Clark-Shaw Magnet School

Hello Eagle family,

It is amazing how time flies when you are having fun. The end of 3rd Quarter is upon us. Please take a few minutes to review your child’s course averages, attendance, and behavior. Contact teachers if you have questions. Do not forget the magnet program requirements regarding continued placement for next year. The last day of 3rd Quarter is March 17, 2022.

The arrival of 4th Quarter means it is time for state testing. The Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) is the standardized assessment given to students in grades 6-8. The assessment includes subtests in math, English language arts/reading, and science. Our student scores are compared to student scores earned across the district and state. These scores contribute to Clark-Shaw’s overall report card grade for the year. ACAP scores determine if your 8th grader can register for certain classes next year. In grades 6-7, the scores determine mandatory placement in Math 180 which limits elective choices. Please encourage your child to work hard while completing the assessment.

Clark-Shaw is a remarkable school; let’s show the state of Alabama what we can do. We will confirm that Clark-Shaw is the BEST middle school in Mobile County and in Alabama. ACAP testing begins March 22, 2023.

Best Regards,

Mrs. Taylor-Jackson

Principal

“Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful, and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.” Brooke Hampton

The Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) is the state accountability test which will be administered at Clark-Shaw from March 22 through April 10. Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will be assessed in math and language arts, and grades 6 and 8 will also be assessed in science. It is extremely important that all students are present and on time to school during these weeks. Testing will be conducted in the morning, so if medical appointments cannot be avoided, please schedule them for the afternoons if necessary. The schedule for testing is very detailed, and we would like to limit the number of make-ups for the good of our students, faculty, and staff.

Students will test on their school-issued Chromebooks with their regular teachers, who will inform them of the specific testing day. During the testing window, instruction and classroom learning will continue while certain students are testing each day, and once students finish testing for a subject, they will continue with their regular class schedules. All classes will meet each day according to a modified rotating schedule.

As always, please remind your student to bring their fully-charged Chromebook AND charger to school each day. Students may bring with them a water bottle and a book for after the test. Please ensure that they are well-rested and ready to do their best on the test!

Clark-Shaw is hosting our own Tech Fair!

Categories will include:

• Animation
• Audio
• Computer Programming
• Digital Art
• Digital Game
• Graphic Design
• Mobile Apps
• Multidimensional (3D) Design
• Multimedia
• Video Production
• Web Design

You may compete in the Individual or Group category. If you are competing in the Group category, you may have a total of 4 group members, including yourself.

For more information, please visit the following link--[LINK].

Registration closes Friday, March 10.

After a successful school-wide Science Fair, many of our students' projects went on to compete at the Regional Science and Engineering Fair at the University of South Alabama on March 3rd. Our Clark-Shaw students represented us well and brought home lots of awards! RESULTS can be found here [LINK].

February was Healthy Heart Month! Our 6th graders had an assembly to learn about healthy habits and the Jump Rope for Heart fund-raiser. Throughout February, candy grams and Gatorades were sold in PE to raise money for the American Heart Association. In addition, students, faculty, and staff donated for the privilege of wearing red on Fridays in February. We are hoping to continue to be the highest-earning middle school in Mobile County!

Our Scholars' Bowl team hosted a tri-match against Barton Academy and Grand Bay Middle on February 9th and emerged victorious! Our A team defeated both Barton and Grand Bay while our B team defeated Grand Bay but lost to Barton. This makes our A team undefeated in conference play this year!

Members of the Scholars' Bowl team competed against middle schools from across the state at the 2023 Alabama Scholastic Competition Association (ASCA) tournament in Hoover, Alabama on February 25. It was an honor to be invited to this tournament, and Clark-Shaw was one of only two schools from the Mobile area to be invited. These six young men represented our school well: Eli Weatherford, Max Norris (captain), Grant Langham, Andres Gonzalez, Garrett Langham, and James Colleli. We are very proud of you!

