Friday Spotlight on Ms. Weist

Ms. Weist

Special Education Teacher

West End Memorial School











•Name:
Tracey Weist

• College(s) and degrees(s):
West Virginia University --BS in Early Childhood Education, Rowan and Rutger's University -- Special Education Certification, National University – currently completing master's degree in special education

• Work experience:
I started out as an aide at Burlington County Special Services. My first teaching position was as a Resource Specialist in San Diego, California for two years at Hancock Elementary. Then, I moved to a new school as a special day class teacher for two years in San Diego at Mason Elementary.

• Favorite books
o fiction: Anything by James Patterson
o nonfiction: I don't read too many nonfiction books for leisure, but I love magazines about cooking and food! And I always read the newspaper.

• Favorite television show:
Lost

• Last movie I loved:
John Tucker Must Die

• Music CD that I have almost worn out from repeated playing:
U2

• Person (living or not) that I’d like to have lunch with and why:
My mother. I work during the week, and she works on the weekends. We never get to go out to lunch together!

• Visiting this place makes me peaceful:
my bed

• One item on my “to do” list that I can’t seem to get to:
reorganize my closet

• Favorite animal (domestic or wild):
cat

• Favorite sports team:
The Sixers

• Destination of my fantasy vacation trip:
Tahiti

• Details about the teacher I will never forget who inspired me to enter the profession:
My second grade teacher. She was shocked that the teacher I had the previous year wanted to retain me in first grade. My second grade teacher said she knew I was bright from the first day she met me. From that day on, my confidence went up, and I felt that I would like to be able to do that same thing for other children one day.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

How about these photographs from the new elementary school technology initiative -- Computers On Wheels (C.O.W.'s)?



These are fourth grade students at Evergreen Avenue Elementary working in their classroom -- Mrs. Rottina's class.



Technology teacher, Mrs. Dougherty, helps with the new laptops. (For more information on the laptop initiative, see the September 19th post in this blog.)

Back-to-School Night

Reminder: It is Back-to-School time for parents and guardians.

This week, Thursday, September 28, is the Jr.-Sr. High School Back-to-School Night. The program starts at 6:30 p.m. You will need to have a copy of your child's schedule; a schedule will be available for you when you enter at the lobby area by the auditorium. If you have any questions, contact the Jr.-Sr. High School Main office at 853-0123, extention 212.

(The elementary schools' Back-to-School Night will be next week, October 5, for all three elementary schools.)

Board of Education Meeting -- Update

All items on last night's agenda were approved. The agendas and minutes of all board meetings are part of what is available on the school district's website; both are archived on the site.

The item of most significant note is that the stadium contract was awarded (track, football field, improved drainage, hillside stabilization, etc.). District representatives will meet with the contractor today to map out the early phases of this project. The current timeline has this work slated to be completed by June/July 2007. Though there was discussion regarding the possible benefit of using a synthetic turf surface instead of sod, the final decision was to elect the natural turf surface (sod).

We are excited to have another, important aspect of the facilities referendum project moving forward.

Board of Education Meeting -- Tonight

The regular, monthly meeting of the Woodbury Board of Education is scheduled for this evening at 7:00 p.m. The meeting is held in the Board Conference Room on the first floor of the high school building.

Our new teachers and administrators will be presented this evening to the board members and public. The full agenda for the meeting can be found on the district website.

Woodbury National Honor Society Sale

The students in the Woodbury High School National Honor Society are undertaking their first international service project -- sponsoring a BeadforLife sale.

The following information is from the NHS in an effort to help advertise their sale:

BeadforLife is a unique community development project that builds economic and cultural bridges between impoverished women in Kampala, Uganda and concerned citizens in North America, Europe and Australia. Through the sale of beautiful handmade jewelry, the project generates income for Ugandan bead makers and their families and supports several thousand people. The beaders are women living with HIV as well as refugees displaced by a devastating civil war that has been raging in northern Uganda for nineteen years. Many are widows who take care of AIDS orphans in addition to their own children, and most of the beaders live in one-room mud huts with no windows, electricity, or running water.

