Welcome to Union Middle School!

Hello UMS Future Families,

Welcome to the just-for-you UMS Newsletter. We are excited to welcome our new students and families to Union Middle School. Below are a lot of incoming 6th grade specific updates. Please do share with your student. There are some key bits of information that would behoove them to review.

5th Grade Field Trip - May 17th @ 9 AM (In-Person / UMS Campus)

On May 17th, at 9 am, we will have our annual 5th grade walking field trip. Current 5th grade students who have enrolled at UMS for the fall are welcome to join. The event starts at 9 am and lasts for just over 1 hour. It is a drop-off event for those students coming from non-feeder schools.

We have a virtual 5th grade walking field trip video (made 100% by our Tiger Talk students!) for our incoming 6th graders. It might be a tad out of date, but it's still a nice way for our students to get a sense of the UMS campus and meet their WEB leaders (Mr. Goldman and Ms. Bombardieri) prior to WEB Day on August 12th. Here is the YOUTUBE link - Enjoy!

5th Grade Parent Night - May 17th @ 6:30 PM (In-Person / UMS GYM)

Our 5th grade parent night is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30 pm in the UMS Gym. Masking is strongly encouraged and recommended. The event lasts for just over an hour and will include brief presentations by our 6th grade teachers about the course curriculum your soon-to-be 6th grader will experience next year. We look forward to seeing you at this event. If you are unable to attend the meeting, I'll share the slides after the meeting via ParentSquare.

I’ve also updated the 5th grade parent FAQ - available HERE. If you have questions, please ask them HERE via the Google Form. As always, check the FAQ first. I regularly add to the FAQ with new parent questions.

5th Grade Classroom Visits

In the upcoming weeks, our admin and counseling team will be meeting with our three feeder schools' 5th grade classrooms via zoom. It's a very informal meeting as we will just introduce ourselves, answer a few questions, and (hopefully) get the 5th graders excited for Union Middle School. Your student doesn't need to do anything to participate - it will be handled by their 5th grade teacher. Also, it's ok if your student misses the session; no earth shattering news will be shared. :)

Elective Sign-Ups for Incoming 6th Graders

I’ve included information for our incoming 5th grade families regarding elective selection in the slide show and the FAQ. The direct link for your student to sign up for their 6th grade elective is HERE. It does not open up until May 16th at 3 pm. As a preview, 6th grade students select Band or the Elective Wheel. It’s one or the other. Nothing to stress about. You can learn more about the 6th grade electives HERE.

5th Grade Summary & Quick Links

Walking Field Trip Link HERE (approximately 6 minutes)

Copy of 5th Grade Slides HERE

5th Grade FAQ HERE

5th Grade Parent Questions - ask HERE (but only after reading the FAQ…)

6th Grade Elective Sign-Up Google Form HERE

Summary of 6th Grade electives HERE

On Friday, August 12th, UMS will be hosting our 6th graders for WEB day. This is our new student orientation (new-to-UMS 7th and 8th graders also welcome), led by our Web Coordinators Mr. Goldman and Mrs. Bombardieri as well as our 8th grade WEB leaders. Please mark this day on your calendar now. Please refer to the 5th grade FAQ for more information.

ParentSquare will be how I (Todd the principal) communicate with families. You have the ability to text with questions (although email is preferred for non-urgent questions) and I'll most likely quickly respond. It's easy to sign up. Simply download the ParentSquare app and turn on Notifications. Easy as that.

Some 5th grade families might be interested to see how our 6th grade teachers keep students and parents updated. In a change from the elementary school level, our 6th grade teachers utilize PowerSchool to keep students and parents updated on assignments and grades while providing a weekly newsletter that include links to daily/weekly classroom slides and more.

Our school website (available at unionms.unionsd.org) houses the above information. Under "Teams & Staff", you'll find links to each of the UMS Teams' Hyperdocs. Your student has not been assigned to a team yet - you haven't missed any deadline. Feel free to check out what 6th grade looks like a little bit for the current 2021-22 school year.

Email: feinbergt@unionsd.org
Website: Unionms.Unionsd.org
Location: 2130 Los Gatos Almaden Road, San Jose, CA, USA
Phone: (408) 371-0366
Twitter: @goteamums