A snowy path for squirrel and fox,
It winds between the wintry firs.
Snow-muffled are its iron rocks,
And o’er its stillness nothing stirs.
by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
Dear Glen Meadow Parents and Guardians:
Hello to mid-February the coldest point of the winter thus far…having said that, we hope that reading this mid-February Glen Meadow blog will warm your heart with news, information, and stories about the successes of so many of our students despite how hard this year has been on all of our students! First and foremost we will look forward to the return of our Blue and Gold Teams on Tuesday, February 16, 2021! We have missed seeing you in person! Click here to see the end of February- March schedule that is below; we will follow the same Blue/Gold pattern we have been following. If you click on the image below it will enlarge.
Attention all 8th Graders: The Vernon Township School District Student Life Committee is planning a Winter Carnival for students in grades 8 through 12 to be held at Vernon Township High School on Saturday, March 13, 2021. Each grade level will have its own time slot to attend; the 8th-grade time slot being 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm. There will be a DJ, carnival-themed games, prizes, a photo booth, and a bonfire! Below is the flier about this free event (click on it to enlarge). This is a must-attend event… you will meet the Freshman Academy teachers, administration, and coaches you will have in September!
Congratulations to our 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students that earned an 85% or better in each class! Your teachers, school counselors, Dr. Kosek, and I are very proud of you! Students will receive their certificates shortly or will have them mailed if the student is an Exclusively Virtual student. Students will also receive a special letter from our school recognizing students’ achievements in Marking Period 2.
| Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | ||||
| Jean Arrazola
Jayden Banghard Lia Barca Azraelle Bases Bryan Beltran Stanley Bilomasur Luca Bracchi Emma Casper Mark Catania Eliana Chmielowiec Elias Condit Madison Cook Brayden Cosenza Casey Costa Casandra Cruz Vanesa Curry Otto DeJager Daniel Decker Justin Dixon Lake Doughty Kaine Doyle Kyleigh Doyle Mary Duffy Christina Ferry Ava Florio Mackenzie Gass Andrew Geisen Danielle Getz Brooke Giessuebel Karina Grabowski Kaitlyn Hordych Sarah Horler Kara Howell Hadassah Jean Delilah Kaye Jadyn Klammer Carter Knarr Nathaniel Kouretas Alexandra Kovacs Emma Lally Noelle LoGiudice Kaylee Mahoney Quinn O’Brien Tristan O’Krinsky Brody Orr Riley Orr
|
Jason Amato
Carly Amorosi Alina Baljak Hailey Bennett Thomas Benson Kaitlyn Bohmer Natalia Borges Samantha Bose Molly Boyle Jaelyn Braden Jayden Buckley Robert Burdzy Christopher Cairns Adrianna Carter Abigail Cawley Garnet Cheng Jayden Chornobroff Kevin Cooke Tyler Costa Madison Crum Monica Curry Karolina Czerhoniak Joseph D’Aprile TRUE DiGuiseppe Grace Doumanis Jamie Dreps Analiese Drupka Shane Dunbar Miranda Ebbighausen Bridget Esposito Julie Evanick Isabella Evicci Joseph Frassa Kaylee Free Dylan Gabriele Heath Gallant Jeremy Garcia Keydi Garcia-Mejia Brooklyn Gargano Lauren Goolsby Daniel Gosses Mason Heilmann Samantha Iannelli Michael Ivancich Caitlyn Jensen Kayla Jurewicz
|
Colton Bates
Rick Bennett Jaclyn Benson James Bergacs Abigail Buck Kylie Burns Christina Ciannella Kayla Clarke Brooke Cordaro Luciano Damato Marissa DeVelez Abigail DeYoung Sihana Destani Alyssa Doughty Samantha Ellson Meghan Emmerich Gia Federici Austin Geisler Reese Hamilton Charles Heintz Lily Henderson Noelle Hernandez Joshua Jean Kasey Keating Kristyn Lambrinides Nicole Lehman Amaya Lopez Kenneth MacPherson Eluney Matallana Susan Mentone Abigail Mundhenk Kaymenia O’Brien Jack Paladini Julia Paton Paige Quimby Callista Rieker Gabriel Ruano Abigail Sokolewicz Samantha Vasquez Luca Vizzini Amanda Witters Olivia Wood Jolie Xi Jessica Zampino Darius Ziabakhsh |
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| Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | ||||
| Jenna Osterhoudt
Charles Paladino Kaitlyn Panicci James Papandrea Jack Paton Tessa Pelak Christopher Perrotta Trevor Pratt Edith Roman Matthew Rugel Lyla Russo Adrian Savytskyy Ashley Seeley James Staab Audrey Steinbach Zachary Stevens Brooklynn Sybesma Catherine Van Blarcom Kaitlyn Van Blarcom Robert Vazquez Sierra Wagner Crystal Wortham Matthew Young |
Liam Kelter
Samantha Kimkowski Erin King Juliana Lapine Stephanie Longo Maureen Lovett Sawyer Lukasik Katina Martin Matthew McCann Avene McElduff Juliette Miller Cailin Moran Alexander Morroco Ty Mountain Julia Myers Ava Pecoraro Elizabeth Peek Jessica Perry Wyatt Piekarz Ryleigh Pietrucha Ella Platt Teagan Ressler Alejandrina Roman Gabrielle Rovetto Uriah Naomi Sacdalan Olivia-Arnetta Schmick SeanPatrick Tozzi Jorge Troche Jr Michael VanBenschoten Jr Dustin Wagner Samantha Werner Angel Zapata |
Congratulations to 8th Grader Noelle Hernandez, a National Math Club Winner!
