Python Press
Pikesville Middle School Newsletter March 2017
From the Principal's Desk
Dear Parents,
We continue to celebrate our students who consistently demonstrate the Python Code of Conduct. This month, students with no unexcused absences or lateness and no discipline issues attended our third quarter school-wide incentive: March Madness! March Madness was an opportunity for us to celebrate not only students who follow the Python Code of Conduct, but to also celebrate our girls and boys basketball team for a wonderful season. Our boys and girls basketball teams faced an uncommon challenge as they played every opponent on the road. This however did not stop our “Road Warrior” boys’ basketball team. They ended the season as Division Champs with an 11-0 record. Special thank you to the Milford Mill Academy marching band for being part of our March Madness student incentive celebration. It’s always a great day to celebrate our students!
The vision of Pikesville Middle School is for students to develop excellence in academics, character, and habits of mind by participating in student-centered learning experiences that promote 21st century skills. In order to be successful, students need to think creatively, critically, and intuitively, solve real world problems, communicate effectively (verbal & written forms), work in teams, use technology to accelerate learning outcomes, and develop healthy, ethical life-style habits. Therefore, the Python Code of Conduct is one that students must observe daily. The Python Code of Conduct states that students are Prepared, Respectful, Inclusive, Diverse, and Engaged! As we enter the second half of the 3rd quarter and enter the 4th quarter, I encourage you to remind your child daily to embrace the Python Pride Code of Conduct in order to ensure they are a successful student at Pikesville Middle School. Successful Pythons are Prepared, Respectful, Inclusive, Diverse and Engaged! Python Pride!
Lastly, I would like to encourage parents to run for officer positions in our Family Association. All positions are open, and we need your energy and ideas to help build strong bridges with teachers and parents for the benefit of our children. Join me at Pastries with the Principal April 5, from 6-7pm, right before the next Family Association meeting.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Miller
Important Dates to Remember
March 31 Third marking period ends | PMS closes 3 hours early for students
April 5 Pastries with the Principal 6-7pm | Family Association Meeting directly following from 7-8pm in the library
April 7 Spring Break Begins at end of school day. | PMSFA Skate Night @ Hot Skates 6pm
April 18 School Resumes
May 10 PMSFA Board Election
May 11-12 Talent Show at 6pm followed by The Lion King at 7pm
May 19 Orioles Baseball Night. Click HERE for flyer.
6th Grade News Flash by Ms. Hammel
We are pleased to report that the majority of students continue to display Python PRIDE. At the beginning of March, students who have no unexcused absences, and who have not received any office referrals or minor incidents, will participate in an assembly to celebrate the Pikesville Middle basketball teams.
Please remind your sixth grader of the agreement students and parents signed to adhere to Baltimore County protocol at the beginning of the year. Students are not to download or install any unauthorized software, games, programs, files, electronic media or other sources. This act modifies and can potentially destroy the equipment. This is a reminder that the school may collect devices for inspection, service, and/or maintenance at any time or for any reason. Unauthorized use of the device may result in disciplinary action. Parents: if you happen to see YouTube, Minecraft, Netflix, games, or other video or music streaming, then your child has gone against the Technology User Agreement. Please assist us with inspecting your child’s device in order to avoid any further action.
Students recently finished up MAP testing and their teachers are excited about the progress that is being made. Please remind your child to charge their device nightly to be prepared for each day.
-Ms. Hammel
The 7th Grade Scoop by Mr. Sullivan
The 7th grade team would like share how proud we are of our 7th grade students. We celebrated perfect attendance, honor roll, Principal’s List, Python Award, and On-a-roll students at our awards assembly just a few weeks back. When asked to stand for a class selfie, almost every single student was celebrated with an award. This demonstrates the great things that our 7th grade students are doing at Pikesville Middle School. We’re looking forward to every student winning an award at our 3rd quarter honors assembly.
Don’t forget that starting this quarter, homeroom teachers are implementing routine technology checks to ensure that devices are being used and handled appropriately. Teachers have begun to check to make sure devices are charged, free of physical damage, and in compliance with the Acceptable Use Policy. If a student repeatedly comes with an uncharged device, the device will be kept at PMS overnight to charge. Students need their charged devices each and every day to have access to diverse, student-centered learning opportunities, and we appreciate your support in reminding your child to charge his or her device.
We ask that all families encourage their children to demonstrate the values and behaviors reflected in our Python Code of Conduct. Pikesville Middle School students are Prepared to learn, Respectful of others, Inclusive of others, Diverse in our thinking, and Engaged in learning. We have PRIDE!
Congratulations 7th grade!
