Woodland Park School District News

Welcome to the Woodland Park School District e-Newsletter, which is sent out weekly when school is in session. It serves as a glimpse of some of the wonderful things going on in our schools, as well as a point of reference for upcoming events.

Your Partner in Education,

Michele R. Pillari, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools

Third grade students at Beatrice Gilmore School took a trip into the future last Friday at Career Day.

To encourage students' interests, and college and career readiness, Ms. Weber and Mrs. Williams worked with the third grade teachers to create this first-ever event. The project started at home with students making their boxed and choosing their careers at home with their families. Students then brought in their projects to start researching their career choices and filling in the rest of their boxes. Last Friday, students came in dressed as their career aspiration and teachers wore their college gear. The students loved having their families come in to see all of their hard work!

Ms. Altomare's class celebrated Career Day by dressing up as their future career choice and doing lots of research. Some students were surprised at their potential salaries and the number of hours they would need to work weekly.

Charles Olbon held its monthly CO Heroes assembly last Friday. These students were recognized for exhibiting the CO rules (be a leader, be a worker, be a friend) as well as adhering to the character education program the Six Pillars of Character. The Six Pillars are caring, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and citizenship.

Woodland Park recently hosted the Passaic County Fourth Grade Battle of the Books! To prepare, students worked in teams to read 15 books and answer detailed questions during the challenge. Teams from Woodland Park, Little Falls, Haledon, John P. Holland Charter School, and Totowa participated, showcasing their literary knowledge and teamwork. This exciting event was organized by Mrs. Seavy, with questions by Mrs. Herrmann, and logistics by Mrs. McGinnis. After an impressive competition, Woodland Park proudly won second place. The team consisted of Lissette Hernandez, Jessica Bitar, Basmala Mahmoud, Torian Reid, and Sarah Dahdouh. Congratulations to all the teams for their hard work and dedication to reading!

The students in Ms. Piedra's PreK class at Charles Olbon School are learning all about gardening.They are using a greenhouse to grow seeds in their classroom, and they are having the best time gardening!

Mrs. Tobia and Ms. A's PreK-4 class at School 1 are learning all about butterflies as part of their bug study. They recently moved their chrysalis into a cage and are waiting for them to change into butterflies.

Children in Mrs. LaSala's PreK-4 class at School 1 made bird feeders using various materials and discussed how the birds use them.

Beatrice Gilmore School students enjoyed the recent Kindness Week dress-down days. Each day, students were encouraged to dress in clothes of different decades such as 70s, 80s and 90s. The staff had a lot of fun taking part as well.

Several of our staff members recently attended The Jordan Toma Experience at Bergen Performing Arts Center. It was a great opportunity for our Woodland Park family to get out together and see an extraordinary man share his story and provide inspiration and tips for educators. Toma is a motivational speaker and author of I'm Just A Kid With An IEP, which details his struggles and successes of being a student with learning disabilities. Our staff ran into two Woodland Park alumni at the event, Anthony B., class of 2022, and Antonio B., class of 2023.

The Woodland Park Preschool Program and HSA will host Literacy Night on April 4 at 5:30 p.m. at Charles Olbon School for PreK and kindergarten students. Join in for a fun-filled interactive night with stations for your child and family to explore the foundation of reading! On behalf of the Preschool HSA, we will have the Scholastic Book fair on site! Along with our stations, we will have an option for parents to buy books for your children. Please note that they are only accepting credit/debit cards only.

The Early Childhood Advisory Council will have its next meeting on Monday, April 7. This meeting will be virtual. We will discuss accomplishments from all committees and a brief discussion will be held about the end of the year activities. Please use the QR code on the flyer to join.

Join the Woodland Park Education Association for "Engineering Explorers: Build and Learn" with a special film and waffles on Wednesday, April 9 at 6 p.m. at Memorial Middle School. This event is open to ALL District students. Register for the event here.

Our next Preschool Lunch & Learn will be held on Wednesday, April 9 from 12 to 1 p.m. All are welcome to join in to learn about healthy eating for our youngest learners. Scan the QR code on the flyer to join in the conversation.

The Memorial Middle School House System will host its first annual 3x3 Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, April 9 at 3:10 p.m. in the Memorial School Gym. Cost is $5 at the door. Snack and t-shirts will be sold. T-shirts are $15.

Dine out at Chipotle, 70 Willowbrook Blvd., Wayne, on Saturday, April 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. and 25% of event sales will be donated back to the Memorial Middle School House System. Order online for pick up using code D9A6696 or show the flyer at the restaurant so the school will receive credit.

Spring cleaning? The Memorial Middle School Home & School Association is holding a clothing, shoe, and household items collection on Saturday, April 12 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

The Alfred Baumann Library, 44 Rifle Camp Rd., will host the following programs. Visit the Library's website here or Facebook page here. Its phone is 973-345-8120. Email is library@abwplibrary.org. Register for events here.