CGSD Newsletter
November 2019
Dear CGSD Community,
The mission and purpose of the Cedar Grove Education Foundation (CGEF) is to enrich and enhance the educational experiences of Cedar Grove students above and beyond the scope of the curriculum and to provide lifelong learning opportunities for the entire community. To this end, the CGEF will solicit funding, goods, services, and/or talents from corporate, community, and government sources.
The Cedar Grove Education Foundation is established as a broad based, non-profit community organization organized for the following charitable and educational purposes:
- To foster supportive and private sector relationships to service the educational interests and needs of the students and citizenry of Cedar Grove, New Jersey;
- To serve as a catalyst to support and enhance school improvement programs that heightens learning opportunities for children and adults;
- To provide grants for the purpose of developing innovative programs and activities in math, science and technology, fine and performing arts, language, culture, and other educational needs;
- To provide grants to Cedar Grove educational staff members to initiate quality projects consistent with the goals of the Foundation and to bring positive attention to the community.
CGEF Bingo Fundraiser:
Please join me on Sunday, December 8th, 1 PM at CGHS, along with officers of the CGEF, for a fun afternoon of Bingo! We will have vendors on hand for holiday shopping, play Bingo and support our very own Education Foundation! Click here for more information: https://tinyurl.com/CGEF-Bingo-Fundraiser.
#WeAreCedarGrove
Sincerely,
Michael J. Fetherman
Superintendent
SE third graders experienced fire safety first-hand when the St. Barnabas Fire Safety House came for a visit. The house simulates a home environment and helps children practice fire safety and planning a home escape should a fire occur in their homes. Thank you to Sean O’Connor, a South End dad, for bringing this program to our school and working with our children. Here's a short video clip of the action: https://tinyurl.com/t2naaok
Skyping in the Classroom provides opportunities for students to learn first-hand information from experts in certain fields. SE second graders participated in a Skype in the Classroom session with non-fiction author Jennifer Nolan who wrote the book Sea Turtles Up Close. Ms. Nolan discussed the various species of sea turtles as well as ways in which we can all help to protect them. Students asked questions and viewed photos of sea turtles, sharks and other marine life. Second graders are currently researching turtles during their comp tech periods and will be creating a google slide presentation that will be featured on the South End Media Center website. Here's a short video clip of the action: https://tinyurl.com/yxx78ahb
SE 4th graders became Big Brothers, Big Sisters this week to our Kindergarten students. Fourth graders were paired with Kindergarten students to create a holiday turkey project, talk about the things they are grateful for, and share a snack together. We look forward to continuing this program throughout our school year!
SE students and teachers took part in the Look for the Good Project, a school-wide gratitude campaign centered around the belief that gratitude changes mindsets, reduces violence, and improves everything in one’s life. Each day students, teachers and parents were invited to post on our “Gratitude Wall” what they were grateful for. Gratitude spots were placed in the hallways. Step on a spot and express aloud what you are grateful for! Kindness cards were given to students “caught” in the act of doing something to be proud of. The student would initial the card and pay it forward to someone he/she “caught” in an act of kindness. Though the program lasted only two weeks, we hope that our South End community will always remember all that they are grateful for and continue to show acts of kindness each day!
During this holiday season, we give thanks to our South End families who remember those less fortunate and in need of our help. This year South End once again took part in the Table-to-Table, Bag-a-Lunch Initiative that asks people to donate the equivalent of one day’s lunch money to help fight hunger in our communities. South End families generously donated $1,856.00 to this cause providing 18,560 meals to local families in need. Additionally, South End’s annual Food Bank Drive supplied food for the Thanksgiving table to local food banks. Once again, the generosity of our families was overwhelming showing our deep compassion and kindness for those in need.
Kudos to Caylee Matejicka, SE second grader, who decided to take action and help school children in the Bahamas in need of supplies after Hurricane Dorian. In the devastating aftermath of this storm passing through the Bahamas, many children and families suffered damage to their schools, were forced to locate to different parts of the country to attend school, and in some cases even relocated to Florida. Caylee reached out to The Bahamas Ministry of Education to see how she could help her fellow students. She was provided with a list of supplies their schools would need. South End will begin a drive on December 2nd to help collect and send the much needed supplies to the children of the Bahamas. Thanks to Caylee for reminding us that we can make an impact on this world! We are so proud of you!
