The IMS Connection

Volume 16, Issue 7: MARCH 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians:

As of this writing, we have been very fortunate with regard to the weather. For this reason, our school calendar has not changed. Weather permitting; students will be able to go outside for recess. They will need to have long sleeve shirts through March in order to go outside.

The 100 Minutes of Motion sponsored by the IDEA task force was a great success. Nearly 100 fifth and sixth graders joined us in an evening of fun. I would like to acknowledge all of our IDEA Task Force volunteers, the AHA high school students, and IMS NJHS members for making this event a success.

As the days grow longer, it is not uncommon for students to start getting out and about after school. Outside activity is always encouraged. Students riding bikes should always wear helmets. Bicycle racks are located in the front of the building between the main entrance area and the academic wing.

At this time of year, it is not unusual to see groups of students leaving school to visit local merchants. Children should always cross at the crosswalks. As a reminder, students who leave school grounds are not permitted to take the late buses. Please have the children make other arrangements.

As always, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns. Email me at tmartin@islipufsd.org or call my office at 631-650-8505.

Until next month, be safe and stay positive as we approach warmer weather.

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Renaissance Rave

Congratulations to all the Renaissance Card Holders who attended the last rally recognizing your Quarter 1 success! We had a great time celebrating and winning prizes!

We look forward to celebrating with you again and recognizing everyone for the achievements earned in Quarter 2! Be on the lookout for our next validation dates and rally!! Keep up the hard work and dedication!

It has certainly been one of the mildest winters we have had in a while. I would like to say we have escaped the snow, but March can be quite unpredictable; let us keep our fingers crossed. As spring approaches, we are committed to staying the course and continually improving the climate and culture at Islip Middle School. In the coming months, our Climate and Culture Committee will focus on analyzing the survey results and develop plans as to how we can better serve our community.

The first week of March marks the mid-point of the third semester. Homework support is offered afterschool Monday through Thursday in the Fire Island dining room and teachers offer extra help in the morning and afternoon, so check with your teacher for their availability. I encourage students to use the resources available to them. It is never too late to do better.

The New York State ELA exam will take place from March 24-31, with an AM and PM session each day. If you have not already, you will soon receive a letter indicating which session your child is tentatively scheduled to take the exam. Please keep in mind that the schedule may be modified based on the number of participants. Students not taking the exam will attend all regularly scheduled classes.

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ADVISORY THEME OF THE MONTH

Respect...

This comes in all shapes and sizes. There can never be too much respect displayed to people in our schools, our families, or our community. Please share with your children how respect can go a long way towards making our world a better place.

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

2 Barnes & Noble Book Fair, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

4 (Inclement weather date) Barnes & Noble Book Fair

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

6 MS Progress Reports Posted to Portal

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

13 Progress Reports Posted to Portal

18 Islip Cultural Night, HS Cafeteria/Auditorium 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

23 MS Spring Sports Begin

23 PTA/SEPTA Joint Meeting, 7:00 p.m., MS Library

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

30 IDEA Coalition Task Force, 7:00 p.m., 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.

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

6-10 Spring Recess - School Closed

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

15 Marking Period Ends

16 EXCEL Fundraiser, Chili's of Bay Shore, 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

17 Purple & Gold Dinner, @ Captain Bill's. 7:00 - 11:00 p.m.

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

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

23 Report Cards Posted to Portal

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

28 IDEA Coalition Task Force, 6:30 p.m., 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.

Team Six Red ELA students are currently reading Realistic Fiction novels of their choice in book clubs. The groups will discuss key literary elements of the story. Following this unit, students will analyze the main character and generate an essay.

Spring time is a good time to replenish supplies in students’ pencil cases: pens, pencils, glue, post-its. We’d greatly appreciate this help!

Mathematicians have been exploring ratios, fractions, decimals, and percents. On Feb. 14th each student received a pack of Smarties to separate by color. Then, each number of a certain color Smarties had to be calculated into a decimal, fraction and percent. Of course, the students snacked on the Smarties. This coming quarter, we will be measuring to determine area, perimeter, and volume.

Please make sure your child comes to math class prepared with a pencil. Also, math extra help is Monday and Tuesday mornings as well as Tuesday afternoons.

