May & June Newsletter

Math

In sixth-grade Math, we have been working on learning how to balance an equation and what that looks like when solving an equation. We’ve been discussing all year how important it is to show your work. In the previous chapter, we worked on percentages and discounts, what that looks like in the real world, and how to solve those types of problems. 

In Mrs. Fitzgerald’s Math class, we are working on percentages. For this chapter, we first learned how to convert a percent to a decimal, a fraction, and back to a percent. Next, we practiced finding the percent of a number using several strategies. Once we master this skill, we will apply our knowledge to real-life problems involving tax, tip, and discounts.

Earth Science

The sixth graders presented their final science fair projects during the Science Fair on May 27. The students' hard work and dedication were clearly on display. The students did an outstanding job answering questions about their research and experiments. Congratulations to all on a job well done!

In class, students have been learning about tectonic plates and plate boundaries. The students completed a Gizmo to help them understand why the idea of continental drift, the idea that the tectonic plates move, was not widely accepted at first. Students used evidence of fossils, glaciers, and specific rock types to create a stronger argument for continental drift.

Reading

Reading classes are learning about various types of traditional literature. So far, they have read the Legend of Mulan and analyzed the changes made in the 1998 Disney film. Also, they read three multicultural versions of Cinderella in order to compare and contrast. Students have also been acting out plays and creating their own mythological characters.

Language Arts

Ms. Gallagher’s Language Arts classes recently wrapped up their poetry unit, where students explored various forms and figurative language. They are now diving into a study of traditional literature, including fairy tales, myths, folktales, and legends. Students are analyzing story elements, identifying cultural influences, and even beginning to brainstorm their own original tales.

In Mrs. Fitzgerald’s Language Arts class, students have been writing an argumentative essay on who they believe is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) and why. To support their choice, students did extensive research using only reliable sources to learn more about their selected individual as well as a potential rival. Students then used their research to outline their essay before putting it all together in a well-organized argumentative essay. 

In Mrs. Spiridakis’s Language Arts class, students had worked on reviewing skills for NJSLA. After testing, students worked on comparing and contrasting characters between two movies. Students were able to create a literary analysis essay from their comparisons. After this, students were able to write a summary describing which story was their favorite. Students are ending the year by writing different kinds of poems, like acrostic, diamante, and haiku. 

Enrichment

Students are continuing their study of financial literacy. They have completed financial activities online, which have aided in their understanding of major concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing, and methods of payment.

Global Studies

In Global Studies, students are closing out the school year by studying the wonders of Ancient China! Classes learned about the Shang Dynasty, one of China’s first great dynasties. Emperor Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor who ordered the construction of the Great Wall in 221 BCE! Students have also been studying the teachings of Confucius, the history of the Silk Road, and the Chinese New Year. In addition, some students have enjoyed some extracurricular activities, including learning to write their name in Mandarin and making yin-yangs! Finally, we’ll end the year finishing up our "MeTime! Assignments", where each student has researched a topic of interest and personal choice. It’s hard to believe the school year is over, but it’s sure been an exciting one in Global Studies! 

Students in Miss Sutter’s Global Studies are enjoying a tour to the Southern and Eastern regions of Africa. Map completion and savannah tours, as well as learning about the people of the area, have been the focus. Students will end the year creating their own safari trip with various locations they want to visit in this region, people they’d hope to meet, and animals they hope to see.

Spanish

We are about to finish the cycle and the school year, and students have shown interest in the subject and have acquired vocabulary for different topics. They are most proud of their speaking presentation since all of it was done in Spanish. They gained plenty of background vocabulary that will be useful for them to start the new year.

Stage & Sound

Students will be wrapping up the year with the Flipped Fairytale Project, where they will perform a fairytale…but with a twist. The possibilities are endless!

