Category: Harry Hoag News

Students in Mr. Hanifin’s 5th grade social studies class at Harry Hoag School have been learning about the U.S. government and the Constitution. An early December afternoon found them testing their knowledge by playing Constitution Cards, a term/definition matching game.

The students assembled into small teams and had a certain amount of time to turn over slips of paper and match terms from the Constitution with definitions. They used study guides they had earlier completed during the game, which also built on previous lessons about the structure and function of the U.S. government.

“Making an exercise into a game works well, because the students are competitive,” Mr. Hanifin noted.

They read, they planned, they designed and they crafted: Fort Plain first graders used lots of their STEM skills to create monster traps just in time for Halloween.

Led by teachers Caitlin Baker, Ashley Bargstedt, Stephanie Boyer and Ashley Searles, the classes first read the stories “Monster Trouble” and “How to Catch a Monster.”

“Then, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, the students devised a plan for their project,” Baker said. “We talked about how engineers make up a plan before they invent something, and then follow through with testing out lots of different materials. There were no rules except to share and try to trap the monsters. We talked about things that would not work to trap the monsters.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, the first grade classrooms were a whirlwind of creative activity as the students worked on their projects. Scissors snipped and glue flowed as they transformed boxes and paper, pipe cleaners and cotton, tape and tongue depressors into detailed monster traps bedecked with glitter, decals, ribbons, googly eyes and original artwork.

On Friday, Oct. 29, the traps will go home for a real Halloween road test.

Building a monster trap taps into STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) skills, plus reading and communicating, sharing and problem-solving, creating and presenting, and working as a team. 

View more photos in our Facebook album

In honor of October as Anti-Bullying Month, sixth grade students at Harry Hoag School performed the play “Cars in Conflict or Is It Bullying” for the Oct. 22, 2021, Morning Program.

“Under the direction of School Counselor Mrs. Macherone, the older students did a beautiful job of teaching their younger peers about bullying behaviors and what to do when faced with those situations,” said Principal Lauren Crisman. “We are very proud of our sixth graders for promoting a positive school culture.”

View more photos on the Fort Plain Facebook page.

Harry Hoag Elementary students enjoyed an extra-special morning program on October 8, when they celebrated National Heroes Week. Teacher Ashley Bargstedt introduced Sergeant Smith with K9 Bud to the students. Sergeant Smith then showed them what Bud can do and talked about Bud’s role in police work. Thank you to our local heroes!

You are never too young to learn about fire prevention. Thank you to our local Fort Plain firefighters for teaching important lessons to Harry Hoag students on Tuesday, Oct. 5. It was a great day for all, including these Pre-K students.

Mrs. Kennedy’s Pre-K class at Harry Hoag School recently skated to Johann Strauss’s classical music during their lesson in Mrs. Sincavage’s music class. The students are learning about different tempos in music and comparing fast-like-a-rabbit and slow-like-a-turtle beats. “Skating” slowly on paper plates worked just great!

A virtual visit with an award-winning author has inspired Harry Hoag students to delve into a history-based  novel. They also gained an insider’s view of how a book is researched, organized and written.

On Friday, Sept. 10, 2021, Mrs. Colvin’s fifth grade Guided Reading class participated in a virtual visit with Alan Gratz, the author of “Ground Zero.”

“We learned how long it took Mr. Gratz to research information to write this book,” Colvin said. “He also showed us how he separates all the information he collects and sorts it into the chapters of the book.

“He also talked about the storyline of the book. After Mr. Gratz’s presentation, my students are ready and very excited to start reading ‘Ground Zero’.”

Information about “Ground Zero” is posted on Alan Gratz’s webpage.

New elementary school teachers are among the new staff at Fort Plain Central School District this fall. Harry Hoag School Principal Lauren Crisman and all at FPCSD extend a warm welcome to:

Stephanie Boyer
Harry Hoag welcomes Stephanie Boyer as a new first grade teacher. Mrs. Boyer earned her master’s degree in education from Utica College. Before joining FPCSD, Mrs. Boyer taught second grade in West Canada Valley CSD. When she’s not working, she enjoys going for a run, lifting weights or spending time with her husband and son.

Ashley Searles
Harry Hoag welcomes Ashley Searles as a new first grade teacher. Mrs. Searles earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from The College of St. Rose. Before joining FPCSD, Mrs. Searles taught kindergarten in Richfield Springs CSD and first grade at Cherry Valley- Springfield CSD. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Searles loves spending time with her three kids and husband while sipping on her favorite drink, iced coffee.

Miranda Dornburgh
Harry Hoag welcomes Miranda Dornburgh as a new music teacher. Ms. Dornburgh earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the College of St. Rose.
Ms. Dornburgh shared with us, “Last year, I filled a long-term music position at my alum where I taught general music. As a college student, you always hope to experience the light behind the student’s eyes when what you were teaching them finally clicks. I experienced that during a 6th grade general music lesson when a student finally got the concept I was teaching. He yelled ‘I love music!’ and jumped out of his seat and did a happy dance. This is why I teach. I want to share my love music and inspire others to love it too.”
Her passion for, and support of, music education made her the ideal candidate to join our FPCSD team.

Shannon Cechnicki
Harry Hoag welcomes Shannon Cechnicki to the team. Ms. Cechnicki has dual certifications in the area of Childhood Education 1-6 and Special Education 1-6. She became a teacher because she loves watching students learn and grow. Prior to joining FPCSD, she taught special education in Johnstown CSD. When she is at home, Ms. Cechnicki enjoys going on hiking trips and attending youth sports with her sons.