The IMS Connection

Volume 15, Issue 9: May 2019

Dear Parents and Guardians:

As I am writing this note, the weather is 65 and sunny, finally. We look forward to enjoying the great outdoors during recess and to taking full advantage of springtime activities. Students should dress accordingly.

Our sixth and seventh grade students will be voting on our student government officers for the 2019 - 2020 school year. Eighth graders will vote on a King and Queen of the Conga Line for the Grade 8 Moving Up Dance. Voting for students takes place on Tuesday, May 21, in the high school gymnasium between 2:30 and 9:00 PM. This is the same day parents will vote on the school budget. So, exercise your right to vote and make it a family affair.

We are entering the final exam season and changes in schedules will occur. Parents should review planners to note any subject-specific information. In reference to finals week, we are waiting on details from our transportation office in reference to buses. Once we have this information we will share it with you. Lastly, be on the lookout for your child's course requests coming home shortly.

Kind regards,

Timothy P. Martin

tmartin@islipufsd.org

Renaissance Rave ~

April rain has brought May flowers

We are blooming with excitement about our next Renaissance Rewards Giveaway to celebrate all the accomplishments completed in the 3rd Quarter. Our next event is scheduled for June, more details to follow!! Remember to keep up all the hard work!!!

"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand" Vince Lombardi

After a period of heavy rain, the clouds have parted and a glorious spring season has begun. With the spring spirit in the air, we’re devoting our energy to maintaining and enhancing our school climate and culture.

Our Buccaneer Roundtable continues to provide us with valuable perspective and feedback on key issues such as school safety, bullying/cyberbullying, lunch and recess, and more. Based on responses from our students, we’re trying out a new program of “8th Grade Fridays” in which 8th grade students can select new lunch tables and hang out in the courtyard during recess on Fridays. We continue to seek out student voices and input as we attempt to grow our young leaders here at IMS.

We’ll be conducting our final student survey of the year this month. As we track student responses, we continue to work with our Student Climate and Culture Committee to continuously improve the experience for staff, students, and families here at IMS.

May’s advisory theme is School Spirit. Why do we stress Islip Pride? It’s not about showing the world how great we are, or boasting about our successes. Rather, it’s all about celebrating and sharing the positive things happening in our community and letting one another know how lucky and grateful we are to live and work here.

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Advisory Theme of the Month:

May: School Spirit… Students will learn about the history of Islip's schools and will have their Islip knowledge tested this month as we learn about our community and celebrate being a part of Islip Middle School during Spirit Week!

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

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 Concert, Grade 6 Band, Orchestra, Chorus, and Jazz Band 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

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

14 Concert, 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

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

24 Progress Reports Posted to Portal

27 Memorial Day, School Closed

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

30 6th Grade Field Day

31 8th Grade Yearbook Signing and Field DAy

*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..

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

4 7th Grade Field Day

4 BOE Meeting, 7:30 p.m., MS Library

4 Physicals for Fall Sports

5 EXCEL Awards Night, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., MS Auditorium

10 Fine & Performing Arts Awards, 7:00 p.m., MS Auditorium

15 NJHS Car Wash, 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., MS Front Parking Lot

17 4th Quarter Marking Period Ends

18 BOE Meeting, 7:30 p.m., MS Library

18-25 Finals/Regents Exams

25 8th Grade Moving Up Dance, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

26 Last Day of School for Students, Early Dismissal 10:20 a.m.

*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..

Do you want to read my Poem?

Poetry is an artistic form of writing that exudes creative purpose from each line, whether the author’s true intention is to express emotion, describe an awe-inspiring sight, or commemorate an absolute hero. Directly before Spring Break, in the spirit of National Poetry Month, the seventh grade English teachers, in collaboration with their team teachers, coordinated an amazing, fun-filled day, where students wonderfully celebrated poetry. Most students were so proud that, with the utmost excitement, the question of the day became Do you want to read my poem?

The students spent the first portion of their day learning about and creating blackout poems. Blackout poems are comprised of isolated words or phrases selected from old books, magazines, or newspapers, which ultimately create lyrical masterpieces (DePasquale Scholastic 2016). Subsequently, opportunities for innovative genius were placed directly before the students’ eyes. Those who may not usually be able to formulate the right words for the blank page were able to identify a clear path to expressiveness, since powerful, pre-existing words prominently positioned themselves to be chosen by way of personal preference.

Then the students composed blitz poems. Essentially, Esther Spurrill-Jones of The Writing Cooperative explains, “The blitz poem has 50 lines… There is no rhyme scheme and no set rhythm… The first forty-eight lines follow a pattern where each pair of lines starts with the same word, and this word is the last word of the preceding line... Begin with a phrase that stands out to you or has a meaning you want to explore …” (2017). To their own surprise, students realized that they were capable of stringing together a connectedness between lines and ideas, just as long as they kept an initial topic in mind. Although this was a bit more challenging, once students established a theme, or even jotted down a catchy phrase, meaningful perspectives progressively and poetically began to accumulate on their papers.

Lastly, with onlookers smiling, laughing, and even crying, student volunteers, whether in small or large groups, had an opportunity to orally publish their blackout or blitz poems. A couple of students even chose to share their original works. It was quite sensational. It was authentic beauty. It was mere perfection in the real. Imagine that.

Click here to view student poetry samples.

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Click here for our May lunch menu

DID YOU KNOW.......

Student breakfast is available daily from 7:15—8:15 a.m.

If you qualify for free or reduced lunch you also qualify for free or reduced breakfast.

Click here to access all information for our School Lunch programs.

Mora Peterson and Zach Miller both wrestled at War at The Shore, a yearly National Tournament for Wrestling. This year they even had a team from Austria. It takes place Easter Weekend each year and has over 2,000 wrestlers compete. It is known as one of the toughest tournaments for athletes’ school age K-8. Mora and Zach both placed 4th! Mora placed in the MS girls bracket and Zach in the boys. This makes both of them All American Wrestlers!

Congratulations to Mora and Zach for their great accomplishment and to their coaches!

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PHYSICALS FOR FALL SPORTS

The School Doctor will be here for Physicals on Tuesday, June 4th. Any student interested in seeing the school doctor for a physical to participate in fall sports must make an appointment in the Health Office.