States, here we go again!
On Wednesday, April 24th, VHS Theatre students attended the Cumberland County Teen Arts Festival, where they participated in various workshops and performed pieces from Cap n Dagger's spring revue, We're All Stars! We're so happy to announce that our students will advance to the state level AGAIN! This is only the second year that VHS Theatre has participated in the Teen Arts Festival and both years of participation resulted in advancing to states (this year, four out of our six performances were chosen to advance). Ms. Gardner is thrilled to be leading and preparing students for the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival in June! We're so proud of all our VPA students for representing Vineland High School!
Dr. William Mennies staff was excited to announce the Character Badge nominations for April. We celebrated and learned about having a positive attitude. These students demonstrated outstanding character and maintained a positive attitude throughout the month.
Students in the VHS Dennis Tanner Media Center took part in a month-long event called "Crocheting for Babies." We were lucky enough to have Mrs. Catherine Geraci come in and teach our students how to crochet. The students came to the Media Center every day during their free periods to work on crocheting baby blankets. In total, we have made 23 baby blankets that Mrs. FIori, the Media Specialist, will be bringing to the Inspira Pediatric Unit in Vineland.
In honor of Multicultural Day, Petway Elementary teacher Ms. Jenna Smith demonstrated how to make fresh pasta. Third-grade students observed while Ms. Smith mixed the dough, ran it through the pasta roller, and then hung it to dry. Students were given fresh pasta to enjoy at home!
The Vineland FFA will be hosting a plant sale on Saturday, May 11 and Saturday, May 18 from 8am-2pm at the VHS Greenhouse, 2880 E. Chestnut Ave. Prices range from $2-$15. See the attached flyer for more information.
Ms. Dubois's Kindergarten class at Petway Elementary read their first chapter book, The Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare! Students listened to the story while having to imagine what each page’s pictures looked like. After students learned about the story’s problem, they had to make predictions about what they thought would happen next in the story, what they thought would happen next with the volcano goo monster. Students also made predictions about how they would get rid of the goo monster while working on sentence structure, sounding out unfamiliar words, and drawing detailed pictures!
VHS senior Isabela Cortez was selected by the American Council of Teachers of Russian as a Russian Scholar Laureate for 2023. She became a member of the select group of 32 Russian students nominated by schools across the United States as the most outstanding Russian Language student of 2023. Congratulations!
Vineland’s girl's track team went to the University of Pennsylvania last week and ran in the Penn relay, running a season-best time of 14 in the 4 x 400 m relay with the team of Ashlyn Newton, Georgina Chalow, Chanel Rose, and Marissa Strickland. Great job!
Tami Amato, Speech Therapist at Veteran's Memorial School, donated 50 new books to speech students at Rossi Elementary School. Accepting the donation is Denise Diorio, one of Rossi School's speech therapists. Denise raises funds each year to support her students' literacy skills and to provide each student with free books. Pictured are Diorio, Amato, and students/staff from Mrs. Christy Stanker's K-2 class.
Vineland High School will be inducting five new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 30. This year’s inductees include Nicolas Asselta, Alicia Cox, Dale K. Jones, Katherine (Krawczyk) Rivera, and Terry Spencer. The event will be held in the Edward T. Harvard Gymnasium at Vineland High School South, 2880 E. Chestnut Ave.
The new inductees will join the 150 other members, whose plaques can be found in the VHS Wall of Fame outside of the gymnasium. Those nominated must have met the following criteria:
* graduated from Vineland High School at least 10 years ago;
* participated, and excelled in athletics;
* contributed to the community in some way;
* exhibit reputable character.
Tickets for the event are $20 each. For questions or more information, please contact Jennifer Jimenez, Athletic Secretary, at 856-794-6800 ext. 2555. Tickets can be purchased in cash or check. Checks should be made out to Vineland High School Athletics.
Once again, the VHS Dancers made us proud! They did such an INCREDIBLE job performing at The NJ Teen Arts Festival this week that they advanced to the State level of The Festival! Ms. Hall is so proud of their hard work, dedication, and determination.
Rowan professor Dr. Milou came to Mennies Elementary School on Thursday, April 25th, to model lessons based on the book Building Thinking Classrooms. Dr. Milou demonstrated math lessons in which students worked vertically in random groups. He sat with the staff to discuss the book and the research behind it. Students loved learning from Dr. Milou and said his teaching felt like a game. Dr. Milou will be back for more professional development!
The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society Book Club has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 28, at 6:00 PM, at the museum, 108 South State St., or on Zoom. The club will review the “Fantastic Castle,” written by former VHAS Curator, Patrica Martinelli. The book explores the history of the Palace of Depression, once a Vineland roadside attraction, built by George Daynor, out of items found in a junkyard. The book also examines the unusual personality and actions taken by Daynor, which affected the palace and his personal life. The books may be purchased from VHAS, online sources or borrowed from area libraries. Register for the book review by visiting Https://www.discovervineland history.org or by calling 856-691-1111. Discussion may also include progress at the Current Palace of Depression.
The Vineland High School Marching Band was part of Vineland celebrating Vineland's own Isiah Pacheco on April 20, 2024, at City Hall. The students entertained the crowd while waiting and throughout the celebration, representing VHS with pride.