The resilience of these women and their hard work is an inspiration. Although they do not have many possessions, they are rich in traditions, values, and their belief in a greater spiritual presence. They have gratitude for the smallest kindness or opportunity, and they have a remarkable strength that comes from surviving great struggles.

BeadforLife beads are made from colorful recycled paper. Each page is carefully chosen and then cut into thin triangular strips to create the most appealing beads. The beaders carefully roll, glue, and varnish each bead, and matching beads are then strung together with glass beads to make colorful and exquisite jewelry, including bracelets, earrings, necklaces, anklets, and purses. These handmade items have an African flair and are available in a variety of styles and sizes. Each piece is unique and would make a distinctive gift – a gift that helps wonderful people rise out of destitute poverty.

Please visit their website at www.beadforlife.com. The money from purchases of Beadforlife items will go far in the hands of the beaders and be used primarily for food, rent, medicine, and school expenses. Four dollars buys a pair of shoes; ten dollars pays the monthly rent; twenty dollars provides AIDS medicines for one month. Your participation and generosity do make a difference and are greatly appreciated.

BeadForLife

The NHS will be selling the jewelry at Back-to-School Night on Sept. 28th, 2006 in the New Cafeteria. You may see Miss Knauss prior to that time for a sneak preview. Beadwear prices range from $5.00 to $30.00. The Woodbury NHS asks that you please help them help others.

AVID: Advancement Via Individual Determination

Woodbury Senior High School will be implementing the Advancement Via Individual Determination program (AVID) for a second school year. Last year, Woodbury brought this national program to the district with the help of a grant from the Center for Essential Schools; one class of twenty freshmen began as the first AVID Class in Woodbury.

For the 2006-07 school year, the majority of these students will continue as AVID students in their sophomore year. In addition, two new groups of freshmen will be involved in this year's program. In this short period of time, over ten percent (10%) of the high school population will now be active participants in AVID.

AVID is a college preparatory program for students who are determined to achieve during their high school years. Through the AVID elective program, students find support to achieve good grades in honors and advanced classes. These high school students succeed in rigorous curricula, enter mainstream activities in school, and increase their opportunities to enroll in four-year colleges.

Developed in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, AVID has seen steady growth nationally and internationally in the last twenty-five years. The program has a proven track record for students, measured in the numbers of students who succeed in Advanced Placement classes in high school and finish four-year college educations within five years after graduating from high school.

We have had the majority of Freshman and Sophomore class teachers trained over the course of the last two summers -- volunteering their time during week long training sessions specifically geared to understanding the AVID essential elements and how AVID teachers can increase student motivation and achievement through the use of proven teaching and learning strategies. Every staff member and student joins the program on a strictly voluntary basis. In addition, other Woodbury faculty has been involved in training that takes place during the school year.

This year, the following educators were involved in the summer AVID training:

Anne Baney
Regina Bosworth
Donna Cohen
Denise Dunham
Colleen Fitzgerald
Jim Hilferty
Maria Lario
Carmen Nigro
David Snelling
Michelle Sokolovic

Other educators who participated in training the previous summer (2005) include:

Paula Swan
Barbara Castleberry
Gloria Goode
Josh Bowe

In addition, a number of our faculty has had the opportunity to attend sessions throughout the school year that help to introduce AVID to an even broader group of educators in our school. These include:

Cheryl Federline
Liseidy Diaz
Mickey Kiser
Yael Emenecker
Terry Stebich.

This program is directed by Mrs. Donna Cohen. She can be reached at dcohen@woodburysch.com, if you have specific questions. Or, you can call her at 856-853-0123 (ext. 241).

This link is for the national AVID site:

AVID

Friday Spotlight on Mr. Scavette

Mr. Scavette

Physical Science and Chemistry Teacher

Woodbury Jr.-Sr. High School





•Name:
Gary Daniel Scavette

• College(s) and degrees(s):
Southern Maine Technical College (Associates of Science Marine Biology and Oceanography), Glassboro State College (BS in Biology / Secondary Ed)

• Work experience:
Teacher of Middle School Science -- 3 yrs, Teacher of Honors Chemistry and AP Physics -- 11 years, Charter Boat Captain and Registered Maine Guide for my own Company (Northeast Anglers Inc.) -- summers 8 years, Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Personal Trainer -- current, Outdoor Writer (Monthly Columnist for Northwoods Sporting Journal) -- 5 years

• Favorite books
o fiction: The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
o nonfiction: A variety of Chemistry and Physics references

• Favorite television show:
Very seldom watch TV?????

