The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society will host a program about “Abolition and the Underground Railroad in South Jersey,” featuring Ellen D. Alford, on Saturday, February 17 at 1:00 PM. The museum is located at 108 South Seventh St. in Vineland.
Ellen D. Alford is a native South Jersey resident and local historian who researches and writes about the Underground Railroad, slavery, abolition and Harriet Tubman in South Jersey. She is a former newspaper correspondent, public school educator and university administrator. She has won numerous journalism awards, including the Lloyd P. Burns Award for Public Service from the New Jersey Press Association. Ms. Alford is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in English/communications and has pursued graduate studies in American history at Rutgers University-Camden, New Jersey, where she was awarded the A&S Academic Excellence. Ms. Alford is a member of the National History Honor Society.
Registration for the event is available by visiting discovervinelandhistory.org or by calling 856-691-1111.
In an engaging academic pursuit, Anthony Rossi Elementary students in Mrs. Carson's and Mrs. Headley's fourth and fifth-grade class have recently delved into a captivating research project.
The young minds have explored a diverse range of fascinating creatures, including red pandas, meerkats, mandrills, ostriches, armadillos, and more. Each student embraced the challenge of studying their assigned animal, presenting comprehensive reports covering dietary habits, special features, movement patterns, and natural habitats.
This journey of discovery not only expanded their knowledge but also honed crucial research and presentation skills. The students demonstrated a genuine passion for learning as they navigated the intricacies of the animal kingdom.
Mennies' playground stars got a surprise treat for their good character during lunch and recess! Every other week our playground staff selects one student in each class to be the star for the next two weeks. These students get a special surprise during their time as playground stars. We are #menniesproud of our stars!
Special shout-out to our amazing playground and cafeteria crew!
In honor of National Hot Chocolate Day (January 31), Mrs. Dorsey, Speech-Language Pathologist, and Mrs. Diorio, Teacher of the Deaf, teamed up on a week-long learning project about hot chocolate. The students learned about history and other fun facts. They learned the steps to make hot chocolate, proper measurement and completed a sequencing writing piece to show what they learned. Students were encouraged to use the new vocabulary and descriptive language they learned throughout the week in their final drafts of their writing. The week-long fun ended when the students got to actually make the hot chocolate and enjoy their sweet treat!
Congratulations to the Vineland High School FFA chapter, who competed at the 43rd Southern Regional Flower Show on Friday, February 2nd, at the Deptford Mall. Students selected various categories to compete in, including fresh floral arrangements, silk floral arrangements, and various horticulture categories. Students then had to create a vision board and supply lists for their selected class. Seven schools in total competed, bringing over 100 arrangements. Judges were industry professionals. Seventeen VHS FFA members competed and are bringing home three 1st place ribbons, eleven 2nd place ribbons, and two 3rd place ribbons.
Malachi Rosado, from Mrs. Hensley and Mrs. McGill's kindergarten classroom at Mennies Elementary School was nominated and selected to be our School Citizen of the Month for January. He is kind and caring towards others, especially his peers. Malachi demonstrates the character traits we look for every day in our students.
This school year, as part of the Character Education committee's initiatives, teachers and staff can nominate students for the "Citizen of the Month" award. While our monthly Character Badge awards are specific to a particular character trait each month, a "Citizen of the Month" can be anyone who showed any of the character traits that embody being a good school citizen, such as being respectful of other people and their property, being respectful of school property, following school rules, displaying good character (responsibility, empathy, honesty, good listening, courage, kindness), and giving back to the school community.
Way to go, Malachi!
Vineland High School junior Michaela Giuliani won the Poetry Out Loud Regional Competition on February 2nd, hosted by Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, NJ. She will advance to the NJ State Final and compete with 11 other students from across the state.
Vineland High School was well represented at the Region 2 competition, with 31 of Giuliani’s classmates traveling with her to support and cheer her on.
A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud (POL) encourages high school students to learn about great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition. Students select, memorize, and recite classic and contemporary poems, helping them to master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life.
Each Regional Finalist must recite a total of three POL Anthology poems by heart, reciting one poem per round. Poems must be from the approved POL Anthology and satisfy the contest criteria. Winners of the state competition represent New Jersey at the National Finals.
