ROMS Family Newsletter
December, 2015
Principal's Update
ROMS Families~
Your kids have just shy of three weeks to go before the holiday break. The season is a perfect time for self-reflection and celebration. What a great opportunity for your kids to demonstrate for you where they are on their paths. At ROMS, all of us strive to be
Inquirers,
Knowledgeable,
Thinkers,
Communicators,
Principled,
Open-minded,
Caring,
Risk-takers,
Balanced,
Reflective.
The Learner Profile is not just a list. It’s a pledge of responsibility to help “all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.”
ROMS students may learn about their pledge at school, but it begins at home. So, provide opportunities for them to practice over the break. We’ll send them home to you on the 18th good; you send them back to us on the 4th great.
Whatever you celebrate this holiday season, celebrate these beautiful kids.
Important Dates
November 30-December 18: Career Cruising with 8th graders (1st & 2nd hours)
December 2: Late Start for Students
December 8: Google Expeditions Pioneer Program field trip
December 8: ROMS Choirs Concert (7pm)
December 9: Late Start for Students
December 11: Summer day
December 15: ROMS Orchestra Concert (7pm)
December 16: Late Start for Students
December 16: Vocal All City Festival at ROHS (7pm)
December 18: Choir trip to Newsies at the Detroit Opera House (6pm)
December 18: Ugly sweater and pajama bottoms day!
Reality Store Activity Volunteers Needed
New Clubs at ROMS
Random Acts of Kindness Club
Maker Club
Maker Club begins in December. We will be meeting every Wednesday from 3-4 beginning on December 9th. Maker Club is a place for students to be creative and innovative explorers and creators. Through Little Bits and MakeyMakey electronics, online coding, 3-Doodling, Lego construction, and other textile and artistic exploration, students in the club will have an opportunity to use the Maker Lab as a place to collaborate and create. Besides opportunities to use the Maker Lab, students will be able to showcase their creations throughout the Learning Commons and on NTM.
Canned Food Drive
The annual ROMS Canned Food Drive runs through Wednesday, December 9, 2015. All non-perishable food and toiletries will go to ROMS families who need a hand. We would like students to turn in items during LEAP time to the Student Council room. Student Council leaders will be available each day during LEAP to receive items. Last year, we were able to provide assistance to over 30 ROMS families.
Learning in Action
6th graders performing in the Stay Camp Garbage Band
Mrs. Bockhausen's 6th graders featured in international Geography Now video (1:32)
Royal Oak Jingle Bell Jazz
Character Education
Digital Citizenship - Parent App of the Month
Parents often bemoan the challenges of battling with tablets and smartphones for the attention of their children. Try as we might, teaching responsible device usage can be quite difficult. Creating time zones and house device charging stations can be very helpful to that end. However, there are times when parental monitoring is not possible. The developers of Our Pact have created a very effective way of creating a time schedule that limits access to applications that can distract of your student while homework or the dishes needs their full attention!
For a glimpse at how the app works, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYOWGKZjues
Growth Mindsets - continued
Integral to promoting “Non-Academic Skills” for our learners is to develop a school culture which exhibits the ideals of persistence, exploration, and growth. Our LEAP classes have continued a deeper exploration of the benefits of a Growth Mindset and how to overcome a Fixed Mindset.
Within the Growth Mindset framework are multiple strategies on how to respond to obstacles, explore possibilities, and strive against challenges by fostering and promoting the important “soft skills” needed to be successful in life. According to a press release by Careerbuilder, they enlisted the help of Harris Poll to survey over 2,100 human resource and hiring managers on what skills they will be looking for in candidates for jobs. 77% of those surveyed believed that soft skills were equally important to skills specific to a job description. Also, the survey included a list of the top ten soft skills essential for new hires. This list closely resembles a survey done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers as reported in Forbes Magazine in the article from 2014 titled “The 10 Skills Employers Most Want in 2015 Graduates”. The skills listed include:
Strong work ethic
dependable
positive attitude
self-motivated
team-oriented
organized
works well under pressure
effective communicator
flexible
confident
At home, families can help reinforce the growth mindsets for their learners. For certain, the technical, specific job skills needed in the future will change, but non-academic skills have been and will continue to be very important in the lives of our learners. Creating a supportive climate of growth mindedness at school and at home will help our students be successful academically and socially. Last month, we shared a video of a Ted Talk by Carolyn Dweck, the author of the Growth Mindset studies. Another great explanation of the power of the Growth Mindset can be found here: http://www.edudemic.com/growth-mindset-way-learn/
Citations
Adams, S. (2014, November 14). The 10 Skills Employers Most Want In 2015 Graduates.
Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/11/12/the-10-skills-employers-most-want-in-2015-graduates/
Thirty-six Percent of Employers Plan to Hire Full-Time, Permanent Employees in the New Year,
CareerBuilder's Annual Forecast Finds - CareerBuilder. (2014, April 14). Retrieved
November 30, 2015, from
Learning Commons
ROMS Royalbery Reading Challenge
ROMS Royalbery Reading Challenge is your student’s chance to get involved in a great reading program where reading, communicating, and creating combine for a one-of-a-kind experience. Students will be challenged to read at least 3 out of the 13 books on the challenge list and to join the club for book chats and to compete in fun book-related contests. The challenge runs from December through May, and the Royalbery Award Celebration will be held in June for all who have participated. Reading Club will meet every Monday from 3-3:30 beginning on January 4. Reading Club meetings are optional but the experience is highly suggested. A schedule for book chats and activities will be available in December, and additional information will be available on the ROMSLearningCommons.weebly.com website.
Here is the list for our 2015-2016 ROMS Royalbery Reading Challenge:
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose
Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaby Hunt
Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlyn Alifrenka and Martin Ganda, with Liz Welch
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Threatened by Eliot Schrefer
The Thankful Tree
The Thankful Tree took root in the Learning Commons this November and grew with the support and thankful statements of our ROMS students. From those who added to the leaves, four winners were drawn:
-Tyler Boerkeol won the new book by Rick Riordan, Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer.
-Sydney Wiltse won a gold and blue celestial journal.
-Kaitlyn Menzo won the book The 5th Wave.
-Kylie Walton won a $20 gift card from Amazon.
December will host the Wishing Tree, where students can help grow our tree by adding a wish written on a star.
Athletic Updates
Informational Meetings
December 11th @ 2:50pm: 7th and 8th grade Girls Volleyball informational meeting in the cafeteria; this is a student meeting and will last approximately 15 minutes.
December 11th @ 2:50pm: 6th, 7th and 8th grade Boys Wrestling informational meeting in the cafeteria; this is a student meeting and will last approximately 15 minutes.
Registration for Winter 2 ROMS Sports: 7th and 8th Girls Volleyball and 6th, 7th and 8th grade Boys Wrestling will be on January 7th and 8th in the ROMS cafe' from 3-4pm. **Students can register on their own as long as they come with all needed paperwork (physical screening signed and dated after April 15, 2015, and pay to participate fee).**
Parent Workshops
MYP Corner
Greetings ROMS families:
Here’s hoping you and yours enjoyed a restful and festive Thanksgiving break! We have a flurry of upcoming holiday activities for our IB learners to practice service and action, including the ROMS Canned Food Drive until December 9th, choir and orchestra concerts, a number of in class activities celebrating the season, and many more throughout the community.
Last month, I shared information about our progress in IB MYP assessment--both trainings and work writing and revising our assessments. As our work continues, parents and students will see more rubrics that reflect this work, the goal of which is to deepen student understanding and engagement. One of the ways that student understanding is enhanced is through context--being able to place events or ideas within a certain circumstance or situation. In the IB, we use six common Global Contexts in all subject areas to help students place their coursework into context.
The Global Contexts are:
Identities and Relationships-Who am I? Who are we?
Personal and cultural Expression-What is the nature and purpose of creative expression?
Globalization and Sustainability-How is everything connected?
Fairness and Development-What are the consequences of our common humanity?
Scientific and Technical Innovation-How do we understand the world in which we live?
Orientation in Time and Space-What is the meaning of “where” and “when”?
Global Contexts help students answer the question, “Why are we studying this?” And when students understand “why”, studies show that they are much more likely to try the “what” and the “how”.
As your student enjoys the season, remind them to stay focused on the “what”, “how” and “why” of their school work for a few more weeks until Winter Break!
A merry and bright holiday to all~
Mia Gutierrez (gutierrezm@royaloakschools.org)
IB MYP Coordinator
Royal Oak Schools
Contact us
Mrs.Bockhausen@mrsbockhausenro
Mr.Conklin@romsartmrc
Mr.Corridor@michaelcorridor
Mrs.Davis@MrsDavisROMS
Mrs.Derminer@MrsDerminerROMS
Mr.Duncan@K10Duncan
Mrs.Durham@durhamroms
Mrs.Ernatt@ROMS6_7science
Mr.Foreman@mrforemanroms
Mrs.Gutierrez@KaramiaG
Mrs.Hill@jmgardyhill
Mr. Icsman@IcsmanROMS
Mr. Jones@WilliamJones222
Mr. Noonan@TBN_Education
Mr.Noroyan@anoroyan
Mr.Quinlan@qball2304
Mrs.Quinn@mrsquinnscience
Mrs. Schultz@Mrs.SchultzROMS
Mr.Sopata@bmsopata
Mrs.Taylor@MrsTaylorROMS
Mr. White@Mr_White_ROMS
Mr.Wright@wrightsci1122
Mrs. Mehringer@mimishug13
Learning Commons@ROMS_Learning
Website: http://www.royaloakschools.org/middle-school/
Location: 709 N Washington Ave, Royal Oak, MI, United States
Phone: 248-541-7100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalOakMiddleSchool