Vineland Public Schools hosted the first Community Partnership Action Committee meeting of the school year on Tuesday, part of an ongoing initiative spearheaded by Superintendent Alfonso Llano.
Nearly 50 city and county organizations, city officials, Board of Education members, and district staff and administrators participated in the meeting at Vineland High School. This year’s meetings will revolve around the theme “new year, new opportunities,” with rotating guest speakers and activities that focus on the variety of options our students have available to them at Vineland Public Schools and the ways in which our community can support them. The meetings will be held every other month, with alternating months featuring a community forum or activity in place of the meetings,
The group enjoyed a light lunch from Sodexo, the district’s food service provider before being welcomed by Llano. Former VHS principal and current Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Suzette DeMarchi spoke on the school’s nine Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs currently at the school and plans for upcoming programs such as next year’s Cybersecurity program. DeMarchi explained that students have the ability to follow the CTE tracks and earn up to 30 college credits and/or certifications by the time they graduate high school.
DeMarchi then introduced VHS South principal Jacqueline Roman-Alvarez, who spoke briefly on how community members can become involved at VHS.
The attendees were then split into groups and taken on a tour of some of the CTE programs and the RISE program. The groups visited the Agriculture, Studio Production, Automotive Trades, Construction Trades, and RISE classes and had the opportunity to see the students in action and learn more about the programs. Staff members took the attendees on tours of their classrooms or work areas and provided an overview of their courses. Several classes were in session at the time, and the community members were able to watch construction and automotive students in action. Members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter were also on hand to answer questions about the Agriculture program and lead the groups.
VHS Families:
Please join us for a VHS Community Conversations/Superintendents Townhall Meeting in the VHS South theater on Monday, December 4, 2023. Let’s come together, enjoy some pizza, and strengthen our partnership.
Please RSVP by Dec. 3: https://bit.ly/40fW1mG
Sabater PTO celebrated a successful Family Spirit Night at Chick-fil-A! It was fun, and the food was delicious. Sabby Star became famous and brought smiles to families. Thank you, Chick-fil-A!
Over 30 Johnstone Jaguar parents and children in 6th grade were treated to a special after-school event called “Parent University.” The event was made possible by a Vineland Education Association PRIDE GRANT. After a delicious dinner, students could enjoy open gym time or a craft with staff as parents rotated among three learning sessions. Staff presented on topics including “Health and Mindfulness,” “ AI to help your child study,” and “Mindset & Organizational Skills.” After parents “changed classes” in the halls of the school and students played and crafted, the evening was topped off with a Parent-Child free throw contest in the gym.
From November 1-22, the Wallace Safety Patrol held a Food Drive to benefit the Vineland Soup Kitchen. We were able to donate over 650 items, which were picked up today by Ms. Debbie and friends. The Safety Patrol members helped load vehicles. It was great to give back to the community!
The 7th-grade bilingual students in Mrs. Horner's accelerated math class at Wallace Middle School are demonstrating their understanding of proportional relations by creating posters. As part of the activity, the students had to create a word problem that included proportional relations. They also had to create a data table and graph the information. The students also had to solve the word problem using a constant of proportionality equation.
Los estudiantes bilingües de séptimo grado en la clase acelerada de matemáticas de la Sra. Horner están demostrando su comprensión de las relaciones proporcionales mediante la creación de carteles. Como parte de la actividad, los estudiantes tuvieron que crear un problema escrito que incluyera relaciones proporcionales. También tuvieron que crear una tabla de datos y representar gráficamente la información. Los estudiantes también tuvieron que resolver el problema usando una ecuación de proporcionalidad constante.
Congratulations to Veterans Memorial Middle School for winning 2nd place in the Petite Float category at this year's Vineland Christmas Parade! The float, titled "Sgt. Roary's Mele Kalikimaka Luau," was decked out in holiday island fun as part of this year's parade theme, "A Christmas Luau on The Ave." Thank you to all of the staff members, students, and volunteers who made this amazing float possible!
Mrs. Martino's class at Sabater Elementary School celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday by making "Thankful Turkeys" last week. They had a great time making the turkeys while discussing the many things they have to be thankful for!
