Thanks to a large donation of holiday cards from former art teacher Mrs. Scharnagl, the students in grades two through five at Mennies Elementary School signed holiday cards for 100 veterans at the NJ Veterans Memorial Homes. Each card is signed by an entire class of students with a little note of gratitude to each veteran. Being the official mascot of the veterans home, Cole asked to paw print each card with help from his Mennies friends.
On Monday, Rossi Elementary School safety patrol spread some holiday cheer to the kindergarten students in Ms. Reboyras' and Ms. DeRosa's classroom. The safeties didn't rush down a chimney or ride Santa's sleigh, but they did earn their spot on the nice list by decorating gingerbread houses with Rossi's youngest owls. Students worked together as teams to craft a design, construct their creation, and troubleshoot problems that came up with their designs.
Ms. Reboyras and Ms. DeRosa moved from group to group, offering guidance and encouragement, fostering a collaborative and festive atmosphere. The safety patrol members, who usually ensured order in the hallways, now played the role of holiday elves, assisting the little ones with tying ribbons, attaching candy canes, and perfecting the snowy icing landscapes.
Their gingerbread houses complete, the activity ended with smiles, laughter, and a shared sense of holiday spirit that would undoubtedly linger in the memories of both the safety patrol and the youngest members of the Rossi Elementary School community.
During the month of December, Rossi Elementary School Safety Patrol, under the supervision of Mr. Jeff Martine, held their annual toy drive in collaboration with the Dream Foundation. The Dream Foundation, a charitable organization devoted to bringing joy to families in need during the holiday season, partnered with the safety patrol to make a positive impact on the community.
All month long, students and staff enthusiastically contributed brand new toys for children facing challenging circumstances. The collective effort resulted in three enormous bins filled with joy, ensuring that children in need will experience the excitement of unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning.
A heartfelt appreciation goes out to Mrs. Lacretia Carson, Mark & Gina Rudolph of the Dream Foundation, and the entire Rossi Elementary School community for their exceptional generosity and unwavering support for the safety patrol and, most importantly, for the children in need.
Mrs. Myerson's 1st graders and Mr. Bogut's 5th graders at Mennies joined together this month to celebrate Caring and Kindness! At the beginning of the week, the 5th graders brought in books about Kindness and read them with their 1st grade buddy. Before the session ended, buddies made a goal to carry out several kind acts throughout the week. On Friday, the buddies met again to check in and discuss how their week of Kindness went, and then Mrs. Myerson taught everyone how to make paper snowflakes! On each snowflake, buddies wrote ways to be kind to others, which were then displayed in the main lobby of Mennies school! It's COOL to be KIND!
Congratulations to Durand 5th grader Isabella Reyes for having a writing piece selected to be published in Young Writers Spooky Sagas - From The Crypt.
Isabella was nominated by her teacher, Jenielle Biley, who noticed her student's love for story writing at the beginning of the school year. In October, Ms. Bailey came across an email from Young Writers for a Halloween writing contest and knew exactly who to present it to and Isabella eagerly accepted the opportunity to enter the contest! She was forced to write quickly because it was due in two short weeks. In this time, Isabella wrote a 100-word essay to end a Spooky Saga that was created by the Young Writers. Together, Ms. Bailey and Isabella edited and reviewed her work before mailing it in.
Just a few months later, Ms. Bailey was excited to receive word that Isabella was selected as a top candidate and her work would be part of the Young Writers 2024 Spring publication.
Isabella's teachers and classmates are so proud of her for this accomplishment and recognition! We are looking forward to when the published piece becomes available next Spring for everyone to view.
Come out and support our talented VHS students tomorrow night!
On Saturday, December 16th, members of the Wallace Safety Patrol and NJHS volunteered their time at the Habitat for Humanity/ReStore helping to organize/clean up different areas. The students did a great job and received compliments from Ms. Patricia Perez at ReStore, who said, "Thank you for reaching out to us and having your students come volunteer here at The ReStore. It was such a pleasure to have such well-behaved and enthusiastic children in the store paying it forward."
Jamie Ecret is the advisor for the Wallace Safety Patrol and also oversees the NJHS along with Michele Shapley. Special thank you to Cathleen Morris who chaperoned the students!
Ms. Colan's class at Pilla Middle School has been hard at work writing cards and wrapping gifts for their family members this holiday season!
It was another busy week for the Vineland High School AFJROTC! Alpha Flight is now wearing their ABUs and OCPs, as well as their lightweight blues, for weekly uniform inspection. This is the first time that they are in the three different uniforms that we offer. In other news, Foxtrot Flight, the 8th-period class, received the "Outstanding Flight Award". They received this award for their hard work and dedication to the program. Many cadets earned their Academic Ribbon, Wellness Ribbon, Good Conduct Ribbon, and Dress and Appearance Ribbon. LDRs are up and running, which are our Leadership Development Requirements. Our Color Guard has been switching out our poles and using our new equipment. On Wednesday, December 6th, Color Guard had an all-female lineup which included two backups to help with equipment and to lead the flag salute with another school. Our Drone/UAV team has worked on building our drones and programming them. The Awareness Presentation Team met on December 14th, where they practiced their upcoming 8th-grade visits. More events are planned in the next few weeks.
