This edition of The Herald highlights a number of accomplishments across the district and upcoming events that will be taking place. I am sharing this information because our students and staff are engaging in such wonderful academic, co- and extra-curricular activities.

Please enjoy reading news from each of our schools. Take a moment to learn more about our early childhood, elementary, middle school, and high school programs by looking at each of their weekly updates, as linked below:

Preschool Programs

Brandt Elementary School

Connors Elementary School

Wallace Elementary School

Hoboken Middle School

Hoboken High School

Also, if you are not already following us on social media, please do so:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HobokenPublicSchoolDistrict/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hobokenpublicschools/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hobokenpublicschooldist

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBeIpvP_DOKu3nNUs3t0baQ

In closing, I want to thank all of you for your steadfast cooperation, patience and partnership. All three ingredients make for an incredible school district. I could not ask for a more committed collection of guardians and parents. You are truly amazing and I am honored to serve the Hoboken Public School District.

Sincerely,

Christine A. Johnson, D.Litt.

Superintendent of Schools

Mark your calendars! Hoboken Public Education Foundation's annual Moms' Night Out will be on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 7:30 PM at the one and only Hoboken Biergarten. Get ready for an evening full of laughter, connection, and fun! Tickets will be available later this month—they always sell out quickly.

We’re also introducing something NEW and exciting: This March, we’ll be launching our very FIRST Dads' Night Out! Stay tuned for more details.

Be sure to follow us on social media @hobokenpef or visit www.hobokenpef.org to be the first to know!

HPEF is proud to present our 2023-2024 Annual Report: https://bit.ly/HPEFAnnualReport2024. Explore our accomplishments and impact, hear from HPEF's Executive Director, and learn more about our organization. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our generous sponsors, donors, and volunteers, whose support makes this work possible!

Join Us!

Want to volunteer and help HPEF support innovative and meaningful initiatives within the Hoboken Public School District? We have a variety of volunteer opportunities available! Please take a minute to complete this brief form and share your areas of interest/expertise.

Note: Responding to the form does not commit you to anything. Once you submit your information, a Board Member will follow up to chat. We look forward to connecting with you!

Hoboken Middle School Theatre Students have been working hard on preparing for their newest production, "Alice in Wonderland". This incredible performance can be enjoyed by HMS Students, Families, and Hoboken Community members.

Please see production dates and ticket sale information below:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH @ 5PM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH @ 7PM

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH @ 2PM

Hoboken Middle School

158 4th Street

Hoboken, NJ

07030

This week in Art, students explored George Seurat and his pointillism technique, creating art using only dots of paint. After learning about his life and works, students began drawing landscapes, which they will complete with dotting techniques using markers to achieve a pointillism effect.

This week, 1st graders explored melody and rhythm using boomwhackers! They played "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King and "Baby Shark," matching colors to notes. This lesson helped students build important musical skills for their future growth.

In Ms. Rinaldi’s class, students learned new theory lessons and sang songs celebrating the new year. They're ready to start 2025 with excitement, as Renana and Jordan show off their favorite song's lyrics!

This week, 3rd graders began their musical journey by learning to play the recorder. Scottie demonstrated proper posture in the "attention position" as they start mastering this new instrument.

The Winter Artland is underway! Grades 3-5 created pointillism art inspired by George Seurat, while K-2 students worked on self portraits. Our display is filled with trees, candles, snowflakes, lights, and more!

Music:
This week, students reviewed note values with a 2025 note identification worksheet and began learning about instrument families. They explored the woodwind family, identifying instruments like the flute, clarinet, and saxophone, and learned about their timbre and range.

Band:
In band, students returned to their Essential Elements technical studies book, focusing on technique, new notes, and sound production. They are excited to progress beyond where they left off with concert music in December, following a successful winter concert!

In AP Dance, 6th grade students are using abstract movements to represent characters from the story Snow. 7th graders are exploring the history and culture of Hip-Hop while creating their own dance routine, and 8th graders are learning folk dances like the Polka.

In Mindfulness and Movement, students are continuing to practice underhand and overhand throwing.

ELA:
First graders practiced spelling weekly words, wrote sentences, and explored digraphs like ch, wh, ph, and tch. They sorted words with these digraphs to recognize patterns.

Math:
Students worked on adding and subtracting numbers up to 20, focusing on equations with three addends. Activities like "Today’s Equation" and "Guessing My Numbers" helped improve math fluency.

Social Studies:
Students discussed their New Year goals and continued working on reading comprehension using strategies like prediction and summarizing. They tracked fluency progress through oral assessments, with some working on higher-level texts.