The next chance to see VHSMB will be during the Memorial Day Ceremony on May 27th. Several students from the VHSMB will also be in the Spring Concert on May 2nd in the concert ensemble & symphonic bands. Please come out and support our talented students!
The Landis Administrative Offices were bustling today for Take Your Child to Work Day!
Vineland Public Schools hosted its next Community Partnership Action Committee meeting of the school year on April 24, part of an ongoing initiative spearheaded by Superintendent Alfonso Llano.
Over 30 city and county organizations, city officials, Board of Education members, and district staff and administrators participated in the meeting at the Landis Administrative Offices. The theme of this meeting was the effects of social media on mental health, especially related to our students.
The group enjoyed a light lunch from Sodexo, the district’s food service provider, before being welcomed by Deana Ridolfo, Supervisor for Pupil Services. Ridolfo welcomed the group and introduced new community members attending for the first time before welcoming Stephanie Engle, Social Worker at Vineland High School. Engle gave a very informative presentation on how social media affects our youth. She noted how the impact of technology and social media, especially during and post-Covid, has increased the rates of anxiety and depression as screen time increases. Engle also described several of the challenges that schools face related to social media and technology, such as cyberbullying, lack of conflict resolution skills, and a decrease in forming in-person social relationships. The group then discussed some ways for schools and parents to help mitigate some of these negative effects.
Following Engle was Delizah Headly, a Southwest Council Prevention Specialist. Headly’s presentation also focused on social media and its effects on mental health, with an emphasis on why children and teenagers interact the way they do on these social sites. She noted that overexposure to social media can trigger pathways comparable to addiction, and many teens avoid posting certain things because of fear of embarrassment. Headly also offered some suggestions on how parents can identify these behaviors in their children and how to form a healthy balance using technology.
Following the presentations, Dr. Danielle Sneathen spoke briefly on her experiences with social media in schools throughout her teaching and administrative career, highlighting how rapidly it has evolved. She then provided a summary of the novel “What Made Maddy Run” by Kate Fagan. The book delves into the life of Madison Holleran, a talented college athlete who struggled with mental health issues. The book explores the pressures of college life, the pursuit of perfection, and the impact of social media on young adults. Fagan examines how these factors contributed to Maddy's internal struggles and emphasizes the importance of mental health awareness and support systems for young athletes and students. Sneathen then raffled off 10 copies of the novel to attendees and thanked them for their generous donations to the Vineland Soup Kitchen.
The final meeting of the year will take place on May 14.
Students from the Vineland High School Agriculture Program took a field trip to the district’s Central Kitchen located at Wallace Middle School on Tuesday. The trip served to highlight the process that food goes through once it is harvested and delivered to our kitchen. Director of Food Service Purvesh Patel led the tour, walking the students through the “cook-chill” process, which involves the full cooking of food, followed by rapid chilling and storage at controlled temperatures before serving. The students took proper safety precautions and walked through the loading dock, freezer, and central kitchen.
“I believe that experiences like the visit from the Agriculture students are crucial in fostering a deeper understanding of the journey our food takes before it reaches their plates,” Patel said. “By showcasing the meticulous 'cook-chill' process, we not only educate but empower these students to make informed choices about the food they consume. It also provides an appreciation for the intricate workings of our kitchen while emphasizing the importance of food safety and sustainability.”
D'Ippolito Elementary School welcomed their families to travel Around the World in a Day! Over 150 people returned to go on a trip and experience the cultures of Ukraine, Mexico, Italy, Greece, China and the Caribbean through music, art and food. Families received a passport to start their journey and entered to enjoy the sounds of Steel Drum music provided by Veteran's Memorial School's own multi-talented Band Teacher Edward Zatzariny. They were then treated to Opera sung beautifully by VHS alumni Nerys Muller. This stop on our travels ended with our own D'Ippolito's Choir singing "A World of Music" beautifully orchestrated by Music Teacher Ms. Oravsky.
Our travels continued onward to our stops at different countries to experience their culture through art and food. The students actively participated during the school day learning about the different countries through Social Studies, Language Arts and Art. Each grade focused on one country or region: K-Mexico, 1st-Greece, 2nd-Italy, 3rd-China, 4th-Ukraine and 5th-Caribbean.
Sodexo provided tasty samplings from some of the different countries. The menu included:
Mediterranean: Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce, Latin: Chicken Mini Tacos, Asian: General Tao Chicken, Italian: Antipasto Kabob. Families were able to travel to these countries and sample these different delicacies.
After flying around the world, families could dance off some of those calories through Zumba/Hip Hop provided by Nancy Dixon and Nate Offer from the Dixon Dance Academy. Families really enjoyed this part of the evening where parents and students enjoyed a night of dancing and having fun.
D'Ippolito School enjoyed having our families travel around the world in a day with us. They were able to witness what their children have achieved through active learning and enjoy the results through an event that celebrates the diversity in all of us.
The Vineland Public Library has a lot of fun events for children and teens coming up in May! Check out the attached flyers for more information.
The VPS Transportation Department celebrated our bus drivers on Tuesday for School Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Drivers received a keychain, snack, and a bottle of water for their afternoon route. Our drivers go above and beyond every day to get our kids to school and home safely and we thank them for it!
