April Newsletter

A Letter from the Principal

April 21, 2025

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I hope this email finds you in both good health and good spirits.

I want to inform you that Waldwick Middle School will begin administering the state mandated NJSLA test on Monday, May 5, 2025.  The students will be taking the Language Arts/Reading portion of the test on May 5th & 6th. The Math portion of the state assessment will be administered on May 12th, 13th, & 14th.  Make-up testing will be on May 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th, 29th & 30th. 

Eighth grade students will also take the NJ Science Assessment on May 19th & 20th, 2025.  Makeup testing for this assessment will be May 21st, 22nd, 27th & 28th.  

To better prepare our students for the test, we are asking for your help. Please encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep each night before testing. Also, try to have them eat a healthy breakfast each morning. Encourage them to wear comfortable clothing during the testing administration. We want to give our students every opportunity to work to the best of their abilities. Your help in getting your child prepared at home will greatly contribute to this. We want your child to know that we do not want them to stress over the test. We just want them to try their best.

The battery of tests will again be computer based and aligned to our curriculum. The results will provide a snapshot of individual student growth at each grade level. As an educational community, we will use the information gained from NJSLA to help modify and adjust our program to ensure the continued growth and development of our students. To successfully collect complete data, we encourage all of our students to participate in the NJSLA testing. 

Students will be informed of their testing rooms prior to the testing administration. Please emphasize to your child the importance of being on time each day as they will not be able to enter the testing room after the testing session has begun.

Please note that the students will need to bring in a set of headphones in order to take the test.  These headphones must be hardwired and be able to plug into their chromebook. The wireless earphones or earpods cannot be used with the chromebook for testing.  Please remind your child to bring in headphones every day for testing.  All students should have their chromebook completely charged each day during the testing period. 

Lastly, students will not be permitted to have their phones with them in the testing room.  They will be placed in their lockers and can be retrieved after the completion of the testing session each day.  Also, smart watches cannot be worn in testing rooms either.

The teachers and staff have been trained in administering the test. We are confident that we will be able to provide our students with a comfortable, appropriate testing environment that will provide them with an opportunity to reach their full potential.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Meyers

Principal 

MJM/mh

Math

In sixth-grade Math, we are working on percentages. We are learning how to change a percent to a decimal, a fraction, and back to a percent. We are working on finding the percent of a number and the different ways of doing that. We are working on all real-life problems involving percentages.

In Mrs. Serabian-Fitzgerald’s class, students concluded their unit on calculating the area of shapes, including parallelograms, triangles, trapezoids, and composite figures. The end of this chapter also included plotting points in quadrant one. This was the perfect transition to our next unit, which focused on plotting points in all four quadrants. To evaluate their learning, students completed both a project and a test on plotting points on a coordinate plane. For our next unit, we are currently working on Unit 5, which involves ratios, rates, and proportions. 

The sixth-grade Honors class is currently working on algebraic equations. Students are learning how to write algebraic equations from real-life situations. They are then able to solve their equations by using inverse operations to solve for the variable.  

Earth Science

Students in Mrs. Maul and Ms. D’Amato’s Science classes wrapped up their human impact unit. Students worked as environmental consultants and learned how much water was lost with a leaky faucet. Students are working on their "Vacation to a Rock" projects to get them ready for our geology unit.

Reading

Reading classes have been celebrating National Poetry Month with a poetry unit. They learned how to determine rhyme scheme and analyzed figurative language in poems. They are reading a novel-in-verse during class about a boy whose father develops CTE.

Language Arts

Students in Language Arts have been very busy this month. They began by completing a compare and contrast essay. After that, the students were asked to identify who they believe is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). To support their choice, they needed to research their selected individual as well as a potential rival. They will use this information to write an argumentative essay that includes a counterclaim paragraph. They also began a new vocabulary unit.

