Meadow Park News
December 19, 2019
Principal's Corner
It has been a busy month and I’m sure that our staff and students are all ready for a well-earned break! I hope that you have had a chance to talk with your student about many of the positive, community building activities we have had during this busy month. Between two concerts (band and choir), the Solve-for-X Tournament, Spirit Week, food drives, and all of the normal craziness (and winter sickness!) that occurs around this time I know that many students are probably ready for a bit of a recovery.
In January, we often encourage our teachers to work with students to reset expectations and rebuild community after a long break. We also head into the end of semester 1 shortly after break, which is a great time to revisit our expectations.
I hope that the next two weeks are full of winter cheer and relaxation for each of you.
Make it a great break!
Jared Freeman
Principal
1 Fly, We ALL Fly!
For Your Calendars
- Monday, December 23rd - Friday, January 3rd: NO SCHOOL: Winter Break
Dreambox Competition is ON! - Earn points over WINTER BREAK!
The Dreambox contest runs Dec 9th - Jan31st. All students are eligible to earn points for their class by doing more than 5 lessons a week. Which school (FOMS, MPMS, Whitford) will earn the most points and get bragging rights and the amazing trophy? Let's make sure it is Meadow Park!
Do you know any future 5th grade families?
We enjoyed welcoming our future 6th grade families to Meadow Park this week. The Jazz Ambassadors Band kicked off our evening, and Meadow Park staff enjoyed sharing a little bit more about the academic program here at Meadow. You can refer to the 5th Grade Presentation Slidedeck to answer any questions about 6th grade at Meadow Park Middle School! Feel free to share this newsletter with other incoming Meadow Park families.
STAMPS Testing
A World Language proficiency assessment will be offered on January 15 & 16, 2020 for all 8th graders within our Dual Language program and those who are not in the Dual Language (DL) program and are highly proficient in a language other than English such as Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin (Simplified and Traditional), Polish, Russian, and Spanish. We are providing this opportunity to honor and recognize their bilingualism and biliteracy! All DL students will take the assessment and don’t need to register. If your child is not in our DL Program and you would like them to take the test, please register using this form no later than Wednesday, January 8th before 4 pm, so we can order the appropriate test.
The STAMP (Standards-Based Measurement of Proficiency) is a computer-based assessment that measures your child’s level of proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. It has the following benefits for your child’s education:
Correct placement into World Language classes in High School
Qualifying scores can earn the Oregon State Seal of Biliteracy
Possibility of earning High School elective credit for a World Language that your child already knows
For more information, please contact David Salgado at 503-356-2640.
If you cannot access the digital registration form please sign below and return to Advisory teacher.
Student name _______________________ Student ID# _______________________
Advisory _______________________ Language _______________________
Parent signature ___________________
MEADOW PARK STUDENTS TO COMPETE IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE
The National Geographic Society is holding the National Geographic Bee for students in the fourth through eighth grades from thousands of schools across the United States and in the five U.S. territories, as well as in Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world.
Meadow Park students will be competing through their Humanities classes between January 6th and January 16th. On January 22nd, the top students from each Humanities class will participate in a written geography test to determine if they qualify for the final competition on January 29th.
The school’s Geo Bee Champion will take the online State Geo Bee qualifying test on February 5th. The state winner will have the opportunity to compete for a $25,000 scholarship in Spring of 2020.
We are excited to be apart of this great opportunity!
For more information: www.nationalgeographic.org/bee
For resources: Check out the Sample Questions, Download the free National Geographic GeoBee Challenge app or try your luck with six new questions released daily on the National Geographic Geo Quiz skill for Amazon Alexa.
Solve for "X" was a hit!
What’s all the excitement about!?
Meadow Park held its second annual 7th Grade Solve for "X" Math Challenge. It was a HUGE success, involving 64 different teams and spanning 8 different 7/8 math classes (over 200 students!). Each team had 3-4 students and each battle was between four different teams resulting in two teams advancing from each battle. There was a double elimination bracket so teams who lost one battle had the opportunity to come back - and they did!
How did it end?
