Friday, October 30, 2015

Week 9 in the Middle!

Our students have had a great first week back after a much deserved break from the daily routines of school life.  Leading up to Halloween celebrations and fun on Friday, Oct. 30th, students were engaged in a variety of performances across grade levels during advisory this week and at the first music concert of the year.

 Halloween:

 Students and staff enjoyed dressing up for this annual event . . . enjoy the pictures of our MS family in action and stay tuned for additional photos of our first MS Halloween Social in next week's communication . . .




Student Life Update from Mr. Lavioe:

Another amazing week in Student Life. We are happy to report that an all time record of 207 students have signed up for the Halloween Social and Halloween Festivities! A huge thank you goes out to our phenomenal PSA for putting together this wonderful community event.

In other news, next week will be very special as we are commemorating the Hungarian Revolution. On Wednesday, Nov. 4th, we will be hosting an assembly which will focus on the Hungarian Revolution and on the current refugee crisis. 

We will also be offering our second hosted activity of the year called Girl Power! Girl Power is an activity offered by Mr. Robert Goris who is a security consultant with the UN. The activity will be offered to 8th grade girls and will focus on teaching them about situational awareness and self-defense. Lastly, the winter activity information will be uploaded to the Middle School Portal and sent to all parents by the end of next week.

 6th and 7th Grade Drama Performances:

 Tribes, wars and sacred lightning bolts! All this and more was to be found in the 6th grade performance based on Greek Theatre last Wednesday, October 28th. 
The 7th grade devised a funny piece using character archetypes from Commedia dell 'Arte. These performances were the culminating assessment for the first quarter Drama classes. Here is a link to the performances.

Bravo to our MS Thespians!

 Music Concert:
Bravo to all band and music students for sharing their musical talents with the MS community this past Thursday night at the first concert event of the year.  Thanks to Mr. Weingarten and Ms. Davidoff for their instruction, guidance, planning and preparation and all students for your dedication to practice leading up to the performance - we are very proud of you all!  And, of course a huge thank you to parents for supporting the Middle School music program!  If you were unable to attend, please feel free to access the performance at the following link: MS Concert Oct. 29 2015

 Homework Club:
MS Students are reminded that additional academic support is available at lunch and after school with Mrs. Fleming at HW Club - Mondays & Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
All students in the MS are welcome for extra help or feedback on their work.

Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences:
Our fall session of P-T-S conferences is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11th from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. More information will be coming out to all parents via email soon, but for now, we encourage you to mark your calendars. If for some reason, you are unable to attend conferences, please feel free to schedule a time with individual teachers directly.

7th Grade HUMs project:

Grade Seven Humanities students have been studying Roman technologies (innovations, inventions, and architecture) to understand the needs, the lasting significance, and the influence of ancient Rome. For the last few weeks they have been practicing research skills such as finding credible sources, using proper citations, and paraphrasing information. Today in our Roman Museum, they showed off their knowledge through their models, timelines, and questions. 












Upcoming Events:

Monday, Nov 2:    Beginning of Quarter 2 for Exploratory Courses
MS Tech Crew 12:30 in Curriculum room
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Nov 3:   Blazer voices 12:15 - 13:00
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:20
Blazer Jazz Band - 15:40 - 17:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Wednesday, Nov 4: Hungarian Revolution Assembly 11:15-12:05
CEESA Robotics 15:40 - 17:30
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A & B team practice 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Thursday, Nov 5: Grade 8 Holocaust Museum trip
Blazer Barkers @ 12:20
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:20
CEESA Mathcounts 15:40 - 16:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Friday, Nov 6: Bike Club 15:30 - 17:30

Happy Halloween Middle School!

Andrew Ball
Middle School Principal



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Friday, October 16, 2015

Week 8 in the Middle!

MS Progress Report #1:
This past week, we took some time in our MS PSA meeting to view the progress report that is about to go live on Veracross.  Thank you to those parents in attendance, your questions help us greatly as we move forward with our grading and reporting this year. We have also been engaging in a thorough re-design of our reports and value feedback as to the overall layout and design. Our goal is to present the information with as much clarity as possible. With this in mind, we are experiencing a slight delay in our readiness for MS reports to go live - we anticipate that the reports will be available to view on Veracross on Sunday, October 18th.

