MMS Newsletter
“Enter to Learn, Strive to Achieve!”
The MISSION of Middletown Middle School is to engage students as 21st century learners who strive to achieve their goals. We support students through rigor and active participation within a culture of cooperation, organization, determination and excellence to prepare our students for college and careers.
“The Vision of Middletown Middle School is to challenge students of all abilities to achieve excellence in a wide range of academic and cultural pursuits. Students are equipped to meet the demands and opportunities of the 21st century by receiving a differentiated, effective, and rigorous curriculum. Staff believe and demonstrate that all students can master the essential 21st century skills. The culture of Middletown Middle will include high expectations for all, frequent monitoring of student progress, multiple opportunities for student learning, high levels of engagement, exceptional communication, and daily purposeful integration of technology. We will make it a priority to recognize the academic and extracurricular achievements of our school community. Middletown Middle School will have highly-motivated professional staff and authentic partnerships between the school and home.”
Value Statements
Teachers actively engage students by interacting, moving around the classroom, and allowing them to own their learning.
Staff will have knowledge of the whole student so that lessons provide challenge and rigor for all abilities.
Teachers facilitate lessons where students are engaged, not merely compliant.
Teachers facilitate lessons that allow for students to lead and take risks.
Staff will make authentic learning opportunities a priority in the classroom.
Staff collaborates to promote 21st century student learning.
A Message from Mr. Fer
The beginning of this school year was not the expected start anyone could have anticipated one year ago. Regardless, there are numerous things for us to celebrate and for which we should be proud. Having said that, I believe all of us can attest to the fact that we have been expected to step out of our comfort zones this fall taking our role in the education process to the next level. Gina Milicia, an Australian photographer, said, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place - but nothing ever grows there.” When I reflect on this quote, I cannot help but think about and celebrate the exponential growth our students, staff and families have experienced since the first day of school. Yes, it is true that we did not have much of a choice other than to accept, adapt and accelerate our learning process, but we all need to be exceptionally proud of the journey thus far. Even though we have been taken out of our comfort zone and thrust into this virtual learning environment, growth has taken place because much has been asked of us and much has been produced! Our teachers have stretched themselves in regard to their instructional repertoire expecting more of themselves every day as they witness the unrivaled capabilities of their students. Our students are striving for levels of success above and beyond anything they had done within the context of their prior, brick and mortar learning environment. As families, you have been supporting your children from day one, which is the one and only reason why we can reflect on the successes to this point. All of us at MiMS are eternally grateful for you.
Continuing to reflect on the topic of comfort zones, I offer a quote from the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu who said, “A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.” I truly believe that each experience our students have encountered since beginning this school year has and will continue to motivate them to work through challenges especially when they appear to be as daunting as the shift has been to virtual learning. Subsequently, based on their experiences, I believe students will be better equipped to overcome obstacles and even actively seek out challenges over the course of their lives.
Since the beginning of our school year, the MiMS staff has been engaging in some exciting new initiatives to ensure that our students experience a learning environment as parallel to face-to-face as possible. With the institution of live instruction, our teachers and assistants are presenting lessons, working with small groups and providing support in a manner that most appropriately fits the needs of students. While this may not be the “normal” we are used to, I have seen students and staff enjoying their shared educational journey thus far where being able to interact with one another live is consistently present. Our teachers deserve a huge note of thanks for all of the hard work preparing for virtual learning as well as ensuring that the best possible instruction is provided to students every day. In addition, our PBIS Committee comprised of several MiMS staff members has been working diligently on revising and connecting supports for students, which is founded on our Knight’s CODE (Cooperation, Organization, Determination and Excellence). Through their efforts, which has included student feedback, a new, virtual school store has been established in conjunction with a Schoology badge system (similar to paper shields) where students are able to “shop” at our school store based on the badges they earn. As I understand it, there may be a video that is extremely well produced and directed circulating where some dynamite actors help provide an overview of the new school store...stay tuned! Finally, I would be remiss if I did not specifically acknowledge the brilliant work of our support staff that consistently work sometimes exclusively behind the scenes to make sure our new learning environment runs as smoothly as possible. So, a big thank you to our custodians who always maintain our building making it shine each and every day! Our secretaries and registrar keep all other staff organized and informed related to everything from grades to attendance. The Special Education Instructional Assistants (SEIAs) are doing a fantastic job supporting students in large group sessions as well as meeting with students after Google Meet sessions to provide supplemental assistance. Our User Support Specialist, Mrs. Albright, has been working extremely hard helping with technology issues guiding students and families through the inevitable hiccups that occur. As always, I am very grateful to be a part of this staff and could not be more proud of them as I am now!