Region 2 includes Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester, and Cape May counties; the winner of the regional competition advances to the state competition. VHS has performed well at the Regional Finals in the past several years and advanced to the State competition six times. The winner of the state competition wins a trip to the National Finals in Washington, DC, where they have a shot at winning $20,000.
"I am proud of Michaela's performances, and I know that her classmates are proud of her as well," said Vanessa Rasmussen, VHS English Department Chairperson and Coordinator of the school’s annual Poetry Out Loud competition. "The poems Michaela chose were emotionally complex, and she personalized them and performed them for the audience with insight and authority. I am thrilled that we were able to share the experience of poetry in action with so many of our students, and I am gratified that they truly enjoyed themselves and happily participated in the process," said Rasmussen.
New Jersey Poetry Out Loud is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, in collaboration with Count Basie Center for the Arts. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Poetry Foundation, and the state arts agencies of the United States. Additional support for NJPOL is provided by ArtPride NJ Foundation and local partners. Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 3 million students and 50,000 teachers from 10,000 schools in every state, Washington, DC, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Congratulations to Kimon Myrie and Shamelis Marrero-Arroyo on being selected as the Vineland High School January Dancers of the Month. These students come to dance class each day prepared to learn with positive attitudes and great determination. They rise to all challenges and are always supportive of their peers. Ms. Hall is very proud of them!
The Vineland High School AFJROTC has been very busy during the month of January, starting with an MLK event held on January 15, hosted by Mr. Albert Porter and VAACDC. The NJ2009-1 unit was honored along with one of their instructors, Mrs. Muller, for her community service. Cadets and Mrs. Muller received certificates that honored them for their community service efforts. The Awareness Presentation Team (APT) participated in supporting the 7th grade CTE awareness curriculum at Veterans Memorial School that reinforced the principles of JROTC. Cadets enjoyed showing Ms. Burke's class various drill movements and discussed standards and expectations in the AFJROTC program. The presentation team (APT) team and Colorguard performed for the 8th-grade visit to the VHS Tanner Building. Several AFJROTC cadets, who are also members of the VHS marching band, posed together with Rowdy Rooster during this event. AFJROTC was invited to help during the Miss Vineland event that took place on January 25, 2024. The Color guard, run by c/Capt Saez, presented the flags. Cadets escorted the Miss Vineland contestants onto the stage during their formal dress performance. Several cadets helped pass out programs and helped guide guests into the theater.
We look forward to several more events scheduled for February.
The latest edition of the Vineland Public Library's VPL Gazette is now available! Don't forget to cast your vote in the "Favorite Famous Couple" poll.
Please take a few minutes to review it and share the link with your friends and neighbors. As always, the library has something for everyone. Please encourage them to share the link as well. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions please contact us at: vplgazette@vinelandpubliclibrary.org.
VPL Gazette: https://www.canva.com/design/DAF7kJoRMrU/view
On Tuesday, January 30th, Mennies' 3rd annual Family Game Night was held. The event was sponsored by a Pride in Education Grant from the Vineland Education Association. Just under 300 students and their family members came out to Mennies to enjoy a night of family, food, and fun! Board games, such as Scrabble and Monopoly, classic card games like Uno and Go Fish, a giant sized Jenga game, Twister, floor puzzles, and even Cornhole, provided endless fun for all! Families also enjoy delicious pizza provided by Pizza Queen, as well as chips and water. As a thank you for attending, stress star squishies were given out at the end of the evening, and all students were also able to pick out free books to take home! Vineland Education Association volunteers helped make this event a huge success and we look forward to more Family Game Nights in the future!
Mennies Elementary School's January Character Badge winners were announced this week! These students displayed the character trait of the month, responsibility. Great job by all!
Mennies Elementary School is proud to announce its next round of Playground Stars! Students who show good character in the cafeteria and on the playground get awarded with a special certificate during their lunch period. Playground stars will get a special treat during lunch!
Twelve students at Sabater Elementary School exited the ESL program on January 31. Many students in second and fifth grades were congratulated by their principal, Sofia Heredia Torres, and were given certificates. Pictured are some of the students, Ms. Torres, and ESL teacher Ms. Markman. Third and fourth-grade students received their certificates from their teacher, Ms. Fogorino, in class.
