Activities Galore
So Many Opportunities to Get Involved
Dear Maple Place Family
Our last newsletters have focused on what is happening academically at Maple Place but we want you to know there are a lot of activities taking place as well. All of our activities are underway with some meeting in the early morning and others taking place after school. Our sports programs are winding down, but we want to make sure you know how well our athletes are doing too! Getting involved in school activities is a great way for our students to reacquaint themselves with learning how to socialize and return to normal engagement with fellow students and their teachers....and it's fun too! There is a bulletin board across from the main office that the students pass every day and it has every activity available in the building and where and when they meet. Encourage your kids to get involved...you'll be amazed at how much they'll talk about it and love being part of their school.
ART CLUB
The Art Club is a chance for our students to expand their knowledge of art by exploring different types of mediums that they may not get to use during the school year. An example of this would be mosaics, where they take tiles and cut and shape them to create a design or image. Every year so many students come out to Art Club because they love to create and are surrounded by other students with the same interest. The advisor is Ms. Jakubowski.
JUST DANCE
The Just Dance Club is becoming very popular. Our students meet in the morning and they dance, dance, dance their way to beginning the school day. And sometimes the staff joins in as well. This past week students had a blast dancing to Halloween songs and we are sure in the future we will find other dances that make everyone happy. Come join us! Advisor is Mrs. Lisotto.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
The Student Leadership students have been doing a great job trying to brighten everyone's day. They did a wonderful job welcoming everyone with sidewalk art, they have collected items for the Blessing Bag Brigade and are now getting ready to assist those in need for the holidays. Their dedication to our community never stops. All are welcome to join. The advisor is Mrs. Lisotto.
"You Got This"
"You Rock"
Sun
TECHNOLOGY CLUB
The Tech Club meets to learn and share ideas that explore and enrich the students' knowledge of the world of technology. Just recently the students did an awesome STEM activity which was the Popsicle Stick Catapult and they had so much fun learning new and exciting ways to create and share their projects. Who would have thought physics could be so much fun! The advisor is Mr. Grassi.
STRATEGY CLUB
What better way to end the day than with nice and friendly competition? At Strategy Club, kids can come and participate in a variety of games, choosing what they might like best! The beauty of a club like this is that there are options. If two students really want to play chess, they can! If a group wants to participate in Scategories, we can do that too! This is a time for kids to come and unwind in a fun and engaging way. Playing board/card games is such a great way to develop communication skills, make new friends, and keep the brain sharp! The advisor is Ms. Hailey Smith.
CREATIVE WRITING
The purpose of the Creative Writing Club is to provide students with a space to share their writing with others. The club starts each meeting with a Quickwrite and then the students do different creative writing activities, such as story cubes and round-robin story writing. Students also have the opportunity to share their writing with the group. All students are welcome to join! The advisor is Ms. Dunn.
NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY
The National Junior Honor Society is an organization that the world's highest achieving middle level students have been proudly adding to their resumes since 1929. NJHS provides an outstanding opportunity to grow with academically accomplished peers who are sharpening the habits needed for success in high school and beyond.
The advisor is Mrs. Richter. You can find information about the Maple Place Chapter here: https://sites.google.com/oceanportschools.org/nationaljuniorhonorsociety/home
BAND
Charger Band consists of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band members with a year or more experience on their instrument. This band plays challenging literature in the Winter and Spring concerts at school. Rehearsals are held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:15a..
Cadet Band consists of first-year players. This band plays beginning-band literature in the winter and spring concerts at school. Cadet Band rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, November 9th and will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays before school at 7:15am.
In the winter/spring, the Jazz Band will begin rehearsing for the Spring Concert.
The advisor is Mr. DiTommaso.
CHORUS
The Chorus is very excited to be singing together live and in person again! We have students from all grade levels participating and now we are starting to sing some of your favorite holiday songs! The chorus is enjoying the beautiful Fall weather while singing outside. If you like to sing and want to join the chorus it is not too late. The advisor is Ms. Bach.
RUNNING CLUB
The Running Club is an active, healthy club for students who like to run, jog, walk, and improve their physical fitness. We discuss the importance of injury prevention through warming up, stretching, cooling down, staying hydrated, good food choices, and healthy habits. We work on team-building activities and support one another with where we are at, while celebrating one another's milestones. The advisors are Ms. Kern and Mr. Dispoto.
YOGA CLUB
The Yoga Club club meets every Friday morning before school in the gym to relax, unwind and go through the yoga flow before school. We play yoga music, begin with breathing exercises and do some sun salutations. Come out and join us, even if you have never tried yoga...it's a great time to start! The advisor is Ms. Wilkes.
FALL SPORTS
FIELD HOCKEY
The Field Hockey team ended their season 7-2-2. They lost their playoff game against Rumson Country Day in overtime. They played hard and overall had a fantastic season. Three players from the team were selected for the all star game: Sam Gillen, Dylann Lawrence and Mckenzie Bellack. Great season Lady Chargers! - Coach Caprioni
GIRLS SOCCER
The Girls Soccer team made it to the playoffs for their division this season. They may not have been successful in winning the playoffs, but they made a lot of progress as a team with a 5-6 season. We are all proud of the hard work they put in during this season! Way to go Lady Chargers! - Coach Kallok
D-E-F-E-N-S-E!!!
Pass the ball
Go Chargers!!!
BOYS SOCCER
The Boys Soccer team finished their regular season strong with two back to back 6-5 victories over St. Mary's bringing them to a 5-5 record on the season and landing a playoff position. Our top three goal scorers were Cooper Attaway, Declan Drucker, and Bryan Barbosa, who had outstanding support from our team which played extremely well as a unit. The playoff game against Fair Haven was a hard fought battle that did not go our way. The team came such a long way from the beginning of the season and has made their school, their parents, and their coach extremely proud. Great job Chargers! - Coach Harrison
HALLOWEEN FUN AT MAPLE PLACE
Did You Know?
Each newsletter we are going to try to let know some interesting fact about one of our staff members. This idea started because we heard the story about Mr. Karpinski and we were amazed. Then we realized that we have so many staff members with interesting news. Hope you enjoy reading about some fascinating things our staff has experienced at some point in their life. Enjoy!
INTERESTING INFO ABOUT MR. KARPINSKI
In 2002 Mr. Karpinski was in the front row at a Green Day concert in Madison Square Garden when halfway through a song the drummer abruptly ran off stage. The lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong announced "We need someone to finish this song, who knows how to play the drums?". He looked down at Mr. Karpinski and asked "Can you play this song? Can you finish it?". Before he knew it, Mr. Karpinski was hoisted up onto the stage and was sitting behind the drums in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden. You rock Mr. Karpinski!!!!
UPCOMING EVENTS/REMINDERS
- November 3 - Teacher of the Year and Educational Service Professional of the Year nominations are due.
- November 4 & 5 - School closed for NJEA Convention
- November 9 - 11 - Cheerleading Tryouts
- November 11 - Veteran's Day
- November 15 & 16 - Girls Basketball Tryouts
- November 17 - 19 - Parent/Teacher Conferences - In person - virtual if you feel more comfortable. Sign up information will be sent the week of November 8th
- November 22 & 23 - Boys Basketball Tryouts