• Last movie I loved:
A River Runs Through It

• Music CD that I have almost worn out from repeated playing:
James Taylor, Sweet Baby James

• Person (living or not) that I’d like to have lunch with and why:
My father (deceased). He did not live long enough to see what I have become or to see my lovely children.

• Visiting this place makes me peaceful:
The vast wilderness north of Monson Maine

• One item on my “to do” list that I can’t seem to get to:
Fly fishing in Pennsylvania on Sundays

• Favorite animal (domestic or wild):
My Brittany Spaniel Molly -- the finest upland bird dog In the Northeast!

• Favorite sports team:
The Philadelphia Eagles

• Destination of my fantasy vacation trip:
Fly fishing for wild trout in Alaska

• Details about the teacher I will never forget who inspired me to enter the profession:
Dr. Siegel (college professor). He demanded the highest standards and expectations of his students. Dr. Siegel showed me that intelligence is not predetermined at birth and can grow through hard work, discipline, and a positive view that "you can accomplish anything you set your mind to do if you are not afraid to work at it."

Elementary School Family Nights

Woodbury Public Schools has a long tradition of offering Family Nights to the community. These special events invite parents and their children to spend a couple hours together exploring an instructional topic in an engaging (and fun!) way.

Maybe, over the years, you have come to a Family Math Night at West End School and learned about math manipulatives. Possibly you have attended a Family Literacy Night at Evergreen Avenue School and worked at learning stations that all had a pirate theme before reading a picture book about pirates with your child.

This year Woodbury is fine tuning it's Family Night program and opening our doors to interested families no matter which of the three elementary schools your child attends. Our Family Nights will be by grade level and offered throughout the year.

Flyers will be sent home with students in advance of each event and we are planning to get the details onto our school district website. This blog entry is informational -- so that you have an idea of what is in store for this year. There will be at least one Family Night event for each grade level.

Check your son's or daughter's backpack for a Family Night flyer three weeks before a Family Night is scheduled for his/her grade level. Then please be sure to register by completing the form, indicate the number of family members who will be attending, and return it to school with your child.

(Note that the calendar in this year’s student/parent handbook also indicates when these elementary Family Nights occur.)

Young Computer Whiz

I posted yesterday about the new Woodbury technology effort in the elementary schools. It is only fair that I report that this weblog (blog) was created largely due to the work of my own son who has just finished sixth grade! I have four boys and this second child has been the technology person in the family for quite some time now.

He changed the colors using HTML code to give the background more of a Woodbury look, added a counter, and generally directed the technology choices that made the set up of this blog possible.

It is because of what I see some young children accomplish with technology that I get excited about what we at Woodbury are offering in our elementary schools with the new mobile laptop labs. (see previous post: Elementary School Technology)

This post is simply giving credit where credit is due.

Elementary School Technology

With a new technology initiative, the Woodbury elementary schools will be offering technology experiences to our students beginning in kindergarten. All three of our elementary schools will be using new wireless mobile computer labs equipped with laptops for student use in grades K-5 during the 2006-07 school year.

Students will learn to use technology tools as they study their regular academic work right in the classroom. Our technology teachers will team teach with the regular classroom teachers. This will involve advance lesson planning between the classroom teachers and the technology teacher. Their shared goal will be to utilize software or internet websites that authentically complement classroom instruction.

These mobile laptop labs will be cycling through all kindergarten through grade 5 classrooms throughout the school year. A team comprised of our two technology teachers -- Susan Sarlo (West End) and Sue Dougherty (Evergreen and Walnut), our computer consultant -- Monica Shields, and our Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction -- Alysa Cummings have all worked to develop the new program and accompanying curriculum.

We are excited to be able to get the technology into lower elementary students' hands and effectively integrate technology as a tool in the regular classroom. Stay tuned for exciting updates!

