Wildcat Weekly

Dear Woodglen Families,

Thank so much to the LTPTA who treated us like "rock-stars" during Staff Appreciation Week. On Monday we enjoyed a delicious breakfast, Tuesday, our fridge was stocked, and delicious coffee was enjoyed. Wednesday, lunch was provided by Endless Empanadas, Thursday, the Ice Cream Truck arrived, and lastly, on Friday, our faculty lounge was stocked with teacher supplies and goodie bags. Your kindness and efforts are so appreciated. It was a wonderful week!

Thank you to the most incredible team that I get to work with everyday! Your dedication to excellence and commitment to creating the best learning environment for our students is to be admired. I am so grateful.

Happy Mother's Day! It's a day to celebrate and honor all the amazing mothers out there! It's a time to express love and gratitude for the incredible impact mothers have on our lives. We are so grateful for all who fill this role. Enjoy your special day on Sunday.

Respectfully,

Principal Bell

5/19 - 5/21 - NJSLA Grades 5 - 8 (ELA and Math)

5/22 - NJSLA Make-Ups

5/26 - School Closed - Memorial Day

6/3 - Grade 8 Awards at 6 pm

6/3 - 6/4 - MAP Testing

6/5 - 6/6 - Grade 8 Trip

6/11- 6/16 - Early Dismissal at 1 pm

6/11 - Grade 8 Graduation OUTSIDE at 5 pm - more details to follow

6/13 - Grade 8 picnic at park 9 am to 12:30 pm

6/13 - RAINDATE Grade 8 Graduation at 5 pm (If inclement weather, it will be in the gym.)

6/16 - Last day of school - Early Dismissal at 1 pm; FALL SPORTS FORMS DUE!

The New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) are statewide assessments that assess students' progress toward the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.

To help your child succeed on the NJSLA, encourage good study habits and ensure your student gets adequate rest and a healthy breakfast on test days.

All students need to bring in headphones with cords for testing. (NO Bluetooth please)

I am writing to make you aware of a concerning trend circulating on TikTok and other social media platforms that pose a significant risk to student safety and school property.

This trend involves inserting small metal objects (such as paper clips or pushpins) into the charging ports or internal components of Chromebooks to create an electrical short circuit. This can result in sparking, electrical fires, and even battery punctures, all of which can cause serious injury and damage.

We are asking for your support in speaking with your child about the very real dangers of this behavior, as well as reinforcing the importance of treating school-issued devices with care.

While we are nearing the end of the school year, we need to prepare for fall athletics.

Paperwork for all fall sports (interscholastic, intramural, and unified): Field Hockey (grades 6-8), Soccer (grades 7-8), Cross Country (grades 5-8), Unified Soccer (grades 5-8), and INTRAMURAL Soccer (grades 5-8) will be due by Monday, June 16. This is the official last day of school. The required paperwork includes a sport-specific PERMISSION FORM and a PHYSICAL FORM. Physicals are good for one calendar year. If we have a current physical form on file, and it will not expire prior to September 30, you can submit a HEALTH HISTORY UPDATE FORM. If your physical expires during the sports season, you will need to get a new physical form at that time.

Even if your child is thinking about playing a sport, you should complete this process. You can drop the paperwork off at school (Monday through Thursday), mail, or scan and email the forms. Please do not take a photograph and send that. All paperwork, in-person or emailed, should go to Theresa Nanius (tnanius@lebtwpk8.org) in the Woodglen Main Office. JUNE 16 IS A HARD DEADLINE. We must have at least a permission form submitted by that date. If you miss the deadline, your child will not be able to participate in fall athletics. No exceptions can be made unless someone moves into the district late.

We understand that physicals are reliant on insurance regulations. If your child is due to have a physical over the summer, do not worry about including either the physical or update forms. But you will still need to submit the PERMISSION FORM. If you are unsure if we have a current physical on file for your child, please contact the nurse, Dunia Phelan, at dphelan@lebtwpk8.org.

All paperwork is available on our website. To make the process easier, you can use the links below to access what you need:

Woodglen Athletics Page

Health History Update Form

Field Hockey Permission Form

INTERSCHOLASTIC Soccer Permission Form

Cross Country Permission Form

Unified Soccer Permission Form

INTRAMURAL Soccer Permission Form

Each year, we host a memorable picnic for the eighth-grade class to celebrate their accomplishments at Woodglen School. This tradition is one that we hold dear, and this year is no exception.

To ensure that this picnic is a success, we kindly ask for your support. a website has been created where you can sign up to donate items or volunteer your time at the event. Your contributions, whether through donations or volunteering, are crucial in making this event special for our students.

For those interested in donating food, paper products, drinks, and more, please plan to drop off these items at the park by 9:30 am on June 13. This early drop-off time will enable us to set up the venue (Memorial Park Pavilion) effectively before the students arrive.

If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to Brittany Friedel at bfriedel@lebtwpk8.org. The sign-up can be accessed through the link sent out through Genesis.

Thank you in advance for your support and contribution to making this event a success. Your involvement is truly appreciated.

