Happy Valentine's Day from the VPS Transportation & Registration Departments!
Mrs. Almanzar's 5th-grade students at Sabater Elementary School enjoyed their trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on Wednesday, February 14. What a way to start their Valentine's Day! They practiced taking turns in the activities and had lots of fun while being well-behaved.
Mrs. Almanzar's students at Sabater School enjoyed making Valentine Robots for the Kindergarten students' party Tuesday night. They arranged pudding cups for the head, Rolo candy for the ears, a Hi-C juice box for the body, Smarties for the arms, Nerds for the legs, and a heart of chocolate.
Petway kindergarten, first and second grade students helped to brighten the day of the residents of the Autumn Lake Nursing Facility. Petway students practiced their friendly letter-writing skills to make Valentine's cards for the residents and staff. Mr. Steve Martini delivered the cards to the nursing facility and was met with extreme gratitude from everyone. Mr. Martini talked about the delivery experience with students to make them aware of how their small gesture of kindness spread throughout the community.
On Tuesday, February 13 students from Mrs. Ecret's Language Arts classes participated in an African American Read-In with Library/Media Specialist, Mrs. Squire, in the Wallace Library/Media Center. The Read-In was established in 1990 to make literacy a part of Black History Month. Students read from a selection of books written by African American authors. Fifty-three students participated and chose whether to read individually or in small groups. Several students returned at the end of the day to check out the book they read during class so they could continue reading.
Members of Winslow’s Safety Patrol and Captain’s Crew kicked off Random Acts of Kindness week by visiting All Kids First preschool students! Students visited all 19 classrooms and read stories to a very eager and excited audience of preschoolers! We are fortunate to have this mentorship opportunity right next door! We look forward to continuing to spread kindness in our community!
At the beginning of the month, Mrs. Myerson's first graders and Mr. Bogut's fifth graders met for some buddy time! The focus this month was on empathy! A story was read called "Stand in My Shoes" by Bob Sornson and then a discussion began on what empathy looks like and sounds like. The group then began a task of writing about how it feels when they are empathetic and a time when they've shown empathy to others. This activity was completed on a "shoe", as a symbol of empathy and corresponding to the story that was read. It was another wonderful experience of connecting and communicating with each other and discussing one of the core competencies of our district!
On Monday February 12th, Mrs. Myerson and Mrs. Hadley's first graders celebrated Chinese New Year! They learned many fun facts, created colorful dragon masks, tasted some mandarin oranges, enjoyed rice with chopsticks, and even went home with fortune cookies! The students were so excited to engage in some special traditions in honor of this holiday.
It was Teddy Bear Picnic Day in room 117 at Sabater Elementary School! The students in Mrs. Pacheco and Mrs. Gallucci's class brought a teddy to school to be their buddy for a fun day of teddy bear activities. The day was extra special when principal Sophia Heredia Torres came to read "Bear Snores On" to the children.
Mrs. Bellamy’s Kindergarten and 1st Grade ESL classes at Rossi Elementary School learned all about the Lunar New Year this week. They learned that this is the Year of the Dragon! They created their own Dragon made out of their hands. One of the ESL parents was so kind to provide fortune cookies for these lucky children. The students were excited to learn all about Chinese culture and celebrations! 🇨🇳
Fun Friday in Kindergarten! Students in Ms. Carbos class at Mennies Elementary School made Super Bowl predictions and graphed them. We also celebrated the Lunar New Year coming up this weekend by making a vocabulary book, listening to traditional Chinese music, and enjoying a special treat!
On Wednesday and Thursday, February 7th and 8th, Mrs. Squire held a "book tasting" in the library of Wallace Middle School for students in Mrs. Cunane-Shapely and Mrs. Priest's Language Arts classes. Students were able to explore a variety of genres to expand their reading "palate." Students read for five minutes at each table in six different genres. At the end, they checked out the book that they wanted to continue reading.
Students in Felicia Gonzalez's 1st-grade classroom at Rossi Elementary School celebrated the Chinese New Year in honor of one of their classmates. They learned that everyone is different and special in their own way. Students read a story, "Ruby's Chinese New Year," and discussed the culture. They located Asia on a map and realized that North America is far away. The class learned about the moon phases and the Lunar New Year. The class compared and contrasted the American New Year and the Chinese New Year. They unscrambled letters to make words. They learned it was the Year of the Dragon, so they enjoyed making dragon puppets along with lanterns. The children all received a red envelope as a symbol of good luck and fortune. The students played "The Chopstick Game " and realized that they were not so easy to use. Finally, they were able to try authentic food. This was definitely a day enjoyed by all! Thank you to Kura Restaurant on Landis Avenue for your generous donation.
On Friday, February 9th students in Ms. Bernard’s kindergarten class at Dr. Willliam Mennies School celebrated the Super Bowl & the Chinese New Year. The students loved making predictions & graphing who they wanted to win the Super Bowl: Chiefs or 49ers. They learned about the Chinese New Year, made a vocabulary book, and enjoyed a Chinese New Year treat!
Petway School and Safety Patrol collected 350 cans of soup and other non-perishables for the Vineland Soup Kitchen. They collected the soup to coincide with the Super Bowl, naming their collection the 'Soup-er Bowl'! The Petway Safety Patrol will be volunteering at the soup kitchen in March, and this was a good kick-off to their volunteerism within their community!
The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society has many great programs and events coming up! Check out their latest newsletter for more information: https://bit.ly/49fl39q
Winslow Whales celebrated the 90th day of school with a little 90s throwback! Students and staff dressed in their best outfits from the 90s decade to celebrate making it halfway through the school year!
Students in Stacey Camerieri’s 4th-grade classroom at Winslow Elementary School recently completed a study on satellites. Students began learning about Morse code and information transfers. They dove deep into their research to learn all about satellites and become “Chief Engineers for an important NASA mission!” Each satellite was required to incorporate the following key components: a container, a power source, an orientation device, a scientific instrument, and a communication device. Students got to work researching, creating a blueprint, and then building their very own satellites, which they presented to their peers.
For Black History Month, students in Mrs. Mendez's bilingual kindergarten class at Gloria Sabater School are studying people who were important to the United States. This week, the students were talking and learning about the life of Jackie Robinson. In language arts class they wrote about important facts they learned from the day's reading. They also had the opportunity to draw about the famous African-American baseball player. They completed a shirt with the player's number 42 by placing small papers representing African-American colors around the number. At the end of the lesson they talked about everything they learned about Robinson and why he was very important to the story. Without a doubt an inspiration for everyone!
Gloria M. Sabater Elementary School celebrated an important milestone during their monthly staff meeting for being out of “status,” which is a designation to a performing school with the lowest school-wide proficiency rates in the state for the 22-23 school year. They enjoyed a surprise celebratory breakfast. This achievement is a testament to the collective efforts and commitments of our entire staff and the previous administration.
