[Newsletter Title] McCants Middle School Parent Newsletter 10/17/2016 Parent Newsletter #14 School Picture Day Picture Day is Monday, October 24. Jacket Pride Awards There will be stickers on student reports cards inviting parents to the Jacket Pride Awards. A sticker on report cards indicates that your child will be receiving an award. Here are the dates and times: October 31 at 10:15 for 8 th October 31 at 1:00 pm for 7 th Nov 1 at 2:00 for 6 th PSAT Administration Guidance will be administering the PSAT (Practice SAT) to selected 8 th graders in the cafeteria on Wednesday, October 19, 2016, from 8:30 am until approximately 11:30 am. Students will meet during homeroom time on Tuesday, October 18, to bubble required demographic information on the answer sheet. Score Reports Distributed Today SC Ready and the SC PASS Score Reports are going home today. The SC Ready is a summative assessment of Mathematics and English Language Arts and measures South Carolina s College and Career Readiness Standards. Your child s report will indicate a scale score, performance level and state percentile rank. It
also shows your child s performance on the Mathematics and English Language Arts standards. The SC PASS is a summative assessment of Science and Social Studies. Your child s report will indicate a scale score and a performance level. If you have any questions about your child s score reports, please call the guidance office. A5 Middle School Virtual Book Club Sixth grade students from McCants Middle School, sixth grade students from Glenview Middle School, and seventh grade students from Robert Anderson Middle School met for the first time on October 13 to discuss the Jude Watson book Loot a South Carolina Junior Book Award Nominee for 2016-2017. The students held their first meeting in the library to introduce themselves to fellow Anderson 5 middle school students and learn about the book. The students participated in a Skype session, which was exciting for students to see other middle schools and to meet fellow readers in these A5 schools. Students will meet again in November to continue the discussion about the book. Edgar Allan Poe Celebration In conjunction with the Anderson County Library s October Edgar Allan Poe Celebration, McCants Middle School hosted Adam Booth, a winner of the Parents Choice Silver Honor Award, on October 17 in the McCants Fine Arts Building. Mr. Booth presented a program exposing the 8th grade students who are or will be reading works by Edgar Allan Poe this month. Students enjoyed Mr. Booth s presentation.
New Grading Scale Affects Awards/Recognition Since the state changed the grading scale being used (from a seven-point scale to a 10-point scale), the district has reset criteria for honor rolls. See new GPA below: Regular Honor Roll: GPA of 3.6 to 4.29 Principal s Academic Honor Roll: 4.3 or higher Important Orchestra Dates October 21-22: All-County Orchestra Weekend @ Anderson University (ONLY for students who auditioned and were accepted!) October 28: Fall Strings Concert @ Glenview Middle, 6:30 pm
October 31: 8th Grade Strings students performing at McCants Jacket Pride Award Ceremony Eighth Grade Field Trip The eighth grade is an exciting year for students, and we try to plan exciting activities for students who are in their last year of middle school. We have worked with Ionosphere Travel Agency to prepare an educational/fun trip this year! The dates of this year s trip are March 23 28, 2017. The cost of the trip $1165. This cost does include meals. The first payment of the trip is due by October 28th ($250). The first leg of the trip is Washington, DC. While in DC, we plan to visit Ford s Theater, the Capitol, and Union Station. We will go to New York City to see Times Square, a Broadway play, and do some shopping in the Big Apple. After New York, we will move to the Amish countryside to see the working farms of Lancaster, PA with a stop at Hershey Chocolate World. During our day of travel home, we will visit Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We hope this trip will make lasting memories for your child. Payments should be made to Mrs. Schmuck in the front office. Please do not have your child turn in money to teachers. All forms should be turned in to Mrs. Hilton. Calendar Date Event Information Oct 17 (M) Volleyball @ Edwards @ 5:30 SC Ready and SC PASS Score Reports Distributed to Students Oct 18 (Tu) Volleyball @ MMS vs. Seneca @ 5:30 Oct 19 (W) End of First Grading Period PSAT For qualifying 8 th Graders; 8:30 11:30 am 7 th Grade Football vs. Wren @ TLH @ 6:30 6 th Grade Biltmore Trip Oct 20 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 8 th Grade Football @ Glenview @ 6:00 Oct 21-22 All State Orchestra Weekend Anderson University Oct 21 (F) Oct 26 (W) Book Fair
