Vineland Public Schools -

Reminders of our upcoming schedule! March 25: regular school day March 26 & 27: legal attendance days (half days) for parent/teacher conferences March 28: legal attendance day March 29-April 5: all schools closed for spring break Our district calendar can be found on our website here: https://bit.ly/43sk0ki

In honor of National Down Syndrome Day on March 21, we would like to honor our students at Vineland High School. Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Around 1 in every 800 babies are born with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome have skills that help them work in certain jobs, just like anyone else. Abilities differ between each person, but they are more than able to take part in programs and activities! Mrs. Diaz, Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist at VHS, noted what a joy it is working with so many different populations of students. Photo one: William Santiago (11th grade) with Mrs.Smith and Mrs. Diaz Photo two: Faith Mercoli (11th grade) and Yeinalie Rios (12th grade) with Mrs. Diaz Photo three: Jeffery Perez (10th grade) with Mrs. Diaz Our RISE Program students: Photo four: Rachel Piccione with Mrs. Ruhl and Mrs. Diaz Photo five: Edwin Beteta with Mrs. Diaz Photo six: Natalys Rios with Ms. Kaitlyn Smaniotto, Ms. Kristen Smaniotto, and Mrs. Diaz

On March 21, Winslow Whales rocked their socks for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day! Some of our 5th-grade students even got to take part in a lesson from Ms. Piccione’s daughters and learn facts about people who live with Down Syndrome. The lesson included a read-aloud, a Q&A session, and a time of reflection to think and discuss what they learned and what questions they still had. It was a great day promoting acceptance and spreading awareness!

Students in Ms. Gaughan's class at Mennies Elementary School and Ms. Dallago's class at Winslow Elementary School embarked on numerous Community Outings throughout the school year. During these trips, students practice appropriate behaviors in a public setting while participating in tasks associated with each child's individual educational and/or behavioral plan. Such tasks include, but are not limited to, accepting "no" as a response, transitioning from a preferred activity to a less preferred activity, as well as properly requesting items and actions with their individual communication systems. After shopping at the local mall, students in Ms. Gaughan and Ms. Dallago's classes enjoy lunch at Chick-fil-A, where they choose their meals, wait for the food, and clean up their areas before returning back to their designated schools.

We had an awesome time at the annual Future Chef competition yesterday! Eight talented fifth-graders from our elementary schools created their favorite healthy salads for a packed house of family and friends. Congratulations to our winner, Connor Malecki from Petway School! Connor wowed the judges with "The Healthy Muncher" salad. Keitshaley Velez Leon from Durand School came in second, making a Tropical Fruit Salad with Citrus Yogurt. Damian Garcia-Duran from Winslow School finished in third place, making a “Vachalatta Salad.” The other contenders were: Juliyana Yelez from Barse School, Jaxon Potter from D’Ippolito School, Jayceon Lecator from Mennies School, Benjamin Napoleoni-Lopez from Rossi School, and Renisha Ulysses from Sabater School. Check out our Facebook page for a full gallery of photos. Congratulations and great job by all of our students!

Vineland High School Ceramics students in Sandra Carberry's class are mastering the art of throwing! Wheel throwing is the technique of shaping ceramics using your hands and a potter's wheel. Our talented students are making some beautiful pieces!

In Mrs. Hiles' fourth-grade class at Sabater Elementary School, students are diving into a nationwide postcard exchange! As they explore different regions of the United States, they're also forming new friendships with peers from other schools. This week, they're busy sending out postcards filled with information about their school, Vineland, and New Jersey. With postcards arriving from six states already, the class looks forward to receiving even more!

Five students from Vineland Public Schools participated in the Cumberland County School Boards Association's annual 8th-grade Dialogue on March 18 at the Cumberland County Technical Education Center. The 8th Grade Dialogue program recognizes students whose character, determination, school spirit, leadership, and community service have inspired their classmates, teachers, and their community. One eighth-grade student from each middle school in the county was invited to attend. The students were asked to share their aspirations for the future, what they enjoy most about their hometown, what skills they need to help transition to high school, and to make recommendations on how to improve their respective schools. Students from Vineland Public Schools attending the event included Arionna Ware and Dahna Jimenez from Johnstone School, Gurshaan Baar from Pilla School, Yareli Cuevas Perez from Veterans Memorial School, and Yeralis DeJesus from Wallace School.

Vineland Public Schools wrapped up the first phase of the new Strategic Planning process on Tuesday at the final meeting of the planning team. The event drew another fantastic turnout, with nearly 50 participants, including teachers, Board of Education members, parents, students, administrators, and community members. The purpose of Strategic Planning is to create a district-wide vision that will direct, motivate, and inspire all members of the school community to work together to elevate student achievement. The event began with a presentation from Michelle Kennedy, a representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association, who recapped the results from meetings one and two. Meeting one focused on the district's present state, while meeting two asked participants to look into the future. During meeting two, the planning team identified four topics that will form the goals of the strategic plan. The goal areas focused on student and staff voices, family and community engagement, social wellness and security, and our multidimensional culture. At meeting three, participants chose one of the four topic areas and worked in groups to further define the goals. They were asked to list the desired outcomes necessary to reach the goal, focusing on positive, student-centered, and aspirational actions. They then were tasked with creating objectives or means to accomplish these goals. A representative from each goal area then presented their goals and objectives to the entire group. Members of central administration and the strategic planning team plan to meet with students next month to seek a student perspective on these goals and obtain feedback. The third facet of the planning process, the action plan, will then be created by administration and will define the specific tasks essential to carrying out the objectives. The completed plan will be presented at a future Board of Education meeting.

