MMS Friday Flier
“Enter to Learn, Strive to Achieve!”
The MISSION of Middletown Middle School is to engage students as 21st century learners who strive to achieve their goals. We support students through rigor and active participation within a culture of cooperation, organization, determination and excellence to prepare our students for college and careers.
“The Vision of Middletown Middle School is to challenge students of all abilities to achieve excellence in a wide range of academic and cultural pursuits. Students are equipped to meet the demands and opportunities of the 21st century by receiving a differentiated, effective, and rigorous curriculum. Staff believe and demonstrate that all students can master the essential 21st century skills. The culture of Middletown Middle will include high expectations for all, frequent monitoring of student progress, multiple opportunities for student learning, high levels of engagement, exceptional communication, and daily purposeful integration of technology. We will make it a priority to recognize the academic and extracurricular achievements of our school community. Middletown Middle School will have highly-motivated professional staff and authentic partnerships between the school and home.”
Value Statements
Teachers actively engage students by interacting, moving around the classroom, and allowing them to own their learning.
Staff will have knowledge of the whole student so that lessons provide challenge and rigor for all abilities.
Teachers facilitate lessons where students are engaged, not merely compliant.
Teachers facilitate lessons that allow for students to lead and take risks.
Staff will make authentic learning opportunities a priority in the classroom.
Staff collaborates to promote 21st century student learning
Teacher Work Day
Friday November 10th is a teacher work day. As negotiated in the contract, teachers are able to work from home with the understanding that it is their responsibility to meet all grading deadlines as per Article V Section G of the contract. There is no need to tell admin or the secretaries of your plans for that day.
SLO Conference Documents *ACTION REQUIRED*
Thank you for submitting your SLO. In preparation for upcoming SLO conferences, please review and provide your comments on the Initial Domain 5/SLO Conference document linked below. Make a copy and share with your SLO evaluator.
Printers
Please remember students are not allowed to get papers off the printers. If you are printing off important documents like 504's, IEP's or anything else with secured information on it, please be sure to pick it up immediately.
Shields
PBIS Day
This day will be on a 2-hour early dismissal schedule with the time from 1:00 - 3:00 dedicated to PBIS time.
More details to follow at teaming on Tuesday.
Please complete the form below by the end of day November 8th to indicated your participation in the Turkey Bowl.
Advanced Academics
Mindset in a Minute
from The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock & Heather Hundley. October’s mantra:
MY BRAIN IS LIKE A MUSCLE THAT GROWS!
Important Takeaways - Brain research related to learning is a relatively new field that has great implications for education. New research reveals that humans have the ability to make long-lasting changes to the brain throughout one’s lifetime. How?? Through dedicated effort & practice AND armed with the knowledge that it is possible to change one’s own brain.
Neuroplasticity - The brain’s ability to change. The more we use our brains and practice a skill or concept, the stronger the neural connections in our brains become. And there’s no limit! On the flip side - when we stop practicing or working a skill or concept, those connections weaken and become harder to activate in the brain. Intelligence is not a fixed trait - it can be developed!
The Brain & Metacognition - Explicitly teaching students about the brain and neuroplasticity has an impact on student motivation and achievement. Carol Dweck did a study with traditionally “low achieving” 7th graders. The focus group learned about their brains and how they can grow like a muscle. The focus group showed higher motivation for learning and higher math grades than their counterparts in the study. Teaching students to think about their thinking (metacognition) and to think about the impact learning has on their brains can occur daily in every classroom.
Very often, we, even as adults, label ourselves as “Math” people or “Not Math” people. You can substitute ART, READING, WRITING, TECHNOLOGY… whatever word. But brain science shows us that this is not the case. It is our choice to focus our efforts on any given area to increase learning and brain capacity. We CAN learn and shape our brains, and so can our students! They just need help understanding why and how.
My Brain is Like a Muscle That Grows!
The MISSION of Middletown Middle School is to engage students as 21st century learners who strive to achieve their goals. We at MiMS can teach students that they hold the key to change and grow their brains in order to achieve their goals.
