February Newsletter

Math

In Math, students are currently learning about algebraic expressions and how to write them. This section is our introduction to Algebra and how it will continue to build in the coming years and continue into high school. We remind ourselves that math, just like any other subject, has vocabulary one must learn. We recently took a quiz on the first two sections of the chapter and will be moving on to the properties section next.

Earth Science

Students in Mrs. Maul's and Ms. D’Amato’s science classes are wrapping up their graphing unit. Students have been working on creating line graphs and bar graphs. The students have also been working on data distribution and calculating mean, median, mode, and range. The students have also completed their procedure section and are getting excited to begin their experiments.

Students in Mrs. Presinzano’s Life Science classes completed our “Cells & Life” unit with projects and labs focused on organs, organ systems, and homeostasis. We began our next unit, “Genetics,” by discussing the differences between traits and behaviors. Students have most recently been analyzing combinations of genes through Punnett Squares, identifying the likelihood of offspring inheriting either dominant or recessive traits. Our “Mouse Genetics” Gizmo is coming up!

Reading

The Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! Sixth-grade reading classes are beginning their historical fiction reading. In class, students will read Finding Someplace about Hurricane Katrina. Students also selected their own historical fiction books for independent reading and a project.

Language Arts

Mrs. Prager's and Ms. Gallagher's Language Arts classes spent the month researching and producing a podcast. The project began with examining various podcasts to understand their writing, recording, and production techniques. Students worked on their research skills by collaboratively selecting a topic and gathering relevant information. Following this, they wrote their podcast script and incorporated the research they had gathered. The final phase involved recording and editing their podcasts. The students did a great job, and listening to the different podcasts they created was so fun.

In Ms. Sisco’s Language Arts class, students have worked on developing their realistic fiction stories. Students have observed and worked together in the investigation of each part of a realistic fiction story. Additionally, students have continued to practice their IXL skills and have worked to complete Vocabulary Unit 6. Students have begun Vocabulary Unit 7 and will be looking forward to completing this unit in the beginning of March. Students are looking forward to completing their realistic fiction stories, as well as starting their journey into the research writing process. 

In Mrs. Serabian-Fitzgerald’s Language Arts class, students have been working on their realistic fiction stories. Students explored what defined realistic fiction through a variety of media before creating their own definition, which was then used to help guide them in drafting their own story. Over the last month, students learned the different types of figurative language with their prior knowledge from Reading and practiced adding it into their own stories. Lastly, students have continued to reinforce their skills by practicing on IXL, and we look forward to applying their newfound knowledge to their vocabulary project in the next month. 

Enrichment

Students completed their career brochures and have begun studying the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. They are making connections between the major events of the movement and the necessity of first amendment rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Students will be completing a Research Simulated Task examining how “ordinary” citizens exercised their constitutional rights to effect change in the United States.

Global Studies

Students in Global Studies began the unit on Africa by studying the region’s geography. Each student chose between a Slides Presentation, poster, or book to highlight major landforms, bodies of water, biggest cities, tourist attractions, and animals native to the continent. Moving forward, classes will be taking an in-depth look at the region’s long and cultured history, including the study of King Mansa Musa, who, according to sources, is the richest person in world history. Finally, students will study the effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade on West and Central Africa.

Spanish

Students are advancing in their vocabulary for different categories. They already have knowledge of the letters and sounds of the Spanish alphabet, have learned important greeting expressions, and have mastered numbers up to a million. We are currently learning how to tell time in Spanish. Students are showing interest in the class and learning the content given.

Stage & Sound

Students finished up creating their own compositions on a music notation program called Noteflight. It is a chance to express their creativity through music!

Full STEAM Ahead

In Full STEAM Ahead, we completed Unit 2: Research and Citation. Students learned how to conduct online research and find credible sources about a topic of their choice! The only constraint on this project was that the topic had to fit into at least one of the subject areas of STEAM. Students learned how to create a Works Cited page and make in-text citations. By the end of the unit, all students were able to turn in a 1 page research paper! As we wrap up the month of February, students are starting the famous Egg Drop Challenge. Updates and results are to come next month! 

Art Appreciation

In sixth-grade Art Appreciation, the students have been learning about the Elements of Art. While creating our Starry Night grid drawings, we have been discussing color, line, space, and texture. Students will create a foreground, middle ground, and background in their Starry Night landscape, drawing the viewer’s eye into the two-dimensional space. Once the drawings are completed, the students will be moving on to adding color with oil pastels.

