Dear Glen Meadow Parents and Guardians:
Here is our Blue and Gold schedule for the month of March…
March 2021
Blue / Gold Schedule
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| 1
Blue Team Week A |
2
Blue Team Week A |
3
Gold Team Week A |
4
Gold Team Week A |
5
Gold Team Week A |
| 8
Blue Team Week B |
9
Blue Team Week B
|
10
Blue Team Week B |
11
Gold Team Week B |
12
Gold Team Week B |
| 15
Blue Team Week A |
16
Blue Team Week A |
17
Gold Team Week A |
18
Gold Team Week A |
19
Gold Team Week A |
| 22
Blue Team Week B |
23
Blue Team Week B |
24
Blue Team Week B |
25
Gold Team Week B |
26
Gold Team Week B |
| 29
Blue Team Week A |
30
Blue Team Week A |
31
Gold Team Week A |
April 1
Gold Team Week A |
April 2
District Closed Spring Break |
As you are aware, the Blue and Gold teams will be coming together on Monday, April 12, 2021. We are looking forward to this Spring Ahead plan where our teams will be combined. We will continue to follow all safety protocols; i.e. wearing masks, using protective shields, and social distancing in classrooms. We will also be holding some classes outside, weather permitting. If you want your Exclusively Virtual child to come to school for in-person instruction please contact the GMMS main office at 973-764-8981 or contact your child’s school counselor. When school resumes after the spring recess, as we have been doing at GMMS, classes will be synchronous so our Exclusively Virtual students can be part of the class. From time to time, classes will be asynchronous to allow students to work on projects and independent work; however, the classroom teacher will always be available for the Exclusively Virtual student during regular class time.
Attention all 8th Graders: The Vernon Township School District Student Life Committee has all the details worked out for a Winter Carnival for students in grades 8 through 12 that will be held at Vernon Township High School on Saturday, March 13, 2021. The 8th graders will have their timeslot to enjoy time together as a class from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm. There will be a DJ, carnival-themed games, prizes, a photo booth, and a bonfire! All 8th-grade students will be receiving a shirt to wear to the event during the week of March 8th. If your child is Exclusively Virtual, t-shirts will be distributed at VTHS on Wednesday, March 10th, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
8th Grade Course selections for Freshmen Year will take place March 8-12, 2021! You will be receiving a very important School Messenger email regarding how your child in 8th grade will select courses for next year. The entire process will be completed in Genesis. You will only see the courses that a freshman can take, students will not have access to take upperclassman classes (except in the event that your child is taking and passing Spanish I, Algebra I, and Geometry). In the letter you are receiving, you will find this informative Google slide presentation on what courses are required in high school. If you have any questions during the course selection process you can contact next year’s counselors as follows:
Ms. Ryerson (mryerson@vtsd.com) : A – DE
Mr. Loughren (rloughren@vtsd.com): DF – K
Mrs. Gonzalez (cgonzalez@vtsds.com): L – RIV
Mrs. Merck (lmerck@vtsd.com): ROC – Z
Thank You from Parents: Various parents in the Vernon community got together to come up with a way to thank all of our teachers, aides, secretaries, custodians, and administration for all that everyone has been doing this year for the students of Vernon. The Vernon parents surprised all schools with a beautiful poster from Ink24 that says “We can’t mask our gratitude for you”. We have proudly displayed this thank you sign in our main hallway. Various students surprised their teachers by wearing “Thank you Teachers” t-shirts in their Zoom lessons!
The 2021 Glen Meadow musical is entitled Dear 2020: Memoirs From Middle School. This musical is unique to our school, as the Glen Meadow Middle School theater students are the creators and performers of the show. “Dear 2020” centers around the emotions and feelings of our very own students during the past year. It includes music from various genres: Broadway shows, musicians, movies, and television shows, while the stories are real and from the heart. It is a reminder that We’re All In This Together and You Will Be Found because You’ve Got A Friend. It is a reminder that Any Dream Will Do, if you Think Positive even if you can’t find your Corner Of The Sky right now! Additionally, the students share their appreciation and are using this opportunity to remind adults that they are doing a Good Job, and they share in their gratitude. Keeping in mind that positivity and kindness are what unite us as a community, our musical will explore the perspective of these difficult and uncertain times through the lens of middle school students: Friends, isolation, positivity, group chats, and quarantine: Dear 2020: Memoirs From Middle School will share all of this and more. The Glen Meadow Middle School musical will be performed live on Saturday, May 15, 2021, and will also be available online.
Glen Meadow Musings: Our student-written and produced newsletter is out for March. Check out the latest edition! You can find previous editions on the Glen Meadow page under Student News.
It’s Read Across America Week! You’re never too old to read a fun Dr. Seuss book, but if you’re looking for some great books in the Glen Meadow library, check out Ms. Yost reviewing some of the new books in our library. You’ll love this book talk! Gather around and get comfortable.
Congratulations to Melody Buccieri whose artwork entitled “My View” was selected as Best in Show for the middle school division at the recent ArtRox art show! We had several Glen Meadow students whose artwork was part of the art show, we are so proud of all of our artists!
Congratulations to our Girls and Boys Basketball Teams! Both teams had a winning season this year. While the season was short, each team had a great time building their skills and having a lot of fun in this organized sport. Thanks to our great coaches, Ms. Donahue, for the boys, and Ms. Gonnelli and Ms. Ciani, for the girls.
National Junior Honor Society News: Applications are in and the committee of teachers will be reviewing applications to see who has met the strict criteria to become a member of this academic and service organization. The induction ceremony will be taking place on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, online, at 5:30 pm. Good luck to all of those who applied!
