The IMS Connection

Main Office 631-650-8500 / Guidance Office 631-650-8550

Attendance 631-650-8510 / Health Office 631-650-8525

Seems like we went right from summer to winter this year. This time last year, we were still enjoying the extended summer trying to figure out long sleeves or short sleeves. Definitely long sleeves as of now. This is a reminder that morning arrivals and recess will be outside as long as the sun is shining. Students should dress accordingly.

Student Government sponsored its third “Spooktacular” for all of Islip’s elementary children. What a festive time the children had while they were able to try out their costumes and have holiday fun in a safe and joyful environment.

October had IMS buzzing with positive choices. During Red Ribbon Week, we participated in assemblies and advisory activities with an assembly called Class Dismissed: The Bullying Project as we put a positive influence on school climate and positive student choices.

The first of four progress reports have been forwarded via the parent portal. I hope parents are finding the information regarding grades readily available via the planner, newsletters, ConnectEd, and websites.

November finds our CARE Club working on our annual food drive, which will end on the 14th. The donations will go directly to Islip’s Food Pantry. It is an opportunity for us to truly make a difference in our community by helping our neighbors in need.

For all of our veterans who serve and have served, we extend our gratitude. November is about empathy, and our learning community does not run short on this character trait. As we all reflect on what we have to be thankful for, we wish our entire Middle School learning community an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

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

Kind Regards,

Timothy P. Martin

Congratulations to all 4th quarter Renaissance holders! We had our Wendy’s Luncheon on October 25th to celebrate all your hard work. Keep up the good work because we are planning our next celebration!

Remember to review the Renaissance guidelines in the planner. It is not only about your grades but also about your character here at the Islip Middle School.

As you may know, we are now under way with the third phase of our school climate and culture project. After working on enhancing climate and culture with staff and families, we are now focusing on students.

Our Climate and Culture Committee analyzed the results of our student survey, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. Nearly all students at Islip Middle School feel safe here and feel that the adults in our building care about them.

However, the focus of our project is not just celebrating our current climate and culture, but enhancing it. With that said, our committee found two focus areas that we want to hone in on based on the survey results. The first is increasing empathy and acceptance among students, and the second is enhancing student voice and leadership within our school.

Our committee has already put together some dynamite ideas for how we can attack these two areas, and we can’t wait to get started. Our plan is to continue to check in with students by surveying at the midpoint and again at the end of the year.

Do you have any great ideas for enhancing climate and culture at Islip Middle School? If so, come see me in person or call (631-650-8515) or e-mail (bmiltenberg@islipufsd.org). I look forward to hearing how we can better reach our goal of “making every day amazing” at IMS.

November: Empathy and Acceptance

As buccaneers, we live, study, work, and play on a ship full of others from different backgrounds, points of view, and walks of life. Our journey together is enhanced when we don't simply tolerate others who are different from us, but rather accept them for who they are, understand their experiences, and empathize with them.

1 Emergency Sheltering Drill Early Dismissal (15 minutes before regular close of school)

5 MS Early Winter Sports Begin

6 No School for Students - Election Day/Superintendent's Day

8 Picture Make-Ups

8 MS Musical, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

9 MS Musical, 7:00 PM, MS Auditorium

10 MS Musical, 2:00 PM, MS Auditorium

12 District Closed - Veteran's Day (observed)

13 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 PM* - CRES

13 1st Marking Period Ends

19 IMS PTA Meeting, 7:00 PM, MS Library

20 Report Cards Posted to Portal

21-23 District Closed - Thanksgiving Recess

27 Board of Education Meeting, 7:30 PM* - High School

29 SEPTA Meeting, 7:00 PM - HS Community Room

*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.

5 Winter Concert Grade 6, 7:00 PM, Auditorium

11 BOE Meeting 7:30 PM* - MS Library

17 2nd Qtr. Progress Period Ends

19 Winter Concert Grades 7 & 8, 7:00 PM, Auditorium

25 Winter Recess - School Closed through January 1, 2019

On Monday, October 29th, the CARE Club began their Annual Food Drive. The last day for contributions will be during advisory on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.

Please send in your donations of NON-PERISHABLE foods (no glass please).