Pre-Algebra Apps

Mrs. Brennecke’s and Mrs. O’Brien’s Pre-Algebra Apps classes have been learning about rates, ratios, and proportions.  We have compared unit rates to determine which pricing was the better deal and have used proportions to solve real-world problems. We’ve recently begun our unit on percentages and have been comparing fractions, decimals, and percentages to determine the highest and lowest values. We are now learning to find a certain percentage of a whole amount or determining what percentage a part is of a whole and relating these to real-world situations. Lastly, students are getting excited and have started to discuss plans with their groups for our Math Fair that will be held in May.

Mr. Kelly’s Pre-Algebra class spent the first half of February wrapping up the unit on expressions and equations. The students were quite successful with solving one- and two-step equations. They are now able to interpret a word problem, create an equation to go with it, and then solve it. After completing the unit, the class moved on to examining inequalities. They have learned how to write an inequality from a graph and can create a graph from a simple inequality. They are working hard at solving and graphing one- and two-step inequalities.

Life Science

During the month of February, students in Ms. Runz’s Life Science classes wrapped up our unit on cells and life by exploring the muscular system, skeletal system, nervous system, and digestive system, as well as learning about how our body maintains homeostasis. For the muscular system, students engaged in a blinking lab where they investigated if blinking was voluntary or involuntary, in addition to exploring their reaction times in response to a stimulus when learning about the nervous system. Next, we will be moving into our unit on Genetics and DNA, where students will explore how traits are inherited.

Reading

Ms. Magner's Reading classes are wrapping up their unit titled "Beyond the Page: Exploring and Comparing Stories Across Genres." Students read the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy and studied the topic of Japanese-American internment camps in the U.S. during World War II. Throughout the course of this unit, students analyzed a variety of nonfiction mediums, including memoirs, personal stories, video footage, and more. Students are wrapping up the unit by creating book trailers that highlight the themes discussed during this unit while showcasing their video-making skills on Canva.

The students in Mr. Kelly’s Reading class wrapped up the unit on close reading strategies by finishing their mentor text, A Long Walk to Water. The students were excited to reach the conclusion and see how the stories of Salva and Nya intersected (no spoilers here!). The students completed a one-page project that demonstrated their close reading skills, such as examining how the setting of the story affected the characters and how to determine main ideas and themes, as well as tracking their development over the course of the text. Upon the conclusion of the novel, the students have learned more about Salva Dut’s life and how his experience as a “Lost Boy” inspired him to give back to his homeland of South Sudan.

Language Arts

In Mrs. Edreos’ Language Arts classes, students have completed the RST/Research Unit. As a class, we reviewed the process of analyzing sources, sorting facts, and creating an outline on the topic of Abby Sunderland, a sixteen-year-old girl attempting to sail solo around the world. Students have recently chosen their own topics and have been given sources to independently research the information and organize their ideas to write an essay. Throughout this unit, students have learned how to properly use in-text citations as well as create a Works Cited page. Currently, students have moved on to the more creative project of producing an infographic based on a research topic of their choice.  We are excited to see the final products!

Beginning of the US & Civics

To go with President’s Day, students are currently working on a review of a President chosen at random for each person. They will then share these with their classes and we can discuss which Presidents made the biggest impact in office. After that we will continue our westward expansion unit.

Spanish

In Senora Barrios's class, students have been working on describing emotions when they are in school. Students created a storyboard about how they feel going to different places in school. Students presented their storyboards in front of their classmates. We are at the end of unit two. We are also working on the writing process of answering emails.

French

Madame Ralston’s class has been reading and speaking more than ever. The students are learning about professions and descriptions, as well as prepositions and numbers up to 100. In addition, we have done a number of voice recordings to practice pronunciation, and of course, we have our daily vocabulary word, date, and weather to discuss.

STEAM

In STEAM, students started brainstorming for their Dream Invention Project. Students were given the task to think of a dream invention. What problem would they like to solve? Is there something invented already that they could improve? What invention would make life easier? After brainstorming and submitting their ideas, students got to work on a presentation to pitch their ideas SHARK TANK style. As natural entrepreneurs, they got to design a 3D model of their prototype through the use of Tinkercad. Presentation Day was a success with numerous “deals” made and shared plans for students’ business model to grow!

Financial Fitness

In Financial Fitness, we finished our first unit, which involved Career Planning and possibly picking a future career. They made presentations and practiced being a good audience. We are now in Unit 2, which involves learning about credit scores and credit cards. We practiced situations of having good and bad credit. We discussed what that means and how it will affect them in the years to come. Then we had our first payday for Classroom Economy and did our first banking. These are skills they will need in the future!

