CDW Weekly Wrap-Up

Mrs. Chesner enrolled CDW into the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee. In December, CDW students were all part of a class Spelling Bee. The top spellers from each class moved onto the School Spelling Bee, which was held on Thursday, January 9th in the Lynch Gym. One Bee was for the 5th and 6th graders, while the other Bee was held for 7th and 8th graders. Thank you to the teachers who helped out during the Bee as judges, pronouncers, and record keepers: Ms. Chesner, Mr. Ferrara, Ms. Melillo, Ms. Osbahr, Ms. Park, and Ms. Watters.

The winners, who will move onto the Regional round are:

Katelyn Pulickal, Grade 7

Jeremy "JT" Steinglass, Grade 5

Congratulations to ALL of the students who participated in the Bee. It was not an easy task!

Today, January 10th, the Grade 8 band students attended NVOT for Instrumental Music Day! The event was facilitated by the high school's instrumental music staff. It was a full day of artistic collaboration and exploration. To end the day, the CDW students were able to perform alongside the High School Ensemble. Thank you to NVOT for providing this opportunity and to Mr. Rosolanko for attending with the students.

The Choral Extravaganza at NVOT this past Thursday, January 9th, featured the NVOT Choral ensembles, the middle school choruses in the Valley, and at the conclusion of the concert, all of the singers performed "We Are the World," written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. It was an amazing night with beautiful music performed by all! Congratulations to Ms. Osbahr and the CDW Choir!

The PTO will be having another fundraiser to support the CDW Class of 2025 on Tuesday, January 21st. Please visit the PTO Website to order by January 15th.

Chick-fil-A Lunch Options Include:

• 8 Piece Chicken Nuggets
• Chicken Sandwich
• Mac and Cheese

As we enter a new calendar year, it's a good time to check the information that you have previously provided in Genesis. Please email Mrs. Rosica-Kirchner with any new contact information. If your address has changed, please provide Ms. Rosica-Kirchner with a new Lease/Deed and 3 utility bills. The school will then change the address in the Genesis system. Any correspondence sent home from CDW will not forward so we do not want you to miss any future mailings!

Please contact Mrs. Rosica-Kirchner at rosica@nvnet.org if assistance is needed.

Membership in the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Charles DeWolf Middle School is open to any seventh grade student who meets all the membership requirements at the end of the third marking period in 2025.

During the final days of April, eligible students will be identified and invited to apply for admission to the NJHS by email. An email will also be sent to parents of eligible students. The induction ceremony will be held on May 20, 2025 (subject to change).

Do you need community service hours? If so, Buddy Ball Basketball is back! Buddyball Sports is a non-profit recreational sports program dedicated to providing the opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to play recreational sports. The season opens on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

Volunteer Buddies can register using THIS LINK.

The CDW Auditions have ended, and the students will begin preparing for the performances of Guys and Dolls, which will be on Friday, April 4th at 7:00 PM and Saturday, April 5th at 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

Pictured below is the Set Design Crew already preparing for building this year's sets!

Today, the Student Council hosted a Bring Your Pet to School Day, and many students participated. Of course, the "pets" could not be real, but it was still a fun way to show school spirit!

CDW Grade 7 student, Sanvi Muthu Manikandan, is officially a published poet! Her submitted poetries are now in the 2024 Young American Poetry Digest and the 2024 Library of Poetry Gifted Student Poetry Collection. Congratulations to Sanvi! We are so proud of your work.

8th Grade Information

On December 5th, you should have received an email from NVOT requesting that you begin the following process:

FIRST - On-Line Student Registration:

• All parents and guardians must complete student registration so that NVOT may enter the scheduling requests made during the meetings with Ms. Adamo and the NVOT counselor.
• Please complete this by January 15th.
• Click on the Genesis - Open Registration link to find instructions, registration documents required and forms for completing registration.

