Ayer Shirley Middle School
November Newsletter
Principal's Corner
As we move into November, we have important events of which to be aware. On Friday, November 8th we will host our annual Veterans Day Assembly. If you or a family member is a Veteran, please feel free to join us. Call Mrs. Libby at EXT. 1200 so that we will know you are coming as our guest. There will be a Veteran's Breakfast in the Library from 8:00-8:30 am. The assembly runs from 8:30 to 9:30 am.
November 11th there is no school in honor of our veterans. November 14 and 15 are scheduled half days for Parent-Teacher Conferences. November 27th is also a half-day beginning our Thanksgiving Holiday break.
As I count my blessings during this season, I include the opportunity to lead this school and work with your children on a daily basis. Educators are like surgeons~we also operate on hearts and minds of children every day, looking for innovative ways to motivate, lead and guide them to a path of success.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Important Dates
11/1 - Grades Close for Term 1
11/5 - No School (Professional Development)
11/8 - Veteran's Day Assembly
11/12 - Report Cards go home
11/13 - MS basketball meeting @2:45 in the gym
11/14 - 1/2 Day (Evening Parent Conferences)
11/15 - 1/2 Day (Afternoon Parents Conferences)
11/27 - 1/2 Day
11/28-11/29 - Thanksgiving Break
Parent Teacher Conferences
Hard to believe but we have completed our first quarter and Parent-Teacher Conferences are in just a couple weeks! Report cards will be issued on Tuesday of next week (11/12) and our teachers have begun reaching out to request a conference.
Conferences will be held on Thursday 11/14 from 6-8 pm and Friday 11/15 from 12-2:30 pm. All conferences will be 10 minutes in length.
We will be accepting conference requests from parents/guardians beginning on Thursday (11/7). Please contact Tina Libby in our front office at X1200 to book a time.
We are rolling out a new format for Parent-Teacher Conferences to better meet the needs of our students and their families:
As with the Open House, students are strongly encouraged to attend their conference. We hope to include our students in the conversation as we build their independence and ownership in the learning process.
Conferences will also be scheduled with a focus on STEM or Humanities. Our intention in doing this is to provide the discussion with a more specific learning focus. It will also allow us to provide additional conference times to accommodate more families. Please review your child’s academic performance before scheduling so you can select the focus of the meeting.
We are looking forward to seeing you and sharing your student’s progress!
Calendar of Student Reporting Q1 & Q2
Quarter 1
- Progress Reports Issued October 2
- End of Term November 1
- Report Cards Issued November 12
Quarter 2
- Progress Reports Issued December 11
- End of Term January 24, 2020
- Report Cards Issued February 3
Calendar of Student Reporting Q3 & Q4
Quarter 3
- Progress Reports Issued March 4
- End of Term April 3
- Report Cards Issued April 10
Quarter 4
- Progress Reports Issued May 13
- Report Cards Issued Last Day of School
Parent Meeting Schedules
November 14: Evening Conferences
November 15: Afternoon Conferences
February 6: Evening Conferences
February 7: Afternoon ConferencesAyer Shirley SEPAC Event
“Basic Rights: Evaluation and Eligibility”
Free to both parents and professionals
Speaker: Cheryl Hollocher,
Federation for Children with Special Needs
(FCSN) www.fcsn.org
This informative workshop will provide an introduction of the complex special education laws and procedures: Topics covered include:
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Massachusetts Laws
Evaluations and Referrals
The Team Meeting
Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 Plans
Effective Progress
Transition
Review of Important Timelines
Strategies for Success and more!
Thursday, November 7th, 2019
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Ayer Shirley Middle School – Library
(School Entrance & Parking along side of the school)
1 Hospital Road
Shirley MA 01464
Free Babysitting Available!
Please RSVP for Babysitting.
Contact, Bette Surette, bette_bob@comcast.net with any questions.
ASMS Basketball
ASMS School Counselors
Things we have begun discussing are stress and learning styles, we will be touching on a number of other topics throughout the year, and look forward to getting know all of the students!
For those grade 8 students interested in applying to Nashoba Tech please read the following excerpt from the NVTHS website: Nashoba Tech Application Eligibility and Criteria Applications will be accepted after November 3, 2019.
HOW TO APPLY:
Complete an online high school application or obtain an application from Ms. Esielionis
Fill out application completely with all required signatures and MEET with Ms. Esielionis and she will complete the required Rating Form.
Ms. Esielionis will submit grades, attendance, discipline, and rating form in support of your application.
