NE and SE first graders had fun making connections between literature and art while remembering and discussing favorite nursery rhymes. "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon!" was literally interpreted, complete with a glitter moon!

NE third grade art students are deeply engulfed in their kachina unit, creating sculptural spirit dolls, from the Southwest Native American culture. Week 1 involved armature, week 2 involved pariscraft (with parent volunteers) weeks 3 & 4 involve painting and finally, week 5 will bring the unit to an end with the decorating aspect, with more parent volunteers. This is a project to treasure!

NE and SE fourth grade students have enjoyed discovering the painting style of Henri Matisse. They created a floral composition using neon paints and a variety of patterns. The students are very proud of the work they accomplished!

It is ValenTIME to be kind in first grade. NE students in Ms. Cawley and Mrs. Rego's class practiced their writing skills by writing kind compliments to one another. It makes our hearts smile to see them spreading kindness!

NE and SE first grade students in Ms. Stroh's music classes were busy writing valentines to classmates and parents using notes and rhythms! The composition project asked students to describe their friend in 4 beats. They practiced descriptive words and transformed the syllables of those words into rhythms. Then, the students chose the notes they wanted those rhythms to be. How cool is that?!?!

Your NE and SE music students in grades 2-4 are studying the life of Ella Fitzgerald and her impact on jazz music for Black History Month. Students enjoyed videos of her performing the song "A Tisket a Tasket", which highlights her admirable character and shows off her vocal ability. Students also sang "Paper Moon," and added scat singing, improvisation, bebop, and intonation to their vocabulary. Ella Fitzgerald also performed with jazz legend Louis Armstrong in "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and many other songs on their album together. She won thirteen Grammy Awards and was the first African American woman to win a Grammy Award.

NE 4th graders began a “Month of Compliments” activity pictured here. Each day, students create a heart with a compliment for another student. By the end of the month, the Valentine’s Day-themed mailboxes will be filled with reminders of love, self confidence and encouragement. After all, a kind heart speaks kind words!

In February of 1978, the Northeast experienced a blizzard for the record books. After reading Blizzard by John Rocco, these North End 3rd grade engineers designed a sled that could move through the deep snow and carry groceries home from the store without sinking. Their designs and execution were amazing!

NE kindergartners in Mrs. Pines' class are 100 days smarter! They
celebrated the 100th day of school with posters of 100 objects plus
many fun-filled activities!

SE preschoolers are practicing retelling and sequencing events in a story. They particularly enjoyed retelling and sequencing during small group time one of their favorite books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

"SE Goes Red for Heart Health. " The faculty and staff wore red on February 7th and donated $50.00 to the American Heart Association. Students also participated by wearing red and exercising throughout the day for heart health.

SE Kindergarteners have been working on non-fiction units about Brown Bears and Polar Bears. They learned about their habitats, hibernation vs. migration, the importance of blubber and many other interesting facts that would help them compare/contrast two of the world’s largest omnivores. Activities included K-W-L charts, sensory bins to show how bears must forage to search for food, a science blubber experiment, art and writing assignments, and even hibernating in caves while listening to stories.

Understanding the job our leaders do for us as citizens is an important part of second grade Social Studies. SE students learned who their leaders are and the important jobs that they have. Students talked about how most leaders run a campaign and are elected by the people. After discussing this for a few days, the students had some questions for the leader of our community, the mayor. Together, they created a list of questions for Mayor Vargo, who answered through a video message. Students really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know a little bit more about the mayor's important job!

SE 2nd graders also had an opportunity to take part in a mock in-class election. Students were presented with two fictional candidates and their promises as "Class President." Individually, each student had an opportunity to vote for the candidate that they thought would make the best Class President. This allowed the students to further understand what it is like to take part in an election.

SE 3rd graders have been enjoying their novel study of The Cricket in Times Square. They summarized an exciting chapter in the story, and they chose how they would like to present what happened in the book. The students created Google Slides presentations, drew comic strips, and acted out scenes.

North and South End students are using the SiILAS program which is unique way to help students learn social skills. The students write social scripts and then they act them out using avatars that they chose through the program. Each student uses a video game controller and a microphone to navigate their character through different social situations. When creating the videos, students also choose the scene. For example, it can be in a classroom, a hallway, cafeteria, a person’s house, at a park, etc. Students can change their emotion on the screen by hitting different buttons on the controller to make them happy, sad and/or angry. The SiLAS program offers 30 different social/emotional skills to work on. How cool is that?!

SE 4th graders participated in the exciting Annual Battle of the Books Competition in the SE Media Center! This was the final battle between the three winning groups in each class and the culmination of a four-month long reading competition based on 12 pre-selected books that groups were required to read. All classes did a great job!

In World Language, kindergarteners are continuing to practice their colors and numbers in Spanish! They are also being introduced to the collection of the talented writer, Ann Whitford Paul...in particular “Mañana Iguana”, “Fiesta Fiasco” and “Count on Culebra”. Not only are these stories entertaining, they teach an array of Spanish words and phrases! First graders are continuing to practice their “Meses del Año” (months of the year) by singing a song in Spanish to help them remember the vocabulary! They are also learning how to write the date and their birthdays in Spanish as well. Second graders are being introduced to Pear Deck on Google Slides while they carry on with “los animales” review. Pear Deck is an interactive presentation that involves the whole class! Third graders are completing their “la clase” project for the hallway! Each student has a construction paper “mochila” (backpack) hanging in the hallway that is filled with classroom supplies...labeled in Spanish! Check them out! Fourth graders are continuing their lesson on “la hora” (time). This is no easy feat! They will also be participating in a Pear Deck, in which the students will be faced with a variety of interactive questions of all kinds!

MMS 5th grade math classes participated in The St. Jude's Math-a-thon, raising $6,465 in just three weeks. Students fund raised on their own and participated in the math component in class. We are so proud of the students for exceeding our goal of $5,000! For more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/MMS-St-Judes-Mathathon

MMS 6th graders created and presented their own Declarations of Independence, all of which followed the format of the actual document - completely reworded with original ideas. The project ended with a signing ceremony, complete with quill pen! Many MMS staff and administrators were present for the signing and presentations.

MMS 7th grade science students are studying macromolecules and their importance to us. Students tested for starches in various foods that are common to them.

MMS 8th grade social studies students participated in a "True or False" competition covering the social order of Ancient Sparta in which small groups competed to receive the highest score on a Google Form. Students wrote testimonials from the perspective of an individual belonging to a particular social group or status. Testimonials included ideas relating one’s Spartan identity or that of one who was in some form subjugated by the Spartans. Cool stuff!

MMS E-Sports Club, lead by Mr. Potts and Mr. Candia, have our 7th and 8th grade students pumped! It is a club where students can come to test their skills and play competitive e-sports against their peers. We look forward to growing the club in the upcoming years!

Three of our 8th graders auditioned at Clifton High School for Junior Region Band, a competitive honors ensemble that includes all school districts in Northern NJ (they only accept the top players from grades 7-9). Jack Stella and Nancy Guan had excellent auditions. However, Kavi Gupta was selected - our first student in approximately 15 years! He will participate in 4 rehearsals and then perform a concert with this elite group on Sunday, March 8th. Congrats, Kavi, Jack and Nancy!

Congratulations to Nicoletta Concord, the CGHS student of the month!! Chosen by the Social Studies Department, Nicoletta has dedicated herself to her studies and has increased the number of difficult courses she has taken each year. She is a top student in each class and demonstrates her ability to not only know the facts, but to connect these facts to past and present events. While she is a quiet student, she is a pleasure to have in class. She is a model student who is willing to take a risk in class, and strives to learn something new every day!