The purpose of progress reports are to provide students and parents with a snapshot of student progress relative to our Habits of Learning and Standards for each subject area.  To get to this point, our community is in a period of transition from the traditional (A-F) grading system. From the beginning of the school year, teachers and students have been engaging in continual dialogue as to how student learning and progress is monitored and assessed relative to our academic standards.  I'm happy to report that collectively, the transition has been smooth with students appreciating the kind of feedback they are getting across subject areas.

The following points of information may be helpful to you as you view this first report of the year:

  • To view your child’s Progress Report, log into Veracross. The Progress Report link is next to your child’s photo.
  • Please keep in mind that this is an informal Progress Report; it is not a Report Card. A Report Card is a formal document from the school showing a transcripted grade. Report Cards are issued at the end of the first semester (January 29) and second semester (June 16). Progress Reports show a grade to date during the year.
  • Each child will receive a score for Academic Achievement and Habits of Learning in each course. Keys are included on the cover page of the Progress Report which describes these scores.
  • MS teachers have been emphasizing the importance of focusing on Habits of Learning in addition to standards based grades, in order to better prepare our students with critically important skills for the future.
  • Should you have any questions about the progress of your child in any particular subject area, please feel free to contact teachers directly.
  • Your child’s Academic Achievement grade will be reported on a 1-7 scale instead of an A-F scale.
  • Standards-Based Grading will emphasize the students more recent, relevant, and consistent performance based on evidence.
  • The grades which are shared are a teacher’s professional judgment based on evidence. The grades are not a mathematical calculation.
  • As it is early in the school year, teachers are making professional judgments on a limited amount of evidence. Future additional evidence will allow for more informed judgment.
  • Parents can view this evidence by viewing their child’s Veracross gradebook scores, and understanding the difference between summative assessments, formative assessments. These terms are defined in our Middle School Handbook on pages 31-33.
  • Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences will take place Wednesday, November 11th. There will be no classes for the MS/HS on this day.

Standards-Based Grading allows us to better communicate with you and your child specific to the learning standards for each course. Doing so provides more meaningful feedback and improves student learning. Nevertheless, the process is a transition and we anticipate that there will be questions along the way. Please feel free to share those questions with us as we continue throughout the year.

We are sharing a short video for those of you who would like to learn more about Standards-Based Grading.

Celebration of Learning:
It has been a fast-paced but very well rounded start to the 2015-16 school year.  Our assembly this week was a great opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of our student involvement in athletics, on the stage for our production of Mulan in December and a forum for our student leadership team, Blazer Voices.  We are proud to announce the appointment of Keegan Zavits (Grade 8) and Savannah Bishop (Grade 7) as Co-Presidents of our Blazer Voices this year.  We look forward to an amazing year ahead 
with our student leadership team 
now in place.



Also at our assembly, our students enjoyed viewing our very own 7th grade Michael Zhang's Photography. Congratulations Michael for being published in the Chinese National Geographic!

PSA News:
Mr. Bill Farren spoke to parents in regard to the Mindful Use of Technology at the PSA meeting this past Tuesday morning. For those parents who were unable to join us, we encourage you to access the presentation at the following link: Mindful Use of Technology. You may be particularly interested in the suggested online time management apps on the final slide. For more information, please feel free to contact Mr. Farren directly. Our PSA is also sponsoring Donuts at Drop-off on the Monday we return from break . . . as per the following flyers:

What a week in the Student Life Office!

We have a new Blazer Voices Student Government! Our two new Co-Presidents, Keegan Zavits (8) and Savannah Bishop (7) did an amazing job hosting their first Middle School Assembly on Wednesday. Blazer Voices will be meeting every Tuesday at lunch and are ready to kick it into high gear after the Fall Break.

The Blazer Barker Dog Shelter Trip has been rescheduled for Sat. November, 7th. 

Students are currently in the process of signing-up for our Fabulous Halloween Social which will take place on Friday, October 30th, (7-9pm) in the school cafeteria. The price of admission to the social is...a costume!!! Student are encouraged to dress in their Halloween Costume all day on Oct. 30th, keeping in mind that all choices must be school appropriate. Parents will need to arrange transportation home with one of the bus companies or pick-their child up at 9:00pm. A spaghetti  dinner will be available prior to the social at a cost of 1000HUF. Students must pay for the dinner and register for it the week after Fall Break (during lunch).

