February 10, 2012
1581 Crescent Rd, Clifton Park, NY 12065
518-881-0540
Posted 1/13/11
5th graders in Mrs. Lieberman's and Mrs. Moran's classes celebrated their writing with a Sub Sandwich party! The classes learned how to make a "sandwich" when working on writing pieces, starting with the introduction or "the top bun", working their way through to the "meat" or plot of their writing, and finishing up with a closing or "the bottom bun". It was a fun way for the children to remember to include all the necessary parts needed for a complete writing sample.
Posted 1/13/11
5th graders showed their caring nature by making monetary donations, as well as collecting small toiletries and other small items (candles, perfumes, special hand lotions, etc.) that could be put into a holiday basket for women and children in need. The four classes also made a special item for each basket, such as a calendar for 2012, a thermal coffee mug with hot chocolate inside and a hand stamped notepad. Once the baskets were filled and wrapped, they were taken to CAPTAIN, where they were given a good home.
Posted 1/6/12
The Winter Concert was the first public
performance of the year for Okte's 5th grade orchestra and
chorus. All of their hard work paid off. Everyone sounded
wonderful and a delightful evening was had by all.
Posted 1/6/12
Okte's Chorus & Chamber Choir had the honor of
singing at Colonie Center. They performed a variety of songs,
including many holiday favorites.
Posted 1/6/12
Okte held its annual "Sing-a-Long" right before vacation. Each grade prepared a song selection that they had practiced during music class, then performed it as a group. This year, a fun rendition of the "12 Days of Christmas" was performed, with each grade standing up (with signs) for their "day", whenever that day was sung. The annual highlight is when staff members, including Mrs. Mickle, come out as reindeer during the singing of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". It is a fun tradition that all of the children look forward to every year!
Posted 12/16/11
Okte’s Community Action Club held a food drive to benefit CAPTAIN. Food was collected during the month of November and then donated to CAPTAIN to help replenish their food pantry after the Thanksgiving holiday. Students collected items like boxed cereal, canned goods (soups, vegetables, fruits), pasta, and other items that have a long shelf life.
Posted 12/16/11
Okte’s Community Action Club took some time during this holiday season to send some support to wounded soldiers. The students sent cards to recovering soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. They felt it was important to thank them for what they have done for our country and wish them the best during this holiday season!
Posted 11/22/11
Peace, Love, Read was Okte's PARP theme this year, and the Okte community showed it's love in a BIG way! We asked for gently used books to be donated to Schoharie's library after they lost so much due to flooding. The quantity of items that were donated was overwhelming! THANK YOU ~ OKTE FRIENDS & FAMILY, for sharing your love of reading and helping our neighbors in need!
Posted 11/22/11
Coach Gifford has the kids
climbing the walls in PE! Thanks to the proceeds from Okte's
Annual Ice Cream Social, Coach Gifford was able to purchase a rock
wall, for the gym, to be used by all grades!
Posted 11/22/11
Second graders at Okte are using the W.I.S.E. curriculum (Wonder, Investigate, Synthesize, and Express) to frame their research about turkeys. Our research is “Inquiry-based,” which means that children begin by formulating questions about their topic, and then move on to meaningful investigation using appropriate sources. After analyzing their new knowledge, students synthesize that new knowledge into a logical, organized expression of that knowledge. Our second graders were able to choose whether they would write a nonfiction book or create a photostory to express their knowledge about turkeys! Inquiry-based learning stimulates children to understand and not merely find new knowledge.
Posted 11/14/11
Okte 5th-graders became "Pumpkin-ologists" in science. The question: Will a pumpkin float in water? And, if so, do they float stem up, stem down, or stem sideways? OR do they sink? The children first had to make observations and take measurements of their pumpkins. Afterwards, they needed to make a hypothesis about the question and decide how their test would be conducted. Many of the children were surprised with the results and learned how much fun science can be!
Posted 11/14/11
Okte held its annual "Monster Mash". Many students and their families came out for the fun hay maze , face painting and the variety of games that were held in the cafeteria. It is a great night that everyone always looks forward to before Halloween!
Posted 11/9/11
All four of the 4th grade
classes at Okte entered a Fire Prevention poster contest. The
Fire Department collected the posters and voted one poster from
each class room
the winner. On October 27th, the rain couldn't quiet the
excitement as each winner was picked up
at their home, and driven to school on the fire engine.
The winners were Rachel Desnoyers, Anna Girhart, Nikolas Ortega
and Morgan Payne.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Posted 10/26/11
3rd graders at Okte are
enjoying their swim time at the pool. They are learning all about
water safety,
and some basic swimming strokes. No one wants their pool time to
end!
Posted 10/26/11
Okte's new orchestra students performed for the first time in public, accompanied by their instructor, Mrs. Brothers. This concert showed how hard the children have been working, since starting lessons in September. The children also got to dress up in their Halloween costumes, adding to the excitement of their first concert!
Posted 10/26/11
First graders at Okte got an up close look at spiders when The Scotia-Glenville Museum's program, "Silent Spinners", stopped by for a visit. The children listened to the interesting facts about spiders, and then broke down into groups where they were able to look at specimens up close, look at spider books or work on a spider themed book mark.
Posted 10/26/11
The hallways around 3rd grade grew very quiet. After learning about following the rules and directions, the final project was at hand. The children learned that if you follow the proper order of directions that are given to you, you may end up with something amazing. In this case, all of 3rd grade made plaster masks. Each child took turns with a buddy, following the steps it takes, to have a completed mask. As each child got their mask made, the class rooms became very quiet!
Posted 10/20/11
October is Fire Prevention
Month and Okte students have been learning from the best! Our
wonderful local firefighters have been spending time visiting
classrooms, explaining the dangers of fire and what to do if they
are caught in one. The firefighters also showed the children what
they will look like when there is a fire, so they are not afraid.
Mrs. Knudsen't 1st grade class put on a special presentation for
the firefighters, thanking
them for all that they do! They ARE our HEROES!
Posted 10/13/11
Teachers and students in
Kindergarten through 2nd grade at Okte, participated in
Jumpstart's "Read for the Record". On October 6th, more than 2
million people worldwide will have read
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, bringing awareness to the
importance of early childhood education.
Posted 10/4/11
Okte held it's annual "Welcome Back BBQ" at Krauses. Many families and staff members came out to enjoy delicious food, dance to music provided by Conway Entertainment and maybe even enter to win some of the incredible raffle prizes. A wonderful night was enjoyed by all!
Posted 9/28/11
Okte families participated in "School Banking Night" where they set up school banking accounts to help children develop financial literacy skills. Okte's school banking will begin in October. If you were unable to attend Banking Night, you may still sign up during Okte's first two banking days contact the school for more information.
Posted 9/16/11
On September 9th, 2011, students took time out of their day to commemorate September 11th. Students talked about peace and did an activity called Pinwheels for Peace http://www.pinwheelsforpeace.com/pinwheelsforpeace/home.html.
The pinwheels were then put outside so that all could see them as they headed out of school for the weekend.
Posted 9/7/11
Well, it was a very wet first day, but Okte students came ready to learn!
Posted 8/1/11
