Happy holidays to our Menands community! It’s a great time to reflect on everything we are thankful for and what we’re looking forward to! Enjoy this holiday edition of Tiger Tales!
Tiger Tales of the Week:
Congratulations to our Tiger Award Winners for the month of October! This
week Principal Wylie awarded Erica Foley with Tiger Teacher of the Month. Her fellow teachers nominated her for all the hard work and leadership she has brought to our special education classroom. She is a remarkable teacher and an even better person! And congratulations to Devion Johnson for winning Tiger Student of the Month! Devion has been a true community builder in and out of the classroom. We really appreciate his commitment to teamwork and all of the values we instill here at Menands. And our Tiger Cub of the Month award went to Giovanna DerGurahian in Mrs. Kennedy’s first grade class. Her fellow classmates were thrilled when she was announced and couldn’t wait to share about how wonderful she is! We’re so proud of all of our winners!
We are so proud to introduce Nicole Kaloyeros as our Primary Special Education Teacher. Mrs. Kaloyeros is a Capital Region native who graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Childhood and Special Education with a concentration in history from the College of Saint Rose in 2014. She went on to obtain her Masters in Professional Special Education following her graduation. She started her career in education as a Teaching Assistant at a local school in Albany, but quickly transitioned to teaching. She worked in this classroom for almost 10 years while learning how to best support and educate her students. It is here where she truly learned the value of teamwork, communication and a passion for Special Education. She states, “I am so excited to get to know the students, staff and families of the Menands School. I can’t wait for an awesome school year!” When she’s not teaching, Nicole loves to spend her time gardening, reading, and with her pets. Nicole has two dogs named Dakota and Kaya, as well as three cats – Luna, Levi and Lennox. She loves hiking and listening to all kinds of music, too!
Librarian Alexandra Gibson has been working hard to set up our Book Fair!
From November 27th through December 1st, the students will be able to shop the shelves that have been set up in our community room for their favorite literary indulgences. We will be hosting a Family Night on Friday, December 1st. Please come and support our Book Fair, all of the proceeds will go back to our library to build it up even bigger and better!
Our Girls on the Run team crushed it at this past weekend’s 5k! Coaches Katie Nersesian and Lauren Hayes lead our girls to great success both on the course and off of it. Girls on the Run provides programs and activities to all girls to inspire confidence, kindness and decision making skills. Everyone who is a part of it learns valuable life skills that connects their physical health with their emotional health. Learn all about it HERE, and if you’ve got the resources please donate! And check out the pictures HERE!
And even though this was a holiday week, we here at Menands still made sure to put our time and energy into doing all we can. Lauren Hayes was a big contributor to this and got us all Levitating! Musical hopscotch teaches us about musicality and choreography. We worked together to dance around the grid without crashing into each other. Principal Wylie and Katie Nersesian joined us in dancing our way into a wonderful Thanksgiving break!
A new Story Walk has arrived! Come explore the Story Walk trail to read our new book, Little Fox in the Snow, by Jonathan London. Follow Little Fox on his journey through the snowy woods. Who will he encounter on his walk? What mischief will he get into? Find out this weekend and tell us what you think!
Important Dates:
- Wednesday, November 22nd – Friday, November 24th: NO SCHOOL – THANKSGIVING BREAK
- Friday, December 1st: Picture Day Make-Up