News

May 6, 2010 Newsletter

2009-2010 Teacher of the Year

Angela Gill is Second Street Elementary School's Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Gill has been teaching Special Education for 17 years. This is her thirteenth year in the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and is currently working on her masters at William Carey University.

In addition to teaching students with severe and profound disabilities Mrs. Gill directs the yearly school musical and is the director of the Second Street Singers. Mrs. Gill is originally from Taylorsville and is married John Gill. They have three boys and a spoiled dog.

2009-2010 Parent of the Year ~ Patches Oliver

Science Fair 2010

Small Students are Making a Big Difference

Wednesday, February 24th at 7:30am Carolyn and Daniel Kergosien will be at Second Street Elementary to receive a Haiti Relief check in the amount of $1,300.00 on behalf of her daughter and his sister, Elise Kergosien.

Elise, a graduate of Our Lady Academy, is currently teaching in Haiti and was there during the earthquake. She is working with very poor and poverty stricken children.

Second Street Elementary and Bay-Waveland Middle School participated in a “dress down” day for donations. SSE and BWMS students were encouraged to wear black and gold to support the Saints in the Super Bowl and raise money for a good cause. The donation was for any amount. No donations were refused no matter the amount.

Daniel Kergosien, brother of Elise, and student at St. Stanislaus, has been working with students at SSE in their tutoring program.

Tammy Raymond, teacher at SSE, was instrumental in organizing the event. It was important for her to see the money donated to a school because of the continuous support the Bay-Waveland School District received after Hurricane Katrina. It was also an important connection for the students to know they are making a difference for others their age. The goal of this fund-raiser is to show the students that it’s important to give back and take part to help make a difference

The Good Will Art Competition

Second Street Elementary students from Mrs. Gill's and Mrs. Russell's class entered, The Good Will Art Competition, under the guidance of Mrs. Lyn Norris and Ms. Caroline Hay-Fried. The competition was held in Jackson, MS, January 25-February 22.

Courtney McKay achieved 2nd place recognition, Dimitri McKay achieved 3rd place recognition, and Dylan Schwartz and Brandon Peterson earned Honorable Mentions.

All Second Street Elementary children who participated in the art competition received a Certificate of Participation.

Book Worm Reader

Community Volunteer Book Worm Readers, April Lollar from Coast Electric Power Association and Jamie Temple from Butter Cup volunteered to read to Tammy Raymond's and Johnnette Bilbo's third grade classes.

The purpose of the Book Worm Readers is to build relationships and community between the schools and community members. One book per month is read to the class and the book is left in the classroom for the students to enjoy.

The Book Worm Club was formed by the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Rachel Lee visited Ms. Wilson's class

Tristan Craft, a student in Ms. Wilson's fourth grade class was very excited to welcome his mother home after a four month deployment in Doha, Qatar. Air Force Staff Sgt. Rachel Lee visited Ms. Wilson's class on January 27 and presented a slide presentation of Qatar to her son's class.

Staff Sgt. Lee is a Crew Chief maintaining C130 and C1J30 aircraft. "The hardest part of my job was working 12 hour shifts six days a week." Lee told the students. "The weather was 120 degrees until November," she added. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lee is a member of the Flying Jennies of Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS.

Second Street Pep Rally Celebrates “The Hero Within”

Second Street got in touch with their “Hero Within” on Wednesday, January 20th when they attended a Superhero-themed pep rally at Bay Waveland Middle School. This pep rally celebrated STARS members.

STARS (Second Street Top Achievers Reach for Success) is an incentive program that acknowledges good grades, behavior, and attendance. While every student enjoyed a field trip to the Middle School and performances by the Bay Waveland Middle School Cheerleaders and Dance Team, STARS members had the additional privilege of dressing as their favorite superhero, jumping in a Spiderman spacewalk, and participating in Superhero-themed relay races. Fun was had by all!

Students Support Haiti with Black, Purple & Gold

Second Street Elementary School along with our PTA participated in a BLACK/GOLD or PURPLE/GOLD day on Friday, January 22. For a donation to the victims of Haiti students were allowed to wear free dress supporting their favorite team, the Saints or the Vikings.

