North Arlington High School
December 2010 Report
I. Curriculum and Instruction and Implementation of Objectives:
English Department

Mrs. Albuquerque’s English IV Honors students evaluated the cultural and literary
components of Greek Mythology. They had an opportunity to compare classical Greek
traditions with contemporary ones. Students read and analyzed Sophocles’ play Oedipus
Rex. Mrs. Albuquerque’s English III Honors students read and evaluated the pearl
poet’s poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They analyzed the traditions and cultural
beliefs of the Knights of the Round Table, including the Code of Chivalry. Mrs.
Albuquerque’s English IV students reviewed the excerpts from Homer’s epic The Iliad.
Students composed two creative writing assignments based on the characters of the epic.

Jeannine Burns’ English 2 is working on assessing writing skills and then using RTI
strategies to work on improving these skills. They have also been focusing on creative
writing during the poetry unit that they are completing. Jeannine Burns’ English 3
Honors has continued reading Macbeth working collaboratively to understand and
synthesize the information in the play. Jeannine Burns’ Propaganda of Genocide and
Oppression class has begun discussing genocide in the mid-to-late 1800s into the early
1900s. They have been focusing on the cultural conditions and historical connections
that lead up to the holocaust, making is more of a culminating event rather than a
watershed as it is often portrayed.

Mrs. Hughes’ English I began the Poetry Unit and were assigned to create a poetry
booklet, researching a host of different poetic techniques such as, but not limited to:
diamonte, haiku, biography poem, and free verse. In addition, students also sketched
images from Coleridge's “Kubla Khan” and McCartney's “Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds” as part of the lesson on figurative language. Mrs. Hughes’ English I
Honors evaluated and synthesized the poem “Hap” by Thomas Hardy and related it to
The Biography of John Merrick. In addition, students wrote reflection essays after
reading and viewing Bernard Pomerance's play, The Elephant Man and completed the
webquest http://www.oocities.com/hagios@sbcglobal.net/webquest/ incorporating crosscurricular science and social science activities. Mrs. Hughes’ English III Honors
created new colorful tales based on “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” such as “The
Cerulean Knight.” Lastly, students viewed three excerpts of versions of King Arthur
legends, used the Internet for research and wrote response and research essays entitled, “I
Am Legend.” Mrs. Hughes’ HSPA class has been working on analyzing and using
supporting evidence as a tool to aid in the expository and persuasive writing section of
the HSPA. They utilize the software on www.studyisland.com

Ms. Ingannamorte’s English I Classes are enjoying reading short stories. They are also
reading novel’s relating to their peer group. They have been journal writing on several
topics. Ms. Ingannamorte’s Creative Writing Class has taken the challenge to write a
one-act-play. They will be submitting them to a writer’s contest sponsored by Kean
College.

Mrs. Kaufman’s Strategies for Improving Reading class researched the academic
skills and occupational skills required for jobs in caring for and raising Christmas trees
for market. Mrs. Kaufman’s AHSA class used the internet to compare and contrast two
new items on the internet. Mrs. Kaufman’s Pass period helped several students use the
internet to research and analyze quotes from Shakespeare.

Miss Turner’s English IV completed the play Oedipus Rex. Students wrote letters in
the style of Sophocles and also completed a creative writing assignment in which they
rewrote the end of the play. As a culminating activity students are working with partner
to complete a power point presentation on the Greek god or goddess of their choice.
Students also read the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel. Miss Turner’s Visual and
Performing Arts has begun studying acting. They completed a project in which they
memorized and performed a monologue for their classmates. Students have also been
practicing improvisation and pantomime. Miss Turner’s English II classes completed
the unit on short stories. They also read the novel Of Mice and Men. They discussed the
theme of loneliness and isolation and most students had very strong emotional feelings
towards the end of the book. Students continue to complete monthly writing assignments
and Study Island assignments in order to prepare for the HSPA. Miss Turner’s English
II Honors class has completed their study of the Romantic Period of Literature and is in
the process of completing power point presentations on authors of The Romantic Period.
Students also completed and wrote an analytical essay on the novel Huckleberry Finn.
Students continue to complete monthly writing assignments and Study Island
assignments in order to prepare for the HSPA.
Social Studies Department

Mr. Coughlin’s PEG Class is using different kinds of historical evidence to try and find
out if the Persian Empire was as bad as present day interpretations, like the movie 300,
portray it to be. Mr. Coughlin’s Sociology Class used a simulation which required
students to survive on a desert island in order to understand life in a hunting-gathering
society. Mr. Coughlin’s US History II Class used political cartoons, photographs,
anecdotes, and clips of his speeches to evaluate the manner in which Teddy Roosevelt
handled the presidency.

Mr. Galante’s PEG class, in accordance with 21st century themes of creativity and
critical thinking, constructed a critical essay on the film The Power of One.. The
students developed an analysis of the main characters while viewing the film. With this
information and the meaning behind the film’s title, the students were able to write a
critical essay. This film serves as a motivational device to each student. Every goal can
be achieved; every individual can make a difference.

Ms. Ingannamorte’s Sociology Classes are completing a unit exploring socialization.

Mrs. Kusher’s U.S. II classes read an excerpt from the Influence of Sea Power Upon
History by Alfred Mahan and discussed his imperial ideas as an influence of American
expansion. Mrs. Kusher’s Economics class worked in groups and researched the
advantages and disadvantages of partnerships and then presented their finding to the
class. Mrs. Kusher’s US I class worked cooperative in groups, read and interpreted an
excerpt from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Mrs. O’Brien-Romer’s PEG Honors class studied modern day African countries.
Students read a current events article about Zimbabwe and the illegal diamond trade.
Furthermore, students learned of the political ramifications of the discovery of diamonds
in that tumultuous country. Mrs. O’Brien-Romer’s A.P. U.S. History class analyzed
The Wizard of Oz and its connection to the People’s/Populist Party of the late 19th
century. Using excerpts from Baum’s book, the students were able to figure out which
characters represented the political figures of the time.

Ms. Smith’s US I students analyzed Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” political
cartoon and created their own illustrations depicting a message of the pre-war, war or
post-French and Indian War setting. Ms. Smith’s United States History I Honors class
read an excerpt of Howard Fast’s novel, April Morning, which detailed the Battle of
Lexington during Revolutionary War. Students then used information gathered in class
about subsequent battles and wrote their own excerpt placing the main characters in a
different battle of the war. Ms. Smith’s AP European History students identified factors
that contributed to the political and economic rivalry of Britain and France during the 18th
century and assessed the results for both countries.
World Languages Department

Valia Coca Serafin’s Spanish I classes are emphasizing communication and culture in
their lessons. They are connecting the Spanish lessons with art. Valia Coca Serafin
introduced famous Spanish painters and writers to the students and they discussed the
artists’ work. Currently, the students are exposed to authentic material from Spanish
sources and they are relevant for the students’ appreciation of the Spanish culture.

Mrs. de Diego’s Spanish II classes were working on food, likes and dislikes. They
created a role play presentation discussing food and preferences; they also created a food
pyramid in Spanish. Mrs. de Diego's Spanish III classes were working on the Preterit
tense in Spanish. This month they have been focusing on discussing events in the past
and in history, as they learned how to describe a date in history and were able to discuss
such as “The discovery of America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus”, etc. Mrs. de
Diego's Spanish IV students were working on community service vocabulary and the
Imperative Mood in Spanish. They also discussed the tradition of the mask-making in
Puerto Rico and the class created personalized masks and made a presentation on their
masks to their class mates.

Mrs. Murad used the SMART board several times to teach and review her lessons on
vocabulary and grammar. Mrs. Murad’s Spanish classes created a food pyramid. They
had to draw and label the foods in Spanish. They had to write a composition in Spanish
explaining what they should do and eat, and what they should avoid doing or eating in
order to maintain good health. To culminate their lessons on foods, Mrs. Murad’s
Spanish classes prepared foods from Hispanic countries. They had to explain the
ingredients in the food they brought in and how the food was prepared. All the students
had the opportunity to sample the foods. Mrs. Murad’s Spanish I Honors students are
reading the Spanish reader, Patricia Va a California. They discussed and wrote in
Spanish about the differences between life in Guatemala and life in the US.
Math Department

Mr. Dembowski’s Algebra IB Classes have been working on solving real life word
problems. The class applies their knowledge of solving systems of linear equations to
explore everyday problems. All problems are presented to the class and collaborate
together to ensure student understanding.

Mr. Dembowski’s Geometry Basic Class learned congruent angles and the tools to
create angles. They then used their knowledge to play a game of golf on paper using
congruent angles. Students used protractors and rulers to try and complete a twisting golf
course with the minimum number of errors.

