Middle School Matters

The Mission of Portsmouth Middle School is to create a strong and safe learning environment: promote social, emotional and physical well-being and to provide opportunities for each student, to the best of their ability, to meet high academic standards, develop responsibility, and achieve the positive social values and behaviors to become productive citizens.

• Tuesday night: Viewing of Screenagers followed by Q&A with expert panel 6:00-8:00 P.M. Please use this RSVP form to let us know how many people will be attending and to submit a question for our panel to answer.

• Wednesday night: Monthly PTO meeting

• Thursday night:

• 5:30-7:00 P.M. Click the title here: Family STEAM Night . Please use the QR code to indicate your interest in attending. If you cannot access the QR code, you can use this GForm. We want to have an approximate count. We will have STEAM challenges as well as experts in the fields of math and science.

• 6:00-8:00 P.M. Click the title here: Good Night Lights for information regarding this annual event at PMS.

Please see the link here for Reading Week activities scheduled.

The Lost Library. This is the KRARI (Kids Read Across Rhode Island) selection for 2024 and is a NYT Bestseller, a #1 Indie Bestseller and the Amazon #1 Best Kids' book of 2023. It's part mystery, part fantasy, part ghost story. "It's about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book." (from GoodReads). The idea with the read-aloud is that students will have the opportunity to have a book read to them, and the whole school will be reading the same book at the same time. How fun is that?!? The kids won't always admit it, but they do enjoy being read to still!

On Monday, March 4, students will completed a Trusted Adult survey. The survey will asked students to identify up to three adults in the building who they consider trusted adults. We will use this information for further support students and to ensure all students have at least one trusted adult they can identify at PMS.

Portsmouth Middle School in collaboration with the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition, will be hosting a viewing of the film “Screenagers” on Tuesday March 5th from 6:00-8:00 P.M. followed by a Q&A with a panel of experts.

The panel will include A detective from Portsmouth police department’s internet crimes against children (ICAC) unit, Dr. Randy Kulman PhD, and a member of the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition.

Screenagers is an award-winning film that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts messy struggles over social media, video games and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world.

The event is open to all parents in the district, as well as children in grades 5-12.

Ms. Naron is available to answer any questions and can be reached at naronm@portsmouthschoolsri.org

Dear Portsmouth Families: Members of the grade 8 band would like to sell t-shirts to support a friend. If you would like to support a family in our community who has a child fighting cancer, please consider purchasing a shirt. Each shirt is $20 and all profit from sales will be donated to the family. (Donations are also welcome)

Team Atkinson T-Shirts

Please see the link here for details regarding the Book Fair taking place this week.

March is Youth Art Month at PMS. Please see the link here for more information of all the events taking place district wide for PMS students. All dates are also on our website calendar.

Both Portsmouth Middle School, and the Rhode Island Department of Education value your feedback! This spring, we will be asking you to take a brief survey to tell us about your experience with Portsmouth Middle School. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback.

The survey is open until March 31st. You will be able to take the survey online. You can access the survey by visiting bit.ly/ridefamily and selecting Portsmouth Middle School from the drop down menu.

• Topics are scored on a metric called the Percent Favorable Score

• In short, the top 2 answer choices are favorable for a questions with 5 answer choices

• The top 3 answer choices are favorable for a questions with 7 answer choices

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Goodwin, our Assistant Principal of Teaching and Learning by emailing goodwinl@portsmouthschoolsri.org

The next district Climate and Culture meeting is taking place on March 19th. Please click the link here for more information.

Please check out our first edition of the school newspaper. Our creative writing club afterschool created it. They are currently working on their second edition and are close to publication.

We are finding that students are using the bathrooms to check their phones and text friends or home. Cell phones are not to be used in school, per RI law. If students do not feel well, we have a certified school nurse who can assess and assist immediately with most medical needs. Ms. Joncas will also call home in the event that a student does not feel good so that parents can be a part of the team decision process on how to move forward.

We have seen an increase in unexpected behavior on the school bus. Although there have been consolidations as well as substitute drivers, we expect our students to behave as if they are in the classroom with their teachers. Dr. Masterson met with the bus company on the Friday before school vacation to review the common issues that have occurred over the previous two weeks. This list consists of bags in the aisle, students switching seats, and talking excessively loudly to name a few. Please review the following school department policies with your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s coordinator of student life or Dr. Masterson.

