The BULLetin
February 16, 2017
Principal's Message
I was reading an article recently that talked about the fatigue many Americans are feeling. As I read it, I started to wonder if the angry back and forth of my Facebook feed is contributing to my exhaustion. I was chatting with a colleague today, I was mentioning that I was just beat. She reminded me that it's February.
I know in the back of my mind that every February is a challenging time in school. For nearly 20 years of working in schools, I think I have selectively forgotten how challenging February can be. Certainly, as a building principal February is the nexus of 2016/2017 school year and 2017/2018 school year. We are working to get everything in place to close out the school year while simultaneously trying to prepare for the start of the next year. But what complicates the work is what I can best describe as Eighth Grade-itis. This characterized by (over time) several... some... many... most... 8th grade students behaving as if they have forgotten what appropriate school behavior is. February is the month where we see the balance shift from several to some.
As a parent of an 8th grade student, I'm fortunate to be able to say my daughter is generally slow to follow the crowd BUT I was privy to a conversation happening in my car last night among a couple of 8th graders (including my daughter) and it was apparent that there is a tinge of Eighth Grade-itis setting in.
As a parent, there are some things that you can do to assist. First and foremost, don't get Eighth Grade-itis yourself. Parents have a natural fatigue associated with the end of junior high, be strong, keep your eyes focused on the end of May. Secondly, if you start to notice lackadaisical effort or an up-tick in snarkiness, especially as it relates to school, address it and help your student refocus on the task at hand. Lastly, if you find that you are receiving an increase in communication by phone or email from teachers or administrators and the words, poor decision, continual reminders, low effort or other similar types of words are part of said communication, know that your student has an acute case of Eight Grade-itis. Know that teachers and/or the school is alerting you to this issue and we are asking for your help in getting your student to May.
The good news: May will come. We hope with as few bumps as possible.
SD308 Literacy Night
Congratulations to the SD308 writing contest participants and winners who were announced at Family Literacy Night last Wednesday. Murphy made a strong showing with the most entries across all junior highs, and we are proud of all who entered! The full list of participants, grade levels and titles of their works are listed below.
Our Murphy winners are:
Ava Parks - 2nd place in 6th grade Mystery
Katherine Dunn - 1st & 3rd place in 7th grade Poetry
Cesar Escobedo - 3rd place in 7th grade Personal Writing
Elina Hussain - 2nd place in 7th grade Poetry
Alex Prince - 2nd place 8th grade Short Fiction
Kyle Stege - 1st place in 7th grade Mystery
Ashton Izzi - 3rd place in 7th grade Mystery
Not pictured: Enea Gjinolli - 3rd place in 8th grade Personal Writing
2017 PARCC Testing
Grade 6 - Week of March 6
Grade 8 - Week of March 13 will include Illinois Science Assessment
Grade 7 - Week of March 20
Please make every effort to avoid during school appointments the week your student is scheduled to complete the PARCC test.
Maverick MathCounts Competition Results
9 Students from Murphy Junior High competed in the 2017 MathCounts Chapter Competition on Saturday Feb. 11. These students were selected after a School competition held in November.
The Team members are: 8th graders - Nathaniel Tunggal, Lohit Muralidharan, Liam Fitzpatrick, Max Naumchuk, and Akhil Bonela, 7th graders - Rushil Sambangi and Vivik Parashar, and 6th graders -Rohan Cherukuri and Arjun Ramesh. All 9 members participated in the individual competition. Nathaniel Tunggal placed 13th out of 156! Liam, Max, and Rohan placed in the top 3rd!
Max also took 1st place in the Countdown Round!
The top 4 school competition participants; Nathanial, Rohan, Max, and Akhil; also competed in the team round. We are excited to announce they placed 5th out of 23 teams and scored high enough to qualify for the State MathCounts competition on March 4! Liam, who was our 2nd highest scoring member will also get to attend as an alternate at the state competition.
Great job Maverick Mathletes!
Junior High Math Competition @ OHS
When: Thursday March 9, 2017
Where: Oswego High School
Time: 6:00 – 8:00ish (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 Calculator (QWERTY keyboards and TI-89 not allowed)
More information and sign up here
Activity Buses Coming to Murphy
We're excited to announce that starting the week of February 27, we will be offering activity buses for students on Tuesday and Thursday. Students who need to stay or are participating in some after school club or activity can get bus transportation (assuming their home is already receiving bus service) NEAR their home. One bus will serve the Grande Park area that has bus service, Prescott Mills and Auburn Lakes. The other bus will serve the Homestead area. More information on specific stops can be found here.
Look for an update on process to get a bus pass next week.
Save the Date
That changed recently when Portillo's started doing fundraising nights. We asked ourselves, "Who doesn't love Portillo's?" In an informal poll in the office area, the answer was 0% of people dislike Portillo's.
SAVE THE DATE Murphy Junior High Portillo's Night will be March 2nd from 5 to 8pm at the Portillo's on Rte 34 in Oswego. Any money we raise will go toward helping supply the Maverick Minimall and to offset the cost of our celebration activities related to PBIS.
We hope you and your family will make every attempt to swing buy. This fundraiser includes: dine in, carry out and drive through purchases.