All donations were given to the RED CROSS to benefit the victims of Haiti. We believe that it is important for our district to give back, as we too lost everything just four years ago. We want to stress the importance of “Giving Back” to our students.

Vikings vs. Saints Game ~ What Students Have to Say

Students at Second Street Elementary are debating on who to cheer for this Sunday, the SAINTS or the VIKINGS. The question they were asked was, how do you choose who to cheer for?

Here are their responses:

Justin Favre - My cousin is BRETT FAVRE that is how I made my choice.

Gage Asher - I think it’s a great time for the Saints to win the Super Bowl.

Tessa Rouse - I think the Saints are good.

Ariana Moody - I choose the Vikings because of Brett Favre.

William Martinez - I choose the Saints because they are my favorite team.

Zoe Daughtry - Saints because I think they are great and the best team.

Nettie Detweiler - Vikings because I like Brett Favre.

William Russo - Saints because they are good.

Hannah Wood - The Saints because they are a good team.

Tayvon Thomas - The Saints because they are my favorite team.

Isaiah Simpson - The Vikings because they have been winning a lot of games.

Christopher Robinson - The Saints because I like Reggie Bush.

Ahmia Khadaroo - The Saints because my whole entire family are SAINTS fans.

Ellie Kingston - The Saints because I LOVE REGGIE BUSH!

Thomas Keyt - The Saints because my mom and brother like them.

Courtlee Hilton - The Saints because they are cool and my whole entire family votes for them.

Reis Baughman - The Saints because of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, and the DEUCE.

Isabella Gebbia - The Saints because they ROCK!

Zachary Schnedier - The Saints because of Bush and McCalister.

Anna Fields - The Vikings because my teacher likes the Vikings.

Xavier Ricard- The Saints because I really like them.

Mrs. Raymond - I am all about #4. I’m going for the Vikings.

Second Street Elementary to Participate in Reading Fair

This year, students at Second Street Elementary will be participating in a Reading Fair, which is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Education. Each year, the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Reading, Early Childhood and Language Arts sponsors a Reading Fair. This statewide sponsored reading fair is a means of promoting literacy and the love of reading.

Students read a fictional book, on their reading level, and do a storyboard on that book. Tri-fold boards, required for the project, by be purchased at Wal-Mart or K-Mart. (Guidelines have been sent home and but may also been seen here.) The project will be included as part of the student’s grade.

The projects will be judged at the classroom level, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be chosen from each class. The 1st place winners from each class will then be judged in each grade, by a group of non-homeroom teachers, and a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner will be chosen for both the 3rd grade and the 4th grade.

We are excited to again be participating in the Mississippi Reading Fair and thank you for your support of this project.

Important dates to remember:

Individual projects are due no later than Tuesday, March 2.

Individual classroom judging will be completed by Friday, March 5.

Grade level judging will be completed by Thursday, March 11.

Reading Fair Important Documents

Second Street Elementary Hosts St. Stanislaus Volunteer Students

Second Street Elementary School was proud to host St. Stanislaus volunteer students. The seventh graders at St. Stanislaus volunteered their time at Second Street Elementary School. They helped students in the classrooms with reading and math skills as student volunteer tutors while fulfilling service hours. The students enjoyed having lunch and recess with the students while visiting our campus.

Student comments:

William Russo, 3rd grade student at Second Street Elementary had this to say about his buddy: "Noah was FANTASTIC! I was having a hard time with regrouping and he helped me and taught me how to do it."

Xavier Ricard, 3rd grade student at Second Street Elementary had this to say about his buddy: "Luke was AWESOME! because I needed the extra help."

Olisa Williams, 3rd grade student at Second Street Elementary had this to say about her buddy: "It felt good because my buddy helped me."

Mrs. Chamberlain’s Fourth Grade Class went in search of the explorer who founded the city of Bay St. Louis and claimed it for France. They found his statue in the beachfront park next to the Hancock Bank. Baptiste Williams stands in front of Jean Baptiste La Moyne de Bienville. Bienville founded the city in 1699, before going on to found the city of New Orleans. The students spent the day walking through the old town and visiting the newly renovated court house.

