Weekly Wrap Up

Good Evening, Maple Place and Happy FriYAY!

I hope you are enjoying your snow day today and spending time making snowmen, sledding, drinking hot chocolate, and sitting by the fire! It's definitely cold out there today, so please make sure to stay safe and stay warm this weekend.

This week at Maple Place we had a lot of celebrating to do. Our 7th and 8th grade Gifted and Talented students participated in the Future City Competition at Rutgers University last Saturday, and they did amazing. More on this competition and our amazing students is below.

Also, this year, we changed our Student Leadership Club into a Student Council, and the students involved spent time creating the Maple Place Student Council Constitution and Bylaws earlier this year. We also joined the New Jersey Association of Student Councils which provides various opportunities during the year for the student council members to participate in leadership training. Their winter conference was held this week, and our Student Council was recognized for having one of the top ten projects of 2023 with our Anything But a Backpack Day project. The students received a plague which is proudly on display in the main office. Congratulations to Mrs. Lisotto and our entire Maple Place Student Council for their efforts and for making a big splash on the NJ Student Council scene this week!

Please remember that the Maple Place Student Council is collecting full size soap bars in their original packaging to support S.A.C.K - Supporting A Community with Kindness. You can send in bars of soap until Friday, January 26th.

Also, please think about participating in our Dine to Donate night to support our eighth grade class of 2024. THIS MONDAY, January 22nd is our first Dine to Donate night at Enzo's. Thank you for your anticipated support!

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend,

Melissa Keiser

This year Maple Place had twenty-five 7th & 8th grade students participate in the Future City Competition sponsored by Discovery Education. The students were challenged with this scenario and problem:

Imagine your city at least 100 years in the future. Think about different forms of green, clean, and renewable forms of energy. What if your city were powered entirely by electricity generated from sources like these? How would it look, smell, sound, and feel different? For the competition, your team will design a 100% electrically powered city with energy generated from sources that keep your citizens and the environment healthy and safe.

From October to January, the students worked in collaborative teams to research and plan their Future Cities. The students were mentored weekly by 2 civil engineers, interviewed a Micro-grid expert, and had other guest speakers, including parent Kari Martin, to inform them about the many issues and factors they would need to consider to plan their cities. The Future City Competition hits many different learning standards in ELA, Math, Science, 21st Century Learning, Engineering & Design, Social Studies, and Visual Arts.

Maple Place sent 6 teams to competition under the guidance of their Gifted and Talented teacher, Mrs, Nicole Goldsmith. Oceanport Schools had phenomenal success competing against 50 teams from across the state of New Jersey. Team RaTufnut (RA-TUFF-NOOT) received a special award for Best Use of Energy Systems finishing in 14th place. Eloise Landua, Melody Miano, Teagan DeStefano represented the team on Saturday while Aubrey Guinta, Lilly Newland and Ryan Schiavo were also contributing members of that team. Team Waitara (WHY-A-TARRA) finished in third place. Making the top 3 is a huge recognition as the team had to perform their presentation on stage in front of the entire crowd. Team Waitara's members are Ella Bova, Kate Patton, Alyssa Terwiliger, alternate Emme Testa was present on Saturday to assist the team with Q&A. Team member Izzy Stroka did not attend but contributed to the project as well. Mrs. Goldsmith was awarded with a $750 STEM grant for the third-place finish.

Tuesday, January 23rd - Boys - Home vs. Tinton Falls - 3:30

Tuesday, January 23rd - Girls - Away vs. Tinton Falls - 3:30

Thursday, January 25th - Boys - Away vs. Little Silver - 3:30

Thursday, January 25th - Girls - Home vs. Little Silver - 3:30

Monday, January 22nd:

Charger Band - 7:15m - On Stage in the Cafeteria

Mean Girls, Jr. - Full Cast Rehearsal - 2:45-5:00 - Cafeteria

Tuesday, January 23rd:

Cadet Band - 7:15m - On Stage in the Cafeteria

Advanced Art Club - Grade 8 - Art Room - 3:00-4:00pm

Wednesday, January 24th:

Charger Band - 7:15m - On Stage in the Cafeteria

Student Council- 7:15am - Media Center

Creative Writing Club - Room 105 - 2:45-3:45

Mean Girls, Jr. - Lead Characters - 2:45-5:00 - Cafeteria

Thursday, January 25th:

Cadet Band - 7:15m - On Stage in the Cafeteria

Debate Club - 7:20am - Room 109

Art Club - Grades 7 & 8 - Art Room - 3:00-4:00

Mean Girls, Jr. - Lead Characters - Cafeteria - 2:45-5:00

Friday, January 26th:

Charger Band - 7:15m - On Stage in the Cafeteria

Yearbook Meeting - 7:30am - Room 108

Fun Fit Sports Club - 2:45-3:45pm - Gym

Shore Regional High School Honors Placement Assessments for our current 8th graders will be administered during the month of March. If you would like your child to take any of the placement assessments being offered, please click on the link below for more information. The students will need to register in order to take a placement assessment. The link for registration is below, and it is also included within the information provided in the first link.

Honors Placement Exam Information

Registration Google Link

Monday, January 22nd - Dine to Donate at Enzo's to benefit the 8th Grade Class of 2024!

Tuesday, January 23rd - Regional Band Concert - Shore Regional High School - 6:00pm

Friday, January 26th - Marking Period 2 Ends

Monday, January - Special Board of Education Meeting (Superintendent Search) - 3:45pm

Wednesday, January - Special Board of Education Meeting (Superintendent Search) - 6:45pm

Save the Date!

February 9: Bingo Night

March 8: Spring Auction

March 16: Bowling for boys in Grades Pre K-8th with their special gal pal

April 26: Sweet Heart Dance for girls in Grades Prek-6 and their special guys

Be sure to follow Maple Place on our social media outlets. We can be found on Twitter at @MaplePlaceMS. You can also check us out on Instagram at @mapleplaceop.

Email: mkeiser@oceanportschools.org
Website: https://www.oceanportschools.org/Domain/8
Location: 2 Maple Place, Oceanport, NJ, USA
Phone: (732) 229-0267
Twitter: @MaplePlaceMS

Instagram: @MaplePlaceOP