news from the berkeley heights public schools 2-23-2015
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NEWS FROM THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS MARY KAY MCMILLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER Reptiles slithered and crawled into the world of Mary Kay McMillin Early Childhood Center recently as the experts from Reptile World in Maryland expanded the schema of the Grade 1 students. Michael Shwedick from Reptile World is one of America's leading reptile wildlife educators. The students enjoyed discovering what reptiles are, what makes them different from birds and mammals, and how important they are in our environment. Many of the myths and misconceptions about reptiles were dispelled, helping students have a better appreciation and understanding of these animals. Mr. Shwedick and his associate, Mr. David, introduced the children to a snapping turtle, a crocodile, an alligator, a lizard, milk snakes, an anaconda and a very large albino python during the 90-minute program. There was also a question-and-answer session following the presentation. Mr. Shwedick gave teachers his e-mail address in order to make sure that if any students had a question, they would get an answer! The Berkeley Heights Education Foundation sponsored the Reptile World assembly based upon a grant application written by Mrs. Susan Poage, Grade 1 Teacher. All of the First Grade teachers were very enthusiastic about the content and presentation quality of the program. Following the assembly, First Grade students created a fact board about reptiles in the Grade 1 hallway at the school. The project will continue as students learn more about reptiles during non-fiction literature and writing projects. Special area teachers have integrated reptiles into their classroom work as well. In the library, students listened to fiction and non-fiction books about this topic; in Art class, they explored the survival method of camouflage, and in Physical Education the students experimented with how different reptiles move.
news from the berkeley heights public schools 2-23-2015
Microsoft Word - news from the berkeley heights public schools
2-23-2015.docxNEWS FROM THE BERKELEY HEIGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS MARY
KAY MCMILLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
Reptiles slithered and crawled into the world of Mary Kay McMillin
Early Childhood Center recently as the experts from Reptile World
in Maryland expanded the schema of the Grade 1 students. Michael
Shwedick from Reptile World is one of America's leading reptile
wildlife educators. The students enjoyed discovering what reptiles
are, what makes them different from birds and mammals, and how
important they are in our environment. Many of the myths and
misconceptions about reptiles were dispelled, helping students have
a better
appreciation and understanding of these animals. Mr. Shwedick and
his associate, Mr. David, introduced the children to a snapping
turtle, a crocodile, an alligator, a lizard, milk snakes, an
anaconda and a very large albino python during the 90-minute
program. There was also a question-and-answer session following the
presentation. Mr. Shwedick gave teachers his e-mail address in
order to make sure that if any students had a question, they would
get an answer! The Berkeley Heights Education Foundation sponsored
the Reptile World assembly based upon a grant application written
by Mrs. Susan Poage, Grade 1 Teacher. All of the First Grade
teachers were very enthusiastic about the content and presentation
quality of the program. Following the assembly, First Grade
students created a fact board about reptiles in the Grade 1 hallway
at the school. The project will continue as students learn more
about reptiles during non-fiction literature and writing projects.
Special area teachers have integrated reptiles into their classroom
work as well. In the library, students listened to fiction and
non-fiction books about this topic; in Art class, they explored the
survival method of camouflage, and in Physical Education the
students experimented with how different reptiles move.
THOMAS P. HUGHES SCHOOL Thanks to the generosity of the Berkeley
Heights Education Foundation, Thomas P. Hughes School was recently
able to host the S.E.E.D.S. presentation for all fourth and fifth
grade students.
S.E.E.D.S stands for Student Education & Experience Disability
Sensitivity. The goal of the program is to increase disability
awareness and sensitivity in our community. S.E.E.D.S. provides
students with a unique opportunity to learn about people with
disabilities through an informative in- class lecture, dynamic
student activities and group discussion.
S.E.E.D.S. works by introducing disabilities and touching on topics
such as the challenges and opportunities facing people with
disabilities. Students learn about the impact that harassment has
on people with disabilities while it increases their acceptance of
diversity and social responsibility. Through education and
interactive learning, S.E.E.D.S. hopes to “plant an idea and
grow
understanding.” Our students benefitted greatly from this amazing
program!
MOUNTAIN PARK SCHOOL
It's electric! Grade 3 students at Mountain Park School
experimented with making a buzzer sound during their Electrical
Circuits Unit in Science. Students attached a red and black wire
from the buzzer to the battery and discovered what happens when
they are connected. They also realized what happens if you switched
where the two wires touched the battery. Students
explored how to make a motor run and even took a motor apart! When
it's time for Science, students are excited to learn and discover
during this exciting unit of study.