SECOND - Scheduling Letter and Program of Studies Presentation:

• Please read the Middle School Scheduling Information Letter.
• Parents and students should review the Program of Studies Presentation.
• Please view the information and resources - particularly the Program of Studies & Course Selection Sheet, and bookmark the link for future reference.

THIRD - Upcoming Virtual Middle School Scheduling Information Q&A Session:

• There will be a virtual Middle School Scheduling Information Q&A Session on January 8, 2025 at 6:00 P.M.
• Please use this Google Survey Form to RSVP by January 7th.
• The Google Meeting Link to access the session is meet.google.com/bzf-bnjd-dur (this event will be recorded).

FOURTH - Recording of Past Virtual Open House General Information

Q&A Session:

• In October, NVOT held an Open House and a student visit.
• On November 20, 2024, NVOT held a Q&A program where parents and students could ask general questions after the Open House in October.
• Please view this recording of the Open House General Information Q&A Session.

Reminders: During the days of January 28th-31st and February 4th-7th, guidance counselors from Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan will join us at CDW in conducting individual conferences with parent(s)/guardian(s) and our eighth grade students. All eighth graders are required to attend a scheduling meeting, regardless of whether they will attend NVOT next year. These sessions allow parents/guardians, students, and counselors to discuss, plan, and schedule Grade 9 student programs. If your child has an IEP, Mrs. Flannery will contact you to schedule your child's conference.

All Grades

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s academic, social or emotional needs, please contact me at adamoj@nvnet.org or 201-664-1475 ext. 2203.

On Monday, the boys traveled to Demarest to start off the new calendar year with a win. On Tuesday, they traveled to Closter to win with a score of 47-38. The entire team showed tremendous defensive and rebounding efforts throughout the game. AJ Badurina, Blake Yerman, and Vincent Cialdella combined for 37 of the team's points, while Konrad Wiklinski scored 8 points and pushed the team to victory in the 2nd half. At home on Thursday, the boys' team competed against Norwood and came out with the win!

On Monday, January 6th, the girls defeated Demarest at home. On Tuesday, January 7th the team defeated Closter for the last home game of the regular season. Sydney Farrington led the team with 17 points, while Olivia Richards had 13 points. Ava Kauffman and Ava Marchiano both helped our defense with 8 rebounds to help complete the victory.

On Thursday, January 9th, the team traveled to Norwood to improve their record to 9-0 on the season. Every player contributed on both offense and defense to help secure the victory. Olivia Richards had a high score of 12 points, while Ella Candullo and Adriana D'Andrea had multiple steals. Ava Kauffman continued to grab multiple rebounds to help with the win.

Click HERE for the Northern Valley schedules and game locations on the CDW Website.

Home Boys and Girls Basketball games are played in the Rossi Gym at CDW.

You're invited to the Old Tappan's PTO Parents' Night Out on February 27, 2025 from 7-11 PM at the Florentine Gardens! See specific information below!

If you would like to purchase a 2024-2025 Discount Card and Dicks Sporting Goods Coupon Book, visit the OT PTO website.

The discount card is $20.

The Dicks Sporting Goods Coupon Book is $15.

The schools truly value the partnership we have with the Old Tappan PTO! Please join the PTO and support their organization. Visit OTPTO.org, click "For Sale," and then "Membership."

The PTO Meetings for the 2024-2025 school year are listed below. Babysitting is offered at the night meetings.

Thursday, January 23, 2024 at 9:00 AM in the BOE Conference Room

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM in the CDW Media Center

Thursday, April 24, 2024 at 9:00 AM in the BOE Conference Room

Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 7:30 PM in the CDW Media Center

As we quickly approach the middle of the 2024-2025 school year, the teachers are preparing students for Mid-Year Benchmarks in all academic classes. Mid-Year Benchmarks have a variety of purposes for both the teachers and the students.

• Mid-Year Benchmarks assess students on their progress toward end-year goals.

• Mid-Year Benchmarks allow teachers to collect data on student progress and growth to use to prepare for future lessons.
• Mid-Year Benchmarks allow the students a chance to self-reflect on areas of improvement and create personal goals.
• Mid-Year Benchmarks will offer the teachers an opportunity to see what students have mastered and what will need to be re-taught.