Full STEAM Ahead

In Full STEAM Ahead, students used the Engineering Design Process to compete in the Paper Airplane Competition.  After learning how to calculate a plane’s speed (distance divided by time), students made their best paper airplane to use in the competition. The official bracket was made, and winners were crowned. Following the competition was the famous STEAM Egg Drop Challenge. Congratulations to Period 4, who successfully completed the entire challenge as a class without breaking ANY eggs…new record!

Art Appreciation

In sixth-grade Art Appreciation, the students are winding down a very busy marking period. From fancy name tags, clay pinch pot sculptures, Tim Burton portraits, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and foil repousse insects, we have been focused on learning about the Elements of Art. 

Pre-Algebra Apps

In Mrs. O’Brien’s and Mrs. Brennecke’s classes, students have wrapped up their final lessons and are now focusing on reviewing all of the key concepts covered throughout the year. This reflection and reinforcement are helping prepare students for a strong finish. Additionally, this year’s Math Fair was a great success—our seventh graders created impressive and engaging games that showcased their creativity and understanding. It was a fun and memorable event enjoyed by all!

In Mrs. O’Brien’s Honors class, students are venturing into eighth-grade math concepts, diving deeper into more advanced topics. They are currently exploring square roots and cube roots, building a strong foundation for understanding number relationships and exponents. The class is also learning about the Pythagorean Theorem, applying it to solve real-world problems involving right triangles. This early exposure to eighth-grade material is helping students stretch their thinking and prepare for the challenges ahead.

Mr. Kelly’s Pre-Algebra class spent May learning all about percents. The students explored the meaning of percents as well as how to use the percent proportion (good old “is over of”) and the percent equation. They also learned how to calculate the percent change between two values. Once that was completed, we worked on applying percents in the real world. We focused on calculating sales tax, finding discounts and sale prices, and how to leave a generous tip! Also, on May 15th, the seventh grade hosted our annual Math Fair. The students did an excellent job of designing interesting and engaging games for our second graders to play. Their creativity and problem-solving skills were on full display the day of the Math Fair, and they all were wonderful ambassadors for the younger students. In June, we explored probability. The students learned how to calculate simple probability and what the difference is between theoretical and experimental probability. I would like to take this time to thank my students for all of their effort and energy this year. I hope you all have a wonderful, restful, and enjoyable summer.

Life Science

Ms. Runz’s Life Science classes wrapped up a successful school year with our Evolution Unit. Students learned about evolution by natural selection and how plants and animals have certain adaptations based on their environment. They then applied their knowledge of natural selection and adaptations and explored the evidence for evolution, which included comparing the anatomy and DNA among different organisms. By examining real-life examples, students were able to visualize certain similarities and differences among species that directly related to the essential idea that species change over time. Overall, the students very much enjoyed their seventh-grade science experience, with a well-deserved summer break ahead!

Reading

Ms. Magner's and Mr. Kelly’s Reading class spent May and June examining social issues that adolescents face, such as stereotypes, pressure to fit in, and family relationships. We used the classic young-adult novel, The Outsiders, as our mentor text for this unit. The students were captivated by the clashes between the Greasers and the Socs and were able to relate that to differences in social groups today. We explored the themes of family and belonging and discussed what it means to be different or feel like an outsider. Our conclusion: as long as you have a group to call your own, you will never be an outsider! The class enjoyed watching the movie version of the story, and by the end, everyone was prepared to “Do it for Johnny!”

Language Arts

Mrs. Edreos’ Language Arts classes are wrapping up the year with a short Poetry Unit. Students are creating a Poetry Packet using Google Slides. Within the Packet are poems such as acrostic, imagery, haiku, concrete poems, etc.  Students are studying and analyzing the writing of poetry to help them create their own. The creativity and originality of their work are impressive. Finally, we will be creating our own Fractured Fairy Tales. Students will use an interactive program to imagine and write a fairytale from a different character’s perspective. We are looking forward to reflecting on our writing throughout the year to wrap up our seventh-grade Language Arts experience.