Vineland High School students from a variety of programs helped to make the holidays a little more jolly for some families in the Vineland area. Students from JAG, RISE, and Mrs. Smith's class helped to organize, sort and bag gifts for people in need for the Salvation Army. Students earned service learning hours and felt a sense of accomplishment as they worked to clear the hundreds of boxes filled with clothing and toys. The Salvation Army truly appreciated all of their help!
Students in Mrs. Giovinazzi, Mr. Lonergan, Mr. Panichelli, Mrs. Smith, Ms. Hirleman, Mrs. Lank and Mrs. Malinski's classes at Vineland High School participated in a Christmas Cohort last week! The various teachers developed activities related to the holiday season and combined classes to complete them. Activities such as guided drawing, snowflake activities and stories, creation of gift tags and puzzle piece decorations were just a few of the activities that the students enjoyed. The week culminated with a viewing of the movie Home Alone, which highlights the character Kevin and the skills needed for daily living while his parents are "away." A discussion of the need for strong daily living skills followed the movie. The students enjoyed the slapstick humor and the opportunities for socialization throughout the week! A special thank you to those teachers who participated in this activity!
On Friday, December 15th, students from The Vineland High School Select Choir, Advanced Theatre, and The Dance Program visited The Veterans Home and Autumn Lake Healthcare to perform a Holiday Showcase and spread some Christmas Cheer. The residents really enjoyed this visit from our super talented students!
In Mrs. Jessica Castro's 6th-grade science class at Veterans Memorial Middle School, students are learning how we see objects. Students were able to determine through experimentation that in order to see an object, you need an eye, an object, a light source, and a clear, unblocked path. Using materials from the Makerspace, students then developed models of the eye-object-light-path system and used their models to explain the role that light plays in how people see objects. Students were then able to reflect and determine the strengths and weaknesses of their models on how effective they were in showing the path of light in order to see an object.
Petway Elementary School families enjoyed a festive evening of fun at the school's Santa and Me Night, where they rang in the holiday season! Families enjoyed the holiday festivities with gingerbread arts and crafts, coloring sheets, a snowball toss activity, hearing the Polar Express read aloud, learning holiday sign language, and enjoying some sweet treats! And, of course, families met Santa and Mrs. Claus and made reindeer food for Santa's reindeer!
Thank you to everyone who made this evening's beautiful VHS South gymnasium dedication to Edward Harvard a success. We will have a full gallery of photos available on Monday and the ceremony can be viewed in its entirety on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/live/kWB0HRRvXXk?si=8AcjvqPuhzDujJoy
In the true spirit of the season, the VPS Transportation Department radiated holiday cheer on Friday, dressed in festive attire for Holiday Spirit Day. Wearing a variety of holiday outfits and costumes, the team created a lively and spirited atmosphere - complete with a visit from Santa himself! Happy Holidays!
Students in Kristie Silva’s 1st grade classroom at Winslow Elementary School celebrated national hot chocolate day on Wednesday, December 13th. Students wrote a "how to make hot chocolate" recipe, made their own hot chocolate, designed their own mug, and did an addition and subtraction hot chocolate sheet.
Ms. Rivera's 7th-grade SEL class from Johnstone School worked with Dallago East preschoolers in completing a fun penguin craft. Ms. Rivera said, "I wanted to put my 7th graders in a leadership position. I knew they would be excellent role models when put in a position to lead. The students did just that! I was overjoyed watching them interact with the little ones. It was hard to get them to leave the classrooms."
On Saturday, December 9th, Winslow School partnered with People Not Profit NJ to host their annual holiday gift-giving event. Families from Winslow, Sabater, Durand, Rossi, Mennies, D’Ippolito, and Dane Barse elementary schools, as well as Dallago Preschool, celebrated the holiday season with breakfast provided by PQ Mobile, free haircuts provided by Dugout Barbershop, a visit with Santa, a special guest appearance from Cole and Cece and some holiday crafts! Everyone who attended was sponsored by the generosity of our community and provided with gifts for their entire family. A special thanks to our school social workers for helping organize this event! People Not Profit NJ wishes everyone a very happy holiday season!
The Rotary Club of Vineland sponsored its annual holiday party on December 13 for the district’s self-contained special needs students in grades kindergarten through three. The party began with a sing-a-long of carols, snacks, and crafts, followed by a special appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus, who gave each child a special gift. Thank you to everyone who went above and beyond to share the holiday spirit with our students!
A short video highlighting the event can be found on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/POkal5Rydsc?feature=shared
