CEDAR HILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL
March Newsletter
Read Across America www.cedarhillprep.com | 1
Garden State Award Winners December 4th Tournament CHP’s debate team, under the guidance of Mrs. Nan Menon, took part in their first debate of the 202122 Garden State Debate League season. The team worked diligently in preparation and brought their very best rhetorical skills to the competition. For their efforts, CHP’s Debate Team took home multiple victories. Congratulations to all of our debaters! CHP was tied for 1st place in total wins and took 2nd place in total percentage points. Other wins for CHP included 2nd Place for Sophia Lai, Nitara Baruath, and Jwala Rajnikanth. Their victory was the first time a 6th grade team won 3-0 and ranked in the top 10 teams. 4th Place wins were brought home by two different teams of 8th graders. The first team included Tea Florencio, Aarna Rao, and Aarushi Gupta, while Sarah Karlekar, Suhani Davda, and Nina Barnes made up the second. In 5th Place were 7th graders Anaya Raju, Ananya Mehta, and Rashmika Majumdar. The top speakers in the tournament included Jwala Rajnikanth in 3rd Place, Sophia Lai in 5th Place, Tea Florencio also in 5th Place, and Sarah Karlekar in 6th Place. The Top Speaker schoolwide was won by Jwala Rajnikanth. February 5th 2022 Tournament Fifty six teams participated in the debate and more than 160 students participated in the tournament. Cedar Hill Prep School won 1st place in percentage wins by winning 68% of the debates. Cedar Hill Prep School won 1st place in overall wins by winning 24 out of the 35 debates. The topics for the debate were: Animal Testing Is Unethical Self Driving Cars Do More Harm Than Good. Free Press Is More Important Than National Security Top Teams in the Tournament: First Place Team: Avi Nath; Daniel Yuh; Sriram Banigalapatti (75.89) Second Place Team: Tea Florencio; Aarna Rao; Aarushi Gupta (74.89) Fifth Place Team: Shameek Parab; Mahadev Menon; Motunrayo Odukoya (74.11) Sixth Place Team: Sidharth Shah; Ayden Raju (73.83) Seventh Place Team: Sophia Lai; Nitara Baruah; Jwala Rajnikanth (73.22) Top Speakers in the Tournament: Second Place: Motunrayo Odukoya (77.3) Fourth Place: Avi Nath (76.3) Fifth Place: Sriram Banigalapatti; Daniel Yuh and Jwala Rajnikanth (75.7) Sixth Place: Aarnaa Desai (75.3)
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PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS St. Patrick’s Day At CHP, we were all Irish for the day! The children in Preschool and Prekindergarten participated in a parade around the school. They wore shamrock hats, green clothing, necklaces, and played instruments as they strolled outside and in the lower school hallway. As soon as we got outside, the middle school students cheered and clapped for our students. It was so sweet!! After lunch, the children went back to their classroom and discovered a messy room. The leprechaun had entered the room when no one was there and turned things upside down. That leprechaun is a true trickster, however, he left the children a bottle of bubbles on their seat to take home.
Pets In Preschool, we discussed the variety of pets we could have in our home and how to care for these different pets. Some of our friends in class announced that they had fish, dogs, and cats at home as their pets. In class, we made our own pet. The children made an adorable paper bag puppy. We learned that when you own a pet there are many responsibilities that come along with it.
Spring Scavenger Hunt It was a beautiful day in Spring. The Preschool children at Cedar Hill Prep School took the opportunity to have a Spring Scavenger Hunt on the sprawling grounds of their school. After discussing the characteristics of Spring, the children were eager to look for some of them. We spied the grass turning green, buds growing on the trees, worms slithering on the ground, some yellow flowers blooming, and in the distance, we heard the chirping sound of birds. Everyone had a good time looking for Spring!
Rainbow Skittle Experiment Our Cedar Hill Prep preschoolers love to participate in fun experiments. In school today, everyone watched as various colored Skittles were placed on the perimeter of a paper plate. The children called out the colors to make a pattern. Then, warm water was gently placed in the center of the paper plate. The children anxiously watched as the colors of the Skittles ran toward the center of the plate to resemble a beautiful rainbow. The children were so excited to see the outcome of their experiment!!
