Greetings Middle School Families,
This week on Thursday (today, Dec. 6) and Friday (Dec. 7), we are having Parent / Teacher Conferences. The time with teachers should be an opportunity to learn more about how your Middle Schooler is doing in each class as well as strengthen the home / school partnership. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to D-E and park. Today, the first day of Conferences, our Umpleby Lot won’t be open until 2:00 for parking, as we will have buses there for dismissal at 1:30. Please note that the school day ends at 1:35 today. Students who are not able to take a bus or be picked up at that time will need to wait for their rides in the library. There are no classes tomorrow, Friday, Dec.7.
While most teachers are available for reserved 10 minute slots, the World Language team will mostly be in the Silberfein Gym (the small gym within Modell’s Sports Complex) during the conference times. You do not need an appointment to meet with them. After your scheduled meetings, head over there to speak with the French, Spanish, or Latin teachers.
Before the big vacation comes up, a reminder about planned absences. Please give the grade level dean a weeks advanced notice when you are planning to take a student out of school. This will allow the teachers time to put together work that can be done while away so the student doesn’t fall too far behind.
I am excited to let you know that the 6th grade will be going on a field trip to The Museum of Mathematics (http://momath.org/) in NYC on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019. The students will have the opportunity to tour the exhibits at the Museum, and they will also take part in an educator led session. This will be the fifth year that 6th graders have had the opportunity to visit this wonderful museum resource. For more details please see below for a special message from Grade 6 Dean Tasha Urbanowski.
Parenting Tech Tip: It’s less about an app this time and more about the needs of teens and pre-teens, specifically sleep. Middle school-aged students struggle to put limits on their own behavior, and tech devices clearly fall into this as well. If given a choice between texting a friend or getting sleep, most will continue to text. Leaving the smart phone, iPad, or computer in a student’s room overnight is going to lead to much less sleep. I strongly suggest that those devices are pulled out of the bedroom at a certain time and charged in a different, parent-controlled location. While there may be some resistance to this, long term it will lead to a better functioning person.
A colleague sent me this article recently comparing the lives of students from 2008 and 2018. While this may be more dramatic than what really happens day-to-day, it is a good reminder how interactivity and social media have changed how students connect with each other. If you have the time, it is worth the read: https://www.waituntil8th.org/blog/2018/11/12/middle-school-misfortunes-then-and-now-one-teachers-take
Calendar Items:
- December 6 – shorter day for students, afternoon Parent Conferences
- December 7 – Parent Conferences
- December 13 – Rising 9th Grade Families Explore the Upper School Event. Winter Arts Event featuring MS ensembles and MS student artwork on display. (See below for details.)
- December 14 – Winter Arts Event featuring MS ensembles and MS student artwork on display. (See below for details.)
- December 20 – Egypt Day in 6th Grade
- December 21 – Last day of classes for 2018, Start of Winter Break
- January 7 – Start of classes for 2019
- January 14 – Rising 9th Grade Families Explore the Upper School Event
See you around campus soon!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Davis
MS Principal