Woodland Park School District News
March 28, 2022
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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Under The Sea
The cast and crew of the Memorial Middle School 2022 play, "Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr.," put on three sold out shows this past weekend in the Beatrice Gilmore School auditorium. Congratulations to all those involved! Their hard work was evident in the performances!
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In It To Win It
Memorial Middle School students enjoyed a fun morning filled with House events last Friday. Students rotated through three activities: Minute To Win It games in the cafeteria, Hungry, Hungry Hippos games in the gym, and basketball trivia outside! Each house earned points to be added to the totals to date.
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Enjoying The Outdoors
Ms. Candusso’s kindergarten class at Charles Olbon School enjoyed reading with a buddy outside on a beautiful sunny day.
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Springing Into Action
Charles Olbon School has wrapped up its Spring into Action food drive. A total of 3,215 items were collected and donated to St. Agnes Food Pantry in Little Falls. The homeroom that collected the most items for each grade was awarded with a pajama party. The winning classes are as follows: Preschool - Mrs. Morozowski's class with 114 items, Kindergarten - Ms. Amerise's class with 250 items, Grade 1 - Ms. Antunez's class with 300 items and Grade 2 - Ms. Jacobsen's class with 228 items. The CO School community proved to be most generous; we are thankful for everyone's donations!
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Litter Lessons
During the recycling unit, Ms. Casasnovas' PreK-4 students were introduced to poems. The class read a poem about a "Litter Monster" and were able to identify pairs of rhyming words! The words are colored coded as pictured above.
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St. Patrick's Day Fun
Students in Mrs. Serrano's class at Beatrice Gilmore School created leprechaun hats in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
Students in Mrs. Murray and Mrs. Lindsay’s PreK-4 class at School 1 are studying how to reduce, reuse, and recycle. On St. Patrick’s Day, the class tried to catch a leprechaun by making leprechaun traps using different recycled objects. Unfortunately, they didn’t catch the leprechaun, but he did leave gold coin letters around the classroom. The students had so much fun finding letters using special green recycled tube binoculars and subsequently identifying and naming the letters found!
During PreK-4’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle study, Mrs. Mete’s class at School 1 used recyclables to create Leprechaun Traps. Unfortunately, the students did not catch the Leprechaun after he caused some shenanigans in the classroom! Luckily, the children were helpful in putting the classroom back together!
Ms. Parker's class at Charles Olbon School celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a leprechaun party outside!
Ms. Samra's PreK-4 class at School 1 had a blast celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
Ms. Brunini's fifth grade class at Beatrice Gilmore School celebrated St. Patrick's Day by explaining why they are lucky.
Ms. Wittig and Ms. Laura's PreK-3 class celebrated Green Day - the color of the month.
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Lunch & Learn Tackles Feelings, Emotions
At the latest Lunch & Learn session for our preschool parents, District Preschool Intervention and Referral Specialist, Ms. Dizzia, spoke about recognizing and understanding emotions. She detailed how parents can take steps at home to help their child better manage how they are feeling. “It’s important that they understand how to remain calm and use their words rather than challenging behavior to communicate,” Ms. Dizzia said.
Ms. Dizzia discussed several emotions, including sadness, disappointment, frustration, and anger. Sometimes, feeling acknowledgement by the parent is all that is needed. Parents can then use the opportunity to share about a time when they have felt the same way.
It’s important to respond to a child’s frustration before it turns into anger, Ms. Dizzia shared. Children need to learn how to ask for help and know when they need to take a break. Parents can take many of these emotional situations and turn them into teachable moments. For example, when a child is angry, they can be taught calm down strategies. Parents can also role-play situations with the child.
It’s very important to use positive language when discussing emotions with your child. “Tell the child what to do instead of what not to do, and keep a calm, positive tone,” Ms. Dizzia said. Some things parents can do is: replace “don’t” with “do”; offer a choice; use “first then” language; and give the child time to think.
“The ability to manage feelings and solve problems is a lifelong skill necessary for children to remain happy and healthy,” Ms. Dizzia noted. Parents can find many resources on Ms. Dizzia’s web page here. She can be reached at cdizzia@wpschools.org.
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Art Club Works On Set Prep
The Art Club at Memorial Middle School has been assisting Ms. Yesenosky and the theatre crew with the production of The Little Mermaid Jr. Art Club students are learning about scenic painting, set building, and design. In addition to set pieces, the artists worked together as a team to create large posters for ticket sales.
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Two Years Of Morning Announcements
Congratulations to brothers Anthony and Alexander for marking two years of posting "Good Morning Woodland Park" morning announcements! Launched at the beginning of the pandemic, the boys have been posting daily morning announcements for the entire School District! Please subscribe to their YouTube channel here to catch them daily. Please join us in congratulating and thanking both Anthony and Alexander for their great work!
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WP Panthers 5/6 Boys Champs
Congratulations to the WP Boys and Girls Club 5/6 grade boys basketball champions. The boys finished the season undefeated, 11-0. The team consists of Christian M., CJ M., Lorenzo F., Jason G., Emir S., Daniel V., and Kaan B. with Coach Chris Mania.
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COHSA Parent's Night Out
The Charles Olbon Home & School Association is planning a parent's night out painting event at Arts & Creations Pottery Studio on April 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. All are welcome. Adults only. Cost is $45 per person. For tickets, email charlesolbonhsa@gmail.com.
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Coming up at the Alfred Baumann Library:
The Alfred Baumann Library will host the following programs. Visit the Library's website here or Facebook page here. Its phone is 973-345-8120. Email is library@abwplibrary.org.
Monday, March 28, 12:30 p.m. - Weigh To Go. Join the weight loss journey and share your tips, stories, and more. Register here.
Monday, March 28, 11 a.m. - Yoga & Meditation. Let your problems go and relax for a while. Register here.
Monday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. - ESL Conversation Club. Register here.
Wednesday, March 30, 4 p.m. - Snails & Tales. Children age 3 and up can join in for a story time, songs, and a craft with Miss Sara. Register here.
Wednesday, March 30, 6:30 p.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join in to work on a craft of your choice. Register here.
Thursday, March 31, 11 a.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join in to work on a craft of your choice. Register here.
Thursday, March 31, 12 noon - Sit & Fit chair exercises in the Community Room in Borough Hall. Register here.
Thursday, March 31, 7 p.m. - Spice of the Month Club will meet to discuss the member findings on this month's spice. Register here.
Monday, April 4, 4 p.m. - Join Library and the William Paterson University Galleries for this unique virtual art program. First, we will read "Memory Jars" by Vera Brosgol, then we'll make "memory mattresses" based on art on exhibition in the WPU Galleries. Supplies will be available to pick up at the library. Register here.
Tuesday, April 5, 6:30 p.m. - Spring into STEM for kids in third to eighth grade. This month, we will be making bird feeders with recycled materials for Earth Day. Sign up now for all three spring sessions. Register here.
Thursday, April 7, 6:30 p.m. - Teen Craft Night. April is National Poetry Month, so we will be making poetry-themed crafts including "poem in your pocket," concrete poetry, blackout poetry, and more. Register here.
Thursday, April 7, 7 p.m. - Butterfly Gardening. Learn what to include in your yard to attract butterflies to your yard. Information will be shared about Garrett Mountain's Butterfly Garden. COVID permitting the program will be held in person. Everyone attending will receive a free butterfly plant. Register here.