J.M.S. News...
By Donald F. Gately, Ed. D - March 2016
Jericho Middle School Story
“Everyone Has a Story” was the theme of this year’s Diversity Day directed by Elisa Waters. Jericho Middle School students created a colorful showcase of song, dance, skits, artwork, videos, and speeches surrounding that theme. This year’s cast and crew did a beautiful job sharing their stories while celebrating the diversity that exists in our school community and the world. Just some of the acts included a tradition Korean drum dance, a speech about adoption, a skit about the Syrian crisis and Islamophobia, a Bollywood dance, a speech about the reality of what it means to live in Hawaii, videos about what diversity means to our students, a collective poem by the Gay-Straight Alliance Club, and various acts by students in the SEEDlings elective.
It’s become a tradition to connect our show to service and as a school community we collected over 7,000 books for The Book Fairies, an organization that collects books for people in need throughout metropolitan New York and we collected $550 for The Ali Forney Center in NYC, whose mission it is to protect LGBTQ youth from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.
Congratulations to all of the students who chose to share their stories!
Here is a link to more photos from the show.
http://web.jerichoschools.org/ms/library/diversityday2016.html
Quote for the week of February 29:
Quotes for the Month of March:
Week of March 14-18: "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." - Booker T. Washington
Week of March 21-25: "If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it." - William Arthur Ward
Week of March 28-April 1: "Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal." - E. Joseph Cossman
Monthly SEL Theme for the Month of March: Friendship (Reaching Out to Others, and Sharing)
We must help you to realize that true friendship can form bridges that last a lifetime. Strong friendships will embrace you with the necessary strength and love to meet the challenges that confront you throughout your lifetime. Remember, Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave and impossible to forget.
Remember, "An open mind is the beginning of self-discovery and growth." - (Erwin G. Hall) and that throughout life's journey your attitude will allow you to form friendships that are a necessary ingredient to successful and meaningful human relationships.
Classroom News!
TEAM 6A:
Our young people are the leaders of tomorrow but they have so much to offer today. And with that in mind, Team 6A challenged our students to manage their own learning during Personal Best Day by writing “narrative procedures” and then teaching their fellow classmates what they wrote about. This allows students to use their own voice and experience which contributes greatly to their learning process. By giving students the opportunity to present a lesson to others, students see that they can have a positive impact on the world starting in their own backyards. They are given tools to manage their own learning and become confident, caring and informed people ready to take on new challenges. They had a ball and we learned how to play guitar and violin, create paper flowers, bake cakes, knit, and manipulate chemical reactions plus a whole lot more. TEAM 6A HAD A BLAST!!
TEAM 6B:
With the collaboration of students and families of Team 6B we were able to raise over 1,465 books for the Diversity Day Book Drive! We are happy to know that all of these books will find a new home through the Book Fairies who will then bring these books to schools and libraries in need.
TEAM 6C:
Students on Team 6C made The Periodic Table of Cupcakes for the JMS Cupcake Wars.
The students mixed 3 different colored icings; one for metals, one for non-metals and one for metalloids. Each cupcake included the symbol and atomic number of the first 18 elements of the Periodic Table.TEAM 6D:
TEAM 6E:
This week students on team 6E are studying Ancient Rome. Here, students act out the mythological story of Romulus and Remus. Remus, played by Ty Josephy, makes fun of Romulus' wall, played by Harrison Berger, and laughs at him.
TEAM 7A:
On Friday, February 12, team 7A celebrated Jericho Middle School's annual Personal Best Day by giving students an opportunity to share their interests, passions, and knowledge.
Many students took advantage and became "instructors" with lessons ranging from chess to dance, origami to gymnastics, music to sports.
TEAM 7B:
What’s your vital capacity? Students on Team 7B completed a “breathtaking” experiment to determine their lung volumes. Students exhaled normally into balloons to obtain their tidal volumes and then exhaled as deeply as they could into the balloons to determine their vital capacities. They measured the diameter of the balloons and used graphing skills to help determine their lung volumes in cubic centimeters. Pictured is 5th period showing off their tremendous vital capacities!
TEAM 7C & TEAM 8C:
On Jericho Middle School's annual personal best day team 7/8C celebrated the hard work and dedication of all the students with bagels and personal best awards for completion of our first Jericho History Day projects. Students later had an opportunity to share special talents or interests with their teammates! We really enjoyed this display of student led activities!! We really have quite a talented team!!!
TEAM 8A:
TEAM 8B:
Students on team 8B are using Desmos as a way to pull together mathematical concepts . Desmos eliminates some of the abstractness that comes with mathematical investigations and allows the students to play with the numbers. With Desmos, the students can see something happen to the corresponding graphs as adjustments are made to the parameters. The Desmos application engages students and encourages them to share their ideas and discuss relationships.
Dates to Remember...
March 15- 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Guidance Evening Hours - 7:00PM–9:00PM
Recognizing that other commitments often make it impossible for parents to find time to meet with counselors during the regular school day, we will continue a program of evening meetings this year. If you would like to meet with your child's counselor but are unable to do so during the school day, please call the counselor in order to schedule an evening appointment.
March 17- MS Play - Little Theater - 2:15PM-3:30PM
March 17- Board of Education Meeting - MS Library - 7:15PM
March 18- MS Play - Little Theater - 7:00PM
March 24-25- SCHOOLS CLOSED - HOLY THURSDAY/GOOD FRIDAY
March 29- MS Spring Sports Season Begins
March 30- SEPTA Meeting - MS Library - 7:00PM
Jericho Middle School
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: jerichoschools.org
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: (516) 203-3600
Twitter: @JerichoMS