If you have any questions or ideas to share, feel free to contact any of the above individuals. Ms. Cummings can be a point person to field general comments at acummings@woodburysch.com or 856-853-0123 EXT 218.

NASA Explorer School -- Robotic Competiton

An exciting part of our three year history as the only NASA Explorer School in NJ has been offering our Junior High students a chance to explore the world of Lego robotics. Woodbury students thrive in a class in which they work in teams to design and compete with original robotic creations.

This year, robotics teacher Ari Ford has arranged for some of his most capable students to participate in the 2006 Philadelphia BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.

“Game Day” is scheduled for Saturday, November 18th (9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) and will be hosted by Villanova University in Villanova, PA.

A preview date in September will allow the team to receive a glimpse of the competition field, a kit of returnable and non-returnable parts for building their robot, and guidelines for Game Day.

Last year, teams from as far away as West Virginia and Connecticut competed in this event.

Good luck to our Woodbury engineers!

Philadelphia BEST

Spotlight on . . .

I am still assembling the information for the Friday employee spotlight postings. In the meantime, let me put the spotlight on two kind acts associated with our “Got Tickets?” campaign:

Part One
Two of our teachers, Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Cammarota, read the “Got Tickets?” posting on this blog and, in conversation with the owner at Ciconte’s Italia Pizza (Crown Point Road, West Deptford), secured a donation of vouchers for over 150 tickets to this Sunday’s Camden Rivershark’s baseball game.

We extended an invitation to claim these vouchers to our 6th graders and their families. The tickets will be distributed today.

We thank Ciconte’s Pizza for their contribution to this effort!

Part Two
Our own Vince Myers, principal of West End Memorial School, has donated two tickets to a 76ers game in January against Milwaukee. This donation provides us a bit more time to coordinate the distribution; we will look to find a family who will be able to provide a child a chance to attend this professional athletic event that would not have occurred otherwise. Thank you, Mr. Myers!

[For more information on the “Got Tickets?” campaign, see the September 7, 2006 posting. Again, we thank those responsible for getting us off to such a quick start.]

Contact Us

If you have a question -- no matter how insignificant you feel it may be -- ask. In today’s world, it is simple to reach out by e-mail and leave a message for your child’s teacher, counselor, nurse, or principal. All will be interested in helping you.

Our e-mail addresses can be found at each school location on the district website: www.woodburysch.com.

Also, our phone system has voicemail capabilities. All schools can be contacted by using our general number: 856-853-0123. The extensions for individuals are listed on the website in the same location email addresses are found.

We want to hear about your questions or concerns so that we can help work through matters with you. It is important that we keep our lines of communication open and active.

By working together, we hope to make the 2006-07 school year a good one for you, too, as parents/guardians.

Information

Today, we welcome our students back to school. They will be provided with a lot of information about the school year ahead.

Though this blog provides a bit of school news for you, you may be interested in the links that are listed in the column to the right on the blog's main page. These links will give you access to even more information about the issues that impact the Woodbury Public Schools.

Woodbury Public Schools
You are probably aware of the school site. This link will take you to our official district site.

City of Woodbury
This is the official site of the city of Woodbury. There is a wealth of information about the city found here. This site is an important resource for any resident.

New Jersey Department of Education
The NJDOE site has a section dedicated to New Jersey parents. A wide variety of resources are provided to keep you informed about the state educational practices and expectations.

United Stated Department of Education
This is the national educational site. The most significant national issue facing local schools is the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. This site will provide you information about NCLB and other federal educational initiatives.

Education Week
Education Week is a weekly, national newspaper that focuses on educational matters. It is a very popular source for current information on school related matters. This link is to the official website of the newspaper and provides access to the stories that appear in the hardcopy.

The location of these links will provide you easy access to any of this educational information throughout the school year.

Ready . . . Set . . .

Go! Well, almost – tomorrow. We are ready for tomorrow’s official start of the 2006-07 school year for the students. The faculty is completing the fourth day of in-service activity today, and it has been a very productive time.

During these days, the buildings have become even more complete as we “clean up” the various issues from the summer construction. As noted in an earlier construction posting, there will be ongoing work during the opening months of school, but that will be taking place primarily during the second shift (3 p.m.-11 p.m.).