So, to all students, staff and families, keep up the great work and continue to reach out if there is anything we can do to help! Finally, I wanted to remind everyone that our first “Principal’s Chat” will be held on Monday, October 12, 2020 at 6:30 pm. Please join us to talk as we discuss topics related to the opening of the school year and how virtual learning has gone so far. I am looking forward to listening to your thoughts, suggestions, and overall feedback on how the opening of school went and ways that we can improve. For now, Principal Chats will be held virtually, so please use the Google Meet link provided in the Find Out First containing the topic sent prior to each chat.
Grateful to serve,
Paul Fer
Principal
Administrative and Office Announcements
Principal Chats for the Year will be as follows:
October 12
December 14
February 22
April 19
Attendance
Thank you
Calendar
Builders Club
Thank you from Aaron A
Team Miracle Workers
From the Augustine Family
Cafeteria Information
Click on the link below for up to date food services information:
Counseling Dept
Counseling Office Secretary/Registrar: Margie Mclister (240-236-4206)
6th grade School Counselor: Ashley Frushour (240-236-4205)
7th grade School Counselor: Liz Bohan (240-236-4256)
8th grade School Counselor: Rachel Butts (240-236-4220)
Frederick Community Action Agency
Health Center
- The health center is operating 9AM-5PM
- The health center is offering telehealth to existing patients which can be scheduled by email to telehealthfcaa@cityoffrederickmd.gov or calling 301-600-1393 or 301-600-1506.
- If you are not a current patient of the Frederick Community Action Agency Community Action Health Center and are in need of healthcare services at this time, please complete an online intake form at bit.ly/FCAAHealthIntake to see if you qualify for healthcare services at our health center. A staff member will contact you within 24-72 hours after submission of your application
Food Supports
- The soup kitchen will be carryout only until further notice and is open 5:30PM-6:30PM daily
- The Foodbank is operating Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri 2PM-4PM
- In collaboration with the Salvation Army, the Frederick Community Action Agency has mobilized its Food Bank to serve local seniors and families. Beginning 3/20, food bags, which hold three to five days worth of food, will be delivered to Taney Village and Catoctin Manor to serve over 150 seniors. Deliveries will occur once per week at this time and future locations are being considered. Beginning 3/25, additional food drops have been coordinated with the Asian American Center of Frederick and the Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland in Frederick.
- Current Food Distribution Drops:
- Tuesday
- Amber Meadows park – 12:00-12:45 pm (201 Amber Drive
- American Legion parking lot - 1:00 pm (1450 Taney Avenue)
- Wednesday
- Hickory Hills (next to the pool) – 12:00-1:00 pm (1445 Key Parkway)
- Thursday
- Elmwood Terrace Apartments–parking lot closest to Waverly Drive - 12:00 pm (1420 Key Parkway)
- Friday
- Hill Street Skate Park – 12:00–1:00 pm (100 Hill Street)
- Grove Park - 1:30pm (Corner of Franklin and South Streets)
- Tuesday
- Able to help? View the food needs as of 8/3/2020.
Other Services
- Additional agency services (transportation, housing and weatherization, and energy assistance) have been reduced to allow staff to work on emergency and urgent needs. For more information, visit the FCAA Website.
- Additionally, we are monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable in our community. We are in active conversations with fellow human service providers to ensure all populations are cared for during this public health crisis.
Salvation Army Angel Tree Program
Below are the attachments for two information flyers, one in English and the other in Spanish, with information regarding our Christmas program this year.
The options this year are for people to go online and sign up, they can upload their documents and submit the application. If they are unable to do so due to lack of computer access, they can call and schedule an appointment with us, which means they don’t have to wait in line this year! They can start calling in as early as tomorrow to book appointments and for those going online, the site will be live come this Saturday on 09.19.
