Dear Glen Meadow Parents and Guardians:
First and foremost, Dr. Kosek and I would like to say thank you to our parents and guardians for all of their support during these challenging times. Currently, our scheduled return to school date is Tuesday, January 19, 2021, and we are certainly looking forward to the time when we are together again. However, as we continue to move forward with virtual learning in December, we cannot stress enough the importance of student engagement in our synchronous lessons. Curriculum content is progressing and it is imperative for students to keep up with their school work. Parents and guardians, please be sure to periodically check your child’s progress on Genesis. Please reach out to your child’s teachers, school counselors, Child Study Team, or Dr. Kosek and me if you have concerns about your child’s learning.
Themed Dress-Up Days are Here! During the week of December 14-18, 2020, students are encouraged to participate in Glen Meadow’s themed dress-up days as listed below. Please share pictures of your children with to pmitchell@vtsd.com or kstigler@vtsd.com through Google Drive for this year’s yearbook. Click on the image to enlarge it.
As you are aware, our district will be teaching virtually through Monday, January 18, 2021. We will follow the district-wide 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Virtual Learning Schedule that is listed below.
**Please note- Wednesday, December 23, 2020, we will follow the 9:00 am to 2:00 pm schedule below. **
GMMS Virtual Learning Schedule:
9:00 am- 2:00 pm
| Student Log In | 9:00 |
| Period 1 | 9:00 – 9:31 |
| Period 2 | 9:33-10:04 |
| Period 3 | 10:06-10:37 |
| Period 4 | 10:39-11:10 |
| Period 5 | 11:12-11:43 |
| Period 6 | 11:45-12:16 |
| Period 7 | 12:18-12:49 |
| Period 8 | 12:51-1:22 |
| Period 9 | 1:24-2:00 |
For our students, here are some requests and reminders from your teachers:
- Student attendance is mandatory for all synchronous lessons at the designated times for each period as listed on the Virtual Schedule,
- Check Schoology for correspondence and daily expectations,
- Come to class on time while participating in a live Zoom or Schoology Conference and remain in one location; clock times vary, please login a few minutes prior to the class starting time,
- Please dress as you would for school,
- Participate from a quiet place in your home,
- Please keep your camera on unless instructed otherwise by your teacher,
- Be respectful,
- Anything visible in the background of your video must be school appropriate.
- Please send your teacher a Google Hangout or email if you have a question outside of your regular class if you need help with your work.
For our parents and guardians, here are some requests from Glen Meadow, please:
- Set clear expectations and routines for your child’s remote learning days.
- Partner with your child’s teacher and reach out should any challenges arise.
- Refrain from joining your child’s live classes or be visible on your child’s screens during classes.
- Encourage your child to communicate with teachers when your child has questions or concerns
Making an At-a-Glance Zoom Meeting Cheat Sheet- Here is a helpful video created by Mrs. Panfile, our Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant with the Child Study Team, on how to make a Zoom schedule for all of your classes so you have them in one place. Just follow Mrs. Panfile’s steps and you will be on your way to helping you with time management and organization. Here is a Google doc template for you to use to create your own Zoom template.
Information on Snow Days- When an announcement is made at the district level, it will be indicated whether the day is an inclement weather day (no virtual learning) or an inclement weather day (virtual learning implemented). This will be based on the weather prediction, snow accumulation, and travel guidelines. Here is the letter in its entirety on snow days from our Superintendent, Ms. D’Avino.
2020-2021 Yearbook online order form is open– If you would like your child to purchase a 20-21 yearbook, please click this link to place your order. The cost of the yearbook is $30.00. You can customize your child’s yearbook for an additional fee (student name, etc).
Congratulations to 6th Grade Matthew Celentano!
Matthew Celentano won this year’s VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest writing on the theme, “What Patriotism Means to Me”. His proud teachers are Ms. Krauss and Ms. Sisco. In Matt’s essay in writes about how proud he is of his grandfather who helped with the creation of The Northern NJ Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Sparta, NJ. Matthew will be reading his essay at the December 17, 2020, BoE Public Meeting that is held at Walnut Ridge School.
Gamifying Learning- Ms. Grimaldi and Mrs. Ramirez took a picture of their Zoom screen as they played Kahoot for Freak the Mighty. They had the students invite their pets along too!
Bring your Pet to Zoom Day– Mr. Piontkowski knows the importance pets play in our lives. For Mr. Piontkowski’s health class, he had students invite their pets to the lesson. Check out the happy faces (of the pets, too!)…
It’s Virtual Movie Night! Mrs. Mitchell’s and Mrs. Ramirez’s Language Arts students got together online to watch The Giver as a class. Below are students at the movie premiere. Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Ramirez said the students had a lot of fun watching the movie as a class.
There are many ways to be creative online…bring in Padlet! A Padlet is an online tool that creates a wall of “post-it” notes where students can collaborate and share idea. Here is a Padlet that Mrs. Basso and Mrs. Zaremba’s students engaged in with their students for one chapter in our So Far From the Bamboo Grove novel study. The students had to respond to a statement that supports our GM “Productivity” theme (part of the 5 Ps!). Students provided evidence to show how the characters were productive and how it helped with their survival after WW II.
Family Bingo from the Vernon Coalition…during long winter days indoors, it’s time for Family Bingo. You and your family can do all or just a few activities on the bingo board. Each activity that you and your family complete earns an entry for a chance to win a Dunkin Donuts gift card. You have until January 8, 2021, to send in your bingo boards to Lisa DeRitter from the Vernon Coalition at: lisa@centerforprevention.org. The Vernon Coalition will be announcing our gift card winner at our next Vernon Coalition meeting via zoom on January 13, 2021.
This is the bingo board for upper elementary/middle school.
This is the bingo board for high school.
Vernon Coalition Lunch and Fun- This month’s Lunch and Fun will be held on Monday, December 21, 2020, at 3:00 pm, online via Zoom, the live link below. At this month’s Lunch and Fun, the Vernon Coalition will be playing an online Jeopardy game. All students are welcome.
Here is the Zoom link
The Builder’s Club Halloween Costume Contest-The Builder’s Club is happy to announce the winner of Glen Meadow’s first Halloween Costume Contest! Congratulations to Madigan VanBlarcom, dressed as Rosie the Riveter, the “We Can Do It” WWII female icon in the workforce. We thank our School Counselors for their time in volunteering to judge this contest and thank you to all who participated. We also want to thank Darius Ziabakhsh for creating the awesome contest video attached below. He’s a WeVideo Wizard! Madigan’s charity of choice is the Glenwood Pochuck Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
In closing, we want to restate our gratitude for your continued support and wish you and your family good health and good spirits throughout the holiday season. As we settle into the winter months, we would like to remind you to update your personal information in our Genesis database. It is important for you to be informed of all school matters. As was stated in the November Public Board of Education meeting, if we have inclement weather, many of these days, school will still be held online and designated as day of school. If we have a storm that disrupts power and internet connect to the homes in Vernon, these days will be designated as an actual snow day. Three snow days have been added to our calendar. If all three snow days are used, our last day of school will be on Friday, June 18, 2021.
And finally…some upcoming events…
School Closed for Winter Recess: December 24, 2020-January 3, 2021
School Resumes: Monday, January 4, 2021 (online with synchronous lessons)
School Closed: Monday, January 18, 2021 for Martin Luther King Day
Marking Period 2 Ends: Thursday, January 28, 2021
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt Eric Kosek, Ed.D
Principal Assistant Principal