The IMS Connection

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Spring has arrived and I am rather confident we have kept our school calendar intact. At this time, the snow days are not being changed to school days. I believe the children will relish this as they have longer vacations in the weeks ahead. We will continue to enjoy the great outdoors at recess. It is important for children to come to school dressed appropriately for outdoor morning arrival and for lunch recess.

As the weather gets nicer, it is common for students to take full advantage of the wonderful sunshine. We are asking parents to speak with children about visiting our local merchants after school and how to safely navigate Montauk Highway. Once students leave school grounds upon dismissal, they are not permitted to return and may not take late buses home.

Mr. Miltenberg has included information about NYS testing later in this newsletter. I trust this will answer most questions.

Enjoy the first days of spring!

Kind regards,

Timothy P. Martin

tmartin@islipufsd.org

Spring has sprung! We are leaping with joy and excitement as our next renaissance rally is drawing near. Don’t forget to bring your cards to school; we will be validating them starting April 9th.

Remember it is not all about good grades! Good character is recognized also! Keep up the hard work!

As the calendar turns to spring, we turn the corner for the final straightaway of the 2018-19 school year. However, even as the end rounds into view, there is still so much left to look forward to this year.

We continue to focus on enhancing student climate and culture at IMS. Recently, we gathered our faculty to analyze the results from our most recent student survey. The discussions we had with our staff yielded great insights into what is great about IMS and what could be even better. We have seen great improvement in our students’ assessment of interpersonal relations among the student body, with significantly more students reporting that students treat each other kindly at IMS.

With that being said, there is still work to be done in ensuring kindness and respect in all student-to-student interactions. No student should ever have to worry about being teased, bullied, or ostracized, and we will work tirelessly until we can ensure this is the case.

Switching gears, we are excited to share that April will be our first-ever “Exploring Our Futures” month. Our advisory session this month will focus on exploring college and career ideas, options, and pathways for our students, culminating in our third College and Career Day of the year on April 17th. Students will be invited to wear college and career attire and participate in a college pennant scavenger hunt – stay tuned for more details.

As always, we welcome your feedback on your IMS experience. Please feel free to reach out via email or phone at any time. Go Bucs!

bmiltenberg@islipufsd.org

631-650-8515 Assistant Principal's Office

Exploring Our Futures

It's never too early to dream big! Students will explore college and career pathways in order to empower them to chart their own course.

1 IAMP Meeting, 7:30 p.m., HS Faculty Room

2 Budget Workshop/BOE Meeting, 7:30* p.m., MS Auditorium & Library

3 SEPTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m., HS Community Room

5 3rd Quarter Marking Period Ends

9 IDEA Coalition Task Force Meeting, 7:00 p.m., HS Community Room

12 Report Cards Posted to Portal

16 Budget Workshop/BOE Meeting, 7:30* p.m., MS Auditorium & Library

16 Booster Club Meeting, 7:00 p.m., HS Faculty Room

18 Snow Make-Up Day / Schools Closed If No Snow Days Used

19-26 School Closed / Spring Recess

*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 p.m..

2 SEPTA Awards Night, 7:00 p.m., HS Auditorium

7 Public Hearing on Budget, 7:30 p.m.; followed by BOE Meeting, MS

8 Grade 6 Band, Orchestra, Chorus, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

8 Jazz Band 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

13 Joint District PTA Meeting, District Budget Presentation 7:00 p.m., MS Library

14 7th & 8th Grade, Band, Orchestra, Chorus, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

14 Show Choir and Chamber Orchestra, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

14 IDEA Coalition Task Force Meeting, 7:00 p.m., HS Community Room

15 5th to 6th Grade Orientation, 7:00 p.m., MS

17 EXCEL LI Ducks Fundraiser Night, 6:35 p.m., Bethpage Ballpark

20 National Junior Honor Society Induction Ceremony, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

21 Budget Vote 6:00 AM—9:00 p.m. HS Gym, BOE Meeting 9:30 p.m., HS Community Room

21 Festival of the Arts, 7:00 p.m., HS

24 Progress Reports Posted to Portal

27 Memorial Day, School Closed

28 MS Awards Night, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

31 8th Grade Yearbook Signing

*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 p.m..

The New York State math exam will be administered to grades 6 and 7 on 5/1 and 5/2. All students will be tested simultaneously beginning at 8:20 AM. We will be using our two-hour delay schedule for the remainder of the day, with period 1 beginning at 10:20.

