Middle School Update

Volume 6 Number 29

May 7 , 2007

CALENDAR:

STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES: Conferences are by appointment. You have received a letter with the time and room number.  Please be on time, and if your appointment is at 2:45 please arrive no later than 2:30 so that you can see the elective and PE teachers. Also, please note that Ann Gould (dance teacher) and Rosa Maria del Busto (8th grade Art teacher) are high school teachers. They will be in the Media Center Monday and Tuesday afternoon if you wish to see them. They will be teaching on Thursday and Friday and unavailable for conferences.  You may contact them by email at agould@amersol.edu.pe  and rmdelbus@amersol.edu.pe. IT IS IMPERATIVE that your child be with you for these conferences.

The MS advisory group is putting together a "World of Knowledge" booth for this year’s FDR kermesse on Saturday, 19 May.  The players will have to answer questions in order to win prizes at this booth and the questions will be related to the Kermesse's International theme.  If possible we'd like your help in several areas.

Decorations:  We would like the decoration of our booth to represent as many countries as possible.  If you have any flags, posters, items particular to your country, etc that we could borrow please send them to the MS office by Thursday 17 May.  PLEASE put your name on these and we will return them.

Prizes:  If you have any  small items we could use as prizes (hats, t-shirts, balls, pencils, pens, etc) please bring them to the MS office by Thursday 17 May.

Time:  If you (or your MS children) have any time and would like to help us in decorating or manning the booth during the kermesse please contact Norma Cornelius, corneliusmendoza@gmail.com phone #:  368-3489 or any of the other MS representatives.

EL CHASQUI 2007:  The 2006 FDR school yearbook sold out with only a few late requests unfilled.  We will be ordering the same number of books again this year.  If you would like to reserve one, please pay $40 in the Business Office. Give the exact name and grade level of the student to whom we should deliver the book.  The books will be available in mid-June.  El Chasqui is in full color with over 200 pages celebrating the 2006-07 school year. Reserve yours now.

MAY 25TH REC NIGHT:  Our final Rec Night of the year is split into two parts.  From 7:30 – 9:30 the 5th graders are invited to join the 6th and 7th graders for dancing, 4-square, games in the gym, and a barbecue. At 9:30 all 5th – 7th graders must leave and the rest of the evening is for FDR 8th graders only.  While guests from grades 5-7 may be invited to the early part of the evening, no guests may be invited to the 8th grade portion. This is intended to be their special farewell to Middle School Rec Night.

REPEATED ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING CONFERENCES. As I have mentioned several times in the Monday Update, Student-Led Conferences this semester will be different than in the past. We will NOT be distributing report cards. We do NOT want to talk about grades and GPAs.  If a student is currently on academic conditional or probationary status the counselors will keep parents up to date on how the student is progressing.  If we anticipate that a student needs to be put onto an academic contract, we will contact parents about the concerns when we see the problems. This will not be a surprise.

What  is important for students to reflect on and parents to be aware of is how the student is doing on each MYP criterion in each subject. As students move up into high school these Criteria will determine the student’s grade which will be reported on the official transcript for college admission.

As a parent, what should you be concerned about? The most common answer is “the grade.”  This, however, is shortsighted. MS grades are not generally reported to colleges. Yes, it is great to be able to praise your child for a high GPA or improving GPA, but what students need is an honest assessment of where they are on the continuum  of learning.  Getting an A in English in grade 6 probably means the student is a good reader and writer at that level, turns in work completed and on time, and is most likely neat and organized.

The MYP criteria allow for a more detailed analysis of student progress. The student might be an “A” given the grade level but needs to know that to improve his/her writing there needs to be more detail in the descriptions or a more varied vocabulary needs to be used.  These are the types of things students will reflect on as they prepare for these student-led conferences.  They will review their work and not only reflect but also set goals on how to improve.

Using and understanding the MYP criteria is a process. We are attempting to separate it from the pressure of quarter grades to make it less stressful. Please help us with this by coming to the conferences prepared to talk about criteria not grades.  You will need to see all 6 or 7 teachers in order to get the full picture. NOTE:  If your appointment is at 2:45 please arrive by 2:30 so that you have the opportunity to see the PE and elective teachers first.

AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES –

Please note that the following changes to the Middle School Activities program

take effect this week:

BOYS' BASKETBALL will meet Tuesdays and Fridays (starting Friday, May 4) with Mr. Hendershott on the elementary courts.

GIRLS' and BOYS' VOLLEYBALL will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays (starting Thursday, May 3) with Mr. Mesones behind the Athletics Office.

GIRLS' SOFTBALL – Copa Roosevelt

Roosevelt vs. Lincoln May 7 at 3:45 – 5:00 pm at Roosevelt

Roosevelt vs. Club Simon Bolivar May 9 at 3:45 – 5:00 pm at Roosevelt

Roosevelt vs. Club Union Perleña May 11 at 3:45 – 5:00 pm at Roosevelt

GIRLS' and BOYS' SOCCER will continue until further notice in order to complete their tournaments (some tournaments have been moved to later dates). Students should see Ms. Alba if this causes any conflicts in schedule.

No CAS ACTIVITIES due to Parent Conferences.