Mr. Dembowski’s Geometry Honors Class learned congruent angles and the tools to
create angles. They then used their knowledge to play a game of golf on paper using
congruent angles. Students used protractors and rulers to try and complete a twisting golf
course with the minimum number of errors. The law of reflection was also applied to this
scenario.

Ms. Samko’s Algebra 1 A students used several manipulatives to create and solve ratio
and proportion driven problems. For the activity, the students were creating a healthy
recipe for a dinner party and had to modify the recipe as the number of people in
attendance increased.

Ms. Samko’s Pre-Algebra students used cooperative learning to create a large poster of
a graphic organizer used to categorize numbers. Students placed holiday shapes
containing a variety of numbers into their graphic organizer under the appropriate
category- natural number, whole number, integer, or rational number.

Mr. Capriola’s Algebra 1 Classes completed a Real-world activity involving gasoline
prices. Students were asked to identify the price of regular unleaded gasoline over the
course of two weeks. The students compared the prices of the gasoline at the conclusion
of each week. They then used the data to calculate the percent of change in the price over
the two week period and identify if the change was an increase or decrease. This activity
help give students a better understanding of how real life situations apply to algebra.

Mr. Capriola’s Geometry Basic Classes completed activity that involved real life
geometric constructions. Students had to find five pictures from magazines or newspapers
that contained constructions utilizing parallel lines in the real world. Students were than
asked to give written explanations on the importance of the parallel lines contained in the
structures. This project help give students a better understanding of the real life
applications of parallel lines.

Miss Fash’s Math Tech class is working on a unit of linear functions. Students are
applying Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1 skills to discover the “families of functions”. The
concepts of linear functions, slope, and y-intercepts to non-linear functions.

Miss Fash’s Algebra classes are completing a unit of solving linear equations. Students
applied the process of solving equations to mixture problems. Students completed an
activity: “Don’t Freeze the Engine” where they had to calculate the correct of amount of
antifreeze for an automobile at given temperatures at different capacities.

Miss Fash’s AHSA Math class continues to testing for the state AHSA process.

Mrs. Maresca’s Algebra 2A classes participated in “An Aeronautical Activity” in which
they “launched” rubber bands off a ruler/protractor device, computed the stretch length,
measured the distance traveled, created scatter plots, and determined the best-fitting lines
manually and by using the TI-89 graphing calculators. This enabled them to see a realworld application of linear functions.

Mrs. Maresca’s Precalculus classes completed a unit on graphing trigonometric
functions. During this unit the students created a “life-size” unit circle, using garland for
the axes and special angles, and illustrating the trigonometric functions in radians and
degrees.

Mrs. Maresca’s Algebra 2 students, as a culmination of a unit on quadratic functions,
completed projects in which they researched examples of quadratic functions in everyday
life. These included illustrations of architecture, bridge designs, and various other areas
in which parabolas are used.

Mr. Nazi’s AP Calculus class is able to draw conclusions from derivatives about the
extreme values of a function and about the general shape of the function’s graph. They
are able to connect f / and f // with the graph of f .

Mr. Nazi’s AP Statistics class is comfortable identifying distributions as symmetric or
skewed. Also they are able to identify the properties of a normal distribution and find
probabilities for a normally distributed variable by transforming it into a standard normal
variable.

Mr. Nazi’s Algebra IIH class explored the different applications of their TI-30XIIS.
They appreciate the variety of computations their calculator is capable of performing and
realized that the two-line display helps them explore math and science concepts in the
classroom.

Mr. Nazi’s HSPA classes are preparing for the New Jersey HSPA Test in mathematics.
The continuously practice multiple choice, short constructed response and open ended
questions.

Ms. Khalil Computer Visualization: Students in computer class were introduced to
standard numeric functions, standard string function; Do While loops; Do Until loops and
For Next loops. They completed BMII and students worked on Power Point projects
pertaining to an important person in computer history.

Ms. Khalil Algebra 2A: Students in Algebra 2A learned about graphing equations of
lines, writing equations of lines, model direct variation, draw scatter plots and best –
fitting lines. Students have been utilizing the graphing calculators and used Excel.
Students completed Benchmark III.

Ms. Khalil Algebra 1B: Students in Algebra 1B learned about graphing linear
equations, substitution and elimination. Students developed skills by investigating realworld problems pertaining to substitution and slope-intercept form. They completed
Benchmark III.

Mr. Zukatus’ Statistics class worked on probability. Students are able to solve for
probability of different events using either experimental conditions or relative conditions
for said events. Students also worked on compound probability events, showing the
likelihood of events to occur.

Mr. Zukatus’ Geometry classes worked on congruency in triangles. Students are now
able to prove triangles congruent by multiple methods, including the Side-Side-Side
postulate, Side-Angle-Side postulate, Angle-Side-Angle postulate, and the Angle-AngleSide theorem. Students have used these methods to find other parts of the triangles
congruent, and are finding it much easier to solve and reason when doing proofs.

Mr. Zukatus’ Algebra II-B class worked on compound functions. Students are able to
see if two functions are inverses of each other, find the inverse of a given function, and
graph out functions and tell if their inverse will also be a function. Students also worked
on graphing nth-root equations and have found it quite simple to graph.

Mr. Zukatus’ HSPA class has been working on proportion problems as well as finding
volume of rectangular prisms. Students are able to solve word problems involving ratio
and proportion and diagram said problems. Students are able to not only find volume of
given figures, but solve for unknown side lengths and find surface area of these objects as
well.
Science Department

Mr. Mott’s Biology Honors Class as part of their study of cells performed a laboratory
investigation comparing plant and animal cells, first examining cells of their own cheek
which they stain and diagram, and than from an elodea plant, which they continue to
examine until cytoplasmic streaming occurs, they than stain the cell to find the other
organelles in the plant cell. In addition students create a working model of an organelle
using dialysis tubing hydrogen peroxide and potato. This enables the youngsters to
observe how a reaction can occur in a specific membrane bound body.

Mr. Mott’s AP Biology Class as part of their study of biochemical process of
Photosynthesis and Respiration conducted the third AP required lab in which they
examined the rate of respiration in both a germinated and non germinated pea seed. They
evaluated their data to relate to the various differences in active and non active
organisms.

Mr. Mott’s Human Anatomy and Physiology is conducting an in depth study of the
cells of various tissues. Through daily examination of cells under a microscope the
students are developing methods to identify these cells visually in preparation for a
laboratory practicum examination.

Mr. Mott’s Biology Class examined cells of the elodea plant and observed cytoplasmic
streaming as well as structural difference between these and animal cells. Students than
apply this knowledge to examine several microscope slides and determine if the cell is
more plant or animal like.

Mrs. Abdel Messih Biology Classes have used the microscopes to prepare and view
slides of celery cells in order to identify and draw the plant cell structure. Students have
also used the lab materials to construct a model of an organelle to observe the function of
the semi permeable membrane. Lab discussions focused on the function of mitochondria
and how they work. The youngsters have had a whiteboard activity on cell structure.

Mrs. Abdel Messih Honors Biology Students have used the lab materials to study the
osmotic behavior in the potatoes and onion cells. Lab discussions focused on the concept
of osmosis and turgor pressure. Finally, the youngsters have used the whiteboards to
compare and contrast the passive and active transport. The youngsters also completed the
activities listed above for the biology classes.

Mrs. Abdel Messih Study Island Classes The students have worked on the Energy in
Ecosystems and Health & Diseases assignments.

Ms. Rosen-Williams’ Biology Class investigated the processes of cell transportation by
using an imitation cell membrane to observe which types of molecules will move in and
out of the cell.

Ms. Rosen-Williams’ Environmental Science Classes are actively involved in an
ongoing effort to raise awareness for recycling in North Arlington High School and at
home. This task involves the collection and organization of discarded paper, plastic, cans
and bottles on a regular basis. Youngsters finished learning about the different biomes of
the world by showing the power point presentations that they made of their assigned
biome and finally they started to learn about water by reading about how wastewater is
treated.

Ms. Rosen-Williams’ Anatomy and Physiology Class finished working on an ongoing
lab that required them to observe prepared slides of tissues under the microscopes in
order to learn how to identify the tissues.

Mrs. Schettini’s Technology lab students are collaborating in teams to build circuit
boards. Each team is given a challenge of a pictorial diagram and they have to pick the
parts and build it on their own. Some of the challenges so far was to light up four LED
lights, make them dimmable plus add a switch; another challenge was to add a speaker
sound to another board. Additional challenges are scheduled through the end of the year.

