WISE Words #8

Dear Rossi Family,

As we move through the final stretch of the school year, May has been an exciting and productive month for our Rossi Owls. Our students have participated in a wide variety of activities, events, and celebrations, while continuing to demonstrate perseverance and school pride each day. With summer just on the horizon, there is certainly a great deal of excitement throughout our building.

We would like to commend our students for the excellent effort they showed during NJSLA testing this month. They approached the assessments with focus, determination, and resilience, and we are incredibly proud of the way they represented Rossi School. We also want to thank our families for their continued support and partnership throughout the testing process, as well as our exceptional staff for the care, preparation, and encouragement they provide to students every day.

As we look ahead to the many exciting activities planned for June, we ask families to continue reinforcing the importance of regular attendance, positive decision-making, and respectful behavior. Please note that disciplinary actions will carry additional weight during the final weeks of school, as participation in end-of-year activities and events may be impacted for students who are not in compliance with our school’s code of conduct. We want every student to have the opportunity to enjoy these memorable experiences and finish the year strong.

We are incredibly proud of how far our students have come this year. Their growth, hard work, and perseverance have made this school year truly special. Thank you for your continued partnership and support as we work together to ensure a positive and successful finish to the year for all Rossi Owls.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Coia, Principal
Mr. Cifaloglio, Assistant Principal

These Owls were recognized for going above and beyond—showing kindness, making positive choices, and being great role models for their peers. Whether it was helping a friend, demonstrating responsibility, or putting forth their best effort, they truly made a difference in our school community. Keep up the great work—we see you, we appreciate you, and we are so proud of you!

This month, we began state testing, and our students were ready.

We asked all of our Rossi Owls to be present, on time, and ready to give their very best effort each day—and they rose to the occasion.

To get everyone excited and motivated, we held an exciting Pep Rally where our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders were energized by an amazing performance from the high school band and the Vineland High cheerleaders. Thank you for bringing the energy and school spirit!

We even had some friendly competition with a dance-off between Rowdy and Hootie, and the crowd loved every minute of it.

We are so proud of the effort, positivity, and determination our students showed throughout testing. Rossi Owls truly gave 100% effort, and we believe in each and every one of them.

At Rossi, we were thankful for our teachers who ignite and inspire a love of learning in each one of our owls. During Teacher Appreciation Week, we celebrated all of our teachers for their outstanding dedication to their students and their commitment to our entire school community.

Families and students joined in the celebration by participating in our daily Teacher Appreciation challenges and by sharing kind words of appreciation for our staff.

Thank you to all of our teachers for everything you do for our students and school community each and every day.

May 6 was National School Nurses Day, and the Rossi Owls were so lucky to celebrate someone who cares for our students and staff with so much compassion, kindness, and dedication each and every day.

Thank you for always going above and beyond to make sure our school family feels safe, supported, and cared for. Your hard work never goes unnoticed, and we truly appreciate all that you do for Rossi.

Rossi Elementary proudly celebrated two incredible members of our school family at the May Board of Education meeting! Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year, Dr. Jeffrey Martine, and our Educational Services Professional of the Year, Mrs. Lori Avena, on this well-deserved recognition.

We are beyond proud of their dedication, compassion, and the positive impact they make on our students and staff each and every day. Thank you both for all you do for the Rossi community — we are so thankful to have you as part of our Owl family!

Congratulations to our talented Rossi Owls who were selected to participate in the South Jersey Elementary Honors Band this past Saturday.

Carlo Drogo, percussion
Mary Sakhan, clarinet
Timothy Shapovolov, saxophone

These students represented Rossi with pride through their hard work, dedication, and musical talent. We are so proud of all they accomplished.

A special thank you to band director Rebecca Allen for her continued support and for inspiring our students to reach new heights through music.

We were so proud of our students for earning Most Improved Attendance and for being the winners of this month’s Attendance Challenge. A special congratulations went to the attendance challenge winners from Mrs. Rakotz’s class. Their hard work, commitment, and dedication to showing up each day truly paid off.