SSE Teacher of the Year

Angela Gill was nominated and selected as the SSE Teacher of the Year! Congratulations Ms. Gill!

THANK YOU TO WAL-MART

THANK YOU TO WAL-MART FOR THE $1000.00 GRANT AWARDED TO SSE FOR OUR STARS PROGRAM. Thanks to Mrs. Raymond for her efforts in securing this grant!

Christmas Tree Sales

It costs 25 cents to purchase a paper Christmas tree for the classroom. The class with the largest amount of money wins a Polar Express pajama party. All money raised will go towards the STARS incentive program for SSE students.

ART WITH MRS. FREEMAN

Students are learning about Mississippi artist, Jim Henson and his Muppets. An art show will be held in the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson this winter. The children are learning to appreciate puppetry as an art. I ask that the students bring in any socks with no matches in order for us to make puppets.

OLIVER AT THE SAENGER THEATRE

The third and fourth grade students at Second Street Elementary enjoyed a live performance of the Charles Dickens' musical, "Oliver" on November 12. The cast consisted of 40 kids from all over the coast.

Second Street Elementary Celebrates Red Ribbon Week in Style

Red Ribbon Week is a national week-long drug free campaign. It serves as a time for drug prevention education and commitments to live drug free. This campaign commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who died in 1985 at the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle against illegal drugs to keep our country and children safe.

At Second Street Elementary, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week by hanging bright red ribbons all over campus. Each day of the week was celebrated with a theme. Monday was “Wear Red Day” to open the celebration. Tuesday we celebrated by saying, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Drugs” and the students dressed like a twin. We "Teamed Up Against Drugs" on Wednesday by wearing our favorite sports team apparel. Thursday we said "Boo to Drugs" by wearing our Halloween costumes to school. Friday we “Turned Our Backs on Drugs” by wearing our shirts backwards!
In addition to dressing daily, each homeroom class participated in a door or window decorating contest to support our Red Ribbon Week efforts. The winning class was Mrs. Thomas’s third grade class. The Character Education classes are discussing drugs and drug prevention. Mrs. Darby, Second Street Elementary School Counselor's response to how Red Ribbon Week went was, "The students had a wonderful time dressing up while learning about drugs and making their commitment to be drug free. It is always fun for the students to add a little something different and unexpected to the curriculum."

Pink Day

Each year Elizabeth Freeman, the Art Teacher at Second Street Elementary, promotes breast cancer awareness by sponsoring the "Pink Day." According to Freeman, "No one in my family had been touched by cancer of any form, but my SSE family has. "Pink Day" was my way of celebrating our survivors and helping prevent hardship for future generations."

Everyone at Second Street Elementary was encouraged to wear pink for $1.00. These monies will be donated directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

"As I look back over the more than 25 years since I founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure, I am amazed at our accomplishments. What began as a promise to my dying sister, has evolved into the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures." Nancy G. Brinker, Founder

For more information please visit http://www.Komen.org

Bay High School Environmental Science Students Teach Fourth Grade Students that Science is Cool!

Ann Lathrop's brought her senior science class from Bay High School recently to visit Ms. Heitzman's fourth grade class at Second Street Elementary. Ms. Lathrop stated, "This is college environmental science and is a dual enrollment course with Pearl River Community College. My kids are all seniors and they receive high school credit and four hours of college credit for taking the class."

Austa Chasez and Veronica Winnert showed the fourth grade students a percentage example of how much freshwater is on Earth. They also had students figure out how long it takes certain pieces of trash to decompose.

Jody Favre and Britney Johnson demonstrated the density differences between freshwater and salt water.

Rainee Davis and Anthony Lusco explained the water cycle by having the fourth grade students decorate a cake with clouds, water, sun and rain.

Katie Ellspermann and Cynthia Prevou taught various water facts using a coloring book packet called "Thirstan's Wacky Water Adventure".

Sam Durfee and Michael Duarte allowed the kids to run two water chemistry tests: pH and alkalinity of water.

