February 18 - 22

Bacon Bears, 

You Matter!

I'm thankful for the Valentines Day cards and candies. Here is a sampling! 

Last week was exciting! We celebrated 100 days, Valentines Day, and Jump Rope for Heart all in two days! There were many cool activities in each of the grades that signified the 100th day... 

Each year, however, not to be outdone, we have Kindergartners dress up for the 101st day (in full dalmatian attire!). 

We had plenty of Valentines Day treats circulating throughout the building. I was so thankful that some of them made their way to my office!

Shion from Mrs. Lunemann's room displaying his artwork

Mr. Hudson coaching his class in math on the 100th day

Who says all learning takes place in the classroom? 

Mrs. Devita, with her 100 days gear, doing a walkthrough on Dr. Cook! 

According to Mrs. Muhlbaier, coordinator of the Jump Rope for Heart, we surpassed our expectations for this year's fundraiser. We raised over 1,500 dollars! Our top fundraiser was Alex from 4th grade. Thanks to everyone who participated.

This week is a shortened week since we were off from school on Monday for Presidents Day. There are a few activities planned for this week, but for the most part, it will be just another awesome week at RM Bacon where Impossible is Nothing! 

Be sure to join us for our annual Pizza Bingo Night on Wednesday, February 20, 2013 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. This event will be fun for the whole family! 

On Friday, we will be unveiling our new Bear Bucks Store. Be ready to have your Bear Bucks put to the test (I don't want to give too much away).... 

Video of the Week:
Although we didn't get a RM Bacon Weekly Video update, I thought this would be an enjoyable video to watch. We love our Coach and he loves the Bacon Bears, Sunny Days, and... 



Weekly Overview:
Monday - No School - Presidents Day
Tuesday - All City Practice
Wednesday - Pizza Bingo 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (1 dollar entry fee)
Thursday - Kindergarten Swimming
Friday - PBIS Meeting @ 1:00 PM; New Bear Bucks Store Starts at 3:00 PM 

Impossible is Nothing! 

February 11 - 15

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

I hope everyone is excited about Valentine's Day this Thursday! Not only is this a great holiday to celebrate with your sweetheart, it is a great time to celebrate the concept of LOVE... We need to love what we do, we need to love our school, we need to love our profession!

This week is chock full of activities. On Monday, we will begin implementing SuccessMaker in grades 3, 4, and 5. This program is designed to assist students as we transition to the Common Core, as well as our NJASK. Ms. Fallows will be facilitating the SuccessMaker sessions during the day. Then, starting next week we will be starting a morning program, and afternoon program!

Here is a video about SuccessMaker:

On Thursday, we will be celebrating the 100th day of school! Look out for various activities in the classroom and around the school. 

In keeping up with all the love this week, we will need to make sure we are taking care of our heart. We will be hosting our annual Jump Rope For Heart on Friday... This will be fun, healthy and for a good cause!

And last but certainly not least, the infamous RM Bacon Weekly Video Update by Mrs. Devita....


Weekly Overview:
Monday - SuccessMaker initial placements
Tuesday - I and RS Meeting
Wednesday - Another awesome day
Thursday - Pink and Red Day; Kindergarten swimming; 100th Day of School 
Friday - Jump Rope for Heart 

Remember... Impossible is Nothing! 

February 4 - 8

Bacon Bears,

You Matter! 

Thanks to everyone who came out to the SOUPer Bowl. We had a great evening with yummy soup, games, and fun for everyone. Once again, our wonderful Home and School Association put on a great activity for our families! 

Game on! Parents vs. students in team dodgeball

Bacon alumni Hailei Markee stepping in for the principal  at the SOUPer Bowl

I am sure many of the parents were wondering what we were doing on Thursday, January 31. Well, we needed a day to learn together with other teachers and administrators! And of course our BACON teachers a great job presenting :) 

Mrs. Sinone and Mrs. Benson teaching about blogging

Mrs. Simpson teaching about parent engagement 

Mr. Hudson teaching about EnVision Math

Mrs. Benson and Mrs. Digorgio learning about Common Core

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to have more videos about the great things we are doing here. Then, I was sent this video from my birthday.


Our first graders stepped up this week and told me that THEY would do the Bacon Weekly Update. This one is by far the cutest Video Update we have filmed.



Mrs. Sinone and I were the first staff members to use the new Smart TV at Lakeside Middle School. I want to thank JoAnne Colacurcio, Tom Denning and Larry Perry for their help with this opportunity. Mrs. Sinone and I presented on Interstate Collaboration through Web 2.0 tools with Bill Krakower, who was in Atlantic City. We look forward to having more opportunities to use this technology!  

Bill Krakower setting up in Atlantic City 

Mrs. Sinone and Dr. Cook getting set up for the Skype in Millville 

Video, presentation, Skype at the same time 

Weekly Overview:
Monday - Another awesome day at RM Bacon
Tuesday - Another awesome day at RM Bacon
Wednesday - Digital Learning Day, 3rd grade physicals, Report Cards mailed
Thursday - Kindergarten begins swimming program, 2nd Grade CAP program, Staff Meeting rescheduled
Friday - Biggest Loser Weigh-ins 

Remember, Impossible is Nothing! 

January 28 - Feb 1

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

We had our RAC visit last week, and the RAC team is very pleased with the progress of RM Bacon! They continued to be impressed with our classroom instruction, climate, culture, and use of data. Great job everyone.

There are a few important activities going on this week. On Monday, marking period grades are due for teachers. Then, on Wednesday, we will be hosting Alicia Discepola for the entire day. She will be assisting with technology integration and support. 

There will be NO SCHOOL on Thursday because of teacher professional development.