Thank you,
Carla Raynor
Corps Officer
Important Information from the Middletown Middle School PTA
Dear Middletown Middle Families,
The Middletown PTSA would like to welcome you to the new school year! This year definitely doesn't look the same as any other, but we will all make the best of it. The first thing I would like to address is our organization as a whole. At this point we are still officially a PTSA, despite the end of year vote to shift to a PTSO. We voted for the switch in order to keep our membership dollars at the school (as a PTA we pay half of the membership fees to the state and county). We have undertaken the necessary steps to create the PTSO and are awaiting our 501c3 status to be approved. Until that time we will continue on under our old association. I know that we can't promise the fun events, dances and social gatherings that we have done in the past, but we would still ask you to consider joining so that you can contribute your individual thoughts and ideas on how we move forward this year. We are happy to say we have a full board this year, but we are still looking for a fundraising chair (this position coordinates out Knights out of the Kitchen and other online fundraisers) and we would love a volunteer to sign on as a webmaster to keep our PTSA website up-to-date. Please feel free to email the PTSA at ptsamiddletownmiddle@gmail.com with any questions!
You can sign up for the PTSA here
Check out the PTSA website here
Shop for all new Knights gear here
Respectfully,
Chara Embrey PTSA President
Yanira Gordon PTSA Vice-president
Jaime Fall PTSA Secretary
Weston Hemenway PTSA Treasurer
FCPS Information
For the most up to date information from FCPS please go to www.fcps.org
Find all Schoology Information HERE
FCPS School Calendar at a glance
Health Room News
Art
Visual Arts
We are off to a great start. Students have been focusing on learning how to navigate the art course, practicing uploading photos, and developing art goals for this year. 8th graders are beginning a value and observation unit and 7th graders will be working on a peace poster for their first studio artwork.
Band/Orchestra
Sept/October(2020):
Career & Technology Education
Mr. Seiler Pre Engineering - grade 8
Students will be learning about structural technology, vocabulary, structural supports and student designed and built structures.
CSI - grade 7
Students will be starting to study Computer Science working in an interactive lab through CODE.org
Tech Expo - grade 6
Students will be starting with structures and moving on to problem solving techniques.
Mr. Dulberger 7th grade Invention & Innovation (CTE) - Students are in the middle of our Introduction to Technology unit. During this unit we explore the different areas of technology, careers associated with each area, and the impact technology has on our society, economy, environment, and more. The students will continue to participate in engaging lessons during synchronous learning, while demonstrating their understanding on asynchronous learning assignments and projects. Optional engineering design challenges are always available to students who wish to extend their learning beyond the required work load. These hands-on assignments are designed to teach students the engineering design process as well as critical thinking/ problem solving skills. All engineering design challenges utilize common household materials and minimal tools.
6th grade Visual Arts - The 6th grade Visual Arts students are in the middle of our Elements of Art unit. The students have just finished learning about line, shape, and color, and will learn the remaining four elements (texture, form, space, and value) next. We studied pieces from the famous Russian painter, Wassily Kandinsky to inspire our first studio project. Students are also encouraged to participate in the Lion’s Club Peace Poster Contest.
Mrs. Ledford Food Science students have been working hard on an "All About Me and Food" project. We have had a great time getting to know each other and sharing the students posters on the Schoology Media Album. Our next adventure is into the Food System where we explore where our food comes from and agriculture.
Mrs. Stuart: Life Skills classes are currently working on our Finances Unit. They will be learning about savings and checking accounts, credit cards, credit scores, insurance, housing, buying cars, making responsible financial decisions and more! They will be completing on online simulation where they have to pay their bills, shop for items like groceries, and balance their checkbook. They also will be working on the beginnings of our Cooking Unit by learning about kitchen safety and sanitation, measuring, reading a recipe, and even possibly trying out some recipes at home.
