The IMS Connection

Volume 14, Issue 9: May 2018

SCHOOL IS OPEN

Thursday, May 24th

Friday, May 25th

Finally, the weather has made a turn inviting us to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors! Each day at recess, we will do our best to take advantage of springtime activities. Students should dress accordingly.

Our sixth and seventh grade students will be voting on our student government officers for the 2018-19 school year. Eighth graders will vote on a King and Queen of the Conga Line for the Grade 8 Moving Up Dance. Voting takes place on Tuesday, May 15, in the high school gymnasium between 2:30 and 9:00 PM. This is the same day parents will vote on the school budget. So, exercise your right to vote and make it a family affair.

Remember to #islippride any photos showing school spirit. Let's tell our great IMS story.

We are entering the final exam season and changes in schedules will occur. Parents should review planners to note any subject-specific information. In reference to finals week, we are waiting on details from our transportation office in reference to buses. Once we have this information we will share it with you. Lastly, be on the lookout for your child's course requests coming home shortly.

Renaissance Rave

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Keep up the hard work because we are in the home stretch. To round out a year of hard work and success, we will be having an ice cream social in June for all of our 3rd quarter Renaissance card holders.

The advisory theme for May is School Spirit, and as the month goes on you’re bound to see a whole lot of #islippride out there. Why do we devote time and energy to showing students all there is to be proud of in Islip? It’s not because we want them to believe they’re superior to other schools or have an inflated sense of self.

Rather, it’s because we believe the Islip teaching and learning community truly is remarkable, and that celebrating our successes is a critical part of sustaining our positive momentum. From an administrator’s point of view, what makes Islip special? Our students, who are innovators and question askers, and who are poised to change the world. Our teachers, who work tirelessly to build relationships with students and forge a positive learning environment. And of course, our families and communities, who support our mission and help us to make IMS a great place to learn and grow.

Islip pride means something different to everyone. Over the course of the month, we hope every student will find some aspect of our community to celebrate. And if there’s an aspect of our community you think could be improved – let us know!

As we move toward the end of the year, Dr. Martin and I will be transitioning from phase two (parent engagement) to phase three (student culture) of our three-part climate and culture initiative. We welcome any feedback and suggestions on how we can approach this next phase, and invite you to join us as partners in making school an incredible experience for all of our students.

ADVISORY THEME OF THE MONTH

May: School Spirit… Students will learn about the history of Islip's schools and will have their Islip knowledge tested this month as we learn about our community and celebrate being a part of Islip Middle School during Spirit Week!

Spirit Week: May 14th-18th

Monday: Multiples Monday: Find a friend or multiple friends and be their twin for the day!

Tuesday: Take a Stand Tuesday: Wear your Islip gear and take a stand by making your voice heard through voting for your Student Government Class Officers at the High School Gymnasium!

Wednesday: Wacky Hair Wednesday: Be creative and wear your hair in a wacky style!

Thursday: Throwback Thursday: Dress from a different decade!

Friday: Purple and Gold: Celebrate being a part of the Islip Middle School!

1 Public Hearing on Budget, 7:30 PM; followed by BOE Meeting, MS

7 Joint District PTA Meeting, District Budget Presentation 7:00 PM

8 SEPTA Awards Night, 7:00 PM, HS Auditorium

10 Grade 6 Band, Orchestra, Chorus, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

10 Jazz Band & Show Choir, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

10 Progress Period Ends

15 Budget Vote 6:00 AM—9:00 PM HS Gym, BOE Meeting 9:30 PM, HS

15 Festival of the Arts, 7:00 PM, HS

16 Grade 5 to 6 Orientation, 7:00 PM, MS

16 Progress Reports Posted to Portal

21 National Junior Honor Society Induction, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

24 & 25 School Open

28 School Closed

29 IMS Awards Night, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

30 Fine & Performing Arts Awards, 7:00 PM, MS

31 8th Grade Yearbook Breakfast

31 8th Grade BBQ

1 7th Grade BBQ

2 NJHS Car Wash, 8:00 AM-1:30 PM, MS

5 6th Grade BBQ

5 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30* PM, MS

5 6th Grade BBQ

7 Grade 7 & 8 Band, Orchestra, Chorus, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

11 4th Quarter Marking Period Ends

11 Fine & Performing Arts Awards, 7:00 PM

12 IMS Awards Night, 7:00 PM

13 EXCEL Awards Night, 6:00 PM

13-16 Finals/Regents Exams

19 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30* PM, MS

19-22 Finals/Regents Exams

19 8th Grade Moving Up Dance, 7:00-9:30 PM

21 Early Dismissal, 10:20 AM

27 Report Cards Posted to Portal

*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.

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From the Library

KIC and Student Government put out a call for book donations this past month and the call was answered! Over twenty boxes of books, containing baby, elementary, young adult, and adult books as well as CDs, DVDs, and magazines were donated by individual students and family households! Mrs. Kaywood, Ms. Rooney, Mrs. Ryder, and Ms. Sheridan wish to thank all of our donors for their generosity. Thanks to you, the Books Fairies will be able to share the joy of reading with students and families in need.

KIC students and their parents and siblings volunteered yet again to help with Islip Town’s Brook Street Clean-Up. Paper, glass, and plastic bottles that littered the street and streams were bagged for disposal by our students. The KIC crew included: Stephen P., Karina C., M’raya S., Abigail B., Katherine L., Katherine C., Joellene and Aaron C., Deanna V. Jaci N., Maya and Nikita C., Brianna Q., and Tatiana O.

Library Research students have just examined the issue of cyberbullying. Students identified behaviors they partake in that could lead to cyberbullying. Students read articles and viewed videos that showed real-life cyberbullying cases to better understand how to deal with cyberbullying. Finally, students learned that bullying has no place in a democracy, in that rights and freedoms inherent to a democracy are taken when bullying occurs and that courage from upstanders can be all that is needed to stop cyberbullying in its tracks.

Team 8 Green

8 Green has had an exciting year so far! In science, students have been collecting and examining macro and microscopic critters from the campus ponds. What fun!

Also, students expanded their cultural horizons with a cinematic field trip to see the Oscar-winning animated feature Coco. Social studies is eagerly looking forward to partaking in our annual Holocaust Remembrance day.

Furthermore, in Algebra, students have been analyzing quadratic functions and keeping an eye for them in the real world! As the Regents exam approaches, it is crucial that students continue applying their skills to weekly spiral assignments. There will be lots of review towards the end of next month for our Regents Exam on June 12th.

Lastly, ELA just wrapped up exploring poetry though our study of the Harlem Renaissance and the reading of Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. Looking forward to end of the year events!

IMS Catapult Club

Mr. Claps and a group of students in the IMS Catapult Club participated in this year's 2017 Long Island Pumpkin Fling. This year the Catapult Club started over by building a completely new machine after retiring the last two catapults they used.

Students met once a week after school to build the catapult as well as Saturdays to test their new machine. The IMS Catapult Club is excited to compete with their new catapult, "The Purple Pumpkin Punisher," in the 2018 Long Island Pumpkin Fling next October.