In Ms. Sisco’s Language Arts class, students were working on finishing up their endangered species projects, where they were able to research animals that are on the endangered species list. After completing and compiling all of the research, students were tasked with creating a presentation that they would share in front of their peers. The students always enjoy seeing each other’s presentations, and we practiced giving feedback to each other respectfully. After Spring Break, students worked on practicing skills they have learned this year through practice on IXL and on Pear Assessment. Students participated in a practice module that was able to simulate what the NJSLA experience will be like at the beginning of May. Students shared how they felt about the upcoming testing, and strategies were shared to help them on testing days. We are looking forward to finishing up the school year with a compare and contrast essay between two characters. 

In Mrs. Serabian-Fitzgerald’s Language Arts class, students are wrapping up their Feature Article Unit. For this unit, students researched different animals at the Turtle Back Zoo to prepare for their field trip later this year. To demonstrate their research, students created a Slides presentation to present to the class. Later, students created an informative poster with paraphrased information before reviewing figurative writing and compiling all of their work together in a feature article. 

Enrichment

Students researched individuals throughout the world who have “stuck their necks out” for others and made their communities better places to live. They took notes on their “giraffe,” wrote a speech, and delivered it in front of the class, outlining the person’s accomplishments and the importance of community involvement. In addition, they detailed their own contributions to their community and what they would like to do in the future.

Global Studies

Classes have been studying the history of Africa. Students completed a writing assignment on the West African king Mansa Musa, who, according to sources, is the wealthiest person to ever live! Classes continued by creating newsletters on the Atlantic Slave Trade. Students also created political cartoons on the Age of Imperialism to gain a better understanding of European Imperialism in Africa. 

In addition, students also completed research on the nations of Africa and created visual presentations on their findings!  

Finally, classes will finish the unit by learning about Nelson Mandela and the fight against apartheid in South Africa in the Twentieth Century.

Students in Miss Sutter’s Global Studies class have moved on to Africa. Students chose a country of their choice, researched and presented their slides to one another.  Additionally, students created scrolls as if they were reading aloud their information. 

Spanish

As the new cycle started, students have been introduced to the layout of the class, rules and expectations. We had finished already two important topics and students are looking forward to  learn much more about the Spanish language. Everytime students finish the work in class, they continue to practice Spanish using the Duolingo app. They are very enthusiastic about how much more they can learn beside of what we do in class.

Stage & Sound

We start the last marking period with new cycles students learning about music. They will be creating their own music on the music notation program, Noteflight as well as play a virtual piano!

Full STEAM Ahead

Students learned about what STEAM is and what the big goal of our class is: to understand that STEAM can apply to their everyday lives! They finished up the first unit with rescuing Mr. Potato (He got stuck up in the mountains while on a ski trip). The challenge? They were given constraints, such as a time and size limit and a budget for purchasing materials. Through teamwork and trial and error, each team was able to successfully plan and build a mountain rescue litter (stretcher) that got Mr. Potato to safety!

Art Appreciation

In sixth-grade Art Appreciation, we started off the marking period by creating Zentangle Name Tags. Students were asked to create their name in block or bubble letters and add fancy patterns to each letter, focusing on their use of line. Once completed, they added color that enhanced their patterns.

Pre-Algebra Apps

This April, Mrs. Brennecke’s and Mrs. O’Brien’s Pre-Algebra Apps classes took a deep dive into some exciting geometry and probability concepts! Students wrapped up Chapter 7 by investigating quadrilaterals and creating scale drawings, then jumped into Chapter 8, where they calculated the circumference, perimeter, and area of circles and composite figures. They even connected these formulas to real-world scenarios—bringing math to life! To finish off the month, students were introduced to probability, exploring outcomes, events, and the differences between theoretical and experimental probability. Up next, they’ll take their learning further by calculating the probability of compound events and digging into the differences between sample and population data.

