Q & U Wedding Kindergarten Program
Kindergarten students performed for their parents on Thursday, June 11, singing songs and talking about their future career plans. The highlight of event was the marriage of the letters Q & U.

Sixth Grade Dare Graduation
Pleasant Avenue sixth grade students recently completed the DARE program, which started in first grade. A DARE graduation ceremony was held on Wednesday, June 10, with students pledging to stay away from drugs and alcohol. They are looking forward to the sixth grade DARE Dance, to be held from 7 - 9 p.m. on Friday, June 19, at the Shirley J. Luck Senior Center.

Accelerated Reader Top Three Students by Grade Level for 2008-09
Congratulations to this year’s top three AR students in each grade level:
Kindergarten—Colleen Long, Taryn Ringer, Nick Hadcock
Toscano/Bevington’s Classes—Bethanie Roe, Lucas Montgomery, Caroline Beck
First Grade—Victoria Freeney, Emily Long, Gina Franko
Second Grade—Ethan Wager, Josh Morton, Katie Ammann
Third Grade—Lauryn Wilson, Zach Ropeter, Josh Licciardo
Fourth Grade—Ben Wager, Brandon Mraz, Aylene Newman
Fifth Grade—Zach Morton, Ryan Ammann, Mia Franko
Sixth Grade—Emory Cato, Brittany Bogusz, Zach Kollar

Physical Education Student Leader Awards
In a ceremony at Hudson Valley Community College on May 4, 24 Greater Johnstown School District students were recognized by the Capital Zone of the New York State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance with the Sandy Morley Physical Education Leadership Award. Click here to read more.
 

The Princess and The Pea
Congratulations to the following Pleasant Avenue students, who performed in the Missoula Children's Theater Production of "The Princess and the Pea" in the JHS Performing Arts Center on March 21, shining like stars and making the show a huge success: Hunter Duesler, Heidi Chamberlain, Lexus Williams, Taylor Hill, Madison Smrtic, Megan Anagnostopulos, Mia Franko,Hannah Breda, Jonathan Heroth, Kayla DeLorenzo, Kassi Morehouse, Laci Nellis, Abigail Ryan, Ben Lake, Joe Licciardo, Aylene Newman, Kaitlyn Angus, Hannah Chamberlain, Mark Kilburn, Megan Malagisi, Randi Nellis, Emily Wells, Kyle Linart, Emory Cato, Paige Ellingwood, Lyndsey Fiore, Krystina Graham, Karlee Morehouse, Devon Pinckney, Julia Airey, Anna Heroth, Alison Trajlinek, Katie Ammann, David Malagisi, Jacob Villa, Haley Case, Meghan Mraz, Gina Franko, Allison Duesler, Emma Fiore, Janet Ricci, Kathryn Romano, Chelsea Savage, MJ Greenough, Brianna Case, Judah Hague, Molly Lake, Josh Morton, Marcus Nellis, Shaelyn Oathout, Taylor Vose, Lillian Nevins, Shane Krutz and Lauren Kilburn. Enjoy these photos from the performance!

First Grade Book Share
Students in Mrs. Sepanara's first grade recently enjoyed a book share. Each child read one of his or her favorite books and then either wrote out or acted out their favorite part, or dressed like their favorite character.

Green Eggs & Ham Students in Ms Edel's  and Mrs. Sepanara's first grade classrooms celebrated St. Patrick's day with a Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast, preparing and eating green eggs, ham and pancakes - delicious!

Second Annual Outside Fun Day
Before starting winter break, Pleasant Avenue students enjoyed a fun-filled morning of outside activities on February 13. They built snow sculptures, went sledding and played outside floor hockey. They also used the gym to "warm up" while playing knock out and beach ball volleyball. Take a peek at these photos from the day.

Spirit Week Ends with Valentine's Day
Pleasant Avenue celebrated Spirit Week, February 9-13, with a variety of activities. Monday was Mittens & Hat Day, Tuesday was Twin Day, Wednesday was Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) Day, Thursday was Inside Out Day and Friday was Valentines Day. Enjoy these Spirit Week photos.

Sixth Graders Enjoy Fifth Annual Book Float
Recently, our sixth graders participated in the sixth annual Pleasant Avenue book float parade. Each student in Mrs. Hartlieb's and Mrs. Swartwout's classes created a book float based on a book they read during the month of December, choosing a scene from their book and making a floats to "drive" in the parade. Mrs. Brownell, Mrs. Butler and Mrs. Sitterly took on the difficult task of acting as judges and selecting the top ten finalists.  From the top ten, the following were named top three in the class:  Tyler Jennings, Tyler Johnson and Megan Anagnostopulos. Each received a "No Homework Pass" and a certificate. The floats are currently on display on the stage in the cafeteria for all to enjoy. Check out these photos from the parade!

Persevering Pioneer Second Breakfast
At the end of 2008, our second set of “Persevering Pioneers” were each presented an award during a breakfast in their honor. Congratulations to Haley Case, Abby VanValkenburgh, Lucas Montgomery, Nicole Booth, Nicholas Hadcock, Paige Ellingwood, Zoe Reid, Josh Morton, Shaelyn Oathout, Brandon Houghton, Gina Franko, Faith Wilson, Austin Hinderliter, Hayley Mellis, Kyle Linart, Emily Frank and Siara Hellijas. They were honored for doing an exceptional job on their homework or having displayed attributes such as being cooperative, showing good manners, acting respectfully and performing a good deed. See photos from the second breakfast. Our next Persevering Pioneers will be honored at a breakfast on January 28.

