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Winter IssueWinter IssueWinter Issue

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STEM SPAGHETTI TOWER CHALLENGE

M s. Gina Faria’s fifth grade class at EJF-Aldene School used their science, technology, math and engineering knowledge to enjoy an afternoon of

STEM. This STEM activity had students designing and constructing a tower made with very simple supplies. The students were given a yard of tape, a yard of string and twenty pieces of spaghetti. They had to create the tallest structure possible that could hold a marshmallow. Students followed the steps of the Engineering Design Process for this challenge. They planned, edited, revised, researched and constructed. The students graphed the measured results and wrote explanations regarding the success and failure of specific designs. The winning tower measured 23 inches high!!! See the four photos above.

CREATING GINGERBREAD HOUSES USING STEM

T hird grade students from the EJF-Finizio Aldene School constructed gingerbread houses to both celebrate the holiday season and incorporate elements of STEM. The students had to plan out their house and measure their

graham crackers to ensure their house was covered. They used a variety of sweet treats to create chimneys, doors, windows, and decorations. What a sweet way to build a house! Students from left to right (around the table) are Brooke Gallo, Julissa Colon, Mariah Orega, Sofia Perez, Shiloh Abud, Charlise Sepulveda, Salome Granda-Cano, Riya Patel. See the photo above.

ON THE ROAD WITH THE RPHS GUIDANCE TEAM

O ver the past few months, the RPHS Guidance Department hosted three college tours for our sophomores, juniors, and seniors. They had a wonderful, but wet tour of NJIT and Rutgers, Newark on October 28. Later, in November,

on a beautiful fall day, they visited Bloomfield College and Caldwell University. Their good luck continued into the month of December with tours to Fairleigh Dickinson University and Seton Hall University. Future college tours are on the horizon in the spring. Students posed in front of the universities as can be seen in the three photos above.

Above: Virginia Villa and Rishabh Dhingra

Above: Omar Mafarjeh Above: Emily Sharomova Above Dante Rodriguez and Brandon Williams

January 2016January 2016January 2016

FHCC MOVIE-THEMED

BLOOD DRIVE

T he FHCC organized a movie-theme blood drive with a red carpet entrance.

Movie posters decorated the gym, a photo booth was set up and donors were entered into a raffle for movie tickets. Our students donated an awesome 110 units of blood on November 19. See the two photos at left.

HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGSHIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGSHIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

Above: Jason Lim, Vice President of the NJ Future Business Leaders

of America, from Rutgers University spoke with the newly

formed FBLA at the RPHS to discuss the benefits of joining the

club from the high school to collegiate level.

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TALENTED & GIFTED EXPERIENCETALENTED & GIFTED EXPERIENCETALENTED & GIFTED EXPERIENCE

RG FIFTH GRADERS DISSECT OWL PELLET

W hat is an owl pellet and what type of bones can be found and identified in

the owl pellet? These were just two questions that were answered when Mrs.

Joanne Carbotti’s fifth grade T & G students from RG dissected an owl pellet.

Interesting facts were learned about the owl and the dissection process through

computer research, before actually dissecting the pellet. Using a virtual lab,

student learned how to dissect the pellet. A bone syllabus was used to identify

each bone after carefully separating the hair and fur from the bones. The skulls or

jaws were utilized to try to identify the type of prey their owl had for dinner, such

as whether it was a rat, a bird or a lizard. This project gave the students an

opportunity to learn about the eating patterns of an owl, food chains, predator and

prey relationships, bone identification and many other interesting facts. The

lesson also helped to encourage a student’s interest in biology. See photo at right.

FHCC HOSTS AN

ANTI-DRUG HOOPLA

T he Future Health Careers Club hosted an “Anti-Drug Halloween

Hoopla” on October 29 for elementary and RPMS students. Attendees enjoyed games, face painting, tattoos, arts and crafts and a magic show by a professional magician. The FHCC students also made an anti-drug pledge. See the two photo at left and at right.

SPORTS CAPTAINS HELP

DURING THE HOLIDAYS

D uring the months of November and December our Fall and

Winter Sports Captains participated in community service through the Church of Assumption in Roselle Park. The Captains helped carry frozen turkeys and holiday care packages out to the cars for those who were in need of assistance during this holiday season. See the

photo at right.