Students are presently exploring the pros and cons of social media in Mrs. Ryder’s Library Research course. A 2018 Common Sense Media survey reports that 70% of teens use social media sites today (Snapchat, Instagram, anyone?); a jump from 2012 when just 34% of teens used social media. Keeping the above in mind, as well as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and Dignity for all Students Act, library research students are examining the concepts of privacy, public, ownership, reputation, and how important these are when students are extending their lives to the online world more than ever.

Mrs. Kaywood, Mrs. Ryder, and KIC students have been very busy this semester. Students painted clay pots over several weeks and recently held a plant sale to raise funds. With the money we made, we will purchase pansies, daffodils and mulch to make our gardens picture perfect. Thank you to all the adults that purchased our plants, we could not make our gardens beautiful without your support.

Finally, Mrs. Kaywood and Mrs. Ryder encouraged students to celebrate Women’s History Month the last week in March. During each lunch period, over fifty boys and girls participated in different daily challenges. The students researched women for their countless contributions in history in politics, the sciences, math, literature, and activism for human, civil, and women’s rights.

8 Green has had an exciting year so far!

In the beginning of the year, students expanded their scientific horizons with a cinematic field trip to see the Oscar-winning film “First Man” in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. Currently, in general science, students are wrapping up their exploration of genetics while the Earth Science students are studying weather.

Social studies students are eagerly looking forward to venturing out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty to deepen understandings of the immigrant experience. 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 in June.

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!

The second half of the year is in full swing in the Technology Education department.

The 6th and 7th grade students are currently engaged in an array of exciting activities.

The students in Mr. Wenzel and Mr. Smith’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 things students learn about are: transportation systems, alternative energy, aerodynamics, and magnetism. Throughout the project, the students will have to manipulate certain materials in order to meet the design constraints and requirements of their project. 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 6th graders in Mr. Claps’ class are currently building catapults, where each student designed, built, and tested a ping-pong ball-throwing device. Students are graded by the distance and accuracy of their device. The 7th graders in Mr. Claps’ class are currently working on CO2 Dragsters. The students engage in design, modeling, building, and testing of these compressed air racers.

In March, the 8th graders participated in a high school transition program. Dr. Martin, Mr. Miltenberg, Ms. Ward, and Ms. Hall worked together to create a wonderful experience for our students.

On March 11th, a video produced entirely by high school students was shown in all 8th grade advisories. This video highlighted the difference between the buildings and helped students become familiar with the teachers and staff. From there, high school students from the Buccaneer University Mentoring Program came to the middle school to meet our students. Each advisory was visited by a group of student mentors for small group discussions and a high school Jeopardy game. Topics included study skills, joining sports and clubs, the high school lunch choices and overcoming the fear of change.

After these small group discussions, middle school students visited the high school. Students started the day off in the cafeteria eating cookies provided by Islip PTSA, and being welcomed by the High School administration and their guidance team. Once again, students met with the same student ambassadors who visited their advisories by dividing up in small groups. These peer leaders then took them on a tour of the building by visiting a total of 8 different classes throughout the school day.

The end result was powerful! Not only do our students feel more comfortable and prepared to enter high school, but they are excited! A big thanks to all the peer leaders, teachers, and administrators who developed this outstanding program.

President – Jennifer Sanders Vice President – Colleen Kurka

Secretary – Tina Hardekopf Treasurer – Denise Nash

SPRING IS IN THE AIR!

We have all survived another winter and are looking forward to some warmer weather... with the warmer weather we start to think about end-of-year events. Currently the Middle School Yearbooks are on sale! Order online or complete a form. To order online click here and enter the school code 067720. Forms are available in the main office. Deadline has been extended to April 17, 2019.

We are also running the Spring Spirit Wear fundraiser. There are some new items this spring so check them out! Keep an eye out for flyers coming home. You may order online at the following link. All orders will be arriving in late May.

Follow us on Facebook at Islip Middle School PTA

for quick links to the yearbook and spirit wear.

We are in need of a Secretary for the 2019 - 2020 School year.

If you have any interest in helping out next year, please email us at islipmiddleschoolpta@gmail.com

Accepting credit card payments. Please follow the steps below:

visit: www.memorybook.com/online-pay/parent-pay/

Enter school code: 067720

Register as a "new user"

Buy a yearbook for $22.00 (plus sales tax for online orders only)

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