MENNIES SCHOOL COUNSELING
FROM GUIDANCE COUNSELOR AND SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER
Welcome Parents/Guardians
Hello, the Support Team at Mennies School promotes the academic, personal/social, and career development of all Mennies students.
Danielle Weir is the School Counselor & Testing Coordinator
Focuses on students with last names A-L
Contact Information: E-mail: dweir@vineland.org
Telephone #: (856) 794-6957 ext. 3729
Wendi O'Donnell is the School Social Worker & Anti-Bullying Specialist
Focuses on students with last names M-Z
Contact Information: E-mail wodonnell@vineland.org
Telephone #: (856)794-6957 ext. 3722
DO NOT use this form to report an emergency or safety risk.
Some Of Our Programs
Character Education Program
Dr. William Mennies School Character Education program is centered on three Core Values: Respect, Responsibility, and Caring. It is through these three Core Values that our children learn about, practice, and demonstrate ten character traits through our Character Corner initiative.
Our Core Values are instilled in all that we do at Mennies School. Each morning children recite our school pledge through our morning announcements on WMEN TV, which states they have “the power to choose to be responsible, respectful, and caring”. In conversations within classrooms and throughout the school, staff refer to the Core Values in lessons as well as when giving compliments or asking students to reflect on a choice they made.
We celebrate the success of students confirming the use of our character traits by announcing their names and displaying a Character Badge stating the trait, with their name, on our Leader Wall for all to see. The character traits that we will begin the year celebrating are RESILIENCE for September, RESPECT for October, CITIZENSHIP for November, and COMPASSION & CARING in December.
Mennies Magnet Club
Mission
To recognize, reward, and motivate our students who work hard and meet the club criteria in three specific areas: Academic Work Ethic, Attendance, and Behavior.
The club runs from marking period to marking period. In order to receive a card, students must meet the criteria for the preceding marking period.
Summary Table of Requirements and Rewards
Magnet Club
Requirements for the Marking Period:
Grades - All A’s, B’s, and C’s (no D’s or F’s)
No office discipline referrals
Attendance - No more than 2 Unexcused Absences/Lates/Early-Outs
Conduct and Work Habits - G’s or E’s
Rewards:
End of the Marking Period Celebration
Raffle Chances
Just Because Activity
Free Card, Lanyard, and Pin
Mennies Lego Bucks
Bucket Filler Program
We are also promoting the BUCKET FILLER PROGRAM in our Kindergarten and First Grade
Classrooms. The Bucket Filler Program promotes things like kindness, teamwork, being nice
and helping each other in order to fill each others’ imaginary buckets. These buckets hold our
good thoughts and feelings about ourselves. The concept of the bucket dipper is also
introduced as someone who takes away good thoughts and feelings (for example - a bully).
The more we fill each others’ buckets by being kind and considerate, the higher our own bucket will be with happy thoughts and positive feelings.
Career and Setting Goals
Growth Mindset
Through various lessons and methods, we are teaching our students that you CAN grow your brain and that your intelligence grows with effort and the right learning strategies. We encourage students to keep trying and not give-up even when a task is difficult. We introduce concepts such as "the power of the word YET" and learning from our mistakes.
Social/Emotional Learning
The CASEL 5 Core Competencies are:
Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.
Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.
Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
Relationship skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.
Responsible decision-making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.
For more information visit:
Mennies Mentor Program
The Mennies Mentor program is a program to help our most needy friends by supporting them in creating a special bond with a positive adult mentor. A Mentor is an adult who works at Dr. Mennies. A mentor and mentee can eat lunch together, play games, and builds a positive relationship with her or his Mentee. This person checks in with their student and offers emotional support to our Mennies Marvelous Friends.
Mennies Cares Program
Last year at Mennies Elementary School we started a Mennies Cares Program. The 5th-grade students to go into K-1st grade classes to be a positive role model and exhibit caring/helping behaviors. The 5th grade students are volunteers and will be with a teacher at all times.
The 5th grade student will help younger students learn valuable skills to enhance their education ie: how to tie your shoes, reading to students and just having an older grade level friend. This gives them an opportunity to show caring and school spirit while helping younger students.
Testing and Assessments
NJSLA - New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA)
For Grades 3-5 ELA, Math, and Science (grade 5 only)
Window for testing is May 1, 2023 to May 26, 2023
For more information - https://nj.mypearsonsupport.com/ForParent/
Access testing for English Language Learners
For Grades K-12
Window for testing is February 6, 2023 to March 31, 2023