Woodland Park School District News
March 18, 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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Celebrating Pi Day
March 14 is known as International Pi Day. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, which is approximately 3.14159.
The House Leaders at Memorial Middle School organized a special Pi Day fundraiser whereby students were able to pre-order cream pies which would be used to "smash" in the face of a teacher at the after-school event on this date. All proceeds will be allocated to funding future House events. House of Fire purchased the most pies! Students representatives from the House of Fire who attended the event were given the opportunity to "pie" Principal Scholtz and Assistant Principal Calderon. It was a very messy and very fun event!
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Door Decorating Contest
Our preschool classes held a door decorating contest for National Reading Month. The creative doors added some extra fun and spirit to the halls. Congratulations to the following winners:
Best Theme: Ms. Samra's classroom: Reading Helps Us Grow!
Most Creative: Mrs. Parker's classroom: Oh the Places You'll Go!
Puppies Choice: Mrs. Mete's classroom: Reading is Cool in our PreK-4 Shoes
Winners received a basket full of books and characters to enhance the classroom library areas and a gift card to Amazon! The books, which represented some old time favorites, were hand-picked by Director of Early Childhood Education, Mrs. Castrovinci. The doors will remain decorated for everyone to see through the month of April in order to continue to celebrate and honor National Reading Month and School Library Month.
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K9 Companions
The Memorial Middle School Animal Club met on March 9, and for the first time in two years, hosted an in-person guest! Justin Nielsen, founder of Cover K-9 Training, spoke about police dogs and dog training in general. Nielsen is also a Verona Police Officer.
Nielsen brought along two German Shepherds, Benning and Chase, who demonstrated skills in finding a contraband item via scent as well as basic commands. Nielsen explained how certain factors affect the dog's ability to search by scent, such as heat, humidity, and wind.
Nielsen explained basic obedience and stressed that the window for effective training occurs during the first two years of a dog's life. The older the dog is, the harder the animal is to train. Repetition and rewards are keys when training. It was also noted that dogs respond to mental stimulation just as humans.
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Women's History Month Honorees
In honor of Women's History Month, Mayor Keith Kazmark and the Borough Council honored seven women who have made significant contributions to our community on Wednesday night. As pictured above:
- Lynda Hade, President of the Friends of the Alfred H. Baumann Library
- Tami Hajbi, Founder First Pre-School/School 1 HSA/member of the Board of Health
- Ana Rosado, CEO, From the Bottom of My Heart non-profit
- Lauren Avallone, School Nurse, School 1 (not pictured)
- Theresa Carbonelli, School Nurse, Memorial Middle School
- Katie Meyer, School Nurse, Charles Olbon School
- Lynn Roehrich, School Nurse, Beatrice Gilmore School
Please join us in honoring and thanking each of these amazing women for their hard work, generosity and dedication to members of our community inclusive of the Library, School HSA's, those in need, and most especially for protecting the health and well-being of our entire community - but especially our children!
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Feeding Feathered Friends
Mrs. Morozowski's preschool class at Charles Olbon School created bird feeders using leftover toilet paper rolls from the Tubes and Tunnels study. Students rolled the tubes in honey and birdseed to create individual bird feeders. Students will hang the feeders outside on the playground on the first day of spring this month and eagerly await "visitors"!
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Across The Miles
Last month, Ms. Altomare's third grade language arts classes at Beatrice Gilmore School sent letters to pen pals from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Tullahoma, Tennessee after recently receiving letters themselves! Needless to say, the students were super excited and are even more excited to "meet" their pals in a Google Meet next month! This letter writing process will continue throughout the remainder of the school year.
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Book Publishers
Students in Mr. Melton and Mrs. Greco's third grade class at Beatrice Gilmore School celebrated the publication of informational animal books! Students worked through the writing process before publishing these digital texts. The books included various text features, such as a table of content, maps, glossary, illustrations, and captions. Students were proud to share their work with classmates through the utilization of the SmartBoard and participating in a book walk around the classroom. These sharing opportunities provided the students with the time to individually view one another's work in order to learn about various animals.
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Special Guest Reader
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Pillari, was a guest reader at Charles Olbon School for Read Across America Day. Ms. Healey and Ms. Calabrese’s second grade class enjoyed the story, The Most Magnificent Thing, read by their special visitor!
