News from the Middle

It was wonderful to reconnect with students this week. We had a wonderful first few days as teachers and students worked together to establish routines and build connections. We marvled at how easily students fell into routines and were pleased to see that our 5th graders seemed to acclimate to their first days at Medway Middle School.

We appreciate the support that families have played in getting students to school on time. On-time school arrival is one of our goals this year. When students arrive to school on time, they have the opportunity to socialize with friends and settle into the school day. As a reminder, school starts at 7:25am. We will begin to welcome students into the building at 7:15am. Please do your very best to have your Middle School students to school on time each morning. It really makes a huge difference in their start to the day.

Please take some time to review the announcements below. As always, should you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us! We look forward to a wonderful year together.

Best,

Amanda Luizzi

Principal

Medway Middle School

We are pleased to share that we will be communicating with families in a variety of ways this year. We recognize that families digest information differently and we want to be responsive. This year, you can expect the following from Medway Middle School:

• School Newsletters are emailed approximately twice a month
• The school website will be updated with information on a regular basis
• Follow us on Twitter @MedwayMiddle

Coming Soon

• Medway Middle School Facebook
• Medway Middle School Instagram
• Regular communication from Teacher "Teams"
• Principal Coffee Hours

Information about this will be shared with families at Open House on September 20th.

Please note that we will not be engaging with families on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but will use these platforms to share information with our community. We hope that these changes will allow our families to receive regular reminders and updates about the events that are happening at Medway Middle School.

All students will enter the building using the main entrance on Holliston Street. If you are driving your child to school, please note that student supervision begins at 7:15am. We do not have staff to supervise students before that time. Parents who are driving their students to school should enter the Middle School near the gravel lot and follow the path to the side of the Middle School (Past the Superintendent's entrance). Staff will be waiting to greet students in this location each morning.

Dismissal

Please review the following interactive Google Map to view the order of our car pick up procedures. When you hover over the lane number on the left hand side of the interactive map, the lane will be highlighted in white to give you a sense of the line up procedure. Upon arriving to campus, cars should pull off of Holliston street and fill in the series of lanes in our staging area. Lane 1 will be the first cars to pick up students, with lane 6 being the last lane. If we follow these procedures, we should be able to keep traffic off of Holliston Street.

Parents should pull all the way up to the front of the student dismissal area. Students will walk to cars. Please do not stop halfway down the pickup aisle.

On Tuesday, September 20th students will take the first of three Panorama surveys given througout the year. The survey asks students their thoughts and feelings about a variety of social and emotional learning topics. We use the survey results to plan programming and student supports. All student voices are important and we are looking forward to continuing to learn from, and respond to, our students' feedback.

A copy of the survey for our school will be available in the Middle School front office for viewing between 8:30 am and 1:30 pm starting Wednesday, Sep 7th. You may opt your student out of this administration of the survey by completing the Panorama Survey - 9/20/22 - Middle School Opt-Out form by the end of the school day on Friday September 9th. For questions about the survey please contact Mr. Dave Elsner, Grade 5-12 School Counseling Coordinator.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin our diagnostic assessments for students next week. Below is a description of the assessments that our students participate in at each of our grade levels. Please note that these assessments are not used to formulate a student grade and are not used in the grading process. Teachers use this information to plan instruction.

Grade 5- Students in Grade 5 participate in iReady Reading and Math Diagnostic Assessments. Unlike data from the state-mandated MCAS test, the information about your child’s current level of performance, both their strengths and opportunities for growth, are immediately available to their teachers. Teachers will use this data to inform their daily instruction. Students in grade 5 will also participate in DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). DIBELS is a set of procedures and measures that our teachers will use to assess the acquisition of literacy skills for our 5th-grade students. This is the first year our students are participating in DIBELS.

Grade 6-8- IXL - IXL provides students, educators, and families with an understanding of student strengths and areas of needed growth through a diagnostic that is facilitated online at the beginning of the school year. Once students answer a certain number of questions accurately (duration of initial diagnostic is student-dependent), IXL produces an overall performance/grade level equivalent score for each student in English/Language Arts and Mathematics and, further, provides a breakdown of student knowledge based on the various English/Language Arts and Mathematics domains. IXL is used as a supplement to other curriculum resources utilized in English/Language Arts and Mathematics courses.

Medway Middle School's Department of Performing Arts will be presenting James and the Giant Peach this fall. Students in grade 7 & 8 who are interested in auditioning should visit the MMS Performing Arts webpage which is linked here. As we have shared on the Mustang Message,

video submissions are due through the google form linked above by 5:00pm on Monday, September 5th.

Chromebook Insurance

For all Grade 5-12 families: Due to the high repair rate during the 2021-22 school year, the cost to insure devices has risen from $20 per year to $32. If you wish to purchase insurance, please visit the Insurance and Break/Fix website for more details, repair costs, and access to the insurance purchasing portal. We have secured one to four-year insurance options through Worth Ave Insurers. Please note that the insurance policy does not cover lost or stolen devices. The policy does not cover the charging unit. Charger replacement is available at $20 per charger through the Technology Department.

We encourage all families of students with district owned 1:1 devices to secure insurance and to also discuss the proper care of devices with their children. Stressing that these are school-owned, that families are responsible for the cost of repair, and that vandalism will not be tolerated are important. Damage inclusive of keys being pulled off the keyboard, carving into the device, disassembling, cutting cables, or personalization (stickers/writing), is not allowed. The cost of repairing the device is the family's responsibility, up to the full replacement value [$350] of the device. Any damage deemed as vandalism will not be tolerated and is subject to disciplinary actions including loss of device use and suspension.

Please read the 2022-2023 Medway Middle Student- Parent School Handbook. It has important information for students and families. Please complete this Google Form to confirm that your family has reviewed the Handbook.

Our school nurse is Mrs. Colleen Langille. Throughout the school year, should you need to speak with her about doctor's orders or medication(s) please reach out to her via email or phone. We ask that families continue to send student's physical and immunization records to Mrs. Langille's attention.

Mrs. Langille's contact information:

clangille@medwayschools.org

508-533-3230 x 4123

fax 508-321-4753

Our Guidance team is here to support your child throughout the school year. Should you have questions or concerns about your child's social-emotional development or adjustment to middle school, please reach out to your child's counselor. As a reminder, all questions related to academic concerns should first be directed to your child's teacher as the teacher will best be able to respond to questions about your child's academic performance.

Guidance Team

Mr. Marcus Hatt- Grade 5 and Grade 7 A-FE

Mrs. Taralynn Turner- Grade 8 and Grade 7 FI-MC

Mrs. Kelsey Yim - Grade 6 and Grade 7 ME-Z

Children need healthy meals to learn. Medway Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day. During the 2022-2023 school year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch at school. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has provided money to do this for one year through the State budget. We need your help to ensure our district receives all the financial resources for which it qualifies. Please fill out and submit the application for free and reduced price school meals.

If many families fill out and return this form, we will get more money from the federal government for free school meals now and in the future. We will also get more money for other school programs. Filling out this form also helps our community provide free summer meals to all kids, and free meals to kids in childcare. The information you provide is confidential. We follow strict federal rules to keep your information private.

September 5- School Closed, Labor Day

September 12-16 - Grade 6 Trip to Nature's Classroom

September 20- Medway Middle School Open House 6-8pm (Details to Follow)

September 26- School Closed, Rosh Hashanah

September 27- MMS Clubs and Activities Late Bus Begins - more to come in our next newsletter