Ms. Pilla and Ms. Bronson's third grade class at Petway Elementary School completed a project on migration. Each student chose a different animal and researched the animal's appearance, diet, habitat, and migration pattern. Students also included a picture and other interesting facts. Then, each student presented their report to the class.
Dr. William Mennies Elementary School celebrated the character trait of Acceptance throughout the month of March. Students learned how to show kindness and to respect others' differences. These students earned the Character Badge for the month for demonstrating outstanding Acceptance and good character in their class and school!
The Johnstone Jaguars celebrated Pi Day in a fun and highly competitive way this year! At the start of the day, students were handed out Pi pencils and stickers followed by gathering outside to form a “human circle” that was photographed via a drone. During lunch periods, students took photos and selfies with their friends in front of a “Happy Pi Day” backdrop and voted in a “Pi a Teacher” contest.
In the evening, students and their families were invited back to school to participate in Pi-centered cross-curricular activities such as writing Pi-kus, coloring Pi Skylines, performing Pi Circuits, and playing a Race to Pi card game. Families also enjoyed pizza from local pizzerias sponsored once again by the Vineland Community Policing Unit. Additionally, The Southwest Council joined our event again this year and provided resources for families surrounding substance abuse prevention and education. Students were welcomed to enter estimation contests and also were able to continue voting for which staff member they wanted to see get pie-d at the end of the night.
After an hour of food and fun, the estimation jar contest winners were announced and won their jar of erasers, pencils, or candy. The Pi Poet Laureate and the student who completed the fastest Pi Circuit were also presented and awarded with a gift card. Lastly, the moment most people were waiting for: the teacher with the most votes to get pied in the face was announced. It came down to two teachers, Ms. Alyssa Nanni and Mr. Bryan Davis, with over 600 votes each. With only a very small margin, Mr. Davis came in first and was pied by a student of his choice. To everyone’s surprise, including hers, Ms. Nanni was sneak-pied right after.
Leading up to that very moment, students participated in a one-week fundraiser, voting for teachers to get pie-d. In this short amount of time, over $1000 was raised for our Johnstone student activity fund.
The Johnstone Jaguar family is truly grateful to the students and their families for participating in this event, as well as all of the support from the Johnstone staff and community organizations that made this great night possible! Thank you! A fun time was had by all!
On Thursday, March 14, Petway Elementary Instructional Coach Angeline Tedesco hosted a voluntary Lunch and Learn for staff members interested in discussing a series of episodes from the Science of Reading podcast regarding dyslexia and reading difficulties. The teaching staff had the opportunity to enjoy pizza and salad as they discussed the topic of reading difficulties as a means of identifying areas of need for their students and how they might best approach effective instructional interventions with the hopes of improving their student's language and reading comprehension. Teaching staff vertically discussed these issues with their grade level teams as they gained new information about scientifically researched best practices for students presenting with reading difficulties. The goal of this voluntary Lunch and Learn was two-fold: first, to increase teacher awareness of the kinds of reading difficulties students often present with, and second, to engage teaching staff in identifying best practices to help these students become successful and skilled readers and thinkers. Petway staff is looking forward to additional voluntary learning opportunities.
Veterans Memorial School invites the community to join us as we celebrate the school's 70th Anniversary!
The event will take place on Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the VMS Fields, 424 S. Main Road. There will be a variety of food trucks and fun and games for people of all ages. We hope you can join us!
For questions or more information, please contact the VMS Main Office at 856-794-6918.
The Wallace Middle School NJHS visited Barse Elementary School for Fist Bump Friday! Students were greeted upon arrival at school by the students with a fist bump or special greeting for the day.
Mrs. Ecret and the Wallace Safety Patrol, Mrs. Ecret and Mrs. Shapley, and the NJHS students teamed up to collect donations for the SJRAS Enrichment Program. Unfortunately, our visit was canceled because of weather, and we have not been able to reschedule. Donations will be dropped off at the SJRAS this week. We all would also like to thank the staff at Wallace for their many contributions!
During Read Across America Week, Sabater Elementary School was fortunate to have special guests. New Jersey State Troopers were part of our event, reading to the students in several age groups. The event was declared a success!
Reminders of our upcoming schedule!
March 25: regular school day
March 26 & 27: legal attendance days (half days) for parent/teacher conferences
March 28: legal attendance day
March 29-April 5: all schools closed for spring break
Our district calendar can be found on our website here: https://bit.ly/43sk0ki
In honor of National Down Syndrome Day on March 21, we would like to honor our students at Vineland High School.
Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Around 1 in every 800 babies are born with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome have skills that help them work in certain jobs, just like anyone else. Abilities differ between each person, but they are more than able to take part in programs and activities!
Mrs. Diaz, Bilingual Speech Language Pathologist at VHS, noted what a joy it is working with so many different populations of students.
Photo one: William Santiago (11th grade) with Mrs.Smith and Mrs. Diaz
Photo two: Faith Mercoli (11th grade) and Yeinalie Rios (12th grade) with Mrs. Diaz
Photo three: Jeffery Perez (10th grade) with Mrs. Diaz
Our RISE Program students:
Photo four: Rachel Piccione with Mrs. Ruhl and Mrs. Diaz
Photo five: Edwin Beteta with Mrs. Diaz
Photo six: Natalys Rios with Ms. Kaitlyn Smaniotto, Ms. Kristen Smaniotto, and Mrs. Diaz
On March 21, Winslow Whales rocked their socks for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day! Some of our 5th-grade students even got to take part in a lesson from Ms. Piccione’s daughters and learn facts about people who live with Down Syndrome. The lesson included a read-aloud, a Q&A session, and a time of reflection to think and discuss what they learned and what questions they still had. It was a great day promoting acceptance and spreading awareness!