Student Services Spotlight
PBIS Celebration for Quarter 3
This Month, the MAVS Target will be:
V - Value and Respect Each Other and Our School in the Hallway and Cafeteria
· Lessons regarding appropriate hallway and lunch behaviors are being presented to students during homeroom this week
- From February 6 - March 6:
- Teachers and staff will be passing out PINK Bullseyes to students for exhibiting specific hallway and/or lunchroom behavior
- Behaviors that will be rewarded in the Hallways
- Walking
- Appropriate language
- Appropriate tone & volume
- Respectful actions (self & others)
- Keeping hands, feet & objects to self
- Cleaning up after self
- Respect building property
- Lockers
- Artwork & classwork displayed on the walls
- Bathrooms
- Behaviors that will be rewarded in the Cafeteria
- Sitting at assigned lunch table (not moving around)
- Cleaning up after self
- Respectful of others
- Not taking food
- Keeping hands, feet and objects to self
- Respectful talk (language & volume of voice)
- Following directives made by staff
- Arriving on time
- Walking - when arriving, going to lunch line, and leaving
- When students receive PINK Bullseyes, they will bring them to student services and place them in their lunch period’s bin
- On March 7th, 30 students will be randomly chosen from each bin, and these students will be notified that they are eligible to attend the PBIS Celebration (Ice Cream Sundae Bar)
- On March 10, these students will go to the multi-purpose room during their lunch period instead of the cafeteria for an ice cream sundae bar.
Article of the Week
How do you teach your child loyalty? Here is one idea:
http://characterfirsteducation.com/c/curriculum-detail/2272020
“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.
Bullseys Winners
Zain Ayaz, Ryan Emmert,Kate Norris, Ellery Patterson, Robert Coccaro, Lauren Brandt, Katie Gilmartin, Darcy Mraz, Jonathan Villalobos, Ben Nagle, Sam Carver, Walker Lebeck, Abby Winograd, Harry Hernandez, Mckenna Johnasen
Our Faculty Winner is...
Ms. Sanborn
Mr. Gerl's Science
Students in Mr. Gerl's Science classes recently tested the buoyancy of boats that they made out of various materials. Students tested them in a controlled lab environment and added pennies as weight.
You can Watch Drew Dziewiatkowski's group see how many pennies their boat can hold before sinking. Other student videos and pictures can be found here.
Girl's Basketball Round Up
7th Grade
Last Thursday night the 7th grade lady Mavericks played a tough Plank team. After leading by 2 points at the half, the Mavericks fell behind in the third quarter. The Mavericks battled back and had a chance to force overtime, but came up a point short in the 24 to 25 loss. Lauren Salerno led the scoring with 7 points, while Hannah Chval added 6.
In the second game, the Mavericks were able to come away with a 12 to 8 victory. Abby Winograd led the scoring with 6 points. Sarah Duffy was good for 4 points and Hannah Martynus added 2 points.
Monday night the 7th grade lady Mavericks picked up a 26 to 13 victory against Jefferson. Taylor English led the scoring with 10 points, while Mia Ohlund was good for 6 points and Megan Ferry hit for 4 points.
Tuesday night the 7th grade lady Mavericks played a great game to pick up a 30 to 11 victory over Washington. The Mavericks started out slow, but were able to move the ball to get some great shots. Defensively, Washington had trouble getting clean shots against the Maverick pressure. Leading the scoring for the Mavericks was Mia Ohlund with 10 points, while Abby Winograd and Megan Ferry each added 8 points.
In the second game, the Mavericks kept up the defensive pressure to shut out Washington in a 34 to 0 victory. Peyton Hines and Faith Matyszka led the scoring with 10 points, while Molly Ede was good for 8 points.
8th Grade
Tuesday night the 8th grade girls took on Plank where we jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter. Plank battled back and took the lead by 1 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter we came out and knocked down our first 4 shots and went up and held the lead all the way to the end of 4th quarter where plank made a come back but we came out on top by 3 points 22 to 19. Leading scores where Kailey with 8 Sydney with 6 and Kate with 4. Anna and Abby had clutch free-throws and the end of the game to seal the deal. In the second game Murphy took the lead and held that lead all the way to the end where we won by 12 points 26 to 14. Leading score was Tabitha with 16 Makeda had 6 and Ellery had 4. Great job ladies
Ms. Miller's World History
MyOwn.edu - February Update
Now is the perfect time take note of your evolving role in their education. Gone are the days of volunteering to read to their class. But your involvement in their education has never been more important! Continue reading...
8th Grade:
We all know about letter grades and even the importance of GPA. But what is the difference between a weighted and an un-weighted grade? Understanding that difference can make a big impact on high school and college success. Read more...
CharacterCounts! Coalition
Upcoming District and Area Events
DuPage Area STEM Expo
Join us at DuPage Area STEM Expo for family fun that includes interactive exploration into science, technology, engineering and math. Over 50 displays, presentations, shows, activities and projects to for school age children, grades K-6
Where?
Illinois Institute of Technology
Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Campus
201 East Loop Road,
Wheaton, IL
When?
Saturday, February 25, 2017
10:30am - 3:30pm
(Complimentary admission and parking)
Clubs, Intramurals and Activities
With the start of 2nd semester more clubs and activities are starting up. Check out the Daily Announcements for additional information.
Upcoming Events
February 16
- 7th Girls' Basketball @ Thompson (4:30pm)
- 8th Girls' Basketball v Thompson (4:30pm)
- 5th Grade Band/Choir Meet and Greet (7pm) @ Cafeterial
February 20
- NO SCHOOL - President's Day
February 21
- PTO Roller Skating Party @ Aurora Skate Center (6pm)
February 22
- Science Fair
February 23
- 7th Girls' Basketball Tournament @ Herget
- 8th Girls' Basketball Tournament
If you are looking for directions to AWAY events, this link will provide directions to many area schools.
Use the link below to see all the things going on at Murphy Junior High
Contact Us
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