Grade 6 - Green Team
STEM week - Green team students became astronauts for an entire week! We learned about the Mars One mission and the challenges that go along with sending humans in space on such a long trip. We experimented with repairing air filtration systems, like Apollo 13’s astronauts had to do in order to survive. We learned about how difficult water filtration, power generation and farming would be in space as well. By the end of the week, astronauts worked as teams to build lunar colonies with a full list of criteria incorporating all the systems they learned about through the week. Our Green Team astronauts have a new appreciation for the challenges their generation will face, preparing for long-term travel off of this world.
Science class continues learning our planet’s moon/sun relationship, gravity, day/night and seasonal cycles.
Math class is reinforcing fractions and ratios with multiplication and division of fractions, part/whole, part/part ratios. Students are also multiplying and dividing fractions with whole numbers and improper fractions as well as determining percent value.
Reading class students have been working on using concrete strategies to identify the central/main idea of a passage. We continue to use annotations and text based evidence to support our answers. In Writing, students are working on How We Pull Apart the Prompt as we identify Task Audience and Purpose. In Mr. Churchill’s Language Arts classes, we are continuing to read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We are now reading myths that are alluded to in the novel and linking common themes between the myths and the novel itself.
Social Studies classes began talking about exactly what history is, why it is important and how historians use evidence to learn about and draw conclusions about past events, and how they impact future generations.
Grade 6/7 - Yellow Team
Mr. Elmasri- Social Studies:
6th grade: The Intro To Geography unit came to a culminating end with an assessment that was sandwiched in between many fun and exciting projects dealing with maps and physical features. Students were given the ability to demonstrate what they learned by showcasing their creativity. Moving forward, students will be introduced to expository writing where they analyze different historical texts in order to extract the necessary evidence.
7th Grade: The 7th grade is now in the “Early Humans” unit. We will examine the origins of humans, where they lived, and what their class structure was like. Students will be participating in an “archaeological dig” outside to get an idea on how the study of artifacts plays a significant role in unlocking the clues to the prehistoric era. Also, using critical thinking, students will synthesize different sources/theories pertaining to the origin of man and challenge modern day theories by thinking outside of the box. In addition, students will read and produce a slideshow about the similar accounts regarding the creation of the world and humans from different civilizations that are shared worldwide.
Mrs. Dodge- Science:
6th grade- We have begun our investigation into the Earth’s motion and the reason for the seasons. Soon we will be taking a closer look at our moon and will be learning about its phases, connection to the tides, and what causes eclipses.
7th Grade- We are investigating the main spheres on Earth, and analyzing the interactions between them. We are also learning about the carbon cycle, and how humans contribute to, and impact that cycle.
Mrs. Daisy - Math:
6th graders are working on unit rates including unit prices with decimals.
7th graders are also calculating unit rates including those with fractional quantities.
We have modeled these concepts with tables, graphs and equations.
All grades will review for the first term assessment this week. The assessment will be administered on Thursday, November 7th & Friday, November 8th. Students should be reviewing their classwork and reference sheets before the test.
Ms. Smiraglia - ELA:
The sixth grade is well into the story of Percy Jackson and his “Hero’s Journey”. Along with this, they are learning more about the myths. Recently, we read about Medusa and the students enjoyed performing a skit about her. We are also working on narrative writing and creating sensory imagery using figurative language.
Seventh grade is delving into The Outsiders and their “one-pagers”, which serve as a summary both with words and visuals of the text. We have also begun a social/emotional activity where half the class are “Socs” and the other half “Greasers”, as in the novel. Students are very excited to play their roles! Stay tuned for the results!
Joan Melillo (Special education:
Students have been practicing their fluency, reviewing fractions and operations with decimals and working on reading comprehension and writing.. We are working on seeing how much progress we have made since the beginning of the year after the first two months.
Grade 7 - Blue Team
English Language Arts News with Mr. Veeder
This year in Advisory we’ve discussed the difference between having a dream vs. reaching a goal. Now we’re seeing, in Where the Red Fern Grows that reaching a goal and finding success often takes some grit (our recent word of the day!). As we read Billy Coleman’s story, we’ve been writing and practicing how to use textual evidence to support our ideas. The process of inspecting our writing has recently made us more aware of run-ons and sentence fragments, and how to fix each. Now, we’re understanding sentences a bit more and building our confidence as writers while we review the different parts of speech, starting with nouns: common, proper, concrete, and abstract!Foriegn Language News with Ms. Diaz
In world language we have been exploring the Hispanic culture through Hispanic legends and The Day of the Dead celebration. Students will be making skull masks for the Day of the Dead celebration as well as comparing and contrasting that celebration with Halloween. We have also been exploring Spanish vocabulary for classroom objects and gender and number agreement between the noun and the definite and indefinite articles.