Mr. Kelly’s Pre-Algebra class spent the beginning of April wrapping up the lessons on ratios, rate, unit rate, and proportions. After demonstrating their understanding of how to calculate and apply these concepts, the students learned the basics of slope and direct variation and how they are closely related to each other and proportional relationships. Once that was finished, the class moved on to exploring the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents. Additionally, they learned how to work with the percent proportion formula to find the missing part of the proportion. And, of course, we continued with our Geometry Fridays by examining properties of triangles and quadrilaterals. With NJSLA testing around the corner, we also spent plenty of time reviewing previous topics and working on strategies for taking the test.

Life Science

During the month of April, students in Ms. Runz’s and Mrs. Presinzano’s Life Science classes wrapped up our unit on Genetics & DNA and began our discussion of natural selection and adaptations. Students first explored Darwin’s voyage to the Galapagos Islands by researching plants and animals of a specific island along with their adaptations, and they presented their research by creating a poster. Students enjoyed working on this project as they were able to collaborate with their peers in a creative manner. Currently, students have been engaged in learning about different types of adaptations and how they can benefit an individual in an environment. Next, we look forward to investigating the evidence for evolution in our upcoming unit.

Reading

In April, Ms. Magner's students wrapped up their nonfiction unit by sharing their research projects with the class in a gallery walk presentation. Projects were displayed around the room for everyone to view and reflect on. Projects ranged from narrative stories, 3D dioramas, Lego replicas, stop-motion animations, mini documentaries, and more. The projects turned out great!

Mr. Kelly's class spent time this month reading the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy, which served as our nonfiction mentor text for the unit. While reading about the true story of George Takei and his family, students learned about the Japanese-American internment camps in the United States during World War II. We also studied a variety of nonfiction articles and videos to support our learning and demonstrate an understanding of nonfiction skills (such as main idea, supporting details, author's purpose, mood, tone, and more).

Language Arts

In Mrs. Edreos’ Language Arts class, students have completed the Argumentative Unit and have shown their understanding of techniques through a Slideshow presentation. Everyone has shown true passion for their chosen topic. Most recently, students have been focusing on a cumulative review of concepts learned. Through the use of short video clips, students have been analyzing Narrative elements used in story writing. In addition to that, students are using movement within the classroom to help remember skills previously taught. Students continue to display their knowledge as the year progresses.

In Mrs. Krysa’s Language Arts classes, students worked on the Research Simulation Task, analyzing and taking effective notes on nonfiction sources such as articles, video and documentary clips, photographs, and primary source documents on the topic of tornadoes. With the research compiled, students wrote a five-paragraph research essay using information from the notes and graphic organizer to complete the task. Students also completed several vocabulary activities and practiced decoding and defining words with their knowledge of roots.

Beginning of the US & Civics

Students in Mr. Immitt’s US History class just finished up the Western Unit. With the additions of vast areas of the country, the US in 1850 begins to look much like today in terms of size. Up next will be a vacation group project to one of the original 13 colonies (states) using a budget and real prices. These presentations will be done on a class-by-class basis and are something the kids really enjoy. Some even convince their parents to go to some of these places for real. 

Spanish

In Senora Barrios' class, we learned about animals and pets in Spanish. We consider pets as part of the family. April 11, 2025 was International Pet Day, and we all wanted to celebrate these amazing creatures. Students used possessive adjectives and present tense verbs to describe their pets. Moving forward, we will start our last unit of our curriculum. Students will be learning about sports and stem-changing verbs.

French

Madame Ralston’s class just finished their unit on places! Students learned all the places in town and are able to express where they are going. Next, they are going to study how to ask questions and find out information. We are on our last “word of the day” list of the year!

STEAM

Students were first presented with a problem: an impending asteroid impact! We first learned about the wonderful state of "Alabraska"… and looked at two kinds of maps. Students brainstormed about how big a hypothetical underground safety cavern would have to be to save all 10 million citizens of "Alabraska" and where the ideal location would be to start building. We learned about dimensions and designed underground caverns. Currently, students are in engineering teams and are designing a cardboard structure that will hopefully survive the asteroid impact!