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PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS 100th Day of School A lot of excitement happened on Tuesday, March 1st when the Kindergarten students celebrated the 100th Day of School!!! The children learned place value by counting down the days with tally marks. Each child’s 100th Day presentation was proudly and beautifully presented in front of their peers and on video. We saw such amazing and creative designs. All day long the children had lots of fun and enjoyed 100th day activities such as doing various 100 exercises, taking 100 steps outside, counting to 100 by 1, 2, 5, and 10 and so much more! Happy 100th day of School Cedar Hill Prep!!!
Read Across America in Pre-Kindergarten On March 2nd, Pre-Kindergarten celebrated Read Across America Day. We talked about the importance of reading and being read to. The children had fun telling their friends what their favorite book is. Also, we enjoyed having our very own 3rd Grade class join us to read some of their favorite stories!
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PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN NEWS
St. Patrick’s Day in Kindergarten Every year, on March 17th, there is a celebration of Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods, and a whole lot of green. This year the Kindergarten children had an indoor parade to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We paraded around and visited all of our friends in the lower school building. We sang “I’m a Little Leprechaun” and wished everyone a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In our Kindergarten Share today, both classes listened to the story, St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning. Today was a very exciting and magical day!!! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Read Across America Our First Graders had a wonderful Read Across America Day at CHP. Students enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss’s books with each other and talking about their favorite books.
Our students also enjoyed Second Grade readers who visited our classroom. Our students were so eager to listen to their guest readers from Second Grade! www.cedarhillprep.com | 5
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS 100th Day of School in Grade 1 1st Grade celebrated the 100th Day of School by reciting a 100-letter poem and Meish Goldish’s 100word poem. Students were excited to count 100 letters and 100 words respectively in each poem. Students also completed 100 fitness movement exercises!
Dr. Seuss Day in Grade 2 Second Grade enjoyed celebrating Dr. Seuss Day by spending time reading books by Dr. Seuss and other selected authors. Post-reading, the children discussed their favorite story or character from many old Dr. Seuss favorites! Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Grade 2 Celebrates St. Patrick’s Day 2nd graders had a great time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! The children learned about Irish culture through a PowerPoint presentation highlighting symbols and foods that represent Ireland and listening to some Irish music. They also enjoyed a treat of green bagels and discussed what they would do if they were lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover!
Scavenger Hunt What’s more fun than practicing multiplication facts? Practicing them with a scavenger hunt! Clues were placed around the room and students took their clipboards from station to station to record their answers. We’ve learned the 2’s, 3’s, and now 4’s in Second Grade. On to the 5’s and 10’s! 6 | March Newsletter
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS St. Patrick’s Day Celebration On Thursday, March 17th, Third Graders all became Irish for the day! Dressed in green, students learned about Saint Patrick and why he is so important to Ireland. In the afternoon, students created leprechaun traps, leprechaun binoculars, and St. Patrick’s Day bracelets. Third graders enjoyed learning about St. Patrick and the legend of how he drove all of the snakes out of Ireland. They got into the spirit further by taking pictures with special props to go along with the holiday.
Reading Across America in Grade 3 “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” On Wednesday, March 2nd, Third Graders participated in Read Across America by traveling to the lower school building and reading to Mrs. Holstein’s, Ms. Patel’s, and Ms. Richardson’s classrooms. Dressed in their Cat in the Hat hats, they read to eager three, four, and five year olds who hung on every silly word. Some of the classic titles read included The Cat in the Hat, Ten Apples Up On Top, and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. This is a very special tradition at CHP that will be upheld for years to come.
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Super Student Every month, Third Grade students are selected as Super Students. They exhibit the qualities of exceptional behavior in and outside of the classroom. They complete a poster that showcases who they are, including their “super student power” and what they would do to make the world a better place. The students take this honor very seriously and are able to showcase their artistic talent through this activity Our Super Student for March and the final one for the year was Yajur. He describes himself as a great geographer, a magnificent musician, and an honorable helper. To make the world a better place, he wants everyone to get along and for everyone to play together. Great job on all of your posters, Third Graders! You are all super students!
Pi Day Math Art: Pi Skyline Mrs. Kotasthane’s Third Grade class enjoyed Pi Day by creating a cityscape out of graphing the numbers in Pi. Pi, or π, is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter. It is a little mystifying and a whole lot of fun to use in art. Each building in the Pi cityscape represents a number in Pi. The students colored in the number of squares on the graph paper that correspond to each digit of Pi. Some students also added Pi stars for a little “Pi in the sky!”
