FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK: Dear Parents,

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1 The Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Newsletter Thank you for sending your child to school every day ready to learn. September 16, 2016 FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S DESK: Dear Parents, Thanks to the many parents who joined us for Back-to-School Night. It is always worthwhile for the staff to meet you and for you to meet us. Working together will ensure an exemplary learning environment for the MLK community. Please call your child s grade level administrator, counselor or teachers if you have any questions or concerns. Consider visiting your child s classrooms soon and volunteering on a regular basis. Middle school is a time when students actually need more support, not less. The middle school years are when students are easily influenced by their peers. Your children need monitoring in all areas of their lives. The signed Parent Agreement Form should have been returned to homeroom teachers by now. This form reflects our overall philosophy regarding academics, student behavior, attendance, and the general expectations for everyone involved in the educational process. We view this form as a commitment on the part of all stakeholders to provide a quality education based on high expectations for our students. If you have not returned your two Family Emergency Cards, please do so immediately. It is critical that we have up to-date information in the event of an emergency. Parents are responsible for monitoring homework. There should be no surprises when progress reports are released on Wednesday, October 5 th. Nightly homework is available on the MLK web site and grades are posted on SchoolMax. Counselors Goodridge and Okafor, in the guidance office, can help you access SchoolMax. Do not forget to call the school when your child will be absent and to send a note in with your child upon his or her return to school. The MLK staff looks forward to a great year. We welcome your praise as well as your suggestions for growth. The Department of Counseling at Bowie State University is hosting a viewing of a very important and powerful documentary entitled Screenagers: Growing up in the Digital Age. Screenagers addresses the impact of social media, video games, cell phones and other digital media devices on our children s' academic and socio-emotional development. The documentary is a powerful, eye-opening, positive and uplifting film that encourages families to talk together and set boundaries to improve the well-being of children, families and communities. While there are many good things about the digital age there are also some pressing issues to be considered as we position our children for a successful transition into adulthood. Below is a link to a press release about the movie and attached to this is a flyer with registration details. Please feel free to share this information with family members and community groups. Baseball and softball season are soon beginning. In order for students to attend after school concerts and/or sporting events they must be with an adult. Students are not to be dropped off and left unsupervised. Please support Coaches Ohringer, Clinton, Jones, Johnson and the MLK Cobras as they work their way to the championship. The following is the current game schedule (weather permitting). Games begin at 5:30 pm. We hope to see you there. 9/19 9/22 9/26 10/4 10/6 10/10 10/13 10/17 Orem King Buck King Eisenhower King Beltsville CMIT@King

2 Information/Applications for the Academy of Health Sciences, the Aerospace Engineering Program and the Science and Technology Program will be available in the beginning of October 2016 to all interested 8th graders. Students and parents should see or contact Mrs. Goodridge or Mr. Okafor the 8th grade counselors, if they have any questions. The PSAT admission test will be administered at MLK on Tuesday, December 6, The first Guidance Tea of the school year will be held on Thursday, October 6, This is a time for parents to get a quick update on their child s progress. If you desire a longer conference, please contact your child s counselor. Progress reports will be officially released on October 5 th. On Thursday, October 6 th teachers will be available in the Media Center at the following times: Team L 10:45 11:35 Ms. Lambert Mr. Debessay Ms. Harris Ms. Sawyer Ms. Raville Ms. Butler Ms. Sagosky Ms. Carter Ms. Heim Creative Arts 12:35 1:25 Mr. Harris Mr. Everslage Mr. Bonneville Ms. Landherr Ms. Cohen Ms. Salvatierra-Sinn Ms. Clontz Team M 1:40 2:30 Mr. McAndrews Ms. Littlejohn Ms. Johnson Ms. Holmes Ms. Parkman Mr. Drzemiecki Ms. Kell Ms. Atkins Ms. Borbas Ms. Stewart Ms. Mader/Ms. Scott Team K 2:50-3:40 Ms. Barnes Ms. King Ms. Abbott Ms. Richards Mr. Bermudez Ms. Wages Ms. Baker Ms. Ramacho Ms. Slaugh Mr. Porter Don t forget September 21 st - PTO Executive Board Meeting at 6:00 pm Main Office Conference Room MLK S CELEBRATION IN SUPPORT OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 rd. STUDENTS WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO WEAR THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORM ON THE 23 rd. Students should wear a jersey or other team spirit t-shirt with athletic shorts and running shoes. The jerseys or team shirts can be from professional, college, school or other youth league teams. Thanks to the Creative Arts Team for sponsoring this event. jennifer.clontz@pgcps.org if you would like to help! Go MLK Team! PTO sponsored roller skating night is Friday, September 23rd! Lifetouch Photography is scheduled to photograph students on October 4 th (6 th /7 th ) and October 5 th (8 th ). It is important that your student is photographed to ensure his or her inclusion in the yearbook and in order to receive any school related products such as photo ID cards. Congratulations to the Renaissance Roll winners from September 9, Students who demonstrated good citizenship, academic achievement and the King Principles are recognized by their teachers with Renaissance Living the Dream cards. Part of each card is placed in the weekly Renaissance drawing. Prizes this week were pens, pencils, bookmarks, highlighters and key chains. Team M-6 Team L-7 Team K-8 Josue Campos Camille Applewhite Ewurabena Aggrey Stacey Castro Phoenyx Davis Moshood Ibrahim Daniela Molina-Munoz Yorel Hogan Nancy Nolasco Kamryn Nixon Brian Nguyen Shivam Patel

