ALMS Weekly Newsletter

Hello ALMS Families,

Happy belated Valentine's Day! I hope you all dealt with the midweek snow storm by enjoying the wintery weather, staying warm, and relaxing. This week we saw some exciting projects and celebrations as we had lively spirit week prior to our Mid-Winter Break.

There were more Black History Month Projects on display at ALMS. A big thanks to Ms. Suplina and her students for showcasing in this past weekends Black History Month Celebration at New Rochelle High School. Also, Ms. DeGeorge and her 6th grade classes displayed some excellent work around their reading of Tuck Everlasting. See below for their travel brochures! Finally, Ms. Grisanti held her annual Color Wars with all her classes, playing ELA inspired games and repping their teams colors in creative ways!

ShowBiz kids celebrated their winter cabaret performance! It was an enthralling show that was as lively as it was fun! Thank you to all who came to support our students as well as those who helped put on the show!

Please see below for flyers regarding Girls on the Run, and other Extended Learning Events. Also, the Media Club put together some enticing content, with a Valentine' s-themed episode, a new weather report, and more sportscasting!

We are excited to announce our Girls Leadership Conference coming up on March 16th. We invite girls in grades 5-8 to attend our empowering and informative workshops. We will also have a panel discussion for parents about raising strong, smart girls! Spend the morning with us! See details below.

Finally, registration for Middle School Athletics will begin on Monday, February 19th, and continue through Friday, March 29th, on Arbiter Sports. Middle School Athletics will officially begin on Monday, March 18th. Please register on Arbiter Sports in the link attached here: https://students.arbitersports.com/organizations/city-school-district-of-new-rochelle-athletics-department. Courtesy of The New Rochelle Athletics Department

Warm Regards,

Camille Edwards-Thomas

We want to extend our deepest apologies for neglecting to include a message about the Lunar New Year in last week's newsletter. We have since corrected the previous newsletter and have included our message here for all who may have missed it:

We want to extend our warmest wishes to everyone celebrating Lunar New Year. It is a festival typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. This is the Year of the Dragon. Lunar New Year is a time of joy, reflection, and renewal. It’s a moment to celebrate, spend time with loved ones, and embrace the promise of new beginnings.

• February 1st-29th - Black History Month
• February 19th - President's Day
• February 19th-23rd - Mid-Winter Recess - NO SCHOOL
• March 1st-31st - Women's History Month
  
• March 10th - Daylight Savings Time starts (Spring Ahead)
• March 13th - PTA Meeting
• March 16th GIRLS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
• March 17th - St. Patrick's Day
• March 25th-29th - Spring Recess
• March 29th - Good Friday
• March 31st - Easter Sunday
• April 1st - Easter Monday

On Thursday March 7th the Student Council will visit the Willow Towers Assisted Living Facility in New Rochelle. Student Council members are excited to spend time with seniors in our community. Students are planning to make approximately 50 small gift bags for residents. Donations would be appreciated. The Student Council is grateful for your support.

Below is a sampling of our art students' work that was displayed for our district's Black History Month Celebration at the High school on Feb 10.

After reading Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt, students were asked to create travel brochures either by hand, using Canva, or Google Slides, to the small isolated town of Treegap, a setting in the book. Students included text features, locations, and quotes from the book to entice their audience to visit Treegap!

Students had the opportunity to participate in “I Love The Pieces of Me” lunch activity facilitated by Mrs. Johnson. Students practiced social awareness by reflecting on four things about them that bring joy to their hearts. This activity is on display in our cafeteria for the month of February. Students who participated also had the opportunity to be entered into a raffle for a small prize, congratulations to the winners!

The Queen Collective was represented by 8th grade student members Saniyah Corn and Demaiyah Lewis at the The 12th Annual Westchester Association of Black School Educators Black History Month Showcase on Saturday February 10th. The ladies recited famous excerpts and poems tying them into the importance of education, inclusion and equity as this year’s theme was commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Brown vs. BOE Supreme Court decision. Thank you to our girls for an amazing performance!

This week we celebrated Respect For All Week with theme days. Staff and students had the opportunity to dress up for our daily themes which included “Comfy Day,” highlighting everyone’s right to be feel comfortable in our community, “Red, Pink, and Hearts Day” where students were encouraged to “wear their hearts on their sleeve” and focus on self love and positive relationships, “Dress to Impress” encouraging students to show up as their “best selves” and ALMS School spirit Day, where we show up in our school swag or colors to represent our school community where are No Place For Hate! Thank you to all staff and students who participated! (We will revisit Crazy Hair Day in the near future so stay tuned!)

1. Yearbook Orders

The 2023-24 ALMS Yearbook is still on sale! Please click here to order a yearbook today. Only students who pre-order yearbooks by February 28, 2024 will be guaranteed copies in June. Do not delay, order today!

2. Yearbook Ads

Very limited space is still available in our ALMS Yearbook for families and friends to celebrate eighth grade students with recognition ads. Jostens makes the process very easy. Please click here to create a recognition ad for your eighth grader. The final deadline for all ads is Thursday, February 8, 2024. This deadline cannot be extended.

3. Yearbook Boosters

You can also celebrate your eighth grader with a booster ad. A booster ad is a message with 100 characters or less (no pictures or font choice). Booster ads cannot be completed on the Jostens website. Please click here to submit a booster ad for your eighth grader. The deadline to submit boosters is Thursday, February 8, 2024.

Dear Parents/Guardians:

We hope all is well with you and your family. It felt like yesterday when our eighth-grade students came to us as eager sixth graders. As the start of their final marking periods of middle school approaches, we are looking ahead to the next phase of their lives.

Over the last few weeks and moving forward, we have been ramping up our efforts to prepare them for their transition to high school. This includes meeting with their counselors for course selection and a virtual orientation for families and parents that provides greater insight into life at New Rochelle High School.

The 8th-grade year culminates with a series of activities designed to celebrate the achievements of our students. These include the 8th-grade Formal Dance at the VIP Country Club, a day trip to Holiday Hill, Awards Night, and the Transition Ceremony. The dates and costs for each event are in this message. Please look for further details on each event as the dates approach.

Throughout your child’s time here, they have been held to our school's highest academic rigor and expectations. We want to remind you that basic requirements must be met to participate in any/all end-of-year eighth-grade activities. Participation in these events is contingent upon students meeting behavioral and academic standards. Please note the following:

Academic Exclusions:

● Students with failures in two or more major academic subjects will be excluded from participation in 8th Grade Activities

Behavioral Exclusions:

● Students who continually engage in violations of the code of conduct

● Students who demonstrate ongoing rude and disrespectful behavior towards adults and others

● Students who continue to be late and or attempt to cut class

If you are concerned that your child may not meet the academic and/or behavioral qualifications/expectations, please contact your school counselor. Mr. Smith, the 8th-grade Administrator, can field any inquiries about your child's eligibility for participation in upcoming events.

We look forward to the coming months and exciting times ahead. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Edwards-Thomas, Principal

Mr. Smith, Assistant Principal

Ms. Carew and Ms. D’Ippolito, 8th Grade Co-Advisors

The school district renewed the tutor.com license for middle and high school students! See the attached fliers for more information!

Click to enlarge the images below!

Please see the fliers and QR codes below for more information about SEPTA!

Click to enlarge any images below!