1st & 2nd Grades
Primary 1
Hello Primary One Parents!
My name is Chrissi Ives and I am the Primary One classroom teacher. I work closely with Georgette Mecca educating our first and second grade students. Georgette has been working at the Howard Gardner School for 23 years and has an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. We work daily to help them grow and become reflective thinkers. We strive to keep our students engaged in all lessons and we use many modalities to achieve optimal learning in the classroom. We believe it is vital to create a positive environment where students feel they are respected and give respect back.
This is my second year teaching the Primary level at Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence School. It has been such an incredible experience thus far. I was fortunate to find myself student teaching at HGS in the Pre-Primary classroom which led to substitute teaching in all grades at our school. This was an excellent opportunity because I was able to get an authentic understanding of the school and its close knitted community.
I studied Business at Drexel University and earned my B.S. in Exercise Science from the University of Tampa. I lived in Florida for many years working in the fitness industry. I found myself inspired when working with children teaching Kids Fitness Classes. Later, I moved back to PA and continued my studies. I earned my Elementary Education degree from Keystone College in 2009. During the summers I teach lessons at Kings College Kids Camp and spend time with my
daughter.
The Primary Class:
Currently we have 18 students in the Primary One class. The class consists of 11 first graders and 7 second graders. There are 11 boys and 7 girls. Our class gets along well and every student brings something special to our class.
What’s going on in our classroom -
The primary class is learning about Fire Safety this week. This includes escape routes from 
home and a meeting destination in case of a fire. The entire weeks work on this topic will go home on Friday October 12, 2012.
The primary class has one chapter of homework in Spelling due every Wednesday. Tests are also on Wednesdays.
Mondays we complete Scholastic News in which we discuss current events. Last week the primary class learned about Christopher Columbus and his travels. We have a daily morning meeting which starts at 8:45. The meeting includes the Pledge of Allegiance and a short good morning chat about our day. The class takes turns helping with the day, date, digital date and we record the weather.
Currently we are practicing skip counting by two’s, counting by fives and even and odd numbers. We are also counting the school days up to 100 by making a train around the classroom adding a train car daily. The students look forward to many fun activities and lessons for the 100th day of school.
All primary students are welcome to work on the math IXL website: www.IXL.com Reports are sent to the teacher and awards are given to students that use this site practicing their math skills. If parents do not know their child’s username and password they can contact me at chrissihgs@gmail.com Math lessons also include fact families, basketball math, time, money and many Montessori Manipulatives.
Language Arts include creative writing and also reading workshop. Each Friday two students are allowed to bring in something special to them and share it with the class. The students alternate turns each Friday. Jade, our guidance counselor is giving weekly lessons on good behavior and how to treat your fellow classmate.
This is going to be a great year and please feel free to contact us with any
questions or concerns regarding your child.
Primary 2
Welcome to Primary 2! My name is Amy Barbine and I am the classroom teacher, assisted by Suparna (Suppi) Chandragiri. I earned a B.A. in Psychology from Christopher Newport University in VA and I graduated from the University of Scranton with an M. S. in Elementary Education. This is my fifth year teaching at Howard Gardner. In previous years, I have taught the Senior Class (3 years) and the Intermediate Class (1 year), and this is my first year experiencing the adventure of the Primary Class!
Currently, there are 18 students enrolled in the Primary 2 Class, consisting of 6 second graders and 12 first graders. There are 10 boys and 8 girls. (We have an even boy/girl ratio if you include Suppi and myself.)
We are looking forward to an awesome school year full of learning and fun! It has already been so much fun meeting and learning all about our students. Our first order of business has been establishing and developing a positive classroom community. Additionally, our students will be exposed to and engaged in various kinds of work, including Montessori works (which will carry over from the Pre-Primary Class), small groups, whole groups, and other independent work and projects.
WE ARE A PEANUT-FREE CLASSROOM! Students are allowed a short time each day for a HEALTHY snack, but please use caution with the snacks you send in with your child as we do have a peanut allergy in our room. THANK YOU!
We look forward to seeing you all at Parent’s Night on September 27th! (This date has changed since the posted newsletter!)
Math Practice
Class Song:
(I would like to note a huge thank you to Hope King (http://shenanigansinsecond.