Operation Safe Child
Recently, the Fulton County Sheriff's Department brought its Operation Safe Child to Pleasant Avenue. Operation Safe Child uses the latest digital fingerprinting technology and high-resolution photography capabilities to help identify our children. The Sheriff's Department will issue Safe Child cards for parents or guardians to carry and, in the unlikely event that a child disappears, these cards should be provided to the investigating police agency immediately. This will expedite dissemination of missing child information to police agencies and the public. Parents and guardians will receive their cards at parent-teacher conferences. We would like to thank the Fulton County Sheriff's department for helping ensure the safety of our students.

Persevering Pioneer
Parents and students enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate together as Pleasant Avenue recognized the first recipients of its “Persevering Pioneer” awards at a breakfast in their honor. These students were selected by their teachers for demonstrating great character and academic success in the classroom and are encouraged to continue to demonstrate the behaviors that led them to being award recipients.

The Persevering Pioneers selected for the month of October were Lindsay Lamori, Haley Case, Aaron Booth, Molly Lake, William Phillips, Maia Generoso, Hannah Mellis, Jordan Spaid, John Cannizaro, Kathryn Romano, Ethan Wager, Chloe Salisbury, Jasmine Delgado, Megan Malagisi, Hannah Chamberlain, Brittany Bogusz, Connor Lago, Ethan Ernst and Bethanie Roe. See photos from the awards breakfast.

"Making Reading Your Goal" PARP Celebration
Pleasant Avenue students recently ended their Parents as Reading Partners Program with a "Fun Day." Members of the Johnstown High School's varsity football and field hockey teams came to Pleasant Avenue to help with the activities and students who participated in PARP were invited to play field hockey, football, soccer and kickball. Click here to see Fun Day Photos.

Halloween Parade
Pleasant Avenue students enjoyed their annual Halloween Parade on October 31. Check out the smiling faces in these pictures from the parade!
 

Everyone Has a Hand in Education
In recognition of School Board Appreciation Week, Mr. Blanchard created the "Everyone has a Hand in Education" wall, recognizing that our school board members sacrifice much of their personal time to help give our students the best education plan possible. Along with Board Members, our staff members, PTA officers and school district administrators have been invited to place their hand prints on the wall, as they each play a significant role in our students' education.

Summer Readers Make Reading Makes Me... T-Shirts
Pleasant Avenue students who read books over the summer, completed Mr. Blanchard's Book Sheets and submitted them by the announced deadline were invited to make tie-dyed t-shirts. The shirts had the words "Reading Makes Me..." printed on the front and, on the back, the students wrote how reading makes them feel.

Reading Makes Me...
Our Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) program recently came to an end, after a month of enjoyable activities. Students especially liked "Workout Wednesday" and our last workout was a walk around the building, with everyone making a pit stop at Mr. Blanchard's truck to place a sticky note on it with a description of what "reading makes me." Students who participated and turned in their PARP calendar with their parents' signature on it will receive a special day.

Literacy Centers in Pleasant Avenue
Mrs. Sheppard's second grade students are busy learning with new literacy centers. Students work cooperatively together, actively learning, while Mrs. Sheppard works in small groups of students building reading skills.

Presenting "Miss Manners," a Monthly Character Education Assembly
Pleasant Avenue students were introduced to Miss Manners during two grade appropriate assemblies on October 15. These Miss Manners assemblies consisted of skits performed by Principal David Blanchard; fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Helen Reed; AIS teacher, Mrs. Becky Brownell; and Miss Manners herself, school counselor, Mrs. Stephanie Bordis. 

Skits performed during the assembly for students in grades four through six involved teaching the skills necessary to interact with adults and students in an appropriate manner. At the end of the assembly, students were asked to learn the word "empathy" and display it when dealing with others.

The kindergarten through third grade assembly started with Miss Manners reading “The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners.” The students were also asked to read books on manners with their parents and practice good manners at home. Our Pleasant Avenue teachers will be looking for students displaying good manners and encourage all students to act appropriately.
 

Check Mate! Many Pleasant Avenue students enjoy meeting in the library for Chess Club on Wednesday mornings, under Ms. Sepanara's supervision.

Prime Time Reading Night - Huge Success
As part of our PTA's Parents as Reading Partners program, students, parents and grandparents alike enjoyed a fun-filled night at Pleasant Avenue's Prime Time Reading Night. The night featured guest readers, including Ms. Valerie Rogers from the Johnstown Public Library, former Pleasant Ave. first grade teacher Mr. Paul Cuttica, and Mrs. Lynn Butler, author of “Buzzin' with Buzzy.” The night also featured Principal Blanchard's mom, Mrs. Marilyn Blanchard, who taught the students how to make her famous bookworms. We also enjoyed cookies and beverages supplied by the PTA. Check out these photos from our fun-filled evening of reading!

Pleasant Avenue Introduces Wii-cess
The Pleasant Avenue PTA has generously donated four Nintendo Wii systems for our students to use during indoor recess. Wii systems allow our students the opportunity to be physically active by playing sports games such as tennis, baseball, golf and bowling. Students can get quite a workout, even on cold and rainy days. The Wii system also teaches students about good sportsmanship and how to be a good fan, as they cheer on their fellow classmates. Students who are patiently waiting to get on the Wii system play board games.

Right now, the four systems are set up with two controllers on each system, so that a total of eight students may play at one time. With enough controllers, each system can actually hold up to four players at a time, which would enable a total of 16 students to play at one time. Our students would like to raise enough money to purchase the eight additional controllers. A flyer was sent home during the week of January 12, asking students to earn money by doing household chores and donating the money they earn to make this purchase. Please note, students should EARN the money they are donating (.25 per chore can be used as a standard). To see photos of our students enjoying the Wii systems, click here.