D’Ippolito Elementary School honored a civil rights icon on Tuesday as they celebrated Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. The event coincided with the school’s BRAVO assembly, which discussed the traits of empathy and compassion.
The celebration started first with the entire school gathering for the BRAVO assembly. BRAVO, the school’s character education program, stands for Be Respectful And Value Others. Students learned about the importance of showing compassion and empathy to others and learned more about Bridges’ background. The assembly also featured a monologue about Bridges performed by fourth-grader Ava Louis.
Following the assembly, the school proceeded outside and walked a lap around the school in honor of Bridges. The procession featured a drumline, music, and many colorful handmade signs.
On November 14, 1960, when Ruby Bridges was only six years old, she became one of the first black children to integrate New Orleans’ all-white public school system. Greeted by an angry mob and escorted by federal marshals, Ruby bravely crossed the threshold of this school and into history, single-handedly initiating the desegregation of New Orleans’ public schools. Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day is now held every November 14 as an annual day of dialogue to commemorate her historic steps.
Johnstone students and staff participated in Hat Day and raised $200 in donations for the Heavenly Hats Foundation, a charity that provides "...brand-new hats for cancer patients and other medical patients who lose their hair due to a disease or the treatment of a disease."
Vineland High School held the first SpeakUp! event on Tuesday, allowing students, family members, and staff to engage in open conversations about important issues facing our children. SpeakUp! is a charity dedicated to helping teens develop supportive relationships with the adults in their lives, allowing them to talk openly, honestly, and without judgment about difficult topics and reach out for support within their homes and schools.
The event began with a welcome session held in the VHS South auditorium. The student-led program explained the mission of SpeakUp! with several student ambassadors leading the crowd through important talking points and explaining the program. The participants were then divided into different breakout groups, which were pre-selected during registration, to discuss different topics privately. Breakout group topics focused on school security, student-staff communication, relationships, mental health, and more.
SpeakUp! offers a list of resources on their website with more information on these topics and more: https://speakup.org/resources/
Students in the RISE and JAG programs at Vineland High School have been hard at work helping out at the Salvation Army food bank. Great job by all!
The Inspira Team completed a month-long community sock drive, SOCKTOBER. Mennies students and staff donated 346 pairs of socks to the SOCKTOBER project. Brian Lankin, owner of Al's Shoes in Vineland, also donated socks to the Mennies collection. The socks were distributed to shelters in need in Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties. We are proud of our Mennies family for helping with this cause.
Don't forget! The VHS Parent University/College Resource Fair will be held Thursday, November 16, from 6-9 pm at VHS South. We hope to see you there!
Students in Mrs. Hadley’s class at Mennies Elementary School learned about the character trait of CITIZENSHIP, which is celebrated by Mennies School in the month of November. Mrs.Weir, School Counselor, led a lesson about what Good Citizenship “looks like” and “sounds like” in school, at home, and in the community. The class read the book “Celebrating Patriotic Holidays.” Students further extended their learning and wanted to show thanks to a student’s father, who is currently serving a tour in the military. Students discussed traits of heroes and expressed thankfulness for service members. The children wrote special “Thank You” notes to him, colored their pictures and were happy to convey how much he is appreciated and supported. The surprise notes will be mailed to him.
Fourth-grade Durand students recently learned about the annual Punkin' Chunkin' event held in Delaware. Students were challenged to design and build a catapult that would launch a candy pumpkin the farthest.
First, students started by thinking about potential problems they may face and then sketching out their catapult design. When they were ready, they worked together to build their catapults using rubber bands, popsicle sticks, and a plastic spoon.
After making predictions on what they thought would happen, students finally got to test their designs! They launched a small marshmallow and then launched a candy pumpkin. In the end, students reflected on their designs and reviewed where the objects had the most potential and kinetic energy. It was a great activity to wrap up lessons on motion!
Mennies Elementary School students made beautiful Veterans Day cards that Cole and Mr. Hannah dropped off and personally handed out to the veterans at the Vineland Veterans Home. Thank you for your service!
Dallago Preschool students participated in the New Jersey Department of Education’s Holiday Cards for Military Challenge. The goal of the Holiday Cards for our Military Challenge is the collection and delivery of personalized, signed expressions of respect, caring, and gratitude to United States troops, veterans, and service families. Personalized and signed cards reflect genuine support and caring, respect, and appreciation of our military heroes during the winter holiday season.” Students were asked to write or draw a personalized message. Our preschoolers were excited to participate in this service learning challenge and had lots of fun making cards to share with our Military Heroes!