Art Appreciation

In seventh-grade Art Appreciation, we started off the marking period with a drawing composition that focuses on the element of space in art as well as creating balance and unity in a composition. We used cartoon characters as our subject matter and worked on creating the feeling of a crowd by overlapping the figures and placing them in such a way that all their faces could be seen.

Exploring Food & Nutrition

Chef Lafferty’s Exploring Food and Nutrition students have been busy working on their nutrition knowledge, ingredients used in healthy cooking and eating, and cooking techniques that can improve their health. They’ve also used the USDA MyPlate website to calculate their daily caloric needs and how much of each of the five food groups they need to eat on a daily basis.

The students are building a “portfolio” of recipes and reflections on their cooking activities that they can build upon in the coming years. Recent cooking activities have included pasta with tomato sauce, grilled cheese sandwiches, crepes, and chocolate chip cookies.

Algebra

In Mr. Hascup’s Algebra Apps class, we are finally wrapping up our linear functions unit. We covered everything from graphing functions to writing equations of lines. We also applied our skills to real-world situations. We will be wrapping up new material on the 28th and begin reviewing for our unit assessment on March 6th. Our next unit will be on systems of equations.

Algebra Honors

In Mr. Hascup’s Algebra class, we just finished the worst week ever... Well, we were using exponential models to calculate how fast a car depreciates and how loans make money for the bank. At the end of the week, we calculated the rate at which a zombie apocalypse could take over a city. We are wrapping up our exponents unit and are making a book with all the exponent rules we learned. Our next unit will be a quick venture into sequences, followed by a deep dive into quadratics.

Algebra Concepts

In Algebra Concepts, we are learning about slope and what that means in regard to linear equations. We started to identify the different types of slopes and how they work. We also started to do real-world problems regarding slope and how that is affected. We learned about y-intercept and slope and how to graph all of it. 

In Mrs. Del Vecchio’s Algebra Concepts class, we are currently working on slope and how to use a formula to find the slope of a line using two points. We reviewed the four different types of slope and why it is so important to understand the direction of a line on a graph. We discussed how slope can be used in the real world and why it should be used. We are also going to be learning about the point slope equation and how to graph lines using it.

Physical Science

In Ms. Vacchiano’s Science class, students learned about the various types of waves and the electromagnetic spectrum. Students are currently learning about the relationship between light waves and photosynthesis. With the help of an online simulation, students were able to see how different colors of light affect plant growth and the rate of photosynthesis.

Reading

In Ms. McCann’s class, students are reading the book Night by Elie Weisel as the mentor text memoir to learn about the power of an individual’s story and evaluate how the author uses narrative elements to share the story creatively and engagingly. Students apply the reading skills learned to their own independent reading while they read a range of book club titles such as I Am Malala, Becoming Kareem, and They Cage the Animals at Night.

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s class has been working on studying characteristics of informational texts and nonfiction reading.  We have been looking at organizational text structures, informational text features, print text features, and graphic text features. We have been looking into how these different features help us to read and understand informational/ nonfiction texts. Students have also been assigned a biography from the “Who Is/Was” series to read on their own, and they use additional research to create a slideshow presentation on the person from their biography.

Language Arts

Mr. Smith’s and Ms. Gallagher's classes have begun their fourth unit on Memoirs and Narrative Writing. Students began by reviewing figurative language and incorporating sensory details in their writing with the goal of "showing not telling" in their writing. Likewise, students learned about the different types of dialogue and the purpose of using dialogue to move a plot forward. Students incorporated these two skills by writing a brief narrative based on a painting.

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s Language Arts students are busy with their Investigative Journalism Unit. Students are honing their observational skills and are writing articles using “5W’s + H”. Students will also be evaluating internet sources for reliability while working on their writing. Additionally, students have been examining the differences amongst facts, opinion, and bias in writing.

Early World History

In Mrs. Turnbull’s class, we have started our unit on Ancient Rome. First, students created a map of Rome at various stages in history, and we discussed the different legends of Rome’s beginnings. Students learned about the structure of the Roman Republic and basic social classes and got to analyze some of their laws. As we continue our study, students will learn how the Roman Empire came about and will choose an emperor to create an infographic about towards the end of February.