Kindergarten And Grade 4 Celebrate Read Across America! Adorned in their Dr. Seuss hats, Grade 4 students visited with their Kindergarten friends on March 2nd to celebrate Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day. Excitement buzzed around the Kindergarten rooms as the 4th graders read to the Kindergarteners. Each year, the 4th graders are so surprised when some of the Kindergarteners read to them! The festivities carried over to recess when the Kindergarteners gathered around to hear one of the 4th graders read to them in the playground. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Great job Kindergarten and Fourth Grade!!
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS Grade 4 is All A-Flutter with the Coming of Spring! During the 100th day of school, Grade 4 had a competition to see who could make the most words from the two words “One Hundred.” Congratulations to Pragnya (Cherokee) who came in 1st place with 26 words; Vishnu (Ramapo) and Nico (Shawnee) came in 2nd place with 21 words; and Aliyaah (Cherokee), Zia (Ramapo), & Anish (Shawnee) who came in 3rd place with 19 words! House points will be awarded to these winners. Grade 4 loves birthday celebrations… a time for sharing wishes and memories. Happy Birthday to Sahasra, Aditi, Reyaan, Pragnya, and Mrs. Gadaleta! Thank you to our “birthday families” for the yummy goodies… and to Reyaan’s family for the adorable slideshow where we not only enjoyed photos of Reyaan through the years but found some of our other 4th graders sharing the years with Reyaan! Some of our 4th graders qualified to take part in the Regional Finals of the International Academic Competitions’ Geography, History, and Science Bees. These competitions began in March and will continue towards the end of April. At that time, we will announce all of the CHP students who qualified to advance to the National Finals in Orlando, FL this June. During the coldest and gloomiest days of March, we kept warm with indoor recess playing in the gym as well as the classroom where a puzzle contest found 4A and 4B competing to see which House would complete the jigsaw puzzle first; congratulations to Shawnee for placing 1st and Lenape for placing 2nd! To round out the month, the craft supplies came out… creating butterflies, a-flutter with haikus for our Spring bulletin board. Happy Spring!
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS Grade 5 and 6 CSI Investigation Science Trimester exams took quite a lot of review in the Fifth and Sixth Grade science classes. Both grades rose to the task by solving clues in CSI Investigations. They detected the clues that were to be eliminated and they were left with who, what, where, when, and how. From there the students were able to deduce the correct answers. Our detectives were well practiced by the end. www.cedarhillprep.com | 9
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS Pi Day On Pi Day, March 14, 2022, CHP students celebrated the transcendental number, π, in a variety of ways. In their math classes, students played a Pi Challenge dice game, and a Pi Square tangram puzzle, where students had to complete two challenges. Combining the five pieces that they were given, they had to first form a perfect square. It required team effort and unorthodox thinking to meet this challenge. They then had to rearrange the pieces to create a pi symbol. The team which came first earned a homework pass for math class. Celebrating Pi is not limited to our math classes only. Through art and poetry, students in various classes were able to explore this concept and celebrate Pi Day. In Grade 6, our young scientists did what every scientist does. They proved Pi. The students used sets of medium size marshmallows to make circumference and diameters, then plugged the numbers into the Pi formula. The students hypothesized results of using jumbo as well as mini marshmallows afterward. All roads lead right back to Pi. It was a piece of cake, or should I say pi(e)! In addition to honoring the number Pi, March 14th is a day to celebrate Albert Einstein’s birthday, with an Einstein look-alike contest. This year’s winner is Amber Davis, from 5th grade! No Pi Day is complete without a contest of reciting digits of Pi and eating pies! Each class has a Pi digits winner, and at the end of the week, the class winners will compete for our 2022 CHP Pi winner.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS Grade 6 Cupcake Science Grade 6 is studying the moon from the crust to the core in science class. They investigated how scientists explore moons and planets without slicing them open. Our Sixth Grade students hypothesized what is inside the moon by looking at the blue icing surface of a cupcake. They then planned where to place core extractors. The extractors pulled core samples from inside the cupcake to reveal many surprises! After core samples were logged and analyzed, the scientists split open the cupcakes to reveal the true internal structure. Afterwards they celebrated their astronomical success by eating rainbow cupcakes in class. Great job to our future astronauts from Mission Control!
STEM Competiton The Junior Solar Sprints program is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) competition that engages students to design, build and race solar-powered model cars. Students will need to create a car out of upcycled materials by first designing it by freehand and then on TinkerCAD. By working in groups, students will learn to cooperate and collaborate during the design process. In order to learn physics and engineering, the students will calculate gear ratio and Newton’s Laws of Motion.
