CDW Weekly Wrap-Up

As the cold weather takes over, it is important to send your child to school with the appropriate attire to attend outside Recess. Students have been reminded during OTBN's morning announcements to bring their coats, gloves, scarves, and hats to lunch with them so that they are prepared for Recess.

The mid-point of Marking Period 2 is Thursday, December 14th. At that time, teachers will take the opportunity to enter comments about your child(ren), and how they are doing with the content in each class. These comments are compiled in a Mid-Marking Period Interim Report.

The Mid-Marking Period Interim Reports will be available for parents to view on the Genesis Parent Portal on Wednesday, December 20th at 12:00 PM.

If you have any questions about any of the comments on the Interim Report and/or grades that you see in the Grading module, please feel free to contact the teacher(s) for more information.

Ms. Melillo and Ms. Watters have brought back the CDW Holiday Cup Design Contest. Students can see them for a cup if they would like to participate. All cups must be returned to the Media Center by December 18th.

Please see the dates of the CDW Winter Concerts below:

Wednesday, December 13th at 7:30 PM: 5th/6th Band

• The concert will include performances from both the 5th and 6th grade bands.
• Students should arrive at 7:15 pm in their concert dress clothes.
  
• The concert will be held in the CDW Lynch Gym.
• The concert will be approximately 30-45 minutes.

Thursday, December 14th at 7:30 PM: 7th/8th Band and Choir

• The concert will include performances from both the 7th and 8th grade bands and the CDW Choir.
• Students should arrive at 7:15 pm in their concert dress clothes.
• The concert will be held in the CDW Lynch Gym.
• The concert will be approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

Please reach out to Mr. Rosolanko with any questions about band at rosolanko@nvnet.org, and please reach out to Ms. Osbahr with any questions about choir at osbahre@nvnet.org.

Class parties will be held on Friday, December 22nd after the Annual CDW Staff/8th Grade Volleyball Game. Your child(ren)'s Class Parent will be emailing you soon to request festive plates and napkins, snacks, and water. The PTO will be collecting $7 per student for 2 slices of pizza, garlic knots and/or mozzarella sticks via OTPTO.org.

Students are not obligated to pay the money for the Pizza Party and may still enjoy the snacks sent in for all to enjoy. Students who do not want pizza may bring in their own lunch that day.

The CDW volleyball teams will take on the CDW Staff in this annual CDW tradition. All students in Grades 5-8 will attend the game.

All volleyball players must submit a permission form to play in the game. Please go to the main office if you need another copy.

Students in 8th grade language arts classes celebrated National Letter Writing Day (Dec. 7), by writing letters to 18 local servicemen and women stationed overseas. Done in conjunction with Hillsdale’s American Legion Post 162, the letters are included in care packages and are a meaningful way for the students to show their appreciation for the selfless service of these local heroes. Additionally, students had to include a connection to their reading of Unbroken and explain why the story of WWII hero Louie Zamperini was important to them. According to the commander of the American Legion post, the letters, “are the most cherished items in the care packages.”

The members of the National Junior Honor Society continued a 17 year tradition of writing holiday cards to local soldiers who are stationed overseas during the holiday season. Completed in conjunction with American Legion Post 192 based in Hillsdale, each student completed two cards, writing messages of thanks, support, and season's greetings. Over 80 cards were written!

In Math Lab, students are learning to support their arguments using diagrams, drawings, and equations. Would you rather have $0.05 every day of your life, or $1.50 every month of your life?

Safety is always our #1 priority at CDW. Water bottles spilling continuously are making the hallways and classrooms dangerous. We ask that your child has a cover on their water bottle or straw to prevent spills.

8th Grade Information:

Reminder about the BCA/BCT admission tests this weekend: There is no test for the IIDT or Sports Medicine programs at NVOT/NVD.

From BCA/BCT: Admissions testing will be taking place at the Hackensack campus (200 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack) for all applicants to Bergen Academies and Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro. The test is either Dec 9th or Dec 10th; one test for both schools.

