The Panther Pride
ASRMS Newsletter - APRIL 2023
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From the Principal
Good afternoon Panther Families,
I hope this newsletter finds all of you well and looking forward to spending time with family next week. The break falls right in the midst of one of the busiest times of the year academically. It’s a great opportunity for students to take a deep breath before diving into the end of the school year.
Last week we began administering MCAS sessions for ELA in all grades. Students have been doing a fantastic job. It’s evident that they’re focused and putting in their best effort. It will be really helpful in understanding our students' needs going forward and giving them targeted instruction. It’s also clear that families have emphasized the importance of these annual assessments. We’ve had the best attendance I’ve ever seen on test days and we really appreciate your support!
This week we’ll be celebrating student achievement and successes. Tonight we’ll be inducting our newest member of the National Junior Honor Society. These students have demonstrated their scholarship, character, leadership, service and citizenship while at ASRMS. We look forward to joining their family in telling them how proud we are of them. On Friday, students and teachers will also have the opportunity to recognize standout performances. We’ll be holding our Student of the Trimester assembly where teams and administration shoutout students with noteworthy effort and accomplishments.
When we return from the break it will be a downhill race to the end of the school year. We’ve spent the last few weeks getting events booked and managing the May/June calendar. Please keep an eye out for dates, times and details. We’ll be sending them out as soon as possible so you can make preparations. Between field trips, tours and milestones it will be an exciting time to be at ASRMS.
Enjoy the gorgeous weather and the time with your kids!
Sincerely,
Bryan Oelerich
Principal
Student Prompted Dismissals
If your student contacts you to be dismissed, please have them see a staff member before coming in.
Including our staff in this process ensures we can support you and your student.
Health related concerns should be addressed by the school nurse.
Social/emotional concerns should be addressed by a school counselor.
Our main office can communicate this to your student if that would be helpful.
Dismissals that do not follow this process are not excused.
We appreciate your help to ensure we have the opportunity to meet your child’s needs while in our care.
Important Dates
4/12 - NJHS Ceremony
4/17 - 4/21 - April Vacation
4/21 - Earth Day
4/22 - Ayer Town-Wide Clean Up
April Lunch Menu
Report Card Schedule 2022-2023
Progress Reports
Trimester 2: Monday, 2/6
Trimester 3: Monday, 5/8
Report Cards
Trimester 2: Monday, 3/27
Trimester 3: Last Day of School
PTC
Friday, 10/28 (afternoon conferences)
Trimester 2: Thursday, 2/9/23 (evening conferences)
Friday, 2/10/23 (afternoon conferences)
Restorative Practice Center (RPC)
This year the Middle School has created a Restorative Practice Center (RPC) in order to support students with conflict resolution in a positive way. Students are learning how their actions impact their peers, and the ways in which they can restore the community after a harm has occurred. We have an Adjustment Counselor tied to the program in addition to a Paraprofessional, both of whom are supporting students who struggle with interpersonal relationships. The Restorative Practices Center is not a program from which students are intended to “graduate” from. Instead, the Restorative Practices Center is designed to be a resource to all community members.
Red Sox Photograph
When/Where: Tickets will be sold at 6th and 7th grade lunches April 24th -26th. Also, students were given flyers by their homeroom teachers today with a tear off section below to fill out if they wanted to purchase a raffle ticket to win the signed Red Sox photograph.
Cost: One entry for $2 and three entries for $5. Cash is preferred. 6th and 7th grade purchases are to be turned in at lunch time. The 8th graders can turn their purchases in to their homeroom teacher.
The last day for money to be collected is April 26th and the drawing will be on April 28th. For those who wish to participate, good luck and thank you for supporting a good cause.
FIRST Tech - Middle Dippers
ASRHS trip to PR in June of 2024
We still have spots available for the ASRHS trip to PR in June of 2024. Passports travel is now offering a 150.00 discount if travelers sign up before May 15th.
Please contact Mrs.Capasso ecapasso@asrsd.org for more information.