Spanish

Mrs. Wohlberg’s students are currently working on their travel brochure project. They are researching information on specific travel destinations in a Spanish-speaking country. They will be using the target language to present the information. They also learned the combined uses of the verbs ser and estar, which both mean “to be”. They are currently learning how to use direct object pronouns to avoid repetition of nouns and the verbs ser and ir (to go) in the past tense. Next, they will learn vocabulary and grammar to describe clothing items and talk about past situations.

French

Madame Ralston’s class is in the middle of our first reader. We have completed many supplemental activities, including questions related to the book’s topics, pronunciation, and an introduction to a plethora of new vocabulary and grammar skills. The students are also learning an average of ten to fifteen new verbs a month that they feel comfortable using in their writing and speaking.

Creative Coding

Creative Coding students have been enjoying learning fundamental programming concepts and the JavaScript coding language for the past two weeks.  Students have been building algorithms using variables, random numbers, and sprites to design increasingly detailed and nuanced programs.  Students are looking forward to working on their first major project in the class, a Corny Joke Scene, where the students will produce an original design that uses all of the elements they have learned to make a funny program they can share with family and friends.

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 recently completed a three-day card tower challenge, testing the design process in action. In the card tower project, the students designed, documented, and built a tall tower using very limited supplies. Soon, they will revisit 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, and storage units. These structures are for a project they will be creating in art class - a personalized Funko Pop. 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.

Video Technology

Marking Period 3 is in full swing with our new batch of eighth-grade video producers. Currently, we are learning to use Adobe Premiere software to edit videos. The students have already written scripts, filmed footage, and shortly will be publishing their videos on our YouTube channel. 

Art Appreciation

In eighth grade Art Appreciation, the students are just about finished up with 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.

Mrs. Gutierrez’s class visited Paramus Park Mall this week. We worked on using a directory to locate desired stores as well as navigating the mall. We also worked on choosing appropriate clothing for varied occasions, locating each student’s size, and deciding how much money we needed to make our purchase. We finished our trip with a visit to the food court, where students worked on choosing a meal within their budget from various restaurants. They then ordered and paid for their meals independently and enjoyed their lunches together.

For the past several weeks, ESP 6-8 has been engaging in our most popular annual activity: the Fluor Challenge. The 2025 challenge is for teams of students to design, test, and redesign rocket-catching devices. The students are limited by the types of materials and the quantity of materials they choose to use in their designs. (The more materials they use, the more “expensive” the design becomes.) The students have been enjoying designing, building, and testing their catching devices and are looking forward to putting their projects to the ultimate test to see which can catch a rocket falling from the greatest height.

Chorus classes are finishing their units on musical theater. Students enjoyed learning about the different aspects of musicals, from character work to song styles to sets and costumes. We are now moving forward and back to singing. Classes will be working on vocal techniques and music theory and will begin working on songs for the Spring Concert!

The WMS Warrior Jazz Band is back in action! Jazz band auditions took place in late January, and the Warrior Jazz Band has begun rehearsals in preparation for upcoming performances at the Spring Concert, elementary schools, and local senior living communities!

Jazz Band students are… 

Flute: Alex Stellari, Barbara Winkler, Victoria Rodriguez

Clarinet: Leo Stellari, Noreen Belhachem, Isabella Vergara-Estrada, Charlotte Keastead, Giuliana Russo

Saxophone: Allison Isernhagen, Hayden Luchian, Erik Cernak, Zach DiGiacomo

Trumpet: Andy Krysa, Mirabella Oelkers, Daniel Greenfield, Gabriel Soto

Mallet Percussion: Catherine Admana

Piano: Alexa Luchian, Ilena Singh

Drumset: Liam Naraine, Brady Doyle

Sixth Grade: This past month, students have learned about the three areas of health, the five components of fitness, and nutrition. The remainder of February will consist of sixth graders learning about the concepts of overall health, which includes decision-making skills and personal values.

Eighth Grade:  During the month of February, eighth graders have learned about the immune system, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and preventative health.  Students are now transitioning into a unit that will focus on communication and healthy relationships.

Art Club

In the winter Art Club, we decided to brighten up the front doors. Students worked hard on making some fun wintery decorations. The outcome is the adorable display you can see as you drive by in the morning.

Cooking Up a Storm

The students of Chef’s Cooking Up a Storm Cooking Club have been learning about important kitchen skills, including safety and sanitation. Tasks such as washing their hands correctly, cleaning dishes properly, and putting items such as equipment and ingredients back in the correct place have been focused on. The students have been cooking dishes such as popcorn, pasta with tomato sauce, and rice and bean burritos!