Each year, more than 500,000 students participate in The National Math Club at the middle school level. This year, Mr. Ferrara, National Math Club coach, and Lounsberry Hollow math teacher, met with several Glen Meadow “Mathletes” to train and practice for this year’s rounds of virtual competition. The first round of the competition took place on February 5-6, 2021. The competition is conducted through the Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) Contest Platform, and each student competes solely as an individual (this year there are no team competitions). Noelle Hernandez has qualified for and will be moving onto the 2021 Chapter Invitational Competition, taking place online on February 25 at 7:00 pm ET. The top 5 students from each chapter and the ten next highest scoring students in the state advance to the 2021 State Competition, taking place online March 25 at 7:00 pm ET. We wish Noelle good luck as she practices for the second round competition! Congratulations to our other “Mathletes” that also qualified and competed in Round One:
Austin Geisler
Tina Ciannella
Matthew Lee
Robert Vazquez
8th Grader Amanda Witters competes at the New Jersey State Solo & Ensemble Festival. Amanda Witters, a bassoon player, being trained by Band Director, Mrs. Young, has been practicing for this year’s NJ State Solo and Ensemble Festival. Amanda has been playing the bassoon during her middle school years and will be adjudicated (judged) based on her years of experience. Adjudication has just begun and we eagerly await how Amanda scored. We are most proud of Amanda for entering this highly competitive Scholastic Performing Arts Activity Presented by Arts Education NJ.
Girls’ Basketball News from Coaches Gonnelli and Ciani: Both coaches are so happy that they are able to have a season this year with so many schools that Glen Meadow competes with not holding their sports programs this year. Given the circumstances, the Glen Meadow Lady Vikings are playing great! The team has had one game so far against Newton. The varsity girls won 29-10. 7th grader, Monica Curry led the team with 10 points. The girls’ JV team scored 4 points, while Newton scored 8. All 34 girls’ basketball team players are having a great season together, they’re having fun and learning a lot about the game. The smiles on the girls’ faces are making this a memorable season.
Virtual Art Show on Instagram: On February 25, 2021, eight Glen Meadow art students will have their work featured in the Virtual Roxbury Middle School and High School Art Show. Congratulations to…
Melody Buccieri
Susie Mentone
Alyssa Clifford
Eliana Chmielowicz
Olivia Wood
Edith Roman
Mackenzie Gass
Abigail Cawley
Valentine’s Dress Up Days: The Glen Meadow Student Council, with Ms. Yost, adviser, is planning Valentine’s Dress Up Days on Monday, February 22, and Friday, February 26, 2021. Wear themed-colored clothing and accessories to celebrate this fun day in school. Our Yearbook Staff will be around to take pictures throughout the day…plan your wardrobe now! Because we weren’t together for Valentine’s Day this year, we still wanted to share this fun holiday as a school!
Middle School Bowl: The Glen Meadow Academic Bowl Team has been practicing virtually to prepare for online competitions this spring.
We have joined the New Jersey Middle Academic League. This new “virtual” league will be holding tournament sessions in the months of February, March, and April with a final competition in May. Tournament games consist of 20 toss-up questions and 20 three-part bonuses.
The Academic Bowl Team members have been challenging their knowledge, learning trivia, and even sharing trivia questions with family members. We have been practicing with past tournament questions to get a closer resemblance to the competitions. We are open to recruiting new members. Interested candidates can reach out to Mr. Manis at jmanis@vtsd.com
Battle of the Books: Ms. Yost is busy working with her Battle of the Book Club members. Ms. Yost’s students are reading books to demonstrate their abilities and to test their knowledge of the books they have read. The student competitions are usually similar to the TV series Family Feud or Whiz Kids styles of competitions. Here are just a sampling of the books our students are reading to prepare for the year’s spring competition:
Edwards, Roberta Who Was Neil Armstrong?
