Christmas Tree Lighting

One of the many traditions we have at Gateway Academy is our Christmas tree lighting. Each year every class makes ornaments to adorn the tree that stands in our school's entrance by the main office. A few hours before this year's lighting, some of the staff and parent volunteers set up the tree and hung up every single ornament on its branches.

Then during 8th period, all the staff members and students gathered around the tree for our own Christmas celebration.

Here are two of the Knightly News staff members commenting about the lighting.

Christmas Tree Lighting
By Frankie Pizzolato

On Thursday, November 29th during 8th period, the Gateway Academy Christmas tree was lit. All of the teachers and students attended this happy event along with Mrs. Cancilla. Mrs. Stagno helped lead the students in singing Christmas songs. Counting down from ten, the tree was finally lit. Each class contributed to the tree's decorations by making sets of ornaments to represent each grade. The ornaments made by the students of our school showed our individuality and creative abilities. This holiday season we will celebrate and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Take a look at some of the ornaments.  Click each picture to enlarge.

Light of the World

By Teagan Ka

Excitement grew as the whole school sat around the unlit Christmas tree. It was decorated with hand-made ornaments of balls (Pre-K), gingerbread (1st grade), stockings (4th), and Christmas trees (7th). We worshipped God by singing songs that reminded us of that first Christmas when Jesus was born. We sang “Joy to the World,” “O Holy Night,” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”  Our principal Mrs. Cancilla prayed about giving glory to God in all that we do. Mrs. Stagno led the entire school in a dramatic countdown, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” In a sudden flash, the lights on the tree went on, reminding us that Jesus, the Light of the world, was born on Christmas Day. Hurray and hallelujah!

Christmas Show Preview

If you were at one of the services this morning at Church of the Gateway, you were able to get a sneak peek of part of the Christmas show that will take place this upcoming Tuesday night. The Performing Arts Club sang two songs that are part of this year's Christmas show for the Academy.


Don't forget to get your tickets for Tuesday's show! Although it was not done during today's performance, Mrs. Stagno planned out an extremely touching scene for the students to act out during the song "Walk of Love for Jesus." It's definitely a must see; you really don't want to miss it! Hope to see you all there!

Harvest Buffet Luncheon

On November 19, 2012, the teachers and students of Gateway Academy saw Mrs. Laura Vonfrolio come to the school unloading food and setting up the cart with all the Thanksgiving fixings.  We couldn't help but get excited in anticipation of the Harvest Buffet lunch that would be served the next day!  All the Thanksgiving favorites were there along with festive plates and napkins.  It was such a celebration for everyone at Gateway as it reminded us that we too are our own family.  Thank you to Mrs. Vonfrolio and all the volunteers - Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Dabas, Mrs. Mareno, Mrs. Rivera, and Ms. Yarusinsky - for giving us a wonderful meal along with the memories!

Here are two of the Knightly News staff members reporting about this special occasion.

Harvest Buffet Lunch
By Jonathan Weaver

On Tuesday, November 20th, a team from Gateway Academy served a buffet lunch to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Mrs. Vonfrolio, Mrs. Dabas, and other hot lunch volunteers prepared the meal and served it to the students.  The meal included turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn muffins, stuffing, and corn.  The meals were $4.00 apiece, if you wished to purchase one.  All of the money collected was to benefit the school.

All of the students thought it was really, really scrumptious!  I thought the gravy made the turkey and the mashed potatoes divine!  Our school is thankful for the volunteers who helped with the buffet.  Give thanks to God, and glorify Him!

Our Harvest Lunch Buffet
By Christopher Brogna

The Gateway Academy lunchroom was in high spirits for the Harvest Lunch Buffet on Tuesday, November 20th.  The traditional harvest meal was served like the Pilgrims did on the first Thanksgiving in 1621.  Once again Dr. Vonfrolio helped our school raise money by generously donating the meal.  Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Dabas, Mrs. Mareno, Mrs. Rivera, and Ms. Yarusinsky also helped her in all of the hard work.

The menu included turkey, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn bread, gravy, green beans, cranberries, and salad.  Apple cider was also there to wash it all down.

Dr. Vonfrolio said that it took five hours to prepare the meal.  When I asked her if it was hard preparing such a hard meal, she said, "It was fun!"  I then asked her if she was able to enjoy the meal after all the hard work, she said, "It was very fulfilling."

Samm Dabas said, "The meal was great!  The mashed potatoes and gravy were my favorites."  All of the students seemed to enjoy the meal.  The lunchroom was filled with smiles and laughter.  A great meal, a fun afternoon, and $352 raised for Gateway Academy.  Thank you, Dr. Vonfrolio!

