Dear Parents and Guardians: Enjoy reading some news from “The Meadow”…
Viking Voices: Come to the Thursday, February 20, 2020, 7:00 pm Board of Education meeting to hear the Glen Meadow Viking Voices open the Board meeting as they salute the flag and sing a few patriotic songs.
Congratulations to our Boys Basketball Team: The Boys Basketball team under the direction of Head Coach Oakes and Assistant Coach Donohue had a stellar season. The boys won the championship game, 58-25, against Sussex Wantage, in the “40th Hardyston Basketball Tournament”.
The Big Bang Theory: Mrs. Vaszlavik 6th-grade science class learned about The Big Bang Theory in an ultimate hands-on lesson using “indoor snowballs” to represent the matter that was flying around the universe during the Big Bang and red yarn to represent the Red Shift. Students took one to two snowballs and held onto one end or the other of a red ball of yarn. Students and Mrs. Vaszlavik gathered together to represent one big fiery dot…the origin of the Big Bang. On “three” everyone moved away from each other throwing the matter everywhere and pulling the red yarn apart. There was much laughter and students retained important information on this topic. Students conducted experiments such as “The Expanding Universe” and watched various BrainPop videos and took quizzes on the material.
From our Student Behavior and Ethics Counsel:
Mindful Mondays: Mindful Monday weekly goals are in full force. Each week’s goals are also posted on Schoology and on the video screens in the hallway and atrium. Here is a recap of the goals we have covered during the month of February:
Walk and be quiet while in the hallway–this is a positive and productive way to get to class on time–and will ultimately make our entire building and community a happier and peaceful place to spend our days.
BE PREPARED: it is proper preparation that prevents poor performance!!
Parents and guardians can assist in ensuring that your child is prepared for school by encouraging a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, completing homework, and bringing all materials (pencils, pens, notebooks, folders) to school.
Leave things better than you found them-Remember that how you act is a reflection of who you are. Picking up after yourself shows that you care about yourself, your school and others!
Starting today, you cannot change the past, but you change the course you are on. How?
Persevere–do not give up–ask your teachers for help
Pay attention in class–you will be surprised how much you will learn if you simply stop talking
Do your homework
Study
Listen
Follow directions
Think before speaking-or texting
And say “I am sorry” and mean it for times you make mistakes.
We hope these weekly goals are sparking conversation at the dinner table or on the way to practice and other activities. Thank you for your continued support as we strive to make Glen Meadow a positive and peaceful place to learn and spend our days.
Vernon Township Police Department Brings LEAD Program to Glen Meadow 7th Graders: Corporal Rovetto, from the Vernon Township Police Department, is teaching in all 7th-grade health classes bringing lessons from the LEAD program to our students. The LEAD Program, that stands for Law Enforcement Against Drugs, partners with our schools, community leaders, and families by providing proven and effective programs to deter youth and adults from drug use, drug-related crimes, bullying, and violence. Corporal Rovetto is using the “Too Good for Drugs and Too Good for Violence” curriculum to promote positive, pro-social attitudes and behaviors, while fostering healthy relationships, resistance to substance abuse and conflict, and resistance to negative peer pressure and influence. Students participate in interactive hands-on lessons that reinforce making smart and healthy choices. Some of the topics covered in the LEAD Program are:
Goal Setting
Decision Making
Effective Communication
Anger Management
Media Literacy
Conflict Resolution
Social and Emotional Competency
Pro-Social Bonding
Volleyball Tournament: Wow the energy in the gym was incredible at our second Volleyball Tournament held on February 14th!! Teams creatively designed t-shirts and named their teams. Participants and spectators alike had an enjoyable afternoon gathered as a school community. Congratulations to our 15 teams that competed at the event. Our winner of tournament #2 is…”Shake-n-Bake”! The second-place team was “Net Ninjas”, and a close third was “Belly Bumps”. We look forward to our third and final tournament this spring.
National Junior Honor Society: If your 7th or 8th-grade child has a GPA of 92 or above he or she has received a special invitation from Mrs. Amato, the NJHS Adviser, to apply to be a member of the NJHS. Please see this link to read all about this program. A panel of teachers at Glen Meadow will soon be reviewing all applicants (that are only identified by numbers, not by names). Students who meet the criteria will be inducted on Wednesday, March 18th, at 6:30 pm.
