Dear Parents and Guardians:
As we are in week ten of our online, remote learning, I encourage you to please watch Dr. McKay’s podcast to receive all current school information and district happenings. Here is Dr. McKay’s most recent program. Please check the main page of the VTSD website and this blog for up-to-date information.
As we only have a few days of school left, I would like to go over events that are upcoming with all of you. On Wednesday, May 27th, this letter was sent to all families outlining how we will give back your child’s items as well as receive any school materials you have at home next week, June 1-4, 2020. Many of you have asked if you have multiple children in the building if you can come on one day to pick up your children’s items, and the answer is YES, of course! Remember, you may also pick up items of friends or a neighbor is someone cannot get to Glen Meadow.
Here’s a review of all upcoming events at Glen Meadow:
8th Grade Assembly Program: Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 12:00 pm. You will see a link on the main page of the VTSD website a few minutes before the event will begin.
8th Grade Virtual Advancement Ceremony: Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 5:30 pm. You will see a link on the main page of the VTSD website a few minutes before the event will begin.
Last Day of School: Wednesday, June 10, 2020; we will be mailing home report cards, awards issued at the Awards Assembly, Honor Role certificates, and other important school information.
Modified, In-Person 8th Grade Advancement Ceremony: Monday, August 3, 2020, at 9:00 am, with a rain date of Tuesday, August 4, 2020, at 9:00 am, held on the Vernon Township High School Football field. You will receive a letter in the mail outlining the details of how we will organize this event while following all guidelines for safety and social distancing requirements as well as how many people can gather in an outdoor event. Please keep in mind that there is no option to hold this event indoors.
8th Grade Dance: The School and Community Association (SCA) is working on dance preparations. At this time, the SCA does not have a date for this event. The SCA is hopeful it will take place in August; however, we are waiting on State guidance to ensure that we are able to hold such an event and what the restrictions are that may be in place at the time.
Yearbook Distribution: will take place later in the month of June. We are still waiting for a delivery date that is tentatively set for mid- June. You will receive the details of when yearbook pick up will take place. It will be organized much like our pick up and drop off procedures.
6th and 7th Grade PE Locker Content Distribution: Because 6th and 7th graders share gym lockers, we will be announcing a day in June that we will invite all 6th and 7th graders to come to Glen Meadow to retrieve their gym belongings. Please keep in mind, we had to place the locker contents of students sharing lockers into one bag because there were no names on clothing, etc. Students will be held to the “honor system” to take only their items out of the bags. This distribution will take place outside of the building, as students are not permitted in the building per State guidelines at this time.
PE Friday Workouts: Well, the PE department keeps us in stitches…if you haven’t already seen this week’s PE video entitled “Send in the Replacements”, please check it out…there are a few surprise actors/actresses that have a cameo role! We thank Mr. Killeen for his cinematography skills and talent!
Online Learning Activities from our Teachers
Reflections Magazine: Editor, Ms. Cleary, is putting the final touches to our magazine which will only be in digital form this year. I was able to get a sneak peek of it and you will surely be as impressed as I am with its contents from short stories, to poems, and colorful artwork!
Artsonia slide show– Mrs. Ulrich has collected her students’ artwork digitally via Artsonia. Please enjoy this beautiful slide show of our students’ work this year. We have so many talented students!
Here is the link to the Glen Meadow artwork
Mr. Reimer, Algebra I teacher, assigned his students a very creative project to reinforce the Pythagorean Theorem. In this activity, students were transported back to 1928. Where students were on the set of a film called, “Steamboat Bill Jr.”, by Buster Keeton. Buster Keeton was a major star in 1928 and ALL stunts are live!!! Watch a clip of the scene here.
Students were given the following information:
1) Buster Keeton is exactly 6 feet tall. 2) He will be standing perfectly straight up on a mark that is exactly 15 feet from the building front. 3) The front of the house will fall with its base intact, so it rotates around its base (i.e. the front of the house does not crumble, or get “kicked outward”. 4) We will not deal with the fact that Mr. Keeton is not just a straight line (we will ignore his width, and the width of the house front). What we will do is add 1 foot extra height to the window (top & bottom), so that it misses his head and feet.
The Assignment:
You need to calculate the following two figures: 1) how high is the bottom of the window, and
2) how tall is the window. Your set production team will actually build it. Wow, now that’s a lot of math!! And now, here is why taking all that math is important and highly applicable!!
Builder’s Club creates a Public Service Announcement for Father John’s Animal Shelter: To encourage our community to donate items and food to the animal shelter, Kaitlyn B., member of the Builder’s Club assisted in creating the below video. Thank you to Kaitlyn who has been an avid supporter of Father John’s Animal Shelter. There is a collection bin at the door of Glen Meadow and also at the entrance of Vernon Township High School.
Trout in the Classroom: Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a science-based program that teaches children about the importance of coldwater conservation through a hands-on approach to learning. Through the process of raising brook trout from eggs to fingerlings, the size they are at release time, students learn about the importance of clean, cold water, not only for the brook trout they are raising, but also for the other organisms, including people. Mr. Sorensen’s classroom has been the host of our trout all year from when they arrived as eggs in October. Here are some pictures of the actual trout release, sadly we typically have dozens of students with us, this year, we could only do this with a few of us. A special thank you to Mr. Henry, our trout expert who has also been involved with Trout in the classroom for numerous years.
Mr. Henry
Mr. Sorensen and Mr. Henry
Mrs. Gebhardt
a rainbow trout ready for the creek
SCA Towel Sale: It’s summer and time to get your new summer pool and beach towels!! The SCA is selling Vernon Viking towels for $22.00 each. Your 8th grader can purchase a towel online with his or her graduating year or you can purchase a plain towel online without a year on it. The image below explains how to purchase towels, please click the image for the details. Thank you for supporting this SCA fundraiser.
Project Self-Sufficiency’s Food Project, Nourishing our Neighbors, is available to all Sussex and Warren County families in need throughout the summer, regardless of whether or not they are agency participants. The attached flyer provides details about how to access assistance. Click on the image to enlarge and read the text.
Congratulations to Mrs. Jane Bookholt who is retiring at the end of the year! Mrs. Bookholt has been a 6th grade teacher in Lounsberry Hollow and Glen Meadow for 25 years. Thank you, Mrs. Bookholt for your years of dedication to all of your students. We wish you a happy and healthy retirement!
Thank you for supporting your child while learning at home during this Pandemic. We are all very hopeful that all students will return to school in the fall where in-person teaching will continue. Our district is working very hard to prepare for the new school year following all CDC and State guidelines. You will continue to be updated on all school closing and opening matters.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gehbardt Eric Kosek, Ed. D
Principal Assistant Principal