Math News with Mr. Millett
In math we will be starting our unit on statistics and probability.
Science News with Ms. Kauppi
Congratulations to all the students/scientists for solving the mystery of Loon Lake. In science students created a bycatch net, learned about biomagnification and tried to find a way to remove those pesky zebra mussels from Loon Lake.
Great job!
Social Studies News with Dr. Pataky
We are starting this month with an archaeological dig and we will then begin our unit on Prehistory and the evolution of early humans and societies.
Special Education News with Mr. Nessman
In Enrichment, we are in the middle of our Halloween Skillsathon! Students are competing in three basic writing skills: Fixing Run/Ons and Fragments, Combining Sentences, and Punctuating Quotes! The winning class will be earning a dozen donuts from Ruby Donuts. Students can also earn individual points for end-of-year prizes. Contest closes on November 6th. If you want to be on the homework email, contact me at knessman@asrsd.org.
After-School Help Schedule
Mondays: Mr. Nessman, Mr. Veeder
Tuesdays: Mr. Millett, Ms. Kauppi
Grade 8 - Maroon Team
ELA:
This month in 8th grade ELA classes we drafted, revised, and edited our personal narratives to submit them for a final project grade. Students worked incredibly hard and have some great stories to show for it. On the heels of a successful and fun-filled STEM week... we are now continuing with our spooky suspense unit and have started reading Edgar Allen Poe!
Math:
Students enjoyed working on STEM week. For the month of November, we will be learning about transformations(translations, reflections, and rotations), similarity and dilations, reviewing 1 and 2 step equations, and starting multi-step equations. Students will also be working on accelerated math.
Science:
STEM week was a success! Students demonstrated critical thinking skills, perseverance, and engagement in the activities throughout the week. This week, students have begun learning about the Law of Conservation of Mass and have been balancing chemical equations to demonstrate this law. Over the next few days, students will be designing and testing their own experiment to model the law.
Social Studies:
After a successful STEM week students are working on their first projects of the year. They have been given the option to put on a play, create a graphic novel or construct a digital presentation to show their learning and understanding of their topic related to Rome.
Sped: Students were able to calculate their accuracy percentages on their independent assessments and identify their strengths as well as their weaknesses within math. Students are learning what goals are on their IEP and what skills they need to improve on.
Unified Arts
Roller-blading
Ski Club
Join Ayer Shirley Middle/High School for 6 weeks of skiing or snowboarding at Mt. Wachusett, in Princeton, MA.
A healthy way to enjoy our New England winters.
Applications will be available from your child's science teacher towards the end of October.
Further inquiries, email coordinator Mary Ford, mford@asrsd.org
Tech Corner
Do you or your child wish to work with graphic design? Try the following free software to become experts in creating fun and exciting templates to be used on social media, presentations, logos, flyers, brochures, etc. https://www.canva.com/
Interested in becoming an excellent writer? Try the free https://app.grammarly.com/ program to get started. Makes a world of difference in writing, grammar, and works with Google Chrome.
Visual Arts
6th and 7th graders are in full swing using the potter's wheels. When not using the wheels, 6th grade students are creating Zentangles, which is the art of drawing designs using structured patterns built up to make intricate designs. Eventually the Zentangles will be put together to make a Zentangle cube.
7th graders, when not using the wheels, are painting landscapes. Their landscapes must show 4 of the 6 ways an artist can use to create the illusion of space on a 2 dimensional surface.
8th graders have finished their illuminated letters and have started a color theory unit. Students are learning about the science of color; how the primary colors of light are different then the primary colors in art (pigment). Having only the primary colors of pigments and, black and white tempera paint, students will create a 12 hue color wheel mixing the secondary and tertiary colors. Students will also have to mix a tint, tone, and shade of each hue. 8th grade students will be starting the potter's wheel during the month of November.