The entire Durand School family scored a touchdown with a visit from former NFL offensive tackle Barrett Brooks. Mr. Brooks joined students in grades 3-5 for an assembly and then returned for family night. Students, staff, and parents were eager to meet Barrett and hear his story of hard work and perseverance. Those in attendance showed their support for Barrett by wearing attire that represented the teams he played for. Of course, Eagles Green was most prominent, and the night wasn't complete without the Eagles Fight Song.
Within his story were many important life messages. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability. Respect your elders. Be the best version of yourself you can be. Don’t just get good grades…get great grades. Invest in your relationships. Grow into your shoes. Pay it forward. Take care of things that are important.
Special thanks to The Youth Alliance for helping plan this great event!
The Vineland Safety Patrol held its annual Safety Patrol Breakfast on October 28. $7000 was raised to help with the end-of-the-year trips to Dutch Wonderland (5th Grade) and Washington DC (8th Grade). An event of this size is not possible without the coordinated efforts of the Safety Patrol advisors and the Vineland Police Department Juvenile Unit. Officer Bill Burris of the Juvenile Unit, along with support from Officers Julio Dejesus, Dion Colvin, Ashley Arrocho, Captain Lene Bowers, retired Captain Dave Cardana, as well as Sgt. Sterchele worked alongside the advisors to make this annual event a wonderful success. We are also very grateful to the Vineland Police Explorers for all of their hard work during this event and to Sodexo Food Service for their support.
Rossi Owls had the best time with their grandparents at their first annual Grandparents’ Day! Grandparents and grandchildren alike enjoyed lunch together as well as the Scholastic Book Fair. Rossi students spent some quality time with their grandparents making memories that will last a lifetime.
Petway Elementary students in Mrs. Nonnemacher’s first grade class joined Mrs. Diorio’s and Mrs. Kazmierski’s classrooms in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in both spoken English and American Sign Language during Petway’s Patriot Pride Day. Sign Language Interpreter Mrs. Theresa Killingsworth interpreted the Pledge before the students. Mrs. Nonnemacher’s students have practiced signing the pledge every day in class before reciting the Pledge in both languages. In addition to fostering an inclusive classroom, the activity promotes the core values of empathy, communication, and adaptability from Vineland’s Portrait of a Graduate.
Watch a clip of the students reciting the Pledge here: https://bit.ly/3MtVE2j
The Rossi 3rd Graders have partnered with Spirit and Truth Ministries Soup Kitchen for the school year to create a monthly holiday-themed placemat. The students were so lucky to learn all about the soup kitchen and how it helps our community with a presentation from Debbie Eisinger. Mrs. Eisinger is one of the many volunteers who help run the soup kitchen. They were treated to hearing the story "Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt de la Pena and a presentation of what it is like to volunteer. We look forward to helping the soup kitchen throughout this school year.
The teachers and students at D'Ippolito Elementary School are holding our seventh annual Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive to benefit children. We are collecting from our students and families, and we are trying to reach out to the community to get more pajama donations to help kids in need. Anyone who would like to donate may send new pajamas to D'Ippolito. We greatly appreciate any and all donations!
Our drive will run from Monday, November 13th through Friday, December 15th. Only brand new pajamas will be collected in all sizes from newborn through adult. The pajama drive is organized in partnership with Pajama Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting a comforting bedtime routine for children affected by instability in order to help them thrive. Once our donations are reported to Scholastic, they will pair each set of pajamas collected with a new book, and through The Pajama Program, will be donated to a local organization. Last year, 172 sets of pajamas went to The Bridgeton Family Success Center.
D'Ippolito students who donate a new pair of pajamas will be able to wear their own pjs to school on Friday, December 22nd as a reward for their generous gifts.
In Mrs. Jessica Castro's science class at Veterans Memorial Middle School, students were able to simulate weathering by tumbling “rocks” and observing how they break down over distance and time. Students placed pieces of chalk ("rocks") into a tube and shook the tube back and forth for 4 minutes and 8 minutes, making observations of how the chalk changed over time. Students were able to explain the process (cause) that breaks apart rock (effect). Rock is broken into smaller pieces by colliding with other objects. Students were able to identify the process they just observed as weathering.
School will resume on Monday, November 13. Have a great week!
Vineland Public Schools and Sodexo Food Service will be distributing food for those in need before the Thanksgiving holiday. Please see the flyer for more information.
Miss Welden’s ELA classes at Pilla Middle School enjoyed an incentive day filled with board games and team building as a reward for completing their Summer Reading projects before the deadline. Students played classics like Chess, Jenga, and Sorry! In addition to the incentive day, students had their names entered into a drawing to win a pair of air pods.