Mrs. Krysa’s Language Arts classes are finishing the year developing their vocabulary skills and writing creative narratives using vocabulary in context. Additionally, the final unit of How-To Writing entailed students researching a topic of their choice and developing a visual presentation to teach the class about their topic. Thank you for all your support this year! 

Beginning of the US & Civics

As we head towards the end of the year, we are working on two things simultaneously. Our final unit, the Civil War, is being analyzed in class as we discuss why it was so deadly. The students are also working on a trip project to one of the thirteen original colonies. These will be Google Slides presentations that each group will present to the class. I look forward to these presentations each year!

Spanish

In Senora Barrios's class, students created and wrote a beautiful Mother’s Day card in Spanish and translated it into English. Students were very enthusiastic about decorating their cards. In another project, students wrote short stories using Disney or Pixar characters. Students used present tense verbs and expressions with "tener". Currently, we are finalizing Chapter 4 with stem-changing verbs. Students are also preparing a role play about their plans for the summer. 

French

Madame Ralston’s seventh-grade class has been studying food! They can use quantity words and recognize all food groups! They can also state what they like, prefer, and dislike. We are wrapping up our "mot du jour" for the year. The students now have a very extensive French vocabulary!

STEAM

In seventh grade, STEAM students learned about different notable characters who contributed to the five subjects of STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. After learning about Ms. D’Amato’s top three STEAM Draft Picks (Fillipo Brunelleschi, Isaac Newton, and Chuck Hull, the inventor of 3D printing), students were able to draft pick someone to present on! Following the STEAM Draft, students competed in a Pop Up STEAM Challenge where they had to make a paper structure with only paper and tape. Now we are in the Sustainable Living unit and are learning about ways to live more eco-friendly, different types of ways houses can be made to use less energy, and how to clean up oil spills. 

Financial Fitness

In Financial Fitness, we’ve been working on the concepts of needs vs. wants and how it is so important to distinguish between the two. They worked on budgeting by actually having them pretend to keep to a budget when food shopping for a family of four, or when designing a room, or making repairs to home appliances, or learning what it costs to own a pet. These are all the scenarios that the students had to deal with while budgeting for those activities. Then they learned how to deposit and withdraw money in a bank account and what it means to pay taxes. They also needed to learn how to pay rent with a job that may not cover the entirety of their rent. 

Art Appreciation

In seventh-grade Art Appreciation, the students created clay monsters inspired by the contemporary ceramic artist James DeRosso. Students were asked to design and create a monster using various clay techniques. They did a fantastic job, and the completed monsters turned out great!

Exploring Food & Nutrition

Chef Lafferty’s class has been quite busy finishing up the school year, specifically transitioning from the Nutrition and Healthy Cooking Unit and turning their attention to Cooking and Baking Basics.

In the Nutrition and Healthy Cooking Unit, the students learned what calories are, how many calories they each need based on their individual inputs of specific information, and how much of each of the five food groups they should be eating on a daily basis.

Within the Cooking and Baking Unit, the students have learned about the similarities and differences between different cooking techniques and how to make food more flavorful. Recent food lab projects included pasta with tomato sauce, oatmeal, French toast, and chocolate chip cookies. Within baking basics, the students reviewed the “how’s and why’s” of baking and the essential skills needed to be a successful baker.

Hopefully, I’ll see many of the same students at the high school level so we can build upon the skills they’ve learned thus far. I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing summer.

Algebra

We finished out our year with our statistics unit. We polled our classmates and friends about a topic of our choice and presented our findings to the class. Through this, we learned about different ways of visually representing data and how to interpret/make different types of charts. Congratulations to the class of 2025!

Algebra Honors

We finished out our year with our statistics unit. We polled our classmates and friends about a topic of our choice and presented our findings to the class. Through this, we learned about different ways of visually representing data and how to interpret/make different types of charts using tools like Google Sheets and our calculators. We then compared our findings to our own responses using a z-score. Congratulations to the class of 2025!