The Student Life Office wishes everyone an amazing October Break!

Math Fun!!
Students very much enjoyed demonstrating their Math skills at Math Game Day in our MS cafeteria.





On behalf of all MS staff, I wish all members of our community a wonderful holiday!

Warm regards,

Andrew Ball
MS Principal

Upcoming Events:

Monday, Oct 26:    MS Tech Crew 12:30 in Curriculum room
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Tuesday, Oct 27:   MS Department mtg 15:45- 17:00
Blazer voices 12:15 - 13:00
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:20
Blazer Jazz Band - 15:40 - 17:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Wednesday, Oct 28: MS assembly/Advisory 11:15 - 12:05
CEESA Robotics 15:40 - 17:00
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A & B team practice 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30

Thursday, Oct 29: Blazer Barkers @ 12:20
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:20
CEESA Mathcounts 15:40 - 16:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30

Friday, Oct 30: Last day to assess student work
End of Quarter 1 for Explos / Midterm of Semester 1 for all others
AISB Halloween bash by PSA (MS Halloween Costume Social)
AISB Flute Choir 15:45- 17:30
Bike Club 15:30 - 17:30

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Friday, October 9, 2015

Week 7 in the Middle!

Spirit Week:
We have had a great week in the Middle School, building spirit all week long with themed special dress days. Students participated with Pajama Day, Crazy hair/socks Day, Dress like a teacher/student day, Twin Day and finally AISB Blazer Day. Our MS Blazer Spirit Club held a mini-pep rally at lunch on Tuesday to cheer on all of our athletes who are competing this weekend in:
MS Girls Soccer - Bucharest
MS Boys Soccer - Moscow
MS Tennis - Prague
MS Cross-country - Vienna
Best of luck to all of our MS athletes and coaches this weekend!!

Spirit Week Action Shots:











Progress Reporting in the Middle:

 Middle School teachers have been busy finalizing student progress for our first report of Semester 1 which aims to go live on Veracross on Friday, October 16th. Teachers will be reporting on our Habits of Learning and the most recent and consistent progress relative to the standards for each subject area. With the support of our incredible AISB Tech team, we have been finalizing the template for our progress report and value your feedback as to the layout of information on the report. Please keep in mind that this first report is a snapshot in time relative to your child's progress and the grades will naturally fluctuate over the course of the semester. We will be reporting out again just before Parent Teacher conferences in November. Should you require more detailed information about your child's progress, we encourage you to log in to Veracross at any time to view subject specific data. In addition, please also feel free to contact teachers directly should you have questions about student progress.

 Homework Club:

 For those students requiring additional support, Mrs. Nora Fleming runs a HW Club during lunch from Monday to Thursday. Students should contact Mrs. Fleming directly to make arrangements for extra help.

 October 30th Halloween Festivities Info from our amazing PSA!
Please find attached information regarding our PSA sponsored Hallowe'en events:

Upcoming Events:

Monday, Oct 12:    MS Tech Crew 12:30 in Curriculum room
Spirit Club - Ms. Manzella’s room at 12:15
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A&B teams 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30
Tuesday, Oct 13:   MS PSA Meeting 8:45 - 10:45
Blazer voices 12:15 - 13:00
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:30
Blazer Jazz Band - 15:40 - 17:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30
Wednesday, Oct 14: MS assembly 11:15 - 12:05
CEESA Robotics 15:40 - 17:00
MS Girls Tennis 15:30-17:30
MS Boys Soccer A & B team practice 15:30 - 17:30
MS Girls Soccer 15:30-17:30
X-country 15:30 - 17:30
Open swim 16:30 - 17:30
Thursday, Oct 15: Team Leaders Meeting 12:15 - 12:45
Blazer Barkers @ 12:20
CEESA Speech and Debate 15:40 - 16:30
Drama Club- Mulan Jr 15:30 - 17:30
Set Design 15:40 - 17:30
CEESA Mathcounts 15:40 - 16:30
MS Boys Tennis 15:30-17:30
Open swim 15:30 - 17:30
Friday, Oct 16: Progress reports go live on Veracross
Halloween Decorations Action Group 12:20 in the Student Life Office
AISB Flute Choir 15:45- 17:30
Bike Club 15:30 - 17:30
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