Oct 24 (M) Fall Picture Day Book Fair Oct 25 (Tu) Book Fair Oct 26 (W) Report Cards Issued Book Fair Oct 27 (Th) 8 th Grade Football vs. Seneca @ TLH @ 5:30 Oct 28 (F) Fall Strings Concert @ Glenview @ 6:30 pm First Payment Due for 8 th Grade Field Trip $250 to Mrs. Schmuck and Form to Mrs. Hilton Oct 31 (M) Jacket Pride Award Ceremony with Orchestra 10:15 8 th Grade 1:00 pm 7 th Grade Nov 1 (Tu) Jacket Pride Award Ceremony 2:00 6 th Grade Nov 3 (Th) 8 th Grade Football @ Palmetto @ 6:00 Nov 4 (F) Student Holiday Teacher PD Day Girls Basketball Tryouts 12:00-3:00 pm in gym Nov 7 (M) School Holiday Fall Break Nov 8 (Tu) School Holiday Fall Break/Election Day Nov 14 (M) Fall Picture Retake Day Nov 17 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 Nov 23 (W) School Holiday Thanksgiving Nov 24 (Th) School Holiday Thanksgiving Nov 25 (F) School Holiday Thanksgiving Nov 28 (M) Basketball @ MMS vs. Wren @ 5:30 Dec 1 (Th) Basketball @ MMS vs. Gettys @ 5:30 Dec 5 (M) End of Second Nine Week Interim Grading Period Basketball @ Wren @ 5:30 Dec 8 (Th) Basketball @ MMS vs. R. Anderson @ 5:30 Winter Band Concert @ TLH 7 th /8 th Grades play at 7:15 Dec. 12 (M) Basketball @ MMS vs. Glenview @ 5:30 Dec 15 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 Basketball @ R. Anderson @ 5:30 Dec 16 (F) Last Day Before Winter Break TLH Band Concert Time -- TBD Dec 19 Jan 2 Winter Break Jan 3 (Tu) First Day Back from Holiday Jan 5 (Th) Basketball @ MMS vs. Seneca @ 5:30 Jan 9 (M) Basketball @ MMS vs. Edwards @ 5:30 Jan 12 (Th) Basketball @ Gettys @ 5:30 Jan 13 (F) School-Wide Dance 3:30 5:00 pm in Gym End of Second Nine Week Grading Period Jan 16 (M) School Holiday Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Jan 17 (Tu) Student Holiday Teacher PD Day Basketball @ R. Anderson @ 5:30 Jan 19 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 Basketball @ Glenview @ 5:30 Jan 20 (F) Report Cards Issued Jan 23 (M) Basketball @ MMS vs. R. Anderson @ 5:30 Jan 30 (M) Basketball @ Seneca @ 5:30 Feb 2 (Th) Basketball @ Edwards @ 5:30 Feb 16 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 Feb 20 (M) Student Holiday Teacher PD Day
Feb 21 (Tu) End of Third Nine Week Interim Grading Period March 16 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 March 22 (W) End of Third Nine Week Grading Period March 23-28 8 th Grade Field Trip Washington/New York/PA March 24 (F) Student Holiday Teacher PD Day March 27 (M) Inclement Weather Make-up If needed Day March 29 (W) Report Cards Issued April 1 (Sa) Annual Color Run PTA Fundraiser April 7 (F) Last Day Before Spring Break April 10 (M) Spring Break April 11 (Tu) Spring Break April 12 (W) Spring Break April 13 (Th) Spring Break April 14 (F) Spring Break April 17 (M) Inclement Weather Make-up If needed April 20 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 May 1 (M) End of Fourth Nine Weeks Interim Grading Period May 9 (Tu) PTA General Fine Arts Center @ 6:30 pm Meeting/Elections May 11 (Th) SC Ready ELA Testing May 12 (F) SC Ready ELA Testing May 15 (M) SC Ready Math Testing May 16 (Tu) PASS Science Testing May 17 (W) PASS Social Studies Testing May 18 (Th) PTA Board Meeting Room 217 @ 11:30 May 19 (F) Seventh Grade Party May 24-26 7 th Grade Trip to Jekyll Island More information to come May 24 (W) EOCEP Algebra 1 Test May 25 (Th) EOCEP English 1 Writing Test May 26 (F) Eighth Grade Party EOCEP English 1 Special Test May 29 (M) School Holiday Memorial Day June 6 (Tu) Last Day of School; End of Fourth Nine Weeks Grading Period June 7 (W) Teacher PD Day June 8 (Th) Inclement Weather Make-up If needed End of Document