After-School Enrichment Club Registration  The PTA is holding registration for the January After-School Enrichment Clubs beginning November 10.  The clubs will meet on consecutive Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays beginning January 6.  Some of the clubs offered this year are Drama Club, Rock Climbing, Bowling, Lego City and Basket Weaving.  You can view the course descriptions at After-School Enrichment Club Information (pdf format).  If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please contact Sonja Thomson at 885-3415.

Lockdown and Lockout Drills  Students and staff practiced lockdown and lockout drills on Tuesday, October 28, at Charlton Heights Elementary School.  We practice lockdown drills at Charlton Heights as part of our school safety plan.  Please ask your child to tell you about their experience.

Fire Safety Poster Winners Announced Charlton Heights students participated in our annual fire safety program and competed in the poster contest.   Thank you very much to the Charlton Fire Department volunteers who came to school on October 15 for our day of fire prevention information. The following students are the winners for their grade level and will receive a $50 savings bond from the Charlton Fire Department.  They will also enjoy a ride to school in a fire truck. 

Kindergarten  Aidan Buckley and Samantha Versocki

Grade 1 Holly Johnson

Grade 2 Kaitlyn Rounds

Grade 3 Nathan Katz

Grade 4 Maria Parks

Grade 5 Jacob Shippey

October PTA Newsletter Now On-line The PTA will now be using an electronic version for our monthly newsletters.  Families who have given the school their e-mail address will be mailed an electronic copy.  Families who would like a hard copy should contact Newsletter Co-Chairs Sue Hanson or Tracy Blowers.  You can also view the September Newsletter on-line by downloading our Newsletter.  Past newsletters can be viewed by clicking the PTA Sidebar on the right side of the web page under the Charlton Heights Quick View.

Mother/Daughter Program Set for November 5 Fifth grade girls and their mothers/parents or guardians are invited to a special night to talk about the many changes that happen during puberty on Wednesday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the Charlton Heights Cafeteria.  A short film, “About You” and a power point presentation on puberty and menstruation will take place.  Please join us for this special night.  Refreshments will be provided by the PTA.  If you have any questions, please contact presenters Laura Barry at lbarry@bhbl.org or Mary Grasso at mgrasso@bhbl.org.

"WOW!": Reflections Contest Entry Deadline is November 7

The National Reflections program was developed in 1969 to interest children, parents, teachers and communities in the arts.  This year's contest theme is "Wow!"  Students can choose to create a piece of art work, take a photograph, write a story or create a dance or musical composition about the theme.  The due date for all entries is Friday, November 7.  Anyone interested in participating can pick up an entry form and rules for their category of interest from the Charlton Heights Main Office, or by contacting Michelle Payette directly. 

Founder's Day Nominations Due November 14 Nominations for the annual Founder's Day Award are due on Friday, November 14.  Nomination forms are located in the Main Lobby.  If you have any questions, please contact Barb Becker at 399-3775. Here is your opportunity to nominate an individual who has given their time, energy and talents in ways that benefit and enrich the lives of children at Charlton Heights.

Founder's Day is a nationwide celebration to remember the founders of PTA who first gathered in 1896.  Each year the Charlton Heights PTA honors an individual who has gone above an beyond in ways that benefit the children and our community.  The dinner to honor recipients from all five schools in the district will be on February 5, 2009.  This is an evening filled with good food, great music and high praise.  Watch for details in early January.

Student Council Theme Days  The Student Council will be sponsoring theme days during the 2008-2009 school year.  On these days, children and staff can wear the special clothing related to the theme.  During on the theme days, the PTA will be selling bags of popcorn for $.50.  Following are the themes for the school year:

November 25 Hoodie Day

December 23  Stuffed Animal Day

January 30 Favorite Sports Team Day

February 13 Twin Day

March 13 Mismatch Day

April 9 Hat Day

May 21 Hawaiian Day

June 24 School Spirit Day

Box Tops for Education 

The PTA is sponsoring a Box Tops for Education contest.  The classroom that collects the most Box Tops for Education labels this fall will receive a special party.  The labels are found on most General Mills, Betty Crocker and Ziploc items, to name a few.  The results as of October 20 are as follows:

1.  Miss Jones         753

2.  Mrs. Mindel        617

3.  Mrs. Bomm        432

4.  Mr. Haluska        379

5.  Mrs. Long           375

6.  Mr. Bold             347

7.  Mrs. Grasso        338

8.  Mr. Moore           297

9.  Mrs. Brooks        236

10.  Mrs. McNeal     230

Children’s Garden  Students worked in the Children's Garden on October 22 and 23 with volunteers from the PTA.  The students beautified all of the gardens on the grounds throughout the two day event.  They planted fall bulbs and enjoyed a harvest meal to celebrate the season.

Thank you to Laurie Kruppenbacher and all of the volunteers who devoted their time to our children.

Brian Gillie Dance Residency  

Brian Gillie worked with students in grades 1-5 on dances from different decades.  He performed for the entire school on Monday, October 6 at 9:00 a.m. and the culminating project was on Friday, October 10.  Students performed dances from different decades that the school has been in operation.  First graders did the twist and rock dances from the 1960's such as the monkey and the swim.  Second graders danced to tunes from the 1970's such as disco and the bump.  Third graders did the cha cha, stroll and bunny hop with music from the 1950's.  Fourth graders performed "Thriller" and other dances from the 1980's, and the fifth graders did the swing, electric slide and pop dances from the 1990's.  Thanks to the PTA for their generous sponsorship of quality Arts in Education programs.

Charlton Heights Celebrates 50th Anniversary  Charlton Heights is celebrating our 50th Anniversary in the fall of 2008.  The school was completed in 1958, and we have planned some special events for our community. 

