April Newsletter
Memorial Middle School
April 7-10.........No Classes-Spring Break
April 17-20.......South Dakota State Assessments
April 27............(8th grade only) SD State Science Assessment
Contact Us
Office Hours are 7:30 am to 4:30 pm (Monday - Friday)
After Hours: (605) 362-2792
- Press 1 for attendance
- Press 2 to leave a message
Cafeteria: (605) 362-2799
Counseling Office: (605) 362-2789
After School Program: (605) 370-9649
Memorial Social Media
Memorial's Social Media sites:
FACEBOOK: MemorialMSSF https://www.facebook.com/MemorialMSSF
INSTAGRAM: memorialmssf https://www.instagram.com/memorialmssf/
TWITTER: @memorialmssf https://twitter.com/memorialmssf
Note from the Principal
Dear Memorial Parents,
Welcome to our future 6th grade families! We look forward to meeting you and your children at our upcoming “Transition to Middle School” events. The transition to Memorial will begin with the Memorial counselors visiting elementary schools during the first week of May. Next, during the second week of May, 5th grade students will come to Memorial during their school day for a very special welcome to middle school. The purpose of these visits is to provide information to our future students about their first year in middle school and to explain the middle school registration form. Please take note of the information in this newsletter regarding registration for the summer Running Start Program for future 6th grade students. Running Start provides another opportunity to help our incoming 6th grade students prepare for middle school. See link below for printable Running Start form.
In April, all current 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students will take the South Dakota State Assessment. Please refer to the list below for the scheduled testing dates and times:
South Dakota State Assessments:
Monday, April 17th: 9:00-11:30 English Language Arts (6th, 7th, & 8th grade)
Tuesday, April 18th: 9:00-11:30 English Language Arts (6th, 7th, & 8th grade)
Wednesday, April 19th: 9:00-11:30 Math (6th, 7th, & 8th grade)
Thursday, April 20th: 9:00-11:00 Math (6th, 7th, & 8th grade)
Thursday, April 27th: 9:00-11:15 Science (8th grade only)
Memorial students have traditionally done well on these assessments. The South Dakota Assessment results are used to help measure students’ proficiency and provide us information about their educational needs for next school year. Please note that no technology is allowed inside the testing rooms. This includes cell phones, smart watches, wireless headphones, etc. I thank you in advance for encouraging your child to get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast, charge their Chromebook each evening, bring wired earbuds (please no bluetooth), bring a book to read, and to be present in school for each day of the assessments.
Sincerely,
Nancy C. Hagen
Principal
Parent Letter-State Assessments
Dear Parent or Guardian:
From April 17 to April 20, students in grades 6 - 8 will take the state assessment in (a) English Language Arts and (b) Mathematics. Students in grade 8 will take the state assessment on April 27 in (c) Science. The purpose of this letter is to help in your understanding of the assessment, as well as providing a few ideas for improving your child’s preparedness.
The assessments measure student achievement of our state’s standards in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. In addition, score reports will provide information on student performance in the following areas:
· English: Reading, writing, listening, & research
· Math: Concepts and procedures; problem-solving and modeling/data analysis; & communicating reasoning
· Science: physical science, life science, and earth & space science
The assessments are given through an online computer application and are unique in the way they adapt to a student’s question responses. This is important as it provides questions that are appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude towards testing. These assessments are not timed; however, we provide the following times as estimates of assessment duration: (a) English – 3.5 hours, (b) Math – 3 hours and (c) Science – 1.5 hours.
Student grades will not be impacted by their performance on this assessment; however the assessment does serve as a way for the school to analyze how well we are helping students meet the standards. Shortly after the testing period is complete, you will receive a report showing your child’s scores.
There is no need to study in preparation for the assessments. We do, however, ask that students try their best and get plenty of rest the night before testing. It is important for students to come to school on test days. Assessment are required, therefore making up a missed assessment leads to less instructional time and a loss of important learning opportunities.
This testing is very important for your child, Memorial Middle School, and the Sioux Falls School District. Thank you for supporting your child and our school during this assessment period. Please contact us if you have any questions. We know that Memorial Middle School’s students will help us to understand the great strides our students have taken in meeting our school and state standards in learning!
Counselor Connection - April 2023
Counseling Assignments:
Alex Dobbs: 6th Grade Kerri Andela: 7th Grade Renee Halde: 8th Grade
Counseling Office Phone #: 362-2789 Website: http://memorialcounseling.weebly.com
Our Mission: As professional school counselors we help provide an environment in which students can achieve academic, career, and personal/social success. It is our goal and challenge to help students “Become the Best Version of Themselves.”
