The IMS Connection

Season’s Greetings Parents/Guardians,

As we begin December, I cannot help but wonder where the time has gone. This year seems to be flying by at a record pace. So many wonderful events have happened in such a short period of time, like the Spooktacular, Thanksgiving, the Harlem Wizards and now upon us are the holiday concerts, holidays, and a New Year.

This season has the middle school bustling with generosity and once again the C.A.R.E. Club collected dozens of boxes of food for our local food pantry. A heartfelt thank you to all who donated to the cause.

As we enter the second marking period, we encourage all of the students to reflect on the many accomplishments of the first quarter. What has worked well and what can be done differently. Parents are always welcome to contact the school counselors to arrange parent meetings.

From all of us at IMS, we hope this holiday season is filled with joy and laughter with your family and friends.

I wish you and your family the happiest of holiday seasons and the healthiest New Year.

As always, feel free to contact me at tmartin@islipufsd.org.

Warm regards,

Dr. Timothy Martin

Principal

Islip Middle School

631-650-8505

Season’s Greeting IMS Families,

Yes, the holidays are upon us. We are fresh off, Footloose, our amazing school musical (Thank you to Ms. Montuori and her team, cast and crew), as well as, a night of hoops and entertainment, brought to life by our incredible PTA (Special thanks to Ms. Breslin and her team). The Harlem Wizards never had a chance! 😊

Tis the season, peace on earth, family, friends, and festivity. That’s what this holiday season is all about. A time of giving and seeing that it is of value to live in the world and not of it. The Musical and Harlem Wizards were an example of just that… great inspiration, teamwork, celebration, and entertainment. The community, District Wide, was amazing for both events. We truly represented, supported, and cheered as one.

We look forward to a December that is packed full of Holiday concerts, Middle School basketball, and volleyball games, not to mention a cookie and some egg nogg from time to time. Our advisories are hailing Habit 1 and Habit 6, Be Proactive (you’re in charge) and Synergize (together is better) respectively. IMS advisories will be involved in discussions and activities that encourage students to express ways we can light up the world with kindness. They will also be working together in designing an ugly sweater and on December 22nd there will be an IMS ugly sweater contest. Good luck!

“The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” – Unknown

I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such wonderful teachers, staff, and children. Each one of our students is a blessing amongst themselves.

Enjoy the holiday,

Curt Juengerkes

Assistant Principal

Islip Middle School

During the month of December, our Advisory focus will be on Paying it Forward and The Gift of Giving. As we expand on our 7 Habits initiative we will be including Habit 1, Being Proactive and Habit 6, Synergize. Parents can enrich our theme by discussing topics such as, “It is important to do good deeds for people.” Repay acts of kindness by being kind to someone else rather than the person who was kind to you. This helps to spread acts of kindness to a greater range of people.

The Cards are IN! The cards are IN! The cards are IN! We are thrilled that we finally got our delivery of our Renaissance Cards! Prizes have been purchased and we are ready! Now, it's time for a RAFFLE!! We are so excited to celebrate the wonderful things happening at IMS! Students on the Renaissance List (posted in the dining rooms, hallways, and across from the AP Office) will have the opportunity to participate in the Raffle. Stay tuned for announcements to get your cards validated. Thank you everyone: Faculty, Staff, Parents, Students, and the entire IMS community for your patience and support! Remember: LOOK GOOD! FEEL GOOD! DO GOOD!

Please note: Replacement cards cost $5 and can be purchased in the AP Office.

As we move into the welcomed chaos of the holiday season as the 2nd marking quarter is well underway, I want to share some tips that I find helpful as both a parent of a middle school child as well as a practicing Islip Middle School teacher. I only offer these tips to you because I am living and breathing middle school at home and at school. I simply live it all day long. The tips below offer a reflection of my experience, and of course may or may not work for you, but I offer them nonetheless.

Here are some Non Negotiables that work for our family:

• Planner must be filled out daily

• HW must be completed and placed in an area so it can be checked with the planner by us, their parents

• The cell phone can be looked at anytime by us

• The phone never goes into the bedroom at bedtime

Communication is key

• We are logged into Parent Square and Parent Portal and can readily be accessed via the apps

• Our children are logged into Student Square and Student Portal

• We encourage our children to be an advocate for themselves and talk to the teacher

• We talk to our children about their school day each evening

Finding the right time/workspace

• We reinforce time management and it is key to our child’s success

• We have a workspace that has minimal distractions (for most it is not the bedroom)

• We use a desktop calendar as a means of organizing and seeing the big picture

These are just a few of the tips that we have worked on with our child. I hope you find them helpful. Enjoy the holiday season and Happy New Year.

Mr. Apicella

Middle School Math Teacher and Middle School Parent

November is a month for showing gratitude – and we sure are grateful for our students! In observance of World Kindness Day on November 13th, students helped counselors create The IMS Chain of Kindness! On their way to lunch, students stopped by the table set up by the counselors outside of the dining rooms and filled out slips of paper stating one way they could show kindness. Students came up with incredibly thoughtful and insightful ways, including “inviting a new student to sit with you at lunch” and “cooking for mom”. We are so lucky to have such kind-hearted students!

A large part of what school counselors do is help students prepare for post-secondary opportunities. It is important to begin developing students’ career awareness and college readiness at a young age. Students will continue to expand on this when they get into high school and help them find their ideal career. A person’s ideal career should incorporate these four factors: personality, values, skills, and interests.