Monday, September 29-  50th Celebration Assembly  Students, staff and retirees gathered to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Charlton Heights.  The program included a welcome by Principal Tim Sinnenberg, the pledge led by Student Council Officers Alex Glowa, Tyler Jessee, Casey Doherty and Luke LeBel, and a welcome from Board of Education member Robert Speck.  Superintendent of Schools Jim Schultz donated several books to the school library, and a painting donated by the family of Dell Nessle was given to Charlton Heights in honor of Mrs. Nessle, who was the last teacher at one-room school house #7, the former Little Troy School.  Student Council representatives presented roses to our school retirees, and Town of Charlton Supervisor Alan Grattidge and Charlton Historian Laura Linder presented a historical marker and resolution to honor the occasion.  Ballston Town Historian Rick Reynolds gave a presentation about Bob Garling, who painted a beautiful mural in the halls of the school, and staff member Cathleen Buff put together a power point presentation celebrating our past and future.  Music Teacher Gina Kirsty led the students in singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Bless America."  Thanks to everyone who helped organize the event.

Tuesday, September 30  A school spelling bee was held at 1:45 p.m. in the gymnasium for students in grades 4 and 5. The winner of the fifth grade Spelling Bee was Sierra Bach, and Tony Serafini won from fourth grade.

Thursday, October 2-  School History Day Students learned about the history of the school through books, newspaper articles, and through other activities.  At 2:00 p.m. the school gathered in the gymnasium to celebrate students who completed their Summer Reading Challenge.  Later, students went to the Magic Maze to plant a tree in honor of our 50^th Anniversary. 

Friday, October 3- Color Me Cooperative This event was postponed due to inclement weather.  It will be rescheduled for another date, and details will be sent home about the cooperative learning day. 

The day culminated with a PTA sponsored Sock Hop in the evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A great time was had by all in attendance.   

Fire Safety Day  The Charlton Fire Department came into the school on Wednesday, October 15 to teach children about fire safety.  Students in grades K-3 had the opportunity to look inside fire vehicles and learn about ways they can be safe at home.  Students in grades 4 and 5 had an afternoon assembly on fire safety.  Thanks to our Charlton Fire Department volunteers!

School Report Card posted:  On August 11, 2008, the NY State Education Department made the 2006-07 Report Cards for all NY schools public on its website. You can view or download this compilation of 2006-07 test scores, class size, attendance and other data for the Charlton Heights Elementary School here (pdf format). More information and the report cards for all the schools in our district can also be viewed on the State Ed. website by clicking on "Saratoga County" at New York State Report Cards.

District Field Day Champions! The annual fourth and fifth grade District Field Day was held on June 3 at Stevens Elementary School.  For the fourth consecutive year, the team from Charlton Heights earned first place with 137 points.  Stevens was second with 73 points, and Pashley scored 72 points for third place. 

The Charlton Heights Field Day was held on Wednesday, May 28.  Children who placed first, second or third in an individual event, or first place in a team event, qualified for the District Field Day.  The trophy for most points scored went to Mr. Bold's fourth grade class and the fifth graders from Mrs. Douglas' class.  At the awards ceremony held on May 28th, Danny Maynard and Danielle McDonnell were honored with the male and female athlete award.  The recipients of the Sportsmanship Awards were David Rakvica and Allison Fernandez.  The physical education staff also distributed the Presidential Physical Fitness Awards at the ceremony.  Congratulations to all of the participants for great effort and cooperative spirit.  Award winners for physical education can be found by clicking on the links below:

Female Sportsmanship Award Winners

Male Sportsmanship Award Winners

Female Athlete of the Year Award Winners

Male Athlete of the Year Award Winners

Field Day Class Champions

Field Day Records for Boys

Field Day Records for Girls

Award winners for the arts can be viewed on the history link of the Charlton Heights website.

PTA Plans Successful Parents As Reading Partners Program The theme for our Parents As Reading Partners Program was "Take the Time...Read to slime!"  Students were given an electronic bookmark that calculated the number of minutes they read.  The goal of the program was to have each student in the school read for 15 minutes for five days during the week of March 10.  The goal was accomplished, and students turned in their completed logs and voted to "slime" two staff members: Principal Tim Sinnenberg and third grade teacher Andy Haluska, pictured above, who were slimed at the Closing Ceremony on March 18.  

2008-09 info for parents  Info on this website includes our Student & Parent Handbook that describes Charlton Heights School programs, services and "rules of the road." It has been updated for 2008-09. Click on Student Handbook on the right for a copy of this pdf file. (Requires Acrobat Reader.)

1,001 Books continues at Charlton Heights! 

Thanks to great support by Charlton Heights families, community members and staff, the "1001 Book Kid" program is continuing into the second year of operation. 

The ultimate goal of the program is that each child will have heard 1001 stories and have formed a bond with books and reading that will last a lifetime.  Research concludes that “there is no more important activity for preparing your child to succeed as a reader than reading aloud together.”  The “1001 Book Kids” program is one way we can help our busy families access good books to read to their children in a quick and easy way. 

The program works in the following manner.  We will provide 100 bags, each of which contains ten high quality, age appropriate children’s books.  The bags will be located in the Charlton  Heights Main Office Lobby where they are easily accessible before, during and after school hours.  Families who participate can borrow a bag for a week and share the books with their children.  Upon return of the bag, they perform some simple record keeping, and then borrow a new bag.  After reading 100 bags of books, the child will then listen to their 1,001^st story from the principal.  There will be incentives offered along the way as families reach the milestones of 25, 50, 75, and finally, 100 bags. 

You can view more information about the program by going to 1001 Book Kid.