Students in Ms. Gaughan's class at Mennies Elementary School and Ms. Dallago's class at Winslow Elementary School embarked on numerous Community Outings throughout the school year. During these trips, students practice appropriate behaviors in a public setting while participating in tasks associated with each child's individual educational and/or behavioral plan. Such tasks include, but are not limited to, accepting "no" as a response, transitioning from a preferred activity to a less preferred activity, as well as properly requesting items and actions with their individual communication systems. After shopping at the local mall, students in Ms. Gaughan and Ms. Dallago's classes enjoy lunch at Chick-fil-A, where they choose their meals, wait for the food, and clean up their areas before returning back to their designated schools.
We had an awesome time at the annual Future Chef competition yesterday! Eight talented fifth-graders from our elementary schools created their favorite healthy salads for a packed house of family and friends. Congratulations to our winner, Connor Malecki from Petway School! Connor wowed the judges with "The Healthy Muncher" salad. Keitshaley Velez Leon from Durand School came in second, making a Tropical Fruit Salad with Citrus Yogurt. Damian Garcia-Duran from Winslow School finished in third place, making a “Vachalatta Salad.”
The other contenders were: Juliyana Yelez from Barse School, Jaxon Potter from D’Ippolito School, Jayceon Lecator from Mennies School, Benjamin Napoleoni-Lopez from Rossi School, and Renisha Ulysses from Sabater School.
Check out our Facebook page for a full gallery of photos. Congratulations and great job by all of our students!
Vineland High School Ceramics students in Sandra Carberry's class are mastering the art of throwing! Wheel throwing is the technique of shaping ceramics using your hands and a potter's wheel. Our talented students are making some beautiful pieces!
In Mrs. Hiles' fourth-grade class at Sabater Elementary School, students are diving into a nationwide postcard exchange! As they explore different regions of the United States, they're also forming new friendships with peers from other schools. This week, they're busy sending out postcards filled with information about their school, Vineland, and New Jersey. With postcards arriving from six states already, the class looks forward to receiving even more!
Five students from Vineland Public Schools participated in the Cumberland County School Boards Association's annual 8th-grade Dialogue on March 18 at the Cumberland County Technical Education Center.
The 8th Grade Dialogue program recognizes students whose character, determination, school spirit, leadership, and community service have inspired their classmates, teachers, and their community.
One eighth-grade student from each middle school in the county was invited to attend. The students were asked to share their aspirations for the future, what they enjoy most about their hometown, what skills they need to help transition to high school, and to make recommendations on how to improve their respective schools.
Students from Vineland Public Schools attending the event included Arionna Ware and Dahna Jimenez from Johnstone School, Gurshaan Baar from Pilla School, Yareli Cuevas Perez from Veterans Memorial School, and Yeralis DeJesus from Wallace School.
Vineland Public Schools wrapped up the first phase of the new Strategic Planning process on Tuesday at the final meeting of the planning team. The event drew another fantastic turnout, with nearly 50 participants, including teachers, Board of Education members, parents, students, administrators, and community members.
The purpose of Strategic Planning is to create a district-wide vision that will direct, motivate, and inspire all members of the school community to work together to elevate student achievement.
The event began with a presentation from Michelle Kennedy, a representative from the New Jersey School Boards Association, who recapped the results from meetings one and two. Meeting one focused on the district's present state, while meeting two asked participants to look into the future. During meeting two, the planning team identified four topics that will form the goals of the strategic plan. The goal areas focused on student and staff voices, family and community engagement, social wellness and security, and our multidimensional culture.
At meeting three, participants chose one of the four topic areas and worked in groups to further define the goals. They were asked to list the desired outcomes necessary to reach the goal, focusing on positive, student-centered, and aspirational actions. They then were tasked with creating objectives or means to accomplish these goals. A representative from each goal area then presented their goals and objectives to the entire group.
Members of central administration and the strategic planning team plan to meet with students next month to seek a student perspective on these goals and obtain feedback. The third facet of the planning process, the action plan, will then be created by administration and will define the specific tasks essential to carrying out the objectives. The completed plan will be presented at a future Board of Education meeting.
The YMCA will be hosting a fun and educational Summer Day Camp from June 17-August 23. Check out the attached flyers for more information!
Ms. Greenfield’s 7th-grade accelerated students at Johnstone School completed math menus throughout the week to apply their learning of solving and writing equations. Students were able to choose a minimum of three activities that they wanted to complete. The activities offered were based on student interests and learning styles. This included online games, riddles and puzzles, error analysis tasks, and partner checks. Flexible seating was also allowed while students worked on their chosen tasks. Students were highly engaged because they were given a choice in how they would best learn and apply the topics taught. This also provided opportunities for students to learn from one another through meaningful conversations and interactions.
Vineland High School students competed in the 2024 New Jersey Model Congress on March 14-15 at Rider University. Jorge Flores won selection as the Committee Chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee. Michaela Giuliani passed her bill the House of Representatives to equalize funding for K-12 public schools. Alex Garcia wrote a bill to reduce childhood obesity and Christopher Gagnon tried to reform the democratic process by reducing the power of the Senate.
Model Congress is a student run simulation of the U.S. Congress by a dozen participating schools and approximately 250 students who organize into three political parties that compete to pass the most student legislation while learning
and using the formal parliamentary procedure of Congress. Whether their bills passed or failed, all students experience the democratic process and learn research, writing, and oral debate skills while seeing the value of working together to improve legislation and how the spirit of reasonable compromise enables the nation to face and conquer our problems.
