Panther Tracks. ~ A Message from the Principal ~ Call MLK MS. DanaE. Davison D R. M A R T I N L U T H E R K I N G, J R. M S

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1 D R. M A R T I N L U T H E R K I N G, J R. M S Panther Tracks Wisteria Drive Germantown, MD "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. K i n g s C o m i n g E v e n t s September 21 Back to School Dance 2:45-4:15 pm 26-Yom Kippur No School 28-Early Release Day at 12:10 October 3 Fall Picture Day Outdoor Education Parent Meetings 8:50 am and 7:00 pm 4-NJHS Induction Ceremony 7:00 pm 8 Columbus Day School Open House 11 & 12 8th Grade Field Trip to National Crime Museum 17-KPAC Meeting 6:00 pm 18 Cluster Choral SVHS 7:00 0m 19-MSEA Convention No School 26-School Dance 29-11/2 Spirit Week November 2-End of First Marking Period 4-Professional Day No School 5 Election Day No School Call MLK MS Main Office Attendance Counseling Office Ms. Dana E. Davison Principal Mr. Randy Gruber Assistant Principal Mrs. Phyllis York Assistant School Administrator V O L U M E 3, I S S U E 1 ~ A Message from the Principal ~ Greetings Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Families, Today marks the end of the fourth week of school, and we have had a phenomenal beginning to our school year! These four weeks have served as a foundational time for our school. It has been a time to get to know one another and to settle back into a routine. I have had the pleasure to have many conversations with our new sixth grade students who have transitioned nicely into middle school. I have also worked directly with our seventh grade students on experiments, looking through Pringles cans in LCL!, forming a human box and whiskers plot and making strides to Panther Up! During my visits to eighth grade classes, I have watched students persevere with math problems to obtain solutions, sing harmonious music, and craft well-written essays. Your children have made a great impression on our staff. We are eager to see them blossom this year and achieve excellence at many levels. At Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, we Expect Excellence Provide Excellence Produce Excellence. Last year, we were able to see great academic growth from our students. This is a pivotal year for our school because we want to continue the upward trend and ensure our students are on the Pathway to Excellence. In order to continue to make academic progress, as a school we are still focused on providing quality lessons as well as establishing strong relationships within our school community staff to student and school to parent community. These are the cornerstones to ensuring pervasive excellence in our school building and continuing to maintain and increase student success. This is our focus and commitment for the school year. As families, you are integral in your child s success. At Back-to-School Night, I had the opportunity to speak with many of you about the goals you have for your child and know that your goals are very similar to our school s vision. To support your child this year, I encourage you to communicate with your child s teachers via , check Edline to become familiar with their grades and assignments, check your child s agenda book nightly, and become an active member of the PTSA (the first meeting is October 9 th at 7:00 p.m.). If you do not have an Edline log-in, please contact Mrs. Glodek at Stacy_L_Glodek@mcpsmd.org or We are proud to work with your children daily and look forward to continuing to work with you to make your child s time at King Middle School worthwhile and memorable. I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events and making the Pathway to Excellence attainable to your child. DanaE. Davison S E P T E M B E R 1 9,

2 PTSA President - Kevin David I would like to thank everyone for coming out to Back to School Night and making it a great success. It was wonderful to see all the parents, the teachers and the students in one place with one focus our child s education. As the president of the PTSA I would love to capture some of the energy and enthusiasm that I saw wandering the halls of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. The PTSA is more than fundraising, staff appreciation, cultural arts programs, book fairs and restaurant nights. The PTSA provides a way for all of us to be united in our advocacy for our children. As one voice we can ask for more resources, for more support and for more opportunities for our current students as well as our future students. Right now we do not have a very large PTSA here at King, but with your help we can grow this PTSA and then we can focus our energies towards providing our children with the best educational experience they can have. Big Picture Middle Years Program and Seneca Valley Modernization. Little Picture Cultural arts program, book fair, restaurant nights, MSA snacks, and staff appreciation. As I have mentioned before and will continue to mention over and over Our children have one chance at the K-12 education process and we must do everything we can to ensure that their education will be the best it can be. Come to the meeting on Tuesday October 9th and listen to what you have to offer your children. SUPPORT MLK SCHOOL FUNDRAISER PICTURE DAY, October 3, 2012 Blanton/Lifetouch Studios photographers will be at MLK on Wednesday, October 3rd to take student and staff pictures. All students and staff members will have their photos taken for the yearbook and ID cards. Students and parents have three options for purchasing picture packages: picture order form with money or credit card information on October 3 (best value), wait for preview picture and order form approximately 3 weeks later, order online before picture day at or after picture day at Our school will receive a commission based on your purchases by order form and online. Please help our school raise funds for activities such as student awards, PBIS program, student testing incentives, student field trip assistance, staff appreciation, student after school clubs, and more. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY GET A $25.00 Picture Gift Certificate Parent volunteers are needed for picture day on Wednesday, October 3rd to assist students and photographers. We are asking for three volunteers from 7:50 a.m. 11:30 a.m. and three volunteers from 11:30 a.m. 2:40 p.m. Volunteers will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to be used toward a picture package for your child. To sign up, please Jean_A_Marshall@mcpsmd.org. Please indicate if there is a preference for the morning or afternoon volunteer session and provide your child s name and grade. 2

