Somerville Public Schools

Calling all creative Somerville Schools students and SHS graduates. The deadline for our logo challenge has been extended to July 1, 2025. Please spread the word, and let's see those ideas! . . #allin4theville #somervillenjschools #somervillelogochallenge

📢 Friendly Reminder!! 📢 🗓️Somerville Public Schools will operate on a Half Day schedule for Students and Staff on Friday, May 23rd🕒 (and Field Day for SMS & VDV!🎉) 🚫 School Closed for Memorial Day Monday, May 26th🚫 Classes Resume Tuesday, May 27th. Enjoy the extended weekend! 🌞 . . #allin4theville #somervillenjschools

Whether you're a current student or a proud graduate, here's your chance to make a lasting impact on our school community. We're thrilled to launch the Van Derveer Elementary School and Somerville Middle School Logo Challenge! Our current logos have been cherished symbols of our schools for years, but it’s time to refresh and revitalize them with your creative flair. We're inviting you to design new, original logos that embody the pride, spirit, and unique identity of each school, all while paying homage to our beloved mascots: the Bear for Van Derveer Elementary and the Bulldog for Somerville Middle School. This is an opportunity to showcase your artistic talents and contribute to the legacy of our schools. Let your creativity shine and help us shape the future of our school’s identity! The Challenge Design a new, original Logo for either: 🐻Van Derveer Elementary School featuring a bear or 🐶 Somerville Middle School featuring a bulldog. You can choose to submit designs for one or both schools. Email your submission to: villelogo@somervilleschools.org by June 1st, 2025 Visit our website to learn more! Have fun good luck! https://www.somervilleschools.org/article/2193876 . . #allin4theville #somervillenjschools #somervillelogochallenge

🎉 Celebrating our incredible nurses across the district this Nurse Appreciation Day! A heartfelt shoutout to Allison Cornyn at SHS, Maureen Duffy at SMS, and Jen Shaw and Cynthia Brennan at VDV! Your dedication and compassion in keeping our students healthy and safe shine brightly daily. We are deeply grateful for your unwavering care and commitment to The Ville. Thank you for all you do! . . #allin4theville #schoolnursesday

📚✨ Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! ✨🍎 This week, we honor the very heart of The Ville—our incredible educators. Your compassion, commitment, creativity, and resilience shape the future every single day. As Superintendent Gary Lubisco shared: "Your work is seen, it is valued, and it is appreciated. You are the heart of this district." We look forward to a great week of recognizing the ones who make it all possible for our learners. Thank you for continuing to inspire minds, for lifting spirits, and for making Somerville a truly special place to learn and grow!❤️ . . #allin4theville #TeacherAppreciationWeek #SomervilleStrong

On Thursday, May 1, VDV celebrated the annual Helen Doherty Science Fair! 🔬✨ The annual Helen Doherty Science Fair is not only a day to celebrate science and technology 🧪🔭 but a day for our students to show their creativity and love for the sciences 💡🚀. During the day, the Van Derveer participants enjoyed presenting and having conversations about their projects with volunteers working in science and technology fields and with Somerville High School students from the AP Physics class 🎓🗣️. The evening community event was filled with erupting volcanoes 🌋, moving models 🤖, and students teaching others about their research and findings from their experiments 📝📚. Participants ended their day with a personally signed certificate from our principals 📜✍️ and a participation ribbon to memorialize their accomplishments 🎗️👏 . . #allin4theville #somervillestrong #somervillenjschools

🎉 One Week Later… and We're Still Smiling! 🗓️🥰 It’s hard to believe it’s already been a week since Bring Your Child to Work Day! ✨ ❄️👧🏽👦🏼 From epic snowball fights in the SHS Media Center (don’t worry, they were the soft kind 😉) 🎨🏃‍♂️ to jumping into Art & Gym classes like pros, 🧪🤖 and marveling at science experiments and awesome robotics demos — The children of our staff members got a real taste of the creativity, energy, and innovation that the students of Somerville Public Schools enjoy every single day, and that make our schools so special. 💡💙 A huge thank you to our staff across all three schools that made the day unforgettable, and to our little guests for bringing extra joy and wonder into our halls! 🏫💫 . . . #BringYourChildToWorkDay2025 #allin4theville #somervillestrong

Somerville Schools is excited to share that last month, our teachers actively engaged in the first of three Sheltered English Instruction training sessions led by LLAMAME, LLC. Teachers were able to explore effective strategies to support multilingual learners and improve learning for all students. We are looking forward to continuing the professional learning at the upcoming sessions! . . #allin4theville #somervilleschoolsnj

💙🍬 April is Lifesaver Month at SMS! 🍬💙 A very cool initiative is happening at SMS this month. All SMS staff will have bags of Lifesavers ready to hand out whenever they spot a student helping a classmate or teacher. These sweet treats allow the SMS staff to recognize spontaneous acts of kindness, encouraging everyone to keep looking out for each other! A huge shout-out to Ines Cantatore, the School Climate Team, and the PTO for bringing this wonderful initiative to life! Thank you for your support! 💙🙌 . . #LifesaverMonth #allin4theville #SMS #KindnessMatters

🧩It's World Autism Day, and The Ville is proud to embrace this opportunity to spotlight and celebrate the diversity of our students, especially those on the autism spectrum!🌎 From AAC devices to life skills and ABA classrooms and more, The Ville is committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming, and engaging educational journey for all! . . #AutismAcceptanceMonth #allin4theville #somervillenjschools