Mr. Necoechea’s Physical Science classes have been studying space science. They have
constructed scale models of the solar system, and have used a Zodiac model to compare
the heliocentric (Copernican) and geocentric (Ptolemaic) theories. They have also used
an online simulation program to investigate the effect of the Earth’s axial tilt on seasonal
variation.

Mr. Necoechea’s Honors Physics class has been studying forces and Newton’s second
law. They have performed an in-depth analysis of accelerated motion using the Vernier
system of probes and computer interfacing. They have also started to study 2-dimensional
motion, and have completed a PhET simulation on vector addition.

Mr. Rapp’s Chemistry students performed a laboratory experiment in which they
observed and recorded the colors imparted to a flame by the presence of selected ions.
The students then used the flame-test technique to identify the ions in an unknown
crystalline substance.

Scott Robinson’s Physics 1 Honors classes have begun investigating why things move
the way they do (i.e. dynamics) and the development of force diagrams have come out of
this. In order to do this, the utilization of vectors is necessary so they have developed
methods of adding vectors that use trigonometric functions. As the month progresses,
students will begin to discover Newton’s Laws and further develop them in different
scenarios. These developments have been made in small cooperative learning
communities.

Scott Robinson’s Physics 2 Honors class has completed their analysis of static electrical
situations, and is delving into the region of why these interactions occur (i.e. electric
fields). Furthermore, the development of the concept of fields as a method for
interactions has been done. These developments were made in small cooperative
learning communities.
Business Education

Mrs. Tomko’s and Ms. Giampaolo’s Computer Applications students are learning
how to write proper business memos and letters. Students are expanding upon their
keyboarding skills and technique. They are also well versed in the different functions of
Microsoft Word.

Ms. Giampaolo’s Advanced Computer Applications students have completed the
Microsoft Access database unit. They have now entered into power point. The students
just completed a movie project where they were responsible for creating 8 slides with
pictures, hyperlinks and specific information about the movie of their choice. The
students were given the opportunity to present their project on the SMART board for
extra credit.

Mrs. Tomko’s Advanced Computer Applications students have been working in
PowerPoint. Text activities and supplemental projects have been giving students a
variety of experience with the software. Holiday projects were created using animations,
sound and pictures.

Mrs. Tomko’s Introduction to Business students have been working on marketing and
advertising. Students have been designing a line of sportswear and have written product
eulogies.

Mrs. Tomko’s Wall Street students have continued their virtual competitions and have
been learning some stock tricks to facilitate profits. Students have chosen a company to
profile and convince others to invest in.

Ms. Giampaolo’s Accounting students have taken the business transactions a step
further. They are now taking real business situations and analyzing them as Debit /
Credit. The students’ midyear project consisted of a monopoly game where they were
responsible for analyzing all money they received, property they bought or traded and
any other miscellaneous expense associated with the game.

Ms. Rosolen’s Multimedia students created animation projects—Top Ten list and a
greeting card--that were uploaded to the class Wikispace.

Ms. Rosolen’s Desktop Publishing class is continuing to create documents as part of
their design portfolio. Documents designed this month included a labels and greeting
cards in various formats.
Family & Consumer Science

Mrs. Molino’s Culinary Arts classes have learned to logically follow recipe steps and
use critical thinking for practical applications in the lab.

Mrs. Molino’s Child Development classes continue working with our Pre-school
children. They prepared and presented lessons dealing with holiday themes as well as
color recognition and number recognition this month. High school students are learning
about the physical, social-emotional, and intellectual development of young children and
applied their knowledge in their lesson planning.
Art

Mrs. Branco’s Art Studio students this month have been working on the genre of Op
Art. They used a handout for ideas to create 6 different types of Op Art, once they have
completed this project they then transferred these works onto a poster board which was
folded into a cube. They used rulers for correct measurements for the cube; they also
used rulers and gridding to create even boxes and images for their op art. This meets
with the school’s objectives that the students are working within the CCCS and are
learning terminology, vocabulary and artistic techniques to complete this work of art.

Cynthia Branco’s Art Studio/Visual Art students have been working on a basic
element of an art project. Using the artistic element of value the students have created
three works for the class. The first work was a value scale. They used a nine box scale to
go from white to black using graphite pencils. Then using graphite again they created
amorphic shapes, they then created value in and out of the shape, created a 3 dimensional
effect, and the shapes seem to undulate off the page. For their final work in value, the
students are doing broken glass works of art. They trace an image of a fish and then
create a series of lines over the fish. Using individual value in each section of the broken
glass, they create a work of value art in which you can see the image but it is blended in
with the value glass. This is always a successful project and the students enjoy it
immensely! This meets with the schools objectives that the students are working within
the CCCS and are learning terminology, vocabulary and artistic techniques to complete
this work of art

Ms. DuJack’s Art Workshop and Exploratory students worked on a variety of projects
this month:
o Holiday sculptures in clay (painted in acrylics)
o Decoration making--painting of bulbs and pine cone ornaments
o Senior class door decorating contest (entire door inside and out/inside of room
decorated with decoration projects and sculpture projects for holidays.
o Advanced students working on acrylic paintings (subject matter of choice).
o Holiday greeting cards
Music

Mr. Kastner’s Instrumental students concentrated on their final performance at the
Winter Concert which was a huge success. Following the concert, classes listened to the
performance to critique their work.

Mr. Kastner’s Visual Performing Arts, Music Cycle students have been examining the
impact of lyrics on music. Lyrical analysis was created by each student and shared with
the entire class. Students discovered social contexts of lyrics as well as imagery and
symbolism.

Ms. Corcoran’s Chorus students put on very successful performance at their winter
concert on December 14 where the SSA, Chamber, and full Chorus all performed.
Performance at the concerts is a requirement of the class, but these dedicated students
would perform regardless of a grade. All groups also performed at the assembly for the
school on December 23.
Virtual High School

Mrs. Bratowicz’s Virtual High School students are progressing nicely with their online
courses.

Mrs. Bratowicz has been using Edmodo online social networking platform for
communication with Virtual High School students. This will help facilitate
communication over the holiday break while students are taking 3-week mini-courses for
extra credit.
Physical Education Department

Dan Farinola and Brianna Ryan – Junior Health. The Junior Health classes
completed the Drug Awareness and Alcohol Awareness Chapters. The Drug Awareness
Chapter concluded with Chapter Tests as well as Illegal Drug Presentations. The Alcohol
Awareness Chapter concluded with a Chapter Test as well as Situational Cards. The
Junior Health Classes also did a segment on Career Planning.

Michele Vespoli – Driver Education. The Driver Education classes created their own
Dashboards. The Dashboards included all of the important gauges and warning lights.
The Driver Education class also went over Situational Scenarios about Distracted and
Drunk Driving.

Paul Marcantuono – Freshman Health. The Freshman Health classes went over the
Nutrition Chapter which concluded with a Chapter Test as well as a project in which the
students created their own food. The food they created also had its own Food Label and
Nutritional Information.

Paul Marcantuono – Sex Education. The Sex Education class has completed their
Senior Health Essay. The Senior Health Essay talks about how their life would be
different if they were to find out today that they or their significant other is pregnant. The
paper goes into detail about the specific things that would change and what they would
have to do to support the child.

Dan Farinola, Paul Marcantuono, Brianna Ryan, Michele Vespoli Eileen Scalia –
Physical Education 9, 10, 11, 12 The High School Physical Education classes
completed Volleyball, Pickleball and Basketball Units. The Volleyball and Pickleball
were each paired up with Basketball to created two separate Sport Modules. This
allowed students to have options to pick from. The gym was split into two equal halves
for each module. Weight Room was available as it is every month and the students
continue to progress through their own work out or the Generic North Arlington Physical
Education work out program. This month we utilized Recreational Day twice.
Recreational day is made up of Blongo Ball and Ping Pong. Recreational Day is used on
either a half day or a day when the gym can not be utilized because of a concert or
assembly. Fitness Monday reintroduced the 1 mile run/walk as well as incorporated the
same activities as usually such as; Sit Ups, Push Ups, Dips, Suicide Runs, Pull Ups, etc.
Guidance Department

All counselors continued to get senior college applications sent out.

All counselors met with all students in danger of failing in reference to their progress
reports for the second marking period.

Several students are beginning to receive college acceptances at this time.
II. Workshops Attended: (title, date, site, participant, summary)

The Mathematics Department participated in a Professional Learning Community –
December 2, 2010 at NAHS: Math faculty worked collaboratively to create curriculum
maps for a variety of courses tied to the new Core Content Standards for mathematics.
Several 21st century skill resources were reviewed. Preparations for the EOC course
Algebra 1 test were also brainstormed.

Miss Fash attended a two-hour workshop at North Arlington High School on October
8th. The Math Department met as a group to examine current curriculum, maps, and
benchmarks to begin the re-alignment to the Content Standards.

Miss Fash attended a two-part workshop on Dec 6th and Dec 20th. “Supervising the 21st
Century Classroom at the Bergen County ETTC. This workshop highlighted the free
Web 2.0 tools that are available for classroom use and incorporation into curriculum.

Mr. Spaccavento attended a NJDOE workshop on Dec 21st. Module A: New Math
Standards and the Curriculum. This workshop focused on the changes that need to be
made to current curriculum to align with the new CCCS.

On Tuesday December 2nd Ms. Rosen, Ms. Abdel Messih and Mr. Mott attended the
PLC meeting for Science. Work was done on the alignment the Biology Curriculum to
the 2009 NJ Core Curriculum Standards. Various Biological pedagogies were discussed
as well as standards, curriculum modifications and EOC course preparation.

On Tuesday December 2nd Mr. Necoechea and Mr. Rapp worked on a curriculum map
and course outline for 9th grade Physics for next year. Ms. Schettini worked on
addressing the needs of several technology lab modules.

Scott Robinson has been attending two meetings per month with professors from
Rutgers and other physics teachers to troubleshoot issues in the classroom, as well as
further develop the ISLE cycle, PUM, and other materials used from Rutgers.

Ms. Rosen completed her graduate class, Microbial Ecology, at William Paterson
University.

Mr. Spaccavento served as co-master of ceremonies for the NJAAPT 20th Annual
“Physics Holiday Treats Workshop” on Saturday December 4th. In connected with this
program, he received a variety of donations of physics related items to be distributed and
for school use. Earlier in the same day he attended a NJAAPT Executive Board Meeting.

Mr. Spaccavento attended a NJDOE workshop on Dec 21st. Module A: New Science
Standards and the Curriculum. This workshop focused on the changes that need to be
made to current curriculum to align with the new state science standards.

Members of the Business, Art, Music, and Family & Consumer Science departments
attended the December 2, 2010 Professional Development day. This 2-hr professional
period was used to discuss the new lesson plan format and to prepare to update
curriculum to meet the new standards.

Ms. Giampaolo and Mrs. Molino participated in an Anti-bullying Seminar in the library
on December 8, 2010.

Mrs. Puorro and Mrs. Fuller attended the Felician College Information session on
Friday, December 10, 2010.

All members of the English, Social Studies, and World Language Departments
attended an in district professional development workshop on December 2, 2010. At this
workshop the staff worked on aligning the current curriculum to the new state standards.

Valia Coca-Serafin attended a “Classroom Management” workshop on December 17,
2010.
III. Student Recognition:

Mr. Dembowski’s and the Geometry Honors class have been working hard on their
chapter 4 project. Students have been regularly attending pass period to correct mistakes
and work on their project.

Chris Paolello in Ms. Samko’s Algebra 1 A class decided to help his peers struggling
with solving equations with variables on both sides.

Students in Mr. Capriola’s Period 10 Geometry Basic Class scored exceedingly well
on a recent quiz for the Second Marking Period. 11 out of the 13 students received a
score of 90 percent or better. And 7 out of those 11 students received a perfect score of
100 percent. The students were extremely proud of this accomplishment.

Valerie Castanteen was instrumental in the development of an AP Biology study
group. The group meets to discuss the various AP concepts and develop methods of
study in preparation for the AP Test.

Scott Robinson’s student Shoroq Al-Hussein has shown leadership on the classroom
by taking it upon himself to help other students in his class that are having difficulty
with the material.

Scott Robinson’s student Arsany Beshara has shown leadership on the classroom by
taking it upon himself to help other students in his class that are having difficulty with
the material.

Mrs. Molino recognizes Jordan Marshall and Nicole Ferreira for being
complimented for outstanding performance in the Nursery School by a preschooler’s
parent. Their achievement has been acknowledged by Dr. Stringham and Mr.
Manuppelli.

Ms. Giampaolo would like to give student recognition to Anastasia Rhem. Besides
from being an excellent student, Anastasia is always there in class to lend a helping hand
to a struggling student or help me pass out papers/folders. She is a great role model for
younger classmen and always has her head held high. Anastasia was the victim of a
terrible fire that swept through her apartment 3 months ago. Even though she has been
living with a friend and had to replace most her belongs, she still comes into school, tries
her hardest, and continues to have a smile on her face.

Amanda Pimentel is recognized by Mrs. Branco as a wonderful student and an
amazing artist. She is working on an oil pastel reproduction of Claude Monet and her
image is almost exactly that of the Monet.

Ms. Corcoran recognizes Erin Varano as an outstanding vocalist who sang a solo at
the NAHS winter concert.

Mr. Kastner recognizes Bryan Ugaz for his efforts in instrumental music. He has been
assisting a new brass student to learn her material. His efforts have been very positive
and are helping him develop into a more advanced student. Jamie Sharpe has also stood
out in her efforts. She is by far the most proactive freshmen to enter the music program.
As a result she has earned very high marks and recognition by the other students as well
as the teacher.

Mrs. Kusher’s US II Honors students participated in the NAHS Student Council
Holiday Door Decorating Contest and won in the category “Bring on the Bling” for their
bright decorating ideas!

Pickleball Champs
o Period 1– Joe Valeri and Sam Viana
o Period 2– Kyle Ellis and David Peralta
o Period 3– Ola Warchol and Destiny Russo
o Period 10– Renatto Segatto and Geo Gonzalez
IV. Accomplishments: (including activities)

Mrs. Maresca’s Algebra 2A classes are becoming quite proficient at using the TI-89
graphing calculators. They are finding that math can be “fun”!

16 out of 21 of Miss Fash's AHSA students (76%) passed the October administration
of the HSPA. Their hard work has definitely paid off!

Students in Ms. Samko’s Pre-Algebra class were able to apply the concept of negative
exponents to the concept of scientific notation during a discovery lesson.

Mr. Mott and Ms. Abdel Messih were selected to participate in the North Jersey
Biology Curriculum Consortium Professional Learning Community at Montclair State
University on January 21st. The consortium is being gathered to discuss effective
biology pedagogy and address many various teaching strategies focusing on student
understanding. This will help to drive increased comprehension of Biology and thus
greater success on the Biology Course Competency Test. There will be continued
correspondence through on line forums and an addition Spring Consortium. Mr.
Spaccavento will attend a parallel meeting for supervisors on that same day at MSU.

The Culinary Arts Classes baked cookies for the Senior Citizen for their annual holiday
parties at the Center and created holiday cards. The lesson focused on humanity and
community service and fostered global awareness.

The SSA Choir and the Chamber Singers performed at the tree lighting at the Library
on Dec 7 and at two performances at the Senior Citizen Center on Dec 20 and 21.

A select group of musicians performed at the Town Tree lighting to much audience
acclaim. The students who were personally selected prepared their music on their own
and brought the entire performance together that night. They were a highlight of the
evening.

This month, the Student Council ran a very successful fundraiser--Holiday Candy Cane
Sale--in order to raise money for our club. The Student Council united the entire school
by sponsoring a “Dec the Halls” competition, where teachers and students who chose to
participate would be responsible for decorating their classroom doors in a holiday
theme. The doors were judged and the 5 winning classrooms received certificates. The
top overall winner received a prize for all their hard work.

Interact Club members answered neighborhood Santa letters from the Borough
mailbox. Eight members spent two hours each in Santa letter writing and DEC THE
HALLS decorating contest. Club members were asked to sign up for snow shoveling
for Borough residents. Viking tattoos were sold during lunch periods on the day of the
pep rally.

Mrs. Bratowicz helped facilitate lessons using Study Island with the English and
Science classes.

Mrs. Fuller began working with Mind, Body and Soul committee. This committee
deals with women’s empowerment.

Mrs. Fuller worked with Anti-Bullying committee to put together a new school-wide
activity to be held during the month of December.

The following schools visited NAHS for college information/recruiting sessions:
Caldwell College
Kean University
New Jersey City University
Fairleigh Dickenson University
Ramapo College
Many students were offered admission as well as scholarships as a result of this offering.

