Welcome Gators!

Good morning!

Apologies that things were left unclear from our last Newsletter (yesterday) regarding Teacher Advisory (TA) and Caregiver Conferences. We have received many inquiries so felt it was important to send out one more Newsletter to clarify some of the common questions that have come up.

As with learning, moving, or adjusting into any new community or system, there may be times where our language or word choices don't quite line up. So while the idea of TA (advisory, home base, etc) has lived in many ways in the past at Main Street, we realize that there was not enough clarity as to what this looks like this year. I am very sorry for any confusion or anxiety that this may have caused you.

The strength of our school is only magnified by strong relationships with our families. I truly appreciate those that reached out to let me know where there was/is confusion and helped me better understand what needed more communication to our families. Please reach out if I can ever help to provide more clarity in any of my communications or if I can help you in any way.

I hope this helps...

Best, Julie Conrad

TA stands for Teacher Advisory.

What is Teacher Advisory? All staff are assigned to an Advisory group with a small set of students. Unlike in elementary school where students usually just have one main teacher, in the middle school your student will get the chance to learn with a lot of adults throughout the day at Main Street Middle School. Teacher Advisory or TA provides a "home base" for our students.

Students are in small groups with a staff member (or two) to start each day together. Advisory teachers also provide the answer to the common middle school caregiver questions of "who do I reach out to at school to talk about my student?" Your child's advisor can serve as a liaison between home and your child's teachers.

Each morning our school will start with Advisory time from 8-8:20. This will be time to share important information in a small groups. Advisory activities may differ each day based on the need and community that advisory builds. Activities may include community circles, community building activities, social-emotional lessons, discussions of current events or upcoming school events.The first few weeks will prioritize building strong relationship and a sense of community and some of this time will also be reviewing our handbook and expectations with students.

Our hope is this smaller community within our school will ensure that each and every student has a strong and trusting relationship with at least one adult in the building and that we can foster strong peer relationships during this time.

Who is my child's advisor? Most students received the name of their TA Advisor at the end of year school mailing in June. Students can also log into Power School to find the name of their TA teacher. If you are unsure, please do not hesitate to reach out to us so we can share that information with you.

Please note: It is possible your child's TA Advisor may be someone that they don't always have for a teacher each day outside of TA time. Every instructional staff member has an Advisory assignment, this include Special Educators, Interventionists, and Specials teachers. So your student's advisor may be a teacher that they have yet to know. Please know that the important relationship building will be the priority in the first weeks of TA time so your student is excited and enjoys this start to our day.

Can Students Come With Us? That is not required but definitely welcome!

DROP-IN (no appt necessary) is from 7:45-8:30. This is an informal time to come into the building and meet their advisor without an appointment and knowledge its a shared time with other families. Teachers will be in their spaces for brief introductions but there won't be the time or privacy to discuss specific concerns you have about a student. This is a great option if your goal is to get a sense of the space your child will be working in this year and have a chance to greet their advisor. If you want a conference time, we respectfully ask that you do NOT come durnig the drop-in time to allow those parents who are not having a conference to have the space and time to do their meet-and-greet during this time.

Caregiver Conferences:

Start at 8:35 and you should only schedule ONE 15-minute slot.

Please sign up for one slot to meet with your student's Teacher Advisor. This may not be a core teacher or you may see two names. Two names means that is the two Advisory teachers that will be with your student during TA...they are not to be confused with teaching teams.

You can sign-up for your conference slot at https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/MSMS.

Again, we respectfully request that if you sign up for a 15-minute conference time that you refrain from being at the school during the Drop--In time in the morning.

Conference Day Conflict?

If for some reason, you are unable to make a Monday time work to meet your student's Advisory Teacher, please reach out to them by email if you'd like to schedule another check in time.

The Main Street Middle School Handbook will soon be posted on our website. I have included a link here to the MSMS section of the document. It is imperative that you are aware that there is other critical information located inside the district handbook which will be published shortly on our MRPSVT.org

Main Street Middle School Handbook 2022-2023

MSMS 2022-2023 School Goal

MSMS will create a school-wide culture where each person feels a sense of belonging,

and is safe and valued.

Email: julieconrad@mpsvt.org
Website: mrpsvt.org/msms
Location: 170 Main Street, Montpelier, VT, USA
Phone: (802)223-3404