Every day in school is an opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed, and we were excited to celebrate our students’ progress and achievement.

Keep up the amazing work, Rossi Owls! We are proud of you!

On May 13 and 14, Rossi Elementary proudly presented Shrek the Musical Jr. in front of hundreds of family members and friends who packed our cafeteria to support the nearly 50 members of our cast and crew from first through fifth grades.

Our students amazed audiences with their talent, confidence, creativity, and teamwork as they brought this beloved story to life on stage. From memorable musical numbers to colorful costumes and outstanding performances, the show was a tremendous success and a true celebration of the arts at Rossi.

A special thank you goes to directors Dr. Martine and Mrs. Melissa Stasuk, choreographer Mrs. Leanna Stasuk, and sound engineer Mrs. Higinbotham for the countless hours of hard work, dedication, and support they poured into this production. We would also like to thank our many day-of-show volunteers who helped ensure that our students could be heard, seen, and supported throughout each performance.

We are incredibly proud of all of our students and everyone who helped make Shrek the Musical Jr. such a memorable experience for our school community.

Our Rossi Glow Dance Party was a huge success and brought an evening full of fun, music, and school spirit to our students and families. The event was extremely well attended, with students in grades 3–5 enjoying dancing, glow sticks, music, photo opportunities, and time with friends.

The gym and cafeteria were filled with excitement and energy throughout the night, and it was wonderful to see so many Rossi Owls making memories together in a safe and positive environment.

A special thank you goes to our Anthony Rossi PTO, volunteers, and staff members who helped organize and support this exciting event. Your hard work and dedication helped make the Glow Dance Party such a fun and memorable experience for our school community.

The Second Grade Wing was transformed into a Poetry Café as students celebrated their learning and showcased their reading and fluency skills during this special parent involvement event.

Students spent time learning about poetry and practicing a variety of poems in preparation for the event. They performed humorous poems such as My Dog Ate My Homework and I Taught My Cat to Clean My Room, along with school-themed poems including Recess! Oh, Recess! and Goodbye Teacher.

In addition to reading poetry, students also wrote their own poems and created poetry books to share with their families. Their books featured a variety of poetry styles, including acrostic, haiku, autobiography, and diamante poems.

Parents were invited into their child’s classroom to listen to poetry readings, explore the students’ poetry books, and enjoy delicious treats together. It was a wonderful afternoon that allowed second grade students to proudly showcase their reading growth, creativity, and hard work with their families.

Rossi Owls celebrated the final WISE Assembly of the year on May 26th!

Fifth-grade Ambassador Analiyah Molina delivered a beautiful speech about the WISE program and what it truly means to embody the WISE traits. Students from each classroom were recognized for showing outstanding respect, while Mrs. Sue Cileone was honored as the WISE Guy for RESPECT!

Mr. Paul Arbogast introduced our final WISE trait of the year — Personal Pride. Teachers shared heartfelt speeches recognizing students who consistently demonstrated all of the WISE traits throughout the year. To make the moment even more special, parents surprised the students during the assembly!

The celebration was emotional, uplifting, and a wonderful way to honor the incredible character and growth of our Rossi Owls. Congratulations to Mrs. Melissa Wolf, our WISE Guy for Personal Pride!

On the morning of Friday May 29, we were so excited to welcome our Rossi Owls and the special people in their lives for our very first Donuts with Grown-Ups event. It was a wonderful morning filled with smiles, laughter, meaningful conversations, and, of course, plenty of donuts!

There is something truly special about taking time to celebrate the important people who support, encourage, and cheer on our students each day. Seeing our gym filled with families, friends, and loved ones made for a memorable start to the day.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this event so special. A huge thank you to Sodexo our districts food service department for the amazing job they did. We are grateful for our incredible school community and look forward to creating many more memories together!

There are a lot of events in June so please be sure to reference the calendar and Weekly Reminders often. Reach out with any questions!