Mrs. Duvall Students have started off the year with the Mindset Unit,where students have learned about growth and fixed mindset and the impact mindset has on learning. We have also learned about neuroscience, which is the study of the brain! We are currently putting out Mindset to the test with a challenging STEM project, where students are working in collaborative groups (yes--virtually!) to build Rube Goldberg machines of their own! While building our Rube Goldberg contraptions, students are practicing having a growth mindset while challenging themselves to grow in 4 of the 6 skill sets of the Career and Technology Rubric: Creativity, Problem Solving, Communication, and Technology. At the same time (and on more of a social level) students are working toward developing new friendships with their group mates, too, since students have shared about how building new friendships is hard in a virtual setting. Based on an interest survey after those conversations, students were carefully grouped with peers who have similar interests and hobbies as them, and were tasked with the additional goal of finding out what they have in common with their teammates as they work and to include their commonalities in a creative way through their project! New friendships are already budding as they work hard to tackle a growth mindset together!
Language Arts
6th Grade: Students are diving into the world of fiction, looking at characters and how they drive a plot. Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Cregar are very proud of these students and are very excited to see how they grow this year.
7th grade Language Arts is working on analyzing the author's development of theme. We will be moving into narrative writing as the term progresses. In addition to this, students have been learning a word of the day which they have been incorporating into discussions and writing. Students have been working hard through full virtual learning and we would like to express our gratitude to both students and the support they have had from home.
8th Grade: Students complete two playlists. Each Wednesday, students complete a grammar activity related to our language usage goals. Last week, students wrapped up developing consise narratives, in under 100 words. We are also analyzing different pieces of literature, in preparation for our first Literary Analysis Benchmark. Also, students will also begin reading "The Giver" or "The Outsiders" for literature circle activities.
Math Department
Math Matters...It helps build problem-solving skills.
6th grade math will continue to wrap up the rational numbers unit focusing on decimal and fraction operations. We will then be moving to our whole number fluency unit that consists of whole number concepts.
7th grade is focusing on developing an understanding of operations with rational numbers. Students will view negative numbers in terms of everyday contexts and explain and interpret the rules for adding and subtracting with negative numbers.
7th grade accelerated has been building their knowledge of rational numbers. Students are developing a unified understanding of numbers, recognizing fractions, decimals, and percents as different representations of rational numbers.
8th grade has been working on exponential expressions and performing operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation. Algebra 1 students are wrapping up their unit on solving multi-step equations and inequalities.
Media Specialist
Media Center
Book Exchange
The media center is open for business!! Students can check a book out remotely and it can be picked up at the school. Pickup days are every other Wednesday from 12-3PM. If this time simply doesn’t work for you please let me know and we can try and arrange something that works for all parties.
The next pick-up day will be Wednesday, September 30th. In October pick-up days are the 14th and 28th.
For instructions on how to check out books remotely please watch this video or find it in your ELA teacher’s media center folder in Schoology.
Library Digital Resources
Looking for reliable, age appropriate sources of material for your student’s distance learning needs? No need to “google” ever again. Look no further than the library media page!!
https://education.fcps.org/mms/mediacenter
FCPS has purchased a number of databases that are trustworthy and aligned to state and national standards. When accessing from home you will need remote access codes. These are available by clicking on the link located at the top of the table of databases. It says “Click HERE for login and password information to access these databases from home.” Use these award winning resources today!
E-books sources
FCPL - Frederick County Public Library’s site. Access to a lot of digital content and ebooks. Students can use the following code to access all materials:
119829 + their 8 digit student ID#
Sora - FCPS’s new ebook platform is still a work in progress but there are some books that can be checked out from the site.
25 Book Challenge
Mrs. Poscover and the literacy specialist Mrs Casey are challenging students to read 25 books this year! We have set up Schoology courses for each grade level. All rules and regulations are on the challenge sheet students will get when they join the challenge. We would love it if your child accepted! Course codes are as follows:
6th grade: 3N9G-MZGF-PBB5X
7th grade: DP2V-TZ5W-9KKQM
8th grade: 4SC2-KS2C-P4ZJW
Click this link to view the top rated books from last year’s Challengers!!
2019 Student Book Recommendations
Media Page Twitter
Check out Mrs. Poscover’s Twitter feed, located on the media center homepage. Starting soon will be periodic book recommendations. Looking for your next great read?? This is a good place to start.
Physical Education
Welcome back to another fabulous year! This may not be exactly what we all wanted, but The PE department is excited with the energy you are bringing to class. We love your ability to adapt and use what you have. Keep you eyes open for other suggestions on materials you can use for class. If you are having any issues please don't hesitate to contact us. We are doing out best to keep you moving and energized for today and tomorrow!!