Academic Bowl: Coach Manis is training the Academic Bowl participants by “working out” their brains! Students are training for an “all-subject” buzzer-based academic quiz competition. Not only do our students have to be academically-rounded, but they have to be quick on the buzzer too! Training focuses on not only having a great fund of knowledge but knowing how to use the buzzer, too. Look out Alex Trebek…here comes Glen Meadow! Our academic athletes will be competing later this spring at Hardyston Middle School.
100th Day of School Cup Stacking Challenge: Mr. Joseph had students use their engineering skills for a fun cup stacking event using 100 cups.
Seusssical Jr. Mrs. Sandler and Mr. Kelter, co-advisors, are leading practices during the week to prepare for our spring musical Seussical Jr. The actors and actresses will be performing several shows this spring. We will be hosting a preview for our friends at Cedar Mountain and Lounsberry Hollow and, for the first time, will be having a Senior Citizens show! Our program will take place on Thursday and Friday, April 2-3, at 6:30 pm. More to follow on our big show! Many thanks to our parents who are supporting this program and picking up their children from practice every evening!
Lysol Company conducting a study at Glen Meadow School: Former VTHS graduate, Kelly Whitehead, is a Senior Research Scientist within the Microbiology and Virology Research & Development Lab at Lysol. Kelly Whitehead, along with Advanced Placement science students at VTHS, are working alongside Kelly Whitehead in a study surrounding the presence of respiratory organisms on commonly touched surfaces. Kelly Whitehead and her VTHS science assistants are working to sample surfaces to examine the presence of respiratory organisms using a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that looks at the DNA/RNA of these clinically relevant organisms. Kelly Whitehead and her assistants have come to Glen Meadow School to sample commonly touched areas within our school over multiple weeks to study the specimens. Below are some pictures of Kelly Whitehead who is assisted by Charlie Gieger.
Students Serving as Mentors at Walnut Ridge: Mrs. Karen Stoeckel, Supervisor of the Walnut Ridge Preschool Program, has partnered with our co-advisors of the Student Ethics Counsel, Ms. Veronica Dignan-Corbutt and Mrs. MacDougall, to design a mentoring program. Glen Meadow students go to the preschool program and work alongside and support the youngsters as they are in play or doing activities. As you can see from the pictures, students are bonding and are developing a special friendship.
SCA Sponsored 6th-7th-8th Grade Hangout: Will take place on Friday, February 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The cost of the dance is $5.00. Permission slips must be received in order for students to participate. As a reminder, our next SCA meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 19, at 9:30 am…we love our parent volunteers! The SCA is looking for volunteers to assist with our dance. Thanks to our families helping in any way they can! The SCA Ladies Night Out is on Friday, March 20. Buy your 50-50 tickets and seating tickets! Don’t wait, tickets sell quickly! Here is the flyer for the event. Parents who are volunteering to assist with 8th Grade Dance, your next planning meeting is on Thursday, February 20, at 6:30 pm, in room 100. Thank you also for supporting our Gertrude Hawk district-wide candy sale. As a reminder, orders are due on Friday, February 21st.
Calling all 7th AND 8th Graders: The Executive SCA is looking for 7th AND 8th graders to volunteer at this year’s Executive SCA Senior Citizen Dinner Theater at Vernon Township High School on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, after school. Students interested should give their names to Ms. Regan or come to the main office. You are required to wear black pants and a white shirt. This is a fun and easy way to serve your community!
Game Night: On Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 pm, the Glen Meadow Ambassadors will be hosting a 5th, 6th, and 7th grade Game Night. The Ambassadors have an evening of fun and games planned for all participants. This is also a way for our Lounsberry Hollow 5th graders to become familiar with the building and the peers that will be in their school next year. Click here for the Game Night flyer.
Ryan’s Story: Parents are cordially invited on Tuesday, March 17, at 6:30 pm, to hear Mr. John Halligan talk about his son Ryan. Parents will be able to experience this program that students will see during the day. This is a poignant program presented by Mr. John Halligan who lost his son Ryan to suicide because he was bullied when he was 13 years old. Please visit Ryan’s Story online to learn more about Mr. Halligan’s campaign. This is a very important program for all parents. Please bring a friend! Here is the flyer with information on the program.
I hope you have enjoyed reading some of the activities and events taking place at Glen Meadow Middle School- as always, thank you for partnering with all of us at Glen Meadow!
Mrs. Gebhardt