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Elysian Charter School
Weekly Newsletter
A Positively Different Public School
October 19, 2015 Vol. 11 Issue 6
Please note that the school newsletter is sent out on Mondays. When there is a holiday, the newsletter is sent the following day. Please send news to lynne.shapiro@ecsnj.org by 1:00 PM on Mondays.
The weekly newsletter is archived on Elysian's website, www.ecsnj.org, so that you can always access both the most recent newsletter as well as all previous ones.
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Harry's Corner From an Elysian Parent:
Hi Harry- Saw this article and thought of the way my kids are taught at Elysian... Have a good weekend, Maria Muller
From NY Times 10/16/15 Plays Well With Others Why What You Learned in Preschool Is Crucial at Work
For all the jobs that machines can now do — whether performing surgery, driving cars or serving food — they still lack one distinctly human trait. They have no social skills.
Yet skills like cooperation, empathy and flexibility have become increasingly vital in modern-day work. Occupations that require strong social skills have grown much more than others since 1980, according to new research. And the only occupations that have shown consistent wage growth since 2000 require both cognitive and social skills.
The findings help explain a mystery that has been puzzling economists: the slowdown in the growth even of high-skill jobs. The jobs hit hardest seem to be those that don’t require social skills, throughout the wage spectrum.
“As I’m speaking with you, I need to think about what’s going on in your head — ‘Is she bored? Am I giving her too much information?’ — and I have to adjust my behavior all the time,” said David Deming, associate professor of education and economics at Harvard University and author of a new study. “That’s a really hard thing to program, so it’s growing as a share of jobs.”
Some economists and technologists see this trend as cause for optimism: Even as technology eliminates some jobs, it generally creates others. Yet to prepare students for the change in the way we work, the skills that schools teach may need to change. Social skills are rarely emphasized in traditional education.
“Machines are automating a whole bunch of these things, so having the softer skills, knowing the human touch and how to complement technology, is critical, and our education system is not set up for that,” said Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute, where he studies education.
Preschool classrooms, Mr. Deming said, look a lot like the modern work world. Children move from art projects to science experiments to the playground in small groups, and their most important skills are sharing and negotiating with others. But that soon ends, replaced by lecture-style teaching of hard skills, with less peer interaction. Work, meanwhile, has become more like preschool.
Jobs that require both socializing and thinking, especially mathematically, have fared best in employment and pay, Mr. Deming found. They include those held by doctors and engineers. The jobs that require social skills but not math skills have also grown; lawyers and child-care workers are an example. The jobs that have been rapidly disappearing are those that require neither social nor math skills, like manual labor.
Math and Science Are Not Enough
The jobs that have grown most consistently in the last two decades have been those that require high math skills and high social skills.
Despite the emphasis on teaching computer science, learning math and science is not enough. Jobs that involve those skills but not social skills, like those held by bookkeepers, bank tellers and certain types of engineers, have performed worst in employment growth in recent years for all but the highest-paying jobs. In the tech industry, for instance, it’s the jobs that combine technical and interpersonal skills that are booming, like being a computer scientist working on a group project.
“If it’s just technical skill, there’s a reasonable chance it can be automated, and if it’s just being empathetic or flexible, there’s an infinite supply of people, so a job won’t be well paid,” said David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s the interaction of both that is virtuous.”
Mr. Deming’s conclusions are supported by previous research, including that of Mr. Autor. Mr. Autor has written that traditional middle-skill jobs, like clerical or factory work, have been hollowed out by technology. The new middle-skill jobs combine technical and interpersonal expertise, like physical therapy or general contracting.
These conclusions have been put into practice outside academia. Google researchers, for example, studied the company’s employees to determine what made the best manager. They assumed it would be technical expertise. Instead, it was people who made time for one-on-one meetings, helped employees work through problems and took an interest in their lives.
Mr. Deming’s study quantifies these types of skills. Using data about the tasks and abilities that occupations require from a Department of Labor survey called O*NET, he measured the economic return of social skills, after controlling for factors like cognitive skill, years of education and occupation.
The extent to which jobs required social skills grew 24 percent between 1980 and 2012, he found, while jobs requiring repetitive tasks, like garbage collecting, and analytical tasks that don’t necessarily involve teamwork, like engineering, declined.
Mr. Deming explains it in terms of the economic notion of comparative advantage.