Congratulations to Clark-Shaw 8th grader Kyla Barnett! Her project, "Phoenicians: Frontiers in Trade" won 2nd place in the exhibit category of the MCPSS History Day Competition. National History Day is an academic program and competition which encourages students to conduct historical research on a topic of interest to them. This year's theme is "Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas." Kyla is to be commended on taking on this rigorous extracurricular project on her own outside of class. Her hard work paid off! She will now compete in the Alabama State History Day Competition on March 3rd at Auburn University at Montgomery. Congratulations, Kyla!

Our archery team hosted our first-ever archery tournament from February 8 - 11, 2023 which involved 31 schools and 550 archers! Our archery tournament was immensely successful due to the tireless efforts of our volunteers! Thank you to Mr. Braswell, faculty and staff, and all the archery parents for their help throughout the tournament! We couldn't have done it without you!

Our archery team hosted the Eagles Regional Warm-Up archery tournament in February.

Our archery parents were invaluable to the success of our tournament! Shree Meade and Kristina Stuart organized all the concessions throughout the 4 days. Thank you, ladies!

Our archery students also represented Clark-Shaw at the Regional Archery Tournament at Bryant High School on February 28th. We are happy to say that our team placed #2 in all middle schools! That will likely qualify us to go to the state archery competition. Congratulations to all students! Our top archers were Paden Roberts (score of 281), Conner Reed (278), Landyn Randell (277), Sophia Piper (267), Julian Agee (266), and Evan Bonner (264). Those who participated were: Ju’Morian Nettles, Isabella Meade, Emerson Stuart, Eli Weatherford, Ella Weatherford, Brookelyn Dunnavant, Caleb Farnum, Jordyn Adams, Rico Nixon, Ian Taylor, Sophia Piper, Iris Piper, Conner Reed, Jude Singleterry, Julian Agee, Kaii Phillips, Evan Bonner, Landyn Randall, Keli’ani Nixon, Katelin Taylor, Alejandro Serrano, Nathan Williams, Fatima Mahtahseen, Taye Phillips, Sanad Shabaneh, Paden Roberts, and Brady Burkett.

The Clark-Shaw Magnet School archery team placed second at Regionals!

Get to know....Mr. Braswell!

Mr. Jonathan Braswell teaches 7th and 8th grade PLTW courses and a section of 6th grade U.S. History. He graduated from the University of South Alabama with a degree in Secondary Education and History. He has taught at Semmes Middle, North Mobile K-8, and Williamson Preparatory before coming to Clark-Shaw. In his 3 years at Clark-Shaw, he said he loves "what we learn and getting creative with the students, especially during Design and Modeling. The “Skimmer” project is really cool and the quality of work some of these kids do is top notch!"

He also has enjoyed coaching the archery team. Says Mr. Braswell: "Archery has helped me focus on things better. Practicing all of those steps in repetition over and over can be applied to everyday things that we face at work, school, and at home. Focus, go through the steps, and aim at a target… that target can be anything… Grades, jobs you have to get done, relationships, etc. This is a great school and I am blessed to be here. I am extremely proud to be a part of the Clark-Shaw family."

Thank you, Mr. Braswell, for your enthusiasm for what you teach and for all the hard work you've put into our archery program!

On February 16th, we held our school-wide Black History Month program. Our guest speaker, Honorable Barbara Drummond, Alabama State Representative, encouraged our students to soar like eagles! We appreciate her words of wisdom and reflections on what has made a difference in her life. Many of our Clark-Shaw students also shared their talents: Francine Niyengeko and MaKenzie Mitchell (Pledge of Allegiance); Sophia Le (The Star-Spangled Banner); the Clark-Shaw Dance Team (Mei-Ling Rollman, Leigha Newton, Chyler McCutcheon, Mila Rollman, and Allie Armbrecht); Mariasia Robinson (poem recitation); and Queen Beatrice (Stand Up). In addition, the Davidson High School Jazz Band performed, including several former Eagles! All the student speakers and performers are to be commended for doing a wonderful job! Special thanks to our faculty committee for planning this program: Mrs. Denise Burch, Mrs. Deltha Harbin, Mr. John Kloekener, Mrs. Crystal Reynolds, Mrs. Makeisha Williams, and Mrs. Tamara Woods.

We would like to give a shout-out to our advanced band members who participated in the district MPA (music performance assessment) at Murphy High School on February 7th. Our students will participate in the State MPA in March.

The Clark-Shaw Student Council would love to hear from you! What are some reasonable ideas that Student Council could consider for school improvement projects this year?

To give you an idea of what we might be able to do, here are some Student Council projects from the past few years:

• Student Council raised money to donate the first four picnic tables for the courtyard, providing a new area for eating and getting together outside.
• Student Council raised money to donate the 4 large wooden benches in the front of the school, making car dismissal easier and adding more seating for getting together outside.
• Student Council raised money to donate a new Games Box for the Rec room, with student-selected items like cards and popular board games for rainy days.

So what ideas do you have? Let them know by completing their brief survey: [LINK]

2022-2023 Student Council:

President: Charlotte Milling; Vice-President: Chloe Seals, Treasurer: Madison King, Secretary: Chaise Bolden; Adviser: Mrs. Heather Mattern

Hayden Brooks, Cheyenne McCants, Katherine Orso, Caitlyn Yates, Ashlynn Smith, Eleonor Fernandez, Destinee Abrams, Heaven-Lee Martin, Graham Langham, Briana Pears, Ariana Price, Anthony Sharp, Jacob Crain, Thomas Luker, Zeina Aydan, Paden Roberts, Garrett Langham, Grant Langham, Isabella Dunnavant, Mei-Ling Rollman, Whisper Saunders, Chyler McCutcheon, Brielle Turner, Daniella Collocho, Andres Gonzales- Espana

Eleonor Fernandez, 6th grade Student Council representative, shows off this year's Student Council t-shirt for members.

Three of our Clark-Shaw teachers joined other educators from around the nation recently at the Innovative Schools Summit in New York City. Dena Van den Bosch, Jackie Martin, and Alecia Howell participated in professional development sessions on effective teaching strategies and heard from nationally-acclaimed speakers on ways to improve learning outcomes for students in the post-pandemic world. Our teachers also had time to experience many of the educational and cultural offerings relevant to their areas of teaching, from the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, and walking tours which covered the World Trade Center Memorial and One World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, the New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, Central Park, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mrs. Van den Bosch, Mrs. Martin, and Mrs. Howell on a bitterly cold day walked over the Brooklyn Bridge which connects the New York City burroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Our Red Ribbon Ambassador Kimberlyn Brown is working with the Ronald McDonald House to help send the message that Clark-Shaw Eagles care about others! We are asking for your help!

The Ronald McDonald House Charities offer a safe haven for families whose children are receiving life-saving medical treatment in nearby hospitals, and its goal is to keep families together during difficult times. You can help by bringing in any of the following items or by making a monetary donation.

• 6th grade: household items including kitchen items, trash bags, Ziploc bags, white bath towels, etc.
• 7th grade: individually packaged snack items
• 8th grade: personal hygiene items including deodorant, toothpaste, small shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, shaving cream, etc.

You are welcome to bring in a monetary donation to go towards purchasing these items.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Upcoming dates that NJHS members need to know:

March 14 - Current Member Movie Social

March 17 - Fundraiser for Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation

Members should check the NJHS Schoology group for more information. Any current member who needs access to the group should email Mrs. Howell or Ms. Roberts.

WOW is a group led by our Fellowship of Christian Athletes that meets on select Wednesday mornings at 6:50am for a time of prayer, devotional, and worship songs. All 6th – 8th grade students are welcome! A yellow pass from Ms. Caz will allow you to be released from the cafeteria or gym on the mornings of our meetings to report to Room 207 on 7th grade hall. Remaining dates for WOW are as follows: March 15, March 29, April 12, May 3, and May 10. Come join us as we start off the day with an encouraging word! For questions or passes, see Ms. Caz (Room 207).

Students participating in WOW (Worship on Wednesday) heard from a former eagle, Kaylei Touchstone, who is an MGM student leader and Azalea Trail Maid. We love that she took the time to visit with us!