The weather forecast for science students will be stormy. Air masses will move into class causing cold, warm, and stationary fronts to occur. Students will learn to use weather tools and become meteorologists who can predict and track hurricanes. Bring your raincoat and umbrella to science class in March because severe storms are comin’.

We are continuing our journey through ancient civilizations in social studies. We have reached Ancient China! As we study the geography and culture of each region, we are noticing the similarities, differences, and common features that assisted in the establishment of these civilizations. In February, we even celebrated the Chinese New Year as we learned about this very important holiday!

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March is Music in Our Schools Month!

We kicked off 2020 with the 6th Annual District-Wide String Festival. Over 200 string players in grades 4-12 came together at the Middle School to showcase their talents.

After finishing 2019 with wonderful winter concerts for both the 6th and 7th/8th grade performing groups, we are preparing for our spring concerts. Please bring family and friends to these performances and enjoy your child's dedication and commitment for the fine arts.

General Music: Mr. Magale & Mrs. Shaiman

Students in seventh grade are learning about the history of Rock and Roll music, listening and analyzing music from the 1950’s to the 1980’s.

Students in the eighth grade are learning to play the guitar by reading chord charts and various strumming patterns. They learn some of the “oldies” guitar classics to music from the pop charts of the current day.

Chamber Orchestra: Mr. Butterfield/Mrs. Shaiman

The 7/8th grade Chamber Group is preparing for performances at Barnes & Noble on March 2nd as well as Demo Day at the elementary schools. They will demonstrate the instruments for 3rd graders.

Band: Ms. Jeanes

Our Spring concerts for both 6th Grade Band and 7/8th Grade Band will prove to be an adventurously good time!! The 6th grade band will be featuring The Raiders March from the ever popular Indiana Jones movies, and the 7/8th grade band will be featuring a medley of songs from Jurassic Park! We just may have a surprise appearance by a T-Rex!!

Jazz Band: Ms. Jeanes

The Middle School Jazz Band is gearing up for a very busy performance season in the spring! They will be performing at the Islip Festival of the Arts (5/19), the 6th Grade Spring Concert, as well as at the National Honor Society Ceremony. Selections will feature Africa by Toto, a medley of songs by Earth, Wind and Fire and a few other surprise selections!!

Important Dates:

May 4th - 6th grade Spring Concert

May 12th - 7/8th grade Spring Concert

NYSSMA Solo & Ensemble Festival is May 14th.

SCMEA (Suffolk County Music Educators' Association)

The Division 1 and 2 All County Orchestra, Band and Chorus Festival rehearsals, and concerts will be held March 7, 13, 14 & 15. Congratulations to all our students selected!

Division 1

Band - Jasmin Fields-Robinson, Connor Ancipink, Jadyn Zink

Chorus - Addison DeFalco, Lucas Jordan, Jordan Sclafani

Orchestra - Avery Roche, Ryan Nieves

Division 2

Band - Jacob Schifter, Olivia Johnson, Sabrina Frazer, Jessica Cruz, Louise Kane, Jake Mulholland Chorus-Daniel Turk, Skylar Greene, Emma Cirulnick, Rebecca Leo, Michelle Quinteros, Annalee Thorn, Jolie Williams

Orchestra -Daniel Rubinson, Delaney Tauer, Lia Guzman, Alexander Baaden, Lauren Limmer, John Oggeri

Mr. Going and Ms. Hicks are very happy to share the news that the 8th grade Computer classes are working on mastering Microsoft Word. They have written letters to people or companies of interest on their own business letterhead. The letters have been sent and we are waiting for replies.

They are now working on creating a PowerPoint presentation and then practicing the presentation so they can present it to the class. Students are researching data for their presentation from the internet and fact checking it to make sure it is valid. They created calendars and are quite proficient at working with tables and graphics. We are sliding in touch typing as we go along.

Open to all Islip Students, feel free to attend one or all sessions.

COME JOIN THE FUN!

Septa's Special Olympics Bowling League second season has begun and will run through April 11th. Held Saturdays from 11:45 - 1:00 p.m. at East Islip Lanes.