Never Too Young

The Pre-K class had the opportunity to preview the book fair today.  It's never too early to instill a love for reading in your children!

Get Your Nose in a Book!

The annual Scholastic Book Fair is here!  This year Mrs. Stagno is coordinating the book fair along with the help of some wonderful parent volunteers and members of the student council.  Shopping begins tomorrow as the students in the school have a designated time during the day to visit the fair to purchase novels, picture books, cookbooks, puzzle books, posters, and other items like bookmarks and pencils.  Please refer to the blue memo that was sent home if you would like to shop with your children.

Parents will also be able to make purchases during the evening parent teacher conferences tomorrow night as well as on Friday during the afternoon conferences.  Don't miss this opportunity to enrich your child's home library and to get gifts for the upcoming Christmas season while also supporting the school!

There are sections set up for all ages and for all interests (click the pictures to enlarge).

 

  

Don't forget to take a look at the All Star Teachers board outside the library.  The teachers have been previewing the fair and choosing some books for their own classroom wishlists.  If you want, you can buy a book for your child's teacher.

Gift wrapping will also be available.

We hope to see you there!

Shoes for Christmas!

By Nicky Delaney and Kirsten Kaiser

This Christmas Mrs. Stagno, the school’s performing arts teacher, decided upon doing a play to celebrate the season.  It is called The Christmas Shoe Tree, and it will go hand in hand with our outreach, Soles4Souls.  This outreach shows us that we can make a difference “one shoe at a time” by donating shoes to kids in need.  The musical demonstrates the power of  God’s love in a way that is clear to people of all ages.

The Performing Arts Club has been meeting every Monday and Wednesday after school to make this musical a success. During the first meeting, Mrs. Stagno held auditions for the roles.  We won't be giving any names away so as not to ruin the surprise!  The club will surely give a great performance, like they do every year.

Performing arts members would love to have new people join! If you didn't sign up this semester, be sure to join the fun next time! We love seeing new people with all different talents. This year we have a great group of students for the play. I hope everyone will make it to our Christmas production. It will be one to see!

Gateway Academy Fundraisers

By Raymond Li

During the months of September and October, we participated in three fundraisers here at Gateway Academy.  They were the chocolate sales along with the collection of Labels for Education and Box Tops (these two run throughout the entire year!).

The World's Finest Chocolate sales were introduced this year in October.  Each family was given a box of chocolate with a variety of different flavors to sell.  The family who sold the most chocolate won a prize.  This fundraiser was successful.  Everyone in the school participated to help benefit our school.

The Labels for Education is a new fundraiser that was also introduced this year in October.  It works in the same manner as Box Tops.  These can be found on the following products: BIC, Campbell's, Dannon, Pepperidge Farm, Post, Prego, Swanson, V8, etc.

We have been collecting Box Tops for many years, but it became a bigger fundraiser starting last year during Spirit Year.  Each Box Top is worth ten cents, and the school's goal is to make $2,500.  So far we have made $440.  Don't forget to save them from your boxes of cereal, snacks, and canned goods.  Would you regularly throw away dimes into the garbage?  No way!  Each Box Top may not seem like much, but when combined with the others brought in by fellow students and staff, it can amount to a great deal.  Sheets will be given out so that you can tape them to hand in.  Also, don't forget to ask your friends and family to save them too!

Winners!

• Congratulations to the 8th grade for selling the most boxes of chocolate as a class.  Also, a big congratulations and thanks goes to the Perotta family who sold a grand total of 6 cases!
• Congratulations to the 8th grade class for bringing in the most Box Tops during the month of October.  They will be celebrating with a cookie party.  
• Congratulations to the 4th grade for bringing in the most items for Project Hospitality.  They will be having a cupcake party to celebrate.

Scientific Minds: A Visit from Antonia Bertelle

By Nathaniel Bae, Savannah Cseko, Katherine Esposito, Amanda Mareno, Jay Wilen, and Miss Samantha Cancilla

Miss Bertelle introduces herself to the class.

On October 19, Miss Antonia Bertelle visited Gateway Academy’s 5th grade class to discuss the importance of scientific research and her endeavor to enter medical school this upcoming January. Miss Bertelle is not a stranger to Gateway Academy, as she developed a love for science from her previous teachers: Mrs. Stagno, Mrs. DelPrete, and Mrs. Cancilla. She graduated from the school in 2004 before going to St. Joseph Hill Academy and finally graduated from Wagner College in May 2012.