Math:
Students kicked off the year with the "Unlock the New Year" activity, working in pairs to solve 10 math challenges covering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This fun and engaging review helped reinforce their problem-solving skills.

Writing:
Third graders are honing their writing through Literary Analysis and RST tasks. They're learning to craft strong introductions, develop supporting body paragraphs, and write conclusions that tie everything together. Their progress in writing is impressive!

Social Studies:
Students brainstormed their 2025 resolutions and set three goals—one for school, one for home, and one for personal growth. They wrote five-paragraph essays outlining their goals and shared them with classmates, inspiring each other to start the year with positive intentions.

ELA:
We’ve started reading Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson. Students explored primary sources related to Lincoln’s death and learned to distinguish between primary and secondary sources. In Writer’s Workshop, they’re working on a breaking news skit about Lincoln’s assassination and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth.

Math:
Students are continuing with Investigations 1 and 2, focusing on multi-digit multiplication and long division using the standard algorithm. Real-life applications of long division are also being explored.

Social Studies:
We’re studying life before the Civil War, focusing on the Underground Railroad and key abolitionists as part of our analysis of the North and South.

This week, we kicked off our Basketball unit! K-1 students practiced dribbling with control, using large stability balls for better skill execution. Meanwhile, 2-5 graders advanced by dribbling in different pathways and practicing passes (bounce and chest) to stationary teammates.

More dribbling and passing drills are coming next week.

Math:
This week, 1st graders began Unit Four on Time and Measurement. They measured objects using their hands and string, comparing lengths. Students also practiced telling time to the hour on analog and digital clocks.

ELA:
Our focus was on the question, "How do we measure time?" Students learned about time-related vocabulary and practiced phonics with long a_e. They also explored first-person stories and worked on graphic organizers to retell key events. In grammar, students practiced using commas in a series and reviewing verbs. We’re proud of the progress made in the DRA assessments!

Social Studies:
Students learned about neighborhood features and map navigation using cardinal points. They created their own neighborhood maps with key legends.

Dual Language:
In Spanish, the question was "¿Cómo medimos el tiempo?" Students practiced telling time and learned how to roll their /r/ sounds. They also explored Spanish verbs and their endings (-ar, -er, -ir) through acting and activities.

Math:
This week, students explored area and perimeter. They used the formula Area = Length x Width to find the area of rectilinear shapes and learned how to decompose them into smaller rectangles to calculate total area.

ELA:
Third graders read chapters 1-3 of Who Was Coretta Scott King? and analyzed Coretta’s traits using text evidence. They also identified cause-and-effect relationships and worked on a collaborative timeline. In writing, they practiced Literary Analysis and revised their introductions and conclusions.

Social Studies:
Students began studying New Jersey's government, comparing it to the federal government and exploring the roles of the three branches and the citizens' involvement.

Third Grade Thrills:
This week, third graders participated in classroom spelling bees. Congratulations to Eknoor and Harlem for winning their respective classes!

Math:
Students reviewed multiplication strategies, solving problems using their chosen method and the standard algorithm. They also practiced estimating products and solving problems with large numbers.

ELA:
5th graders read chapters 2 and 3 of Chasing Lincoln's Killer. They focused on characterization and theme, discussing the characters in the novel and their development.

Social Studies:
In Social Studies, students explored events leading to the Civil War, comparing the North, South, and West regions and discussing key events like the Missouri Compromise.

Fifth Grade Fun:
Students investigated the "Case of the Missing Santa," using DNA, crime scene analysis, and fingerprinting to determine that Prancer was the culprit!

HR 302:
HR 302 focused on the first settlers of New Jersey, practicing cause and effect in nonfiction reading. In Math, students worked on strategies for adding fluently within 100. ELA included a biography study, while students began writing personal narratives.

5th Grade POR:
In ELA, we began reading Chasing Lincoln's Killer, a historical account of President Lincoln's assassination and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. In Math, we started multiplication, learning strategies like the "box method" and standard algorithm for two- and three-digit multiplication.

Welcome back to our first full week of school! First grade had a busy week, including a special treat with the Pop-Up Library.

ELA – This week, we focused on digraphs/trigraphs: ch, -tch, ph, and wh. Students practiced dictation and mastered these phonics skills. Our red words were: around, by, many, place, and walk. In Wonders, we explored the essential question, "How can you find your way around?" by reading nonfiction texts like Me on the Map and Fun With Maps, identifying text evidence and details.

Math – We continued Unit 3 in Investigations, focusing on finding combinations within word problems using ten frames and counters. We also practiced finding missing addends.

Social Studies – Students extended their literacy learning by creating maps. They explored the U.S. map, found New Jersey, Hoboken, and Wallace, and then created a map of our classroom.

