Middle School Happenings

We are well into the first trimester of school and, as you know, it is essential that you and your student are aware of where they stand with their attendance. Being on time and present is crucial to academic success. Click the image to the right to see the negative impact just 9 days of absence has on learning.

While we understand that illness, emergencies, and other unforeseen circumstances may impact your student's ability to attend school, we cannot stress enough how important it is to be in attendance every day that is possible.

MERMS would like to make sure that all families are aware of our attendance policy and protocols. Please see the attached excerpt from our Student Handbook for a reminder of our expectations. When a student is tardy or absent, please notify the school by calling the main office or emailing Mrs. Houde at (houdec@mersd.org). If the absence is an extended absence due to medical reasons, it would also be helpful to notify the school nurse, Ms. Gomes (gomesa@mersd.org). For other prolonged absences, please also contact Dean of Students, Kim Provost (provostk@mersd.org), so we can help to best support our students.

Dr. Elizabeth Englander, November 16th, 6:00 p.m.

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We hope you will join us for our first presenter of the year, Dr. Elizabeth Englander, as we launch our Middle School Council Sponsored Parent Education Series. This will be a virtual presentation. The Zoom link will be emailed to you.

To learn more about Dr. Englander, please click the link below.

https://www.englanderelizabeth.com/

The Middle School Math Team kicked off the season by hosting the first meet of the year. Clad in our awesome, new Mathlete shirts, MERMS students came out strong!

Starting off her Math Meet career, 6th grader Aviva H. was the only person in the entire Meet to score a perfect 18 points! Well done, Aviva, this is a tremendous accomplishment!

Joining Aviva in winning a certificate was 8th grader Saskia K., who achieved the top 8th grade score with 14 points. Seventh graders, Sophie L. and Arion S. both scored 12 for the Hornets. Rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10 included 8th grader Felix L., along with 7th graders Loben F. and Ben O. Team One finished second behind longtime rival Masco.

The next meet of the season will be Thursday, November 30 at Ipswich. We would love to have both new and returning students play in Meet #2. Practice packets will be available from your math teachers early next month. Thanks to everyone who helped get the season off to an excellent start!

Thank you, Mr. Stefanek & Mr. Schlegel, for supporting our students!

Our Mathletes:

Mrs. Doherty's Sixth Grade

Mixed Media Data Self Portraits

Mrs. Doherty's Seventh Grade

Radial Paper Relief Sculptures

Mrs. Doherty's Eighth Grade

Metal Repousse with Organic and Geometric Shapes,

Metal Tooling Foil, and Prismacolor Colored Pencils

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Students in Grades 7 and 8 band are working on the pieces Under the Sea and Shadows Unleashed. Grade 6 students are preparing the pieces African Dances and Call to Freedom.

Students in Grade 8 chorus are shown below taking a break from "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.

In Physical Education, students worked in teams to create a flag football play then implement the play in mini games.

GRADE 6

Mrs. Degnan's students are investigating history by using the football field as a timeline to divide up the existence of planet earth - pausing at major turning points. At 1/8 inch from the end zone, students begin to see humans that look like us - 200,000 years ago. The length of time earth has held civilizations is 2 human hair widths is the length!

GRADE 7

Mr. Aumais' students demonstrated their knowledge of Australia or New Zealand through travel brochures. They also used their skills in persuasive writing to sell a tour of their country of choice.

For example, a student may pitch or sell the idea of a safari in the outback by explaining the flora, fauna, climate, and physical geography travelers could expect to see. The goal of the lesson was to showcase our knowledge of the country/region, along with working on persuasive writing skills, and selling a product.

GRADE 8

Earlier this month, Mrs. McWhorter's students in Grade 8 were immersed into a real-world learning experience at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute. The EMK Institute offers a variety of civic learning experiences for students. Our students were engaged in a Voting Rights session where they sat in a mock senate room and did mock floor discussions on voting rights. If you would like to learn more about this experience, click here.

Thank you, Ms. McWhorter and the entire 8th grade team, for making this learning experience possible for our students!

Middle School wouldn't be the same without our yearly Project Adventure tradition! Students in 6th and 7th grades enjoyed working together on collaborative leadership and risk-taking experiences. Our students in 8th grade will enjoy this tradition in the spring of 2024.

Thank you, Mr. Ricci-Munn, Ms. Krajewski, and our 6th and 7th Grade Teaching Teams, for helping support our students during this authentic learning experience that helps support their critical thinking skills and their social and emotional health.

At the beginning of this school year, Heather Leonard, our new Director of Curriculum & Technology, helped middle school students connect with nature and science. She brought Monarch Butterfly caterpillars to the front office, where students and visitors could watch the magical transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. When it was time to release the butterflies, students joined Ms. Leonard on the cafeteria balcony to watch them fly out into the world.

Thank you, Ms. Leonard, for this fund and engaging experience!

Mr. Cowman & the Grade 6 team brought students to the Ipswich River Estuary at Crane Beach as an extension to their Sawmill Brook water quality testing unit. This field trip provided students with authentic, hands-on experience with water quality and soil testing.

One of the many community building activities Mr. Ricci-Munn engages our 6th grade students in during our first month of school is the Disappearing Tiles Game. This health class learning experience is a means of re-enforcing our RULER Charter and establishing class unity. The goal of the game is for every student to work together to help everyone stand on one of the tiles without touching their other foot to the floor.

Students in Grade 7 enjoyed a recent lesson in engineering class. They build land yachts, which is a wheeled vehicle powered by the wind. The students built 3 and 4 wheeled chassis then attached sails of all different shapes and sizes. They loaded their yachts with various objects, used a fan to create wind, and ran tests to see how far their yacht would travel.

This was an excellent lesson on contact and non-contact forces and the correlation between weight on distance travelled.

The Manchester Essex Athletic Department is very happy to report that our Girls and Boys Middle School Cross Country teams finished first at the NEC Championship Meet at Stage Fort Park (out of 12 schools)!

Top finishers for the girl's team were:

Melina - 3rd

Guilia - 5th

Adeline - 6th

Ella - 8th

Clara - 10th

Top finishers for the boy's team were:

Kai - 2nd

Gus - 3rd

Makani - 9th

Email: mainoj@mersd.org
Website: www.mersd.org
Location: 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, USA
Phone: 978-526-2022
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManchesterEssexRegional/