The BULLetin
January 25, 2018
Principal's Message
This year's finalists were Maddie Benzaquen, Alex Jose, John Disher, Oliver Heffernan, Ashton Sejd, Zak Jan, Christopher Ordonez, Acintya Yoganath, Ariadna Gonzales and Ian Kiilsgaard. They competed through several rounds of questions until 2 finalists remained.
This year Oliver Heffernan and Acintya Yoganath squared off for Murphy Geo Bee Champion. Ultimately, Acintya prevailed and will be moving on to the next level of the competition.
All of the students did a great job answering difficult questions. I know there were a handful I would have gotten wrong. Great job, MAVS!
Acintya Yoganath (Grade 6)
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to the following students who will advance to final round of the Murphy Spelling Bee!
- Sara Sami
- Joshua Betito
- Olivia Schwab
- Zach Porter
- Christopher Ordonez
- Mike Polubinski
- Maddie Benzaquen
- Murad Khamis
- Ahmed Faisal
- Kameryn Rasberry
- Anna Collins
- Mar Carrasco
- Cole Isaak
The final round will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room on Thursday, February 1st during first period. The winner of this round will advance to the County Spelling Bee! Good luck to all of our participants!
AVID @ OEHS
Attention 8th grade students - Oswego East’s AVID program is now accepting applications for next year’s freshman AVID program. AVID is a proven program that prepares you for greater success in high school and college. AVID 9 focuses on organizational skills, note taking and study skills, and ways to improve your success. All AVID students must take an honors course and be enrolled in the yearlong AVID elective.
AVID students typically perform better in high school and set themselves up for success in college. Our current AVID graduating class has already been awarded over 1 million dollars in scholarships. If you are a driven student who is determined to push yourself further and succeed, AVID is the place for you.
Weekly JAM (Just Another Maverick)
Murphy Musical
Crew has been painting the set for The Little Mermaid, and it is looking really awesome! Make sure to check out the finished project March 15 & 16th at 7PM!
Murphy PTO
The Murphy PTO Board would like to thank you for your tremendous support! The Murphy community is simply the best!
The PTO will be running the concessions for the Girl’s Basketball season. Stop by and watch the girls' basketball team starting Tuesday. We will have a nice selection of items and EVERYTHING'S A DOLLAR!
If you haven’t already, please consider making your family’s annual donation to the PTO. Our focus this year has been on Student Events and Classroom Grants. Any contribution helps and is very much appreciated! So far this year we have awarded grants to the PE and ELL Departments. Donation Form
For more information on the Murphy PTO, upcoming PTO events or volunteer opportunities, please contact PTO President Missy Dziewiatkowski at missyd71@gmail.com. Please also follow us on Facebook for PTO events and updates (Murphy PTO-Home of the Mavericks).
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Skating Party at Aurora Skate Center Tuesday February 20th from 6-8 pm.
SD308 Junior High Writing Contest
Student Services Spotlight
Patrick Black, Owen Carlson, Ashton Sejd, Gwyn Woods, Grace Lally, Alex Laurendi, Justin Brischetto, Lana Bomstad, Kayla Ratsamy, Thomas Payne
Faculty Winner: Ms. Boyk
Shout Outs
This week’s shout out goes to Mrs. Waldron!!! Mrs. Waldron recently earned National Board Teacher Certification, a prestigious distinction for the nation's top educators. Congratulations, Mrs. Waldron!
Maverick Staff Shout Outs!
We think our entire MJHS staff is amazing and deserves to be acknowledged for the great work they do on a daily basis! Please use this form to recognize any member of our staff. Remember, staff includes teachers, secretaries, nurses, teaching assistants, and custodians!
6th/7th Grade Course Selection Information
Do you have questions about your student’s placement recommendation for School Year 2018-2019? If so, please contact your student’s teacher. Appeal forms can be found on the SD308 Gifted and Talented Education page. Recommendation appeals must be filed by June 29th, 2018. Please see the Placement Criteria below.
7th to 8th placement and 6th to 7th placement guidelines.
Ms. Whited and Mrs. Zawacki met with 6th and 7th grade classes after winter break to discuss elective selection for next year. Students received an Elective Information sheet and Course Selection Guide (see links below). Directions for entering elective selections in Home Access were reviewed. To view the Course Selection presentation that students were given, please click the link below.
7th Grade Course Selection Process
8th Grade Course Selection Process
Important Dates
- 1/9: Counselor course selection presentation to current 6th graders
- 1/11: Counselor course selection presentation to current 7th graders
- 1/12 - 1/23: Students/parents input elective choices on Home Access
While the window is open until 1/23, we ask that you have your electives input in Home Access PRIOR TO Counselor 1:1 meetings (dates below)
- 1/23: Counselors meet 1:1 with 6th grade students through ELA classes to review choices
**Bring your YELLOW Elective Sheet with 2-3 alternate choices selected
- 1/25: Counselors meet 1:1 with 7th grade students through ELA classes to review choices
**Bring your BLUE Elective Sheet with 2-3 alternate choices selected
“The Maverick Way” Outside of School
Murphy Junior High students are doing amazing things in the classroom as well as demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school. If any student is demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school we want to know about it! Please contact Karen Whited at kwhited@sd308.org or Brandi Zawacki at bzawacki@sd308.org.
*Don’t forget to include some pictures in your email.
ZAP-Zeros Aren't Permitted
ZAP is an intervention implemented to develop good homework habits. This program helps students self-correct without a penalty. Getting into the habit of doing homework and realizing that it counts is tough for many students. ZAP helps reinforce the importance of homework completion and provides an opportunity for intrinsic growth through self-correction.
What to do when your student is ZAPPED?