ILP – Students continued with MindPlay and IXL to reinforce Math and ELA skills. Teachers also assessed their updated DRA3 reading levels. Our first graders are doing an amazing job!

ELA:
This week, students practiced reading comprehension by identifying central ideas and supporting details in expository texts. We continued reading Who Was Coretta Scott King?, learning about her civil rights contributions. Students are connecting these ideas with what they’ve learned about influential historical figures. In writing, we’ve focused on crafting opinion pieces, using transition words to support clear opinions, reasons, evidence, and strong conclusions.

Math:
Students applied measurement skills to understand shapes, using rulers and yardsticks to measure length and width. They calculated the area and perimeter of rectangles and learned how to apply these skills to real-life situations, like determining space or fencing requirements.

Social Studies:
We’ve been exploring New Jersey’s geography, landmarks, and history, with a focus on its government. Students learned about the roles of state senators and representatives, how laws are made, and the importance of civic participation.

Math:
5th grade students are deepening their understanding of decimals by using grids to represent tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. They are comparing, ordering, and rounding decimals, and exploring their relationships with fractions and landmarks like 1/2 and 1. These activities strengthen their precision, comparison, and reasoning skills with decimals.

Language Arts:
In Language Arts, students are identifying themes in texts and applying these skills in independent reading. They are refining grammar, phonics, and comprehension through literacy centers, and learning to write expository essays by citing evidence and organizing ideas. They’re also practicing literary analysis and comparing passages with supporting details.

Social Studies:
In Social Studies, students are exploring the changes in the northern U.S. between 1820-1860 by creating articles and visuals for a class newspaper. They’re preparing news media presentations, using their research and class notes to demonstrate their understanding and strengthen writing and presentation skills.

ELA students started the week by reading “The Voice in My Head” by Holly Warlick, defining mentors and reflecting on their importance. They annotated the text for examples of how Coach Pat Summitt impacted Warlick and answered text-dependent questions. Students then read an excerpt from The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez, determining its theme.

The week ended with students working on their Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Scrapbook Projects, focusing on writing details and the thoughts and feelings of their chosen characters.

Seventh graders read the biographical essay “No Dream Too High” about Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. They practiced identifying central ideas by annotating and summarizing each subsection.

In a close reading, they discussed Biles' sacrifices as a professional athlete and debated whether they were worth the success. Next week, students will focus on the core novel Tangerine with a mock trial.

8th grade ELA students continued reading The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, focusing on the power of knowledge and foreshadowing as Douglass learned to read and write. They also worked on vocabulary to improve comprehension. Later, they read Langston Hughes’ “Mother to Son” and compared it to Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” exploring a mother’s attitude toward her son.

In ILP, students learned about and differentiated between the three types of irony: verbal, dramatic, and situational.

In Physical Education, students continued playing California Kickball, improving their skills while demonstrating great sportsmanship and effort.

The Spelling Bee season at Hoboken MS has concluded with Logan Power as our school champion! The exciting competition lasted 21 rounds with 25 spellers, all doing an outstanding job. Logan will represent HMS at the Hudson County Spelling Bee on February 8th. Best of luck, Logan! A special thank you to the HMS ELA teachers, Ms. Falcone, Dr. B, and all our spellers!

The Academic Team is working on Mock Trials for the Law Fair and Law Adventure competitions. Sixth graders are writing criminal and civil cases, while seventh and eighth graders are focusing on the Bill of Rights.

The trials will be submitted at the end of the month to the NJ State Bar Foundation for judging!

In ELA 11, students are reading and listening to A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. They explore themes like reality vs. fantasy and shifting gender roles, discussing identity, power, and truth in relation to society.

Students also engage in self-reflective writing, connecting the characters' struggles to their own experiences for deeper insight.

In CP Chemistry, students began studying types of bonds and how electrons influence bonding. In lab, they measured the wavelength of energy released by salts in a flame, using the data to identify unknown salts by their color. They also practiced making ionic compounds using dice with different ions.

In Pre-AP Chemistry, students completed the same flame test lab and moved on to determining quantum numbers for a specific electron using the periodic table.

In AP Chemistry, students focused on thermochemistry, using calorimetry to identify an unknown metal based on temperature change. They will next study energy in reactions using stoichiometry and limiting reactants.

Welcome to the Hoboken HS Total Care Clinic! Ninth grade PTLW Principles of Biomedical Science students have been working as doctors and nurses, diagnosing patients.

This week, they practiced phlebotomy by drawing blood from a simulated model arm. They learned the important steps of a safe blood draw—selecting the site, disinfecting, drawing the blood, and filling the sample tubes—and discovered how challenging phlebotomy can be!