Above: Students are Ivan Sanchez

and Sebastian Saavedra.

EXCITING DAY FOR RP SCHOOL DISTRICT!

T he laptop roll-out took place on November 14. Five hundred laptops and laptop cases were distributed to enthusiastic students. Mike Estrada,

Chief Technology Officer and Jossie Reyes, Technology/Hardware Coordinator were on site to make sure everything went smoothly. Students were excited to receive their new Lenovo laptop. Thank you to everyone involved for your hard work to make the day possible for our district community! See the surrounding photos.

Above: Students enjoyed the RPMS Assembly on Anti-bullying and the presenters, Toshi Kris and Aaron

Pederson (also known as Kris Aaron). Pictured on stage from l to r: Kris, Victoria Pineta, Valeria

Sanchez and Aaron.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL IN MOTIONMIDDLE SCHOOL IN MOTIONMIDDLE SCHOOL IN MOTION

CHANNEL 2 WEATHERMAN JOHN MARSHALL VISITS

J ohn Marshall, from Channel 2 News in New York visited our middle school and presented a “Weather Assembly” to the sixth graders. The students learn about the

weather as part of their curriculum. See three photos above. In the above photo at left,

from l to r are David Levine, Yarisleida Garcia, Kalliope Mikros and Weatherman John

Marshall. In the photo above, center, is David Levine standing in front of the green screen as he presented the 5 day forecast. In the photo above, at right, Weatherman

John Marshall speaks to the sixth grade students.

Above: The RPMS Student Council

and RPMS Band at the Veterans

Day Ceremony held at the RP

Veterans Memorial Library on

November 11.

Above, from l to r are

“STEM girls” Ivanni

Francois and Priyanka

Dhingra .

Above: STEM student

Angeliese Estevez.

Above: Students

attended a Train

Safety Assembly.

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Shown above is a Read-Aloud Friday group. Kylie McCall is reading to her group, Vania Castillo, Angie Mendez, and Mia Ramos.

ALDENE’S AWESOME ACTIVITIESALDENE’S AWESOME ACTIVITIESALDENE’S AWESOME ACTIVITIES

PREPREPRE---SCHOOL PROJECTSSCHOOL PROJECTSSCHOOL PROJECTS

CARDS, BOOKS AND SANTA!

A s a Veteran’s Day project, the boys and girls in Ms.

Megan Ripka’s class made two sets of cards with handprint American flags. They wrote the words, “Thank

you, Hero!” One set was delivered to the Veterans Memorial Home in Edison and the other set was added to

the collection of letters from the district to be sent to active duty military overseas for Thanksgiving.

D ecember 9 was Polar Express Day. The children came

to school in their cozy pajamas for a special day in class with activities based on the book, The Polar Express

by Chris Van Allsburg. They also got a visit from Santa!

SCHOOLWIDE COORDINATED FOOD DRIVE

E JF Student Council coordinated a schoolwide drive to collect food for needy Roselle Park families. Twelve baskets were donated to the Casano Center for Thanksgiving

distribution. Pictured are 5th grade Student Council officers and representatives from EJF-Aldene School. See photos above, at center, and at right.

Above: Mrs. Alexandra Martinho’s third grade class and Mrs. Dina Cashin’s Kindergarten class worked together to make a Thanksgiving basket to donate to a local food pantry.

Above: Mrs. Dina Cashin’s Kindergarten class learned about the story of Thanksgiving and made Native American and Pilgrim costumes for their classroom feast.

A cooperative group is researching facts using a book and the internet about the habitat, diet, and appearance of owls in order to write a research report. Pictured at right are Miles Toro, Anthony DaSilva, Irina Gheorghe, and Vania Castillo.

Above: Mrs. Carrie Russionello working with Richie Luna, Brandon Grande, and Lillian Rivera, students in our Autism program, to create artistic holiday landscapes.

Above: Santa had breakfast with our Kindergarteners: Emily Reyes, Heidy Linares, Callen Mahoney, Allisson Naranjo, Marianna Halusczak, and Siaka Gassama.

Above: Mrs. Jen Durkin’s second grade class working on making Oobleck. Students are learning about the properties of matter in science. Pictured above, left are Lucas Piriz, Angie Mendez, Michael Nieves, and Suhani Patel. Pictured above, right are Nathan Anand, Brian Luna, Anthony DaSilva, Miles Toro.