How can your child(ren) prepare for Mid-Year Benchmarks?

• Ask questions in class.
• Review notes and previous assessment content.
• Stay positive!

Your child(ren)'s teachers will provide specific information about the benchmarks given in each class.

Grade 7 students will take a Science Assessment on Tuesday, January 21st. This assessment is administered throughout the Northern Valley schools, and it gives the teachers an overview of students' scientific understandings to date. The results from this mid-year Science Assessment will be used to assist with placement decisions next year, when we course plan for our eighth graders going into NVOT.

The forecast is calling for a possibility snow soon. Since that means that there is a possibility of a delayed opening within the next month or so, here are some important reminders to prepare for a possible delayed opening in the future.

• Staff will be available for drop off beginning at 9:40 AM.

• Homeroom begins at 10:00 AM.

• After 10:00 AM, students need to enter through the front door. Please drive around to the front to drop them off since the other doors will be closed.
  

• Students will attend each class but for a shorter period of time.

• Students will still have their lunch period. The 5th and 6th grade lunch will start at 11:47 AM, and the 7th and 8th grade lunch will start at 12:18 PM.

If you or your child(ren) needs a refresher on how to use Google Classroom, he/she can access a variety of videos on Dr. Sullivan's Google Classroom under, "Tools for Organizing Assignments."

Here is a video on How to Use Google Classroom for you to review.

Have you purchased Chromebook Insurance for your child(ren)'s school-issued device yet?

We highly suggest that you purchase insurance! We have already had to submit many claims! Please refer to the information below, or you may purchase directly from smartechins.com/oldtappan.

Homework Club began on Wednesday, October 2nd. Please see the flyer below to sign up!

If your child is not going to attend school, please contact Mrs. McCarthy at 201-664-1475 ext. 2103 or McCarthy@nvnet.org.

In an effort to minimize the potential spread of illness at school, please keep your child home if he/she:

• has a fever. Students should be fever-free for 24 hours without medication prior to returning to school.
• is nauseous or is vomiting.
• has diarrhea.

Students should either bring their lunch from home each day, or parents may order through one of the approved vendors for delivery to CDW. If you order lunch from an approved vendor for delivery, please make sure the vendor knows your child's first and last name and grade level. This will help to ensure your child receives his/her lunch on time. At times, we understand that a parent/guardian may need to drop off lunch at school. All lunches need to be placed on the table with the green tablecloth in the vestibule.

5th/6th Grade Lunch ~ 11:27 AM-12:01 PM

7th/8th Grade Lunch ~ 12:10 PM-12:44 PM

You can find the Lunch Vendors on the Old Tappan School District Website.

January

Thursday, January 16th~ The NVOT Heroes and Cool Kids visit with Grade 6

Monday, January 20th~ No school for students in observance of MLK, Jr. Day; Professional Development for staff

Tuesday, January 21st~ Grade 7 Science Mid-Year Assessment

Thursday, January 23rd~ AMC 8 Competition (for those who are registered only)

Wednesday, January 29th~ CDW Marking Period 2 Ends

February

February 3rd~ The BOE Meeting will be in the BOE Conference Room at 8:00 PM.

Tuesday, February 4th-Thursday, February 6th~ Grade 8 CAP Program in Social Studies classes

Tuesday, February 4th~ Marking Period 2 Parent Access in Genesis at 12:00 PM

February 17th-February 21st~ February Recess: School is closed for teachers and students.

February 24th~ The BOE Meeting will be in the Lynch Gym at 8:00 PM.

Thursday, February 27th~ PTO Fundraiser at The Estate at Florentine Gardens

2024-2025 Approved School Year Calendar

Email: santaj@nvnet.org
Website: https://cdw.oldtappanschools.org/
Location: 275 Old Tappan Road, Old Tappan, NJ, USA
Phone: 201-664-1475
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OldTappanSchoolDistrict