Smith News

March 1st, 2022

Achieving Excellence One Student at a Time

RPEF Sprint for Our Schools

5K and Fun Run

The Ramsey Public Education Foundation invites you to join us as we return to our live and in-person annual Sprint For Our Schools 5K & Family Fun Run on Saturday, May 14, 2022

Registration is now OPEN at www.RPEFrun.com

Saturday May 14, 2022
Ramsey Municipal Pool, E. Oak St
5K start 8:30am
Fun Run start 9:30am
USATF certified/sanctioned
Performance race shirts
Mile clocks
DJ, music, post-race refreshments and more!

Click HERE for more registration information

6th Grade March Highlight

On a chilly Friday afternoon in February, 6th grade students across all three teams participated in a day of social-emotional learning & team-building activities in order to strengthen their communication & collaboration, build a stronger sense of community with their classmates, and problem solve creatively all while having FUN!

Staff Spotlight- Merrill Barbone

My name is Merrill Barbone and I am the new School Counselor on Smith School's Counseling Team. In this position, I collaborate with parents, teachers, administrators, and other related service providers to support students personal growth and academic achievement.

Prior to coming to Ramsey, I worked as a High School Counselor in Hasbrouck Heights for the past several years.

Outside of work, I enjoy staying physically fit, reading Colleen Hoover books, and spending time with family, friends, and my significant other. Hiking, walking, and attending Orange-Theory classes help me to maintain an overall healthier and happier lifestyle. In the summer, I spend most of my time at the shore soaking up the sun and enjoying time with loved ones. If you ever see me in the Toms River area, please don't hesitate to say hello!

I have enjoyed getting to know the students and their families this year and am excited to support their journey through middle school!

March Book Madness 2022

It's time for the MARCH BOOK MADNESS TOURNAMENT 2022!!!!

Last year, the Harry Potter series reigned supreme- who will be crowned 2022's champion?!

The March Book Madness Tournament is a month-long event where students & staff vote each week to determine what book will be named Smith's Best Book Champion of the year! We will start off with a selection of 16 books, each week in the month of March we will narrow that down until we have our champion.

THIS YEAR- the 16 books chosen to compete were taken from our "Most Frequent Checkouts" statistics from September to now! These are the books you as students have read, recommended, and re-read in our Smith Library!

To vote in our tournament, click HERE.

You can check out our full bracket all month long on the bulletin board across from the library media center.

RHS Connection- Big Blue Marching Band

The RHS band members visited Smith School to perform for and play alongside our 8th grade band students. It was a wonderful way to connect our schools, share in a passion for music, and build comradery between the high school students and the incoming students.

We hope to see many of our 8th grade students continue in their love of music at Ramsey High School!

To learn more about our visiting author, visit his website by clicking HERE!

March Author Visit- Jerry Craft!

Smith School sees the return of Author Visits later this month, welcoming award-winning author & illustrator, Jerry Craft!

Jerry Craft is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the only graphic novel in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020); the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019), and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020).

Jerry Craft will be coming to Smith School on Monday, March 28th to speak to our students about his popular novels, as well as his journey from reluctant reader to award-winning author & illustrator.

Smith Scoop- Winter 2022

The Winter 2022 edition of the Smith Scoop is out now!

Click HERE to check out 6th, 7th, and 8th grade student artwork, writing, and photography

Smith School Presents Rodgers Hammerstein's Cinderella

Smith School's Spring Production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella will be this weekend! The shows are Friday March 4th at 7:30 PM, Saturday March 5th at 4:00 PM, and Saturday March 5th at 7:30 PM!

Students and staff have been working tirelessly since December to audition, rehearse, and create this show every day after school. Break a leg to the cast & crew of the show!

Smith School "March"es On!

During Mr. Schrettner's 6th grade class investigation of the Boston Tea Party, they simulated a trial. Students were broken into 3 groups: the Crown- the prosecution, The Bostonians- the defense, and the jury. Students then argued their cases in front of the class (Above & Below)

This Valentine's Day, our Community Service club spent an afternoon making thoughtful cards for individuals who have served in our armed forces. (Right)

Ms. Bishay's 6th grade scientists work to understand the size and scale of the universe by establishing their “galactic address” (Above)

Mr. Kalman's 7th grade Digital Design students are coding in "MineCraft: Education Edition" (Below)

The Eric Smith Middle School Wrestling Team finished the 2022 season with a 36 - 18 win over Glen Rock Middle School at Ramsey High School! Way to go, Rams!