Band
Band Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/ASRMS-Band-1586594771598510/
Middle School Band has begun! (if you missed the deadline to join, please email Mrs. Fletcher at rfletcher@asrsd.org ASAP)
ASRSD Athletics
AYER SHIRLEY MUSIC BOOSTERS
Group # 99422686
Hand Bell Lessons
Class Trips
6th Nature’s Classroom: Sept. 30 - Oct. 2
7th Mountain Classroom: June 1 - June 4, 2020
8th Washington D.C.: May 19 - May 22, 2020
Picture Re-Take Day 11/25
Spirit Wear
https://route2apparel.com/ASRSD/shop/products/middle_school?page=1
A Note From The School Nurse
Vision and Hearing: Mandated hearing and vision screening for 7th graders will begin in November and will continue throughout the year during art and enrichment.. Referrals will be sent for any students who do not pass the test or retest. There is no mandated vision or hearing testing for 6th or 8th grade, but if you have a concern about your child’s ability to see or hear well, you can request to have screening done.
Cold VS Flu
The question often comes up: “How can I tell the difference between cold and flu?”
Cold and flu do share some symptoms.Both may present with sneezing, stuffy nose and sore throat. A cold may present with weakness and chills but that is not common.
The flu is often distinctive in that it comes on quickly.Often a parent who is called by the nurse for a child with flu symptoms is surprised because “he was fine at home.” Fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and cough are common symptoms of flu.The symptoms are usually more severe than cold symptoms
The biggest differences between flu and cold are the complications. After feeling miserable for a few days, a cold generally gets better. (Students with asthma should refer to their asthma action plan for treatment when they have a cold). The complications from the flu can be serious and sometimes deadly.
It is not too late to get flu shots for yourself and your family. If you have not had a flu shot, please consider getting one soon! They are covered by most insurance plans. Contact your doctor or go to a local pharmacy, as most offer flu shots as well
Ban on E-Cigarettes and Vaping Products
Vaping Ban
Please click on the link below to see more information and FAQ.
Winter Sports Night/ Workshop
School Lunch Payments
MySchoolBucks is a convenient online payment service that provides a quick and easy way to pay for school lunch.
If you are already using MySchoolBucks to pay for school meals, your account is already set-up and ready to go! Otherwise, register for your FREE account today at www.myschoolbucks.com
If you have questions, please contact MySchoolBucks directly at
(855) 832-5226 or email parentsupport@myschoolbucks.com.
ASPTO Meeting Schedule 2019-2020
Second Tuesday of each month at 7:15 pm in the Middle School Library
September 10th
October 8th
November 12th
December 10th
January 14th
February 11th
March 10th
April 14th
May 12th
June 9th
“Together We Can Do More”
ASPTO Monthly Events
September
10 PTO meeting (new format) @ LAW
25 ASRMS Open House, Spirit Wear Sale
29 Holdenwoods trail run to support ASEF
October
5-13 Fall Family Photo Shoots
8 PTO meeting (new format) @ MS
TBD Greeting Card Fundraiser & SCRIP Card orders for holiday shopping
November
12 PTO meeting (new format) @ MS
14 ASRMS teacher conferences luncheon
15 ASPTO night at Roll On America 5:30-8pm
December
10 PTO meeting (new format) @ MS
January
10 ASPTO night at Roll On America 5:30-8pm
14 PTO meeting (new format) @ MS
Loaves & Fishes
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry provides food and support to any residents of Ayer, Devens, Groton, Harvard, Littleton and Shirley who need help.
We are open:
Every Wednesday and Friday, 9:45AM to 12:30PM
(Doors open 9:30am)
First and Third Saturday, 9AM to 11AM
(Doors open at 8:45am)
Second Tuesday of the month, 6PM to 8PM
(Doors open at 5:45pm)
234 Barnum Road Call us or come see us.
Devens, MA 01434 We can help.
(978) 772-4627 x312
Weekend Backpack Program
What is the Weekend Backpack Program?
Providing for the needs of our children within the constraints of our budgets is a challenging and stressful task that many families face daily. Ayer Shirley Middle School staff and volunteers are excited to continue the ASMS Weekend Backpack Program which provides students who are at risk of hunger with supplemental light meals and snacks. With support from funds provided to our district from local churches and businesses, the ASMS Weekend Backpack Program is available to any ASMS student who needs this support. Students participating in this program will receive a bag containing enough food for 2 to 3 small meals and snacks to supplement what you are providing over the weekend.
How Do I Sign Up?
Sign up by completing the information on the back of this form and returning it to the school as soon as possible. Enrolled students will begin receiving their bags on Friday, September 20th, 2019. Students will continue to receive their weekly bag until the end of school or until you notify us that you no longer wish to have your child participate. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kathryn Lyon (ext. 1212).
How Can I Make A Donation to this Program?