Ms. Lathrop has been teaching 23 years with the Bay St. Louis School District.

Ms Bourgeois' Fourth Grade Science Investigations

Mrs. Bourgeois' fourth grade class has been studying cells. To enhance the learning about fungi, the students dissected a mushroom to make it possible to see the spores. Ms. Bourgeois said, "When comparing the mushrooms, we found they both had caps and stems and were different sizes and colors." Leaving the mushrooms overnight, the students found that several things happened. Water ran out of the mushrooms, causing some dehydration. Very tiny worms also left the gill area. Some students guessed that they came out because the water had come out. Several students also noticed that spores had fallen out of the gill area. They decided that the spores were formed in the gills of the mushrooms because the pattern matched.

We also studied the seeds in pine cones. We found that only the pine cones that were not open wide contained seeds. The seeds had a sweet smell and were very small. However, the seed was connected to something that is similar to the wing of a dragonfly. When we dropped the seed, the wing part allowed it to float to the ground in a helicopter type motion. A couple of students thought this floating down would help spread the seeds around. Some students thought the sweet smell of the seed might be to attract animals to eat it to help distribute seeds.

Junior Tiger of the Week

Teachers are Special at Second Street Elementary School

The teachers at Second Street Elementary are special. Teachers are recognized on their birthday at Second Street Elementary. Each teachers receives flowers from “Imagine That,” a free lunch from Razz’s and they are serenaded by Principal Myron Labat on their special day.

FALL FESTIVAL

The Second Street Second Annual Fall Festival was Friday, October 16.

Over 300 people attended the Second Annual Second Street Elementary Fall Carnival, hosted by the SSES PTA Friday, October 16.

Booths included Face Painting, Monster Tic-Tac-Toe, Bowling, Fish for Pumpkins, Ring-Toss, and a Candy Walk. Plenty of hotdogs, drinks, and deserts were available at the Food Booth. A photo booth was set up where families could have their little goblins' photo taken.

The children had to get past Count Dracula and several monsters and skeletons before escaping the Haunted House. A big hit this year was the costume contest!

BOSS'S DAY

The teachers and staff of Second Street Elementary surprised Mr. Labat, Principal, with a luncheon on Thursday, October 15, in honor of Boss' s Day.

Quick-Start Tennis

SSES students were treated to an inside tennis match between Mr. Myron Labat, Principal, and Ms. Bartasius. Ms Bartasius is the USTA Jr. Team Tennis League Coordinator. The Quick-start format of play aims to make aims to make the game easier to learn for kids by scaling down the equipment to their size, including smaller racquets, smaller court size, and foam balls.

The league season will begin October 19 through November 11. The students will meet Monday and Wednesday from 5-6.

Cost of the program is $50.00.

Mrs. Freeman and Artist Trading Cards

Our students will participate in an Artist Trading Card swap with an art class in Okinawa, Japan. Even though the trading school is on an American Air Force Base, I see this trade as an opportunity for exploration in the Asian culture thought the students' eyes. In addition, we will trade cards with an elementary school in Hawaii. I foresee lots of opportunity for the integration of subjects, such as geography and social studies. The objective of this project is to encourage the creative spirits of children. Realizing that they can create artwork through collage, drawing, and any other type of media on a small scale makes the art process less intimidating.

Fall Academy Program

SSES fall Academy Program has been a great success! "The program was designed to move those students who are upper proficient to advanced on the MCT2 test," said Ms. Kelly Case, Academy Director. "We invited about 80 students to participate in the program and about 60 students have taken advantage of the program," she added.

The afternoon tutoring program is conducted from 3:30 to 5:00 each Tuesday and Wednesday. Seven teachers from the district are involved in the afternoon program. Ms. Thompson, is tutoring fourth grade geometry. Mr. Winston is teaching fourth grade Algebra. Ms. Darby, SSES Counselor, is teaching fourth grade Data Analysis and Probability. Ms. Luttrell is teaching Measurement and Number Operations. Ms. Buckley is responsible for teaching fourth grade reading and grammar, while Ms. Ferguson is tutoring writing and vocabulary.