Please have your children print their Test Tickets from studentadmissions.bergen.org, if they have not done so already. The prompt will take them to the studentrecs.bergen.org site where they can enter their names, DOB, and town of residence at the “Forgot Username” button. NO email addresses are required to get their test tickets. At this time, we are not changing any email addresses or information on the applications. There are 2 sessions on each day; students need to go to the right session. Testing is on Chromebooks that are provided.

5th Grade Information:

On Monday, December 4th, Ms. Adamo taught a lesson on Gratitude: What is gratitude, why is it important and how can we show gratitude toward others? The lesson also introduced the topic of Empathy and how being Grateful allows us to show Empathy towards others. Be sure to ask your child(ren) to show you their, “What I am Grateful for” sheets!

Reminders for All Grades:

Wellness Wednesday lunches:

Grades 5 and 6 lunch with Ms. Adamo is in room 414.

Grades 7 and 8 lunch with Dr. Polizotto is in room 308.

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s academic, social or emotional needs, please contact me at adamoj@nvnet.org or 201-664-1475 ext. 2203.

Games started this week for the CDW Knights!

On Tuesday, December 5th the boys' basketball team began their season with a 49-33 win over Norwood. The team broke open a close game in the third quarter with a stifling defense holding Norwood to just two points in the quarter. Matt Kosmark had a double-double leading all scorers with13 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Gagliano added 9 points, and Markus Etter came off the bench and chipped in 7 points. Special thanks and congratulations go out to Coach Stefan Wiklinski for his first win as a coach. The next game is Monday against Demarest in the Rossi Gym.

On Tuesday, December 5th, the girls' dominated over Norwood and on Thursday, December 7th, they came out strong once again to defeat Northvale 47-16. Their season is off to a strong start with a 2-0 record. It was an all around team effort with every member of the team getting solid minutes and sealing the win!

Please see the Winter Sports schedule for Girls' Basketball and Boys' Basketball HERE.

Mrs. Henriquez will continue to run Intramurals on Fridays at 3:00 PM. The first sport is volleyball! If your child(ren) is interested, he/she can see Mrs. Henriquez with any questions. Inter-Scholastic Sports and Intramurals Information can be found HERE. If your child(ren) plans on doing intramurals at all throughout the year, please make sure that his/her paperwork has been handed in to Mrs. McCarthy, the school nurse.

The Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (PPE) may ONLY be completed by a licensed physician, advanced practice nurse (APN) or physician assistant (PA), who has completed the Student-Athlete Cardiac Assessment professional development module.

• Physical Examination Form to be filled out by your Physician
• Health History Forms -to be filled out by Parents

Concussion Management Guidelines

Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes

On March 7, 2024 at the White Beeches Country Club, the PTO will be hosting a Denim and Diamonds Parents' Night Out! See the flyer for more information.

The first fundraiser was a success! The 8th Grade PTO Committee needs volunteers to help serve the Chick-fil-A lunches on the following dates:

January 25, 2024

March 14, 2024

Please use this link to sign up.

The CDW Spirit Wear store is available on OTPTO.org! The Long Term Store is open year round and orders are shipped directly to the purchaser. The Short Term Store will reopen in the spring.

Both stores offer different merchandise. Links are on OTPTO.org or see below:

LONG TERM: Charles DeWolf Middle School

If you would like to purchase a 2023-2024 Discount Card, visit the OT PTO website. Each card is $20.

Every first Friday of the month, the Class of 2024 will be selling candy and ice pops at dismissal for an afternoon treat. Students in Grades 5-8 can go to the Lynch Gym to purchase their treat of choice! Treats will be between $1-3 and will include, but will not be limited to: lollipops, M&M's, Twizzlers, Gummy Bears, Sour Patch Kids, etc. See the flyer below for more information.

