On Saturday, March 2nd, Union Ridge middle school students took part in the 27th Annual Speech & Drama Festival held by West 40 and hosted at Elmwood Park High School. Hundreds of young thespians from West 40’s elementary schools competed in individual and team events during this annual competition. Our students competed in the categories of: Trio Presentation, Extemporaneous Duet, Humorous Duet, and Reader’s Theater - they received three first places and one second place score - Wow! The participants from URS were: 8th graders Maria Kurnytska, Kayla Casabuena, Bradley Lopez, Ethan Hardy, Robert Sowa and 6th graders Gintare Survilaite and Jazmine Moore. These students worked extremely hard to prepare for this competition and we are so very PROUD of their efforts and performances!

Since the competition, the Speech & Drama group has performed selected presentations at the Fine Arts Fair and our Family Reading Night.

To view the performances, click here.

Our Union Ridge 8th grade language arts classes collaborated with some of the Ridgewood High School students to create fantastic literary products using art, drama, and music!  Each 8th grader was required to read Sleeping Freshman Never Lie written by David Lubar.  It is a story about the high school experiences of a fourteen-year-old boy named Scott Hudson. The book was one of the ALA's book picks for 2006.

Since this teen story is on the Ridgewood's summer reading list, both the middle school and high school literature teachers thought it would be fun to have the Union Ridge students delve into enjoying the book ahead of time.  Then, our middle schoolers kept independent Summary/Reaction journals as they read, which recorded chapter summaries, favorite quotes, specific inferences, and more challenging vocabulary words within the context.  Plus, the students created critical thinking questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy.  Once the students fulfilled the Summary/Reaction requirement, they were eligible to participate in a creative day of drawing, singing, and acting.  The Ridgewood students guided the 8th graders into constructing final products that displayed a clear understanding of the characters, conflicts, and major themes through vivid illustrations, original lyric writing with
vocal performances, and dramatic skits. What a wonderful way to help 8th graders transition into high school through reading and interacting with the "big kids"!
 

Click here for slideshow.

The students had a lot of fun exploring hundreds of “hands-on” exhibits and developing their understanding of numerous scientific ideas. They also participated in “The Science of Sound,” an hour-long workshop that challenged the students to determine which types of the three states of matter serve as best sound conductors. The answer is: the solids.

Click Here for slideshow.

Congratulations to the Union Ridge Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team on their undefeated season and conference championship! 

The varsity girls’ basketball team finished the season with a 10-0 record in the Leyden-Norwood Conference.  They earned the Division Championship.  They defeated Hester Middle School in the conference title game and finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record. 

According to Coach Ms. Malicki, “they displayed their dedication from day one as well as at each and every game this season.  I’m very proud of each and every one of these girls.  They gave one hundred percent every game and practice.” 

2013 Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team:  Coach Malicki, Jenny, Diellza, Melanie, Natalia, Daniela, Razan, Katherine, Natalia, Sonia, Elselina, Managers:  Zach  & Matt.