Algebra Concepts

In Mrs. Del Vecchio’s class, students just completed the chapter focusing on square and cube roots and the Pythagorean Theorem. We just completed our unit test, and the students did very well. We will be wrapping up the year with our last unit focusing on the volume of 3-D shapes such as cylinders, cones, and prisms.

In Ms. Vesper’s Algebra Concepts class, we finish up with Chapter 5 on systems of linear equations. We’ve now started Chapter 7, which involves learning about the Pythagorean Theorem and what that entails. We also learned how to estimate square roots and what it means to be a perfect square. 

Physical Science

Ms. Vacchiano’s Science classes are finishing the Interactions of Matter Unit. One of the projects students worked on this month was the Materials That Will Change the World Project. Students learned about the difference between natural and synthetic resources. They were assigned a synthetic material and did research to learn how this material is made, used, and impacts the environment. They created presentations that included information about its background and uses, advantages and limitations, and its impact on society. This was a great opportunity for students to practice their research skills.

Students in Mrs. Presinzano’s Life Science classes studied the work of Charles Darwin (his influences AND what we’ve learned from his own work), evidence of evolution, and various adaptations (physical, physiological, and behavioral) that contribute to the survival of organisms. Next, we compared natural selection with artificial selection (selective breeding) and examined how genetically (or biologically) engineered organisms can be advantageous for farmers and consumers, while the potential disadvantages continue to be studied. We will wrap up our final unit by analyzing the importance of pollinators in maintaining healthy habitats through biodiversity, as well as the role that bees specifically play in global food production. Students learned how the body structure of the honeybee makes it such an efficient pollinator. Students also studied ways that human activity is having a negative impact on pollinator populations, and the ripple effect that their declining numbers are having on biodiversity. 

Reading

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s Reading class finished up their historical fiction unit. We finished reading the novel Refugee, which they all seemed to enjoy. They have also been reading an independent historical fiction novel and working on a reading response journal in which they analyzed what they read. We will wrap up the year focusing on poetry. They have done a fantastic job this year!

Ms. McCann’s Reading class just finished the drama unit with an amazing production of Taming of the Shrew. Students read the play aloud with a special focus on stage direction and tone. They had a fun time with the Shakespeare comedy. Well done, cast and crew! 

Language Arts

Mrs. Del Vecchio’s students wrapped up the Historical Fiction Unit by writing their own historical fiction children’s books. Students combined their knowledge of each of the previous units to conduct research, synthesize information, and write a narrative that could have taken place during the period of their choice.  They seemed to enjoy being creative with their writing and coming up with their stories. After presenting them to the class, we will be finishing up the year with a focus on poetry.

To finish out the year, Mr. Smith’s and Ms. Gallagher's classes focused on speeches and poetry. Each student planned and wrote a graduation speech and delivered it to their class. Likewise, students wrote a graduation poem reflecting on their time at WMS. One speech and one poem will be chosen to be read at graduation. To round things out, students are examining different forms of poetry and then writing their own poems in the form of the day.

Early World History

As we wrap up the year in Mrs. Turnbull’s classes, students have been learning about Medieval Europe. As always, we began with a map of the region and then started discussing the state of Europe after the fall of Rome. Then, students learned about the rule of Charlemagne, participated in a feudalism simulation, and analyzed documents relating to the power of the Church in society. Students also got to pretend to be King John of England and make decisions on his behalf to see how the Magna Carta came to be. We will be determining causes and effects of the Crusades as well as learning about the major crises of the time, such as the Bubonic Plague and the Hundred Years' War. Finally, we will finish with an open notes assessment!