During the month of November, counselors went into the 7th and 8th grade classrooms and introduced students to a program called Naviance. Naviance is a beneficial tool that helps students to discover what careers or colleges may be best for them. This program will be utilized by students throughout high school as they begin to decide what career path they wish to pursue. For students looking to pursue college, Naviance is the actual program used to electronically apply.

Speaking of college and career readiness, check out this link below, by SUNY.edu. This link clues middle schoolers into why middle school matters when thinking about college – even though college seems so far away! This article gives tips such as getting involved in extracurricular activities, courses that colleges look for on a high school transcript and being careful about what you post on the internet. Remember, what you post follows you throughout your life! The second link includes an admissions summary for SUNY schools across New York State. It’s never too early to begin preparing!

Why Middle School Matters

SUNY Admissions Information Summary 2022

Thoughtfulness and generosity are ever present in the IMS community. When students, families and staff were asked to contribute food for the CARE Club’s annual Thanksgiving holiday food drive, bags and bags of food poured in.

An abundance of stuffing, mashed potato and pie dough mixes, canned gravy, vegetables, and fruit as well as coffee and juices were received. The bags translated to twenty-five boxes of food which our buildings and grounds crewmembers delivered to a local food pantry.

The CARE Club wants to thank our students, their families, staff members, and administration for your kindness: many hearts were warmed this Thanksgiving day because of you!

The students in Mr. Wenzel’s 6th grade class are currently working on Magnetic Levitation Vehicles better known as MagLevs. The students engage in design, modeling, building, and testing of these floating, motor propelled racers. Just a few of the thing students learn about are transportation systems, alternative energy, aerodynamics, and magnetism. Throughout the project, the students will have to manipulate certain materials to meet the design constraints and requirements that their project must conform with. Mr. Wenzel’s 7th graders are in the middle of a Transportation unit where they design and build Egg Crash Vehicles. Their goal is to protect the occupant (an egg) in a head on collision.

The Islip Middle School Football Buccaneers embarked on their annual journey to build character, learn the fundamentals of football, and strive for perfection. With diligence, commitment, and persistence, the young Buccaneers accomplished their mission by obtaining all three goals. This determined team achieved an undefeated season of 6-0, yet each member recognizes that the character gained and skills developed are significantly more important than their perfect record. Regardless, congratulations to the team and well wishes for continued success. GO BUCS!

This year sure is going fast! We are excited to share that our first quarter was very successful! We have enjoyed getting to know all of our students! We work together, as a team, to make sure our students are challenged academically and continue in their social and emotional growth. We ended our first quarter with a "Team Day." We discussed the importance of Hard Work, Perseverance, Acceptance, and Teamwork. We watched the movie, Greater, and created Positivity Plaques and Grateful Messages to family, friends, and supporters. Communication with students, parents, and our IMS community is very important. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us, as a team or individually, through e-mail or parent square. We are looking forward to continuing our work together to make 7th Grade very successful!

We’re off to a great start and exciting push through the holiday season. This is a great time of year, we can feel the excitement in our classrooms.

Our seventh graders have been working on our Violence and Injury Prevention sections. They learned the real definition of bullying and are able to determine situations where bullying has taken place. Along with bullying, our students have been informed of hazing and the possible dangers surrounding hazing behaviors. Students have brainstormed and analyzed strong feelings which may lead to fights and arguments. They discussed positive ways of dealing with these feelings to bypass the potential consequences of fights.

The eighth grade students have been immersed in first aid and safety. They discussed laws regarding first aid and reasons not to move injured victims. Students also learned what to do in emergency situations involving shock, spine injuries, burns, seizures, and allergic reactions. Eighth graders also discussed the mental health component stress. Students discussed positive and negative stressors and brainstormed positive ways of dealing with stress. We look forward to a wonderful holiday season and a smooth transition to a prosperous spring.

Come and support the Music Department here at IMS for our annual December Winter Concerts! The 6th Grade Band, 6th Grade Orchestra, and 6th Grade Choir will be making their IMS Concert debuts in the IMS Auditorium at 7 pm on Wednesday, December 7th. You can see the 7th and 8th Grade Band, Orchestra, and Chorus take the stage on Thursday, December 15th, also at 7 pm in the IMS Auditorium. There is no cost for admission to either concert.

We hope to see you there and thank you for supporting the arts here in Islip!

Please re-check the district calendar prior to an event to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.

7- 6th Grade Winter Concert, 7:00 pm, MS Auditorium

15- 7th & 8th Grade Winter Concert, 7:00 pm, MS Auditorium

15- MS/HS Progress Period Ends

22-MS/HS Progress Reports Posted to Portal

23-Winter Recess- School Closed- through January 2, 2023

*Unless otherwise noted, all Board of Education meetings will begin with an Executive Session at 6:45 PM. The public business meeting portion will begin at approximately 7:30 PM.

Please re-check the district calendar prior to an event to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.

3-Students return from Winter Break

10-BOE Meeting, 6pm, HS Auditorium

16- No School-Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

23- Late Winter Sports Begin

24-27- Regents/Midterm Exams

27-Marking Period Ends

30-PTA Meeting, 7pm, MS Auditorium

*Unless otherwise noted, all Board of Education meetings will begin with an Executive Session at 6:45 PM. The public business meeting portion will begin at approximately 7:30 PM.

Website: islipufsd.org
Location: 211 Main Street, Islip, NY, United States
Phone: 631-650-8500
Facebook: facebook.com/IslipMS
Twitter: @IslipMS