NORTH NEWS

On Monday’s Professional Development day, our teachers collaborated in grade-level teams to analyze iReady data, pinpointing strategies to help students grow in both math and ELA. They also focused on ensuring the success of our English learner students, exploring new methods to support their language development. In addition, they reviewed technology lesson plans, assessing them for rigor to ensure students are challenged and engaged.

The day also featured a “technology playground,” where teachers got hands-on experience with tools like Canva, GarageBand, the Translate app, Newline boards, and Goodnotes, learning creative ways to incorporate these technologies into their lessons. After lunch, teachers met with peers from other schools in subject-area groups, allowing for rich collaboration across campuses. We also took time to celebrate our teachers with the first set of awards this year. Congratulations to Mr. Lake, Mr. Rhoden, Ms. Burton, Ms. Sibert, Mr. Malcolm, Mr. Blom, Ms. James, and Mr. Peters for their dedication and hard work!

The learning doesn't stop there though! About once a week this school year, many teachers have been giving up a planning period to learn new technologies & strategies for their lessons! This week, teachers learned about Apple Accessibility and Breakout Boxes. They even got to try an escape room Breakout Box! You can see our winners in the pictures below!

Congrats to our 6th Grade iReady award winners! Each week, these students rise to the challenge of completing 45 minutes of iReady lessons to strengthen their Math and ELA skills. Their commitment to growth and dedication to learning are truly commendable. Keep up the great work!

READING- Mr. Little's Class

MATH- Ms. Crowley's Class

ELA TOP 5

Julian Owens (Updike)

Kaleigha Nickens (Crowley)

Issis Williams (Malcolm)

Elijah Cooper (Malcolm)

Nyma Hook (Little)

MATH TOP 5

Camila Perez-Teves (Updike)

Kaleigha Nickens (Crowley)

Contessa Gable (Sibert)

Ally’Zia Sepeda (Wood)

Alora Carpenter (Ware)

North is rolling out the new Ren Club! This club focuses on student leadership, events, and school initiatives. We need students who exhibit leadership skills and want to make our school a fun place to be. This club will be hosted on Thursdays after school as well as during monthly in school clubs. See Mr. Jackson or Ms. Dusing if you have questions. You will be contacted if you are accepted into the club, but you must use the link below to apply today! You will need to login to your school google account. (yourlogin@bcswv.org)

Student Council meets again on MONDAY, October 21st after school until 4:15pm. Make sure your rides are here promptly at 4:15 to get you! There is a lot to talk about with the upcoming dance, so please make arrangements to attend, if possible! See Ms. Updike with any questions!

Next Week is Red Ribbon week, where we focus on living a drug-free lifestyle. Check out the spirit days we are having below!

Parent/ Teacher Conference night is on October 23rd from 5:00-7:00pm! Use the link below to sign up with your child's teachers.

**On the sign up link, make sure you click the dropdown box that says "ANYONE" to select a teacher. Failure to do so may not sign you up with the teacher you desire to see. **

If you are having any trouble with Parent/ Teacher Conference sign-ups, please contact the main office or email our Technology Specialist, Ms. Deavers at rachel.deavers@k12.wv.us.

NMS Cheer & the Girls Basketball teams are hosting a craft & vendor fair on October 26th from 9am to 3pm at North Middle School. If you are a small business or vendor that wants to have a booth, please contact Alexandra Russell at 717-414-8754 to book a spot.

We hope everyone stops by to get some of their holiday shopping completed a little early while supporting two great NMS student organizations.

Save the date October 29th on your calendars for our first after school dance of the year! Dress in a costume (no masks, hats, or real/fake weapons) for school and stay for the "Batty and Boujee" Afterschool Dance. $5 tickets will be sold Monday, October 28th during lunch only. Concessions will be sold at the dance so bring a few extra dollars if you want to purchase a treat.

Pay $1 on October 31st to wear a costume and help us raise money in the fight against cancer! Students may wear costumes WITHOUT masks, hoods, or weapons (fake or real).

