Dear Parents and Guardians:
As you read in our Superintendent’s letter, we will have virtual Wednesday instruction beginning with the first week of October, with our first virtual Wednesday being on October 7, 2020. Our virtual Wednesday schedule is below. Please encourage your child to follow his or her schedule on Wednesdays. Some teachers will have an open Zoom meeting for the class or to receive help on work, others will post pre-recorded lessons, and others will post work for the day. As I have recommended to many parents, it is a good idea to have your child follow his or her daily schedule on the days home whether an Exclusively Virtual student or a Hybrid Learner. In addition, please be sure you are checking your child’s Genesis and Schoology accounts on a regular basis. Teachers are continually posting & updating information that is instrumental to your child’s academic progress. Teachers may be holding virtual class meetings where your child’s attendance is required.
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Virtual Wednesdays for ALL Students |
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| Period 1: | 9:00 – 9:20 |
| Period 2: | 9:25 – 9:45 |
| Period 3: | 9:50 – 10:10 |
| Period 4: | 10:15 – 10:35 |
| Period 5: | 10:40 – 11:00 |
| Period 6: | 11:05 – 11:25 |
| Period 7: | 11:30 – 11:50 |
| Period 8: | 11:55 – 12:15 |
| Period 9: | 12:20 – 12:40 |
| Office Time: | 12:40 – 1:00 |
Schoology: Please be sure you are checking your child’s Genesis and Schoology accounts on a regular basis. Teachers are continually posting & updating information that is instrumental to your child’s academic progress. If your child is not attending Zoom meetings, your child will be losing class participation credit in that class.
In addition, teachers may be holding virtual class meetings where your child’s attendance is required.
You can always see what is going on in each class. You will always land on the Updates page. There you will see the message for the day and highlights of the day’s/week’s work. Next, click on the Materials folder that is right above the Updates folder. There you will find all of the work for the week in a weekly labeled folder. Look for a checklist of work your child needs to complete for the week. This is created by each teacher to help your child stay organized.
Zoom Etiquette: Here is a reminder of what is expected when your child is on a Zoom meeting with his or her teacher and class- please click this link: Zoom Expectations
FREE Grab-and-Go Breakfast and Lunch Program: Did you know that breakfast and lunch are FREE to ALL students this fall in our district? Your child may take a breakfast upon walking into school…NO order necessary!! Your child may order a lunch daily by completing a GM Lunch Order Form found on the GMMS Student page. Here is the Google form for your convenience. Lunch must be ordered by 9:00 am. Lunch will be delivered to your child’s period 9 class prior to leaving the room for the 12:30 pm bus. Please consider taking advantage of this service.
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Looking for a FREE tutoring service? Students at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) are offering free tutoring through a program from Wave Learning Festival, this is a nonprofit project to address equitable education started by college students at UPenn this summer.
Wave Learning Festival will be offering free tutoring sessions from college students on all subjects, speaker events from influencers like Ruta Sepetys and organizations like MEDLIFE, and career & college apps workshops, in addition to the seminars that they will be continuing from this summer. Wave Learning Festival received an extraordinary response from their students this summer, and specifically, tutoring was highly requested by parents to help fill the gaps left by online learning. The goal of the Wave Learning Festival is to help students everywhere with their academic pursuits, especially those with less access to resources.
Check out wavelf.org! Registration for our first round of seminars closes on September 27th, and tutoring begins October 5th. Don’t miss out on these free opportunities.
Teacher of the Year Program
You are invited to nominate a teacher for the annual NJ Department of Education Governor’s Teacher of the Year and Governor’s Educational Services Professional of the Year. Please use this form to nominate a teacher at Glen Meadow. Nominations are due on November 20th. Our building selection will be made in early December. There are so many outstanding professionals in Glen Meadow for you to consider! Last year’s recipients were Mrs. Renee Kepfinger, a special education math teacher, and Ms. Terri, Librarian
Each candidate should:
- Inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn;
- Serves as an exceptionally skilled and dedicated educator in a public or charter school;
- Expresses themselves in an engaging and articulate way;
- Plays an active role in the community as well as the school;
- Demonstrates leadership and innovation in and outside the classroom;
- Has the respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues
Walking through the Virtual Halls of Glen Meadow…
Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest: Students will be writing essays in Language Arts and Social Studies classes on the topic “What is Patriotism to Me?”. Patriot’s Pen is an annual essay contest is sponsored by the National VFW. Glen Meadow often has winners from our school at the local and regional level; winners receive a monetary prize! Click this link for the application.