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Let's celebrate writing! Third Graders at Mountain Park spent last
month reading and gathering a variety of information from
informational texts and Internet sources. Students put the author's
words into their own words and chose pages to display their
newfound knowledge to share with others in the form of a booklet.
Students even wrote an "About the Author" page to showcase their
family life, interests, and talents. Grade 3 classes taught by Mrs.
Gina Holzmann and Mr. Eli Quinonez then celebrated by sharing their
booklets with each other.
MOUNTAIN PARK SCHOOL (continued) If you walked into a Grade 5
Social Studies class at Mountain Park School recently, you might
think that you were in Revolutionary- era America. Fifth Graders at
Mountain Park participated in a debate between Patriots and
Loyalists. The teams had to come up with arguments about British
trade restrictions, taxes, and various laws (such as the
Proclamation of 1763 and the Intolerable Acts). The students are
currently writing rap songs about the Declaration of Independence
and the early days of the American Revolution. The performances
should be very exciting!
WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL William Woodruff School’s scientists have
been busy finding new ways to make life easier. They designed a
variety of technology-based inventions incorporating present
technology while using iPads and other devices. The future
inventors created items for doing chores quicker and for organizing
things. Many of the students utilized everyday resources to
construct their inventions.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday was celebrated through morning
announcements presented by the Fourth Graders and by listening to
the song “Martin,” written by Jonathan Sprout. The students also
learned about the Kindness and Justice Challenge of being caught
being kind. For two weeks, the students listened to morning
announcements about character
attributes and tried during the day and at home to emulate these
attributes that were displayed by Dr. King’s actions. The students
added their name to the bulletin board announcing, “Let’s Help
Others!”
The Student Council was busy during the month supporting those in
need and fundraising. Each of the grade levels made sandwiches to
support the Bridges program to help local needy residents. A Book
and DVD Sale took place where all proceeds will be donated to a
charity
to be named. The Student Council also sponsored a Pennies for Pets
program to support the Somerset County Animal Shelter. Another fun
activity that many students with a sharp eye got involved in was
the Winter Photo Contest.
WILLIAM WOODRUFF SCHOOL (continued)
COLUM BIA MIDDLE SCHOOL A recent visit to the Columbia Middle
School main office by students from the school’s Guitar Club for an
impromptu musical session provided great entertainment to all and a
warm feeling on a cold winter day.
Students and parents are reminded that all clubs at CMS offer open
enrollment and opportunities for beginners as well as experts. For
a complete list of clubs and activities, please check the Columbia
Middle School website.
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A recent Grade 8 Science class taught by Mrs. Christina Froehlich
at Columbia Middle School included several instructional stations
where students were able to determine the effects of air pressure
and gravitational forces. As you can see, some students got
completely “wrapped up” in their findings as a result of these
experiments!
GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL All four Governor Livingston High
School National Merit Semi-Finalists (pictured L to R) Aziza
Khalfani, Emily Xu, Isha Mehrotra and Shree Mehrotra, have been
advanced to Finalist status based upon their achievement on the
2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test
(PSAT/NMSQT®) as well as their academic performance in high school
and performance on the SAT tests. Approximately 15,000 students
nationwide were identified as Finalists from the pool of nearly 1.4
million junior students and more than 22,000 high schools. These
Finalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for
some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $33 million
that will be offered this spring as part of the 60th Annual
National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of
Finalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school
seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.
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An enthusiastic crowd of over 200 students and parents came out to
cheer on the contestants in the annual Governor Livingston High
School King of Hearts event earlier this month. This charity event
raised $1,000 for the American Heart Association. Ten (10)
contestants representing all four GL grades displayed their awesome
talents and flashed some stunning looks in a variety of competitive
categories. In the end, the judges voted Tim Donohue and Matt Ward
champions of the lower and upper classmen. The event is another
great example of a Highlander tradition aimed at helping
others!
GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON HIGH SCHOOL (continued) The Governor Livingston
High School Boys Basketball team recently defeated Jonathan Dayton
High School 49-41 in the second annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
held at GLHS. It was, however, an even bigger victory for the
Highlander community who came together to fight cancer and support
friends and family touched by this disease. This great event raised
more than $2,300 for the American Cancer Society, Cancer Stinks,
and the Isadora Seibert Foundation. Organized by GL Assistant
Basketball Coach Joe Reel, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic featured
district students Spencer Jacovini, Nicholas Tarabokia and Ryan
Diskin as honorary coaches for the evening. While Head Coach Steve
Petruzzelli and his players took care of business against the
Dayton Bulldogs in an exciting victory, the Highlander Cheerleaders
led the fan activities during the event!