On January 4th, dubbed National Spaghetti Day, Bernardsville Middle School celebrated with a passion for pasta! Students from the Culture & Climate Team prepared a festive gathering for students and staff.
The Culture & Climate Team created Italian menus for the lunch tables and made a playlist of Italian cafe songs for all to enjoy! Each lunch period offered a special hot selection option which was spaghetti with garlic bread. During the lunches, the Culture & Climate Team showed a slideshow presentation that they had prepared with fun facts and musical clips.
The BMS Culture & Climate Team is made up of 30 students spanning grades 6-8, divided into four subgroups; this allows team members to interact, collaborate, and cooperate across grade levels. Their overarching goal is to create opportunities that help Bernardsville Middle School be an inclusive community, and it is a mission they are passionate about. Jaclyn Pasquarelli and Rose Rizzuto are the advisors to this student club. “We meet weekly with team members, staggering the subgroups. At each work meeting, it is amazing to see their level of engagement and dedication to making their school shine and the student body feel welcome,” said Pasquarelli. Each of the four subgroups have a celebration month. They share ideas, plan, and organize all of the details. Every student who is part of the Culture & Climate Team values their mission; they work hard, use their creativity and strengths, and want everyone to have a voice. “I am so proud of our students, not only for the outcome of this fun event, but for taking a proactive role in reaching out to Maschio’s Food Services. Our BMS Cafeteria Manager Linda Gallagher was extremely helpful and willing to support their ideas,” shared Principal Lisa Garofalo.
School spirit has been high so far with the fall and winter events. October’s event focused on a “country” theme of country club versus country western. November included a Thanksgiving film and guessing games with prizes. December brought about door decorating with a twist, where in addition to Chanukah and Christmas designs, all holidays were fair game; Lunar New Year and the 4th of July were two of many unique choices. For the months ahead the students are brainstorming some fun ideas to “laissez les bons temps rouler” during Mardi Gras, to host a Pi Day celebration on Einstein’s birthday, to complete a week of Random Acts of Kindness, and to participate in an “Anything But a Backpack” learning adventure. With Spaghetti Day a success, we are excited to see what lies ahead. And remember, when it comes to pasta, Bernardsville Middle School says... MANGIA!