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.
The Veterans Memorial Middle School Wellness Team was awarded the AtlanticCare AED Heart Heroes Grant. The school was one of 10 schools selected from the South Jersey region and the first school to physically receive the free AED.
Congratulations!
Pictured are Mr. Wehner from AtlanticCare, Principal Mr. Maysonet, School Nurse, Mrs. Laing and Nursing Supervisor Mrs. DeMareo
On February 1, Veterans Memorial Middle School transported students and their families into a world of intrigue and celebration as it hosted a captivating mystery night, cleverly themed around the school’s 70th birthday. The event proved to be an enjoyable experience, weaving together puzzles, history, and interactive fun for all who participated.
The mystery night unfolded as participants were tasked with navigating through different rooms, each concealing a mystery related to the school's past and present. Staff members were on hand to evaluate participants' answers in each room, ensuring an engaging and challenging experience.
The seven mysteries that fueled the night's excitement included Mystical Melodies, Principals of Memorial Past, Puzzling VMS Places, Twisted Timeline, Anagram Adventure, Memorial Memorializes, and Alumni Association.
Successful sleuths were rewarded with birthday candle stickers for each correctly solved mystery. Once all seven candles adorned their mystery list, participants were invited to the cafeteria to indulge in slices of birthday cake.
Thank you to the members of the Mennies Elementary School and Wallace Middle School Safety Patrols for leading the flag salute at the February 7 Board of Education Meeting! 🇺🇸
On February 7th, VHS alumnus Jenny Shinn (Class of '08) visited Mrs. M. Villar's marine science classes and S.H.A.P.E. Club. Mrs. Shinn is a researcher at Haskins Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port Noris. Students watched a presentation focusing on oyster ecology and the history of the oyster industry and research in New Jersey. The presentation ended with the students shucking oysters and clams and learnig about their anatomy. Some students had some surprise critters in their oysters- blood worms, mud crabs and pea crabs.
Following the two school closures in January, the district calendar and marking period dates have been updated and were approved at last evening’s Board of Education meeting.
Important dates to note:
March 8 is now a full school day for staff and students
June 11 is now a full day of school for staff and students
June 18 is a legal attendance day, the final day for students, and VHS graduation
June 19 is the final day for staff.
Further changes may be made as needed.
Links to the documents below can also be found on our website, www.vineland.org
Mr. DePasquale's kindergarten class at Mennies Elementary School is having fun learning hands-on addition. They worked together to figure out the correct placement of each student to complete their addition sentence. This helped our youngest friends practice their communication and math skills. We love watching our kindergarteners learn addition!
