Middle School Matters

The Mission of Portsmouth Middle School is to create a strong and safe learning environment: promote social, emotional and physical well-being and to provide opportunities for each student, to the best of their ability, to meet high academic standards, develop responsibility, and achieve the positive social values and behaviors to become productive citizens.

Last week, we had Captain Jones from the Portsmouth Fire Department to present on Fire Prevention. This is a required training. We learned quite a bit, but the most important fact was that the most frequent fire in a house is based on rechargeable batteries (phones, tools, etc.). He stated it is important to make sure that when purchasing these items that they are rated with American standards met to ensure they are a product that is deemed safe.

This Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 P.M., the school improvement team will be meeting for the first time this school year. The agenda is as follows: presentation of RICAS scores by Mrs. Goodwin and Dr. Masterson, school photography contract, and 2025-2026 school budget development. The meeting will take place in the school library. All are welcome to attend.

Last week in advisory, we dove in to why it is important to show up every day when you're healthy. We broke down the district policies to clarify the difference between excused and unexcused absences, and shared some easy tips to stay healthy.

Have you had an opportunity to view our District Attendance Policy? Did you know students who miss two or more days of school a month, miss about 10% of the school year? Did you know if your child misses 10% of the school year, they are considered chronically absent? Research shows that regular attendance is one of the best predictors of academic success.

According to the State Attendance Leaderboard, Portsmouth Middle School is ranked 59th in the state. We are proud of our students who show up every day ready to learn! Let's see if we can make it in to the top 50!

Data as of 10/31:

Portsmouth Middle School

607 students enrolled

59 Students Chronically Absent (Missed 10%+ this school year)

548 Non-chronically absent students (Missed less than 10% this school year)

What if your child is sick? When should they stay home? What is the difference between an excused absence and an unexcused absence?

Take a look at the SlideDeck we shared with students during Advisory this week for the answers to those questions!

Throughout the month, we will have four surprise attendance days. On these days, all students can earn special Attendance Patriot Pillars, which will enter them in our school-wide Patriot Pride raffles.

We care if your children are here!

8th grade students will begin learning about various Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in November. Rogers High School and Portsmouth High School will both present their CTE offerings to the 8th grade class. Both schools will host CTE information nights for families this winter. Check out the full list of CTE programs offered in Rhode Island HERE.

Please reach out to Ms. Naron with any questions.

Military Project Information & Consent Form

Here are the results from the Mustache Dash.

Basket Raffle Letter

SmArt Gallery Contest

Jazz Band Polo's (please order by Friday, November 15)

Band/Chorus Polo's (please order by Friday, November 15)

Band Concert Announcement

PTO Meeting

Our next PTO meeting will take place on Wednesday November 6th at 6pm in the PMS Library. Margie Brennan, our district science coach/guru, will be discussing the new science curriculum, followed by a short Q&A:

Next Generation Science

Would you like to learn about the changes in science instruction? Are you curious about how classrooms operate and how we engage students? Please join us for the PTO meeting on Wednesday, November 6th, from 6:00 to 6:30 PM in the library. At this meeting, you will receive an overview of the evolving science curriculum, how your students are being supported, and ways you can help them at home. We will also have time for a brief Q&A session. Can't make it in person? You can join the presentation via Zoom at this link! This will follow.

Craft Night

Come make your awesome pet a braided tennis ball tug toy! All materials are provided and proceeds will go to support our PSD Comfort Dog Holly! Suggested donation is $10 via cash or check. This event takes place November 7th from 6p-7:15pm in the Grade 5-6 cafeteria. More details and sign-up here CRAFT NIGHT PMS

Girls Scouts Craftastic Kidz Kids Night Out Holiday Vacation Camp

Swim Pods

Dear Rhode Island Athletic Directors:

The Rhode Island Middle School swimming is a growing sport and we wanted to invite your students to join us this winter!

We have found that introducing swimming in middle school has allowed these students to continue their experience throughout High School. It has also opened doors for swimmers to become certified lifeguards.

The Wheeler School and Pods Swimming are excited to host four meets at The Pods Swimming Aquatics Center on Saturdays in January and February. Meets will take place on the following dates:

January 11th (1:15 pm; 12 pm warmup)

January 25th (1:15 pm; 12 pm warmup)

February 1st (1:15 pm; 12 pm warmup)

February 15th (1:15 pm; 12 pm warmup)

If your middle school is interested in participating, please email Sean Kelly at seankelly@wheelergmail.org and Susan Pascale-Frechette at susan@podsswimming.com.

Additionally, there are some openings for your school to practice at Pods. If you’re interested please reach out to Susan. We are excited and hope to see your schools at Pods this winter!

Please see the link here for the Elks Hoop Shoot.

Open Fire House LEGO STEAM activity Tennis Lessons

Fire drills occur on a regular basis. State law requires each school to conduct eleven fire drills, two lockdown drills and two evacuation drills each year. Shelter in Place drills are conducted throughout the school year. Children are given instruction on all procedures. Students are expected to behave in a calm, orderly manner during these exercises. Please review the importance of such exercises with your child and emphasize the need for appropriate behavior.

A lockdown is an alert to a school community that students and staff should not leave the classroom and should spread around the room until provided with further direction.

An evacuation requires all students and staff to exit the building and meet at a designated safe place.

A shelter in place is an alert to a school community that movement outside of classrooms is being restricted for a brief period of time. It is typically used when a student or staff member is requiring some sort of attention (sometimes medical) and the school is trying to keep that area clear and/or protect that person’s privacy. If there were a serious safety concern the school would not issue a shelter in place.

We will send notification of lockdowns, evacuations, and shelter in place drills and events via email.

Here is the presentation that was shared at a Parent Safety Forum that was hosted in conjunction with the Police and Fire Departments. The Run, Hide, Fight FBI philosophy guides our safety training.

The P3 Sandy Hook Promise Anonymous tip line is a resource that we encourage anyone to use if there is ever an immediate safety concern.

Portsmouth Youth Basketball (PYB), a non-profit organization, was formed in 2007 with the goal of teaching fundamental basketball skills to children in grades 2nd-8th in a positive environment of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Registration for the '24-'25 PYB season is now open. For those new to PYB, the recreation league practices one day a week, has games on Saturdays at the PHS field house, and will run from December to February. The divisions are broken down by school grade, Rookies are 2nd grade only and then it progresses to two-year groupings, NCAA 3rd-4th grade, Jr NBA 5th-6th grade, and NBA 7th - 8th grade. There are grade specific travel team opportunities as well. Please note that participation in the Recreation program is required to play travel. Travel is an additional program registration. For more details, please visit https://www.portsmouthyouthbasketball.com/ or contact info@portsmouthyouthbasketball.com. We hope to see you on the courts this winter!

What Day is It? PMS Letter Day Calendar

District Calendar

Portsmouth Middle School Handbook

Absence Notification Form