Science
7th Grade WELCOME Back all 7th Graders and happy Online Learning! May you have many SCIENCE discoveries all year long! Ms. Martz & Ms. Staley wish you a remarkable and exciting year in Science class. Our awesome students started this school year studying the rock cycle and how Earth's materials change due to Earth's processes. Students are discussing scientific characteristics of how magma, sediment, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and igneous rocks change! Students will create illustrations and participate in discussions of Earth's processes including heat & pressure, weathering & erosion, crystallization, and compaction & cementatoin. Students are explaining the importance of materials on our Earth and how geologic processes have changed the surface of the Earth. If you have any questions about SCIENCE, don't hesitate to contact your Science teacher. Have an excellent and amazing month! "Science Rocks"! (Science joke = we are studying rocks!) Happy Science Learning all year!!
8th grade: Students are starting our year by studying biotic diversity. Topics include adaptations, natural selection, comparative anatomy, embryology and growth and development. While we are in virtual learning there will be no benchmarks given. Thank you students for your efforts in logging in to our Google Meets and engaging in class discussions!!
Social Studies
7th Grade: Students are off to a great start. Following a review of geography components and the use of primary and secondary sources to study history, students reviewed the decline of Rome and are now focusing on the Byzantine Empire. We will begin our next unit, “The Middle East and North Africa in the Middle Ages,” early in October. While we can't wait to meet students in person, its has been nice getting classes back up and running and getting to know your students.
8th Grade: Students began the year with a review of colonial regions. Students examined differences between the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies. Next, they looked at an economic system between the British and their colonies called, “mercantilism.” After learning about the French and Indian War, students will evaluate British policies that eventually led to the Declaration of Independence and fighting of the American Revolution. It has been wonderful “seeing” and getting to know our students. We are very impressed with your hard work and participation in class. Keep up the good work!
Theatre Arts
Frozen, Jr.
The All-School Musical Production is Frozen , Jr.
Due to Covid19 we were unable to perform our show as scheduled in the Spring. As we receive guidance from the state, county, and administrators about returning to the classroom and extracurricular activities, we hope to find a way to resume our work and hold a performance of some sort. We will continue to share information as it becomes possible to determine when, whether, and how we can safely do so. Cross your fingers and stay tuned!
Theatre Arts: Students have been working on creating mini films based on “What is Theatre” and Theatre Etiquette. They have been working with the essential question “What happens when Theatre artists use their imaginations and learned Theatre skills while engaging in creative exploration and critical inquiry?” The upcoming weeks will provide students the opportunity to explore various elements of theatre including types of stages, monologues, costume activities as well as musical theatre. It is going to be another great year in Theatre Arts!
World Languages
World Language Exploratory students have started off the year learning about language origins and families of languages. We have just begun learning some sign language and will soon start learning some Latin for the first quarter. Students are doing a great job signing the alphabet! I love seeing your recordings on flipgrid! Students are doing a great job participating in our google meets too!
French 1 students started off the year having a conversation in French. We have also learned some classroom object and numbers 1 to 30. Soon we will be looking at the date and weather so students will have a good base for conversation before we start looking at some material in our textbook curriculum. At this point students should just be able to recognize the vocabulary. We have a lot of material to learn this year to ensure success in French 2 next year. Don't worry if you feel like you haven't mastered it yet, you will see this material again as we progress. Thank you to the many students doing a wonderful job participating in our meets and recording yourselves in Flipgrids so I can hear everyone's voice. I am impressed with all your hard work.
Spanish 1 students started off the year having a conversation in Spanish. We have also learned some classroom object and numbers 1 to 30. Soon we will be looking at the date and weather so students will have a good base for conversation before we start looking at some material in our textbook curriculum. At this point students should just be able to recognize the vocabulary. We have a lot of material to learn this year to ensure success in Spanish 2 next year. Don't worry if you feel like you haven't mastered it yet, you will see this material again as we progress. Thank you to the many students doing a wonderful job participating in our meets and recording yourselves in Flipgrids so I can hear everyone's voice. I am impressed with all your hard work.