WORDS FROM WOODLAND from... · Grade 4 and Grade 5 students participated in Woodland School’s...
Transcript of WORDS FROM WOODLAND from... · Grade 4 and Grade 5 students participated in Woodland School’s...
WORDS FROM WOODLAND
March 2016
From the Principal, Jeff Heaney
Believe it or not, we are more than halfway through the school
year. In fact, I am writing this letter just a few days after we
celebrated our 100th day of school!! I am proud to report that our
students are truly growing academically, socially and emotionally. Just
like the Tree of Character in our All Purpose Room, the students are
blossoming through acts of kindness and hard work.
I hope that you have enjoyed my monthly newsletters so far this
year. The main purpose of “Words from Woodland” is to give you a
glimpse into the wonderful things that are happening here each and
every day. The staff is consistently planning innovative lessons that
put students at the heart of learning. It truly is wonderful to visit
classrooms and see our students collaborating, communicating and
thinking critically. Recently, the 2nd grade performed their musical,
“Best Work, Best World” illustrating the hallmark of Woodland School.
Students wore t-shirts displaying different positive character traits such
as respect, kindness and trustworthiness. They worked together and
sang songs about the importance of taking care of one another and
working your hardest. It is my hope that when students graduate from
Woodland School they remember not only what they learned in Math
and Reading class but also what they learned about being a good
person. When you have a minute consider watching the short video
called, “Finding Good”(click on link). The video, which was shown to
some students during a character education lesson, reminds us about
the importance of good character and the impact we can have on others.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions,
concerns or to share a great experience your child had at school.
Woodland School Newsletter
“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”
—-Martin Luther King Jr.
Superintendent’s Corner
STEEP UPDATE
2/23/16
During the past several months, the Warren Township Board of Education
has been carefully reviewing the district’s declining enrollment and its impact
on the district through the Study to Examine Enrollment Project (STEEP).
Board goals for STEEP include deciding the feasibility of our current struc-
ture, closing a school, reconfiguring with duplicated or unduplicated grade
levels or another alternative based upon:
Enrollment Decline
Educational Advantages
Community Impact
Facility Capabilities
Transportation Needs
Financial Savings
Committees with goals were formed as part of STEEP to provide the board
with relevant information and data. The committees and goals are:
Educational Committee - To determine the educational, social, and emo-
tional advantages and disadvantages of our current structure, identified re-
configuration models or any other alternative models.
Facilities Committee -To determine school building viability in terms of our
current structure, closing a school, reconfiguring with duplicated or undupli-
cated grade levels or any other alternative models.
Finance/Budget/Transportation - To determine potential district savings
based on the alternative models agreed to by the Board of Education; to max-
imize transportation efficiency while ensuring safe routes consistent with state
guidelines if a school building is closed and/or reconfigured, based on the
alternative models agreed to by the Board of Education.
To date, both the Facilities Committee and Finance/Budget/Transportation
Committee have presented their findings to the board and public. Copies of
these presentations can be accessed on the district’s website. At the March
7th meeting, the Educational Committee will present its findings to the board
and public. Once each committee has reported to the board, the board will
discuss its next step.
In early April, the board will share its information with the community through
a public forum. Community discussion will be facilitated by New Jersey
School Boards Association Field Service Representatives Charlene Peterson
and Gwen Thornton. Community members will have an opportunity to pro-
vide the board with feedback based on the information presented.
Determining the appropriate action in response to the district’s enrollment de-
cline is difficult and challenging. The Warren Township Board of Education
remains committed to keeping the community updated on the STEEP initia-
tive, the steps involved in the process of examining declining enrollment, and
a decision for moving forward.
Dr. Elizabeth Nastus
Kindergarten 1st Grade
2nd Grade 3rd Grade
4th Grade 5th Grade
Grade 4 and Grade 5 students participated in Woodland School’s annual National Geographic
Bee. Preliminary classroom bees narrowed the field to ten finalists, who competed in the
school championship round. Fourth grader Jackson Scala won the 2016 Woodland title and will
next take a written test aiming to qualify for the state competition. Jackson's teachers, class-
mates, and all of Woodland School wish him the best of luck going forward! Thank you to Mr.
Kilroy and Mrs. Panos for all of their hard work with the Geography Bee.
Kindergarteners and 1st graders
visited the Warren Public Library.
While there, they were given a tour
of the library, learned about the
many resources they offer, and were
able to get their own library card.