The first of our Spring sports to get kicked off was soccer. The boys and girls teams played 3 matches in February. The first half of their season will be all away games, but beginning on March 15, all the rest of the matches will be played at Clark-Shaw. Come out and support your Eagles!

The boys soccer team, coached by Mr. Kloeckener, is off to a great start! They are 2 - 0 with 1 tie. Most recently, they defeated Semmes Middle School 1-0 off a header by Henry Sprague from a corner kick from Carlos Benitez!

The girls soccer team is steadily improving as they gain game experience. After the first match of the season, Mrs. Coumanis took over as head coach.

The baseball team, coached by Mr. Mattern, played their first games of the season over Mardi Gras break against Saraland and Faith Academy at a tournament held at Faith Academy. All the players got valuable game experience and represented Clark-Shaw well!

The softball team began their season with a double-header at Alba Middle School on March 1. Be sure to show them support as they go through their season!

LAST CALL! Time is running out!!! Parents and families of current 8th graders may purchase personal ads for their students for the 2022-2023 yearbook. Submit your ad order by Jan. 13th to avoid a $10 late fee! The cost is $30 for a 1/4 page ad, $50 for a 1/2 page ad, and $100 for a full page ad, and the cost of the yearbook is $35. Send payments (cash or check payable to Clark-Shaw) to Mrs. Van den Bosch, Room 209. Requests can also be sent to dvandenbosch@mcpss.com. Order forms can be found on our website [click here]. Online sales for yearbooks only (no ads) can be done using a credit card at www.yearbookordercenter.com, using school code 21021.

Mrs. Kirksey’s 6th grade earth science students created a “pocket solar system” as a scale model of our very own solar system. Students understand even more about how close terrestrial planets are and how spacious the gas giants are in comparison to the distance from the sun.

The Science Bowl is a group of students who are preparing for a quiz bowl-style competition on March 11. They have been staying after school to practice with Mrs. Specker. Members are Elasia Williams, Jaedyn Moore, Beverly David, Edwin Perry, Patrick Manassa, Whisper Saunders, Allen Williams, and Nathan Lord.

Students involved with SECME (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education) have been staying after school to prepare for the March 10th competition. Here, a group of students works on the banner component.

Another component of the SECME competition is the egg drop competition. Here, a student tests his group's design as his teammates wait below.

The Eagle Eye News continues to report school news and interview students around school! Pictured here are Garrett Langham, Chloe Seals, and Jumarion Adams-Nettles.

Students in Mrs. Howell's 8th grade world history classes have been studying the ancient cultures of Greece and learned that Greek pottery was both functional and decorative, often featuring paintings of people or Greek gods/goddesses. Students choose a myth to summarize and then drew a scene from their myth onto their vase.

A student in Mrs. Howell's class summarized the story of Medusa and Athena and created a vase with images of Medusa.

Spotted! Mr. Mashburn helping 6th grade students study for their social studies test during breakfast. (We hope they did well!)

Scholars in Mrs. Kirksey's science classes observed the motion of a marble when acted upon by different forces “gravity”. They investigated the motion of a marble as it rolled with a balanced and unbalanced force. The students moved on in their observations to see (Planetary Motion) how a marble orbits a water-filled balloon at the center of an elastic sheet and investigated the effect of planetary mass on a moon.

Our wonderful PTA parents surprised teachers with Valentine's Day cards with Dunkin' gift certificates! We appreciate you!!

Mrs. Kirksey's 6th grade earth science scholars recently learned about the moon's phases. During this activity, students named the 8 phases: full, new, 1Qtr, 3rd Qtr, waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning crescent, and waning gibbous.

Mrs. Coumanis’s 7th grade life science classes practiced their new ecological vocabulary words using inside outside circles. They also experimented with limiting factors by trying to write the alphabet on a piece of paper with one pen in a 1 meter square standing with 3 other students.

Students in Mrs. Van den Bosch and Mr. Kloeckener's 7th grade geography classes kicked off their unit on South America with an image analysis activity. They took a gallery walk through the hall and Collab Lab while using a "See - Think - Wonder" graphic organizer to organize their impressions.