Dates of Sales: January 5th, February 2nd, March 1st, April 5th, May 3rd, June 7th

ATTENTION: 8th grade parents, please sign up HERE to volunteer for future Candy and Ice Pop Sales!

The PTO is looking for volunteers for the upcoming school year!

Volunteers play a huge part in the PTO and what we are able to offer our students and teachers. Without volunteers, many of the programs that students, teachers, and families enjoy will not be able to happen. Volunteer descriptions can be found at: OTPTO.org under "More Info" and then "Flyers."

If you have interest in joining the PTO Board, joining or running a committee, or just want to learn more- please reach out to the PTO by visiting OTPTO.org and selecting "Contact Old Tappan PTO" under the Help tab.

The CDW Student Council, advised by Mrs. DeSciora and Mrs. Reiser, is very busy in December. Each month, the officers decorate the Student Council bulletin board around a theme; in December, the theme is generosity. This month's service project to support generosity is "Snowflakes for Strays," which will be held on December 13th, 14th, and 15th during the lunch periods. For $1.00, students can purchase a snowflake and receive a little treat as a thank you. All money raised will go to Caring About the Strays, an animal rescue organization based in Westwood. Additionally, the Student Council will be sponsoring winter school spirit days at the end of the month (more information below). All information about the student council is always posted on the bulletin board in the 200 Corridor of CDW.

Please see the following information about the traditional December Spirit Days!

Wednesday (12/20): Live in the Present! Wear holiday hats, socks, ribbons, and bows.

Twinkle Thursday (12/21): Wear your best holiday flair!

Friday (12/22): Ugly Sweater Day

Once again, the PBA will be holding its annual Toy Drive. The box for your donations of new, unwrapped toys will be in the CDW Main Lobby.

The link to the online newspaper can be found HERE. If any writers want to join the club, please see Mr. Johnson for more information!

The CDW Homework Club is offered to all students in Grades 5-8 and is FREE! Please sign your child up each week that you are interested!

If you would like to purchase insurance for your child(ren)'s school issued Chromebook, please refer to the information below, or you may purchase directly from smarttechinsurance.com/old-tappan.

New to our insurance policy this year is that all Chromebooks must be in cases or the insurance will not cover any claims.

If your child is not going to attend school, please contact Mrs. McCarthy at 201-664-1475 ext. 2103 or McCarthy@nvnet.org.

In an effort to minimize the potential spread of illness at school, please keep your child home if he/she:

• has a fever. Students should be fever-free for 24 hours without medication prior to returning to school.
• is nauseous or is vomiting.
• has diarrhea.

December

Monday, December 11th~ The BOE meeting will be at 8:00 PM in the CDW Lynch Gym.

Wednesday, December 13th-Friday, December 15th~ The Student Council "Snowflakes for Strays" fundraiser will be in the cafeteria during lunches.

Wednesday, December 13th~ 5th/6th Grade Bands Winter Concert at 7:30 PM

Thursday, December 14th~ Marking Period 2 Mid-Point

Thursday, December 14th~ 7th/8th Grade Bands and CDW Choir Winter Concert at 7:30 PM

Wednesday, December 20th~ Marking Period 2 Interim Reports will be released via the Parent Portal at 12:00 PM.

Wednesday, December 20th~ Spirit Day: Live in the Present! Wear holiday hats, socks, ribbons, and bows.

Thursday, December 21st~ Twinkle Thursday Spirit Day: Wear your best holiday flair!

Friday, December 22nd~ 12:30 PM Dismissal; Holiday Party; Ugly Sweater Day; Staff vs. Student Volleyball Game

Monday, December 25th-January 1st~ Holiday Recess: School is closed.

​​​​​​​OT 2023-2024 Approved School Year Calendar

Instagram: cdw_middle

Email: santaj@nvnet.org
Website: https://cdw.oldtappanschools.org/
Location: 275 Old Tappan Road, Old Tappan, NJ, USA
Phone: 201-664-1475
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OldTappanSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @OldTappanSD