Above: Three second graders are immersed in a literary non-fiction book.

Above: Student Council Officers from l to r are: Matthew Stark, Kylie

Rodriguez, Adriana Vasquez, Brandon Williams, Rishabh Dhingra,

Virginia Villa, Remi Newhart, and Christopher Luciano.

Above: Students holding their handprint American flag cards.

Above: Students pose with Santa on Polar Express Day.

THE ROBERT GORDON GAZETTETHE ROBERT GORDON GAZETTETHE ROBERT GORDON GAZETTE

FLAG OF GRATITUDE FOR VETERANS

I n honor of Veterans Day, all students at the Robert Gordon school wrote messages of thanks to veterans who have

served our country. The Student Council members creatively turned these messages into a flag, which they brought to the Roselle Park Veterans Day ceremony at the library. Pictured at

right, from l to r: Karen Saavedra, Isaiah Permison, Miss

Kristen Kulbaba, Alisha Persaud, Lucas Whiteside, Sebastian Saavedra, Sophia Biggerman, Emean Gjokaj, Logan Oberlies, Lina Muscaritolo, Karina Borysiak, Belen Munoz, Brandon Scott.

Above: Kindergartener Jovan Soria making snowflakes with his fifth grade buddy, Nicholas Meyers.

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Above: Students in Mrs. Jean Erbeck’s class enjoyed learning about American folk artist, Anna Maria Robertson, also known as Grandma Moses.

Above: Kindergartener Nicol Torres, making snowflakes with her fifth grade sister, Leslie Hernandez.

THE HOUR OF CODE

T he students in Mrs. Lisa Lugara’s class participated in “The Hour of Code” which is a global movement to get kids involved in computer science. They had so much fun learning how to

code. All of the students in Mr. Scott Attlesey’s K-5 Computer class participated in the Global “Hour of Code” beginning December 7 through 11. The two photos below show

the students immersed in their task.

READ ALOUD FRIDAYS

M iss Rachel Pask has been incorporating 'Read Aloud

Fridays' in her classroom. On Fridays, the students read a "just-right" book that they practice with all week. They read their book to a small group… just the way a teacher would! Their reading skills have been improving nicely while having lots of fun!! Above: Josiah

Johnson reading to his group.

Above: Class 4-B/S during “The Hour of Code.”

Above: Mrs. Lisa Lugara’s class during “The Hour of Code.”

ART LESSON ON

GRANDMA MOSES

T he first graders in Mrs. Jean Erbeck's class learned about the

artist Grandma Moses. Melissa Battaglia, a parent volunteer, came in and showed the class paintings that Grandma Moses made and provided students with sticks to paint a landscape of their own. This was part of the Picture Person program at Robert Gordon. See the three photos at right .

SHERMAN’S SNIPPETS AND SNAPSHOTSSHERMAN’S SNIPPETS AND SNAPSHOTSSHERMAN’S SNIPPETS AND SNAPSHOTS

Above: Superwoman Donna Glomb and her “superhero students” on Halloween.

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DONNA GLOMB RETURNS AS SHERMAN’S NEW PRINCIPAL

AAA s you may already know, Mrs. Donna Glomb is the new principal of Sherman School. What

you may not know, is that before coming to Sherman, she held administrative positions in

Keansburg, New Jersey. She was a Supervisor of Instruction, Principal, and Vice Principal in the

Keansburg school district. Mrs. Glomb revealed to us that out of all of the administrative jobs

she has had, she loves being principal best because she gets to work closely with the students

and teachers every day! Before she became an administrator, Mrs. Glomb taught fifth, sixth,

and first grades. Some of that time was spent right here in the Roselle Park school district at

the Robert Gordon School. Mrs. Glomb loved teaching in Roselle Park, so she jumped at the

opportunity to return to be principal, and her dream came true! Mrs. Glomb loves getting

involved with everything that the students are doing and learning. Her favorite subjects are

reading and writing. She loves books and she loves listening to students read. She is so happy

to be part of the Sherman School family and we are just as happy to have her join our school

district! Please see the three photos above.

Above: Sherman Principal Donna Glomb and students are shown making oatmeal.