Also, the board’s White & Gold – Community Edition left the printers yesterday and made its way to the post office. That publication will give you more detail regarding the referendum related construction work.

First day of school – Wednesday, September 13.

Junior High Students -- program starts at 7:50 in the auditorium
Senior High Students -- program starts at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium
Elementary Students -- doors open at 8:35 a.m.

Welcome back, everyone!

Alysa Cummings' Poetry Web Site Honored

Before joining the Woodbury Public Schools in the summer of 2005 as Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction, Alysa Cummings created a website called Instant Poetry Forms that invites young writers to point, click and fill in words on interactive forms that appear on their computer screens.

With a click of the mouse, the child's words can become part of an original poem. During the 2005-06 school year, Instant Poetry Forms became a hit with second and third grade students in West End Elementary School when they visited their computer lab for creative writing time.

Ms. Cummings' award winning website has recently been highlighted as one of only five instructionally effective online resources in a book entitled IT's Elementary written by technology teacher Boni Hamilton; it will be published by ISTE in October 2006.

Check out Instant Poetry Forms at

Instant Poetry Forms

All of our elementary teachers were instructed on how to use this site during a staff development session last week when our new laptop computer labs were introduced. More information on the new laptops is planned for a post on this blog next week. Stay tuned!

Friday Spotlight

On Friday's, I plan to spotlight a Woodbury Public School District employee. Initially, I will publish information regarding our new employees. It will be a chance for you to get to know a bit more about those who have recently joined the Woodbury school community.

This year, we have added administrators, teachers and support staff across the district. Today, I will provide you a listing of these individuals. In future Friday postings, the focus will be on a single individual and more detailed.

New Administrators:

*Denise Dunham, Jr.-Sr. High Principal
*Steven Morris, Sr. High Assistant Principal
*Mark Napoleon, Jr. High Assistant Principal

*Vince Myers, West End Memorial Principal

Teachers:

Jr.-Sr. High School
*Antoinette Allen -- Math
*Derek Blumenthal -- Math
*Sherri Lynn Cairns -- Special Education
*Steven Gallatig -- Social Studies
*Daniel Howey -- Guidance Counselor
*Antoinette Rizzi -- Math
*Jacqueline Rosario -- Special Education
*Gary Roskoski -- School Psychologist
*Gary Scavette -- Science
*Scott Sokolic -- Science
*Elizabeth Warden -- ESL

West End Memorial
*Karen Capozzi -- Speech-Language Specialist
*Danielle Harrison -- Grade 2
*Tracy Weist -- Special Education

Evergreen
*Thilana Chandler -- Special Education
*Dana Frazier -- Grade 2
*Bobbi Sue McArthur -- Grade 1

Support Staff:

*Kathy Chando -- Main Office Secretary, Evergreen
*Joann vanOyen -- Main Office Secretary, West End
*Ellen Hance -- Main Office Clerk, West End

Additionally, we have added a number new instructional assistants, classroom and lunchroom aides, and custodial support people to fill vacancies in these areas.

We welcome everyone and know that each will play an important role in the overall, continued success of our district.

Got Tickets?

Do you have tickets to the opera, ballet, a play, or musical? How about tickets to a sporting event?

The Woodbury Public Schools would like to be a "clearinghouse" for extra tickets. We will get them into the hands of families in our district. You will be able to provide an opportunity to one of our students -- an opportunity that may not be something he or she would typically experience.

In a July 9, 2006, letter to the editor in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Carolynn Schneider of Glassboro wrote how a trip to a "free" concert when she was a high school student introduced her to the "glory of classical music experienced in person. That first free concert led to three generations of Philadelphia Orchestra season-ticket holders . . ."

Maybe you can be the one who sparks a new interest. Even a chance for a child to witness a 76ers game in person is something that can have lasting impact.

Contact my secretary, Mrs. Carr, at 856-853-0123 EXT. 214 if you have tickets to donate, or e-mail her at jcarr@woodburysch.com.

If you can provide us with lead time, it is appreciated, but we will be able to "turn around" the tickets with little notice.