The National Junior Honor Society has been working on many projects recently. The members have been writing letters for frontline workers to thank them and letters for our elderly to brighten up the day. They also have been creating videos of themselves reading children’s books for the primary school grades.
Now, they are starting the Induction Ceremony Video for the incoming members of the NJHS, and cannot wait to welcome the newcomers!
Noelle writing a letter to a frontline worker
Glen Meadow Blood Drive: Glen Meadow is sponsoring a Blood Drive that will take place at St. Frances De Sales Church on Route 517 on Thursday, March 11, 2021, from 3:00 to 7:30 pm. Please see the flyer above for details. We thank Mrs. Schmidt for organizing our blood drives as she has done for years!
Glen Meadow Builder’s Club: On February 25, 2021, the Glen Meadow Middle School Builder’s Club presented their first Appreciation Award to Kevin Mitchell and Scott Jahnke, the owners of the Tracks Deli in Vernon. The Tracks Deli was selected to receive this award as recognition of their contribution to the Vernon community for being a business that cares and gives back! When the pandemic started in March 2020, the owners Kevin Mitchell and Scott Jahnke offered free lunches to Vernon students in need. After the Vernon Senior Center closed, The Tracks decided to extend this offer to senior citizens as well. In fact, they also organized volunteers to deliver the meals to the seniors’ homes. To date, The Tracks Deli has been providing free lunches for over 11 months, and have not missed a single day!
The idea to present an Appreciation Award was inspired by the California-based DUDE Be Nice Project which was discovered by one of the Glen Meadow Middle School Builder’s Club members. This project focuses on all the positive, good deeds that people do for others. Presenters take the time to say thanks and recognize the people who deserve it. Along with the Appreciation Award, the Builders Club brought balloons, a cake, and an official Glen Meadow Middle School Proclamation which they read to the surprise and delight of the owners of the Tracks Deli. Check out the video of the Builder’s Club presenting the award to The Tracks Deli.
…and More Builder’s Club news…the Builder’s Club Collecting Pop Tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. The grade level that collects the most pop tabs will be treated with ice pops. They are also running a fundraiser for the Glenwood Pochuck Volunteer Ambulance Corp. If Glen Meadow donates $50, the school can have a Hat/Crazy Hair Day: $75, a Pajama Day; $100, Mrs. Lopez, Ms. Grimaldi, Mrs. Gebhardt, and Dr. Kosek will sing a song together; and if $150 is collected, volunteers from our faculty and staff will get a pie in the face! Donations can be placed in the collection can in the cafeteria. The deadline for donations is May 21st.
The Builders Club also participated in the Fifth District Valentines for Veterans Program sponsored by Josh Gottheimer.
Glen Meadow Student Council: The Student Council has various sub-groups within the leadership organization to create fun activities for all of our students. Here is a sampling of some upcoming activities by group.
The Scavenger Hunt Group has been coming up with ideas for organizing hunts that will take place in our school. Some of these ideas include making it a competition, having simple prizes, and creating a theme. The Student Council will be voting on some themed ideas at their next meeting.
The Tutoring Group is sending out a Google Form to the students of Glen Meadow to see which students need tutoring. The form will also ask if any students would like to be tutors. Depending on the student’s schedule and whether the student is Blue, Gold, or Virtual, tutoring will take place either during their lunch, study hall, or after-school. A teacher will supervise, and in some cases, the tutoring session may be over Zoom.
The Spirit Day Group is creating a spirit week during the week of St. Patrick’s Day. On Monday, March 15th, and Friday, March 19th, students will be encouraged to wear green and/or dress like a leprechaun. Throughout the week, an estimation jar of gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins will be out for students to guess how many coins are in the jar. Whoever guesses closest wins the chocolate coins. We are also holding a competition which includes creating leprechaun traps, which will be judged for a prize.
Oreo Science Experiment: Mr. Sorensen’s 7th grade students conducted a science experiment modeling the concept of mitosis with Oreo cookies.
Blindfolded Badminton Anyone? Students have been learning the skills of badminton in PE class. To challenge students, Mr. Piontkowski put up a barrier to not be able to see the opponent. Doing so heightened students’ awareness of the shuttlecock and attending to the game. In another game, students had to use alternating hands to play badminton, dominant and non-dominant hands.
Volleyball News: We will begin Volleyball Intramurals beginning the week of March 15th! Students who are interested in joining must have a completed physical and permission slip prior to beginning our intramural program. If your child needs a physical, please click this link that will bring you to the Athletics page. Announcements will be made on the dates volleyball will be held after school and information can also be found on the GMMS Schoology page.
Track and Field: Our Track and Field program will begin with virtual workouts led by Coaches Davenport and Galante. It is important for students to participate in these trainings to build endurance and strength. Formal practices will begin at the end of April. Mrs. Davenport and Mr. Galante will be holding a virtual meeting in the coming weeks to give students information on this year’s program.
Don’t forget that our SCA meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 9:45 am. This month we will be meeting on March 17, 2021, via Zoom. You will find the Zoom link on the Parents Group/SCA Link on the GMMS page. In addition, you will find a lot of other SCA information for Glen Meadow and all other VTSD schools.
In closing, as a reminder, all VTSD schools will be closed on Friday, April 2 through Friday, April 9, 2021, for our Spring Recess. We look forward to the Blue and Gold team coming together for full-day instruction on Monday, April 12. Monday, April 12th is also the last day of Marking Period 3. Marking Period 3 grades will be open for parents to view them on Monday, April 19, 2021.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt Eric Kosek, Ed. D.
Principal Assistant Principal