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

Beatrice Gilmore School wrapped up its annual "Souper Bowl" non-perishable food drive last week with grade-level assemblies to announce results. The food was donated to the Food Pantry at St. Agnes Church in Little Falls and will benefit those in need throughout the area.

The collection effort, under the direction of Mrs. Herrmann and Mrs. Seavy, brought in a total of 2,383 items, exceeding the school goal to beat 2022's collection total of 2,155. Third grade brought in 610 items. Fourth grade brought in 1,062 items. Fifth grade brought in 674 items. Winning classes earned a pizza party and extra recess, however, due to the success of the initiative, Principal Mrs. Mastropaolo declared that all students would receive extra recess.

At the assemblies, teacher were challenged to a basketball dunk face-off to earn extra incentives for their class. Mayor Tracy Kallert and members of the Borough Council also stopped by to lend their support and drop off food donations on behalf of the Borough.

"I would like to thank all of you for your generous support of our 2025 Souper Bowl," Mrs. Herrmann said. "Our food donation to the St. Agnes Food Pantry in Little Falls is greatly appreciated by the pantry coordinators, and you are directly helping many families that are facing food insecurity."

The BG Ambassadors at Beatrice Gilmore School recently created Valentine cards to be distributed as a surprise by the Great Falls Rotary Foundation-Military Assistance Pantry during its monthly food distribution. The pantry is located at 160 Ward St. in Paterson, and serves veterans and their families that need a little bit of food on their tables. It is one of the only pantries in New Jersey that is just for active military, veterans, and their families. It currently serves over 80 families and is run by volunteers and depends solely on donations.

Mrs. Donato’s science classes at Memorial Middle School recently dissected owl pellets. As predators, owls play an important role in the environment by controlling small animal populations. Because mammals are a primary prey item, this could be especially beneficial to humans, reducing the amount of food lost each year to rodents.

Owls have two stomachs, one for food digestion and one called the proventriculus, used for the storage of bones of their prey the owl can’t digest. This turns into pellets which are cast out each day from the proventriculus.

As the students pulled the pellets gently apart, they found so many interesting bones, some of which were identified as skulls, ribs, vertebrae, and hip and leg bones. This is important information for scientists so they can study and identify the ecosystems in which the owls live. Scientists can also determine what owls are eating at various times and places, the approximate number of prey animals in the owl feeding area, and animal owl populations in a specific area.

The ECC and School 1 celebrated World Read Aloud Day on Feb. 5. Above, Ms. Sara Rappa from the Alfred Baumann Library visited both schools to introduce the Library's reading incentive program, "Sweet Reads." Students learned that when they participate in reading, they can log and add stars to a paper cupcake that will be on display at the Library. Students listened to a book about creating cupcakes and participated in a counting song with the librarian. For more information about the Library's winter reading program, click here. Below, School 1 also had other special guest readers for World Read Aloud Day including School Resource Office Mr. Tom.

Mr. Krakower's seventh grade scientists at Memorial Middle School dove into the vastness of space by learning how astronomers use astronomical units (AU) to measure the immense distances between planets. To make sense of these massive numbers, students explored the concept of scale models, discovering how to shrink the solar system while keeping everything proportional. Through this hands-on activity, they visualized orbital distances and gained a better understanding of why "the world doesn’t revolve around you" — it all revolves around the sun!

Mr. Krakower's seventh grade scientists at Memorial Middle School kicked off their study of cells by learning how to use microscopes! Through hands-on activities, they practiced identifying microscope parts, creating detailed drawings, and examining slides at various magnifications. These skills will be essential as we dive deeper into the microscopic world of cells and their structures.

Students in Ms. Caiazza's fifth grade class at Beatrice Gilmore recently presented their group projects they did on the earth's spheres. Each group was given a natural disaster and they had to research how each sphere was affected and also how they interacted with one another.

Chick-fila-A, located at 88 Willowbrook Blvd., Wayne, will host a Spirit Night giveback event for the Memorial Middle School House System on Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 5 to 8 p.m. A portion of sales during that time will be given back to Memorial. If you're placing a mobile order, toggle on "Support Community Care Event" on the checkout page so we can receive credit. If you're placing an order at the register, let one of the team members know you’re there for the event.

Woodland Park Recreation announces that registration is open for all of its spring sports and activity offerings. To learn the full program details and to register, click here.

• Recreational baseball and softball for grades PreK- 8. Registration closes on March 3.
  
• Fundamentals clinics for baseball and softball (grades 2-8) - March 3, 10, and 17
• Foundations tennis program (ages 5-14) for seven weeks Mondays, April 21 to June 9
• Tri-Town Track & Field for grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. Registration deadline is Feb. 24.
• Lacrosse Squirts (ages 4-7) for seven weeks running Wednesdays, April 23 to June 4.
• Soccer Squirts (ages 2-6) for seven weeks running Sundays, April 27 to June 15.

• Multi-Sports Clinic (ages 2-6) for seven weeks running Saturdays, April 26 to June 14.
  

• Robotics (1st to 5th grade) for seven weeks running Tuesdays, April 1 to May 6
  

Wrestling fans, get ready! Back by popular demand, ISPW returns to Woodland Park with Winter Warfare at the West Paterson Boys & Girls Club next Friday, Feb.21. There will be a special appearance by WWE Hall of Famer “Cowboy” Bob Orton, who will greet fans and sign autographs, at this action-packed, family-friendly event which is a fundraiser for the Woodland Park Recreation Department.

The main event will be a three-way dance for the ISPW Heavyweight Championship: Mathers vs. “The Phoenix” GKM vs. Baylor. The ISPW Women’s Championship match will be “Evil Chica” Clara Carreras vs. “The Bad Chick” Vicki Venuto.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with bell at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available here or at the door.

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.