What a wonderful opportunity you will provide a child!

Welcome

Welcome to the Woodbury White & Gold -- blog edition! This site has been officially "up" for a few days, and I am pleased that it has attracted some attention already. This is my formal "welcome" post.

This blog will be an added effort on my part to keep the school community informed regarding school events and happenings as well as other issues connected to education at large. You are welcome to visit and view the posts for informational purposes only. Also, you are welcome to add comments -- if you feel the urge! Though you may post comments anonymously, if we all use our names, this may spark broader conversation in the community.

For now, I will try to post each weekday. Though the site currently lists other contributors to the postings, it is now a solitary effort. In time, I believe that I will need assistance from colleagues to maintain the daily postings.

Welcome to blogging. This is my first venture down this path, but I see some real benefits. The Woodbury Public Schools have much to offer the city and the students who attend Woodbury Public Schools. We are proud of our work and always look for ways to continue to improve what we do – including our communication efforts.

We look forward to an exciting 2006-07 school year. Join us -- here, virtually speaking, on the blog, and in real time, with a visit to Woodbury Public Schools!

Woodbury High School . . . Ranked #1 in Gloucester County

I hope that you saw the front-page article in the Gloucester County Times last week that reported on how Woodbury High School was ranked #1 in Gloucester County in two separate magazine articles. The current issues of both New Jersey Monthly and Philadelphia Magazine summarize the results of their independent efforts to rank area high schools.

In the New Jersey Monthly magazine, Woodbury was ranked top in the county and eighth in the three county region that includes Burlington County, Camden County, and Gloucester County. The top ten in that region are as follows:

TOP TEN SOUTH JERSEY HIGH SCHOOLS

Haddonfield -- Camden County
Cherry Hill East -- Camden County
Eastern Regional -- Camden County
Moorestown -- Burlington County
Haddon Township -- Camden County
Brimm Medical Arts -- Camden County
Shawnee -- Burlington County
WOODBURY -- Gloucester County
Delran -- Burlington County
Pitman -- Gloucester County

New Jersey Monthly stated that this year's effort to rank schools "is part of the most comprehensive education package the magazine has ever produced."

In Philadelphia Magazine, there is a listing that shows the top three schools in each county in the Philadelphia region. In this publication, Woodbury also occupied the top spot in Gloucester County.

Though there are many more positive aspects of Woodbury High School beyond what the numbers associated with these rankings capture, it is nice to see that these magazines arrived at a conclusion that we know to be true -- there is real quality in a Woodbury education. Our school is able to accomplish much due to the dedicated adults who are able to work with students in a very personalized setting. The support of our parents and the broader school community is also an important, positive asset!

"Lawn Party" -- Tomorrow

Reminder: We are hosting a welcoming “Lawn Party” for our new administrators. The event takes place Tuesday, September 5, between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the front lawn of the Jr.-Sr. High School.

Please stop by at any time during the event to say hello and welcome the following individuals to their new positions:

Woodbury Jr.-Sr. High School
• Denise Dunham, Jr.-Sr. High Principal
• Steven Morris, Sr. High Assistant Principal
• Mark Napoleon, Jr. High Assistant Principal

West End Memorial
• Vince Myers, Principal

School Opening -- September 13

Last April 2006, when the Board of Education adopted the calendar for the 2006-07 school year, the start of school was pushed later into the month of September than usual. This was done to allow more time for the planned construction work associated with the new heating, ventilation and air condition systems being installed at Evergreen, West End, and the Jr.-Sr. High School.

Significant progress has been made by our construction crews over the course of the spring and summer months. If you visited the schools over the summer for any reason, you were sure to see some of the work that is taking place both around the perimeter of the schools and inside the buildings. I am pleased to report that, though there is still more work that will take place over the course of the fall months, we will be set to open for students as planned -- Wednesday, September 13.

The Board of Education has prepared a newsletter that provides a construction update with greater detail. It is at the printer and will be mailed to all residents soon.

I will be able to provide even more information here on the blog as we get more feedback regarding progress through the opening weeks of school.

Welcome back, everyone. The 2006-07 school year is sure to be exciting!