Thank you Mrs. Zaleski for organiz-
ing the wonderful event.
Woodland’s King and Queen
of the Jungle for January
Kudos to Woodland School
It is my pleasure to report that our current 4th graders’ scores on last year’s
Language Arts PARCC assessment was in the top 3 of Somerset County!!!!!
From the Nurse’s Office…….
.Dear Parents,
As a reminder, when calling in an absence please provide the
symptoms and/or diagnosis for your child.
These indicators are required for tracking illnesses at both the
School and County level. In addition, there are student(s) who are
immunocompromised so the importance of calling in a contagious
illness is very important.
Examples of these include, but are not limited to:
-Strep infections
- Pneumonia
- Staph infections
- Conjunctivitis
Thank you for helping us to keep all students and staff healthy.
The Warren Township School Nurses
Woodland School Celebrates Read Across America Day
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
In honor of Read Across America Day and to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss Woodland School will be:
Wearing red, white and black to show our spirit
Holding a Door Decorating Contest with each homeroom decorating their door in any literacy theme they choose
Enjoying a performance of “Hooray For Diffendoofer Day!” by the Fifth Grade Reader’s Theater Group
Listening to Dr. Seuss stories during all lunches
Hosting a Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss Party for Kindergarten students assisted by students from the middle school
Wrapping up the day with a “Drop Everything and Read” Train across the school
Special Appearance by The Cat in the Hat! It’s going to be a “readiculously” fun day!
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” -Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Thank you to Mrs. Zaleski for organizing
the special day!!!
2nd Annual Woodland Staff and Parents PTO Fundraiser Basketball Game
The 2nd annual Woodland Staff and Parents Basketball game will be
held on Wednesday, March 16th. Tickets for the event will be $2 each and will
be sold at the door. There will be free throw contests, a food truck, pretzels
for sale, great music and tons of fun. More information about the game will be
sent out via email shortly. The PTO will also be sending a letter home shortly
asking for parent volunteers to play in the game.
PARCC Testing 2016 (State Standardized Test given in grades 3-12)
The dates for PARCC will be:
Grade 3- Math April 6, 7, 8, 11 Language Arts April 18, 19, 20
Grades 4/5- Math April 12, 13, 14, 15 Language Arts April 21, 22, 25
Pictures from the 2015 Staff vs. Parent
game. Grades 3-5 beat grades K-2 by
only 2 points in an exciting game!!
The Fourth Grade used their Valentine's Day cele-
bration to help those in need. The students made
up small care packages of personal care items,
wrapped in new woolen socks to benefit the Somer-
set County Home for Displaced Children. A special
thanks to all of the Fourth Grade families for their
contributions, which helped purchase the items that
were donated. An extra special thanks to our home-
room parents for buying and organizing the items
needed for this project.
4th graders enjoyed a PTO
sponsore assembly about
the Lenapes. Thank you to
the PTO for making these
assemblies happen!!
Thank you to Mrs. Brower
and Mrs. Stolfi for planning
our 100th Day of School
Celebration. Thank you to
Mr. Axt for creating the
great banner as well!!
Students were treated to a
fun and interactive assembly
that taught them about the
importance of taking good
care of their teeth. Thank
you to Dr. Banasiak and the
staff from Nettune Orthodontic
Association!
Counselor’s Corner
Please click on the link for information from the Warren Town-
ship Guidance Department
March Calendar
Wednesday March 2nd Read Across America Day
Wednesday March 9th Fingerprinting
Wednesday March 16th Woodland Staff vs. Parent Basketball game
Monday March 21st 4th grade Musical (students only)
Tuesday March 22nd 4th grade Musical (parents-7:30pm)
Friday March 25th No School-Good Friday
Monday March 28-Friday April 1 No School-Spring Break
Warren Middle School Principal,
Mr. Comba and Guidance Coun-
selor Mrs. Scully visit the 5th grad-
ers as part of an orientation for
next year. Believe it or not, they
are only 6 months away from their
middle school years!!
Mrs. Brink and the Service Club mem-
bers raised $185 for the American
Heart Association, selling handmade
key chains for $1 each. Our school
nurse, Mrs. Stambaugh, and the staff
raised an additional $125 and wore
red to support the American Heart
Association. Together we donated
$310 to a great organization.
Students in Mrs.
Rzasa’s 3rd grade
classroom conduct
chemical tests during
Science class.