There are several ways that you can help. We are in need of food items such as granola bars, shelf-stable milk, juice boxes, applesauce or fruit cups, goldfish, or other individually packaged nutritious snacks. You can also help with a monetary donation. We will use the funds to purchase supplies through our vendors. Checks can be made payable to ASRSD with ASMS Weekend Backpack Program in the memo line. Every dollar helps, so no donation is too small. All monetary donations are tax deductible. We will provide you with a receipt for tax purposes, if requested. If you can help, please fill out the donation information on the back of this form and return it to the ASMS. Food donations can be dropped off in the school library at any time.Please click on the link to be directed to the forms:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_YkbVYngvY3RklzWWxMbThWb2M/view?usp=sharingHannaford Helps Schools
Raising money for your school is as easy as 1 2 3 and A B C
1. Shop. Choose from more than 1200 participating products to help earn money for your school!
2. Check Out. Get 3 school dollars for every 4 participating products you purchase.
3. Submit. Deposit your school dollars in the collection tower in the Lunenburg Hannaford store, located at the front of the registers with our school name on it. And / Or you can send them into the Middle School.
***NOTE*** You can still shop at any Hannaford and receive school dollars, but you will need
to bring your receipt into school. The ASRMS is registered at the Lunenburg loaction.
Please click on this link for more information and a full list of participating products: http://www.hannaford.com/assets/hf/assets/pdf/cms/abouthannaford/HHS_Shopping_Companion.pdf
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terri Rollins at ext. 1202
**Happenings at The High School**
Note from the Principal
Hello from Ayer Shirley Regional High School,
It has been an exciting fall at the high school. Our fall sports season is wrapping up and it has been an exciting and successful season. We have had all-stars, students participate in district and state championships and friendships built throughout the season. Our academic classes are off to a roaring start with students learning from our award-winning faculty and enjoying a wide variety of courses. Panther Blocks, a passion-driven, project-based learning opportunity are off and running with classes ranging from Hip Hop History Art and Culture to Jewelry Making to Nintendo Club to learning ASL (American Sign Language). We look forward to seeing you attend the various events at the high school and hope that you will join us for your high school experience as ASRHS Panthers!
Sincerely,
Mr. Spencer Christie
ASHS Track & Cross Country Fundraiser
Unified Basketball
The first home unified basketball game in school history was held Tuesday, October 29. Ayer Shirley defeated Lunenburg 52-51 in front of over 400 students, parents, staff, coaches and community members. This varsity sport allows students with and without disabilities to compete on the same court and fosters friendship, community and inclusiveness. The ASRSD offers unified track in the spring as well. - Mr. Kendall (AD)
ASRSD VARSITY & JUNIOR VARSITY GOLF
This year, due to popular demand, the District added a Junior Varsity team to the Ayer Shirley Regional School District Golf program. The golf season started with a much larger number of golfers than in previous years, many of whom were middle school students. Dr. Malone and Steve Kendall, the Athletic Director, immediately saw the need for a JV coach, and for additional playing and practice time for developing golfers, and answered the call. During the season Pete Page was hired as the Assistant Golf Coach, and Steve Kendall scrambled to arrange a number of Junior Varsity matches against Tahanto, Lunenburg, and Bromfield. Practice times were also added and buses were provided for the program. This year’s middle school players were Kenny Lewis, Nick Towne, Dylan Gibbons, Cody Mayo, Sohil Patel, Reid Ohanesian and Matt Bonina.
The current plan for next year is for this Junior Varsity program to continue as an integral part of an overall Golf program, and to for it to commence at the start of the golf season in late August, as a part of a full Varsity/Junior Varsity Golf Team. The plan is to have a full slate of Junior Varsity matches and practices, and an Assistant Golf coach who will work directly with the Junior Varsity. Middle school students from all grades and at all skill levels who are interested in playing golf are welcome to join the team. It is our hope that the number of players will grow even more. A number of our current Varsity golfers joined the team when they were in middle school. Sign-ups for next year’s golf team will take place in the spring.
“No other game combines the wonder of nature with the discipline of sport in such carefully planned ways. A great golf course both frees and challenges a golfer's mind.” Tom Watson, winner of 8 major golf championships
Head Coach - Mr Gubellini
CROSS COUNTRY
HISTORY CLUB
"On April 19, 1775, Minutemen from the surrounding countryside confronted Redcoats from Boston and reversed their advance at the North Bridge in Concord. The War for Independence was on."
The history club took a trip to the old north bridge located in Concord.