Hot Sands Glassblowing Studio Grade 5 has been studying changing states of matter in science class. They experienced extreme changes from liquid to solid and back again at Hot Sands Glassblowing Studio in Asbury Park, NJ. The students learned about the techniques and terminology of glassblowing before heading down to create their own works of art. The students started with molten glass and had “jimmies” of color rolled onto the liquid matter that was heated at over 2100 degrees. Then each student blew through the pipe and added their own carbon dioxide gas into the center of their glass bubbles. The heating and cooling process tempered each glass bubble, revealing magnificent color arrangements. Afterward, the students cooled down along the boardwalk for a picnic lunch in front of the ocean. The students were blown away by the incredible trip that day. It is a hands-on experience none of them will ever forget. Thank you, Hot Sands!
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MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS Note-taking Effective note-taking is an important part of being a middle school student at Cedar Hill Prep. Every class uses the Cornell style of note-taking. Cornell Notes is the format of notetaking used in many elite high schools and colleges. It is a well organized way of attending to vocabulary, essential questions, objectives, and supplementary material of the academic information being taught. Students from grades 5 through 8 are taught how to properly use this method. When these students enter high school and beyond, good executive function habits such as proper note-taking will already be familiar so that they may focus completely on the content being learned.
Pi Competition “A value of π to 40 digits would be more than enough to compute the circumference of the Milky Way galaxy to an error less than the size of a proton.” —Sir Isaac Newton Every year in honor of Pi Day (3/14), the CHP Middle School students challenge each other to recall the most digits of Pi. Two winners from each grade competed against one another in the gym, and our winner for this year was 5th grader Grace Liu, reciting up to 357 digits! Students and staff watched in awe as she calmly recited the digits, making no errors. While Grace was a clear winner, coming ahead of everyone, she was followed by our 2nd place winner, 7th grade student Tanvi Potluri, with 156 digits. Congratulations to Grace and Tanvi, and to all the winners from each grade.
Vex IQ VEX IQ is a robotics platform designed to transform the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) learning paradigm for young students. When students have the ability to snap robots together using an intuitive tool-less system, it can unlock a curiosity and a passion that will stay with them for life. The system naturally encourages teamwork, problem solving, and leadership for young students. Watching code come alive on a physical robot is the most engaging (and fun!) way to learn complex Programming & Computational concepts. CHP Vex IQ Elective’s focus is on teaching students advanced building techniques and programming concepts, including the use of sensors. Through the 2021-22 season, the VEX IQ Team participated in a few Scrimmage matches & VEX IQ 2021-22 Challenge: Pitching In. Our students are currently working on an internal CHP challenge: Balloon Bot scheduled for May, 2022. 12 | March Newsletter
SPECIALS Lower School Colors Sunflowers in Solidarity In the first week of March, Grade 1 students in Spanish class colored sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, to express solidarity with children in Ukraine during this terrible time for their country. The sunflower represents the sun and the power and warmth which it generates. They were joined in this activity, which was inspired by Mrs. Holstein’s suggestion, by Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten. All the students displayed their finished sunflowers in the windows of the classrooms, where parents can see them when they come to pick up or drop off their kids.
8th Grade French Celebrates Mardi Gras On March 11th, 8th graders studying French hosted the annual Mardi Gras celebration. The students designed a presentation showing facts about Mardi Gras, followed by a Kahoot game that was created by one of the 8th graders. The audience participated and enjoyed the Kahoot game with their teachers. Students and staff were dressed in Mardi Gras colors.
ART Grade 2A Uses Model Magic Clay Students in 2A created a menagerie of imaginary animals from Model Magic clay. The animals were adorned with pipe cleaners, buttons, and craft sticks. Visit the tabletop zoo displayed near the entrance in the lower school lobby to view the animals in their habitat!
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SPECIALS
ART Mardi Gras Floats Leslie Wallant’s art students, from Grades 3 - 8, conceived themes for classroom floats and then constructed them. They sculpted using mixed media. Then they paraded their floats around the gym, led by student musicians. Float themes included: Arctic Climate Change, Fairyland, Stained Glass Garden, Yellowstone Park, Pig Farm, Art Supplies City, Paris Café, Candy Cave, Alicorn + Mushrooms, Galaxies and Rockets, Tropical Jungle, and Undersea Sports.