Dowell, Frances O”Roark Phineas L. MacGuire…Erupts!: The First Experiment
Grabenstein, Chris Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library
Jones, Kelly Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
Lowry, Lois Number the Stars
Levine, Gail Carson Ella Enchanted
Magras, Diane The Mad Wolf’s Daughter
Paulsen, Gary Hatchet
Ryan, Pam Munoz Esperanza Rising
Sachar, Louis Holes
Wiles, Deborah Love, Ruby Lavender
Yang, Kelly Front Desk
Bauer, Joan Stand Tall
Craft, Jerry New Kid
Creech, Sharon Walk Two Moons
Curtis, Christopher Paul Bud, Not Buddy
Giff, Patricia Pictures of Hollis Woods
George, Jean Craighead On the Far Side of the Mountain
Heidicker, Christian McKay Scary Stories for Young Foxes
Holm, Jennifer Our Only May Amelia
Hunt, Lynda Mullaly Shouting at the Rain
Hunt, Irene The Lottery Rose
Sloan, Holly Counting by 7s
Soto, Gary Baseball in April and other stories
Yearbook Information: Attention all students – The Yearbook Club is accepting baby pictures for the 20-21 yearbook, please share your baby pics with Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Stigler via Google Drive. The Yearbook Club is also dedicating a special section to the February snowstorms! Send your snow pics to Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Stigler via your Google Drive.
Don’t miss out! Order your Glen Meadow Yearbook now! Order Link is attached here. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Stigler at kstigler@vtsd.com or Mrs. Mitchell at mmitchell@vtsd.com.
National Junior Honor Society – Applications for membership for the National Junior Honor Society have been mailed out to 7th and 8th-grade students who qualify. Please see this link to read more about the National Junior Honor Society. Any student who receives an invitation to apply to NJHS is welcome to attend a virtual Help Session on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at 3:30. The current NJHS members and Mrs. Amato will be available to answer questions about the application process. Here is the Help Session Zoom link and a list of activity examples for the NJHS application to help get you started. Good luck to all students who have been invited to apply to become a member of the National Junior Honor Society!
Vernon Coalition Lunch and Fun for the blue, gold, and virtual teams will be meeting this week! Below are the days/times of the lunch and fun meetings. The zoom link is attached below.
Blue Team – Tuesday 2/16 during lunches in room 108
Gold Team – Thursday 2/18 during lunches in room 108
Virtual Team – Tuesday 2/16 at 4:00 pm via the Zoom link here
School Counseling Department Information: Our School Counselors Mrs. Keane, Mrs. Pisco, and Ms. Regan often talk to their students on ways to stay up to date with work and how to develop good study habits and organization. Below are some tips they often discuss with their students. Now that we are in the second half of the school year, it’s important to stay the course and stay on top of your schoolwork!
Tips for staying on top of your schoolwork
- Check your Schoology courses every day. The best way to stay on top of your assignments is to be aware of what is going on in class.
- Use the Schoology calendar feature to help with managing assignments and due dates.
- Check emails every day!
- Check Genesis every few days to make sure grades are correct.
- Stay organized: Set up a specific time of the day to get your homework completed, study for tests, check email, and Genesis.
- Write out or color code A and B weeks on your calendar so you always know what week it is.
- Email teachers to let them know when you submit late work.
- Reach out to your teachers if you need help.
Gamifying Learning: This year, you may have noticed that teachers are “gamifying” learning more than ever to help students learn, stay engaged, and have fun. Miss Frazita has created several games for her students to practice and learn math skills. She created such games as Frazita’s Fantasy Forest, Connect Four, Tic, Tac, Toe, and Trashketball.
Gimkit: To continue to gamify learning, many teachers are switching to Gimkit. Gimkit is a classroom game-show platform where students compete by answering questions on their electronic devices. Instead of earning points, students earn virtual currency, which they can “invest” during the game to boost their score. Gimkit is based on “Among Us”, an online multiplayer social deduction game. While students are practicing and learning specific skills, they are playing this new and highly interactive game. It is replacing Kahoot as a much more engaging game. Ask your child if he or she has played it in class.
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 February 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. Our March meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, at 9:45 am.
In closing, thank you for supporting the education process whether your children are Exclusively Virtual or on the Blue or Gold Team. We know what a trying time this has been for everyone and we appreciate your partnership with us.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Gebhardt Eric Kosek, Ed. D.
Principal Assistant Principal