Mrs. Holderith uses virtual manipulatives to teach the concept of subtracting integers; click this link to see an example of an online math lesson.
As part of Mrs. Franklyn’s science lessons, she gives students a daily poll that introduces students to the world of science. Students are presented with a topic, have to do a little research online and then they cast their vote and state why they selected the choice they did. The poll and the topic are discussed in next day in class. Here is an example of a poll taken in class:
Which animal courtship ritual do you find most interesting/amazing/odd? Click on the links below for a video of each, then make your choice.
- Peacock spiders https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3HlwwJG85c
- Bowerbirds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXwJ3QFIOkg
- White-spotted pufferfish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT6ILjk1fcg
- Hooded seal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPFkmwo8DQU
- Birds of Paradise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWfyw51DQfU8th
Mrs. Basso and Mrs. Zaremba’s students are expressing their knowledge through a variety of platforms. After watching a video in Mrs. Basso and Mrs. Zaremba’s weekly slide presentation, students respond to the discussion question by using the microphone icon to record or the video and audio icon to the answer about a Scope Magazine article they just read. Students responded to the question, “How are search dogs portrayed in the video? Consider the narration, music, and visuals”. Here are two students’ responses that show how students are using tools in Schoology to complete their work.
Here is Samantha W’s audio response:
Here is Leah G’s audio and video response:
Mrs. Ragone’s 8th graders wrote poems to express who they are, their interests, and things in their life. Here are some pictures of their creativity. Maybe we will see these in our Reflections Magazine later this year. Click on each image to enlarge and read each poem. You will be very impressed with each student’s creativity.
From our music teacher, Miss Petrucci: Chrome Music Lab is an interactive musical activities website built and run through Google. This website allows students to explore different areas of musicianship such as sound, rhythm, melody, and more. Exploring music can help spark curiosity in all kinds of ways. This website can help one think of new perspectives both in the music classroom and in general education classrooms.
These examples are from the “Song Maker” activity available on Chrome Music Lab. In this activity, students can create a simple composition and can share it instantly with a link. For this assignment, students were able to learn about the different decisions that go into creating a piece of music and were able to get creative with their own musical knowledge. Enjoy the music samples below.
Music 6: Period 2
James’ Composition:
Audrey’s Composition:
Music 6: Period 4
Kayli’s Composition:
Vanesa’s Composition:
Music 8: Period 9
Jared’s Composition:
Frankie’s Composition:
Sadie’s Composition:
Here is an example of Mrs. Hirkaler’s mini-lesson on practicing the elements of art and the principles of design. I think you will find this recorded lesson very relaxing and has students applying skills they have learned in art through the years.
Virtual Clubs are beginning!
Builder’s Club…
Would you like to belong to a club that helps people in our school and in our community? Would you like to reach out to those in need and build friendships along the way? If so, please join the Glen Meadow Builders Club. There will be an organizational meeting for the Builders Club via Zoom on Wednesday, September 30th at 3:00 pm. The link for the meeting will be posted with the announcements in Schoology. We look forward to seeing our members from last year and welcoming new ones!
Virtual Variety Show…
In order to be considered for participation in the 2020 Glen Meadow Variety Show, all students must complete the entire application that is attached here and their music lyrics (if applicable) by Friday, October 2.
Auditions will take place virtually on October 6 and October 8th. Please listen for announcements during homeroom and look for Variety Show announcements in Schoology. You will receive notification of your audition day on a pass given to you by your homeroom teacher, or one will be sent to you via email.
- Students may audition for one act only. Students must choose whether they will perform with a group, a partner, or as a solo.
- All acts must be under four minutes to ensure that the Variety Show is presented in a reasonable amount of time. Please modify your performance to meet this time restriction.