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SPECIALS
WILDCATS SPORTS
Staff vs. 8th Grade Basketball Game On Friday, CHP held our annual Staff vs. 8th Grade basketball game as a fun way to end our trimester exam week! Many of our 8th Graders, including those who played on the basketball teams, participated against several of our staff members. The students came up short this time, but it was a fun event for all!! Thanks to all of our participants! Go Wildcats!
Track Training CHP’s Wildcats will be on the track! April 25 we will race Green Brook and Gill St. Bernards and on April 27 we will compete against Pingry. The Wildcats Track Team is getting ready for what promises to be an exciting track season. Here on day one, we warmed up with two light laps around the field. This was followed by dynamic stretching exercises and ladder races. After cooling down, the team is seen here doing stationary stretches to improve flexibility and range of motion. Way to go: Wildcats on the track!
Tennis Schedule
Volleyball Schedule
Track Schedule
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AROUND THE SCHOOL Wharton Annual Gala On Thursday, March 10th, 2022, CHP Eighth Grader Nina Barnes, who also studies under the Wharton Institute’s Performing Arts school, gave a vocal performance at Wharton’s Annual Gala. In front of guests of honor Paul Shaffer and Robbin Gordon-Cartier, Nina sang “Stand Up” from the motion picture Harriet, backed by piano and the Cicely L. Tyson Harps. Nina’s performance was the latest result of CHP’s ongoing partnership with the Wharton Institute for Performing Arts. This also includes the music education done on our campus by music instructors Florence Lombardo and Joyce Alexander. Both organizations are similarly committed to making education accessible and affordable for New Jersey families and students.
Lunch with the Principal Another group of lucky students had their turn to enjoy Pizza With the Principal! Every month a different student is nominated from each homeroom and given the chance to sit down with Mr. Seeley to discuss their favorite parts of school at CHP and enjoy some tasty pizza pies.
Nan’s presentation at the 2nd Annual Gender Equity Summit Nan Menon, founder of Cedar Hill Prep, was a guest presenter at the Hun School’s 2nd Annual Gender Equity Summit on Saturday, March 26th, as part of their Gender Equity Matters (GEM) Club. In her own words, Nan’s presentation gave attendees the chance to “delve into the nuances and challenges that exist in cross-cultural communication,” while also “exploring what constitutes cultural identity,” as well as encouraging the audience to “reflect on how to prepare for cross-cultural encounters.
Family Fun Night
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On Friday, March 25th CHP welcomed students and parents to campus for a return to our Family Fun Night! It was an exciting night to be on campus! The evening was full of games and friendly competition and families left with big smiles on their faces. CHP is so happy to welcome back the community for all the great events scheduled between now and the end of the year.
Our next PTO Meeting is April 13, 2022. The meeting will be via Zoom and we will be discussing upcoming events and fundraisers. Be on the lookout for an email with details regarding the meeting. Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all there.
SAVE THE DATE
Masquerade Dance
7th and 8th Grade Graduation Celebration
The Imperia on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 Dance Begins at 6:30 pm • Dinner at 7:30 pm Photo Booth • DJ • Dress to Impress Masquerade Masks are Required
We will be launching our CHP Uniform Resale shortly. There is a donation bin in the main lobby for any donations that you may have for the sale. Once collected the donations will it be sold in the coming weeks.
New CHP Sweatshirts are Here! Only $30.00 Sizes: Small, Medium, and Large Please contact mlozano@cedarhillprep.com for more information and pick up.
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SAVE THE DATE
Thursday, May 12th at 6:00
Of Pirates and Princes a CHP original play
Buy Your 2021-2022 Yearbook Today! Ordering Deadline April 11, 2022
Price: $40.00 All ordering will be done online. To Order: • Scan the QR Code or login at https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/ • Use Code: 14297722 • Follow the Directions All Yearbooks will be shipped to the school. Please contact Lifetouch at 1-800-736-4761 with any questions.
SCAN TO ORDER
Join the Alumni Instagram and Facebook Page
Staff Birthdays Happy Birthday to John Griggs, Donna Pizappi, Daniel Cheyanne, and Carol Gadaleta who celebrated their birthdays in March. Hope they enjoyed their birthdays!
Stay connected and network with the CHP Community. You will receive invitations to events and the latest CHP and academic news. This will also allow us to share news and acknowledge all your achievements. Be Part of the Alumni Community Today! Join and share with family and friends to follow and like!
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152 Cedar Grove Lane Somerset, NJ 08873 Phone: 732-356-5400 Fax: 732-356-5409 Email: admissions@cedarhillprep.com Web: www.cedarhillprep.com
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