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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

School Hallways

School hallway decorum is an important part of a good school environment. We do our best to keep our hallways neat and clean. We also try to keep the traffic in the hallways as clear as possible especially during classes.

Students have 4 minutes between each class to gather their books and get to their next class. Students are not permitted in the hallways without a pass once the second bell rings. We also require any student leaving a class to sign out and back in including the time and destination.

We also require all guests to sign in and keep a visitors badge on at all times while in the building during school time. Keeping the hallways clean and safe provide a great atmosphere for our students and staff to work in!

Blessings,
Pastor Ed

Monday, October 22, 2012

Music in Schools

This is a picture of a 4th grade music class. Miss Mary Ellen Flynn is one of our music teachers and she is conducting a music theory class. Elementary students receive music instruction twice a week. One class is theory and the other is practice with recorders.

Miss Mary also oversees our school choir and lead vocalists. They minister in our weekly chapel services as well as performing in local rehabilitation centers, senior centers and other schools whenever possible. Miss Mary also oversees our after school private music lessons.

Music is an important part of a students overall growth. We all enjoy music and these classes give the students insight as to how music is composed and performed. Music is another vehicle for the students to express their creativity and involves language and math skills. Music also fosters working together as a small or large group. Perhaps most importantly most students look forward to their music classes and their opportunity to perform and many go on to study or play throughout their lifetime.



Blessings,
Ed

Friday, October 19, 2012

Art in Schools

In some schools art is considered an elective but here at Upper Room Christian School we see art class as an integral part of a students overall learning. Art, music and drama classes all foster creativity and give students outlets for expression.

In our art classes students learn art history as well as learning hands on techniques with pencil, pens, markers, watercolors and oils. We have had students go on to College and major in Art, Music or Performance Arts. The students art work is showcased throughout the school which creates a wonderful atmosphere in the school!

While other schools are forced to cut back what they consider to be "elective" courses, we here at Upper Room Christian School have offered art each year for the past 30 years and we plan to do it for 30 more!

Blessings,
Pastor Dono

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

School Secretary/Receptionist

A good School Secretary is crucial to having a smooth operating school! Here at Upper Room Christian School we have always been blessed for the past 32 years with great women who filled this position with grace and competence. From Mrs. Joan Tomasselli, to Ms. Rachel Dono to Mrs. Cheryl Clarke to Mrs. Alice Smith and this year's school secretary/receptionist Mrs. Peggy Dono.

The role of the school secretary/receptionist cannot be overlooked. From taking calls to doing dismissal. The school secretary's role is to provide critical information and help for students, parents and staff. Her office is the central hub of the school. She is the "first impression" one gets when either calling or coming to the school.

I have watched these awesome women work from 7:30am until 3:30pm and beyond. Their role has them actively working from the time they come in until the time they leave. They manage our database, handle attendance and uniforms and answer all manner of questions. Without them there would be no school!
Peace!
Ed

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

School Lunch Program

This is Mrs. Gregg. She and Mrs. Frazier oversee our school's hot lunch program. As a small school, we don't have access to a large commercial kitchen so we bring our program in from two awesome outside vendors. Mrs. Gregg and Mrs. Frazier work with the vendors parents and students to plan a healthy and delicious lunch for our students.

The children especially like Taco Tuesday, Pizza Friday and Wednesday's Wings! Each meal comes with a drink and healthy side dish. Mondays and Tuesday's alternate with offerings like soup and a sandwich on wholesome whole grain bread, chili or delicious wraps.

Our school works closely with the NYS Board of Health to keep our service safe and nutritious. We follow all of the food safety precautions when serving our food and our staff is required to take and pass the State's Food Safety Course.

Nutrition is an important part of our overall health and can affect the way a student performs in school! We monitor our meals and vending machines and try to make the best, most healthy choices  without sacrificing flavor and satisfaction.
Blessings!
Ed


Monday, October 15, 2012

Anti-Bullying Program

We had our annual anti-bullying Chapel Service this past Friday. This year we had Master Instructor Robert Gravel speak. Master Gravel is the owner/director of Premier Taekwondo in North Babylon, NY. Robert has co-authored a comic book and designed posters that outline his "ABCs to stopping bullying". He spoke from experience as he was bullied as a young child.

While we do not have a big problem with bullying here at Upper Room Christian School, we address the issue each year to keep awareness high and give our staff and students access to techniques and strategies to help keep our communities free from this unnecessary evil.

We thank Master Gravel for coming and speaking to our students and staff and for his generous donation of books and posters for our school and students!


Blessings,
Pastor Ed

Friday, October 12, 2012

MSG High School Experience

This is a photo of Mr. Vanbenthuysen one of our High School science teachers in our lab. MSG Varsity did a piece on our school for a segment they call "The High School Experience". It's a two minute overview of our school.

 
 
We will be featured again on Cablevision's MSG Varsity channel 14 this Saturday, October 13th at 12noon. That segment has us hosting and reporting on 5 other area schools. I will try to post that piece here on our blog as well as on our Facebook page.
 
Be Blessed,
Pastor Ed 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Upper Room Christian School on Cablevision's MSG Varsity

Upper Room Christian School will be featured on Cablevision's MSG Varsity Channel 14 on Thursday, October 11th at 6:58 and again on Saturday, October 13th at 12noon. Our school was selected to host this segment for MSG Varsity.

We began our partnership with Cablevision's MSG Varsity 3 years ago and our involvement has grown each year. In fact, last year we won the Excellence in Video Production award. We attribute part of our success to Mr. Clyde Davis who is a respected sports photographer and magazine publisher. Mr. Davis volunteers several hours a day overseeing our HD TV class.

Cablevision's commitment to education is commendable as they provided our school with some much needed equipment as well as grants and awards to fund this well liked class. Several of our graduates have actually decided to major in either Communications or Journalism as a result of their experiences in this exciting elective class.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

E-Scrip Fundraising Program


Our school just signed up for the E-Scrip Fundraising Program. It's simple, free and powerful. You just go to http://www.escrip.com and search for Upper Room Christian School. Then you just enroll your Pathmark shopping card and/or selected credit cards and a percentage of your qualifying purchases will be donated to the school.

They also have an online mall you can shop from and a rewards dining program. So each time you use your registered cards they send a portion of that purchase to the school. It's a great way to help us as we continue to provide a Christian Education to underprivileged students here on Long Island and throughout the world!

Sincerely,
Pastor Ed

Friday, October 5, 2012

Bulletin Boards

 
Bulletin Boards are an important part of a school's decor. They can serve many different functions as well as being "easy on the eyes". Here is an example of one of the many Bulletin Boards that are on the walls of our school. This is one used by our Kindergarten class and is located right outside their front door.

Many teachers like to personalize their Bulletin Boards by placing the names of their students on the boards as this one does or some get more creative and even have pictures of the students. Some buy kits, like the one above, that just require a background color and contrasting border. Some make the elements themselves and assemble them which requires more creativity and artistic ability.

However you make them Bulletin Boards are a key component in a school's decor that add color, form and function to any classroom or hallway.