EEAC- School Bus Code

EE-Transportation Services

EEB-School Bus Operation

Currently, we are seeing deliberate damage taking place with Chromebooks (broken keys, pulled keyboard grid, cracked screens, etc). Due to these behaviors (not accidents), we now have a shortage of loaners. In the event a student caused deliberate damage to their Chromebook, they may not be guaranteed a loaner.

Please see the flier here for a parent workshop on supporting children who live with anxiety.

Patriot Pillars is built on a framework of creating a positive social culture for our students.

Our goal at PMS is to build a positive learning environment where all students feel safe and connected because we know this is how children learn best. As a staff we are focusing on making connections with our students.

Patriot Pillars is a system of reinforcing expected and positive behaviors, aligning student expectations to our school core values: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Ready to Learn.

Ask your child if they have earned any Patriot Pillars this week.

Please see the link here for Give Back Night from the GridIron Club.

The Friends’ of Rachel Club has started a clothing drive to support our Rachel's Closet. The closet is to help anyone who needs clothing for any season of the year. In order to be able to provide clothes year-round to our community, we need your help! We are in need of clothing for students grades 5 through 8, so please consider donating any new or gently used clothing items. Clothes can be dropped off in the bins labeled “clothing drive” which are located in the 6th and 8th grade hallways, as well as in the front lobby.

The Friends’ of Rachel Club also has a food pantry. We accept all donations of non-perishable foods that come in cans or packages. These donations can be placed in the bin labeled “food drive” located in the front lobby.

We have a Google Form, here, that has all of the up to date food and clothing that you may order. Please feel free to submit an order for our club to get packed up for you, or send questions to gonsalvesm@portsmouthschoolsri.org or bixbys@portsmouthschoolsri.org.

Please see the link here to the PHS yard sale opportunity.

Please see the March newsletter from the RI Student Assistance Services linked here.

We have two spring athletic openings: head coach and assistant coach for softball. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested, please have them reach out to Dr. Masterson directly.

We also have an (2) openings for RBT's/paraprofessional (registered behavior technician). The job ID is 4487130 for schoolspring.com.

Please see the form linked here to sign up for Unified Basketball. If you have any questions, you can contact our head coach, Ms. Tara McCarthy, mccarthyt@portsmouthschoolsri.org.

There will be a PTO meeting this week, Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. in the library. It is open to all families.

The PTO is sponsoring a Family Skate Night! It will take place on March 16th from 4:00-6:00 P.M. The sign up sheet is linked here

Please see the flier for upcoming events planned with administrators at PMS.

If you would like to volunteer in school or help on a field trip, please use this form going forward to become VIS approved.

Please see the letter linked here from the PTO regarding board openings for next school year.

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a Family STEAM night on Thursday, March 7th from 5:30-7:00 pm. It will be a fun-filled evening with various STEAM challenges and demonstrations that both our students and their families can explore and engage in together.

We are also looking to add tables of professionals who are experts in the STEAM world and are interested in showcasing their STEAM profession. This is an excellent opportunity to expose students to a wide range of career possibilities. If you are working in a job that falls under STEAM and have something that you can either demonstrate or have small activities, and would like to participate in, please send an email to Margie Brennan at brennanm2@portsmouthschoolsri.org.

Please see the February newsletter here.

Portsmouth School Department has opened up Kindergarten registration. Please see the flier linked here.

Please see the flier here for offerings from Aquidneck Athletic Advancement.

Please see the flier here for more information on the job opportunities within the district for our food service company, Chartwell

Portsmouth Little League has opened registrations for the spring season. Please see the linked flier for more information.

When students arrive at 7:45, they are meeting our core value of "Be Ready to Learn". Thank you for helping your child be a responsible Portsmouth Patriot!

Mrs. Heffernan's Grade 6 Digital Media students have been busy filming their Stop Motion videos. Students worked in small groups to create storyboards, scenery, props, and clay characters to capture a 2 minute original film using ipads and tripods. Students incorporated the four pillars of the National Visual Arts Standards by Creating, Presenting, Responding, and Connecting their work to the world around them. We are having so much fun!