MMS Opening Update
Dear Families,
Memorial Middle School is off to a great start and what a start it has been! School pictures were completed on the first day of school. The picture retake day will be announced when photos arrive. We have had our first fire drill, distributed iPads and worked to re-acclimate students to the variety of technology used to promote learning. Students have now gone through one full rotation of our 6-day cycle.
Our Grade 6 students have adjusted to the building, their locker combinations, class schedules, and the location of all of their different classrooms. They are working hard to learn about Aspen, Google Docs, Schoology and other apps used in the classroom. Teachers have had conversations with them about the concept of a “Growth Mindset” and students have experienced grade level team-building activities.
Grade 7 students have taken advantage of our extraordinary heat and have gone outside as part of their science class to study surface temperature and energy. Students recorded the temperature of a black tire on a car with a surface temperature of almost 160°! In addition to academic requirements, Grade 7 students have worked with their teachers to learn about the concept of “grit.”
Grade 8 students are the leaders in the building. The grade 8 team and I focused our opening presentations on building leadership skills. I have asked each club leader to designate a representative to serve on a leadership counsel this year that will meet with me on a monthly basis. Additionally, teachers have worked with students about the responsibility of preparing themselves for the additional requirements of high school.
What’s new this year? Ms. Rebecca MacDonald is adjusting from her previous role as the adjustment counselor to her new role as administrative intern. Her title will be Acting Assistant Principal. Ms. Jenny Sheflin is our Adjustment Counselor and Ms. Katherine Lewis is a Special Education Teacher in our new TBL/Waves program. Additionally, we have two new paraprofessionals on our team, Ms. JoAnne Lehr and Ms. Candice Lancaster.
All students will be exposed to a new on-line science curriculum, STEMScopes, to meet the requirements of the MA DESE standards. These resources will incorporate a greater amount of hands-on learning.
Hull Schools also have a new website, www.hullpublicschools.org. I ask for your patience as we learn the software that runs the website. The district and each building continue to move information from the old website to the new one. It is a great improvement and I look forward to the additional features that will help to keep our students, families, and the community informed.
Finally, I wanted to invite all parents and guardians to Open House on Thursday, September 20th at 7:00 pm. More information will follow!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Tony