Woodland Park School District News
Dec. 3, 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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Twisting & Turning
In STEM this week, Mrs. Bouroult's fourth grade students at Beatrice Gilmore School designed and built paper models of an amusement park ride called the Twist-o-Matic. The students explored ways in which the ride stores energy in rubber bands as potential energy and spins when the energy is released in the form of kinetic energy. The class also compared the speed of the spins when using a thin rubber band versus a thick rubber band. It was concluded that the more twists and energy used to put the rides in motion, the faster the Twist-o-Matics spun!
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Friendly Competition
Memorial Middle School held a school-wide House event on Nov. 24th! All students in grades 6-8 are members of four different Houses: earth, wind, fire, and water. On this day, the students participated in several fun activities, such as "Capture The Teacher" and relay races. The activities enabled the teams to earn points for their individual House which will be compiled throughout the course of the school year as well as earn the Mustang trophy as shown above.
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Creating Fossils
Mrs. Khalil's PreK-3 students at Charles Olbon School have recently been studying trees. The students created nature fossils using tree parts.
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How To Catch A Turkey
Ms. Tonti’s first grade students at Charles Olbon School became "authors, illustrators, and engineers in training". The students wrote and designed a How To Catch a Turkey book. In small groups, the students collaborated and created their very own turkey traps!
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Holiday Festivities
Pre-K students in Mrs. Chiaravalloti’s class at Charles Olbon School enjoyed making pumpkin pie with their names and making festive turkey costumes.
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Rainbow Show & Tell
After learning all the colors, students in Ms. Odaman's kindergarten class at Charles Olbon School celebrated with a rainbow show and tell.
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Expressing Their Gratitude
Ms. Wittig's PreK-3 class at School 1 talked about what it means to be "thankful" and filled a turkey with feathers that stated what they are each thankful for.
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Special Guest Reader
Shown above is a second grade student from Mrs. Hope's class who earned a prize for all her good deeds. She is pictured reading the book, Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, to her first grade teacher's, Mrs. Macchiavello, class.
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Holiday Hats
Mrs. Morozowski's Pre-K class used fine motor skills to create turkey hats for Thanksgiving. Pictured above are students at Charles Olbon School wearing these fine creations.
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Helping Those In Need
Students in Mrs. Greco's third grade class at Beatrice Gilmore School helped collect non-perishable food items to donate to those in need for Thanksgiving.
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Penny Wars Prize
The Memorial Middle School Home & School Association's Eighth Grade Committee recently held a "Penny Wars" fundraiser. Students brought in coins and bills to either add or subtract a team's total. Teams gained points by adding pennies, $1 bills, $5, and $10 bills. Teams lower totals by adding silver coins or $20 bills. The final totals are as follows: sixth grade was negative 1,591; seventh grade was negative 6.917 and eighth grade was 89,168. A pizza party was held Nov. 23th for the eighth grade for the win!
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Thoughts On Fall
Students in Mr. Pollicino's eighth grade language arts classes in Memorial Middle School composed autumn poems, which they have displayed outside the classroom.
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Winter Wonderland
School 1 Secretary, Mrs. Meeker, has transformed her desk into a winter wonderland!
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BGHSA Has Two Ongoing Fundraisers
The Beatrice Gilmore School Home & School Association's Fifth Grade Committee is running two fundraisers. Doing some holiday shopping? Shop the Scentsy catalog and 100% of the seller's commission will go back to BG. Orders will ship right to your home. In addition, the BGHSA is selling Krispy Kreme vouchers. The cost is $11 and the voucher is good for an Original Glazed Dozen the next time they visit a Krispy Kreme shop. Vouchers will be emailed to you once the HSA's minimum order requirement is met. To order a voucher, click here.
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Deadline For Santa Mail is Dec. 11
Santa has asked his Woodland Park elves to help him collect letters in a special mailbox located at the Alfred Baumann Library, 7 Brophy Lane. Letters can be dropped off until Saturday, Dec. 11. To receive a personalized response back from Santa, letter must include: child's first and last name printed clearly, child's address printed clearly, or put a self-addressed stamped envelope with your letter to ensure accuracy.
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Coming up at the Alfred Baumann Library:
The Alfred Baumann Library will host the following programs. While the Library building is temporarily closed due to flood damage, please check the website for event locations. Programming may be held outside, in the Municipal Building Community Room or via Zoom. Visit the Library's website here or Facebook page here. Its phone is 973-345-8120. Email is library@abwplibrary.org.
Saturday, Dec. 4, 11 a.m. - LEGO Mania for grades kindergarten and up in the Municipal Building Community Room. Register here.
Monday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. - Weigh To Go. Join the group every Monday to discuss your weight loss journey via Zoom. Enjoy a relaxed, judgment-free zone to share your stories, recipes, tips, and more. Register here.
Monday, Dec. 6, 11 a.m. - Chair Yoga. Come and find your inner peace during our chair yoga and meditation sessions. The class is held in Borough Hall's Community Room. Register here.
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m. - ESL Conversation Club. Register here.
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m. - Holiday "Chopped" Family Edition. Decorate sugar cookies and create delicious mocktails for the special guest judges. Register one member of the family, then include the total number of family members participating. Add any food allergies or limitations in the accommodations section. Register here.
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m. - Snails & Tales story time for ages 3 and up. Register here.
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join Pat to unwind with the craft of your choice. Register here.
Thursday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join Pat to unwind with the craft of your choice. Register here.
Thursday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. - Stories from New Jersey Diners with author Michael C. Gabriele. For more than 100 years diners have played an important role in NJ’s history as gathering places for a community. This event will be held in person at the Municipal Building. Register here.
Saturday, Dec. 11, 11 a.m. - Arts & Crafts. Join in to make a holiday clay ornament using cookie cutters. For grades K-4. Register here.
Tuesday, Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m. - Pajama Storytime for babies to kindergarten age children. Register here.
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 4:30 p.m. - Holiday Bingo for kids in kindergarten and up. Register here.
Thursday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m. - History of Christmas Carols with the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts. Trace the evolution of Christmas Carols from pagan solstice songs to the wide range of carols played and performed around the wintertime holidays today. Participants are encouraged to sing along while exploring the specific histories of a number of popular carols. Register here.