Spanish

In Mrs. Wohlberg’s class, students continue diving into the Spanish language and culture. They presented their open-air market skits completely in the target language! They also learned vocabulary and grammar to talk about and describe foods. They are currently learning how to use double object pronouns and the preterite (past tense) forms of stem-changing verbs. They are now familiar with authentic Hispanic foods, eating habits, and are now familiar with tapas hopping and cuy (ask your child what the latter is)! We had a fantastic time at Blue Moon Mexican Cafe in Wyckoff. Students were able to try Mexican food and communicate in Spanish with the waiters/waitresses. We will culminate the year with restaurant skits and reading the brief novel El escape cubano. Have a wonderful summer! ¡Feliz verano!

French

Madame Ralston’s class just took a very fun field trip to a French cafe in Mahwah. We tasted French delicacies such as Creme Brûlée, macarons, croissants and more. The students were so well behaved as usual, and a great time was had by all. So hard to believe they are off to high school!

Creative Coding

Creative Coding students are completing their second major project in the class, Digital Greeting Cards.  This project requires  the students to act as software engineers hired by “customers” (other students) to program a custom greeting card.  The students are using what they have learned about algorithms, sprites, text, functions, variables, and conditional statements to make some magnificent cards.  Following this project, the students will learn more advanced programming skills that they will use to design their own video games to share with family and friends.  

Technology/Manufacturing

Mr. Blatt’s fourth marking period students have studied the engineering design process and practiced engineering drawing techniques, and are applying their skills in a team project. They learned shop and tool safety procedures and are now completing their final projects: wooden display/stands/houses/storage units. These units are for a project they created in Art class: a personalized Funko Pop. They have drawn the models and are now working in the woodshop. They are measuring, cutting, gluing, cutting again, sanding, nailing, screwing wood together. Soon, most students will stain or paint the boxes. The projects are based on student designs and are extremely varied. They are happy to show off their products created with newly acquired skills. They are working in teams and will complete the builds next week.

Video Technology

We are finishing up the year strong with our last group of eighth-grade students learning to be video storytellers in Video Tech. The three stages of making videos are planning, filming, and video editing. Currently, our students have completed editing their stories using Adobe Premiere software. You can view all of our videos on our YouTube platform here. 

Art Appreciation

In eighth-grade Art Appreciation, the students are finishing up the marking period by learning about Triptychs in art.  Triptychs have historically been found to depict religious-themed works of art. The triptych consisted of three panels hinged together that could be opened and closed, and easily transported and set up on the altar of a church setting. The modern triptych is now considered to be any series of three paintings, photographs, or drawings that are meant to be displayed as a single work of art. The eighth grade created a triptych drawing on a single piece of paper, sectioned out into three frame-like boxes. They created one continuous work of art throughout the three frames. They were free to choose their own subject matter to draw. 

ESP 6-8 is wrapping up a fun-filled year. The students have performed various engineering projects and design challenges, and will now celebrate all their hard work with our end-of-year party, where the students will reflect on what they liked best about ESP to assist with future planning. During this party, the students will get to engage in one of their favorite activities, a Brain Buster-style trivia competition. Particular congratulations to ESP 8 on graduating. Best of luck next year, you will be missed!

Congratulations to all Chorus members for a wonderful Spring Concert! What a wonderful way to end the year! Students in 6th and 7/8 Chorus worked hard throughout the year and did a great job with their performances. Thank you to all families for your support!

Band students put on an excellent show at the WMS Spring Concert! Performing ensembles included Concert Band (6th Grade Band), Symphonic Winds (7/8th Grade) & the WMS Warrior Jazz Band. All band students put in A LOT of hard work so that the Spring Concert could be as successful as it was. Additionally, the WMS Warrior Jazz band visited both Crescent and Traphagen elementary schools. 

Spring Art Club

In the Spring Art Club the kids finished up by making some prints using their handmade stamps. We had a great spring session!

Theater Club

Students had a great time in Theater Club this spring! Students worked on improv and scenework. We ended the club with a performance! Theater Club members performed for each other, doing an array of some great Broadway songs. If your student is interested in theater or music, be sure to reach out to Mrs. Serwin to learn more about the Summer Theater program or to find out more information about joining next year's production!