7th grade students examined images from South America to form conclusions about the physical and cultural geography of this continent.

Mrs. Coumanis’s STEM class tested various models for irrigation systems they created for a village in South Sudan that has both a dry and rainy season, yet needs water year-round. They did quite well!

Students in 8th grade World History class with Mr. Roberts demonstrated their understanding of content-specific words with Roman Word Art! Students drew visual representations of key terms from the unit on ancient Rome, including aqueduct, Romance languages, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum.

Mohamad Hamied, an engineer at AirBus and a parent of a Clark-Shaw Eagle, spoke to the 7th grade recently about Airbus and the physics surrounding airplane flight.

So many of our former Eagles are making us proud! Recently, former Eagle and current Murphy student Amelia Velaski (below) earned 1st place in the academic paper at the MCPSS History Day competition. Check out all the latest news on our webpage under News>Former Eagles in the News [link].

Former Eagle Amelia Velaski placed 1st at the MCPSS History Day!

Get to know....former Clark-Shaw Eagle stand-out Isabella Martin!

Hey! My name is Isabella Martin! I am currently in my second year at the University of Alabama. I attended Baker High School and after taking 17 AP classes including both AP Capstone classes, I was able to come into UA with 60+ credits. I was the Salutatorian of my high school class, and I currently am maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout my college years. I owe a lot of my dedication to my middle school experience— Clark-Shaw fostered my rigor and passion for excelling in academics.

My days at school start with Calculus 3 and end with my Health Disparities class. I want to become a Data Analyst with a focus in health disparities and substance abuse. Therefore, my classes look like a combination of higher-level math and public health courses. I have been so fortunate to have amazing teachers throughout my entire educational experience. While I do have my own personal drive, I cannot discount my teachers that have inspired my life course. Go Eagles, and Roll Tide!

Isabella, you are one of the finest around! Thank you for sharing what you've been up to. We are so proud of you!!

TIME IS RUNNING OUT! Be sure to reserve a copy of the 2022-2023 yearbook! Yearbooks are on sale now for $35 for our yearbook which will be shipped in May. Send payments (cash or check payable to Clark-Shaw) to Mrs. Van den Bosch, Room 209. You can also purchase a yearbook online using a credit card at www.yearbookordercenter.com, using school code 21021. The deadline to order yearbooks is March 31, 2023.

Please consider joining or helping our PTA! Joining PTA does NOT require you to volunteer on campus. But for those who would like to help, several opportunities are available, including dance committee, awards committee, concessions and ticket sales, Spring Fling, and other events. We appreciate the efforts and support of our parents and families, and we hope you will consider joining! To join: [click here]

Have a question or interested in volunteering? Email them at clarkshawpta1@gmail.com.

March 14, 2023: Pi Day (see your math teacher for more info!)

March 17, 2023: Last day of 3rd Quarter

March 20, 2023: Teacher Workday (no school)

March 21, 2023: 4th Quarter begins

March 22, 2023: ACAP testing begins

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarkshawmagnet

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarkshawmagnet_eagles @clarkshawmagnet_eagles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarkshaweagles @clarkshaweagles

Website: https://clarkshawmcpssal.schoolinsites.com/

Your child's teachers and the entire staff here at Clark-Shaw are committed to your child's success. Please let us know how we can serve you!

Timesha Taylor-Jackson, Principal

tltaylor@mcpss.com

Website: https://clarkshawmcpssal.schoolinsites.com/
Location: 5960 Arlberg Street, Mobile, AL, USA
Phone: 251-221-2106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarkshawmagnet
Twitter: @clarkshaweagles

Newsletter compiled by Dena Van den Bosch, dvandenbosch@mcpss.com

Applications are open for SPACE CAMP! Students between the ages of 12 and 14 can apply for a full scholarship thanks to our state legislators. So if you have a 12-14 year old, go apply for this amazing opportunity! For more information and to apply, click here: [LINK]. Applications are due March 31, 2023.