Our final championship was held last Friday afternoon in the Meadow Park Library at 1:00pm. The excitement was palpable! We saw team motivation and camaraderie like we’ve never seen before. It was a fantastic way to keep our students focused and fully engaged in math learning, leading up to the start of winter break!
So how did this all work?
Throughout the week, teams worked together to solve a given equation for “X.” Equations were at least 3 steps and some equations required up to 8 steps. The equations got harder as you made your way deep into the tournament. Everyone on the team had to write the problem down and show all of their work individually. They were allowed to work together and help each other - group thinking was encouraged and celebrated. Calculators were also allowed. Once a team was ready with their answers, they raised their hand to signal that they were ready for the “answer check.” If the answer was correct, they placed their team’s sticky note on the large Connect 4 grid (7x6). This added another level of strategic thinking for each team. Not only did they have to be quick and accurate at solving equations, but they needed strategies to potentially be the first team with a “connect 4.” The first two teams to “connect 4” advanced to the next round. Each battle was 30 minutes in length. Tie breakers scenarios and challenge problems were administered if teams failed to “connect 4” within the time constraint and if teams tied with the same amount of sticky notes on the board after time expired.
So what did our teachers have to say?
“My heart is full. I am grateful for how this math tournament went down and elated to see that I just so happen to trick 200+ 7th graders into doing 8th grade math super-fast! I am beyond proud at the result. Kids who have struggled all year are now understanding how to perform advanced math steps like never before. The Solve for X Tournament is life changing. Students overcame barriers with math that are no longer there! I go home happy knowing these little victories are occurring and students are building up their confidence and belief in themselves.” -Mr. Slick
“It definitely added to them WANTING to learn the math, and when they do, you see the fire and pride in their eyes.” -Mr. Merims
What if I want to learn more about this challenge?
You can find out more information through these Resources. You can also check out our social media campaign through YouTube Videos, Instagram & Facebook:
Promo Video: https://youtu.be/SeFV-EKPqlc
Connect 4 Rap Video: https://youtu.be/3jGpxjBSPxM
Explanation of Rules (to show students) Video: https://youtu.be/aUmzxTfp1UA
Special Thanks!
To the amazing 7th grade math teachers for making this happen!: Jesse Slick (mastermind of the tournament), Harrison Merims, Eric Ruiz, Janet Sanders and David Kloucek.
And the staff who helped make this possible: Jared Freeman, Sandy Boe, Kim Haskins, Linda Peterson, Nancy Elsmore for letting us take over the Library, The C-hall team for letting us disrupt their flow on Thursday and Friday, and the parent volunteers who helped with crowd control. It was a combined effort and couldn't have happened if everyone wasn't onboard and constantly willing to serve our kiddos.
Our food drive was a success!
Students and staff at Meadow Park collected food during the month of November for the Oregon Food Bank. A total of 724 lbs. of food was collected which translates into 543 meals for local families in the area. Three advisories won a donut party as they raised the most amount of food. The winning advisories were Mrs. Brougham, Mr. Lebsock, and Mr. Atkins. We are so grateful for all of the students, families, and staff who helped contribute food to this worthy cause. In addition, we have a food pantry at Meadow Park for our immediate families who may need some assistance from time to time. Please feel free to send non-perishable food with your student(s) at any time of the year. Mr. Engle, Mrs. Brownell, and Ms. Caballero, our school counselors, will be happy to accept any donations. Again, thank you so much for making our 2019 food drive a huge success!
AVID Student Presentations
Spirit Week Fun!
More Marathoners - 8th Grade Running & Reflection
We have our first marathon achievers for the 8th grade Running & Reflection class! Pictured above are Ben Moore, Wyatt Peters, Ami Paulson and Donovan Baisch. Congrats to all of them - way to go!
About Meadow Park Middle School
Email: jared_freeman@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/schools/meadow-park/
Location: 14100 Southwest Downing Street, Beaverton, OR, USA
Phone: (503)356-2640
Facebook: facebook.com/meadowparkmiddleschool
Twitter: @mpmseagles