Dear Parents and Guardians:

Meet the Glen Meadow Building Beautification Team! This team of extraordinary students helped beautify our front entrance garden…you’ll see from the pictures how much work they did to prepare a fresh new garden bed for the start of the new school year. Thanks to Victoria, Logan, Gabrielle, Madison, Katie, Trevor, Juliette, Olivia, Miranda, Elizabeth, Amanda, and Gavin for being such wonderful school leaders! You set a great example for your peers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to 8th Grader Zack Mountain who recently competed in the AAU Jr. Olympics held at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC. Zack was one of 14,000 teenagers competing at the Jr. Olympics. Zack qualified for the 800 and 1,500 meter as well as the high jump. In preparation for this awesome opportunity, Zack trained independently for this elite competition supported by his family, his grandfather, who is a retired Athletic Director, and Coach Davenport, the Glen Meadow Track and Field Coach. In order to compete in this National meet, Zack had to qualify at the District championships in early June and then the Regional Championships which were held at St. John’s University in New York! We are all very proud of Zack and his athletic accomplishment! Here are some pictures of Zack in his competition. Check out Zack being interviewed on a recent Vernon podcast.

 

Congratulations to Alyssa Doughty, who played Princess Anna of Arendelle in the production of “Frozen”, performed at the Newton Theater! You may recall that Alyssa was Maria in our recent musical “A Sound of Music”. We are very proud of Alyssa’s talent in theater!

On August 9th please join us for Reading Sit and Chat and Get Together at 11:00 am, to talk about all of your summer reading. Miss Yost our Library/Media Specialist, will be joining us to share the books that she’s been reading this summer as well. Come hang out with your friends and join us! Here is the link to the GMMS Book Talk Flyer. Please complete the Google survey that is linked in the flier if you are attending. I am reading two historical fiction books that will be discussing with our students. I’m reading The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, and Threads and Flames by Esther M. Friesner. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve been reading, too!

If you’re looking for some good books, here is the link to Ms. Yost’s Library/Media Center link. Once at the site, there are a lot of book reviews for you to check out. There is something for every reader! Ms. Yost has so much information at your fingertips! Reviewing the Research Link prior to the school year beginning will help refresh your skill on how to investigate topics that you are studying or want to learn more about. There is a great Google slides presentation on how to use keywords to go deeper on a topic to find what you are looking for. On a rainy day, look for Carmen Sandiego using Google Earth; it’s a great family activity that builds your geography skills!

Reminder to our entering 6th grade parents… As per mandatory requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey, all children entering the 6th grade will need the following immunizations for admittance to school for the 2019-2020 school year:

  • Tdap booster
  • Meningococcal vaccine

In order for Ms. Ash, our school nurse, to receive your child’s updated immunization schedule, please consider the following:   

  • Hand deliver to the main office during July or August
  • Have your child deliver to the nurse’s office in September
  • Send via email to our school nurse at sash@vtsd.com
  • Send via fax to our school nurse at 973-764-0851 or 973-764-3295.

A copy of your child’s most up to date annual physical and/or sports physical is also encouraged.

If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. Ash at sash@vtsd.com.

If you need a GMMS Physical Form, please visit the Health Office link, where you can download the form. We also have physical forms in the main office. 

The Genesis Portal will be open the week of August 19th where you will see your child’s schedule and busing information. You and your child are welcome to come to school and “walk through” your schedule. As we get closer to the portal opening please note the following reminder… In the middle of last school year, each student was given a list of course offerings for “specials” classes to rank in interest order. When completing the form, it was explained that courses will be scheduled as close to requests as possible. At times, based on spring test scores on the NJ SLA, students may be scheduled for Math and Literacy Labs. If a student is in a Math or Literacy Lab, the student will be in each lab for Marking Periods one and three or Marking Periods two and four. We will be hosting a special event called “Bagels and Locks” in late August! Your child will be invited to come to school to practice opening his or her locker and have a snack while becoming familiar with the locker number and combination! Please come back to visit my blog for the specific date and time, as it will be announced shortly! Here is a short YouTube video that you can view to help refresh you on how to open a combination lock.

Our Family Back to School Night will be taking place on Tuesday, September 3, at 5:00 pm. All students are requested to attend this event with parents and guardians. All students will first stop in the gym to receive a grade-level specific graduation “Class of” t-shirt prior to reporting to homeroom. All students will be requested to wear this t-shirt on the first day of school on Wednesday, September 4 where we will be spending the day developing our school culture and climate and learning all about “The Glen Meadow Way”. Students will be encouraged to wear this t-shirt or other Vernon apparel on various school spirit days that will typically be the third Thursday of every month. Check out the Glen Meadow calendar for these dates and many other events going on throughout the school year.