Madame Kuhnel's 8th grade French classes celebrated "Chandeleur" by making and eating crepes! Miam Miam! (Above)

8th grade students studied Paris Fashion Week & participated in their own Project Runway. They got into groups & designed outfits from trash bags, newspapers, fabric swatches, etc. They presented outfits in a runway show to music as commentators described their fashions in French! (Below, Right)

PS- Smith School Loves You! Staff & students showed their support for RHS fundraiser for the “PS I Love You” organization! Proceeds from the sweatshirt sale benefitted the "PS I Love You" organization as well as West Bergen Mental Health.

Both groups are committed to open dialogue about mental health & promoting education & awareness to prevent bullying. Over 300 sweatshirts were sold for these wonderful causes! (Above, Left)

Lucky to be A Ram

The Environmental Club recently learned about plastic pollution and its effect on our world. Today we made reusable beeswax wraps to use in place of plastic wrap, zip bags and other single-use plastic. (Above & Below)

Ms. Mugno's 7th grade art students design and sketch out their "Dream Houses"! The 7th Gr Dream House sketches are continuing! Next step- watercolor paper, colored pencil & liquid watercolor. (Below)

In the hopes of encouraging the next generation of Smith musicians, 5th grade students of Dater & Wandell were treated to performances by our 6th grade Band & Chorus! Incoming students got to hear from teachers & students all of the benefits to our stellar music program (Left & Below)

After learning about DNA, it’s function in the body, and its structure, students in Ms. Morenco & Ms. Rockefellers classes were able to create 3D models of DNA in order to see the double helix in action! 🧬 (Left & Above)

8th Grade Profile Project Kickoff was last month, this year's theme is “Wellness”. Mr. Poage led the entire 8th grade in Tai Chi to get into the spirit (Below)

Health Information from Our Smith School Nurse

If you have specific questions, contact Laura Spiegelman

Phone: 201-785-2314

Email: lspiegelman@ramsey.k12.nj.us

Seasonal Allergies

As we approach the spring season we’re kindly asking that if any of your children have seasonal spring allergies and they require any medications to be given in school for the symptoms, please complete the following medication authorization form, https://www.ramsey.k12.nj.us/cms/lib/NJ02000378/Centricity/Domain/336/Medication_Authorization_Form_2017.pdf Some of you have provided this information already, but often, as spring rolls around, this doesn’t become an issue until the child is symptomatic. Please note that nebulizers cannot be administered in school but inhalers can be used. We do not want to have to exclude children from school because they are suffering from allergy symptoms. It will be helpful to have children take necessary medication at home prior to arriving at school so their symptoms are controlled.

COVID exposures for children over age 12 & booster shots

Exposed close contacts who have no COVID-19 compatible symptoms in the following groups should be excluded from school:

• Age 12 or older who completed the primary series of a recommended COVID-19 vaccine but have not received a recommended booster shot when eligible.

• Persons who are not fully vaccinated.

Exposed close contacts who have no COVID-19 symptoms in the following groups do not need to be excluded from school:

• Age 12 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.

• Age 5-11 years and completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.

• Had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (tested positive using a viral test).

**Reminder Parents/Guardians: Report your child's confirmed or suspected COVID case to the Smith School's health office (201-785-2314) to allow for reporting to local health officials and to perform contact tracing procedures.**

Click HERE for this month's book choices.

Click HERE for the interest form and schedule of meetings for the school year.

Click HERE to contact Ms. Kelly if you have any further questions.

Parent Book Club

The theme for our March meeting will be: Strong Female Protagonists! In honor of March being 'Women's History Month', all three book choices will feature well-rounded female protagonists.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 23rd in the Smith library at 9:15 AM and will last about one hour.

The books and descriptions can be found by clicking here for the Smith Library Media site.

If you are interested and have not already signed up, please complete this form, print, & have your student submit it to the library media center, OR you can complete the form and email it directly to our library media specialist, Ms. Kelly.

Happy Reading :)