had by the audience and the performers alike!

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Our next PTO Meeting is December 8, 2021.

The meeting will be via Zoom and we will be discussing upcoming events and fundraisers.

Be on the lookout for an email with details regarding the meeting.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all there.

THANKS FOR GIVING! The CHP PTO began this year’s community service initiative with a Food Drive to support the Food Pantry at Zarephath. The goal was to help the community while engaging all CHP students within the structure of our CHP House System.

Collection bins for each House were placed in both upper and lower school main areas.

On November 19th, a tally was taken and the following house points were awarded: 1st place – Shawnee (100 points); 2nd place – Cherokee (75 points); 3rd place – Ramapo (50 points); 4th place – Lenape (25 points).

Congratulations to our entire CHP community for your amazing support! In conjunction with our student body, the PTO is planning several other service projects for the 2021-2022 school year.

The house leadership along with the PTO are coordinating and implementing the Hat, Glove & Coat Drive, and Toy Drive involving the entire school community.

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Story Book Pumpkin Challenge Winners CHP celebrated the Halloween season with our pumpkin painting contest, based on students’ favorite fiction characters. The First Place winner, with a Lightning McQueen pumpkin, is Oman Aman in Pre-Kindergarten. Second Place went to Meera Patel in First Grade for her Minion pumpkin. Third place was shared by twins Oliver and Noah Smith, who made a Jack Skellington pumpkin.

CEDAR HILL PREP SPORTSWEAR All proceeds help support CHP PTO

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Staff Birthdays Happy Birthday to Denise Galiano, Sherine Gergesse, and Marie Richelieu who celebrated their birthdays in November.

Hope they enjoyed their birthdays!

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