If you happen to be visiting North End and you see a furry friend walking around, don't be surprised! That four-legged friend named Buster is here for the important job of reading with our students. Buster, and his owner, Christina Pellegrino, are certified by Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs, Inc. and are also members of READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs).
Christina, Buster's caregiver, is an animal lover that grew up in Cedar Grove and some of her fondest memories are from North End School. We are very lucky to have Christina and Buster volunteer at North End and look forward to their visits throughout the school year!
NE Panther Peers were recently selected to begin working with our Pre-K students. These children will work along with Mr. Kinney to practice various social skills with our youngest learners. Everyone is very excited to begin this new adventure in Pre-K, especially our third and fourth graders!
NE and SE fourth grade students built upon past knowledge of color theory in the creation of a landscape. Second graders used collage techniques, knowledge of intricate cutting and shapes to design a "Raven" collage.
MMS STEM lab strikes again! A plan was developed after researching a Pinewood Derby track to meet the demands of the different courses through a student/teacher collaborative process. The construction of the track has been student-lead and was prefaced by a demonstration on tool safety. A variety of vehicles will be tested on the track, including some made using 3D printing, woodworking and lego creations.
During the month of October/November, all cycle students and members of the Random Acts of Kindness Club made over 500 Thanksgiving placemats for local members of the community. Miss Caravella will be dropping them off at different facilities before Thanksgiving.
MMS 5th graders role-played as pumpkins and worked on writing descriptive paragraphs to convey ideas and persuade their teachers not to choose them from a pumpkin patch. Using the first person point of view, students developed their writing by engaging the 5 senses and by using vivid adjectives to convince the teachers to leave them alone! Then, after drawing pictures of their pumpkins, students from each class got together and shared their writing with each other.
We also practiced sending emails home to our families to let them know our progress during the first marking period at MMS.
MMS 6th grade ELA students are writing narrative continuations to “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury. Students are applying narrative writing strategies such as story elements, dialogue, sensory details, showing not telling, and exact verbs to their writing.
MMS 7th grade ELA students participated in a ReadWorks.org writing contest. The assignment began by listening to the first six chapters of the story entitled "The Run" in which the main characters were confronted with a deadly virus that caused the people around them to turn into zombies! Because the story ended as a cliffhanger, students wrote their own ending in a well-written five paragraph narrative. Students' writings were submitted to the website and we are now waiting for the results. After listening to the actual ending of the story, it was agreed upon that the students' endings were much more thrilling! #howtherunshouldend
Ever wonder how you can measure objects that are really tall? MMS 7th graders know how! By using mirrors and reflections, students are creating similar triangles to calculate the tallest heights at MMS!
CGHS students in Mrs. Stanford's Algebra II Honors launched soccer balls, tennis balls and footballs. They created Quadratic Equations to find the maximum height that each ball can reach.
CGHS students in Mr. Lab's Human Behavior class conducted an experiment to test the relationship between taste and smell. So that's why you can't taste food when you have a stuffy nose?!?!
Music Matters is a family-school organization supporting the music program at Cedar Grove High School. We work with the students and teachers to partner with and support community events and organizations in our wonderful town.
Please visit CGHS Music Matters online at: https://www.cgschools.org/cghs-music-matters/
On Facebook: CGHS Music Matters
On Instagram: cghsmusic
On Twitter: @cghs_Music
The mission of the Cedar Grove Education (CGEF) is to enrich and enhance the educational experiences of Cedar Grove students above and beyond the scope of the curriculum and to provide lifelong learning opportunities for the entire community.
See details below for the CGEF Fundraiser - Bingo at CGHS, Dec. 8 at 1PM. Hope to see you there!
Follow us on Facebook: Cedar Grove Education Foundation
CGSD Social Media: GET CONNECTED!
Email: fetherman.michael@cgschools.org
Website: www.cgschools.org
Location: 520 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ, USA
Phone: (973) 239-1550
Facebook: facebook.com/CedarGroveSuperintendent
Twitter: @Cgssuper