Ms. Morrow is teaching third grade Math and Language Arts.

The Fall program ends October 8. The next Academy Program will take place in the Spring.

Second Street Singers have Record Enrollment

The Second Street Singers have started the school year with a record enrollment of 42 students. The choir sings at all of the PTA meetings during the fall semester. Students rehearse every Tuesday afternoon after school to learn their songs.

Ms. Chamberlain's Students Harvest Watermelons

Ms. Chamberlain's fourth grade class harvested and enjoyed a watermelon from their garden. Ms. Chamberlain's 2008/2009 class planted the watermelon seeds last spring. This year's class has watered and nurtured the melons to maturity. They had a delicious time!

Ms. Wilson's Students Learn about Educational Outreach Biology

Crystie Baker, an intern with the Museum of Natural Science in Jackson, Mississippi recently visited Ms. Wilson's fourth grade class. Ms. Baker talked with the students about her job at the museum and her responsibilities taking care of the animals at the museum. Ms. Baker also shared her responsibilities as an Educational Outreach Biologist.

Ms. Baker surprised the class by bringing with her owl pellets to dissect. Her presentation included information about the various predator birds that habitat south Mississippi.

Using the Promethean board, Ms Wilson was able to show pictures of the different owl species present on the Gulf Coast.

The students were given owl pellets to dissect, classify, and record the various skeleton parts found inside the pellets. Ms. Baker promised to return in the spring with her "LIVE" animals!

Coach Magan Matthews Russell

Assistant Volleyball at Bay High, Coach Magan Matthews Russell has returned to her alma mater to begin her coaching career. Coach Russell attended Bay High School, and was a graduate of the class of 2000. During her high school playing career she demonstrated exceptional talent on the basketball court, volleyball court, and softball field. Coach Russell obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in athletic administration and coaching from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2006 and her Masters of Arts of Teaching from William Carey University in 2009.

The Bay High volleyball team will play in the district finals this week.

Mrs. Russell works at Second Street with special needs children.

Third Grade Students Enjoy Learning about Native Americans through Dance

Second Street Elementary Third Grade students were entertained this week by the Aabikta Dancers.

The Aabikta Dancers are a nationally known theater youth dance group based in Southeast Louisiana. These outstanding youth display their talents and regalia all over the United States. Aabikta Dancers are a component of the Boy Scouts of America (Troop 22) and Venture 22.

Students enjoyed reading the story, Dancing Rainbows, and learning about the customs and traditions of Native American dance. Through their traditional dances, the Aabikta Dancers remembered their past and shared their memories and history with students.

The Aabikta Dance group will perform at Second Saturday in downtown Bay St. Louis next week.

For more information, you can visit their website at: http://www.aabikta.com

HATS ON DAY

Hats on Day is a nationwide event where students pay $1.00 for the privilege of wearing a hat of their choice to school to help raise cancer awareness. Why hats? Many times, students battling pediatric cancer must wear hats to school following chemotherapy or radiation treatments that cause hair loss.

This fundraiser is to raise awareness for childhood cancer, which is the leading cause of death (excluding accidents) for children under the age of twenty. Hats on Day encourages the students to gain more understanding for the estimated 12, 400 children under the age of twenty, who are diagnosed with cancer every year.

Second Street Elementary School raised $ 136.00.

Did You See the New Flower Gardens?

Mrs. Russell's and Mrs. Fried's class worked hard to get the school flower gardens ready for fall. Not only did it make the campus look great, but the students learned valuable skills on the planet life-cycle and the proper care of planets.

Second Street Elementary School along with Mrs. Kelly Heitzman welcomes USM student teacher, Paige Ladner

Student Scores in Top 1% World-Wide in Math Olympiads

Sam Parker's gifted students, J. Frommeyer, scored in the top 1% world-wide in the Math Olympiads competition for 4th and 5th grade students! Frommeyer got 22 out of 25 problems correct and received a trophy for being the highest scorer on his team.

Bay St. Louis-Waveland gifted students under the direction of Sam Parker and Allison Morrow placed in the top 20% nationally when compared to all other 4th and 5th grade teams.

