CGSD Newsletter
January 2019
Dear CGSD Community,
That said, you're probably thinking this EdCamp business must be pretty important if we've asked our kids to stay home, right? Well, you would be correct. In actuality, suspending school activities for students on January 21st served a two-fold purpose. One, to commemorate the life of an outstanding American leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His famous "I have a Dream" speech and his work with social justice helped galvanize Dr. King as a heroic civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Dr. King's message resonates as true today as it did more than five decades ago.
The second purpose for suspending school activities on January 21st was to provide time for our staff to take a deeper dive into personalized learning...for themselves! For our teachers and support staff to provide their best, they have to be at their best. This month's EdCamp (see pics below) provided opportunities for our educators to explore topics such as advanced google classroom, applications in Next Generation Science Standards, teaching students how to overcome adversity, increasing student engagement through online tools, social media in the classroom, flipping the classroom, escape room lesson activities, writing in content areas, problem-based learning, science and engineering practices, yoga (yes, yoga!) and more!
Temperatures may be cold outside, but the CGSD is just getting warmed up!
#WeAreCedarGrove
Sincerely,
Michael J. Fetherman
Superintendent
SE Comp Tech Students Use Apps to Create Newscasts!
SE Grade 4 Students Engage with Kahoot!
MMS 5th grade S.T.E.M. class is currently partaking in a problem based learning (PBL) activity. Having learned about how a circuit works, students were asked to come up with different problems in which a circuit could be used to solve that problem.
MMS Random Acts of Kindness Club filled up tote bags with school supplies and decorated journals/ wrote an inspirational message for children who are less fortunate. There were over 29 more smiling children this holiday season!
The 6th grade S.T.E.M. class is currently learning about renewable energy and the effects of using fossil fuels on the environment. In the MMS Greenhouse they are currently growing tomatoes, kale, eggplant, and lettuce with subfreezing temperatures outside. The class is responsible for keeping the vegetables watered and tracking estimated growth. They are using math to understand the comparison between standard and metric measurement conversions. When the class is not working on the greenhouse, they are building windmills with the Lego Simple and Powered Machine kits. The project requires students to make several predictions and understand how windmills can be used in a number of different roles. They will soon be getting into the K'NEX Renewable Energy sets where they will experiment with not only wind, but solar and hydro power as well.
MMS students in Makers Club have been working on a number of different projects. Currently, there is a group of creating a conveyor belt system using a Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit along with an Expansion Set. Others are using cardboard to design different projects, including a model car. Two different students have been working on circuits using Arduino Kits and learned how circuits must be wired to get lights to work.
Other Maker Club students are working on taking apart a number of different Windows and Apple computers. Thanks to generous donations, we have lots of PCs to dissect! Their latest find was where USB ports go, and how they connect into the tower.
And still other Maker Club students have designed a prototype of a Filament Stand to help our MakerBot Replicator Mini Printer run more effectively using www.tinkercad.com to create an original 3D design. Before creating the 3D rendering, these two 7th grade students took precise measurements and created a plan following the Design Process. The goal is to allow our smaller printer to more effectively use a large spool of filament which costs half the price of the spool which is made for the printer. How cool is that?!
7th grade students participated in a carousel introductory activity before reading the novel The Giver. Each student individually, and then as a group, came up with their first reactions to color. Ideas focused on objects, ideas, and emotions that are evoked from the colors. Each student concluded the exercise by writing about their favorite color and provided a description as to why they chose it.
7th and 8th graders participated in the American Scholastic Mathematics Association Contest on January 10th.
8th grade social studies students completed a long-term project called “Legacy of a Pharaoh.” The final product in this project represents an in-depth overview of a pharaoh from the New Kingdom that includes a written depiction of the king’s life, mummification, and historical legacy.
Check out the 2019 Music for All Advocacy Winners!
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.
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