-Mr. Sullivan, Ms. Hendrix-Martin, and Ms. Morlock
8th Grade Updates from Ms. Franklin
It's hard to believe, but the eighth grade class of 2017 is approaching the conclusion of middle school. Pikesville Middle School is committed to providing academic and social experiences to enhance the lives of our students. One way we do this is with college tours that increase students’ comfort with postsecondary environments while introducing them to a variety of pathways. Eighth graders in the College and Career course were able to visit Lincoln University, alma mater for the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The students saw the university’s Student Union, library, dorm rooms, athletic complex, academic buildings, the quad and the cafeteria--all while being educated on the university’s rich and complex history, including discussions about notable alumni like Langston Hughes, poet, novelist, playwright and social sctivist; and Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Civil Rights Activist.
Eighth grade students with no unexcused absences or latenesses and no discipline issues attended our third quarter school-wide incentive, March Madness! Invited students celebrated the achievements of the Python basketball teams, which featured the Milford Mill Academy marching band and DJ Black Wizard! The majority of eighth grade students were able to attend.
Parents and students are reminded that the fourth quarter incentive planning is underway. In order to be eligible to attend, when absent, students must bring in a signed note; and, consistently make positive behavior choices.
Next stop for eight grade: The Baltimore Inner Harbor on April 21st!
Bon Voyage!
-Ms. Franklin
Theme Boards
Teacher of the Month
BCPS Mobile Lab
It's Academic
Science
Before Spring Break 6th Grade students were provided with a great opportunity and experience as the Baltimore County Mobile Agriculture Science Lab visited Pikesville Middle School for a two week period. All 6th Grade students participated in two, 45 minute lessons on the Mobile Agriculture Lab during their Science classes. On their first visit, students made environmentally-friendly plastic out of corn starch and corn oil! During their second visit students made environmentally-friendly glue from milk. Pikesville Middle School would like to thank the Mobile Agriculture Lab for providing two great student-centered, hands-on activities.
We also held our annual S.T.E.M. Challenge on Friday, February 17, 2017. Students were tasked with building a tower out of recyclable materials in order to see if it could withstand an earthquake test. The towers were then disassembled and students recycled the components that were able to be recycled in order to support the Green School Initiative. Students had a wonderful time completing the S.T.E.M. Challenge. Great job Pythons!
Please see the schedule HERE regarding coach classes for the Science Department. Teachers can be contacted via email or BCPS One Message in order to schedule coach classes.
English Language Arts
Congratulations to our Pikesville Middle School Spelling Bee Champion Steven F., and runner-up Evan F.. They will go on to represent Pikesville Middle in the Maryland Spelling Bee on March 11, 2017. New students in theater classes have been learning about stage directions and performed original monologues. Sixth graders in language arts have been studying historical fiction and preparing speeches to deliver in front of their classmates. Seventh graders have been reading historical fiction as well and examining conflicts and culture in the historical settings. Eighth graders just finished their project based assessments for their last unit and are looking forward to delving into America’s history through fiction and informational text during their next unit.
Social Studies
American History students were able to go on a virtual field trip to the Newseum via a webinar. Students learned about the impact past Supreme Court decisions have on their rights as students. Students enjoyed an interactive session followed by a question and answer session.
World Languages
Our teachers were able to observe other Spanish teachers at Ridgley Middle School to gather lesson ideas and to collaborate on making language more students centered. Our teachers enjoyed their time at the school and are excited to implement new activities in their classrooms.
Math
The following topics are currently being taught in each course. Math 6 is learning ratios, unit rates, and proportions, Math 6 GT is finishing up Unit 4 and will be starting adding and subtracting negative numbers, Pre-Algebra 7 is finishing up Unit 2 and then will be learning how to solve equations, Math 8 is working on solving systems of equations, Algebra 1 is multiplying polynomials and working with piecewise functions, Geometry is working on properties of triangles. The book for each of these courses can be found in BCPSOne under Digital Content. Remember to check your students grades on BCPSOne, the quarter ends on March 31st.
Counselors' Corner
Visit UMBC and explore the college campus!
Service Learning is a teaching method that combines meaningful service to the community with curriculum-based learning. Students improve their academic skills by applying what they learn in school to the real world; they reflect on their experience to reinforce the link between their service and their learning – Learning in Deed.
All students receiving a Maryland high school diploma are required to complete 75 hours of service–learning (or a determined pro-rated amount) prior to graduation from high school.