Resources to learn more:
Advanced Academics Mindset Learning Modules
Brain Science: Learning & Neuroplasticity (compilation from Advanced Academics)
The Growth Mindset Coach by Annie Brock & Heather Hundley
Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci
Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler
Faces at MiMS
Since the beginning of the school year, we have been featuring new staff members each week. Starting this week, we are changing gears and featuring staff in our special education department. This week we are featuring Irene Strzelczyk, a SEIA.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in St. James, NY. It is on Long Island.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time I love to spend time with my daughters.
Do you have any pets? If so, what do you have?
I have 2 dogs, 3 cats and I have one horse.
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation? or Where would you love to travel to? *
My favorite place to go on vacation is to my sister's beach house on Long Island. I would love to travel to Greece.
What is one interesting fact about you?
I rode in the Jr. Olympics for horseback riding.
Capture Kindess
World Kindness Day is November 13th.
Do you want to make a difference, get inspired, and be part of a global kindness movement?
Join: The #CaptureKindness Challenge
A 14-week opportunity to share and capture acts of kindness!
It kicks off on World Kindness Day (Nov 13, 2017) and culminates on Random Acts of Kindness Day (Feb 17, 2018)! We will end our Kindness Campaign with a “Week of Kindness” February 12-16.
How do I participate and win prizes?
Join the challenge by signing the Kindness Pledge and then do 1 act of kindness each of the 14 weeks.
Need ideas? No sweat! Every week has a different theme and sample ideas based on that theme! The best part? By posting a photo of your weekly act of kindness with the hashtag #CaptureKindness, you can win awesome prizes and inspire more people to join! Let's show the world that kindness is everywhere when we choose to focus on it.
Wednesday Wisdom
FCPS Vanguard Teacher Program
We are pleased to share the fall 2017 publication of Making Learning Personal. This quarterly newsletter shares updates on the Vanguard Teacher Program and highlights instructional strategies for blended learning.
The fall 2017 issue features:
- “Be the Example” by Stacey Morrissey, Middletown Middle School
- “Onboarding: An Essential Process for Blended Learning” by Stacey Sisler, Crestwood Middle School
- "Being a Blended Bear: My Experience with Blended Learning" by Lauren Graziano, Oakdale High School
- "Presenting the Blended Elementary Science Classroom at NSTA" by Jeff Longenberger, Curriculum, Instruction, and Innovation
- "Giving Up Control: Shifting Mindset Through Flexible Seating" by Jill Maenner, Urbana Elementary School
Newsletter Link: https://www.smore.com/v8cjw
Friday, May 11 - Career Day
The Counseling Dept. and valuable committee members will be working through the planning process with putting such a great day together for all of our students at Middletown Middle School.
We look forward to our staff, parent, and community support of this great day of learning for our students. Our parent and community stepped up big time last year to help us have such a wonderfully diverse group of people and careers represented at our Career Day! We look forward to seeing many returning volunteers and hope for some new volunteers willing to step up and share out exciting information about their world of work with our students.
Continuous School Improvement Team (CSI)
The CSI team met this past week. We spent a great deal discussing Strengths Based Leadership for our book study. Our main focus dealt with our leadership styles and reflecting on the quote by Mervyn Davies, "If you focus on people’s weaknesses, they lose confidence.” The team also looked over the data from the data team to help drive our presentation for the upcoming State of MIMS address on November 6th during the faculty meeting.
The agenda from the meeting can be found in the GAFE. All are welcome to attend.
CSI & Faculty Meeting:
The CSI teams next meeting is on November 13th. All are welcome to attend. Monday we will be having our November faculty meeting. We will be presenting the first State of MIMS address of the school year along with continuing our modules on cultural proficiency.
Social Committee
This week, we borrow a line from Ringo Starr in his post-Beatles hit "It Don't Come Easy."
"Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues
And you know it don't come easy"
We thank those who have paid their social dues (a mere $10), and you have our permission to sing the blues.
BYOD Device Assistance
Use this link to assist students in using their BYOD devices: BYOD assistance
Chromebook
Please review the Chromebook FAQ to answer several frequently asked questions that have been asked by teachers since we have transitioned to 1:1. We will be continually refining our practices to become more effective as a team.
After School Detention
Shields
Tech Issues
Are you having a technology concern and need Leslie. This year there is a form to fill out to make the process easier for staff. Please use the following Google Form when requesting technology help/fixes: Tech Request Form .