Lyman Moore Middle School Newsletter

Transcription

1 Some Things Moore Lyman Moore Middle School Newsletter Winter Auburn Street Portland, ME Office: Fax: Attendance Hotline Stephen J. Rogers Principal Jake Giessman Assistant Principal From the Principal I hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving Break! We are off to a positive start, and look forward to a very productive year. We are approximately one third of the way through the year, with three months under our belt! The beginning has been a very busy one, packed with many positive experiences for students. As we move into the colder months, please encourage your child to layer clothing. If you have any questions or concerns, as always, please contact us as we value your feedback. I can be reached at or rogers@portlandschools.org Have a great week! Stephen Rogers Principal FALL CONFERENCES Teacher Naomi Marthai, Lyman Moore Middle School students Atak Natali and Divine Macibiri and teacher Rob Miller at the Painting for a Purpose auction at DiMillo s in Portland. Photos by Amy Paradysz INFINITE CAMPUS ACCESS As parents you have access to your child s attendance and grades through our Infinite Campus data system. Each family has a unique sign-in password. You can either access it through your child s log-in, or through your own. If you need the information to log-in, please contact the Main Office, Mr. Brown our Technology Coordinator or your child s homeroom teacher. Thanks to everyone for participating in fall conferences. We hope that the format worked well for all families. As you know, the focus was on reviewing recent data, including student work, upon which students set individual goals for improvement. When the next round of conferences comes around in the spring, the focus will be on students presenting data and exhibiting work which shows progress over the course of the year. NWEA Testing As you may know, all students completed another round of NWEA testing (in reading and math) this fall. This data is helpful in both measuring student progress and providing information to teachers to help guide planning lessons. Students will test again in the spring, with some students also testing in the winter. Test scores over the past couple of years were used as one piece of student data during conferences, with updated scores available at spring conferences.

2 LYMAN MOORE CONDUCTS SECOND COMMUNITY WALK TO SUPPORT NEED CLOSET For the second year in a row, our community came together to participate in a community walk to raise awareness about the impacts of poverty in our community and to collect items to support families. This concept was the brainchild of some 7 th grade students, who studied world problems and were encouraged to create action strategies aimed at providing community service. These students, now in high school, wanted to extend their study of the impacts of hunger and poverty, by creating a food pantry at our school. The goal was to be sure that no families in our community go hungry. To create awareness of the issue and of the strategy, students papered doors in the immediate neighborhood. At the end of October, all students and staff participated in a Community March to collect donations of canned goods and personal hygiene items. The school not only collected several hundred products, but also collected over $1000 in donations. This student-led initiative has led to a staff Service Learning Committee, which will oversee more such activities. Stay tuned for more details about the Food Pantry. If your family wishes to utilize this service, please feel free to contact someone at the school. 8 th GRADERS SAIL CASCO BAY For the third year in a row, Moore 8 th grade Science teachers organized a trip on a sloop in Casco Bay for all 8 th grade students. This trip was an extension of the study of physics and engineering. Students followed up the trip by creating their own mini sailing vessels to race in the classroom tank. They applied the basic concepts of physics and engineering to modify their vessels to increase their speed during trial runs. Several students and their vessels exhibited their work at this year s STEM expo. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Lyman Moore works hard to develop and support positive behaviors among its students. This helps us be a place where everyone feels safe, secure, valued, and respected at all times. Instead of reacting solely on negative actions, we teach clear and specific behavioral expectations, rehearse them with students, and provide positive reinforcement when they are followed. For example, students can earn SOAR Cards for following hallway expectations. They can then spend these cards in our well-stocked school store, staffed by teachers and family members. Our belief is that we get recognized and reinforced, gets repeated. If you focus all of your attention on negative behaviors, you can expect to increase those behaviors. However, if we turn our attention to positive behaviors, those will increase. If you could help in the store during Tuesday or Friday lunches, please doyons@portlandschools.org. Thank you for all you do at home; we are proud to partner with you in raising excellent young people.