Mrs. Garcia’s fifth-grade bilingual students at Sabater Elementary School have been diving into the world of chemical reactions. In a hands-on exploration guided by the scientific method, our fifth-graders have been engaging in a dynamic learning experience that highlights the wonders of science and celebrates the power of bilingualism. Through the lens of cooperation and inquiry, our young scientists embraced the challenges and joys of scientific discovery. What truly sets this experience apart is the celebration of bilingualism within our classroom. Some groups enthusiastically delved into acquiring and applying content knowledge in their native language, Spanish, while others courageously embraced the opportunity to develop their skills in English further. This differentiated bilingual approach enriched the learning experience and fostered a sense of inclusivity and empowerment among our students. It exemplified the values of cooperation and communication in all its forms, aligning with one of our Portrait of a Graduate competencies.
D’Ippolito Elementary School’s Character Education Program is entitled Bravo!
BRAVO translates to:
Be
Respectful
And
Value
Others
Teachers Amanda Conley and Elizabeth Petrini and the BRAVO Committee started D’Ippolito’s Character Ed Program in 2016.
We celebrated our BRAVO winners for January. All these students were recognized for Optimism, our BRAVO trait for the month of January. Students came down and received a certificate, trinkets, and a snack. We always have an activity for them to do and take home. This month, they made a snowman picture frame. Everyone really enjoyed themselves, and we are looking forward to next month's Bravo winners!
The Vineland Education Association provided D'Ippolito Elementary School funding to welcome our families to learn and experience Mindfulness University and how to destress from daily life and "Let it Go!" The school provided four activity stations where families could participate in mindfulness activities.
These stations included "Feel the Music," where families learned from our fabulous music teacher, Ms. Oravsky, and some of her chorus students how to breathe and find mindfulness through warm-ups and music. Another station was a "Hot Chocolate Mindfulness" craft where guidance counselor Mrs. King guided families. They went home with a beautiful craft of hot chocolate and mindfulness ideas on the marshmallows. Even parents enjoyed making their own! We also had "Mindfulness Eating," which was catered by Pizza Queen. We had comfort foods of macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers. We also had rainbow sprinkle cookies and, of course, hot chocolate. Our last station was "Let it Go with Snowballs." Our Principal, Mrs. Morano, and counselor, Mr. Delgdo, helped families engage in an energetic, stress-relieving activity involving fake snowballs. The families enjoyed letting go and destressing in this activity.
Families left with a stress star reliever donated by the VEA, a winter-themed book and some mindfulness materials. We hoped to foster dialogue between parents, staff, and the community about how mindfulness can play an important role in our lives.
Tune in to the latest episode of School Leader Spotlight featuring Vineland High School South Principal Jacqueline Roman-Alvarez! View now on our YouTube channel, VLDSchoolsTV or by clicking the link: https://youtu.be/0HeLD0FGbhM?si=7i3nGZl6DaP5AI5V
Congratulations to the 34 Vineland High School students recognized at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Monday!
Current inductees include: Gabriela Cumba, Landon Gentile-Adamson, Collin Graiff, Brianna Mosley, Eve Ortiz, Rohan Patel, Xavien Phillips, Casey Russoman, Arshveer Sehgal, and Lianna Velazquez
New inductees include: Christian Alvarado, Kelianne Burgess, Faith DiCicco, Danica Fiester, Dulce Flores, Nathan Freites, Michelle Galindo, Michaela Giuliani, Zaria Gould, Rahsaun Jeffrey, Henry Johnson, Manroop Kaur, Ravneet Kaur, Christine Lam, Lionel Powell, Jalexis Rodriguez, Deviyani Saez, Chad Sciore, Erin Shipman, Robert Steele, Juliana Tirado, Cheyenne Wilson, Jezabelle Wilson, and Kaelin Zheng.
The National Honor Society advisor is April Marchesano-Hemminger.
The event was filmed by VPS Broadcasting and is available on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/live/TElS8yLR4Gc?si=ueAHMZOdycLZ_dtQ
In Ms. Kreck's library class at Mennies Elementary School, students are honing their communication and teamwork skills. Ms. Kreck guided them in understanding call numbers on books and organizing them appropriately. Working in small groups, students collaborated to sort the books, requiring effective communication and teamwork. The groups accomplished the task successfully, showcasing their collaborative efforts.
