Dear Middle School Parents,
Please be sure to come for a Parents Meet and Greet with Jessica Pechhold. The incoming Middle School Principal is visiting during the week of April 9 through April 13. She will spend her week connecting with the leadership team, faculty, parents and students. Her time this week will be well utilized and will greatly help with her transition to her new position next school year. A "Meet and Greet" session is scheduled for Thursday, April 12 at 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the main courtyard, for parents to meet with her and get to know her. Please do join us.
AISC Summer Camp 2018
Summer Camp is a two-week program held for Elementary & Middle School students. A wide variety of age appropriate activities including sports, arts, and crafts classes are offered. Summer camp dates: Starts on June 4 and ends on June 15, 2018.
Registration link - Closes April 11th.
From the MS Counselor...
Today MS students participated in the second of three Digital Citizenship lessons that are covered in Advisory each year. Our lessons are based on the Common Sense Education's K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, designed to empower students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world.
WHAT IS DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP?
Digital media and technology are evolving at a rapid pace, bringing with it amazing opportunities as well as real risks for our children. On the positive side, young people are using the Internet and mobile technologies to create, connect, explore and learn in ways never before imagined. Challenges from harmful behaviors, cyberbullying to digital cheating, are surfacing in schools and in homes across the country. Young people face ethical challenges daily without a roadmap to guide them.
WHAT COMMON SENSE EDUCATION TEACHES
The core message of the curriculum is one of empowerment: With powerful digital tools that allow for creation and communication comes great responsibility. The curriculum centers on 8 main categories based on the digital ethics research of Dr. Howard Gardner and The GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
Common Sense Education takes a whole-community approach to digital citizenship by providing parent resources to help you support your kid’s learning. As we engage in these lessons in class, we will be sending home parent tip sheets (see below). You can also visit the Common
Here is an overview of the units covered at each level and the categories within the Digital Citizenship Curriculum that they are designed to address:
Grade 6: Digital Life 101 (Self-Image & Identity) / Scams and Schemes (Privacy & Security) / Cyberbullying: Be Upstanding (Cyberbullying & Digital Drama)
Grade 7: My Media Life (Self-image & Identity) / Safe Online Talk (Relationships & Communication; Internet Safety) / Which Me Should I Be? (Self-image & Identity; Digital Footprint & Reputation)
Grade 8:Trillion Dollar Footprint (Digital Footprint & Reputation; Privacy & Security) / Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line (Relationships & Communication; Cyberbullying & Digital Drama) / Rework, Reuse, Remix (Creative Credit & Copyright; Information Literacy)
Below are Family Tip Sheets that correspond to the lessons the students are participating in at each grade level. Please take a look at the tip sheets and use that to start a discussion with your child(ren) about these important issues.
MS Theatre Production – Switching Principals
Marvin Gardens Middle School is in all kinds of trouble. When a new principal is scheduled to arrive, everyone is hoping for a fresh breeze. What blows in, however, are George and Madge, two con artists who slipped in through the principal’s office window while hiding out from the law. It’s not long before the two criminals are mistaken for the new administrators. But can they turn the school around?
The MS team that brought you “A History of the Universe in Seventy Seven minutes” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” are proud to present “Switching Principals”, a door slamming fast paced farce guaranteed to leave a smile on your face.
Performance times are Wednesday April 11th at 4pm and Thursday April 5th at 5pm. If you missed the ticket sale, you can buy one at the door.
E-Portfolio Presentations and Conferences: 13 April
There is a change in the schedule for this year. Students will have the E-Portfolio presentation in the morning followed by drop-in Parent-Student-Teacher conferences on Friday, 13 April. Students will have either a 8:45-9:30 or 9:40-10:25 E-Portfolio presentation slot. Parent-Student-Teacher conferences will begin at 10:45. Student must be present during these conferences. Please also remember to keep conferences to no longer than 10 minutes as other parents will be waiting to see the teacher also.
The drop-in conferences will take place in the following locations with the following teachers:
Madras Hall: All Specialist/Elective Teachers (Art, Band, Choir, DT, EAP, French, PE, Spanish and Theater)
BBT: Grade 6 and 8 Core Teachers (Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies)
Hall of Light: Grade 7 Core Teachers (Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies)
In the past, after the e-portfolio presentations, parents had a chance to schedule a follow up conference with teachers. We have changed it to a drop-in as-needed-basis. Should you feel that a conference is needed, please ask yourself the following questions:
1. What information am I lacking? Can I ask my child to help me gain a better understanding of the question or concern I have?
2. Have I communicated my question to the teacher as a part of an ongoing concern or could I find the answer to my question by calling or emailing the teacher?
3. Have I asked my child to show me his or her e-portfolio, PowerSchool page, Google docs folder, rubrics or other evidence that may help me answer my question?
Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Testing: 9-10 April and 16-17 April
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computerized adaptive test. Students will take tests in Reading, Math, Language and Science. MAP tests students with engaging and age-appropriate content. As a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down in difficulty. Our team uses the data to inform instructional decision-making for increased student growth and achievement.
MAP testing starts Monday morning. Please remind your children to charge the laptops each night, especially during testing week. There is no preparation required for MAP testing. We do, however, recommend that students get adequate sleep and a good breakfast before they come to school for the MAP test.
Earth Day Spirit Week, April 16-20
To show our continuing commitment to sustainability, we are happy to have our first Earth Day Spirit Week from April 16-20. During this week we will make an effort to positively affect our environment along the five categories of LEED: energy, water, human experience, transportation and waste.
We would
like our community to join us in the Earth Day Spirit Week by participating in
the daily challenges and wear Earth Day colors of green and blue for the week!
Please see Mr. Hoover’s Head's Notes for more details.
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Meatless
Monday
April 16
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Nothing
New
Tuesday
April 17
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Buy-A-Plant
Wednesday
April 18
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Carpool
Thursday
April 19
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No
Waste Lunch
Friday
April 20
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Beach
Clean Up Weekend
April 21-22
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Energy
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Water
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Human Experience
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Transportation
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Waste
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Waste
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Sincerely,
Alan Phan & Andrew Ranson
Middle School Administration