This opportunity is open to all current 8-11th graders who are/ will be attending Ayer Shirley Regional High School. Want to see how awesome travel in highschool is? Take a look at our travel Facebook page ASRHS Travels The World. There you will find videos and images of our previous trips!
Ayer Town-Wide Cleanup: 4/22/23
The Ayer Town-Wide Cleanup is a semi-annual event to beautify our community. Residents pickup trash in public areas and along street edges. All residents are welcome and it would be appropriate for service hours. Children need to be supervised by their own adult.
Cleanup headquarters will be at the Sandy Pond Public Beach and volunteers can check-in there any time between 8:30 am-12:30pm to grab gloves and trash bags. Full bags will be disposed of by event organizers, and volunteers don't need to stay the whole time. It is a rain or shine event. Though we have some reflective vests, It's recommended that volunteers wear brightly colored clothing and sturdy shoes.
Earth Day
Ayer/Devens Open Streets Earth Day! April 21, 2PM–6PM
MS Unified Basketball Team!
Tennis Club
Music class students are playing boomwhackers and bucket drums
After School Extra-Help
Notes from the Nurse
EpiPens and inhalers need to be sent to the nurse in order for your child to attend field trips.
School Counselors
- 8th grade students will start to look at 9th grade elective courses and grade 9 course summary. Students will choose a total of 35 credits plus 3 back up courses when that section in their portal is ready.
We continue to work with the students on developing their best selves through individual, group and classroom/advisory activities.
Summer and other opportunities are being advertised by colleges and agencies for students. We are making you aware of these opportunities as we become aware of them. We recommend that you thoroughly investigate any programs of interest to you as each program may not be the right fit for all students.
- Rising 9-11 grade students
- WPI Launch
- A Better Chance
- “A Better Chance places high-performing students of color in our nation’s best independent and public schools and supports them on their educational and leadership journeys..”
The final group of sixth grade students is finishing up their career exploration project co-taught by Ms. Doyle and Ms. Esielionis! All of the students really did a wonderful job!
Mental Health Resource:
At Ayer-Shirley Regional Middle School we have access to William James College Interface Referral Service. Call:1-888-244-6843 Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm to consult with a mental health professional about resources and/or receive personalized matched referrals for mental health providers.
En Ayer-Shirley Regional Middle School tenemos acceso al servicio de referencia de interfaz de William James College Llame al: 1-888-244-6843 de lunes a viernes de 9:00 a. m. a 5:00 p. m. para consultar con un profesional de salud mental sobre recursos y/o recibir referencias para proveedores de salud mental.
Have an urgent mental health need? Call CHL 1-866-549-2142 or 1-800-977-5555, or in case of immediate danger call 911 or go to nearest ER
Si se necesita ayuda urgente, llame CHL 1-866-549-2142 o 1-800-977-5555, o en casos de urgencia llame 911 o visite la Sala de Emergencia más cercana Muchas Gracias Você precisa ajuda urgente com sua saúde mental? Facha favor em chamar CHL 1-866-549-2142, o em casos de emergência chame 911 o visite a Sala de Emergência mais perta. Muito Obrigado
Most recent information from the BRYT Network:
- Next up for our speaker series:
April 12th, 7 pm Parenting Kids and Teens on the Spectrum **this is a change of date**
with a panel of speakers: Denise Galford-Koeppel, LMHC PMC, CEIS, MS Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Ariel M. Goldberg, Parent, and Sara Eisnler Subach, Occupational Therapist. Youtube live Link here: Parenting youth on the spectrum
If you missed it, our March speaker series: Ready (or not) to Launch: Preparing for your child's post-high school chapter. see the recording/youtube video here.
Our Parent Supporting Parent groups (flier linked) continue weekly.
Remember, we have:
*BIPOC parent support
*Dad's group
*Open group for all
*West Coast-friendly times
As always, these are open to ALL parents of youth who are navigating mental health challenges. The groups are virtual, hosted by a BRYT family engagement specialist via Zoom, and are designed to be a platform for families to support each other. *The purpose of these groups is to give parents an opportunity to give and receive support from each other. PSP groups are not designed to supplement mental health treatment.