May 15 - Spring Concert / Art & Tech Show

May 22 - 4th Grade Farewell to Woodglen School

May 27 - 4th Grade Farewell to Woodglen School (Rain date)

May 28 - Hampton Students - Orientation

May 30 - Medieval Times for Grade 6

June 3 - 8th Grade Awards Ceremony at 6 pm

June 5 & 6 - 8th Grade Class Trip

June 7 - 8th Grade Dance (Held outside of school)

Please remember:

1. Use Pick Up Patrol for absences, tardiness, and any changes at dismissal time.

2. Cut off for early dismissal pickup is at 2:45 p.m. at the front door only.

3. Always write UNAWARE if student does not know their dismissal plan.

4. Please note, dismissal is at 3:00 - 3:15 pm. If you are picking your child up in the cafeteria at the end of the day, pick up is between 3:00 - 3:15 only.

5. If your child is staying to watch a home softball/baseball game, it must be in Pick Up Patrol under Student Activity. Please state that your child is staying for the game.

6. As always, please reach out to Mrs. Nanius directly if you have any questions or concerns.

The Art/Tech Show opens at 6:30PM on Thursday, May 15th in the PAC. See you there to celebrate and view the wonderful student artwork!!

Congratulations to our two student artists: Sarah Simanski and Rachel Fitzsimons!! Their artwork will advance from the Hunterdon County Teen Arts Festival to the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival! “The New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival is the statewide culminating celebration of the arts dedicated to inspiring New Jersey teen artists, educators, professional artists, and arts advocates from across the state to unite as one grand all-inclusive community. The accomplishments of the Garden State’s teen artists will be recognized by showcasing their creative efforts in the literary, performing, and visual arts.” (https://teenartsnj.org/)

This time of year, students sometimes feel pulled in all sorts of directions and it is hard to keep focused on developing their student skills - it can feel overwhelming and hard. We need to help our kids learn to finish the race and keep pushing when the end feels hard. Encourage this by helping your child develop a growth mindset, you are not growing if it is not hard. “A growth mindset can also help us become more resilient in the face of adversity and better equipped to handle setbacks or failures. It also helps us develop better problem solving skills, become more open to constructive criticism, and embrace opportunities for growth.”

Safety Tip: Now that our students can enjoy outside recess more often, please help us prevent injuries by making sure your child is wearing appropriate shoes. Students who run and play sports in non-athletic shoes (clogs/slides) often sustain injuries due to falls.

Spring Tip: Ticks are very active right now and we have seen a noticeable increase in the number ticks. Please continue to check your child for ticks and teach them how to check themselves, especially after spending time outside. Here is information on removing ticks: What to do after a tick bite

In ELA, students have begun their final novel study of the school year. We are reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, which follows a pair of friends who are faced with life-altering challenges during the German occupation of Denmark in WWII. Our students will embark on a study of the Holocaust in order to understand the events of the story. This study will cover WWII and the events and causes leading up to the Holocaust, life during the Holocaust, and redemption and survivor stories. Students will be asked to read and reflect throughout the novel. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any concerns regarding your child and this study.

Students are learning about how statistical data is presented so that the readers of the charts can interpret important information visually. We explored various examples of how data is used to predict future trends. Students learned to create and interpret charts such as Stem-and-Leaf Plots, Histograms, and Box-and-Whisker Plots.

Seventh grade ELA students are working through their last major text of the year: novels in verse. For this unit, students chose from 7 titles (Other Words for Home, House Arrest, The Crossover, Finding Baba Yaga, Alone, Hidden, and White Rose) in order to explore a narrative story written in poems instead of our usual sentences and paragraphs. As we began exploring these books this week, students became detectives by using a “Literary Device Log” to search for figurative language in their novels. They’re well on their way to becoming experts in literary devices!

In Social Studies, students have wrapped up their Civil War Unit and started working in groups to complete research for their Decade Project. Students now have their specific decade and create an informational and vibrant slide show while also creating an activity for their peers to participate in at the end of their presentation. This week, Mrs. Bean showed students an example of this project, and students made magic wands that were Harry Potter-inspired.

5th Grade Health is moving onto their Healthy Habits Unit. 6th Grade Health is finishing their Illnesses/Disease Unit.

Our Spring Concert is coming up next week! Performances begin at 7:00 PM, and the Art/Technology exhibit opens at 6:30 PM. If you have a student in band or choir, please refer to Mr. Weber’s teacher webpage for logistical information.

6th Grade library students are learning how to access and navigate the website SORA. This is our newest digital lending library. Students now have access to hundreds of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines 24/7 all with a click of a button from their Chromebooks! Students will be using SORA to help them curate their own TBR (to be read) lists that match their reading levels and interests. Happy Reading!

5th Grade library students have just started a new unit on Research Skills. We are starting off with a refresher of the Dewey Decimal Classification System. This is the classification system most school librarians use to organize their nonfiction books. Having a better understanding of Dewey will allow students more agency over how they browse for nonfiction books. Students ended the week by applying their knowledge of Dewey to sort an array of topics like Military Books, Astronomy, Music, etc. into the correct 100s section. Happy Reading!

PE - Physical Education classes are playing field/base games this week. We are also excited to announce Field Day will be taking place this year in June!

Fifth-graders are doing activities to practice numbers 0-100.

Sixth-graders are testing their vocabulary of classroom items and matching articles. They will be starting on subject pronouns and their relationship to the verb tener.

Seventh-graders are creating paragraphs about their creed families.

Eighth-graders are translating their recipes into espanol.