Highlights from September

It's hard to believe that we are already a month into the new school year. I am delighted to have the opportunity during our Back to School Nights to meet many of our parents and to share our goals for the 2011-2012 school year. I would also like to share some of the wonderful things that are happening in our school in more detail.

Highlights from classroom visits

Ms. Gillespie (6th grade social studies) - Students are completing a detailed "Report Card" evaluating the effectiveness of the Articles of Confederation.

Ms. Middleton (6th grade science) - students constructed a scale model of the solar system to help them understand the concept of "relative distance"

Mr. Sheridan (multi-grade Information Literacy) - students are learning how to remix music to accompany historic civil rights speeches.

Ms. Anderson (7th grade social studies) - students are writing essays debunking myths about "cave men" (prehistoric humans) in preparation for composing emails to Geico Insurance.

Ms. Donnelly (8th grade French) - students are taking on the role of a French teacher to prepare powerpoint presentations to teach their classmates.

Ms. Loscalzo/Heferon (6th grade math) - students are learning how to find the area of irregular shapes, culminating in an activity where they find the area of an irregular shaped bedroom in order to install new carpet.

These are just of few of the engaging and meaningful lessons that I was happy to experience.

I GOT YOUR BACK ROLLOUT

As part of the new Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying legislation, every school is required to observe a Week of Respect next week. At FMS, we decided to take this opportunity to rollout our year-long I GOT YOUR BACK initiative that will help us create a positive and supportive school environment. Throughout the week, we have a variety of activities planned to educate and sensitize our students about their role and responsibilities toward this goal. We are planning homeroom activities, lunch activities, contests, and assemblies to drive home the message. On Friday 10/7 (our first Spirit Day) we will recognize "White Out Bullying" by asking all students and staff to wear plain white T-shirts. Please talk to your children about what they learned each day during the week.

This video is a PSA for parents to enlist their support in these efforts:


Important Dates in October

David Lubar (resident author) visits FMS to hold workshops with grade 7 language arts classes - 10/3 - 10/4
Back to School Night House of the Tiger - 10/4 @ 6:30
Back to School Night House of the Phoenix - 10/5 @ 6:30
Grade 6 Canteen - 10/7
MHS Science Academy presentations to grade 8 - 10/11
Music Department Trip to see Wicked on Broadway - 10/12
Marking Period 1 Progress Reports mailed - 10/13
Home and School Association Monthly meeting - 10/18 @ 9:30
School Picture Re-takes - 10/20
Lantern Coffee House - 10/21
Colonial Challenge Run - 10/23
Dinner and Sports Night - 10/28

Please try to join us for the evening events.

The Kids Are Alright (and so is the new principal)

Well, the first week of the new school year is in the history books and from all accounts we had a very smooth opening. It is always a joy to have the building filled with students and teachers after a long and busy summer.

Our new group of sixth grade students have adjusted nicely - despite the typical challenges of getting used to opening their lockers and finding their way around the building. I randomly surveyed many of them during their extended homerooms about their favorite aspects of middle school so far and the number one response (ironically) was "having lockers". It is truly amazing to consider that these boys and girls will become young men and young women over the next three years.

The seventh graders (in the middle of middle school) seem incredibly relieved that they are no longer the new kids on the block. Several of them indicated how much they were looking forward to their new enrichment classes (Humanities Enrichment and S.T.E.M Enrichment) and that they were glad to be back with many of their friends that they hadn't seen over the summer.

And finally, our "seniors" in middle school - the eighth grade group has truly impressed me with the level of maturity they have exhibited so far. As I stop in on their classes it is evident that they are engaged and excited with the learning experiences their teachers have prepared. Walking through the cafeteria, I am already hearing talk about the DC trip in May.

I encourage you to help us help your children experience the highest levels of success this year with the following suggestions:

1. Reach out to your child's teachers and share your child's strengths, interests, challenges and goals. Research shows that strong ties between home and school are one of the most important factors in student success.

2. Observe a "Unplug and Unwind at Nine" policy in your homes. This means collecting all of your child's electronic devices (cell phones, computers, I-pods, I-pads, etc.) at 9:00 pm to ensure that they are getting the proper amount of rest each night.

3. Ask your child what they learned (both content and skills) in school today. Then ask them why they think this learning is important and useful.

4. Join our Home and School Association (HSA) and attend our meetings. This is a great way to know what is happening in our school and it provides you a way to offer suggestions.