Mrs. Stangle's second-grade class partnered up with their buddies in Miss Carbo's kindergarten class at Mennies Elementary School to make their own butter like Pilgrim children did. Students partnered to read a how-to-make-butter book and then worked in groups to shake their cream into butter. Students then enjoyed their butter on bread, cornbread, and crackers!
Durand fourth-grade students proudly partnered with Vineland Code Blue in preparation for the cold winter months ahead. Students included items such as hats, gloves, thermal socks, and can openers. The Durand Dolphins believe that a community is stronger when everyone lends a hand and works together. After taking time to give the gift of comfort, cookies and hot cocoa were enjoyed in the school cafeteria.
Special thanks to all of the Durand Family who made donations to help fill the bags. Approximately ninety bags were made.
On Wednesday, November 22, CHAMPIONS at Rossi Elementary held a Friendsgiving celebration! During the morning program, the students were served breakfast, and in the afternoon program, they were served a Thanksgiving feast, learned about the origin of “Thanksgiving”, played a Thanksgiving trivial game, had a scavenger hunt, and learned about gratitude.
Mrs. Gaetano and Mrs. Uebelacker’s students at Mennies Elementary School made butter for Thanksgiving!
We're broadcasting the annual Vineland Holiday Parade live now on our YouTube channel! 🎄 https://www.youtube.com/live/Ftz1voFrtcg?si=Zs07OBUdcUjk26cf
We will be streaming today's annual Vineland-Millville Thanksgiving Day football game live from Millville Memorial High School at 10:30am! Happy Thanksgiving and go Fighting Clan! 🦃🐔
https://www.youtube.com/live/7WhxZHDajFc?si=VNFyxSWId7F9HzyH
Happy Thanksgiving to our Vineland Public Schools family!
Great crowd and night at tonight’s bonfire! Be sure to come out tomorrow and cheer on the Fighting Clan at 10:30am as they take on the Millville Thunderbolts at Millville Memorial High School. Go Fighting Clan! 🐔
More photos are available on our Facebook page.
Veterans Memorial School held its 2nd Annual VMS Turkey Bowl 2023 on November 21 in front of a student crowd of over 500 who braved the classic football weather outside to watch the VMS Faculty defeat the Eighth Grade Student team 27-18. The VMS Faculty leads the VMS Turkey Bowl with two consecutive wins over the students. Any student who did not want to brave the outdoor weather to watch the football game had the option to report to an assigned movie room inside the building. It was a fun day for students and faculty before the Thanksgiving break!
Next up, look for the VMS Sgt. Roary Float in the annual Vineland Christmas Parade this Saturday, November 25. The VMS faculty, VMS Junior National Honor Society, and the VMS Safety Patrol have been hard at work creating their float entry.
Come out and support the Fighting Clan tomorrow as they take on rival Millville High School in the annual Thanksgiving Day Game! We will also be streaming the game live from Millville on our YouTube channel, VLDSchoolsTV.
Go Fighting Clan! 🐔
Join us tonight for our annual pre-Thanksgiving football game bonfire! Come support the Fighting Clan as they look to win tomorrow in Millville for the 152nd matchup between the rival teams. The bonfire location is on the field behind Johnstone and the VHS Tanner Building.
Students from Wallace, Pilla, Johnstone, and Veterans Memorial Middle Schools have met with Superintendent Alfonso Llano, members of central administration, and Board of Education members over the last two weeks to engage in an open forum discussing the middle school experience.
Each meeting began with light refreshments provided by Sodexo, the district’s food service provider. Llano then welcomed the students and, after introductions, jumpstarted the conversations by asking the groups what they felt were the biggest differences between elementary and middle school. Many students missed recess, their former teachers, and not having to change classes. However, they stated that middle school provides them with more opportunities both in and out of the classroom.
Llano then invited the students to share things that they enjoy at school or things they are concerned about. There were common concerns shared across all schools, namely involving the wish for a more relaxed dress code. Many schools also brought up the desire to have more afterschool clubs and activities and expressed concerns about bus safety. Almost all schools also expressed the desire for more interactive and hands-on activities in the classroom and more interaction with their teachers.
Llano plans to meet with the students again in February for an update and then in June to round out the school year.
