2011
MARINETTE MIDDLE SCHOOL
“EXEMPLARY MIDDLE SCHOOL”
1011 Water Street/Marinette, WI 54143/715-735-1500/Fax: 715-732-7939
http:// mms.marinette.k12.wi.us
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Hello Marinette Middle School Students, Parents and Friends! We have just completed the First Quarter of the School year. Wow...how time flies by fast. Along with this newsletter, you should find of copy of your child's first quarter grade report. This is a measure of your child's progress during the first semester. Contact your child’s teacher(s) if you have questions regarding his/her progress.
There are so many great things going on here at MMS. Below is an article highlighting a statewide recognition MMS recently received.
Marinette Middle School Recognized as an “Exemplary” Middle School…
The Association of Wisconsin School Administrators and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction have recognized Marinette Middle School as an “Exemplary Middle School” in the state of Wisconsin.
Sixty-nine of the 334 Wisconsin middle schools are receiving this recognition which puts MMS in the top twenty percent of all middle schools in the state of Wisconsin.
This is the fifth year of the Exemplary Middle School program that was instituted through AWSA’s Middle Level Commission. The Exemplary Middle School recognition program reviews academic achievement records for the 334 middle schools in Wisconsin. Schools earn recognition for high three-year growth in reading or math scores; reading or math scores in the top 10 percent in the past year; or high growth in scores in reading or math for schools with a high poverty population. Marinette Middle School has earned this recognition for a significant three-year growth in reading.
Congratulations to all Marinette Middle School staff, student, parents and community for their involvement in the many literacy initiatives that undoubtedly have led MMS to “Exemplary Middle School” status.
Thank you for supporting Marinette Middle School. The success that we do achieve everyday would not be possible without the positive connections we enjoy with parents and the community!
Shawn Limberg, Principal
Inside this issue:
Principal’s Corner------1
Facebook information--2
Team CSI------3
Read 180------3
6th Grade------3
7th Grade------4
8th Grade------5
Ms. Gross------5
Band------6
Library ------6
Art------7
Website information---7
Inclement weather-----7
Nurse------8
Upcoming events:
November 23-25:
No School
December 15, 6:30 pm:
Band/Choir Holiday Concert
December 26-30:
No School
January 2:
School Resumes
January 17:
End of Semester
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Parent tips for middle school kids
1 .Facebook won't let kids have sites if they're under 13. In fact it’s illegal! That said, kids simply do the math to figure out what year to put so they'll seem 13 -- or older. Check your kid's computer browser history. If you see Facebook listed, assume your kid has an account.
2. Tell your kids to think before they post. Remind them that everything can be seen by a vast, invisible audience (otherwise known as friends of friends of friends). Each family is different, but for middle school kids, it's a good idea for parents to have access to their kids' pages, at least at first, to be sure that what's being posted is appropriate. Parents can help keep their children from doing something they'll regret later.
3. Make sure kids set their privacy settings. Privacy settings aren't foolproof, but they're important. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your kids' favorite sites, and teach your kids how to control their privacy.
4. Kindness counts. Lots of sites have anonymous applications like "bathroom wall" or "honesty boxes" that allow users to tell their friends what they think of them. Rule of thumb: If your children wouldn't say it to someone's face, they shouldn't post it.
5. Go online. If you don't have one already, get an account for yourself. See what kids can and can't do.
There is an interesting book title “Every Parent’s Guide to Middle School Success”. The author Robert N. Walrond says the following about his book, “My book is written to give parents and caregivers suggested strategies to use with their middle school student.
Internet safety web resources for middle school parents
Federal Bureau of Investigation –
Parent guide to internet safety http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/parent-guide
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – Internet safety tips for parents, including a link to an internet safety pledge for parents and their children. http://www.netsmartz.org/safety/safetytips
It’s My Lifeis funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to create safe educational online media activities for children aged 9 to 12. Parents and children can read informative articles, share stories, play games, and get advice from experts.
InternetSafety.com from McAfee – Tips and links to resources and products to protect your family from a leader in online security.
http://www.internetsafety.com/internet-safety-tips-for-parents.php
Disney - Advice for parentsfrom Disney.com on how to keep your childsafeon theinternet.
http://disney.go.com/guestservices/safety
Parents want to and need to help their children with schoolwork and organization, but they may be unsure what strategies to use”. He answers many of the big questions parents of middle school age children have, such as “How much should parents beinvolved?” and “How many school activities should my child be involved with? And when is it all too much and results in stress for all concerned?” It’s a great read. Check out a preview of the book at Amazon.com.
5th Grade
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Team CSI
Team CSI is off and running. Students and teachers are adjusting just fine to the new school year. Our first fieldtrip to U.W. Marinette to watch FLAT STANLEY JR. was a success. Some students are still talking about it. We enjoyed meeting many caring parents and guardians at conferences. Things work so much better when home and school work together. Finally, thank you to everyone who helped with the bake sale. We earned $207.00 for all of the yummy treats! The money will go towards our Team CSI activities!
Read 180
5th Grade has been working on their “Natural Disasters” unit. Students are learning different reading strategies to help with comprehension, fluency and decoding. Students are in the process of creating a PowerPoint presentation. They will share interesting facts about their topic (a natural disaster) and present their work in front of the other classmates. Wait until you see their beautiful and hard work! We are also working on creating titles, summarizing and illustrating chapters from the story, Among the Hidden. This is really helping their “Mind’s Eye.”
6th Grade has completed the novel, Maniac Magee, and the work associated with it. Students are now researching three different themes (homelessness, humanity, family, illiteracy, racism, and ignorance) from the story. From that, they will write an expository essay and incorporate parts of Maniac Magee with the facts they have from the research. Our next unit will be on fairy tales: analyzing the tales, comparing and contrasting traditional ones with fractured versions, and writing their very own fairy tale.