Ms. Sivo’s class teamed up with Hoboken Middle School students to prepare for their upcoming trip to LifeTown USA in Livingston, New Jersey. Each student created a personalized lanyard with an insurance card and mini map, and received a clipboard with a larger map, guided questions, tasks, and a record to track their spending.

To simulate real-world financial management, students will withdraw $12 from Regal Bank at LifeTown. The activities aim to develop skills in communication, money management, and time management, ensuring students are well-prepared for the experience.

USI classes have studied the Bill of Rights, focusing on how it protected the founding fathers' rights and continues to safeguard our rights today. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, guarantees basic freedoms for U.S. citizens.

Students explored how these rights have been tested over time, noting that they were often denied to African Americans due to racism and slavery. The lessons highlighted how rights must be fought for, even when guaranteed by the Constitution, while also helping students understand the three branches of government and the system of checks and balances.

In Algebra, students are starting to solve systems of equations using graphing, substitution, or elimination. After mastering these methods, they will move on to solving systems of inequalities, where they will find a region of possible solutions, not just a single point.

In Geometry, students are expanding their knowledge of rotations, reflections, and translations, while applying algebra to solve problems on congruence. They will use SAS, SSS, ASA, and AAS congruence criteria to determine solutions, mainly working with right, equilateral, and isosceles triangles to find angle measures and side lengths. This unit highlights the relationship between shapes and how it aids in solving geometric problems.

Mrs. Tank's AP Calculus class, students learned integration using the power rule and U-substitution, with a quiz on Albert.io tomorrow. In AP Pre-Calculus, students reviewed sum and difference formulas and trigonometric equations, taking a test on Friday.

In Pre-AP Algebra 2, students modeled linear, quadratic, and exponential equations using TI-84 calculators and Desmos, learning to predict values from the graphs. They will quiz on Unit 1 College Board activities this week. In AP Calculus BC, students learned to write Taylor and Maclaurin series and find the radius and interval of convergence, with a test on Friday.

Our AP Spanish Language and Culture and AP Spanish Literature classes visited El Repertorio Español to see a performance of Don Quijote, featuring a diverse cast. The play explored themes of identity, diversity, and art across cultures, while reflecting on life in Spain during a crisis.

After studying the novel, students experienced the stage adaptation of Don Quijote, which brought to life twelve of the character's adventures, blending reality and imagination. This immersive production allowed students to analyze and compare the play with the novel.

The Physical Education Department kicked off the new year with the Pickleball unit, a lifetime sport that benefits cardiovascular health, muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, flexibility, mental health, and social skills.

With celebrities like LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes investing in professional pickleball, the sport’s popularity is growing nationally—and it’s a hit at Hoboken High School too!

The Video in the Connected World 2 class is awaiting judgment on two productions submitted to the Third Courts Democracy video contest. Students created screenplays, storyboards, filmed footage, and edited the final projects for submission from Periods 2 and 7.

The Animation class is finishing their first project and will start post-production in two weeks. They also submitted a film reel to Toon Boom for consideration in their promotional video.

Video in the Connected World 1 (Period 8) is working on commercial projects, having already created screenplays, shooting scripts, and storyboards. Productions are expected to be completed in March.

The Literary Art Magazine published the Fall 2024 edition of the Redwing Realm. Enjoy the Redwings literary and art work!

Our Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica hosted a Holiday Movie Event, where students voted to watch the original Home Alone. The movie was shown during 5th and 6th periods on December 12th and 13th.

Mr. Lebegue reviewed the 2009 USABiolympiad open exam with students, covering advanced biology topics and strategies to improve scores. This is the 7th practice exam as students prepare for the official exam in early February.

In Ms. Allende's PSD class, students are learning about winter, making melted snowmen, and exploring winter animals through the book Animals in Winter. They’ve also started a restaurant theme, creating props for centers, making personal pizzas and donuts. Dramatic play will be a pizzeria, and art will feature Dunkin' Donuts.

Students in Classroom 121 Made "SNOW!"

Students gathered supplies—baking soda, shaving cream, a spoon, and a bin—and mixed them together at the center of the table. As they mixed, they noticed the texture change, and were surprised to find the snow was cold! They had fun making snowballs and discussing their findings.

This week, Ms. Lanza's class has been reviewing classroom rules and the schedule. Students enjoy small group lessons, but their favorite part of the day is center time, especially playing in the kitchen and building with blocks!