Say two workers are publishing a research paper. If one excels at data analysis and the other at writing, they would be more productive and create a better product if they collaborated. But if they lack interpersonal skills, the cost of working together might be too high to make the partnership productive.
Women seem to have taken particular advantage of the demand for social skills. The decline in routine jobs has hit women harder than men. Yet women have more successfully transitioned into collaborative jobs like managers, doctors and professors.
That might be because, starting in infancy, females traditionally excel at things like social perceptiveness, emotional intelligence and working with others, Mr. Deming and other researchers say.
These conclusions do not mean traditional education has become unnecessary, researchers say — in fact, traditional school subjects are probably more necessary than ever to compete in the labor market. But some schools are experimenting with how to add social skills to the curriculum.
At many business and medical schools, students are assigned to small groups to complete their work. So-called flipped classrooms assign video lectures before class and reserve class for discussion or group work. The idea is that traditional lectures involve too little interaction and can be done just as well online.
The Minerva Schools in San Francisco, a start-up college, takes that approach. The idea is to transmit facts outside of class, said its dean, Stephen Kosslyn, and use class to teach effective communication and interaction. “It involves creativity, judgment, all that stuff that is hard for a machine to be programmed to do,” he said.
Another way to teach these skills is through group activities like sports, band or drama, said Deborah Slaner Larkin, chief executive of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Students learn important workplace skills, she said: trusting one another, bringing out one another’s strengths and being coachable.
Someday, nearly all work could be automated, leaving humans to revel in never-ending leisure time. But in the meantime, this research argues, students should be prepared for the actual world of work. Maybe high schools and colleges should evaluate students the way preschools do — whether they “play well with others.”
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Bicycles
Please be sure that all bicycles are placed in the area underneath the entry way stairway. The building has asked that we do not have bicycles chained to the signs or trees.
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| PTSO Corner
PTSO Meeting, Wednesday, Oct. 21st 6:30 p.m.
Anti-Bullying Presentation and PTSO Working Meeting
Please join the PTSO this Wednesday evening. All New Jersey schools honor a Week of Respect in October and Diane Sasso will speak about the NJ Anti-Bullying law and how we handle these issues at Elysian. We plan to give a brief overview of the PTSO for those who missed the first meeting and then will have a working meeting to discuss recent and current PTSO events and fundraisers as well as next steps.
Please RSVP to elysianptso@gmail.com if you can attend. We were not planning on providing childcare this time unless there is a need, so please also let us know if that is something that would be of interest to you. We would need to know by Tuesday at noon in order to secure childcare.
We will meet at 6:30 p.m. in Kate’s room on the third floor (corner room closest to front entrance). We plan to keep this meeting to about one hour.\
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Hoboken Homeless Shelter Paper Dive
Dear Families, Daniel Henson and Henry Plotka from the eighth grade are conducting a paper goods drive for the local homeless shelter. We are asking for paper goods such as paper cups, towels, plates, bowls, plastic forks, knives and spoons. In the downstairs lobby/entrance of the school, there is a box with a sign that says “middle school food drive". The shelter is in need of these items so we encourage you all to donate. Thanks!
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| After School Enrichment Clubs - Look in Your Child's Backpack!
Fall Session – beginning Oct. 26 – Dec. 4/Dec. 18
3:00 – 4:00 (Please pick up promptly!)
Forms due back by 10:00 am, Wed. Oct 21st – Return to Office!
Please note- Payment info MUST accompany sign up. If a class is canceled, your money will be returned. Make checks payable to ECS (Elysian)
MONDAY
Chess w/ Instructors from NYC Chess
Grades K - 8 –) Please indicate level (Beginner) or (Intermediate) on signup sheet.
$225 – 14 weeks (until 2/8/16)
Elysian is on our way to developing a competitive chess club. Beginners are needed to continue the momentum we have started. NYC Chess holds classes all over New York City, with many different levels of play. In intermediate play, students will learn notation, which is important in competitive play. Many of our students would be eligible for competition, should any players want to go that direction. (This is not mandatory; no one has to compete unless they want to!)
Elysian is not responsible for taking kids to competitions in other schools, but the instructors at NYC chess, often pick up students, take them to the event and return them at no additional fee. This arrangement would be between the parents and the NYC Chess instructor.
We must have a minimum amount of students signing up for each session in order to make this program financially feasible. Please include phone numbers and email addresses so we can keep you posted.
Beginner: No experience or a little bit of experience.
