Welcome to Saint Joseph Parish School
Welcome back to school where my number one reminder for students is “To remember the folks who love you and send you off to school each day.” Teachers can not accomplish their educational mission without the assistance, encouragement, and support of you, our parents. So thank you for coming out tonight and for everything else you do.
For those people who do not know me, I began teaching at Saint Joseph Parish School in 2019 after thirty-five years of public school teaching in Irvington, New Jersey. My teaching background ranges from a second grade self contained classroom all the way up to college Freshman English composition. My initial professional college degree was in Social Work, but I eventually decided that I could have more of an impact in the field of education.
Although my teaching career over the years focused primarily on English Language Arts, this school year I will be teaching Science to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth middle school students. My approach to teaching Science is to involve the students in as many hands-on activities and experiences as possible. We live in a complex physical world and students need to explore, discover, interact with, and understand their surroundings.
All students have been provided with Science workbooks for which there will be nightly readings assigned. There will also be homework to accompany those reading passages. Homework will be issued every night and the details will be posted each day on Class Dojo and Google Classroom. Grades will be determined by classwork, quizzes, tests, and sincere demonstrated effort. Students will be notified in advance of when quizzes and tests will be scheduled. My primary goal for students is for them to acquire a fundamental working knowledge of Science with a highlighted interest in Science.
Thank you for the privilege, honor, and opportunity of teaching your child in the subject of Science this school year.
Yours truly,
Michael Szewczyk
(Pronounced chef-chick)
Boiling an Egg
Boiling an egg, a simple task,
But what’s happening,
you may ask.
The heat transforms the egg white,
From clear to white,
a change in sight.
The yolk, once liquid, now solid,
A chemical change,
we’re all so stolid.
So there you have it,
A physical and chemical change,
in just a few minutes,
it’s quite strange.
I hope this poem has helped you see
What happens when you boil
an egg with me!
Gianna
Grade 5
October 2023
The Boiled Egg
The little egg rolls and rolls,
Will it, will it pop?
It keeps rolling and rolling
until it finally stops.
I picked up the egg
and put it in a pot,
then it stopped rolling
and stayed in one spot.
I put it on the stove
and waited for it to cook.
“What happened?” I ask
and then I took a look.
“A physical change,” I say,
as if it will happen
another day,
“A chemical change,”
I bellowed, and the yoke
inside turned yellow,
“It’s still the same thing,” I say,
“just in a different kind of way,”
And that’s what happens
when you boil an egg.
The time has come to an end,
So have a good lunch my friend.
Adanna
Grade 5
October 2023
Cats and Dogs
By a Secret Writer in 5th Grade
Cats are joyful.
Dogs are playful.
She likes dogs.
I love cats.
We agree that
cats and dogs
are the best
of all.
Emmerson
Grade 5
October 2023
The Cat’s Fur
What is happening to the cat’s fur pictured on page 65 in our Science Interactive book? Static electricity is what’s happening! “What is static electricity?” you may ask. It is basically when your fur or hair attracts and attaches to another object. For example, when you rub your fur or hair on a balloon, the hair sticks up and becomes attracted to the balloon. That’s an example of static electricity that I learned about first hand when my sister, Myra, and I were playing with balloons.
Anaya
Grade 5
October 17, 2023
On My Own
I woke up and I saw
that Cup B had water
inside even though
I left it empty.
I was really amazed
that the experiment
actually worked.
This happened because
the paper towel absorbed
the water from Cup A
and then it put the water
into Cup B making it
look like someone
poured water in Cup B.
This experiment was
pretty cool because
I have never done
an experiment
in my house which means
that I have never done
an experiment on my own.
Jaiden
Grade 5
September 24, 2023
Super Fast
When cars go super fast
the tires and the ground
make friction because
there’s air in the tires
and when the tire expands
because of the friction,
the tire will explode,
or POP!, and it will take
a long time to push
or pull the car back and fix
the wheel and by the time
they finish fixing the car
the racer will be in last place
and not win.
Anaya
Grade 5
October 12, 2023
We Are Happy
Did you know that
my mom loves nature?
My mom loves nature a lot.
She has her own garden.
She is a good
and experienced gardener.
Everything that is veggie
we have at home.
It is from my mom’s garden.
She helped start
my own garden next to hers.
My mom loves nature
just like she loves me.
She is caring like me
and we are happy
under the trees.
We are happy
under our God’s hands.
Sahib
Grade 5
October 6, 2023
I Prefere Lorelei
My full name is Lorelei Rose Robertson. When I was born, my dad wanted to name me Addison, but my mom wanted to name me Lorelei. They both agreed on the name Lorelei. I got my name from a character named Lorelei on a show called “Gilmore Girls” because my mom loves that show.
There’s two reasons why my middle name is Rose. The first reason is that my grandma’s name is Rose. The second reason is that Rose Dawson is a character from the “Titanic” movie. My mom said that she watched the “Titanic” movie in theaters eight times.
I don’t know how to feel about my name. A lot of time I hate it because everyone spells it wrong or they say it wrong or they make fun of it. The only people who know how to spell my name are old people who watch “Gilmore Girls.” A lot of people who don’t know how to say my name call me “Lor” or “Lore,” but I would prefer my first name, Lorelei. Also, my name means “mermaid.”
Lorelei Rose
Grade 7
September 27, 2023
Izabella
My name means “God’s Promise,”
but that’s not why my mom
picked my name. In fact,
my mom didn’t pick my name.
My brother, Xavier did.
He picked my name because
of “Phineas and Ferb,” the cartoon.
That wasn’t his only reason though.
The other reason was because
there was a pretty girl that my brother
had a crush on in his class.
My brother thought I was pretty
so he picked that name, Izabella.
Izabella
Grade 7
September 27, 2023
Rats
Three Soccer Players in Fifth Grade
I wish to be a pilot.
I wish everyone is healthy.
I wish everyone stays healthy.
I wish we could eat, snack, and sleep.
I wish I could be in this school forever.
I wish I could get a GTA 5 video game.
I wish that everybody was happy and safe.
I wish to become a professional soccer player.
I wish to become a professional soccer player, too.
I wish to get big to also become a professional soccer player.
I wish that I accomplish my goals and give my parents a house.
I wish to take great notes and study hard to earn A pluses and only As in
my grades.
I wish that Christmas was here or summer because then I won’t have to
go to school.
I wish the only person who gets a GTA 5 video game is over ninety
years old and doesn’t own a television or operate a computer.
September 21, 2023
It’s a New Day
Today is a different day
Sometimes your emotions
can get over stimulated
and you feel lost.
I really do miss my old
school and everything
I said I hated, but leaving
made me realize that those
things were my favorites.
I like this school. It’s no
terrible, but yesterday was
a different day and things can
change like you said, “Nothing
ever stays the same,” but
yesterday I was tired and upset,
and that’s okay because it’s
a new day and I’m happy
and excited and wide awake,
ready for the weekend
and all of this year’s days.
Audrey
Grade 6
September 22, 2023
I Don’t Know Why
Today when
I was getting up
I thought it was Friday.
I don’t know why.
So I asked my mom
if it was Friday
and she said, “No.”
All I wanted to do
was sleep,
but I could not
because I had school.
I was not too mad
because I like school.
It’s much more better
than my old school.
I disliked my old school,
but I guess I can say
I’m not too mad
about waking up
because Friday
is the next day.
On Saturday I will
sleep in if I can.
Madison
Grade 7
September 21, 2023