SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL
Westfield, Massachusetts

School-Family Newsletter

February 2010

Report Cards: Second term report cards will be sent home with all students on Tuesday, February 9th. SMS assigns numerical grades of 50-100. Passing grades are 60 and higher. Any grade below 50 is recorded as an E. A grade of P is also considered passing. The third marking term began on Monday, January 25th and is scheduled to end on Monday, April 5th. Mid-term is Tuesday, March 2nd.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: The second Parent Teacher Conference for the 2009 - 2010 school year will be Thursday evening, February 25th. There will be a ½ day school for students that day. Students will be dismissed from SMS at 11:30 AM. Conferences will be conducted by your child’s homeroom teacher or Special Services Liaison, who will have information from all other team teachers. If you wish to meet with a teacher other than the homeroom teacher or liaison, please make that known in your reply. Every effort will be made to accommodate your request.

We hope that you will plan to spend some additional time during conferences visiting our special subject teachers in art, music, foreign language, health, physical education, consumer science, and technology. These teachers will be available for informal visits or conferences. Conference sign-up forms will be sent home with students on Friday, February 5th. They need to be completed and returned to your child’s homeroom teacher by Wednesday, February 10th.

SMS Pasta Supper: Our annual Pasta Supper is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9th from 5:00 to 6:30 PM. We hope you’re able to join us in the school-wide event to support the Sled Hockey Program in conjunction with Shriners Hospital & South Middle School’s School Improvement Programs. Tickets are $ 5.00 for adults, $4.00 for senior citizens and children under 13. Children under 2 are free. Tickets can be purchased in advanced in the SMS Office or at the door. We look forward to seeing you at the Pasta Supper.

Spirit Week: School spirit week is the week of April 5-9, 2010. Our student council will be organizing a variety of school spirit events for our students. Scheduled activities will include the Student-Staff basketball game and the Spirit Night basketball game with North Middle School. This year the game will be held at Westfield High School and will consist of 5-15 minute running periods.

Technology Update: South Middle School is in phase 2 of our technology upgrade. We are in the process of securing interactive whiteboards, handheld student assessment instruments (clickers), and interactive tablets for students and teachers to use. It is our intent to use this technology to increase student engagement in the classroom. We believe students that are actively participating in their learning will increase achievement. We have seen a significant increase in the use of technology in our instructional practices since we upgraded our network and computers last year.

In addition to the hardware, we have also upgraded our software and educational programs. Staff is accessing Gold Seal lessons through the International Center for Leadership in Education’s Successful Practices Network. We have also installed Fast Math for our Math and Special Subject Teachers, continued our subscription with Study Island and have the Adobe Suite including Photoshop on all SMS computers. As we move forward in completing this up-grade, our students will experience different learning experiences and you should see different projects and products your child is completing.

2010 MCAS Testing: SMS is preparing to administer the 2010 MCAS to all 6-7-8 grade students. Testing will begin on Tuesday, March 23rd with all 7th graders taking the Long Composition Exam. There are two components to this exam. In the first component of the exam, students will develop a draft response to an open ended question. Students will have a short break and then write their final version of their composition. The test will take approximately 2 ½ hours to complete.

On Wednesday, March 31st all SMS students will begin taking the Reading Language Arts MCAS. Students will take one part of the exam (approximately 1.5 hours each) on March 31st and the second component on Thursday, April 1st. These exams will consist of students reading various selections and responding to a variety of multiple choice and open response questions.

Beginning on May 11th, all students will take the math portion of the MCAS. In addition, 8th graders will be tested in Science and Technology on May 18th & 19th. More information on the May test will be in the next newsletter.

How to prepare for the MCAS: The MCAS tests are an important part of your child’s education. They are one of many tools used to assess your child’s academic growth as well as measuring our school’s progress in attaining the state’s curriculum frameworks.

Since the beginning of the year, our staff has worked with your son/daughter to prepare for these tests. Specifically, we have focused on assisting your child to answer open response questions by analyzing the question to determine what it is asking, developing an outline, and using writing prompts to more effectively answer the question.

In addition to preparing your child for the tests, we will provide him/her with the proper environment and resources to complete the test. But we also need your help. In the week leading up to the tests, please spend some time with your son/daughter to reinforce the importance of this test. Not only will your child receive a score on the test, his/her score and level of improvement will be compared to other students in his/her grade at South Middle School, as well as throughout the state.

There are other things you can do to prepare your child for the MCAS. First of all, make sure she/he has a good dinner the night before and gets a good night’s sleep. Stress the importance of getting to bed early and being rested for these important tests. In the morning, provide him/her with a good, full breakfast. Juice, fruits, cereal, bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter & toast, and yogurt are some quick and easy meals that can get your child off to a great start. If it is difficult to provide breakfast at home, your child can have a full breakfast at school. When your child gets off the bus at 7:45 he/she can report directly to the cafeteria where breakfast is only 60¢. For students with free lunch, breakfast is also free of charge.

Encourage your child to be relaxed and positive about the test. Personally, I believe we have a great group of students and teachers at South Middle School and I am confident that they will perform well. At the end of school on the testing days, again take some time to talk with your child about how the day went. Specifically, ask them about the test and how they thought they did. Ask him/her what the questions were about and how they responded.

Our students have also been using an online preparation program called Study Island for the upcoming Math tests. All of our students have an account with this service and can access it from home. I encourage you to have your child demonstrate this program for you. Students can access it through their account and password by logging on to: www.studyisland.com

Parent-Teacher Advisory Council (P-TAC): The next P-TAC meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 9th at 7:00 PM in the Library. P-TAC will continue working on Enrichment programming for our students and supporting end-of-the year activities. On Tuesday, February 11th, P-TAC is sponsoring a multi-media production from Camfel Productions entitled Trust Me. This production is consistent with our Aspirations work and focuses on respect between and among students, what giving their word means, and how to improve peer relationships. Please join us at the next P-TAC meeting

Aspirations Condition of the Month – Fun & Excitement: The fourth of the 8-Aspirations condition is Fun & Excitement. This condition is characterized by students being inspired. They are actively engaged and emotionally involved in their school work. Students who exhibit Fun & Excitement are usually self-confident, curious and prepared; they are willing to meet the challenges of the day. Adults can foster Fun & Excitement in children by providing new opportunities, initiate challenges, and respect individual interests. For more information on Student Aspirations, visit QISA.org.

Upcoming School Events:

February 4 Aspiration Day – Fun & Excitement
February 8 Title 1 – Understanding MCAS Parent Seminar @ 6:30 PM
February 9 SMS Annual Pasta Supper
February 10 9th Grade Orientation @ WHS
February 11 Pasta Supper Snow Date
February 11 School Council Meeting @ 3:00
February 11 Camfel Production Assemblies – Trust Me
February 15-19 Winter Vacation
February 24 Author Visit to Library
February 25 ½ Day of School – Evening Parent Conferences
March 3 Mid-term
March 3 MIOSM Band Concert @ 7:00 PM
March 4 Aspirations Day – Fun & Excitement
March 4 MIOSM Chorus Concert @ 7:00 PM
March 9 Progress reports sent home
March 9 P-TAC Meeting @ 7:00 PM
March 9 Parent Seminar – Don’t Pop Your Cork!
March 11 Aspiration Day – Curiosity & Creativity
March 11 School Council Meeting @ 3:00 PM
March 19-20 Drama Performance of Night @ the Wax Museum @ 7:00 PM

SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL
30 West Silver Street – Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 568-1900 – FAX (413) 572-4892
www.k12.westfield.ma.us/sms/index.html