Schoology, our district’s Learning Management System, will be opening for parents and guardians this year! Parents and guardians will be able to log on to Schoology to see their child’s homework and read announcements, etc. In September parents and guardians will be sent a login via their email that we have on record in Genesis. The password that you receive will NOT be your child’s school account. It will be a parent account based upon the email that you have supplied us. So, it is very important that all of your contact information is Genesis is up to date and accurate. If you ever need to reference a previously posted blog, please click the GMMS Blog and you will see a full listing of them. 

Josh Gottheimer, our Congressman from the 5th Congressional District, has announced that his office is participating in the Congressional App Challenge (CAC), a competition designed to encourage student participation in computer science and coding.

Officially launched by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, this nationwide effort allows students to compete against their peers by creating an app for desktop/PC, web, tablet, mobile, or other devices. The Challenge is designed to promote innovation and engagement in computer science.

The Congressional App Challenge is open to all middle and high school students in the 5th Congressional District of New Jersey. Students entering the competition must register and submit their app to CongressionalAppChallenge.us by November 1st, 2019.

The winner from the 5th Congressional District, chosen by a panel of expert judges, will be featured on CongressionalAppChallenge.us, and the winning app will also be eligible to be on display in the U.S. Capitol, honoring the winners from across the country.

The Center for Prevention and Counseling will be sponsoring a Strengthening Families series at Glen Meadow beginning on October 1st, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This is a free and fun program for the entire family! Seats for each family is limited. Please see the attached flyer for additional information. Here are some of the highlights of the program:

  • Fun group activities for parents, children (5-11 years old) & teens (12-17 years old).
  • YUMMY MEAL served for the entire family.
  • Parent, children, & teen groups; Parents enjoy support/discussion sessions while children & teens have fun learning through various interactive games and activities.
  • Open FREE to any family in Sussex County.
  • FREE childcare provided for children under 5 years old

And finally…some information on communication and the proper channels… As we get closer to the beginning of the school year, it is very important that we promote communication with you via this blog, emails, phone calls, our calendar, Friday School Messenger blasts, and the occasional memos that will be sent home with students. With this in mind, below are the steps to use as reference if you need to reach someone at school to discuss an educational matter. These steps support direct, open, and respectful interactions so that problems and concerns can be worked out quickly and efficiently. Any question or concern should always start with the person listed in Step 1, as that person will usually have the most information on the topic. If you have a question or concern, please follow the steps listed below for the relevant topic.

Classroom Issues Involving an Individual Child

(Classroom procedures, behavior, bullying, HIB, grades, schedule, etc.)

OR

Curriculum and Instruction

(Subject matter being taught, teaching strategies, textbooks and materials used, etc.)

STEP 1: Classroom Teacher; if not resolved…

STEP 2: School Counselor; if not resolved…(Grade 6-Mrs. Pisco, Grade 7- Mrs. Keane, Grade 8- Ms. Regan)

STEP 3: Director of Humanities, Mr. Vincent Gagliostro, or Director of Math and Science, Mr. Russ Rogers
STEP 4: Building Principal and/or Building Assistant Principal; if not resolved…
STEP 5: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Charles McKay; if not resolved…
STEP 6: Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Karen D’Avino

Special Education, 504 Plans, and IEPs

STEP 1: Teacher, Specialist, or Child Study Team Member (Psychologist, School Counselor, Social Worker, Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist); if not resolved…
STEP 2: Case Manager; if not resolved…
STEP 3: Building Principal; if not resolved…

STEP 4: Supervisor of Special Services Grades 7-12- Mrs. Cheryl vonSalzen; if not resolved…
STEP 5: Director of Special Services, Mrs. Deb Merrill; if not resolved…
STEP 6: Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Karen D’Avino

Medical Concerns

STEP 1: School Nurse; if not resolved…
STEP 2: Building Principal; if not resolved…
STEP 3: Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Karen D’Avino

School Counseling and Related Services

STEP 1: School Counselor, Social Worker, School Psychologist; if not resolved…
STEP 2: Supervisor of School Counseling- Mrs. Kristin Gudenkauf; if not resolved…
STEP 3: Building Principal or Assistant Principal; if not resolved…
STEP 4: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Charles McKay; if not resolved…
STEP 5: Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Karen D’Avino

Transportation Concerns

(Behavior on school buses, etc.)

STEP 1: Building Assistant Principal; if not resolved…

STEP 2: Building Principal; if not resolved…
STEP 3: Supervisor of Transportation, Mrs. Jamie VanGilist; if not resolved…
STEP 4: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Charles McKay; if not resolved…
STEP 5: Superintendent of Schools, Ms. Karen D’Avino

Thank you for partnering with us at Glen Meadow!

Rosemary Gebhardt