💚March is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month! ✅Fact: CP is the most common motor disability of childhood. As a district, Somerville Public Schools fully supports the resilience and diversity of individuals with CP and is firmly committed to inclusivity and support for every student! . . #CerebralPalsyAwarenessMonth #allin4theville #somervilleschoolsnj

💡 Staff Feature of the Week! 💡 Each week, we'll feature our staff members at The Ville who contribute to students' academic success and help shape their path here at Somerville! This week, it's Mr. Tyler Kazar from Somerville High School! Tyler Kazar is the district's AV/IT Support Specialist and an Advisor for FRC Team 102, otherwise known as The Gearheads! An alumnus of Somerville High School Class of 2015, Tyler is a pillar in the Ville community, involved in many aspects of what makes the Ville so special. From being a vital component to running our musical productions - such as the recent "All Shook Up " - to the livestream of the SHS Commencement Ceremony every June. His contributions to the district are too many to name, but Tyler's fingerprints can be found almost everywhere. Most importantly, Tyler's integrity and character stand out as a shining example of the standard that the Ville community relies on to reach its goals and shoot for the stars. You would be hard-pressed to find someone in the community who doesn't know Tyler, and you would be equally pressed to find someone with a negative thing to say about him. Many of the students and staff within the district look to Tyler's mentorship, and he provides so many with the tools needed to succeed - and always with a smile on his face. Without figureheads like Tyler, the Ville wouldn't be what it is today. Thank you for all that you do for the Ville! . . #allin4theville #somervillenjschools #somervillestafffeature

🎭✨ SHOWCASE OF THE ARTS 2025 ✨🎭 A magical night to remember! On March 18th, the SHS Auditorium was filled with music, movement, and magic during this year's Showcase of the Arts! 🎶💃🎺 It was an incredible turnout, and every single performance was phenomenal 🙌 — from the Orchestra Club to the Winter Guard, Jazz Bands, Indoor Percussion, and our amazing VDV, SMS, BCMS & SHS Choirs 🎻🥁🎷🎤 It was a true celebration of the immense talent of our Somerville students 💫 We couldn’t be more proud of the passion and dedication they brought to the stage. 💛 THANK YOU to all who came out to support the arts! Until next year… 🎉 . . #allin4theville #SomervilleShowcaseoftheArts2025

📢 SHS PTO Needs Your Help! 📢 The Somerville High School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is seeking nominations for executive board positions for the 2025-2026 school year! Positions include President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and candidates must have at least one child enrolled at SHS next year. ✅ Nominate by April 16, 2025 ✉️ Submit nominations to SHSPTOCHAIR@gmail.com (include nominee's name, contact info, and desired position). 🗳️ Voting takes place on May 7, 2025, at 7 PM in the SHS Media Center. 📲→ Help spread the word! Share this post and encourage parents to get involved. For more details, visit: shspto.mycheddarup.com

📢 SHS PTO Needs Your Help! 📢 The Somerville High School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is seeking nominations for executive board positions for the 2025-2026 school year! Positions include President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and candidates must have at least one child enrolled at SHS next year. ✅ Nominate by April 16, 2025 📩 Submit nominations to SHSPTOCHAIR@gmail.com (include nominee’s name, contact info, and desired position). 🗳 Voting takes place on May 7, 2025, at 7 PM in the SHS Media Center. 📲 Help spread the word! Share this post and encourage parents to get involved. For more details, visit: shspto.mycheddarup.com #SHSPTO #SomervilleHighSchool #ParentInvolvement #CommunityMatters

💡Staff Feature of the Week! 💡 Each week, we'll feature one of our staff members at The Ville who contributes to students' academic success and helps shape their path here at Somerville! This week is Van Derveer School's Maria Henriquez! Maria Henriquez has been working at VDV as a lunch aide since October 2018. As a lunch aide, she is responsible for ensuring all kids eat lunch safely and in a controlled manner. Talk to the kids and explain the rules they must follow while in the cafeteria, and attend to their needs so their lunch and playtime is an enjoyable part of the school day. At playtime, Maria ensures the kids engage in games respectfully and joyously. Maria is also a team player; she works with other lunch aides to implement games to keep the kids active and happy. Thank you for all that you do for the Ville! . . #allin4theville #somervilleschoolsstafffeature

🏫VDV Preschool Lottery is live! Please click the links in our bio to view!

📢Attention Ville: Preliminary results show that voters APPROVED both questions in the bond referendum! Once the results are certified, we look forward to getting started on the projects, including upgrades to science labs, security, the High School auditorium and athletic facilities. See somervilleschools.org/page/vote for details. 🏫🔬🎭👟 🦺

⏰ A few more hours to make your voice heard!⏰ Polls close at 8 PM so be sure to cast your ballot in-person soon. If you are voting by MAIL, ballots must be postmarked or deposited in a drop box TODAY in order for it to be counted. Details somervilleschools.org/page/vote.

The district has a history of fiscal responsibility and completing capital projects through the annual budget, with partial funding from state and federal grants. The referendum is one piece of the district's larger plan for regularly improving and updating the schools. Hear more about the funding strategy in this recording of the Virtual Forum: somervilleschools.org/page/vote.