All 28 of our fourth and fifth grade gifted students were among the nearly 150,000 students worldwide to participate last school year in the Math Olympiad program. These students participated in a series of five monthly contests of 5 problems each from November to March.

All of the students responded well and will all be presented with certificates for their participation. The embroidered felt patch is awarded to all those students who were in the top 50% of all the participants worldwide 16 of our 28 students accomplished this goal. The silver pin is awarded to those students in the 90th to 97th percentiles. Last year we had 3 students who achieved this honor. The gold pin is awarded to those students in at least the 98th percentile. Two students received this honor with scores of 19 and 22 of a possible 25 total points.

Math Olympiads serves over 4500 teams and 100,000 students nationally and about 1800 teams and 45,000 students in 32 other countries. Since 1979, it has provided challenging, thought-provoking problems that stretch the abilities of students in grades 4 to 8 and has required them to know their mathematics well. Our children in the Bay-Waveland school district have responded to the challenge with eagerness and enthusiasm.

Second Street Elementary School Recycles

Second Street Elementary students are now in their second year of recycling. This past spring, Second Street Elementary was recognized for it's outstanding work with the recycling program. The recycling program is part of Recycle Hancock.

Students are encouraged to bring recyclables from home to school where they are gathered by Recycle Hancock. Students are learning about the different types of recyclables are well as the valuable lesson of saving the earth.

We would like to encourage community members to use our campus as a recycle center, but encourage them to follow our guidelines.

Guideline for Second Street Elementary Recycling:

All items must be RINSED, PEELED, and CRUSHED.

Caps must be removed as well.

We only accept #1 plastic, #2 plastic and aluminum cans.

Please place the recyclables in the correctly labeled hoppers.

Third Grade Students Enjoy Reading the News Paper

Third grades students at Second Street Elementary are reading "The Sea Coast Echo" each Wednesday to learn about the latest news in our community. According to Tammy Raymond, third grade teacher at Second Street Elementary School, "Students enjoy reading and sharing articles and information from the paper."

Second Street Kids Get STARS Treatment

SARAH CURE, SUN HERALD
August 7, 2009

BAY ST. LOUIS Instead of the conventional meet-and-greet on the first day of school, about 260 Second Street Elementary students were hailed as the stars of a red-carpet event by formal-clad faculty members Thursday morning.

"We're having a ball," said Principal Myron Labat Sr., who donned a tuxedo. We are getting kids excited about education and the first day of school.

STARS Second Street Top Achievers Reach for Success is a new program at the Bay St. Louis school which aims to promote academics, behavior and daily attendance in the classroom. It s designed to inspire students to strive to become STARS in their own right.

School Counselor Gretchen Darby said she hopes the third-and-fourth graders get a sense of family and community that Second Street Elementary has.

"We have high expectations for good behavior and academics here," Darby said. "And we want them to know that learning can be fun."

Even though the school has been in temporary trailers since Hurricane Katrina, Darby said "Students and faculty don t let that get to them."

"We are over the top in everything we do," she said. "With STARS, we wanted to positively affect behavior and attendance."

Sam Parker, a gifted-education teacher for the Bay-Waveland School District, said "STARS is great because it has a positive impact on students."

MS State Department of Health Discusses West Nile Virus and-borne Diseases

On Wednesday, September 16, Kristina Clarke, from the Mississippi State Department of Health met with the third and fourth grade teachers and students of Second Street Elementary. The 45 minute educational presentation targeted children in grades K-5. The goal of the seminar was to teach children about the dangers and prevention of West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.

The seminar consisted of a PowerPoint presentation that informed the students about West Nile virus (symptoms and origin), but also talked about mosquitoes and what the kids can do to reduce the mosquito population around their homes and also reduce their chances of getting bitten. The PowerPoint was very age-appropriate.

In addition to the video presentation, Ms. Clarke had a question and answer session at the end in which the children asked a number of very intelligent questions. The Mississippi State Department of Health started doing this public awareness presentation directed toward children at the beginning of the summer and have attempted to reach all the counties in Mississippi.

Date of last revision: Friday May 07, 2010