Mrs. McKeown has been working on finding a way to encourage students to write
creatively. French II Honors students were asked to list 10 verbs. They were instructed
to make sentences in the past tense about things they did/or didn’t do the day before.
They could not use any verb more than once. While students worked individually, the
teacher had an opportunity to work individually with students who didn’t understand
how to form the past tense while accomplished students were free to develop
paragraphs/a story of their day. Mrs. McKeown’s French IV Honors class was asked
to list a description of a previously unidentified character from a story they had read.
They were to give this character a name, physical description and an explanation of how
this character arrived in the situation. Mrs. McKeown then highlighted an item from the
list to be the opening line of their stories. Both classes seemed engrossed in the activity.
Each student improved and had the opportunity to receive individual help.

Valia Coca-Serafin has accomplished connecting the language learning to different
didactic areas such as art and health. The students are receiving information about a
healthy diet in connection with Chapter 3A-B which is about food. Researching about
other countries food, giving privilege to those of the Spanish- speaking countries has
been a part of the class. In class the students participate with what they already know
and then, the teacher Mrs. Coca-Serafin adds interesting material that the students can
use to expand their knowledge.
V. Special Programs (Debates, etc)

The National Honor Society, under the direction of Mrs. Maresca, conducted a
holiday food drive to benefit local needy families. Thanks to the generosity of the
students and staff of the high school, boxes of food will be distributed to twenty families
in our community. The members of the National Honor Society also donated teddy
bears for children in hospitals during the holiday season.

Mr. Dembowski and the senior class have finished their fourth annual wreath and
poinsettia sale in efforts to raise money for the senior class.

Mr. Mott’s Chess Club has continued to meet on Wednesdays for competitions
between students and education of new members in chess.

On Thursday, December 16th (a little cloudy) and Friday December 17th, at 6:45 p.m.,
Mr. Necoechea held an “astronomy night” at North Arlington High School in the field
behind the school building. The object of study was the Gibbous moon.

All of Scott Robinson’s classes are utilizing google groups as a means of a class
mailing list, a place to post and receive homework assignments, and eventually a place
to share completed projects. They have also been using a multitude of online software
including Diagnoser.com, phet simulations, and the activphysics website.

Mary Lou West the Director of Physics and Astronomy at MSU visited NAHS and Mr.
Spaccavento to discuss future collaborations.

Advisor Ms. Ingannamorte and the members of SADD are preparing for their annual
Chain of Life to be performed at the Holiday Program. Cassandra De Jesus has written
two original poems to be read at the program. SADD wishes everyone a happy and safe
Holiday.

All students in Mrs. McKeown’s French classes had an opportunity to share their
cultural heritage. Students were asked to write “Peace on Earth” in the language of their
families to be posted as part of the door decorating contest. Many students were
surprised by the ethnic backgrounds of their classmates and it gave us an opportunity to
compare and share the rich traditions of all.

All of Miss Turner’s English classes are participating in weekly discussions via their
wikispace pages.
VI. Press Releases:

Mr. Dembowski’s soccer player, Tyler Krychkowski, was “The Observer Athlete of the
Week”.
VII. Field Trips:

Mrs. de Diego's Spanish II, III and IV classes attended a field trip to El Repertorio
Español in NYC to watch a play "La Gringa" in Spanish. Mr. Dembowski accompanied
the group.
December 2010 Highlights
NORTH ARLINGTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
Mathematics
In Ms. Maucione’s math classes the students handed in their second marking period project. The
project consisted of graphing data that was provided to them. They used the data to construct
line graphs, frequency tables, and line plots. The graphs had to be displayed on construction
paper and had to be neatly colored. The students had to also find the mean, median, mode and
range of the data given. The students were asked to write a paragraph analyzing the data that
was graphed.
Miss Mezzina – 8th Grade Mathematics. As we come to the end of December, students have
conquered chapter five; Proportional Reasoning and Probability. In this chapter students were
provided with explanations, illustrations, and experience using ratios, percent, proportions, and
probability. All the students can solve proportions to convert measurements, find rates, and use
scales. The students can also solve various types of percent problems, including percent of
increase and percent of decrease problems. Finally, we explored concepts involving probability,
including odds, mutually exclusive events, inclusive events, and compound events.
During the month of December, Miss Neubauer's classes were busy! They finished up learning
how to multiply and divide decimals. They also found perimeter and circumference of polygons.
In addition, they started working with fractions by simplifying and comparing them.
Mrs. Araujo's Basic Skills Math Class
Students examined factors and monomials. They learned to evaluate expressions containing
powers and exponents. They used greatest common factors to simplify expressions and algebraic
fractions. They also learned to multiply and divide monomials and express numbers using
positive and negative exponents and scientific notation.
The students in Mrs. C. Brown’s 8th grade Math classes completed several activities that
involved coordinates and graph paper. Through this process they learned a little about analytic
geometry and how it dealt with lines, curves, and geometric figures plotted on a set of axes using
coordinates. Each student used a coordinate grid to locate points on the plane by using an
ordered pair and sequentially connected the dots to form a design, e.g. flower. Although this
activity demonstrated that it is necessary to give specific directions to find an exact location on a
piece of graph paper, it also applied to the importance of giving specific directions in real-life
situation.
Mrs. Macari’s math students have been working hard on their math journals. Each week the
students were presented with grade level math questions to help prepare them for the NJ Ask.
Questions consisted of short answer and open-ended questions that mostly focused on geometry
and probability, as these are areas the students need to improve upon. Journals are a great
assessment for both the student and the teacher, as students only focus on one or two questions at
a time. This gives them an opportunity to truly think out a problem and not get overwhelmed
with multiple questions.
Language Arts
December's genre study for 7th grade was Realistic Fiction. Mrs. Boyd's classes read titles
including: Tears of Tiger by Sharon Draper, That Was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton,
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers and Nothing But the Truth by Avi. These realistic novels
provided topics for authentic class discussions. Subjects such as: friendship, loyalty, honesty,
gangs, bullying, decision making, suicide and drinking and driving were included. Writing was
incorporated in many forms including: letters, articles, response logs, journals and epilogues.
Group activities included skits and role-playing alternative endings to situations involved.
In Ms. Maucione’s writing class the students completed a unit on poetry. They were given
examples of many different forms of poetry and were asked to create their own poems for each
form of poetry. Once we discussed all the poems the students constructed a poem booklet. This
booklet consisted of all the poems they created.
December was a very busy month in Mrs. Kowalczyk's writing classes. The students worked
on several persuasive writing prompts in order to get ready for the NJASK in the spring. Their
favorite activity, however, was writing holiday letters and cards to the wounded American
soldiers in Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. Each student wrote a personal note to a
soldier and then decorated a card for the note to be place into it.
Mrs. Callahan's 6th grade reading classes began their unit on the book On My Honor. As an
introduction, students defined the meaning of being "on one's honor" and discussed the
importance of giving your word to someone. In addition, students worked on assignments
relating to the four types of conflict and cause and effect.
Mrs. Callahan's 7th grade reading classes concluded their unit of Maniac Magee by watching a
Nickelodeon made for TV movie based on the novel. Classroom discussions focused on racial
division and tensions within the setting of the novel as well as how one person can truly make a
difference.
Mrs. Callahan's 8th grade writing classes continued their unit on persuasive writing by writing
essays on grounding as an effective form of punishment, required summer writing classes, and
time traveling. The students were required to utilize statistics and authoritative figures in each
of their essays.
During December, Mrs. Coughlin’s grade 8 reading classes studied characterization through use
of the Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat. The smart board was utilized to define
characterization. The class was able to list character traits for three characters from The Cat in
the Hat which allowed students to see how characters are developed. Students learned how
important it is for an author to fully develop characters for a story to keep a readers’ attention.
In Mrs. Duff’s class the students wrote persuasive essays. Each week a new prompt was
introduced to the class. The students read and brainstormed about the prompt for one class
period. Upon their return the class, they wrote their essay within a 20 minute time limit.
Once the essay was completed, each student had a teacher conference and the essays were scored
according to the NJ ASK rubric for the standardized test. This helped the students to see their
mistakes and improve on their writing.
The students in Ms. Tzakis’ class wrote persuasive essays convincing a skeptic that Santa Claus
is real. We enjoyed exploring this topic and decided on a mutual opening sentence, “Of course
Santa Claus is real; how else can you explain the magic of the holiday season?” Students used
compositional risks to improve their writing and evoke the joy of this season to their audience.
Dear Mom and Dad,
During the month of December, Ms. Demetroules taught us how to write a persuasive
letter. The class had to write Ms. D a letter convincing her not to give us homework for the
night! It wasn't easy. However, they came up with some pretty convincing arguments, such as
less homework means more time to spend with our families! In the end they were able to come
up with strong enough arguments, and Ms. Demetroules gave them the night off!
Sincerely,
Your loving child
This month Miss Keeler’s writing class explored the effects of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is a
literary device consisting of the formation and use of words that suggest, by their sounds, the
object or idea being named or the imitation of natural sounds by words. After creating a plot,
character sketch, and panel design, each student authored a comic strip that exhibits how
onomatopoeia enhances quality of the comic. Words such as “whoosh”, “ring”, “oink”, and
many others were used by the students in their projects. Once the comic strips were edited and
revised, each student uniquely decorated their pieces with colorful and vibrant artwork. The
completed work is currently on display in Room 301 for all to enjoy.
Mrs. Brown's 6th Grade Reading Literature class wrote friendly letters to go along with the
book, Sarah, Plain and Tall. They also corresponded with Mrs. Tzakis's 8th Grade Reading
Class. This activity provided practice in reviewing the contents of a letter. The students worked
on writing the heading, greeting, body of letter, and closing. They also reviewed how to address
an envelope
Mr. Haines’ writing class presented interviews which they had conducted with Elders in their
families, presented the stories as a personification of the Elder, then the class all feasted on food
from all of the various cultures represented in the classroom.
World Languages
The sixth graders learned about the one and only Salsa Queen Celia Cruz. They danced
to "Rie, llora" and sang along with her and shouted Celia's favorite word "AZUCAR".
The 7th and 8th graders also learned about Celia Cruz. They sang " Rie, llora, as well as
"Eres tu." They researched in the computer lab natural features in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Spain and Colombia.
Social Studies
The students in Mrs. Fisher's classes created Egyptian Mummy Cases. In order to
create the mummy case, each student had to attach a ball to a shampoo or water bottle. Once this
was done, the student had to paper-mache it. When the paper-mache dried, the white case was
then spray painted gold. A face was then added, as well as, Egyptian symbolic signs and
symbols that related to the afterlife.
A writing component, which told about the supposed mummy inside the case, was
completed. The students also explained the various symbols used on the mummy case. A
comparison about funerary practices, in the past and present, was also included. The finished
products were outstanding and are presently on display in room 202.
December was a very interesting month in Mr. Barber’s Social Studies classes. The students
finished with the American Revolution and worked on piecing together how the Founding
Fathers created the United States of America from scratch. They looked at important figures such
as George Washington, John Adams, John Hancock and Thomas Jefferson as leaders of this
movement while being introduced to historical figures that many people over look: Alexander
Hamilton, John Jay and, New Jersey’s own, William Patterson. Most of the students realized that
the United States was not created and automatically became a super power. It took a lot of hard
work and sacrifice from everyday people, as well as the Founding Fathers.
Coming to America! During the month of December, Ms. Demetroules's Social Studies classes
studied the concepts of culture, population, and migration. Many students were able to share
pieces of their families’ cultures with the class, as well as how and why their families came to
live in the United States. Some students were even able to recount their ancestors’ experience of
coming through Ellis Island.
Science
In Mr. Gaydos’s Science class, the 6th graders used a slinky to understand how a plant is able to
bend towards the Sun. In this lesson, one student represented light (the Sun) and another student
represented shade. Mr. Gaydos stood in the middle of the two students and demonstrated, with
the slinky, that the cells on the shady side grew faster and longer than the cells on the light (the
Sun) side. This is due to a hormone called auxin. Auxin is what causes a plant to lean towards
the Sun. The students learned how auxin and other plant hormones affect a plant in varying
amounts of light. The 6th graders now know that this ability is called phototropism.
Mrs. Galante’s seventh grade science class was “moon gazing”. After they spent weeks learning
about the moon and how it goes through its different phases as it revolves around the Earth, the
students had to watch the moon nightly. They were required to tell the time they observed the
moon, the date, and what they observed through the naked eye. The students had to describe
what they saw and identify the specific phase of the moon. They had to identify the new moon,
waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and
waning crescent. The students did this observation for 29 days and got to see the moon go
through all eight of its phases.
In Mr. Haines’ science class the students worked in small groups to design, built, and
demonstrate “Rube Goldberg Machines”. This project helped the students understand the basic
building blocks of all complex machines, the six simple machines and how it is necessary to
design a machine which both conserves and transfers energy from one form to another. The
students had to work through many different problems to successfully complete their projects.
Art
The 6th grade created comic strips. They came up with a concept, did study drawings for
practice, created a series of 5 boxes for their joke, and drew out their cartoons. They used a
variety of supplies, including handouts, pencils, rulers, sharpie markers, paper and colored
pencils. They did amazing work.
The 7th grade used the basic elements of value, line; shape and texture do make booklets of work
called “Simple into Complex.” They used the line drawings and basic shapes, and then by
adding value and texture they created complex images in their booklets. Their work with
highlights and lowlights was well thought out.
The 8th grade did Fauvist self portraits for their projects. They did studies of their own faces,
transferred that onto canvas and then painted it using tempera paint. The color combinations and
details they achieved were wonderful.
Music
Mr. Nicolle and Miss Corcoran conducted the annual Music Concert on December 8th. The
Chorus and both bands provided great entertainment for the parents and friends that attended.
Comprehensive Health & Physical Education
December in Physical Education was a very exciting month. Mr. Pontoriero was still
completing his student teaching experience and the students began to really open up to the idea
of having him as their teacher. All of the classes completed a volleyball tournament. The 8th
grade got the chance to take the two most successful teams in both physical education classes
and play a final game during lunch wait. It was exciting for all the students! After completing
the volleyball unit, the students began the indoor soccer unit. All grades started off the unit by
learning and enhancing the basic skills of soccer. The 6th grade then moved onto sideline
soccer games which they loved! The 7th graders got the opportunity to play small sided soccer
games focusing on offensive and defensive strategies. The 8th graders enjoyed making their
own teams, and creating team names and colors! The students worked very hard in physical
education this month leading up to the ever-anticipated "Winter Vacation!" They all deserve to
have an enjoyable week off, as long as they keep the promise they made to be physically active
every day of the vacation!
Computers
All students in Mr. Guanci’s cycle classes’ were able to create a holiday cards using Microsoft
Publisher. The students first selected a design template for their greeting card. Next, the students
typed a message to their family or friends wishing them a happy holiday and thanking them for
all they do for them throughout the year. The final touch came when the students inserted
pictures from clip art to make their cards shine. The students now have no need to buy
expensive cards from the store and can make their own card from their heart, which means more
to the person receiving it.
DECEMBER 2010
JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Kindergarten:
Mrs. Northrop's Kindergarten class did a thematic unit about reindeer. The children used map
skills to locate regions where reindeer live, made books about reindeer that included important
facts about these animals and created reindeer hats.
Ms. McCrea’s Kindergarten completed their Reading theme: Friends at School. The literature
they read included The Little School Bus, Jessica, I Love School! and Sparky & Eddie’s First
Day of School. The class focused on letter sounds /d/, short vowel /i/ and phonograms (word
families) – ap, - an. They began isolating the initial sound in a word and continued listening for
rhyming words. The class added the words he and come to their sight word list. The students
began making inferences and drawing conclusions about the stories, they read.
First Grade:
Mrs. Pereira & Mrs. Paglucci's first grade classes read the holiday classic The Polar Express
(written by Chris Van Allsburg). This timeless story discusses a magical train ride where a boy
is taken to the North Pole to receive a special gift from a special person. After reading The
Polar Express, the students watched the movie, which is based on the enchanted storybook; this
classic reaffirms every youngster’s need to believe. In order to make the experience as realistic
and fun for the children as possible, we made the elements of the story “come to life.” Our
objective was to have our students feel as though they are the characters in the story. The first
graders came to school wearing their warm and cozy pajamas...like Polar Express Reading and
Math activities (as an extension to the story). This the children wear on the train in the movie.
The classroom was set to resemble rows in a train and students were given Polar Express tickets
to board our pretend train. We served cocoa and cookies as a special treat. As a follow-up to the
story and movie, students completed experience was enjoyable, as well as educational!
Second Grade:
Mrs. Nolan's second grade class was involved in several writing projects. We wrote friendly
letters to our pen pals in Kearny and letters to Santa. We also read The Gingerbread Man and
wrote our own version of the story.
Mrs. Palermo’s second grade class learned about the many different habitats of the world.
Each student created a collage display to discuss and share with his or her classmates.
Third Grade:
Mrs. Keogh’s Third Grade class collaborated with Mrs. Gonzalez, the teacher of Elementary
Spanish, to deliver cross-curricular lessons on time. While learning how to tell time in Spanish,
the third-graders are also learning elapsed time in Math class. Mrs. Keogh has been videotaping
activities with differentiated instruction, such as Mrs. Gonzalez's clock matching page
assignment. Students matched the Spanish time sentence with the clock displaying that time.
Students who finished first were able to assist those still finding it challenging. This month’s
Highlights were also submitted to the NAEA newspaper!
Mrs. Korycinski’s Third Grade class was busy writing descriptive paragraphs in December.
They learned to include a main idea sentence, details, and a closing sentence in their writing, to
create a paragraph that is well formed and organized.
Fourth Grade:
Mrs. Rotondo’s fourth grade classes each created a book entitled Snowy Similes in which the
students wrote and illustrated unique winter themed similes. Mrs. Rotondo’s classes will
continue with weekly picture and poem prompt assignments. Holiday writing assignments and
illustrations were also incorporated into this month’s activities.
Mrs. Herrmann’s fourth grade Social Studies classes were busy learning about the
exploration and settlement of North America and how it led to changes in the area that is now
New Jersey. Throughout the month topics researched and discussed included why Europeans
came to North America, how the New Jersey colony was divided and settled, why the colonist
wanted independence from Britain, why and how the Constitution was written, and how new
forms of transportation changed New Jersey.
Fifth Grade:
Miss Jacobson’s Fifth Grade Math classes collected data by using surveys and organized data
in frequency tables and line plots. The students completed a hands-on activity that surveyed the
class on how many skittles were in each student’s bag. They created graphs and used the data to
compute the mean, range, median and mode of the set of data. Students cooperatively used
stem-and-leaf plots to solve word problems. Students learned to choose appropriate scales and
intervals for graphs. They used ordered pairs of numbers to graph and identify points on a grid.
The classes chose the best graph for a set of data. Students cooperatively determined what type
of data they are studying and what graph will make it easiest to organize and read the
information.
Mrs. Applegate's Fifth Grade Social Studies classes made timelines of important events in
their life. They had to include pictures and captions of important historical events that happened
during their lifetime. Each student gave an oral presentation of his/her timeline.
Resource:
Mrs. Volpe’s Resource Class learned how to use both the dictionary and thesaurus to assist in
creative holiday writing activities. The intention of this lesson is to expand both creative and
everyday vocabulary. As well as have, all students reach the goals and objectives set forth in
their Individual Education Programs (IEP).
Art:
Ms. Cronk’s Art classes celebrated the beginning of the winter season with artwork exploring
this unique time of year. Art students recalled their favorite wintertime activities that imagined
winter wonderlands and translated these ideas into a variety of media. Art students utilized
paint, crayon, oil pastel and collage materials.
Music:
Mr. Mullen's Band students were invited to participate in the North Arlington annual "Tree
Lighting Ceremony" on Dec.8, 2010 at the Town Hall. The band also performed many seasonal
favorites at the Holiday Show on Dec.15, 2010.
Mr. Nicolle’s Music classes prepared Holiday songs to present to parents at the annual Holiday
program held on December 15, 2010. All the classes and soloists did an excellent job, and were
very proud of their efforts.
Comprehensive Health & Physical Education:
Mr. Cioffi's Health and Physical Education classes used the entire month of December to
focus on fitness, with activities such as Fitness Monopoly. The goal was to raise their heart rate
and too develop activities the students can participate in during the holiday break.
World Language:
Mrs. Gonzalez’s World Language classes effectively delivered cross-curricular lessons on
time. While learning how to tell time in Spanish, the third-graders learned about elapsed time in
Math class. Mrs. Keogh has been videotaping activities with differentiated instruction in her
own class, and Mrs. Gonzalez's clock matching page assignment was a good example to include.
Students matched the Spanish time sentence with the clock displaying that time. Students who
finished first were able to assist those still finding it challenging.
ELL:
Mrs. Nouravi's ESL Kindergarten class learned about the farm animals what they provide us
with, and the different sounds they make. They also shared the different sounds that the farm
animals make in their native languages.
Speech:
Mrs. Hale’s Speech classes enjoyed writing sentences of complex sentence structure with the
help of a student-friendly software program (Kidspiration). The mapping/organization view
(picture view) allowed students to visualize their sentence structure as they created sentences
pertaining to a given topic.
Reading Coach:
Mrs. Young’s Reading classes are currently working on vocabulary, reading fluency,
comprehension and critical thinking skills.
Workshop Attendance:
Mrs. Rotondo and Mrs. Volpe attended the Apple iPod Touch Training at Washington
Elementary School. They gathered new and creative ways to integrate pod casting and Apple
apps into the curriculum.
School Accomplishments (i.e. clubs, fundraisers, food drives, performances etc.):
Student Council collected Toys for Tots, Crossing Guard Collection, and sold raffles for a Toy
Chest. The money collected will be forwarded to Pennies for Patients.
Roosevelt School
Monthly Highlights
December 2010