BRYT Family Engagement Resource Library (flier linked) page. NEW RESOURCES ADDED. Our BRYT family engagement team creates this resource doc to save you time in your search for articles, links, and local community resource needs for students and families. Recordings of live events will be stored here as well including our most recent live events around Grief (January) and Substance use in Teens (February) and the latest, Ready to Launch (March).
Lastly, families-please see our Facebook group for BRYT families: This closed FB group is only for BRYT caregivers. Just have families search 'BRYT FAMILY SUPPORT' on Facebook and ask to be added. BRYT Family Engagement Coordinators manage the group and caregivers will find posts with tips, events, parenting articles, support from other parents, and more.
As a reminder, Ms. Brine has students with last names beginning with A-D, Ms. Teahan has students with last names E-K and Ms. Esielionis has students with last names beginning with L-Z. There are some exceptions to these caseloads.
Please reach out with any questions or concerns at any time!
Green Team
Green Team students are working hard and gearing up to show what they know on MCAS! We are so excited to see all of their growth and hard work pay off.
Mr. Langford's historians are researching the major Egyptian pharaohs and will begin a free choice project to creatively show all they learned this unit!
Mr. Belli's scientists are learning all about body systems and are working on their body bio project.
Mr. Churchill's readers are finishing Bud Not Buddy. They are also reading and interpreting poetry!
Ms. Stahl's writers are preparing for MCAS writing using two sources and using the writing tool of Claim Evidence Reasoning.
Mrs. Millet's mathematicians are exploring shapes and 3D figures through area, surface area, and volume. Soon students will be learning about statistics!
As a reminder Sixth Grade Field Trip Forms are due Monday April 10th! Please contact your student's homeroom teacher with any questions or concerns.
Purple Team
ELA -
6th Grade - Students have finished their literary analysis essays and the study of fifty Greek and Latin roots! We are now working on informational text and reviewing concepts for the upcoming ELA MCAS next week.
7th Grade - We have completed The Giver and students are finishing their expository essays.They, too, have increased their knowledge of Greek and Latin roots to fifty. As with the sixth grade, we will be reviewing in preparation for the upcoming MCAS.
Math -
6th Grade is practicing calculating area of two dimensional shapes as well as surface area and volume of three dimensional shapes. We will spend time preparing for the Math MCAS: becoming familiar with the testing tools, reviewing test taking strategies, and refining our skills for answering constructed response questions.
7th grade continues to work with percent problems of real world situations. During April we will also spend time preparing for the Math MCAS: becoming familiar with the testing tools, reviewing test taking strategies, and refining our skills for answering constructed response questions.
Social Studies -
6th Grade - Ancient Egypt is coming to a wrap, pun-intended. After participating in an educational field trip to the Fitchburg Art Museum, students received a more in-depth look into the historical artifacts associated with Egypt’s past. In addition, students worked on their informational writing skills by creating an essay with textual evidence supporting their claim on who built the pyramids. Next up, we will be using a multicultural approach by exploring the African continent and the many different countries that make up Africa.
7th Grade - The Indian Subcontinent has been our area of studies and it has been a blast seeing students engage in multicultural learning with an emphasis on the diverse food, faith, language, customs, government etc. More specifically, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Lastly, we shall continue to look into the origins of the Hindu Caste System, followed by some contributions from various Indian inventors, scholars, authors, and leaders.
Science -
6th Grade - We are beginning to explore the structure and function of cells. Students will be creating models and using microscopes to help with our investigation.
7th Grade - We recently wrapped up our study of endangered and threatened species, and looked at how protecting biodiversity can improve resource use for humans. Next, we will be learning about electrical charges, magnetism, potential and kinetic energy.
Student support:
We send home a homework email that will tell you when students have upcoming quizzes, tests, and projects. I can’t guarantee it will always be 100% accurate for every class every day, but it will give you an idea of what specific assignments need to be worked on. Feel free to email jmelillo@asrsd.org if you would like to be on the 6th or 7th grade email list for the purple team.Blue Team
ELA with Mr. Veeder: We have finally made it to April, and MCAS is here!