3 MAP-R and Understanding your Child s Reading Scores Stacy Glodek All students are either currently finishing or have finished taking their MAP-R test. The MAP-R stands for Measures of Adequate Progress in Reading. This test is one measure used to determine a child s reading level. Students will take the MAP-R test three times this year. When your child finishes the MAP-R test, he/she will receive a RIT (Rausch Unit) score and a Lexile. The difficulty and complexity of each MAP-R test question is measured using the RIT scale. A student's RIT score indicates that the student was answering questions correctly 50% of the time at that level of difficulty. The score tells what grade level a child is reading on and if he/she is Basic, Proficient, or Advanced. Grade Scale Score for Proficient Scale Score for Advanced Grade Grade Grade The Lexile (L) measure is a valuable piece of information about either an individual's reading ability or the difficulty of a text, like a book or magazine article. A reader should be reading 50L above to 100L below his or her Lexile measure. A reader with a Lexile measure of 1000L would have a Lexile range of 900L 1050L. Lexile measures allow you to manage comprehension. Matching a reader s Lexile measure with a text with the same Lexile measure leads to an expected 75-percent comprehension rate not too much to be frustrating, but enough to be challenging and to encourage reading progress. Please ask your child how he/she did on the MAP-R this year. If your child is unable to remember his/her score, please contact your child s English teacher. 8th Grade Field Trip Jack Wooden In an effort to help students build strong relationships with each other and with their teachers, as well as offer them an opportunity to apply their knowledge of science, math, and social studies in a different setting, we are planning a field trip to the National Museum of Crime and Punishment located in Washington, D.C. While there, students will participate in a team-building activity based on forensic science called Total CSI, and tour the museum to learn more about crime and law enforcement in the United States. According to the founders and directors of the museum, their primary mission is to, Educate visitors of all ages about the history of crime in America, the vital role that law enforcement plays in controlling crime, and the impact members of the public can make by protecting themselves and contributing to the fight against crime Since the museum cannot accommodate all of our eighth grade students at one time, we will be taking the trip over two days Thursday, October 11 and Friday, October 12, On each day, students will depart MLK MS by 8:30 am and return to the building before afternoon dismissal at 2:40. The cost of the trip is $29.00, which covers admission to the museum, the fee for the Total CSI program, and transportation on coach buses. Students will need to bring a bag lunch. Students who will need a school lunch should let Mr. Wooden know by October 4, Teacher and parent chaperones will supervise and interact with the students during the entire trip. 3

4 SPIRIT WEAR Show your school spirit by wearing the school colors! DON T FORGET: Spirit Wear Orders are due Friday, September 28th. If you need an order form, it can be found on the MLK website under the August 27th Communications link. MLK Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Open House October 8, 2012 ~ 8:00 2:40 Join your child for a day at school. Come for 30 minutes, come for lunch, or stay all day. We look forward to showing you all the exciting events that happen daily at MLK. Notes from the Health Room Nancy Austin, R.N. Welcome back to a new school year. If your child wants to play a sport this year, they need to have a physical on file in the health room. This is a good time to have the doctor evaluate your child s growth and development. If they receive any immunizations, please include them. In accordance with the Maryland State Law, students in Montgomery County Public Schools are screened for possible vision and hearing problems in eighth grade and all students new to Montgomery County Public Schools. This will be done at our school on October 1st, 2nd and, 3rd. If your child fails the screening, a referral form will be sent home by mail with instructions to take them to the doctor. If your child wears glasses or contacts they should wear them everyday and bring them to the screening. If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact the health room at

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