If a student does not complete a homework assignment he/she will receive a ZAP. Students have until 8:00am, the following morning, to turn the assignment into Student Services for full credit. If the student chooses not to complete or submit the assignment, then the student will be required to attend the ZAP classroom (D126) during his/her lunch to complete the homework, also for full credit. It is your student's responsibility to know what is missing and bring the necessary materials home. Students will be allowed 5 visits (every 9 weeks) to the ZAP classroom to complete their work. After 5 visits, students are no longer eligible for the ZAP intervention.
If you have questions, please contact your child’s teacher and/or counselor.
PBIS @ Murphy
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success.
One aspect of PBIS includes positive acknowledgement of student behavior. When students display the expected behaviors outlined in our MAVS Matrix, they may be acknowledged with verbal praise or tangible rewards (Bullseye Tickets) from their teachers. This makes the expected behaviors more likely to occur in the future and creates positive interactions, rapport, and relationships with students.
When students earn Bullseyes, they are able to collect them to enter weekly prize drawings and shop at the Maverick Mini Mall. This year, our Mini Mall will be on a cart, and students will have an opportunity to shop with their Bullseyes during homeroom each week.
There is a weekly behavior focus, and teachers will be on the lookout to catch students displaying these positive behaviors.
Focus for next week: 1/29-2/2 Walking in the hallways
Parent Article
“4 Jedi Mind(fulness) Tricks to Help an Anxious Child”
This article is meant to provide some practical steps to help your anxious child and to highlight the idea we can use different (and fun!) ways to teach our children the art of resilience.
College Planning from myOWN.edu - January Edition
That teenager of yours is still under construction! Their behaviors, moods, and personality seems to change daily - how can you possibly response in a firm, yet fair way as they continue to develop? Continue reading...
8th Grade:
You're certainly not a helicopter parent - but you may know someone who is. Help them avoid the pitfalls of hovering too closely! Continue reading...
Girls' Basketball Round Up
In a fast paced second game, the Mavericks were able to build a 7 to 2 halftime lead. Herget played a tough 3rd quarter and held the Mavericks scoreless. The Mavericks were able to find the basket in during the final quarter to come away with the 15 to 7 victory. Allie O. led the scoring with 9 points, while Isra, Dana and Natalie also scored.
Junior High Math Competition
When: Monday March 19, 2018
Where: Oswego High School
Time: 6:00 (plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early)
Who: open to all 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students
Cost: None
What to Bring: #2 pencils and CalculatorMurphy Yearbook
The yearbook club has been very busy putting together the Murphy 2018 yearbook! The final day to preorder a yearbook is Friday, February 23rd. Yearbook orders can be completed online at jostensyearbooks.com. Please contact Ms. Fell if you have any questions.
Spring Robotics Club
The Spring Robotics Club is an after-school club open to all students at Murphy Junior High. The club will meet on Mondays throughout the Spring semester from 3:10 until 4 pm. Students will be using Lego Mindstorms EV3 robots as well as Lego Mindstorms programming software to learn mechanical engineering, robot design, structural engineering, tool design and robot programming.
For those who are interested in joining the Fall 2018 FLL Competitive team membership and regular attendance to the Spring club will be a requirement, but the club is open to anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about robotics.
Responsibilities/ Opportunities
- Organize Lego pieces and keep them organized
- Attend club on a regular basis
- Learn basics of robot design
- Learn basics of robot programming
- Learn basics of Lego Mechanical Engineering
- Create Robotic attachments to complete tasks
- Create Robotic programming
The club will begin on Monday, January 29th and will run every Monday afternoon until Monday, May 7th, unless there is no school that day and will meet in D215. There will be a $10 club fee that will need to be paid at our first meeting. Hope to see you there!
Community Events
DuPage Area STEM Expo
Join us at the DuPage Area STEM Expo (formerly known as DuPage Area Engineers Week) for an interactive exploration into science, technology, engineering and math. Over 50 displays, presentations, projects to take home and activities for school age children, grades K – 12.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
10:30am – 3:30pm
IIT Rice Campus
201 E. Loop Road, Wheaton, IL 60189
Complimentary admission and parking
OHS Dance K-8 Winter Mini-Camp
2 Day Clinic
Wednesday, February 7th and Thursday, February 8
4:30-6:30PM @ OHS Cafeteria
Half-Time Performance
Friday, February 9 at the Oswego v Plainfield East Basketball Game
Upcoming Events
January 25
- 7th Girls' Basketball v Jewel (4:30pm)
- 8th Girls' Basketball @ Jewel (4:30pm)
- SD308 Substance Use and Abuse Forum @ OHS (7pm)
- School Improvement Day (11:30AM Dismissal) NO LUNCH SERVICE
- 8th Girls' Basketball Tournament @ Kaneland
January 27
- Practice SAT @ Murphy (8AM) Pre-registration Required
- 8th Girls' Basketball Tournament @ Kaneland
January 29
- SD308 Board of Education Public Forum @ Thompson Junior High (7pm)
January 30
- 7th Girls' Basketball v Traughber (4:30pm)
- 8th Girls' Basketball @ Traughber (4:30pm)
February 1
- Murphy Spelling Bee Finals (8:15am)
February 2
- 7th Girls' Basketball Tournament @ Kaneland
February 3
- 7th Girls' Basketball Tournament @ Kaneland
If you are looking for directions to AWAY events, this link will provide directions to many area schools.
Use the "Murphy Building Calendar" link below to see all the things going on at Murphy Junior High.
Contact Us
Murphy Junior High School is an inclusive and supportive community that promotes student success by ensuring ALL students are college and career ready.
Email: banderson@sd308.org
Website: www.sd308.org/murphy
Location: 26923 Grande Park Boulevard, Plainfield, IL, United States
Phone: (630) 608-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/murphy308/
Twitter: @murphy308