Miss Cancilla and Miss Bertelle point out certain areas on the map.

As we planned for the upcoming science fair, she told the class about her experience in college doing research studying mosquitoes. Her primary focus was to determine the effects of salt on mosquitoes.  The class learned about the types of viruses mosquitoes might carry, as well as why they bite us! Did you know mosquitoes eat our blood when they pierce us? We learned about what it means to declare a “major” in college and also what it means to study physics, chemistry, and biology. We had a great time asking many interesting questions and can’t wait for Miss Bertelle to come back and tell us more!

The 5th grade class with their teacher, Miss Cancilla, and the guest speaker Miss Bertelle.

The Scores of Spirit Week

By Brooke Wilen

Spirit Week was a blast.  It ended with a fantastic finale.  During the pep rally that took place in the gym, a few representatives from each grade presented the class banner.  Mrs. Stagno introduced each one and they all received applause for their hard work.

The 3rd grade class banner showing how they all run for Christ!

The 4th grade banner showcases how they are strengthened for battle by God.

Many of the classes also planned cheers, songs, and dances to present for extra spirit points.  It is always fun to see the little kids shout their cheers!

Pre-K students enthusiastically sharing their cheer.

Some of the 1st graders presenting their cheer.

The class who won the banner was 7th grade.  Their banner included the boys as soldiers and the girls as angels watching over them as they all fought against sin.  This banner had a lot of scripture representing the theme.   At the bottom of the banner was a fire filled with the words such as the following: gossiping, lying, cheating, cruelty, hatred, and pride.  The main verse they followed was Joel 2:11a, which says, "The Lord thunders at the head of His army; His forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys His command" (NIV).

Although we were all winners, we had to choose final winners for each grade cluster.  The participation for each day was tallied and then added to the score for the class banner.  The three highest scores were as follows: Pre-K with a total of 716 points, 3rd grade with a total of 732 points, and 8th grade with a total of 761 points!  Congratulations to those grades!

After the scores were announced, we had a little bit of time before dismissal.  Mrs. Stagno asked the students if they had any songs to share, and this began an impromptu praise session.  This tied up a wonderful week, and we are all so proud of each class who participated.

Matthew Esposito and Gabriel Oliveira sing "Trading My Sorrows."

Mrs. Stagno and Christina Anderson sing "This Little Light of Mine."

Pastor Perez leads the students in a song very fitting for this year's Spirit Week theme, "I'm In the Lord's Army." 

Show Your Spirit!

By Christopher Brogna, Teagan Ka, Frankie Pizzolato, Jonathan Weaver, and Mrs. Law-Fung

Spirit Week is an annual tradition where all the students and staff come together to share their enthusiasm for Gateway Academy.  This year it took place during October 1 - October 5.  Each day of the week had a special theme.  On Monday, everyone dressed in camouflage in honor of the soldiers protecting our country.  Each grade was also given a designated location to participate in a prayer walk.

Mrs. Falcone with her 2nd grade class along with her son, Logan, all dressed in camouflage.

The 4th graders give a salute dressed in camouflage. 

On Tuesday, everyone dressed up as a character from a book.  Even the teachers got involved.  The middle school teachers were various characters from Stephanie Tolan's novel Surviving the Applewhites.  Mrs. Swartout also included her baby daughter Kayla (a member of Gateway's daycare) by dressing her as a lamb while she was Mary.

Miss Quan, Mrs. DelPrete, Mrs. Law-Fung, Mrs. Stagno, and Pastor Perez as the characters from Surviving the Applewhites.

Mrs. Swartout as Mary holding her little lamb, Kayla.

Mrs. Cancilla with two of Gateway's new teachers, Miss Sabatell and Miss Cancilla, getting into the spirit of Character Day.

Alexandria D'Amora, Erica Paniss, and DJ Cameron dressed up as characters from the story "The Ransom of Red Chief," a story written by O.Henry and read in the 7th grade.

Antonio Vitacco displaying valor in his knight costume.

On Wednesday, there was a sea of red, white, and blue out in the parking lot during morning line-up.  The skirts on the girls and the ties on the boys were perfect attire for that day's chapel service.

The following day was meant for jerseys and sports uniforms.  Students could proudly show off the sports they participated in or the teams they supported.

Gateway Academy Jets fans.

Mrs. Stagno and a few of the 8th graders rooting for the New York Yankees.

The final day was set aside for the school colors.  It showed the unity of the school.  We look forward to enjoying this week again next year!