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Rounding It Out
Ms. Brunini's fifth grade class at Beatrice Gilmore School celebrated Pi Day by watching a Pi Day video, drawing a circle without tracing, and coloring a special Pi Day pictures.
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Congratulations To Our North Jersey Spelling Bee Competitor
Please join us in celebrating Memorial Middle School 8th grade student Jillian Troiano! Jillian is our school Spelling Bee champion and competed in the North Jersey Spelling Bee on Tuesday evening! It was held virtually which allowed her parents and friends to watch the event live via Facebook. Jillian advanced to round six and placed in the top five spellers overall! She was one round away from placing first. Congratulations Jillian! You have made us proud in so many ways!
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WP Panthers 6th Grade U12 Champs
Congratulations to the WP Boys 6th grade U12 travel basketball team! This team participated in its very own version of March Madness this month by playing for the NJJBL basketball league championship game this past Saturday at the Wayne PAL against number two seed Franklin Lakes.
Woodland Park, coming off a victory against undefeated and number one seed Waldwick, won the game 50-30! The WP Panthers finished the season with a 16-3 record with nine of its wins in a row and the title!
The team is comprised of captains Christian Mania, CJ Moore and Lorenzo Flumenbaum along side teammates Christian Vasquez, Jason Gomez, Daniel Valentin, Tallon Antonucci, Mo El Sadek, Karim Chaabane and Emir Safarini, and Coach Chris Mania.
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WP Panthers 3/4 Boys Champs
Congratulations to Coach Barros and his WP Panthers 3/4 Grade Boys Basketball team for winning the PVYBL championship!
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BGHSA Launches Boon Bag Fundraiser
The Beatrice Gilmore School Home & School Association is running a Boon fundraiser. Boon gives 40 percent back to BGHSA. It's a great time to stock up on reusable grocery, produce, and farmer's market bags as New Jersey's statewide plastic and paper bag ban will be going into effect on May 4. Use PayPal for an interest-free payment plan to afford everything you need. Products ship directly to your home. Check out the sale here.
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BGHSA Clothing Drive is Tomorrow
The Beatrice Gilmore School Home & School Association will be running a clothing drive tomorrow, Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the WP Boys & Girls Club parking lot, 8 Memorial Dr. Place your gently used/unwanted items in tightly tied bags. Every bag counts. Give your items a chance to be worn/used again. The more the collection weighs the more the group raises.
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Summer Camp Calendar is Released
The Woodland Park Summer Camp activities calendar has been released. There are four trips this summer, with age parameters on some of the trips. Trips are on a first-come, first-serve basis and space is limited. Any questions, please e-mail recreation @wpnj.us. Camp registration is ongoing with early bird pricing until April 15. Click here for more information or to register for camp.
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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.
Saturday, March 19, 11 a.m. - LegoMania for grades kindergarten and up. Register here.
Monday, March 21, 12:30 p.m. - Weigh To Go. Join the weight loss journey and share your tips, stories, and more. Register here.
Monday, March 21, 11 a.m. - Yoga & Meditation. Let your problems go and relax for a while. Register here.
Tuesday, March 22, 4:30 p.m. - Pajama story time for kids for all ages. Pajamas are encouraged. This program will be held in person, at the Library. Register here.
Wednesday, March 23, 4 p.m. - Space bingo for kids in kindergarten and up. Register here.
Wednesday, March 23, 6:30 p.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join in to work on a craft of your choice. Register here.
Wednesday, March 23, 7 p.m. - Join in to discuss "The German House" by Annette Hess. The selection is available on Hoopla in eBook or downloadable audiobook. Print copies are available at the library. Register here.
Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m. - Unwind With Pat. Join in to work on a craft of your choice. Register here.
Thursday, March 24, 12 noon - Sit & Fit chair exercises in the Community Room in Borough Hall. Register here.
Thursday, March 24, 5 to 7 p.m. - Passaic County Clerk will provide full passport services, notary oath and renewal and free Veterans ID cards. This event will be held in the Municipal Building. For more information on all fees and services, call the Clerk's office at 973-225-3690.
Thursday, March 24, 7 p.m. - Healthy Comfort Foods with Heather Shasa, Registered Dietician with Little Falls ShopRite. Register here.
Saturday, March 26, 11 a.m. - Join in for the annual New Jersey Makers Day program. Enjoy Lego challenges, create with Air-Dry clay, make a paper catapult game, and more. Stay for the whole time or just drop in. Registration is required. 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.
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.