3 SAT WORD of the Week: Anthology (noun) - A collection of selected literary pieces. The writer was thrilled when his story was included in an anthology of American masterpieces. (Synonym: collection, compilation) MAP Testing Begins Next Week - 6th grade--sept 19/20, 7th grade -- Sept 21/22, 8th grade -- Sept 26/27. The following is an informational video and some sample items to help prepare students for the test. *Click the small gray triangle to start the video. Thursday, October 6 Sign In Ends Next Generation Science Standards RSVP 6:15 6:30pm 7:30pm College and Career Ready Standards Science and Engineering Practices By Friday, September 30, your child s Science teacher Subject: RSVP Science Night Reply: YES or NO and student s name Join your child and the MLK Science teachers Disciplinary Core Ideas Cross Cutting Concepts Ms. Baker: Grade 8 ailanna.baker@pgcps.org Ms. Ramacho: Grade 8 florence.ramacho@pgcps.org Ms. Butler: Grade 7 elizabeth.reyes@pgcps.org Ms. Heim: Grade 7 rose.heim@pgcps.org Ms. Borbas: Grade 6 jill.borbas@pgcps.org Ms. Johnson: Grade 6 vickie.johnson@pgcps.org OR cut and return to student s Science Teacher Teacher teacher YES! My child and I will be in attendance Student s Name: Parent(s) Name(s):

4 Join mlk pto by september 29 th for your chance to win a $25 target gift card! What Does Your $10 Membership Buy? Artist in Residence Program Cultural Arts Assemblies Student Award Ceremony PTO Parent Round Table: instructional nights, guest speakers, concerts Monthly Staff Breakfast Staff Training And much more.. Return membership application & $10 dues to your student s homeroom Teacher

5 What: Science and Technology Information Night Who: 8 th Grade Students and Parents When: Thursday, September 29, :00 pm Where: Eleanor Roosevelt High School Auditorium Contact Mrs. Goodridge or Mr. Okafor, 8 th Grade Counselors, for more information.

6 $10 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 AT 6:00 PM, BOWIE, MD Bowie State University Presents: SCREENAGERS Growing Up in the Digital Age We are thrilled to present SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age, a documentary about the biggest parenting issue of our time. Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that happening with her own kids and began a quest to uncover how it might impact their development. As with her other two award-winning documentaries on mental health, Ruston takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids development and also offers solutions on how adults can empower their kids to best navigate the digital world to find balance. WHEN Tuesday, September 27, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT) WHERE Bowie State University, New Student Center Theatre Jericho Park Rd, Bowie, MD REGISTER

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