On Wednesday morning, all three grades participated in a celebration of Black History Month. Six local speakers, many with very personal ties to North Middle School, presented information about their lives, speaking to our students about challenges they faced during their middle school years and how overcoming those obstacles shaped their lives. Their stories are truly OUR stories!

Following all three assemblies, several students were able to meet with our speakers at a special reception in the library. Our Family & Consumer Science classes provided refreshments.

Thank you to Ms. Landerkin, Ms. Johnson, & Ms. Smith who led the planning of this event and thank you to Ms. Mills, Ms. Long and the FACS students for all their hard work to set up the reception. For more information, click the link below for the Martinsburg Journal's articlea about the event.

Come out and support your NMS Blue Devil Cheerleaders today at Martinsburg's Annual Cheer Palooza competition!

Doors open at 9:00 a.m. The middle school division begins at 10:00 am. Your Blue Devil Cheerleaders are scheduled to hit the mat at 10:00 am.

Admission (Cash Only)

$7.00 for adults

$5.00 for children

Children under 2 free

We hope to see you there!

Students already took the essay portion of the test last week. The multiple choice portion is tentatively scheduled for March 2nd if our internet is back up and running. If not, the test will be moved to paper/ pencil and will be given on March 28th. Eighth graders, please see your social studies teacher for more information.

GOOD NEWS! There is a little progress in our on-going technology saga. Teachers DO have Schoology access now for grading purposes only so they can inform students of missing assignments as we are entering the end of the 3rd nine weeks. The end of this marking period is March 10th and we are still on track to have printed report cards on March 17th.

Also, student email addresses have been disabled temporarily as we work on restoring the network & computer systems. Students will not have access to school email or Microsoft Office online.

Our Technology Integration Specialist, Ms. Deavers, has conducted regular Chromebook checks this month so students do not lose their devices. Ms. Deavers suggests that students lock their devices & chargers in their lockers at school or keep them in a safe place at home until they can be used again on the school network. We also have several locked charging stations at school for Chromebook storage.

TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. While there are many positive aspects to the app, there are also risks associated with its use, including exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and predators who may attempt to contact children. By setting up parental controls, parents can restrict their children's access to certain types of content and ensure that they are not interacting with strangers online. Additionally, parental controls can help parents monitor their children's use of the app and provide them with guidance and support to ensure that they are using it safely and responsibly. Overall, setting up parental controls on apps like TikTok is an important step that parents can take to protect their children's online safety and wellbeing.

For more information about how to set up parental controls on Tik Tok, please click the link below. We have also included a downloadable copy of a Family Technology Contract below if you would like to print one for your family's use as well as a link to several parental control phone apps for your information.

AMAZING things are happening all over our building! Here are just a few examples:

*Ms. Updike's class hosted a craft class with Ms. French's students.

*Ms. Mills, our librarian, gave some of our eighth grade reading students a lesson in literature genres. Students got to take a self-assessment to find out which genres of literature apply to their personality & then explore books from those genres.

*Ms. Moreland and Ms. Shade's classes participated in a Feudalism simulation during their Middle Ages unit. Students took turns being Lords, Knights & Serfs on feudal manors to understand the cultural hierarchy this time period in history.

*Ms. French's class got a visit from one of Martinsburg's finest! We love having the Martinsburg Police Department as community partners!

*Ms. Kyker's students finished their Black History Month projects and took part in a voter test simulation. Students had to take an actual copy of a literacy test that was given to African Americans after the Civil War to determine whether they could vote or not. Students got to discuss the unfair nature of these literacy tests and the corrupt reasons behind them.