Bring a veteran to school on Friday, November 1st! We want to honor those who sacrificed for our nation and our freedoms. If you know a veteran, invite them to our annual Veterans Day assembly! Send pictures of the veterans in your life to Ms. Updike for our slideshow of heroes (email to mupdike@k12.wv.us).

6th & 7th Graders interested in 9/11 are welcome to join the Flight 93 Memorial field trip on Nov 4th. No students with ISS/OSS will be invited to join. If you are interested, your $40 is due ASAP to Ms. Updike in the 6th grade hall. Limited spaces will be available and will be filled by those who submit payment first to Ms. Updike. Please email Ms. Updike with any questions at mupdike@k12.wv.us.

Don't know what to get your loved ones for the holidays? Stop by the annual NMS Sock Sale! Every pair of socks is $1! Help Royce get rid of their extra inventory while contributing North Middle!

North was representing at the Apple Trample 5k this weekend! The first place winner was North alumni, Andrew Butcher with an unbelievable time of 18:06! Second place overall and first in his age group was Mr. Malcolm with a time of 19:12. "All Day" Ray Stamat finished 20th overall and fourth in his age group out of 250 runners with a fantastic time of 23:08! Future Blue Devil, Desmond Malcolm also finished 2nd in his age group! WE ARE NORTH!

Along with the girl's basketball team we are hosting a Craft and Vendor Fair on October 26th. Save the date and come out and support some local businesses!

Congrats to the NMS cheerleaders for showing their Blue Devil pride this weekend during the Apple Harvest festival! Click the link below for a video of their cheer! (Special thanks to Paige Kozak for this video!)

Boys' basketball conditioning will be on hiatus for now, resuming on October 28th. Girls conditioning will continue every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 5:30-7:00pm.

The boys' basketball team tryouts will take place on November 11th, from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. All physical forms must be completed and returned to Coach Callis, Coach Rhoden, at the front office or with Nurse Hutzler. Students who participated in Cross Country do not have to submit another form, the physical will carry over to basketball season.

North Boys & Girls Basketball teams are in the process of raising funds to buy new chairs for the home and away team's bench. We are one of a very few schools who does not have our own padded bench chairs, and we would love to give the players in both programs the same experience as other school's players. Anyone interested in and willing to donate, please reach out to Coach Callis, Rhoden or Mejias.

North Middle School is lucky to have the Shenandoah Community Health van visit our school EVERY THURSDAY! If you still need a physical for basketball season, please pick up a form from the nurse so you can be seen by a healthcare provider with Shenandoah Community Health.

West Virginia has partnered with My Mobile Witness to implement a “see something, send something” reporting system that can be completed on a smartphone or other mobile device. All West Virginians are encouraged to participate in this initiative by downloading the free See, Send application from the App Store or Google Play. All of our students have this app on their school-issued iPads. The user may submit tips for “Crime/Suspicious Activity” or “School Threat or Safety Issues,” and they may also request help for “Suicide or Addiction.”

Our students also have access to our school counselors from their iPads as well. There is an icon on the iPad that takes students directly to the school counselor forms on our website where they can request to see Ms. Poe or Ms. Sigler for assistance.

NEVER SUFFER IN SILENCE! As Mr. Rogers once said, in times of crisis "look for the helpers."

Did you know that your student could receive important health care at school? This can help save time in making doctor's appointments. If you would like your child to see one of Shenandoah Community Health's medical providers, contact our school nurse or the main office for a permission form. The Shenandoah Community Health van visit North Middle EVERY THURSDAY throughout the school year.

Did you know you can manage which schools you receive communications from on a weekly basis? North Middle will be sending all communications through the app this year, trying to reduce the number of text messages we send to parents. We will reserve text message and emails for the weekly newsletter and the most important information. So, to stay "in the loop" be sure to download the app today!

Check out the Middle School Parents newsletter for October 2024! Click on the PDF below to read more!

Reinforcing life lessons at home and in school is crucial to helping students succeed, both now and in adulthood. Studies consistently show that children who are taught essential values—such as responsibility, respect, and citizenship—tend to perform better academically, have healthier relationships, and lead more successful lives. In fact, research suggests that students who learn important life skills from their parents are more likely to thrive in their future careers, build strong personal connections, and navigate challenges with resilience.

