Our unique and effective Reading and Writing program “Easy Steps to Reading Success” was put together for our kindergartners to ensure quick and smooth transition into the educational and entertaining world of reading. Effective literacy instructions in Kindergarten significantly bolster students’ performance across all major subjects since they are capable of reading directions, word problems, and answering questions all on their own.
Our Big Apple Academy Elementary Division DREAM TEAM from left to right Ms. Inga, Ms. Svetlana, Ms. Amanda, Ms. Ekaterina, Ms. Emily
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“I am passionate about helping your child succeed in school. I create a warm, welcoming, and working environment where every student feels special and valued and works to one’s highest potential.”
Svetlana Belopolsky, M.S., CCC-SLP
Assistant Principal of English Language Studies – Elementary Division
Author of the designated Reading and Writing program, “Easy Steps to Reading Success”
Holds B.S. and M.S. in Speech Language Pathology
Fun Facts About Me:
1. I am a proud mom of three amazing kids.
2. I’ve been with Big Apple Academy for over 2 decades, absolutely love what I do, and I enjoy the people I work with.
3. I am a big animal lover, and I have a few pets at home.
4. I love to spend time with my family, and one of my favorite activities is to go to soccer games.
5. My favorite book is “Thank you, Mr. Falker” by Patricia Polacco.
My Contact Information:
Email: Svetlana.Belopolsky@BigAppleAcademy.com
Phone: (718)-333-1099 ext. 2006
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“I believe that all children are unique and have something special they can bring to the classroom. As a teacher, it is my job to assist and help each student flourish as individuals and grow academically.”
Inga Barbarash
ELA Teacher
Holds B.A. in Early Childhood Education and M.A. in Special Education
Fun Facts About Me:
1. I have a dog named Charlie.
2. I enjoy hiking with my family and friends.
3. I love to eat ice cream.
4. I am a big animal lover.
5. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
My Contact Information:
Email: Inga.Barbarash@BigAppleAcademy.com
Phone: (718)-333-1099 ext. 2006
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“Teaching is my true passion. I strive to create an engaging and nurturing environment in my class. I encourage my students to be kind and to do their best every day.”
Emily Fraiman
ELA Teacher
Holds B.A. and M.S. in Education
Fun Facts About Me:
1. I have two children.
2. I enjoy reading and watching movies.
3. My favorite holiday is Mother’s Day.
4. I like to vacation with my family.
My Contact Information:
Email: Emily.Fraiman@BigAppleAcademy.com
Phone: (718)-333-1099 ext. 2006
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“I am committed to helping children reach their full potential by fostering a supportive learning environment.”
Amanda Kaplan
ELA Teacher
Holds M.A. in Early Childhood Education and Special Education (Birth-2nd)
Fun Facts About Me:
1. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
2. I enjoy reading, watching TV, and being outdoors.
3. My favorite color is green.
My Contact Information:
Email: Amanda.Kaplan@BigAppleAcademy.com
Phone: (718)-333-1099 ext. 2006
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“Working with children and watching them grow is my passion. I aim to bring the best out of each student. I am firm, bur fair.”
Ekaterina Zavalnyk
ELA Teacher
Holds B.A. and M.A. in Education with a specialization in English and French as a Second Language
Fun Facts About Me:
1. I am a bookworm. I am scared to count how many books I read.
2. Tea is my favorite drink.
3. I thought I like to hike until my boyfriend took me on the actual hike.
4. I love animals, and my favorite one is mini pigs.
5. I love classical movies, and my favorite one is, Gone With the Wind.
My Contact Information:
Email: Ekaterina.Zavalnyk@BigAppleAcademy.com
Phone: (718)-333-1099 ext. 2006
– Ongoing daily assessment of classwork and homework
– Weekly Consonants Assessment (labeling and identifying letters and sounds) starts second week of school
– Weekly Writing Assessment (writing capital and lowercase consonants) starts second week of school
– 1st Major Assessment – Consonants, takes place in October (labeling, identifying, and writing all consonant letters and sounds)
– Weekly Reading Fluency Assessment & Writing Assessment launches right after the Major Consonant Assessment
– Weekly Spelling Quiz starts 3rd Term
– 2nd Major Assessment – Individual Reading Fluency Assessment – January
– 3rd Major Assessment – Individual Speed Reading & Comprehension Assessment – June
At Big Apple Academy we take big pride in our academic success, and we effectively communicate with parents daily through electronic journal and hard copy journal keeping them informed about their children’s academic standing. Our kindergartners Major Assessments 2 and 3 results are formally shared with parents where they can view their child’s performance in comparison to our school’s expectations, as well as in comparison to his/her classmates, and the entire Kindergarten school community.
For the very few struggling students that we do have almost every year, we have an impeccable team of highly dedicated and educated professionals. We make time and effort to meet with these families and together put in place an individual plan of action to ensure these pupils quick and steady progress to meet their classmates’ standings, and to ensure their smooth sailing into their world of knowledge and educational success.
To challenge our students beyond educational progress our department hosts annual Spelling Bee Contest. Winners of the Spelling Bee Contest get to compete with the other winners of the entire kindergarten student body. It is always fun, inspiring, and rewarding to watch these young minds stand tall in front of the faculty and calmly and proudly spell out one word at a time.
To nurture love for reading and writing our kindergartners present their favorite books in Halloween Show & Tell event.
We love to wrap up a calendar year with PJs Day when students come to school wearing their favorite pajamas and bringing their favorite book to share with their classmates.
The school year gets more exciting as we celebrate love for reading and writing while students dress up in their favorite literary character on Valentine’s Day and present their favorite literary character and the book to their classmates.
Big Apple Academy teaches beyond classroom environment; thus, our students participate in 3-5 educational trips that go hand in hand with the reading material that was either already covered or will be covered in the near future.
Finally, it is our warm annual tradition to end the school year with a rewarding department ceremony where students are acknowledged for their hard work and academic success with prizes, metals, and certificates.
And that is not all… to avoid inevitable summer slide Big Apple Academy prepares a thought-out summer homework set where parents don’t need to waste their time, money, or resources and wonder how to keep their young minds occupied and make sure they return prepared to school to take on the next challenge.
Our events and activities may vary from year to year; however, at Big Apple Academy we make sure that our students are not only acquiring skills that will last them a lifetime, but we also never forget to have fun.
Join us and see for yourselves how far ahead we can challenge your child’s mind as well as teach working ethics beyond their peers from other private or public schools in the most professional way to ensure that your child prospers to one’s highest potential.
At Big Apple Academy we work as a team, and we guarantee your desired academic results!
Towards the end of the kindergarten school year, our students can fluently read stories with monosyllabic words with short and long vowels filled with digraphs and trigraphs. They are able to independently read and answer simple story questions such as What, When, Where, How, and Why while working with a text and identifying story evidence. Our unique and customized Reading and Writing program “Easy Steps to Reading Success” has been a great success for our students. Based on the program’s collected data for the past 15 years expect your child to read on average 65 words per minute on the Individual Reading Fluency & Comprehension Assessment that takes place in June. Also, on their own, our kindergarteners can use proper grammar to formulate simple sentences and are able to write them down with proper capitalization and punctuation.
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