Woodland Park School District News
January 29, 2021
Welcome to the Woodland Park School District e-Newsletter which is sent out weekly when school is in session. It serves as a glimpse of some of the wonderful things going on in our schools, as well as a point of reference for upcoming events.
Your Partner in Education,
Michele R. Pillari, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
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COHSA sponsors live stream author visit
The Charles Olbon School Home & School Association sponsored a whole school, live stream author visit event on Jan. 20. The author of The Secret Rhino Society, Jonathan E. Jacobs, read his book while also telling his own story of his journey of becoming an author.
His book touches on themes, such as "do not judge a book by its cover" and "accept others for who they are". Prior to the author's visit, the students were provided with the opportunity to submit questions to Mr. Jacobs via the teachers. Students were also able to leave comments and questions during the event on Miss Indri's Google Classroom. There were over 150 questions/comments sent from second grade students! The questions were answered during the Q&A segment of the event. Ms. Indri, CO School Guidance Counselor, acted as the facilitator during the visit.
After his reading, Mr. Jacobs provided the school with a printable craft which the students were able to utilize to create a scene from the book. Mrs. Toole and Miss Indri facilitated the completion of the craft this week with the students during live art club lessons. Kindergarten students will be completed the craft on Monday, Feb. 1. Please be reminded that all Kindergarten students can participate by accessing Mrs. Toole's Google Classroom where printables are available for download.
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Second STRIVE team takes part in virtual quiz bowl
Students in STRIVE at Memorial School participated in its second competition of the school year this week. The eighth grade team participated in a virtual quiz bowl. Team member, Isabel Tiseo, took third place at the event. Congratulatons, Isabel! Nour, Sebastian, and Lily also participated on the team - Great job!
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It's all in the interpretation
Mrs. Farrell's fifth grade students recently completed a project focused on form, light source, and cast shadows. The students created a pattern on a tablecloth and wallpaper to demonstrate their understanding of parallel lines and patterns. Paul Cezanne's "Apples" was used as the subject.
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Tracking Progress
Every Friday, music teacher, Mr. Schaefer, posts a weekly update for his fifth grade music students who are learning to play the recorder. Recently, each student created an avatar to represent themselves. At the end of each week, Mr. Schaefer updates the Karate Belts Poster. This poster serves a format to monitor student progress by noting the level which has been earned by each student. Each avator is surrounded by a circle of color and each color represents a belt level. Students have been sending in flipgrid videos each week or working with Mr. Schaefer on optional Friday meets.
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Favorite reads
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Get moving
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Vaccinations available at County's mega site
Beatrice Gilmore School nurse, Ms. Roehrich, recently received her first COVID-19 vaccine at Passaic County's mega-vaccination site at the former Modell's Sporting Goods store, 1710 Route 46 west, Woodland Park! Shots are given by appointment only. The County receives a new shipment of vaccinations weekly. An announcement is made on social media when registration dates are available. Please click here to view open dates.
To receive a vaccination at the Woodland Park site, you must register and make an appointment. Please click here if you are interested. It is helpfulto register on the site in advance as appointments fill up quickly. Keep your health insurance card handy as this information is needed in order to create a Vault account. More information on COVID-19, testing, and vaccinations can be found here. The County hotline number is 973-881-2790.
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Review time
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Memorial Home & School Association has ongoing fundraisers
Memorial Middle School's Home & School Association has three ongoing fundraisers - a lawn sign sale, discount cards, and face masks.
The reusable discount cards offer numerous favorite area merchants. Cards are $20 each and can be used until Nov. 30, 2021. You’ll be sure to save much more than $20 by using your card - an entire year of savings! Discount cards also make great gifts. To order a card, contact Trish at 201-452-9212.
Presentation to focus on effective student-led IEP meetings
The Alliance of Special Education Schools of North Jersey will host a free presentation for parents, "Effective Student-Led IEP Meetings," on Tuesday, Feb. 2, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. featuring Regina Ann Smith, Esq. from Disability Rights NJ.
Learning to be self-directed, and make choices and decisions does not happen all at once. Students as young as preschool can help make decisions about goals, objectives and preferences. Join in as Ms. Smith, an attorney, and former classroom teacher, unpacks best practices and practical strategies for any student at any level to take part in the IEP process.
Ms. Smith is an educator and advocate with eight years of success in a career as an educator and leader in best practices for special education. She is a law clerk at Disability Rights New Jersey where she leads their Juvenile Justice and Special Education programs.
Register for the meeting here.
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Meet the new Library mascot - Syd The Snail
The Alfred Baumann Library has a new mascot – Syd the Snail! The Library snail is a Cornu aspersum, or more commonly known as the brown garden snail.
Syd is 6 months old and was raised by Library Assistant, Lesli Galluzzo. Being nocturnal, snails spend much of the day sleeping. They love to eat when awake. This type of snail is an herbivore and relies on vegetables and fruits for its diet. Some favorite foods are carrots, zucchini, and basil. While they cannot hear or see very much they can detect food up to 10 feet away with its lower feelers. They move slowly using mucus and a muscular foot to explore all-around. Snails thrive in a moist environment with soil, vegetation, and shady areas. Syd has a beautiful striped shell and loves sitting on the red bike in its tank. Watching Syd travel around teaches you that snails are not as slow as you might think!
Syd will be the inspiration for many new programs at the Library. The Youth Services Department will be offering a monthly “Syd the Snail” storytime, monthly “Snail Mail” with an activity and some fun facts about snails, blog entries featuring “Syd the Snail” and video shorts on YouTube for you to keep up with Syd’s growth and activity.
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Coming up at the Alfred Baumann Library:
The Alfred Baumann Library will host the following children's programs. All programs are VIRTUAL unless noted. To view virtual programs, click here.
Friday, Jan. 29, 6:30 p.m. - Celebrate National Puzzle Day with a fun winter-themed Digital Breakout for those in grades 4 to 8. The Zoom meeting link will be provided before the program begins. Register here.
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 11 a.m. - Move & Groove with Miss Jolie on Zoom. Enjoy silliness, stories, music, and fun for ages 1-6+. Register here.
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 4:30 p.m. - Virtual storytime with Miss Phil and Miss Sarah. Register here.
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 6 p.m. - Join Miss Sara as we make a DIY Hot Chocolate Bomb, just in time for Valentine's Day! Limited space is available; the Zoom link will be provided after registration. Kits will be available for pick up at the library. Register here.
Friday, Feb. 12, 6:30 p.m. - Join Miss Dana and Miss Sara for a Valentine's Day craft. Supply kits will be available for pick up at the library; call 973-345-8210 when you get here and a staff member will bring a kit to your car. The Zoom meeting link will be provided after registration. Register here.
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