After finishing The Outsiders and writing a short essay, 7th grade will take the ELA MCAS on April 5th and 7th.
8th grade will do likewise for Brown Girl Dreaming, followed by the ELA MCAS on April 11th and 13th.
After MCAS, both sections will spend some time reading and writing poetry for National Poetry Month.
Math with Mrs. Daisy: 7th graders are finding the area and circumference of circles. Then we will discuss trapezoids.
Science with Mrs. Kauppi: Scientists are currently studying ecosystems.
Cycle of matter-Nitrogen and Carbon Cycles
Cycle of energy
Producers, and consumers
Social Studies/Civics with Dr. Pataky: Here is what's going on in social studies/civics over the next two weeks:
In 7th grade we have just learned the life and teachings of Prophet Muhamed, peace be upon him. We will finish this unit with an essay and move on to the rich land of India.
In 8th grade we are trying to figure out how to build a new nation. The Articles of Confederation just aren’t working and some are saying we need a stronger federal government, while others worry we are headed right back to a monarchy.
Mrs. Seppelin: In World Language, 7th graders will start a new unit La Casa (The House). Students will have a fun project where they will be able to design and furnish a house of their choice while labeling everything in Spanish. After La Casa (The House) students will learn all about the family in the La Familia unit.
Mr. Nessman & Ms. Nigohosian’s Corner: We have been working on MCAS practices for reading and for math. We will be focusing on open response questions, and reviewing calculation with decimals, fractions, and integers as well as reviewing equation solving.
We continue to do Organizational Checklists with students on Fridays
Maroon Team
Spanish - En la clase de español . . . we have been working with vocabulary of house/home and family. We have had some insightful and interesting conversations about our different living situations and families and comparing them to the people of the Spanish-speaking world. Grammatically we have conjugated the verbs estar and tener while learning to use prepositions and possessive adjectives. I am so proud of the students for pushing themselves to comprehend paragraphs, answer questions in complete sentences, and make inferences and comparisons
Science: In science, students are learning about the differences between elements, compounds, and mixtures. Students participated in a station activity where they built models of compounds using molecule kits, playdough, and also had the option to build models virtually. Students will be participating in a lab soon, where they will complete small experiments and will have to determine if there was a physical or chemical change that occurred.
Civics: In civics we have discussed the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and how they led, in part, to Shays' Rebellion resulting in the recognition that the government needs to be strengthened. We are and will continue to be looking at the Constitutional Convention where Virginia and New Jersey offered up plans for a stronger national government. We will analyze the arguments that took place over the executive branch, how to determine representation and the absence of the Bill of Rights in the proposed constitution.
ELA students are currently practicing essay outlines and text-dependent questions in preparation for the upcoming MCAS. They are also continuing to read Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and collaborating with peers on analyzing the poems to discuss what shapes a persons identity.
Mathematics: In Math we have been looking at functions and how to graph them. Emphasis has been
placed on linear functions and real world word problems that allow students to apply their knowledge. In
the upcoming weeks, we will be taking steps to prepare for the upcoming MCAS testing that will be
taking place the first week of May.
Visual Arts
Technology Corner
Check It Out!
SPIRIT WEAR
Get your ASRMS Spirit wear at Route 2 Apparel!!!
https://route2apparel.com/ASRSD/shop/products/middle_school?page=1
ASRSD ATHLETICS
Please click on the link below to see the ASRSD Athletics schedule
BAND
ASPTO MEETING SCHEDULE
Middle School Library
October 11th
November 8th
December 13th
January 10th
February 15th
March 14th
April 11th
May 9th
June 13th
“Together We Can Do More”
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/aspto
Welcome Letter and Calendar: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16J8aKAlJRDaLDOUfABCSKicda5l55Ecn/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107589591020179956727&rtpof=true&sd=true
Ayer-Shirley Regional Middle School (ASRMS)
Email: boelerich@asrsd.org
Website: asrsd.org
Location: 1 Hospital Road, Shirley, MA, USA
Phone: (978)772-8600
Facebook: facebook.com/ASRMSPanthers