FARMER GIVES LESSON ON MAKING OLIVE OIL

O n December 14, third graders and fourth graders welcomed a Pennsylvania farmer from Quiver Farms to Sherman School to demonstrate the process of pressing

olives to make real olive oil. He brought along his sheep, Cleo, two doves and a floppy-eared rabbit.

S tudents enjoyed petting the animals and learning interesting facts about olive trees, such as, “there are hundreds of olives on one branch”. Students practiced

raking olives for collection and mashing the olives for oil. See four photos above.

Above: Best wishes to ESL teacher, Norma

Rosario-Trepper (l) and

Vocal Music Teacher,

Linda Green on their retirement!

HARVEST FEST FOR THE NEEDY

TTT o help those in need, our

second grade classes

held a Harvest Fest during

November. Each second grader

made crafts, brought baked

goods, or bought small gift

items. Students at Sherman

school brought canned goods

and pet supplies to trade

for an item. After all of the

classes came through,

donations were boxed and

given to the Plainfield animal

Shelter and the Church of the

Assumption. People and animals

had a Happy Thanksgiving

because of Sherman School!! Please see the four photos

above.

SHARING in HOLIDAY CHEER with OUR SENIORSSHARING in HOLIDAY CHEER with OUR SENIORSSHARING in HOLIDAY CHEER with OUR SENIORS

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R P Senior Citizens were invited to attend our annual Senior-Senior Holiday Social that was held on Friday, December 11. The event was sponsored by The Roselle Park Board of Education and co-sponsored by the RPEA. RPHS staff and students also

joined in the festivities. A food buffet of sandwiches, salads, punch and holiday treats were served by SASS students under the supervision of RPHS Foreign Language teacher and SASS Advisor Judith Kurz. The students enjoyed interacting with our RP senior

citizens and a fun time was had by all! The photos shown on this page and Page 9 capture some of the fond memories of the event.

ENJOYING GOOD TIMES, GOOD FOOD, ENJOYING GOOD TIMES, GOOD FOOD, ENJOYING GOOD TIMES, GOOD FOOD, ANDANDAND FRIENDSFRIENDSFRIENDS

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9

“““WHERE CHILDREN COME FIRST”WHERE CHILDREN COME FIRST”WHERE CHILDREN COME FIRST”

A Publication of theA Publication of theA Publication of the

ROSELLE PARK BOARD OF EDUCATIONROSELLE PARK BOARD OF EDUCATION

510 Chestnut Street510 Chestnut Street510 Chestnut Street

Roselle Park, NJ 07204Roselle Park, NJ 07204Roselle Park, NJ 07204

www.rpsd.orgwww.rpsd.orgwww.rpsd.org

Board of EducationBoard of Education

Christopher Miller Christopher Miller Christopher Miller --- PresidentPresidentPresident

Loren Harms Loren Harms Loren Harms --- Vice PresidentVice PresidentVice President

Alex BalabanAlex BalabanAlex Balaban

Rodric BowmanRodric BowmanRodric Bowman

Kevin CancinoKevin CancinoKevin Cancino

Troy GertenTroy GertenTroy Gerten

Scott NelsonScott NelsonScott Nelson

Sundjata SekouSundjata SekouSundjata Sekou

Jeofrey VitaJeofrey VitaJeofrey Vita

Pedro A. GarridoPedro A. GarridoPedro A. Garrido

Superintendent of SchoolsSuperintendent of Schools

Susan Guercio

Business Adm./Board SecretaryBusiness Adm./Board Secretary

NONDISCRIMINATIONNONDISCRIMINATIONNONDISCRIMINATION: : :

The Roselle Park School District

does not discriminate against

handicapped persons with regard to

admission, access to, or treatment

of employment in its programs,

a c t i v i t i e s , and vocat iona l

opportunities.

For more information, contact

District Public 504 Compliance

Coordinator, Mrs. Susan Carlstrom at

(908) 241-4550.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONAFFIRMATIVE ACTIONAFFIRMATIVE ACTION: :

The Roselle Park School District

guarantees each student equal

educat iona l oppor tuni t ies

regardless of race, color, creed,

religion, sex, ancestry, national

origin, or racial or economic status.

For more information contact

District Affirmative Action

Officer, Mrs. Paula Sicignano at

(908) 298-6835.