5. Share this blog with other families in our school - I hope to make regular postings about what is happening at FMS.

Finally, I want to share some important dates:

1. School picture day is scheduled for Thursday 9/22.
2. Our annual HSA Magazine Sale begins Friday 9/23 - please support this effort!!!
3. Back to School Nights - House of the Dragon 9/27, House of the Tiger 10/4, House of the Phoenix 10/5.

Thank you to everyone for your support and words of encouragement.

Reminders for Parents

I hope all of our families had a wonderful summer. Below are some reminders that may be helpful over the next two weeks:

1. Student schedules and other important information were mailed home last week. If you did not receive a packet - please contact the school.

2. Open House Dates - Wednesday 8/24 and Thursday 8/25 from 9:00 - 12:00.

3. If there are problems/questions about student schedule - please contact our guidance department at 973-292-2200 ext. 8070.

4. The first day of school for students is September 6th.

Looking forward to seeing all our students.

Big Happenings at FMS

During the week of July 5th our Visionary Planning Board met for our 3 days of summer planning. It was a very productive set of meetings where we finalized our next 5 year plan and developed the action plans for the coming school year. Some of the goals for this year include:

1. the implementation of new curricula in language arts and mathematics that include a higher degree of Problem Based Learning

2. the implementation of a revised Advisory program

3. the increased infusion of technology into lesson planning and implementation to improve teaching and learning.

I want to thank everyone, (students, parents, and teachers) for their time and effort in helping us prepare for next year.

Reluctance to Connect

There seems to be some degree of reluctance, skepticism, or fear about using Web 2.0 tools.  I understand that some of this is rooted in the unfamiliarity/inexperience that some have with these tools, however as a digital immigrant myself, I believe we need to get past that so that we can help our students access and use these tools.  If we are truly committed to preparing our students to be successful in a world where being tech literate is non-negotiable, we need to stop hoping that "this too shall pass" and get with the program (I cringe at sounding so blunt - but it's what I believe).  In the introduction to A Guide to Becoming a School of the Future http://www.nais.org/files/PDFs/NAISCOASchools.pdf the authors make a compelling case that calls on educators to understand what our students need and to make the changes necessary to ensure that the students get these skills. 

Getting Students Engaged with Meaningful "Work"

Over the past few weeks I have had the privilege of observing several outstanding lessons.  These lessons were outstanding (in my opinion) because the teachers deliberately planned learning experiences that provided students with a high degree of choice and engaged them in learning that was worthy of their time.   I observed students writing short stories on topics they chose, students researching why certain books (that students selected) were banned by the Church and supporting or denouncing the ban, and students "pitching" their topics for memoirs to classmates.  In each lesson, students were clearly excited to be doing the "work" that the teachers assigned and truly invested in the outcome.  These lessons involved very little direct teacher instruction, did not require students to read any textbooks, and did not have students completing worksheets.  This leads me to believe that we must consider the need to reduce (if not eliminate entirely) these "traditional" teaching strategies and increase the opportunities for students to take ownership of their learning.


Take a look at this video for examples of students engaged in meaningful learning.

To Err is Human, To Rub Your Face in it is American?

Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of Christina Aguilera - to be quite honest, I cannot name one song or album she has produced.  I have no strong feelings about her as a person or as an artist.  However, the public reaction to her recent faux pas during the Super Bowl has really hit a nerve with me, so much so that I decided to write about it (a skill with which I am not overly confident).  Ms. Aguilera's mistake with the lyrics during her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner has generated such a groundswell of criticism that one would think she sold nuclear secrets to the Soviets during the Cold War.  From interviews of people on the street, to politicians, to late night talk show hosts we hear all kinds of nasty comments that call into question Ms. Aquilera's intelligence, her musical talent, and even her patriotism.  Within seconds of her mistakes, there were over 50,000 Twitter messages pointing out her errors and poking fun at her. 

How many of us have forgotten the words to our favorite song, let alone the national anthem?  How many of us have rehearsed for something and then missed the mark in our presentation? 

My concern here is that - whether we like it or not - Christina Aguilera is a pop star that many of our children admire.  When these children hear all of the criticism leveled against Ms. Aguilera for an honest mistake - what kind of message is that sending these children?  Is it acceptable to denigrate a person because he or she confused the words in a song?  Will the children who witness this level of criticism be willing to take risks in order to become successful?  Today's youth are inundated with negativity and it's our job as adults to let them know that it is OK to make mistakes - not to public humiliate those who do.