The YMCA will be hosting a fun and educational Summer Day Camp from June 17-August 23. Check out the attached flyers for more information!

Ms. Greenfield’s 7th-grade accelerated students at Johnstone School completed math menus throughout the week to apply their learning of solving and writing equations. Students were able to choose a minimum of three activities that they wanted to complete. The activities offered were based on student interests and learning styles. This included online games, riddles and puzzles, error analysis tasks, and partner checks. Flexible seating was also allowed while students worked on their chosen tasks. Students were highly engaged because they were given a choice in how they would best learn and apply the topics taught. This also provided opportunities for students to learn from one another through meaningful conversations and interactions.

Vineland High School students competed in the 2024 New Jersey Model Congress on March 14-15 at Rider University. Jorge Flores won selection as the Committee Chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee. Michaela Giuliani passed her bill the House of Representatives to equalize funding for K-12 public schools. Alex Garcia wrote a bill to reduce childhood obesity and Christopher Gagnon tried to reform the democratic process by reducing the power of the Senate. Model Congress is a student run simulation of the U.S. Congress by a dozen participating schools and approximately 250 students who organize into three political parties that compete to pass the most student legislation while learning and using the formal parliamentary procedure of Congress. Whether their bills passed or failed, all students experience the democratic process and learn research, writing, and oral debate skills while seeing the value of working together to improve legislation and how the spirit of reasonable compromise enables the nation to face and conquer our problems.

Students in Mrs. Mongeluzzo's class at Sabater Elementary School learned how to classify family members with Ms. Markman!

Attention parents of Vineland High School students! We're thrilled to announce an incredible opportunity for your high school student through the High School Option Program (HSOP) at Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ). HSOP offers high school students the chance to take RCSJ courses for FREE. Thanks to a generous dual credit enrollment grant received by the district, students can take courses this summer and fall without any worries about tuition, fees, or textbooks. Completed courses under HSOP can be applied towards an RCSJ associate degree or easily transferred to other institutions of higher education. Plus, students have the flexibility to choose between in-person or online classes. For more information and to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, please see the attached flyer or visit RCSJ.edu/cc/HSOP. For questions or more assistance, please contact Rebecca Vezza at rvezza@rcsj.edu. Encourage your high school student to seize this chance to get ahead in their academic journey—it's an opportunity not to be missed!

LAST CALL! Register by March 29th for the 5K to receive a run shirt and finisher medal! https://shorturl.at/qMSX9

The Mennies book club met every Tuesday and Thursday and has had a great time this school year reading and discussing books and then doing a follow-up project about that book. Students had fun while reading and enjoyed time with their friends during this club. Mrs. Tarsanta hosted a viewing party at the final club meeting.

Mrs. Nees' fourth graders at Mennies Elementary School celebrated iAbsolutely Incredible Kid Day!" Every day, we practice writing in journals. The journal topic is usually based on an event that happens in the corresponding month. Today, students listened to a read-aloud about confidence and tapped into their inner superpower that makes them incredible and were encouraged to write about it. Then they created their own certificate to award themselves for how great they are! They certainly did some self-reflection, showed confidence, and were proud of themselves.

Students at Mennies Elementary School recently wrapped up a lesson on the Declaration of Independence with an Escape Room activity! The students used problem-solving, reading skills, and facts about the historical event to solve puzzles and decipher the code to be the winning team. Great job by all!

On Saturday, March 16th, students from the VHS S.H.A.P.E. (student helping animals, plants, and the environment) Club participated in Cumberland County's Annual Community Trash Hunt. Student volunteers spent their morning cleaning up around the VHS campus and nature trail. The event was sponsored by The Authority of Cumberland County as part of its Clean Communities Program.

On Friday, March 15, the Vineland High School FFA attended the 47th New Jersey FFA Horticultural Exposition at Mercer County College. Vineland FFA submitted 18 floral arrangements made by our members. Multiple FFA chapters from across the state attended, bringing over 600 arrangements to compete in the various categories. While attending the exposition, students attended a lecture on native plants. Vineland FFA is proud to bring home the following ribbons. 1st Place: Sarah St. Jean - Cascading Bridal Bouquet; Faith DeCicco - Spring Fever; Juliana Torres - Mardi Gras! 2nd Place: Xander White - Asian Inspired; Da’Shyra Jones - Leprechaun Festival; Yureli Turcios-Cordones - Harvest Festival; Tyler Plummer - Easter Basket 3rd Place: Jenna Pollock - State FFA Theme 4th Place: Jezabelle Wilson - Baby Boy; Adam Giocondo - State FFA Theme 5th Place: Jiya Patel - Happy Holidays