- All students auditioning with music (either instrumental or vocal) must submit a copy of their music’s lyrics along with their permission slip and application. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED. All musical selections must be school appropriate, as deemed by the Variety Show Advisors.
- If you are selected to participate in the show, please be aware that rehearsals days are assigned and either Tuesday and Thursdays. Assigned practices are MANDATORY. Students who do not attend mandatory practices will be asked to leave the show!
- All costumes must be school appropriate, as deemed by the Variety Show Advisors. A brief description of all students’ costumes must be provided on the application. We just need a general idea of what you plan to wear. Please consult the Glen Meadow Parent/Student Handbook for further information.
- All Variety Show participants are expected to display exemplary behavior at all times as outlined in the Parent/Student Handbook. Infractions may result in expulsion from the show.
*The Variety Show will be held on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:30 pm; this will be an ONLINE program*
Vernon Coalition…
“Above the Influence” virtual program will begin soon… This is a very popular club… all are invited. Students will come together to celebrate being a pre-teen/teen and all the ways to have fun while making healthy choices. Lisa DeRitter, the Youth Coordinator will be leading this group. Lisa will also be holding many Lunch and Fun groups during lunch periods throughout the school year.
Glen Meadow Sports…
Cross Country: Coach Galante has been training our students for endurance for long-distance running. This team will experience seven meets this year. Coach Galante gives students leadership opportunities by leading exercising and stretching at the beginning and the end of each practice. All students are welcome; if you are thinking about joining, please see Mr. Galante.
Field Hockey: Coaches Hofmann and Ranzan are training our athletes for six games this year. The Field Hockey team was NUMBER ONE in Sussex County last year; can they do it again this year? Good luck to our players as they compete against Kittatinny, Newton, and Sparta!
Week of Respect 2020-2021
Connect with Kindness
During the week of October 5, 2020, our state will be celebrating the ways that all students can respect each other and avoid bullying behavior. Here is a listing of what we’ll be doing at Glen Meadow Middle School for the week:
Monday, October 5th
Blue Shirt Day- World Day of Bullying Prevention
Blue Shirt Day, World Day of Bullying Prevention is a national initiative held on the first Monday of October. “STOMP Out Bullying” created this initiative where people are asked to wear a blue shirt in an effort to join together in solidarity to stop bullying and cyberbullying. GMMS will help drive awareness of anti-bullying programs and STOMP Out Bullying in our community!
For our virtual students: Students and teachers will make an avatar picture wearing blue.
Tuesday, October 6th
Everyone Counts Day- wear clothing with a number on it.
Students will be encouraged to do Random Acts of Kindness for others.
Wednesday, October 7th
School is a Safe Place to Be Yourself…Dare to be different- wear mismatched clothes
We look forward to being in an encouraging environment that promotes social and creative learning and embraces everyone to be themselves.
Thursday, October 8th
Stand Up Against Bullying- United we stand…wear school spirit wear (“class of t-shirts”, etc.)
Friday, October 9th
HERO Day- dress up as a superhero
School and Community Association (SCA)
The October virtual SCA meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 21, at 9:45 am. The SCA will post a Zoom link on the SCA page so all can attend. We had a great parent attendance at our September meeting. We love our parent volunteers. Please check out the Glen Meadow SCA link where our minutes will be posted to keep you up to date if you missed a meeting. This new site will bring you to all SCAs in our district.
Here are the Glen Meadow Officers for the 2020-2021 School Year:
President: Mrs. Katrine Lally
Vice President: Open
Treasurer: Mrs. Donna Pych
Recording Secretary: Open
Corresponding Secretary: Ms. Clarissa Piper
In closing, thank you for partnering with us, our students are very respectful of wearing their masks, practicing social distancing, and following school rules. Our temperature taking prior to students arriving in the building is going very well. Please continue to monitor Schoology so you can stay up to date with all class requirements. Please reach out to either of us if we can help you navigate your child’s Schoology pages. Thank you for viewing Genesis to see the grades your child is earning. Later in October, we have Virtual Parent Conferences. There will be more information on this in the next Glen Meadow blog.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt Eric Kosek, Ed. D
Principal Assistant Principal