3 Schedule Change As we move into our second trimester, we want to inform families of a change in our schedule. Years ago, a period at the end of the day was formed to accommodate music ensemble groups. It was called "Moore Time". It's placement at the end of the day was done to accommodate the schedules of some of our music educators who also worked in other schools. Several years ago, we decided to dedicate this time for students who were not in the music ensembles to work related to literacy and numeracy activities, to strength student skills in these key areas. Over the last couple of years, we increased the number of courses offered at this time to improve and extend student learning. This school year, the School Board gave us the gift of added time, by adding twenty minutes to the school day. We initially, added a couple minutes to each period. After careful study, we discovered that almost 2/3 of our students were now in a course during "Moore Time". This period was much shorter than the others in the day. As we continue to focus on rigor as a school community, "Moore Time" will transition to Block 7 and will be a "regular"length of time period. This decision came as a response to the District Level guiding question, "Outline how your school plans to maximize student learning with increase in the instructional day by twenty minutes" Many formal academic classes such as Math Intervention, Read180, Art, Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Spanish, Writing, and PE will continue to be offered. Students who stay on team for Block 7 will have access to enriching classroom activities in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. We are excited to increase our students chances of future success with the addition of this instructional time. Volunteer Opportunities at Moore As the weather gets colder our students are coming into school earlier. We are hoping to get parent volunteers to help monitor the hallways in the mornings, and/or help with a rise and thrive activity. We need help from 7:20am to 7:50am. Library volunteers needed any time Monday, Tuesday,Thursday or Friday. Library duties include, Shelving books, reorganizing books shelves, checking books in and out and filling copiers with paper. We are looking for volunteers to come in every other week and help with the school store on Tuesday and Friday from 10:50am to 12:00pm If you are interested in volunteering at Moore in any way please contact Sue Doyon doyons@portlandschools.org or Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers!! On Rainy or Extremely Cold Mornings Normally, beginning at 7:20am in the morning, students must choose between Rise & Thrive activities, club meetings, or outdoor games. They are allowed to go to their lockers at the 7:40am bell, when teachers' workday officially begins. On rainy or bitter cold mornings, however, we allow students the option of going to their grade-level hallways at 7:20am and moving into home rooms at 7:40am. We are Mainers, though! Portland Public Schools has described bitter cold as 13 degrees wind chill. If your child does not participate in Rise and Thrive activities, the best time for them to arrive is at 7:40am. This is when we have the most adult supervision. At 7:20am, we only formally have Ed Techs on duty. Before 7:20am, we do not have adult supervision for students, so please plan accordingly. If your child will be here earlier than that, we apologize and suggest that your child dress appropriately for the weather outside. Thanks for your understanding and support! Please also see the district's new procedures around late start in inclement weather.

4 From the School Nurse Cold and flu season is in full swing. Please be aware that any student needing to be dismissed due to illness or injury needs to do so through the nurse so that I can carefully track illness/symptom trends, this is very important. Students should not be calling from their personal cell phones to be dismissed, please see the LMMS student handbook for cell phone use during schools hours policy. Not sure when to keep your child home from school? Please review the information below regarding this. Many students are sent to school to tough it out when they are ill. This is not encouraged as your child may spread illness to others and if your child is not well enough to actively engage in the school day then they should stay home. Children who come to the nurse office feeling poorly and unable to focus in class due to their symptoms will need to be picked up. Remember fevers over 100 degrees require the child to be dismissed and then remain home until fever free for 24 hours without any fever reducing medication. Students should also stay home for 24 hours until they are no longer vomiting or having diarrhea. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Thank you, Nurse Molly Mitton mittom@portlandschools.com Nurses Note: When do I Keep my child home from school? A sniffle. A cough. A sore throat. Children come down with illnesses big and small. Some are contagious and some are not. How do you know when to keep your child home from school? Parents are the best judges of their children s overall wellness, please do not send your child to school for the nurse to diagnose or treat their illness. If you are unsure of how to treat or determine what is wrong with your child it is best to call your family physician to examine your child. 4 Questions to Ask About Your Sick Child: To know whether your child should stay home from school, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests answering these quick questions: 1. Does your child have a fever? Fevers of 100 F or more are generally a sign of illness, so children should stay home from school. 2. Is your child well enough to engage in class? If ill kids seem too run down to get much out of school, concentrate, or stay awake in class, please keep them home. 3. Do you think your child has a contagious illness, such as the flu or pinkeye? If so, keep them at home until they're no longer infectious and have been treated. Will my child be able to manage their symptoms comfortably and hygienically at school? (runny nose, sore throat, excessive cough, sneezing, itchy eyes) When Children Should Stay Home From School Fever is the body's way of destroying the germs making it sick, and it's a common symptom of infections such as flu. Keep your children home if their temperature is 100 F or higher. Wait until children are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever reducing medications) before letting them return to school. If your child has a fever over 100 degrees he/she will be required to be dismissed from school and will need to be picked up. Diarrhea is often the result of infection, food poisoning, or a side effect to medications like antibiotics. Keep children home until stools are formed and your doctor gives the okay. Make sure your sick child stays hydrated. Vomiting is another way for the body to rid itself of the germs making it sick, and is usually caused by a stomach virus or stomach infection. Keep children home if they've vomited twice or more in the last 24 hours. They can return to school after symptoms clear up or your doctor says they're no longer contagious.