Items that are especially needed:

Instant Potatoes

Stuffing Mix

Cranberry Sauce

Canned Yams

Canned Fruits and Vegetables

Cake Mixes and Frosting

Pudding Mixes

Soups

Gravy

Juices

Coffee

Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday advisors will send their donations to the Health Office where they will keep track of the numbers.

The advisory that donates the most food will earn a bagel breakfast. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 27, 2018.

Please help make this year's Food Drive the best ever!

President—Jennifer Sanders Vice President—Colleen Kurka

Secretary—Tina Hardekopf Treasurer—Denise Nash

We had a great turn out for our first PTA meeting. Thanks to all who attended! We know that your time is valuable and we want to make the PTA meetings meaningful. We try to keep the meetings to an hour. If there is a topic that you would like discussed, please let us know.

The Staff Welcome Back Breakfast was a great success, as teachers and staff were treated to a variety of bagels, pastries, and fruits. There was also a Lotto board raffle. Thank you to all who donated items for the breakfast.

PTA is sponsoring grade level assemblies again this year featuring topics on cultural awareness, physics and the highlight for the eighth graders is “From the Fires, Voices of the Holocaust.” The PTA is working with Dr. Martin, Mr. Miltenberg and staff to plan these assemblies around the curriculum to make them timely.

Our next PTA Meeting is November 19th at 7:00 pm at the Middle School Library. Pickup for Yankee Candle orders will be on Monday, November 19th, between 6:00 & 7:00 pm in the Middle School Library. Please make every effort to pick up your orders this evening. Most orders contain fragile items.

Our membership drive is doing well! Membership is always ongoing and it’s never too late to join. Below is the 2018-19 PTA membership form. Tear it off and send it to school with your child to their advisory teacher with your check or cash.

IMS PTA wishes you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving.

SEPTA is off to a great start!

We launched our first meeting with a presentation on Special Olympics by Ms. Lindsey Coyle, Program Director for NY Special Olympics.

November will be a very busy month for us and we welcome any help our members can offer. Our next two meetings are scheduled for November 1st and November 29th. We have our Applebee's flapjack fundraiser on Sunday, November 25th. Our wrestling program begins at the end of November. We will be selling SEPTA and Special Education Spirit Wear this month. We are also beginning discussions about the upcoming Sweetheart Dance.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please email islipfam@gmail.com or islipsepta@gmail.com.

We hope to see you at one of our events.

Join us for the Anil John Basketball Tournament Scholarship on Wednesday, November 28th, Thursday, November 29th, and Friday, November 30, 2018.

Our Annual Purple and Gold Dinner will be held on Friday, March 29, 2019 from 7:00 - 11:00 PM at Captain Bills. Please check our website at ww.islipboosterclub.org for upcoming events and more information.

Mrs. Kaywood and Mrs. Ryder have seen a lot of activity in the library since the start of the school year! ELA classes came in to borrow “Read Every Day” books across the grades while small groups have been in to catch up on writing assignments or assessments. Each day, the library sees close to one hundred students come in the library over the lunch periods to get a jump start on homework or read, while others play games or go online to play Cool Math Games. Mrs. Ryder’s Library Research students are presently drafting social networking profiles with privacy and security in mind.

KIC Club students, with the help of Mrs. Kaywood and Mrs. Ryder, have weeded the front lobby and courtyard gardens. Chrysanthemums have been planted in the courtyard planters and students just painted pumpkins to add more color and interest to the courtyard’s appearance. Thank you students! We can look forward to one or two more weeks of outdoor work!

Additional thanks need to go to Mrs. Flynn’s students for all of their help and care in tending to the gardens as well!

Should the opening of school be delayed, school canceled, or dismissed early, families may expect a timely announcement to that effect via automated telephone message and on the following television, radio stations, and websites:

TV NEWS CHANNEL 12

FIOS 1 News

WALK – 1370 AM

97.5 FM

WBAB – 102.3 FM

WBLI – 106.1 FM

WHLI – B103 FM

www.islipufsd.org

www.cancellations.com

Reminder:

If school is closed or dismissed early, all after-school activities are canceled.

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