Pre-Kindergarten – Noreen Mack
Mrs. DiTomasso's fifth grade students helped the Pre-K students write kind words about their classmates
on paper snowballs. They then decorated the snowballs which were used to create a giant snowman
which is on display in the gym. We are enjoying our Star Student program and learning more about each
other.

Kindergarten – Kathleen Malanga
Since September Mrs. Malanga's kindergartners have been reading Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with
Rice. This book consists of poems relating to each month of the calendar year. The children delight in
reading the poems independently each morning. The poems are also used to teach concepts of print and
sight words. The children end each month by illustrating a copy of the poem to take home.

Grade 1 – Barbara Arena
Dave Mullen and Mrs. Arena collaborated on their monthly highlight. Grade 1 children learned ways to
say "Happy Holidays" in different languages. These sayings were incorporated in our Holiday Program
when singing "It's a Small World". A bulletin board was also created with the many sayings that parents
sent in with these languages.

Grade 2 – Melinda Phalon
Second graders used informational texts and information they found on Enchanted Learning.com to
research an animal of their choice. They used this information to write reports on the different animals.
Second graders have also learned to add and subtract two-digit numbers with and without regrouping.

Grade 3 – Vicki Giuffre
Mrs. Giuffre’s students learned about different groups and types of animals in Science. They are currently
completing projects which will demonstrate their knowledge about them. Each student was assigned an
animal project that will include researching a different animal group and creating a poster to demonstrate
one’s understanding of a particular group, the animal’s needs, and traits. The projects will be shared in
class and displayed in the classroom shortly.

Grade 4 – Justine Crismale
Mrs. Crismale's class has been working very hard on their book reports. They each read a book and had
to make a snowman with the following things for its body: The hat was the title and author, the head had
the characters of the story, the next snow circle was the setting of the story, and the last snow circle was
their favorite part and why it was their favorite part. The snowmen are creative and look wonderful on the
bulletin board.

Grade 5 – Noelle DiTommaso
The 5th grade class assisted the Pre-K at Roosevelt School with writing kind words about a classmate in
order to build a colorful life size snowman in the gymnasium for the Holiday Concert. This is part of the
ongoing anti-bullying lessons Roosevelt School instills in our students.

English Language Learning – Louisa Stringham
Students in Mrs. Stringham’s second grade reading class designed environmental posters based on a
play about students saving a park. Students wrote slogans to show how people could help keep the
parks clean. Also, students in Mrs. Stringham’s first grade ESL class continue to provide details in their
weekly journal writings. Students have been guessing each other’s clues to a variety of subjects.

Self Contained Special Education – Theresa Whalen
Ms. Whalen's fourth and fifth grade class have been learning about the first animals. The students have
been learning a lot of interesting facts. They have been learning how these animals developed over 600
million years ago from soft bodied, many-celled creatures to mammals of today that are vertebrates, have
hair on their bodies and feed their young. They also wrote fabulous reports on an animal of their choice.

Resource Center – Irene McKenna
Students in Grades 4 & 5 Language Arts classes were introduced to a genre of poetry called a "haiku".
They read examples and wrote a class haiku to practice the correct number of lines and syllables.
Students then wrote a winter haiku.

Art – Erika Cronk
Ms. Cronk’s art classes celebrated the beginning of the winter season with artwork exploring this unique
time of year. Art students recalled their favorite winter time activities and imagined winter wonderlands
and translated these ideas into a variety of media. Art students utilized paint, crayon, oil pastel and
collage materials.

Speech Therapy – Susan Hale
Mrs. Hale’s students enjoyed writing sentences of complex sentence structure with the help of a studentfriendly software program (Kidspiration). The mapping/organization view (picture view) allowed students
to visualize their sentence structure as they created sentences pertaining to a given topic.