Intermediate/Advanced: Should be very familiar with board pieces, movements and basic game strategies.
Dance with Derrick – w/ Derrick Ladson
Grades K – 8
$100 – 8 weeks Maximum: 20
This eight week program is filled with fun and energetic Hip Hop dancing. Children will learn dance warm-up combinations and fun dance games that build self-esteem and confidence. A full dance routine will be performed at the end of the program session for parents. They will also perform at an Elysian community meeting.
Piano – w/ Virginia Chanchein of the Piano School of NYC
Grades K - 8 Minimum: 4 students
$180 – 8 weeks Maximum: 6 students
Group piano class is an introduction to piano in a small group setting (3-6 students ideally). The goal of group piano class is to explore learning piano with other children, making it more fun than being alone with a private teacher. It is also more affordable per weekly lesson for families to support a child's piano interest. Group piano class includes basic piano and music skills, weekly peer-to-peer performances, and simple practices to take home in preparation for the annual spring recital series. Once a child learns some basic piano skills in a group, he or she may want to pursue learning piano more in depth in the future.
Also available to Elysian parents – An annual recital is held (location to be announced) for every enrolled student, usually in the spring. A fee of $40 is charged for this recital which includes the student (plus 2 tickets.) Elysian does not administer the cost of this recital. If you are interested, we will give you their contact information at a later date.
TUESDAY
MAD SCIENCE – w/ Julie Serritella
Grades K – 2 Maximum: 16
$100 – 8 Weeks
System 1: Crazy Chemworks
What’s the difference between an acid and a base? Are they dangerous? What is a chemical reaction? In this series of classes, students will learn to use lab gear, measure pH, and speed up and slow down reactions. A different chemistry topic and cool take-home each week.
Topics include: pH Phactor, Junior Reactors, Chem in a Flash, Dry Ice Capades, Lab Works, Super Sticky Stuff, Slime Time, Glow Show
Elysian eBay Store w/ Clare Cook
Grades 7 – 8 Maximum: 8
$20 – Ongoing
A commitment of once a week for the next 3 months or more / Tuesdays (but we can be flexible)
Earn money for the Spring Fling! End of Year Parties! Computers! Cool Gadgets! You Decide!
This club is envisioned to be a continuous fund raiser for the school. Students in the club will get to decide which activity they wish to fund.
For 7/8th graders who want to learn about running an eBay business and raising money for the school.
Campaigns will be run to ask Elysian families and friends to donate saleable items to the school. Donors will receive a 501C to use for tax purposes and the school will keep the proceeds. Proceeds will be administered through the Friends of Elysian.
Students will learn how to:
1. Help set up Elysian eBay account and email account for correspondence.
2. Decide criteria for type of goods to be donated.
3. Design campaign to raise awareness for donations.
4. Make inventory and email receipts for donated items.
5. How to appraise items by researching and following similar on eBay.
6. Clean up and photograph items.
7. List items on eBay and email donor listing for reference.
8. Pack and Ship sold items, recycling boxes and packing where possible.
9. Build and maintain a spreadsheet track progress and funds raised.
WEDNESDAY
Tinkercad – w/ Nicola Hoelzl
Grades 3 - 4 – 5
6 – 8 weeks
$20 maximum: 10 students
Make real stuff - Think it, build it, print it!
Tinkercad is a free, easy-to-learn online app that lets you create 3D models to later 3D print or export to Minecraft. The school will provide the laptops and internet access during the club meetings. During the first one or two club meetings we will follow the online lessons, learning to navigate and create models. Once everyone is comfortable with the software, each student can produce their own designs, be it a toy house, a pet sculpture or jewelry. Each club day will start with a short video for inspiration. Any creation can be printed free on Monday afternoons at the Hoboken library.
Knitting – w/ Vickie Sargeant & helpers
Grades 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 Maximum: 6, more w/ help
6 weeks
$20
For beginners and advanced knitters alike. Learn the fundamentals of knitting while also making fun projects that you can take home. If you have knitted before, you will be challenged with more advanced techniques. This is a wonderful skill that you will have your whole life long!