Students can earn hours through course projects (curriculum infusion), school wide projects, or through independent service projects that address community needs. Most community projects are direct service, giving students the opportunity to interact with the population being served. Some examples of appropriate independent projects may include: tutoring younger students, volunteering at a soup kitchen, helping with a community clean-up, raising money for charitable causes, etc. A good source for discovering places to volunteer in your neighborhood can be found at www.baltimorecountymd.gov , click on Volunteer Today. You can also find a good resource guide for volunteering at the Baltimore County Office of Student Service Learning http://www.bcps.org/offices/service_learning/pdf/Resource-Directory.pdf and under the Guidance tab on Edline.
For more information and to have the required pre-approval for independent service projects, please contact Richard Hecht, Counselor and Service Learning Coordinator. All projects must have Mr. Hecht’s prior approval.
Contact Info:
Mr. Mike Hess (Grade 6) mhess@bcps.org
Ms. Dorsey Daeschner (Grade 7) ddaeschner@bcps.org
Mr. Richard Hecht (Grade 8) rhecht@bcps.org
You can also call the Counseling department at 410-887-6725.
Thank you,
The Counseling Department
Career Fair: Calling All Volunteers!
Pikesville Middle School will host a CAREER FAIR on Friday, April 7, 2017 and we're looking for Career Day Volunteers
The Counseling office would like to recruit 30 speakers from PMS families for our 2017 Career Fair. This presents a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about a variety of careers through your first-hand experience.
The Career Fair will run from 8:00–10:00 am. Speakers will rotate through five classrooms and present for 15 minutes to each group about topics ranging from educational background to a typical day.
If you are interested in investing two hours of your time in the spring to share your career with our students, please contact the one of our counselors (see contact above).
THE HEALTH SUITE
To the parents of all students in the 6th grade: Baltimore County Health Department requirements are that all incoming 7th grade students have two additional vaccines. These vaccine include the Tdap and Meningitis. We will be mailing a letter home this month to only 6th graders who do not currently have these vaccines.
Parents, you might want to take advantage of the upcoming Spring Break in April to schedule an appointment with your child’s health care provider. This is a requirement to enter the school year 2017-18. Thank you
FAMILY ASSOCIATION NEWS: RUN FOR PMSFA OFFICER FOR 2017-18!
Calling all Parents! We need new PMSFA officers for 2017-2018 school year. This will be the biggest year of parent engagement yet, so please get involved! #pythonpta #joinpta
Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 5 at 7pm in the Library. If you are interested for running as an officer, please attend this meeting.
Upcoming Events
April 7 Skate Night @ Hot Skates 6pm-10pm, $8 for PMS Family Association members, $9 non-members. For tix, use the email above.
May 19 PMSFA Orioles Baseball Night. Click HERE for flyer.
MEETING TEXT REMINDERS: would you like text reminders for upcoming PMSFA meetings? If so, click HERE to enroll. Your cell phone number will remain private, and you will ONLY receive text reminders before meetings.
Last meeting of the school year is May 10 at 7pm in the library! And don't forget to like us on Facebook!
Community News
Pikesville Rec Council Summer Camp Red Fox
For more information and to register, click HERE
Pikesville Schools Coalition
Join the Pikesville Schools Coalition by going to our Facebook page. The Coalition meets 2-3 times a year to work with parents, community members, and educators to secure a bright future for our youth attending Pikesville schools. Please join us! We will announce our spring coalition meeting in the next newsletter. Questions? Email Beth Rheingold
REMINDER: JUST CHARGE IT!
Pikesville Middle School Vision
Pikesville Middle School students will develop excellence in academics, character, and habits of mind by participating in student-centered learning experiences that promote 21st century skills.
Pikesville Middle School Mission
Pikesville Middle School aims to promote a safe, equitable, learner-centered environment for all students. In order to prepare our students for high school, college and careers, we will:
- Provide rigorous, relevant, and responsive instruction to all students.
- Establish supportive respectful relationships that encourage responsive behaviors.
- Instill healthy habits to support positive social, emotional, physical, and academic development.
- Establish strong values and citizenship within and beyond the school community.
About Us
Assistant Principals
Grade 6: Mrs. A. Hammel ahammel@bcps.org
Grade 7: Mr. M. Sullivan msullivan2@bcps.org
Grade 8: Ms. A. Franklin afranklin5@bcps.org
To report an absence, please send a note in with your child upon their return to school.
FAX 410-887-1259
Other Important Numbers:
Guidance: 410-887-6725
Cafeteria: 410-887-1209
Library: 410-887-1272
Nurse: 410-424-9347
Email: lsilverman2@bcps.org
Website: https://pikesvillems.bcps.org/
Location: 7701 Seven Mile Lane, Pikesville, MD 21208, United States
Phone: 410-887-1207
Twitter: @PikesvilleM