Good Afternoon.

Holy Week and the Easter Triduum are the most important days of our Church year.  Easter brings a powerful message of joy and hope through the Resurrection.  Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to new life to save us all.  May the Risen Jesus come into your hearts and homes this Holy Week and Easter.  On behalf of the faculty and staff of Blessed Pope John XXIII Academy, we wish the peace of our Risen Lord be with you always.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Morning.

I visited the Kndergarten class today as they were coloring umbrellas and reviewing letters L, R, S, & T.  I think Miss Passerini saved this Drip Drop worksheet for a rainy day like today!  I stopped by the Pre-K classes where the children were were making bunnies and coloring eggs.  Cut and paste activities are excellent small motor skill builders for our youngest students.  I am happy to see how well they are doing.   Using eggs as a canvas to create colors by mixing primary colors is an exciting springtime art activity for four year olds!  What great day at BPJ where hearts and minds are opened every day in a Catholic Christian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Afternoon.

I have had such an informative day.  This morning I visited Kindergarten where I learned words that make up the "ack" family  tack, pack, lack, rack, back, stack, and quack.  The Kindergarteners read, defined, and used each word in a sentence.  I was very impressed!   Next I stepped across the way to Grade Six to join their science class.  The Sixth Graders were reviewng the basic structure of the earth and learning about earthquakes.  We saw a very interesting two minute video about the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.  After lunch, I dropped in on the Fourth Graders just in time for math.  The students reviewed angles and then by putting those angles together, formed triangles.  They identified the triangles by their angles:  acute, right, and obtuse and then by their sides: scalene, equilateral, and isosceles.  As I left, the Fourth Graders were making posters of "Triangle Town" that will soon be displayed in the hall.  What a wonderful day at BPJ where hearts and minds are opened every day in a Catholic Christian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Morning.

It is a beautiful day in West Orange and  our students are having Phys. Ed. outside today.   It is so nice to see them playing in the sun and fresh air after being inside all winter. 
Our Media Center has been transformed into a Book Wonderland thanks to the tireless efforts of our Media Specialist, Charles O'Brien and his cast of helpers.  The theme, Lights, Camera, Book Fair, has been accented in our Art classes by the creative work of the students who made cameras and reels of "film"  which were hung throughout the school by our Art teacher, Mrs. Renzulli.  Reading is a lifetime skll and we are happy to encourage our students' interest in books.  What a wonderful day at BPJ where hearts and minds are opened every day in a Catholic Christian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

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Good Morning.

Our classes are a sea of green today!   I visited the First Grade to see their work in fractions.  I really enjoyed their  pie posters with the comparison of many different fractions:  halves, fourths, thirds sixths, tenths, all the way up to sixteenths.  Their posters were informative and "green" since they used recycled pizza lids to display their work.  
The Third Graders had just finished a test on multiplyng and dividing fractions when I stopped by their classroom.  The students had to use multiple mathematic actions in order to solve the problems.  I found it quite interesting  to hear the reasoning each student used to determine an answer to a problem.   How would you figure out how many cars and motorcycles are on a lot  with 30 tires on it? 
We just had a public service announcement from our Third Grade TAG students.  Today's broadcast was about littering.  Now we all know what litter is and most importantly exactly what we should do with litter whenever we see it! 
Happy Saint Patrick's Day from BPJ where hearts and minds are opened every day in a Catholic Christian learnng community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Morning.

Today, I visited the Tiny Blessings (Pre-K) classrooms.  The Pre-K3 children planted marigold seeds last week and today the they could see their plant leaves peeking above the soil.  The children were so excited to see their plants grow and also because they are growing these flowers to give to their mothers on Moher's Day.  Miss D'Alessio's PreK4 class sang along with the color song cd for me. This is their favorite song because they can jump from color square to color square to identify the different colors named in the song.  Miss Connolly's class is learning words that begin with /w/.   We talked about worms that wiggle and are not usually white.  We wished we could go out and play but sometimes it is too windy but it is never too windy to drink water!  We had fun making up questions and sentences using /w/ words!  What a wonderful day at BPJ opening hearts and minds in a Catholic Christian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Morning,

The snow yesterday was quite a surprise and I know the children were happy to have an extra day added to their weekend!  Today our school begins the Terra Nova 3 standardized test.  Everyone is working quietly trying to do his/her best.  Congratulations to our Varsity Girls Basketball team who played in the finals of the GIL League yesterday at the Mount Saint Dominic Athletic Center.  The girls fought hard and played a great game but couldn't hold off the seconf quarter rally generated by the opposing team.  I am very proud of their sportsmanship and their "never-give-up" play during the game. We are proudly displaying the Second Place trophy in our school.  What a wonderful day a BPJ!

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Morning,

When I visited the Fourth Grade classroom this morning, the students were hard at work on their Black History projects.  They each had chosen a person who is or was an Afro-American leader in a particular area:  sports figures include Jesse Owens, and Mohammed Ali, political figures such as Barack Obama, and Condoleeza Rice among others were chosen and Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman represent civil rights champions.  I am looking forward to hearing their reports about these and other famous Black Americans.
The Fourth Graders were also excited to show me the triangular prisms they made during math class.  How many rectangles can be found in a triangular prism?   If you do not know, ask a BPJ Fourth Grader!  What a wonderful day at BPJ opening hearts and minds in a Catholic Chrisian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal

Good Afternoon,

The Winter Workout is in full swing this afternoon.  Students are having a great time hula hooping, doing sit ups, jumping jacks, and shooting hoops all in the name of good health.  The children donated one dollar each to participate in this heart healthy activity and this money will be donated from Blessed Pope John XXIII Academy to the American Heart Associatiion. 
Yesterday our Fifth Grade students visited the Middle School in a departmentalized subject mornng.  They met each teacher and participated in a Middle School learning activity.  What a wonderful day at BPJ -- opening hearts and minds in a Catholic Christian learning community.

Lynda Wright
Principal