School Nurse – Doreen Terletzky, RN
During the month of December, Ms. Terletzky was busy with the following:
- Distribution of 5th Grade Parent Alert pamphlets informing parents of ways to discuss alcohol/ drug
abuse with their children.
- Continuous Pediculosis screening and communication with parents.
- Participated in I & RS conferences.
- Height / weight / blood pressure screening. Communication with parents when necessary.
- 2nd notice sent to PK parents reinforcing the requirement for the influenza vaccine.
- Formulated health charts for registration of transfer students. Contact with parents and previous school
districts.
- Continuous updating of the health deficit list.
- Organized dental screenings, and dental and epilepsy presentations.
- Training of Epipen delegates – all information documented.
- Reviewing medical information for Jefferson school in preparation for Epipen training.
- Accumulating necessary information for the annual TB state report.
Washington School
Monthly Highlights
December 2010
Pre K 3 (Jill Bury)
Miss Bury’s Pre-K class prepared for the winter months by making penguins and gingerbread
men along with snowmen to celebrate the first snow fall of the year. They were also very
excited about their new iPod touches the Special Education Department purchased in order to
integrate technology into the curriculum.
Pre K 4 (Alison Fasouletus)
This month the students in Mrs. Fasouletos’ Kindergarten – First grade class practiced how to
deal with losing during game play. We enjoyed our social skills group. We distinguish between
the right and wrong way to utilize these skills and we role played and practiced these skills in the
classroom. Also, we made snowmen rice krispie treats and decorated them for our holiday party.
Kindergarten – 2nd (Mrs. Kosiakowski)
Mrs. Kosiakowski's class has been using the Smartboard to learn new words. They used
Starfall.com. to learn long vowel sounds with the silent “e” that comes at the end of a word.
Every day we also use a magic pen to spell our new words! The students enjoy the Smartboard
because it makes learning fun!
Grades 3 – 4 (Mrs. Cutruzzula)
Mrs. Cutruzzula’s class wrote Haiku Poems for winter to practice sounding out words into
syllables. Each child typed their poem on the computer and printed it on snowflake paper. The
poems were mounted next to snowmen they colored and cut and are displayed outside the
classroom.
Pre K a.m. (Lynn Johnson)
Mrs. Johnson's Pre-K students learned all about patterns. They discovered lots of patterns
right in their classroom. They used blocks, links, crayons, and even their own classmates to
make patterns. They also worked very hard practicing for their performance in the Washington
School Holiday Show. They were adorable and did a fabulous job!
Pre K p.m. (Heather Luciano)
Mrs. Luciano’s Pre-K children each had a chance to have Teddy sleep over. The children did a
wonderful job with his journal drawing and writing of his adventures. Teddy is very lucky to
have such wonderful friends!
Our Star Student of the Week program is off to a great start. Parents are invited to visit our class
and plan a special project, read a story or tell us about their job. The children are always so
excited to have a family member visit.
The children created a variety of holiday projects that reinforced fine motor skills as well the
skill of following directions.
Kindergarten (Mrs. Haag)
Mrs. Haag’s Kindergarten students learned about the different holidays that are celebrated in
December. First, they made menorahs to celebrate Hanukkah; then they made ornaments to
decorate a Christmas tree; and lastly, they made a kinara to celebrate Kwanzaa. They also
learned about some of the traditions that are celebrated during each holiday.
Grade 1 (Mrs. Dillon)
Mrs.Dillion’s first grade students learned how animals are grouped. They cut out animals from
magazines or the internet at home. At school, they sorted them into the following categories:
mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish.
Grade 1 (Mrs. Wei)
Mrs. Wei's first grade class learned about nouns. They discussed and created a list of
holiday/winter nouns. Students chose one for each category -person, place, thing, and animal.
Students created a gift box from construction paper. They decorated their boxes by drawing
pictures of holiday nouns and labeling them. Students attached a bow and colorful nametag when
they were finished.
Grade 2 (Mrs. Mielke)
Ms. Mielke’s class has been very busy in December! In language arts they learned how to write
a friendly letter. Each student wrote a friendly letter to Santa and chose a pen pal from the other
second grade in Washington School to write to. They also celebrated the traditions of Hanukkah
and Kwanza by reading stories and completing art projects.
Grade 2 (Ms. Pusaver)
Miss Pusaver’s second grade class made paper bag book reports! Each student chose a book, put
items in a paper bag that represented that book, and presented it to the class! The students also
finished reading Flat Stanley and colored their own Flat Stanley in class. They wrote letters to
friends and family members who live in a different towns, states, and countries and sent their
Flat Stanley to them. The class is looking forward to seeing all the places Stanley will go!
Grade 3 (Mrs. Phelps)
Mrs. Phelps’ third grade class worked collaboratively with Miss Pusaver’s second grade class to
create Snowman Stories. Each snowball on the snowman represented the sections of a story, the
beginning, middle and end. Students then published their work to create a snowman book in its
realistic shape. The students’ work is displayed in the hallway for visitors to see. It’s a winter
wonderland!
Grade 4 (Ms. Verrier)
Ms. Verrier's fourth grade class learned about the Lenape Indians of New Jersey. The students
created models of a Lenape Indian Village. Villages included a wigwam or longhouse and other
important parts of Indian life. Models are displayed in the Washington School lobby and the
second floor hallway.
Grade 5 (Mrs. Sauchelli)
Mrs. Sauchelli’s fifth grade class explored a variety of genres throughout the month of
December. The students each read a story of their choice and wrote a book report. In their book
reports, they had to describe the following key elements: setting, characters, conflict, plot events
and resolution. The children also had to illustrate their favorite character and explain, using
examples from the story, why they chose that character.
Resource (Mrs. Keegan)
Mrs. Keegan's resource groups continued working with graphs. They began with tally tables and
evolved into cumulative frequency charts. The students worked with partners using the activity
cards that included solving all types of problems using the various graphs. Math was also
incorporated as the third graders started to learn about timelines. They are currently working on
their own personal time line of the major events in their lives!
BSI (Mrs. Drozdowski)
Mrs. Drozdowski's BSI class made "Magic Reindeer Food" in anticipation for the arrival of
Santa. This has been an on going tradition in BSI for many years and the children always look
forward to it. The first and second graders enjoyed a candy cane treat and created an acrostic
poem using adjectives about this holiday favorite. The fourth and fifth graders read and listened
to the holiday classic THE POLAR EXPRESS. They discussed the use of figurative language in
this wonderful story.
Art (Ms. Cronk)
Ms. Cronk’s art classes celebrated the beginning of the winter season with artwork exploring this
unique time of year. Art students recalled their favorite winter time activities and imagined
winter wonderlands. They translated these ideas into a variety of media. Art students utilized
paint, crayon, oil pastel and collage materials.
Music (Mr. Mullen)
Mr. Mullen's instrumental and general music classes put on a sensational Holiday Concert on
Dec. 13th. After many weeks of practice, the students were able to demonstrate the instrumental
and vocal talents. The proud parents were in attendance of a standing room only crowd.
Congratulations to all!
Physical Education (Mrs. Scalia)
Mrs. Scalia’s physical education classes in grades 2 through 5 continued to work on their
volleyball skills. While doing so, the students were challenged when cross-curricular activities of
counting in Spanish and spelling words of the week challenges were included. The students rose
to the occasion and did an outstanding job.
World Language (Mrs. Gonzalez)
Mrs. Gonzalez combined Math with Spanish and delivered cross-curricular lessons on telling
time in Spanish. While they practiced time in Spanish, the third graders completed a clock
matching page assignment. Students matched the Spanish time sentence with the clock
displaying that time. Students who finished first were able to assist those who still found it
challenging.
Speech (Mrs. Hornstein)
Mrs. Hornstein’s speech and language students have continued to make progress towards
mastering the goals specifically designed for them in their Individualized Education Plans
(IEPs). Students continued to work on conceptual and contextual information in terms of
specific skill development and in relation to curriculum specific content. Students were also
introduced to the new iPod touch devices acquired by the Special Education department and they
are looking forward to using them in the upcoming weeks and months during speech sessions
Nurse (Ms. DeVenio)
The Healthy Heritage Challenge was very successful. Thank you to all the families that
participated. In collaboration with Ms. Cronk all students made covers for their class books. I
hope everyone enjoys the tasty recipes that were shared.
A representative from NJ Family Care met with me and brought NJ Family Care packets. If
anyone wants one please let me know. I am sending packets home as needed.
Wishing everyone happy healthy holidays!
Student Council
The student council collected “Pennies for Pink” in the months of November and December. To
date, we have raised $237.50 which will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for
breast cancer research. They also collected 132 teddy bears which were donated to children and
seniors in area hospitals.