In Room 200, students celebrated the New Year with a special Wishing Tree. Each student made a wish and shared it with the class before adding it to the tree. During "Share the News," wishes like "rainbows," "snow," and "playdates" sparked conversations full of hope and imagination. The magic continued with the story The Wish Tree by Kao, inspiring creativity and wonder. The Wishing Tree became a symbol of the students’ shared dreams.

Students experimented with saltwater paintings, comparing their earlier works and discussing the amount of salt and water needed to make a paste. They were excited to see their results and pleased with how the paintings turned out.

In Room J100 with Ms. Adela, Ms. Cynthia, and Ms. Beatris, the children practiced tallying favorite ice cream flavors. They learned that strawberry and vanilla were the most popular, while pineapple was the least favorite.

The students read A Silly Snow Day and then conducted a science experiment using insta-snow powder. They predicted if the powder would create snow, and watched it quickly absorb water and expand, mimicking real snow. The children had fun playing in their classroom snow on this silly snow day!

The children in Classroom 022 have been busy practicing spirals during graphics time, often saying "out, out, out" as they draw. They’ve also been working on venger drawings, a fun math activity where they brainstorm objects shaped like rectangles, like houses, robots, and race cars. The students love playing the "I Have, Who Has" game with uppercase letters and can now play it independently!

Students in room 001 are practicing their letter formation during Graphics Practice with snakes in the grass to represent letter S. Students used their private speech (curve in, curve out) for each letter.

This week, Room 100 students began learning about Chinese New Year by reading Happy Chinese New Year. They explored traditional foods, clothing, decorations, and Chinese number symbols. Afterward, they created their own fans and lanterns. The class is excited to learn more about the holiday!

Nico Esposito’s 10 points and 10 rebounds lifted Hoboken to a 58-51 victory over Union City in Union City.

Nick Petruzzelli added 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Hoboken (6-4), which jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead. Lamir Boxley scored 14 points and Jake Ellis had 11 with five rebounds.

In a triumphant moment for Hoboken High School's Basketball Program, Head Coach Shaun Kolmer celebrated his 150th career win during a thrilling matchup against Memorial High School at Hoboken High School on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

This significant milestone adds another chapter to Kolmer's already impressive legacy as he concludes his 10th season as Head Coach at Hoboken High School.

Congratulations to Hoboken HS Senior Lamir Boxley who was presented this evening with a commemorative 1,000 point ball by Coach Kolmer and the Hoboken HS Athletic Department.

Lamir scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season. Thank you Lamir for your contributions to our Basketball Program. “Once a Redwing, Always a Redwing.”

The Hoboken HS Boys Varsity Basketball Team (5-3) defeated Memorial HS 77-55 this evening in HCIAL Action at the Nest.

Freshmen Jake Ellis led the Redwings in steals with 4 and Samond Walker had superb play off the bench for the Redwings.

The Hoboken HS Girls Varsity Basketball Team defeated Memorial HS 43-30 this afternoon in HCIAL Action at the Nest.

Juniors Nina O'Keefe and Jayla Johnson led the way with superb defensive play. The Redwings have now won 3 in a Row!

Hoboken HS Senior, Kodi Pfeiffer, moves up to #16 in NJ at 190 lbs (NJ Wrestling Times) after his performance at the Sam Cali Battle for the Belt.

Content

Additional games added for the month of January.

Our Vision

The Hoboken Public School District will be recognized as a premier educational choice and widely known as a best-practice model for academic growth, high quality instruction, innovative and equitable programs, engagement, facilities and personalized pathways that are essential for college, career and life-preparedness in our ever-changing, interconnected global society.

Our Mission

The Hoboken Public School District will prepare confident and resilient graduates who value academic achievement, embrace challenge, honor diversity, appreciate collaboration, and respectfully contribute to their local and wider communities.

Our District Goals

The Hoboken Public School District will implement a rigorous, relevant and responsive curriculum that meets the needs of all students, fosters personalized pathways for learning, and ensures continuous academic growth.

The Hoboken Public School District will support its diverse staff in professional growth, encourage them to serve as role models, and empower them to provide the highest quality of instruction for our students.

The Hoboken Public School District will develop and implement unique and innovative programs that promote global learning, ensure equitable access, and foster the social, emotional and academic growth of each student.

The Hoboken Public School District will engage and communicate with families and the wider community to bridge understanding and advance partnerships.

The Hoboken Public School District will operate well-maintained and safe facilities that respond to our growing student enrollment, support our academic and co-curricular programs, and promote pride across the city.

Email: District@Hoboken.k12.nj.us
Website: www.hoboken.k12.nj.us
Location: 524 Park Avenue, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Phone: (201) 356-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hoboken.schools/
Twitter: @HobokenSchools