5 From the School Nurse Continued. Severe cough and cold symptoms should keep kids home from school. A serious cough could be a sign of contagious conditions like whooping cough, viral bronchitis, or croup. It can also be a sign of asthma or allergies. Sore throats can be a symptom of strep or a common cold. If your child has been diagnosed with strep throat, keep your child at home for at least 24 hours after starting antibiotics. The nurse/school does not carry or supply cough drops or cold medicine. Pinkeye (conjunctivitis) is contagious, and children should stay home from school for the first 24 hours after treatment begins. Symptoms of pinkeye include eye redness, irritation, swelling, and purulent drainage. Headaches can be a symptom of contagious conditions like viral gastroenteritis, flu, meningitis, and strep throat. Opinions differ on whether a child should be kept home. If your child doesn't have any other signs of illness, and feels okay, your child can go to school unless their headache interferes with their ability to engage in learning. Rashes can be the sign of contagious conditions such as chickenpox, bacterial meningitis, or impetigo. Children should be kept home until they're diagnosed. They can return to school after symptoms are gone and their doctor gives the okay. Earaches aren't contagious. There's no need to keep a child with a mild earache home, as long as your child feels well enough to concentrate. Mild cold or respiratory symptoms are no reason to keep children at home so long as their nasal drainage is clear and their cough is mild, non-barking or whooping. District s snow day procedures for the school year This year we may sometimes delay the start of school for one hour because of bad weather, instead of canceling a full day of school. In the past, whenever there was too much snow or ice in the early morning, we canceled school for a full day. However, sometimes it is safe to travel soon after city workers have plowed the roads and sidewalks. On those days we will just push back the time school starts one hour, not cancel school. The change should mean fewer snow days, more student learning during the school year, and an earlier start to summer vacation. Please remember that we may still sometimes need to cancel full school days when weather conditions necessitate that. Also, the district currently does not plan to release students from school early due to weather, except in an emergency. Winter Concert for our school's Band, We re on the Web! Moore.portlandschools.org Orchestra and Choral students., Dec 17th, 630pm. All family and friends are invited to attend and share in this great musical celebration!

6 December 2015 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 1 Civil Rights Mtg. 2:30pm, room Early Release Day 3 4 End of 1st Trimester Gr. 6 to Portland Stage Co. 9:15am -11:30am 7 Sign up and pay for dance in homeroom 8 Sign up and pay for dance in homeroom Gr. 7 to Portland Ovations 9:15am-11:30am 2pm Leaders Council 9 Sign up and pay for dance in homeroom Early Release Day 10 Sign up and pay for dance in homeroom, (no payments will be accepted after homeroom) Quoddy 8 to Museum of Art 11am - 1:45pm Casco Bay HS 11 Bradbury 8 to Museum of Art 11am - 1:45pm. Dance 7-9pm Report cards go home :30pm Winter Concert Early Release Day 21 Leaders Council 2pm School Concert 1:30pm WINTER BREAK

7 Click here to view the Lyman Moore School Success Plan District Goals: The community has worked with school personnel to establish some goals for all learners. There are three basic outcomes we want for learners: 1) All students will graduate from High School. What seems as an obvious goal, it is not presently the reality in Portland, or in other places, for that matter. We in the Portland Schools are committed to helping all students to graduate from High School. 2) All graduates will demonstrate college readiness in the areas of academics, communication and critical thinking. This does not say that all students need to go to college upon graduation. It merely states that all students who graduate should have the opportunity to enter college. Whether it is a 2 or 4-year program, and be successful. 3) All students will participate in activities that demonstrate service to our community, individual creativity and physical wellness. Our goal is to develop well-rounded, healthy students who are contributing members of their community.