This week the Home and School Association will be hosting the SOUPer Bowl on Wednesday, January 30 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. There will be a 1 dollar admission per person. The SOUPer Bowl will provide families an opportunity to have soup, and then play games in the gym, classrooms, and library.

We are also asking for soup donations. We would appreciate cans of Tomato Soup, Chicken Soup, and boxes of crackers. Please help this worthwhile cause. All donations need to be handed in by Wednesday morning. 

Our infamous Video Update will be posted on Monday morning.... Stay tuned!

In the meantime, want to watch an interesting video about the future of learning? Check this out:


Weekly Overview
Monday - Grades are to be posted by 2:15 PM; BOE Meeting 7 PM
Tuesday - Just another awesome day at RM Bacon
Wednesday - Alicia Discepola at RM Bacon all day for PD; SOUPer Bowl, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Thursday - No School for Students - Teacher Professional Development
Friday - Just another awesome day at RM Bacon

Remember... Impossible is Nothing! 

January 22 - 25

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

This week is shortened due to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I have always admired Dr. King. I was fortunate to visit his home in Atlanta while in college, and this fall I saw the monument dedicated to him in Washington DC. His message still resonates today. Make sure to take some time this week to reflect on his message. Here is a good clip I found that might help.


We have a few things planned for this week at RM Bacon. On Tuesday, we are hosting a "Principal for the Day." Our guest principal will be Damear who is one of our 5th graders. He wrote me a letter about wanting to fulfill his dream of one day becoming a principal.

Mr. LaGamba, Athletic Director, working with RM Bacon students

On Wednesday, our school will be visited again by the Regional Achievement Center (RAC). They will be checking in on us, and making sure we our doing our best to encourage the students to achieve! They won't be disappointed!

Later that evening, I will be hosting a follow-up meeting for parents regarding the Safety and Security of our school. We will be touring the building, and troubleshooting any safety concerns that arise  Please join us at 6:30 PM in the Library.








Friday, January 25 we will be having our last "Bear Bucks Store" of the school year. Everything is on sale and everything must go......because in February we are re-designing our rewards system. Stay tuned for more details, and take a minute to watch this video about the last Bear Bucks Store.



Here is the RM Bacon Weekly Video update. Thanks to Mrs. Devita for filling in as guest producer!



Weekly Overview:
Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School
Tuesday - Principal for the Day; BSI cycle 2 begins
Wednesday - RAC visit;; Parent meeting 6:30 PM
Thursday -
Friday - PBIS Meeting 1:00 PM; Bear Bucks Store 2:30 PM (Everything must go)

Impossible is Nothing!

January 14 - 18

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

Our mural is coming along nicely. Parents are assisting Mrs. Peck

We finished our first full week of 2013! Despite the flu, coughs, colds, and any other types of symptoms we have been facing, the students and teachers made the best of it. 

Students in K - 4 participated in the Universal Sweeps so we could monitor how much they have learned since September. The preliminary results are very promising!

The Basic Skills Teachers will continue assessing the students this week. They will be completing make-ups, and administering Survey Level Assessments. 

RM Bacon was one of the school's featured in the Daily Journal article Technical Education. Click this link to read the article. 

Mrs. Sinone's class will be visiting the Governor's Mansion on Wednesday. We expect that her class will make a positive impression on the staff at the Mansion like Mr. D and Mrs. Gandy's classes did!

We will be having our first staff meeting of 2013 on Thursday! 

Here is our first RM Bacon Weekly Video update in a long, long time.... Enjoy!



Weekly Overview:
Monday - Survey Level Assessments; BOE meeting, 7:00 PM
Tuesday - Survey Level Assessments
Wednesday - Survey Level Assessments; Mrs. Sinone's class trip to Governor's Mansion
Thursday - Staff Meeting; Survey Level Assessments
Friday - 

Impossible is Nothing!

January 7 - 11

Bacon Bears,

You Matter!

Happy New Year to everyone. I apologize for the delay in this post. Since my wife is a teacher, she has been working on lesson planning on our desktop. My daughter, Catherine, who really enjoys being a connected learner had the laptop until a few minutes ago... I had to wrangle it away from her, and I only have a few minutes to finish the post :) So here it goes!

Last week was an opportunity for all of us to get back into the groove of school. We had a long Winter Break, and it was really cold! Despite the conditions, we were able to have another fantastic week (even though it was only 3 days). This first full week of 2013 will be busy, but before I go into the schedule, I wanted to post a few videos that are long overdue. (Also, for those of you who have been hoping for the return of the RM Bacon Weekly Video update, I promise that we will begin posting again in 2013)

Notable Videos

One of the breakout stars from the Talent Show was Juan from Mrs. Lunemann's class. He danced to "Gangdam Style" in a way that had everyone on their feet! He even recruited two teachers to help him as back up dancers (Mrs. Nolan and Ms. Fallows).

In addition to Juan, the "show stoppers" of this year's Talent Show were Mrs. DeVita and Mr. Hudson. Take a look at their performance. You can tell that they put a lot of hard work into their dance!


The PBIS team met in December and decided to take a chance with the Bear Bucks store. They voted to have one more Bear Bucks store..... and then for February through the remainder of the year to try something NEW... Take a look at the "Going Out of Business" store video the staff put together. You won't be disappointed.


There were many classrooms that had an Elf on the Shelf in December. On December 21, 2012, Mrs. DeVita's class had a life size Elf.


Weekly Overview:
Monday - Make-Up Pictures; Home and School Council Meeting, 4:00 PM
Tuesday - I and RS Meeting
Wednesday -RTI Benchmark Assessments; 4th grade trip to Drumthwacket (Drewnowski and Gandy) 
Thursday -RTI Benchmark Assessments 
Friday -RTI Benchmark Assessments 

Remember, Impossible is Nothing!