Make Mystery Magic! by Hobby Quest Instructor to be announced
Grades K – 4 Minimum: 8
8 weeks Maximum: 10
$ 125
Join us on this magic adventure to discover the performer in you! In Hobby Quest’s Mystery Makers, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to become a REAL magician! Your friends and family will be astounded how you read their mind by predicting what color crayon they choose, and how you can control a piece of rope with your mind! Your parents will be SO amazing when you can make money appear in your magic Chinese Wallet! You’ll even be able to complete seemingly impossible feats like balance a glass of water on a playing card! These are just some of the magical maneuvers you’ll learn this session, there are plenty more tricks up our sleeves to teach you! Of course, no one would be a real magician without a performance, so at the end of the session we’ll have a magic show where you can invite anyone you want. You’ll get to perform your magic for all of your friends and family! Who knows, maybe you’ll even be the next Houdini!
THURSDAY
GAPS - Game and Animation Programming in Scratch w/ David Naumann and Michael Bubb
5th & 6th graders Maximum: 16
6 -8 weeks
$20
Games and Animation Programming in Scratch
Have fun making animated stories and interactive games, using the Scratch programming language. No previous experience required. Participants are expected to make an account at scratch.mit.edu if they don't already have one. The account is free and it enables kids to save their work and share with other kids in the club.
For more about Scratch go to scratch.mit.edu
Fashion Lab by M Avery Designs – w/ Megan Avery
Grades 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 - 8 Max: 8
$ 145 - 8 weeks minimum enrollment: 7
Beginners and experienced stitchers welcomed! If you have experience, you will be challenged with new skills and projects. M Avery Designs in partnership with Sew Fun Studios is a mobile after school sewing program for kids in 3rd – 6th grade at Elysian Charter School. We teach basic sewing & design skills to create popular projects for this age group including fashion accessories/bags, clothing, stuffed animals, toys, home décor items & more. We try hard to never repeat a project!
Students work on projects using a sewing machine, as well as hand sewing using a needle and thread. All students keep their projects.
Construction 101 w/ Bob the Builder, better known as Robert Maltese
Grades 7 & 8, with preference given to 8th graders Maximum: 4
$20
Will meet at 3:00 every day for approximately one week until the project is done.
Bob is a new addition to the awesome Elysian staff. He was a Master Carpenter for 30 years. He is currently retired but decided to come on board at Elysian to keep himself busy and boy, have we been keeping him busy!
Elysian has plans to build a small storage closet to house the many portfolios that every teacher keeps. Students will learn wall construction – metal framing, how to cut and install sheetrock, installing doors and hardware. Learn the basics of materials, cool tools and working safely with power tools. Finish off with spackle and paint. All tool usage will be one on one and supervised.
Basketball Clinic – w/ Jeff Belton
Grades 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8
$75 – for 8 weeks – may go until 4:30 Maximum: 16
Jeff Belton is part of our recess and security staff. He is a former graduate of Elysian and was the leading scorer of the first undefeated Elysian Championship team. He has never stopped learning the game and has volunteered to help coach and mentor our current teams.
The mission for younger kids is to improve their individual skills, team spirit and to learn basic basketball fundamentals. The goal for older kids will be to polish the fundamentals and teach them about decision making and reading defense. Both groups will improve shooting, ball handling, footwork and sportsmanship. Creating a culture of team unity will be stressed. This is primarily a skills class so actual game playing will be limited.
AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT CLUB
FALL SESSION – OCTOBER 26 – DEC 4/18
FORMS DUE BACK BY 10:00 AM, WEDNESDAY, OCT 21st.
• Every effort will be made to get each child into either his or her first, second or third choice. Should the number of requests exceed the available slots, placement will be done by lottery.
• In keeping with Elysian's philosophy that all programming be available to ALL students – SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE for any and all programming. All paid clubs need to have enough participation to make them financially viable. You will be notified of any changes or cancellations.
• ALL SCHOLARSHIP REQUESTS ARE CONFIDENTIAL. No parents or staff, other than Susan Gilbertson, will have access to this information. You may also email her at susan.gilbertson@ecsnj.org or call 201-798-1160 if you have any questions.
• Any families able to make additional scholarship money available will be greatly appreciated!
Student Name: ________________________________ Class: _______________________
Club Selection 1st choice: ________________________________________________
(print)
2nd choice: ________________________________________________
(print)
3rd choice: ________________________________________________ (print)
Emergency Contact Information: Parent/Guardian Name: __________________________ (print)
Email: ________________________________ Cell phone: __________________________
Allergy or Medical alerts: _______________________________________________________
Dismissal Information (check one)
My child is enrolled in the Elysian Charter After School Program and will join the program after club time
.