Chores and School Success - Within a family there are many opportunities for our kids to learn life lessons. Helping with chores can help our kids feel like loved and needed members of the family. They can learn that their efforts can make a difference. Just like their efforts with their schoolwork can lead to success and feelings of accomplishment. Chores don’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as putting the following chores on a chart and rotating responsibilities every week or two:
Setting the table
Helping to clear the table after a meal
Cleaning the table
Sweeping the floor
Chores could even lead to some Spring Cleaning as a family! Maybe you could celebrate with some ice cream afterwards!
How Passion and Perseverance Lead to Excellence - In her bestselling book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance," Angela Duckworth writes: "What we eventually accomplish may depend more on our passion and perseverance than our innate talent." Duckworth joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss whether grit can be taught and how it can have a lasting impact on people's lives and achievements. Here’s a link to the four minute interview: Passion & Perseverance Video
Family Forum Series - The Sioux Fall School District and Avera Health are partnering to strengthen families by presenting on topics of interest throughout the school year. Here is a link to the recorded presentations that you can watch at your own convenience: Family Forum Series
Food Pantry - Food is available at the Community Engagement Center (Axtell Park Building) for interested families. Please see this link for more information: Food Pantry
2023 Summer Career Camps (Information for Current 6th & 7th Grade Families) Applications and information about the 2023 Dakota Dreams Career Exploration Summer Camps for students who will be in 7th and 8th grade next school year. Hosted on South Dakota college campuses, these FREE five-day camps expose students to various career paths through fun, engaging, and hands-on learning.
Questions or Concerns: If there are questions/concerns or anything you feel it would be helpful for use to know about your child, feel free to contact your child’s assigned counselor.Every Day..........Every Period..........On Time
Don't Be Late!
We ask all Memorial families to make a renewed commitment to arriving on time. This helps your child's teacher and classmates and your child. With the cold and snowy weather, the car drop off line can be long, so please plan accordingly. Here is a review of our morning routines.
- The school doors open at 8:40 a.m. for students to enter the building.
- When the temperature is below 32 degrees, students can come into the cafeteria starting at 8:10 a.m.
- Breakfast starts at 8:25 a.m.
- Our school day starts at 8:55 a.m.
- Students are considered tardy if they are not in their seats at 8:55 a.m.
Please note, when students get their 4th tardy for the quarter, they will receive an office referral and 1 hour detention afterschool. It is important to be on time to school, so students have time to visit with teachers and friends in the morning, gather items from their locker for classes, and get to class early. If students come to school late, then they start their day with anxiety and stress which is not a great way to start the day.
Thank you for renewing your commitment to arriving on time. We appreciate your help!
Absence Request Processor
Memorial Parents,
An exciting new attendance option within Infinite Campus called Absence Request Processor is available to parents and staff!
Absence Request Processor allows parents to log in to their Parent Portal account and submit absence requests for their students. Staff can then go into the staff processor side and approve/process these requests. As parents get more comfortable using this option, it will reduce the amount of attendance related phone calls, messages and emails that staff receive each day.
See link below for Infinite Campus log in.
March Student of the Month
Adalynn Fischer
Kolten Wiebelhaus
Ryan Sannes
Kailey Vandrovec
Madelyn Hewitt
Kyron Jacob
Ayten Ergonul
Alex Kovalenko
Sophie Waysman
Olivia Skroch
Justice Anderson
Alyssa Tague
Jordana Johnson
Jayden Austin
Stephanie Gibbs
Lukas Verhey
Emily Sternke
Nathan Johnson
High Five to the Top “Pi’s”
In math class, the Pathfinders celebrated Pi Day by singing pi songs, sharing pi jokes & riddles, having a pi memorization contest, defining our knowledge of circles, and consuming pie!
Congratulations to the following champions for memorizing digits of pi:
Mrs. Kortan’s winners:
Period 2: Callie Pederson (46 digits)
Period 4: Kabbie Ruwaath (49 digits)
Period 6: Josee Shereck (49 digits)
Period 7: Adrian Piacentino (45 digits)
A big thank you to the Memorial families who donated pies in honor of our celebration!
Music Department Notes
Parents, please remind students to use their school badge to scan in when getting on the bus and to scan out when leaving the bus. Thank you in advance for visiting with your student about the School Bus Inc. procedure.
Student Council Happenings
Memorial Glow Event Volunteers
Memorial Middle School is hosting a Glow Event Friday Apr. 28th and we are in need of volunteers from 3:25-6pm. The event will include snacks for purchase, DJ music, glow in the dark dodge ball, inflatable gaga pit ball and inflatable 9-square. If you are willing to be a volunteer please fill out the required forms and sign up for a slot by clicking on the button. Links for VOLUNTEER FORM 1 & VOLUNTEER FORM 2 Thank you, Memorial Student Council
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44AAAB2AAAFECF8-memorial1