6th Grade
Literacy-Mrs. K. Francour
The first unit started off with a reflection of childhood and survival. The students just finished reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. It is a realistic fiction book about a boy who is stranded in the Canadian wilderness and experiences many conflicts. They have compared and contrasted the book to the movie “A Call in the Wild”. Many of the students continue to read the sequels to Hatchet which are The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return and Brian’s Hunt. We are concluding this unit with a reflective essay. The students have been writing for two weeks and will publish their final drafts this week. Next week during testing we will be reading the book Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl. It is an autobiography of his life. Each quarter the students will set a goal to earn reading counts points. The first and last quarter will be 25 points and the second and third quarter will be individual goals. I will conference with each student this week to set their second quarter goal.
Math-Mrs. Siem
We have just finished our first unit called Prime Time, an in-depth study of the math concepts of even & odd, prime & composite, factors & multiples, greatest common factors (GCF) & least common multiples (LCM) to prepare us for our first unit on fractions, Bits & Pieces I. Students have also created a “My Special Number” poster to visually display what they’ve learned. Be sure to check them out in the 6th grade hallway near the math room!
Science-Mrs. L. Francour
The sixth grade science classes are studying ecosystems and how the living and nonliving parts interact. The students will follow the path of energy through the different food webs. Differentiating the 9 major land and water biomes, will help the 6th graders understandhow plants and animals can survive in such different climates and locations.
Language Arts-Ms. Hoff
This past quarter, the sixth grade writing class has begun looking at the genre, Traditional Literature, especially fairy tales. We have examined the many themes embedded within the many tales and myths of our youth. The class has written their own fairy tales and acrostic poems. Core standards in writing ask for blending of the genres of reading and writing. This will send us on a great adventure this year. The next unit in this class will be reading Touching Spirit Bear, as well as studying beliefs and traditions among the Native Americans culture.
Social Studies-Mr. Niemojuski
In Social Studies, we are taking a journey through Ancient Greece. We will be discussing the great achievements, contributions, and culture of the time period. Some of these contributions include the ideas of; citizenship, democracy, the right to vote, the right to hold office, and own property. All of these have had a great impact on our society today.
7th Grade
As we start the second quarter, please continue to use skyward as a tool to stay current with your child’s grades, discipline, attendance, and more. If you do not have a skyward login, please contact the office (735-1500) to get one. If you have not signed up for our weekly email of information and would like to, please contact Mrs. Johnston at 735-1570 or to be added to the list. Currently 125 families receive the weekly email! Thanks to all those signed up already. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about your child don’t hesitate to contact us via email or phone.
8th Grade
This week, all 8th graders will begin the WKCE test. We will complete math and reading, which are the two biggest sections, on Tuesday and Wednesday. The rest of the sections (language arts, writing, science and social studies) will be taken one per day in the days that follow in that subject’s classroom. Please remind your student about the importance of a good night’s sleep, eating breakfast, and trying his or her best on this test. Below you will find the testing schedule for 8th grade.
Tuesday, November 8th
1st and 2nd hour as normal
9:45-1:30: MATH portion of WKCE
1:30-3:02 – Students will visit each of their core classes for 15 minutes.
Wednesday, November 9th
1st and 2nd hour normal
9:45-1:15: READING portion of the WKCE
MOVIE AND NACHO REWARD: 1:15-3:03 As a reward for their hard work, students will be watching a movie on Wednesday afternoon (Be sure your PG-13 sheets have been turned in). Students will have the option to buy nachos and a soda for $2.00 during the movie.
REMAINDER OF THE TESTS:
Thursday, Nov. 10 – S.S. in S.S. class
Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Science in Science class
Wednesday, Nov. 16 – L.A. in L.A. class
Thursday, Nov. 17 – Writing in L.A. class
***Make up tests will be given as needed***
If you have any questions, please call or email
Mrs. Bouty (735-1595 ) or
Mrs. Meyers (735-1585 )
Ms. Gross’s Class
Ms. Gross’s Special Education classroom has had a busy, productive start to the school year! We welcomed several new students and introduced brand-new classroom expectations, schedules, and Middle School guidelines. We currently have 5th and 6th graders who are taught Language Arts, Reading, and Math within the classroom. Science, Social Studies, and Encores all take place within the general education setting. The students are adjusting to the Middle School environment quite well and are experiencing success thus far!
For our monthly outing, we were able to take a field trip to Berguson’s Vegetable Farm, go on a hayride, and choose our own pumpkins. We then carved our pumpkins in our classroom later in the day and baked our own pumpkin seeds.
This month we will be presenting our Annual Thanksgiving Feast! All of the students participate in the planning of a FULL, complete Thanksgiving meal! Students are required to write grocery lists of necessary ingredients, make advertisements/invitations for the meal, and set up and cook the entire meal. It is a time for all of the students to work together as a team, practice reading recipes, and touch up on important social skillsJ.
We are also happy to announce that Kendra Fifarek will be joining us for the next 7 weeks! She is a student teacher who currently attends Northern Michigan University. She has already added extra TLC to our classroom after only one weekJ. Please welcome her if you see her!
Band
This fall has included some exciting events for our middle school musicians. On September 24, a group of students were treated to a concert by the New Reformation Dixieland Jazz Band. The River Cities Community Concert Association donated the tickets and Westland Bus donated a bus so the students were able to attend this wonderful concert free of charge. Mr. Mallory and Miss Dura were very proud of the students’ respectful behavior on this trip and an enjoyable evening of music was shared by all. The students were able to meet the musicians and get autographs after the performance. Thank you to the parents who came along as chaperones and to the parents who brought their kids to school on a Saturday night so they could share in the experience.