My child will be picked up at 4 PM from the Club Program by: ____________________________________
Other (please specify): ____________________________________________________________________
Financial Information (Check all that apply.)
MUST CHECK AT LEAST ONE
I have attached $______ payment (check or money order accepted – payable to: ECS
I have attached a smaller payment of $________. Please provide a partial scholarship.
Please provide a full scholarship.
I have included an additional contribution to help fund scholarships.
If my child does not join a club, please return my money.
PARENT SIGNATURE REQUIRED: DATE:
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| Postponed - Safe Bicycling Workshop - Due to Instructor Scheduling Issue
Will send new date later on this week.
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Elysian Track Team
Information and Registration
Coach Jason Morales
The track team is open to all students from grades Kindergarten through 8.
- All students must have a completed physical form (physical completed within the last 365 day) on file in the nurse's office. These forms were sent home during the summer. They are also available on our website--www.ecsnj.org, click on Parent Resources, then Forms. It is the second form, entitled "Preparticipation Physical Evaluation," and begins on the second page. It is four pages long
- All parents must sign the "Concussion Information and Sign-off" form, also found at www.ecsnj.org. Click on Parent Resources, then Forms. The last page of this form must be signed and given to the coach at the first practice.
- Also on the Forms page, please read the the brochure entitled "Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes."
- Track practices will all take place at the Soccer field, located at 1600 Park Ave. from 3:30 - 4: 30 on the following Wednesday:
- (October 21--at 1;00 p.m., Oct. 28, Nov. 11th)
(Students can be walked over by Coach/Aftercare staff) Students who self dismiss may walk there on their own. Dismissal procedures will be based upon the instructions below.
- Track meets will all take place at Lincoln Park in Jersey City (blue track) on the following Saturday & Sunday mornings at 10:30a.m. Please arrive by 10:15 for warm-ups
- October 24-25, Nov. 1st, Nov. 14th
- Parents are responsible for bringing and picking up the children from track meets.
Registration
Student's Name_________________________________________
Student's Teacher________________________________________
Dismissal instructions
___Parent will pick child up/ ___Name and phone number of person who will pick up ______________ ______________________________________________
___ Child may self-dismiss
___Preparticipation Physical Examination Form is on file with the nurse (please note, no child without this form on file, may participate).
Telephone number where you may be reached during practice/meets__________________________
Email address__________________________________________
Parent's name____________________________________________
Parent's signature_________________________________________
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| Elysian Collects Box Tops and LABELS for Education: Look for the container near Deb's desk in the office! Thank you!
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| October Calendar Tuesday, October 20- LOTS - bring a lunch for the Hoboken Shelter!
- Safe Bicycling Workshop, POSTPONED. Info about new date will be sent out later this week.
Wednesday, October 21- Half Day of School, 12:30 dismissal for Staff Development, After School Program available
- 7th and 8th grade overnight trip
- Track Practice, 1600 Park Ave,1:00 PM
- PTSO Meeting, 6:30 PM, Pizza and childcare available
Thursday, October 22 - 2nd grade trip
- Rugby Club practice, 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Friday, October 23- New Victory Workshop for 2nd grade
- 7th and 8th graders return from overnight trip
Saturday, October 24- Halloween Party, 1:00 – 3:00 PM
- Track Meet, Lincoln Park, JC, 10:15 AM - Blue Track
Sunday, October 25- Track Meet, Lincoln Park, JC, 10:15 AM - Blue Track
Monday, October 26 - High School Night 5:30 p.m.
- Enrichment Clubs begin
- Board of Trustees Meeting, 7:00 PM
Tuesday, October 27- LOTS - bring a lunch for the Hoboken Shelter!
Wednesday, October 28- New Victory Workshop for 8th Grade
- Track Practice, 1600 Park, 3:00 - 4:30
Thursday, October 29- 8th grade trip
- Rugby Club practice, 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Friday, October 30- New Victory Workshop for 8th Grade
Novmeber Dates - Mark Your Calendars- November 1, Track Meet, Lincoln Park, JC, 10:15 AM - Blue Track
- November 14, Track Meet, Lincoln Park, JC, 10:150 AM - Blue Track
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1460 Garden Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030
Harry Laub, Ph.D., Director
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harry.laub@ecsnj.org
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Phone:201.876.0102
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Fax:201.876.9576
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