Let's Talk TPS
May 22, 2024
Memorial Day Meaning
Beginning this Friday, we will be enjoying an extended Memorial Day weekend. Sure, it’s great to enjoy some time off - maybe cook a few burgers - but do we really think about what Memorial Day means and why it’s a federal holiday? It’s time for another history lesson😉.
Simply put, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was originally known as Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags. In 1873, New York was the first state to designate Memorial Day as a legal holiday. By 1890, every state had adopted it, and it was observed on May 30th up until 1970. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday to be recognized every year on the last Monday of May.
Huyler Park, next to the historic railroad station, is the site for Tenafly’s annual Memorial Day ceremonies. Tenafly veterans who are lost in service to the U.S. are remembered by having their names engraved on the Huyler War Memorial/Veterans Monument. The image here is from the dedication ceremony that took place in 1923.
Now I’m not going to tell you how to spend your five day weekend. But perhaps you might consider making a quick stop at Huyler Park and reading the names on the monument. Then thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our continued freedom.
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.
Yours in Education,
Michael Ben-David J.D./M.Ed.
Superintendent of Schools
TMS MathCON National Champions
The TMS Math Competition team competed at the MathCON National Finals in Chicago, IL on May 11th. Back in March, MathCON started with an online test where over 30,000 students in the US and Canada competed to be in the top 1% of students in the nation and earn a coveted spot at the finals. TMS had 16 students qualify, and had 14 students take the trip to Chicago. When they arrived, the TMS team took an intensive 100 minute math test with topics ranging from number theory to geometry. What were the results?
Tenafly Middle School earned the award for FIRST PLACE SCHOOL IN THE NATION!
Additionally, many students had exceptional individual achievements, including:
- Dawson Park - Bronze medal for 8th grade
- David Seok - Bronze medal for 6th grade
- Emre Dogan - Silver medal for 8th grade
- Jonathan Kim - Silver medal for 7th grade
- Kevin Kim - Gold medal for 7th grade!
Congrats to these students and the entire TMS Math Competition Team. Special thanks to their math teacher and coach, Ms. Ilyssa Glasser. For more information regarding the MathCON competition, visit HERE
2024 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing
The 2024 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Achievement Awards in Writing Contest results are in and once again, several of our THS students received the following distinction(s):
- Lunette Shaw: First Class - "And So She Grew” Poem
- Hongbi Cho: Superior - "Becoming A Conversation” Poem and "Beyond The Walls” Poem
- Sara Hau: Superior - “Haircut” Video Poem
- Ash Shoham: Superior - “Road to Truth” Poem
- Jordan Yanowitz: Superior - “Unwritten Tales” Poem, “Sister” Poem, “The Ignominy of Being a Girl” Poem, “A Teapot” Poem, “Don’t” Poem, “Notice Me” Poem, “Fruitless Contortions” Poem and “Sister, Sister” Personal Essay
- Heeseo Yoon: Superior - “Embracing My Truth: A Journey Beyond Belief” Personal Essay
This year, schools nominated 633 students to participate in the Achievement Awards in Writing Program. From the U.S., students were nominated from 44 states, as well as Guam and Washington, D.C. Internationally, teachers nominated students from Canada, Greece, Jordan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The national judges evaluated each piece of writing for expression of ideas, language use, and unique perspective and voice. They then assigned one of four designations, as follows: First Class, Superior, Excellent, and Merit.
Congrats to these student writers for their excellent work!
It's Art Show Season
As you explore the halls of our schools, you will find all new artwork on display created by our talented students! The images below are just some examples of what you will see - and we plan to showcase other schools in future issues. Ms. Slezak, Stillman's art teacher (shown here next to the art concepts taught to the students), noted that they had 1,200 pieces of student artwork on display, including dragons, sculptures, 2-D art, and Procreate animations (these come to life via a QR code - it's very cool!) Congrats to all of the students for their amazingly beautiful exhibits!
Preparing for Middle School
Whether it's taking part in the #Hashtag Choices presentations at Smith, teaching STEM classes to their younger classmates at Mackay, or looking forward to the upcoming 5th grade visits to Tenafly Middle School (email with specific dates sent home on May 13th), our 5th grade students are preparing to leave elementary school and start a whole new exciting chapter this fall!
Here are just a few pictures from the aforementioned Smith and Mackay activities.
THS NJ Seal of Biliteracy
We are proud to announce that 133 members of the THS Class of 2024 achieved the New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy in Chinese, French, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Russian, or Spanish. The NJ State Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) in recognition of students who demonstrate high proficiency in a language they have studied, or in their heritage language, in addition to English, by high school graduation.
Pictured here are some of the award winners. Great job to all!
Tennis Champs and Athletic Signings
There's no match for our Tiger Boys Tennis Team, who have clinched the Conference Championship for the Big North National Division. This marks the 5th Conference Championship for Boys tennis since 2019. Congratulations on an outstanding season so far - next up the NJSIAA boys tennis tournament!
Tenafly's Athletic Signing Day took place on May 17th and this year, we have eight Tigers who signed with various colleges and universities:
- Chris Piluso - Moravian University - Lacrosse
- Cooper Roberts - Scranton University - Lacrosse
- David Levine - Tufts University - Lacrosse
- Cole Mogensen - Ursinus College - Lacrosse
- Sophia Tapia - Salisbury University - Volleyball
- Jaylen Tang - Bates University - Track
- Molly Cohen - Lasell University - Track
- William Reiser - Bentley University - Track
Wishing them all much success in their respective sports and academic pursuits!
Tenafly's Bond Referendum - Website Launch
The Tenafly Board of Education is moving forward with a bond referendum on September 17, 2024. The newly updated and expanded section of our website, tenaflyschools.org/vote, is just the first step of many toward our goal of providing the community the information it needs about this important vote. Please review the site for detailed information as this referendum includes all of our schools.
Additionally, we will hold two community forums to present our plans and answer questions from residents: Virtual Forum on August 5th and an In-person Forum on September 9th. Be sure to mark your calendars and follow @TenaflySchools on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram for other key dates and details of the plan to repair, renovate and renew Tenafly Public Schools. See your email for more details.
Tenafly Fire Department Open House June 8th
The Tenafly Fire Department will be hosting an Open House on Saturday June 8th at the Tenafly Fire House, 100 Riveredge Road in Tenafly, from 12:00PM to 4:00PM. There will be hands on firematic activities for the kids, such as a smoke house and fire extinguisher simulator. Fire Departments from all over Bergen County and beyond will be displaying both new firetrucks and historic firetrucks.
Come see what we do - there will be activities for all ages!
Adults - please visit our recruiting table if you’re interested in volunteering and children can participate in our Cadet/Junior program for those students ages 14 to 18.