As parents, your role in teaching these lessons at home is invaluable. Children learn by example, and the values you instill in them are often reflected in their behavior at school and beyond. When families and schools work together to emphasize these life lessons, students are more likely to internalize them and apply them in every aspect of their lives.

At North Middle, we are committed to teaching students essential life lessons that will serve them well both in school and beyond. One of these lessons is the importance of cleaning up after themselves, especially in the cafeteria. We encourage students to show good citizenship by sweeping up after meals and properly disposing of their trash, just as they would help at home.

We also focus on teaching appropriate hallway behavior. Students are reminded to walk on the right side, refrain from touching others, and keep their voices down. These simple actions promote a safe and respectful environment for everyone. In addition, we emphasize treating substitute teachers with honor and respect. We ask students to think of subs as honored guests in their classroom, much like how they would treat guests in their own home—with respect, obedience, and helpfulness.

The lessons you teach at home—such as cleaning up, respecting personal space, and honoring guests—are reinforced here at school. We encourage you to continue instilling these values at home, knowing that we support those same principles at North Middle. Together, we can guide our students toward becoming respectful and responsible individuals.

At North Middle, we want to help you succeed both in school and in life. Did you know that EVERYHING we do in this building is supposed to prepare you for your future as an adult? Here are some important life lessons that will help you grow as a respectful and responsible person.

Follow these tips, and you'll be on your way to success!

Clean Up After Yourself

• After breakfast & lunch, throw away your trash and clean up your space.
• Help others by sweeping up or tidying areas that need attention.
• Just like at home, cleaning up shows you care about the environment around you & respect the people who share your space.

• Always walk on the right side of the hallway.
• Avoid touching other students or rough-housing which can be dangerous to you and those around you.
• Use a quiet, inside voice—loud voices make the hallways unsafe and distracting for others.

• Think of substitute teachers as special guests in your classroom.
• Be polite, follow directions, and offer help when needed.
• Show respect by being on your best behavior, just as you would for a guest in your own home. Remember, they are there to serve you & help you get an education. Treat them with the respect they deserve.

By practicing these life lessons every day, you’re not only helping make North Middle a better place, but you're also learning valuable skills that will help you throughout your life. Keep up the great work!

Don't miss a thing!

Mr. Jones' 8th grade math class is working on a floor plan project. Students have to use math to design a space. Students are using math in real-world scenarios!

Ms. Heck's Science classes participated in a Breakout Box escape room activity on Thursday! Students were "transformed" into microscopic particles and had to use their knowledge of cell theory and cell organelles to "escape" from their "cellular prison." All of the students were engaged in trying to break out and many groups were able to use the clues to solve the problems!

Ms. Keppler (our art teacher) and Ms. Long (our Family & Consumer Science teacher) teamed up to mix art & cooking last week. Students were able to use colored batter to make "pancake art!" Beautiful & delicious!

Mr. Malcolm's 6th grade ELA class played "Sentences to Sentences" where students had to use commas and coordinating conjunctions to form the most hilarious compound sentences they could!

Congrats to this group of 6th graders who completed their emoji pillow projects last week!

Eighth graders ended their time in Ms. Long's cooking class this week by making quesadillas FROM SCRATCH!

Last week, students Ms. Crowley's science class learned about the Scientific Method by conducting an experiment. The students hypothesized what would happen if soap was added to milk. What would that do to food coloring as it was added to the mixture? It was a fun & creative time!

Ms. Sanders' 6th grade Science students are putting the steps of the scientific method that they learned to good use in a surface tension lab.

Ms. Dusing's students are competing in a pumpkin decorating contest. One student got Mr. Lake in on the action by creating a pumpkin with his face on it!

8th grade FCS students worked hard this week to perfect their pies for the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival pie contest!

WE ARE NORTH!

Our mission is to provide a supportative and inclusive learning environment where every student is valued, held to high expectations, and inspired to reach their full potential. We commit to celebrating our diverse backgrounds while implementing strategies that promote respect, responsibility, and academic excellence.

Email: rachel.deavers@k12.wv.us