Financial Fitness

In Financial Fitness, we finished Unit 1, which was about careers and what they want to do further. We did presentations with the information we found, and discussed all the different parts of the career and what made them pick it. We started Unit # as well, which is the credit card unit. In the credit card unit, we learn about credit score, how to get a credit card, and what it means to pay off and not pay off credit card debt.

Art Appreciation

In seventh-grade Art Appreciation, we studied the art of the Pop Art Movement. Looking at artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, and Roy Lichtenstein, we learned how these artists created art based on POP culture and everyday items. The students created primary colored name tags in the style of Roy Lichtenstein, whose art was inspired by the pages of comic books. 

Exploring Food & Nutrition

Chef Lafferty’s Exploring Food and Nutrition students are now working on their nutrition knowledge, ingredients used in healthy cooking and eating, and cooking techniques that can improve their health. They’ll also be using the USDA MyPlate website to calculate their daily caloric needs and how much of each of the five food groups they need on a daily basis. The students are also building a “portfolio” of recipes and reflections on their cooking activities that they can build upon in the coming years. Recent cooking and eating activities have included cheeseburgers, mac and cheese, popcorn, and orange sorbet.

Algebra

In Algebra Concepts, we learned about how to solve systems of equations by graphing, substitution, and elimination. We continued to practice graphing slope and what that means. We worked on real-world problems using systems of equations and focused on how to solve them.  

In Mrs. Del Vecchio’s Algebra Concepts class, we learned how to solve systems of equations using graphing and substitution. We will soon be moving onto solving systems of equations by elimination. While working on systems of equations, we are consistently working on practicing slope and solving equations.

Physical Science

In Ms. Vacchiano’s eighth-grade Science class, students learned more about the elements of the Periodic Table. Students discovered how elements can combine to form new substances known as compounds and molecules. Students created a flipbook to organize what they have learned so far about the periodic table.

Reading

In Ms. McCann’s Reading class, students have been reading a variety of historical fiction titles during their book club unit. We are focusing on how authors use a blend of nonfiction informational texts and historical events to create a realistic and engaging novel. We have been evaluating how the authors blend nonfiction and fiction into the settings and conflicts of their stories. As we come to the end of the unit, the students are discussing how the historical events impacted the characters, society, and the world. 

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s Reading class has been moving along in our historical fiction unit. The students have been enjoying our novel, Refugee. We have been researching events from different time periods that have happened in this novel and examining how these events are impacting each of the characters in the novel as the stories continue. We also went to the library for a presentation on various historical fiction novels. Each student has chosen their own historical fiction independent reading novel, which they are reading on their own, and working on a reading response journal, which will be counted as a final assessment for this unit.

Language Arts

Students have been hard at work in their Historical Fiction unit. Students conducted research on a specific time period that they wanted to use in a historical fiction narrative. Students then, using their research, created characters, a setting, and a theme to use in their narrative. Currently, students are wrapping up their narratives by either presenting their story in the form of a traditional short story, a graphic novel, or a children’s book.

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s students have been working hard, examining historical fiction short stories and poems. The theme of the readings was the March to Freedom with material regarding the life of Harriet Tubman and Cricket Song, stories set in pre-Civil War times, and poetry from Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar. After analyzing the texts, students looked for common themes and wrote an essay about the themes they found. After examining all the texts, we fast-forwarded through time to look at the effects of the civil rights movement and watched parts of the historical fiction movie Remember the Titans, in which students created a mind map and looked into historical references in the movie.  The kids really enjoyed it!

Early World History

In Mrs. Turnbull’s classes, students have been learning about Early and Medieval Japan including the ways of the Samurai and the culture of Heian nobility. We have made connections to modern Japan and students will be working on designing a mind map poster to demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned in a creative and visual way. 

Spanish

In Mrs. Wohlberg’s class, students continue to learn how to communicate in the past tense using regular and some irregular verb forms. Students learned about molas, a handmade textile that is part of traditional clothing for indigenous women from Panama. They learned about some of the biggest names in the fashion industry, including Balenciaga and Herrera, and presented their fashion project to the class. Students will soon start working on their shopping skits to close the unit. Next, we will begin our last unit on foods, which will prepare us to use the language at our Blue Moon luncheon on May 28th! 

French

Madame Ralston’s eighth-grade class is busy with a myriad of activities! First, we are wrapping up our yearly lesson on irregular verbs. Next, we finished our last “word of the day” list. Finally, students have been studying a travel unit and practicing their listening and comprehension skills.

Creative Coding

Creative Coding students have gotten off to a great start this marking period! They spent the first week learning important concepts about computers and networks, building their own “dream computers” using MicroCenter’s Custom PC Builder, and exploring the fastest-growing technology careers. In the second week, students began building their coding skills with the JavaScript programming language, preparing them to use the software development process to ultimately design custom computer programs. So far, the students have learned how to plot objects on the screen, use variables to make fast, large-scale changes across a program, and incorporate random numbers to make programs more sophisticated and dynamic. In the third week of the marking period, students are excited to learn how to add sprites and text to their programs!

Technology/Manufacturing

In Mr. Blatt’s classes, students are being introduced to the engineering design process and the impact of technology. They are looking at how technology and tools impact everyday lives. They just presented information sorted into seven resources of a technology project explaining a historical advancement. The students are about to start a design/build project where they will complete a three-day card tower challenge, testing the design process in action. The card tower project is where the students will design, document, and build a tall tower using very limited supplies. Soon after, they will be exploring documentation processes and engineering drawing techniques.

After that, the students will learn shop and tool safety procedures, and then work on their final projects: wooden display/stands/houses/storage units. These structures are for a project they created in Art class: a personalized Funko Pop figure. They will draw the models and measure, cut, glue, cut again, sand, nail, screw, and eventually stain or paint the boxes. The projects will be based on student designs, and I expect the results to be quite varied.

Art Appreciation

In eighth-grade Art Appreciation, the students are currently working on their 3D printed Funko Pop Portraits. With patience and attention to detail, these once blank figures are coming to life as mini versions of their creators.

In Mrs. Gutierrez’s Science class, students are learning about the water cycle. Students learned about each step of the water cycle and why it is important. After learning about evaporation, students completed a science lab testing their knowledge. Students used water to paint in both direct sunlight and in the shade to see which picture would evaporate more quickly. Students made a hypothesis before completing the experiment, stating that the picture in direct sunlight would evaporate faster. Students were excited to find out that their hypothesis was correct. 

All Chorus students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades are busy preparing for the Spring Concert!

There will be an array of styles in this year’s concert. The sixth-grade Chorus will be singing a mix of styles from swing to the Beatles! The seventh and eighth grade Chorus is working on a variety of music as well! The concert will be held on May 21, 2025 at 7:00 pm. Please check your email or Google Classroom for all details.

Band students are hard at work practicing for the upcoming WMS Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 21st! Concert Band (sixth-grade band) is working on Heroic, while Symphonic Winds (seventh and eighth-grade band) is working on Largo and March to the Coliseum. Both ensembles are working on their combo selection: Dune Buggy.

Students returned to PE from Health. They started the second phase of fitness testing. Wiffle Ball was also played.

Bucket Drumming Club

WMS Bucket Drumming club is in full swing!

Art Club

In the spring Art Club, the students are learning about printmaking. First, the students designed their stamps using paper and pencil. Next, they transferred their images to a soft cut stamp blank. Once their image was fully transferred, they started to carve the soft cut material using linoleum carving tools. While carving their images, they need to make decisions on which areas are positive space and which areas are negative space. They are still in the middle of the carving process and are very excited for the printing process, where they can see how their stamps came out.