A Note from the Principal . . . .
On my way into school on Tuesday morning, I saw a middle school student walking with his dad to the bus stop. The student was adorned in the typical middle school accessories, a backpack, sweat pants, sneakers, a hoodie, and oh yes, a “squid cap”. For those of you not familiar, a visual may help here: (Squid Hat pictured above!)
As he walked along next to his father with a huge smile and a bit of a skip at 6:45 a.m. in the morning, I could not help but match his smile. His joy in being able to express his individuality was contagious, and I have to admit, many decades past my middle school years, I was a bit envious.
I, like many of my middle school colleagues, was drawn to middle school, our calling often shaped by an experience as a child, a positive influence of a teacher, a challenging experience we wanted to change for the next generation or just a need to work with children at the most influential age. We all recall the carefree years of elementary school, when you could wear those favorite Pikachu slippers, mismatched socks, a tiara or ballerina tutu without even a second look by your classmates or teachers.
In middle school we work so hard to create safety around identity at a time when it is so fragile and vulnerable, when children are exploring who they are and who they want to be. It is also a time when one’s identity is under pressure to conform. In middle school is where individuals seek safety in sameness and begin to make assumptions about others based upon how they identify, seeking to sort and classify them, all leading to harm.
As we engage in work around identity, bias, and microaggressions, we need to counter with proactive and intentional acts of understanding, acceptance and kindness. We need to create inclusive and safe environments where acts of individuality such as adorning the “squid hat” becomes a celebrated expression of individuality and an anecdote that frees students from the “something else" that others want them to become.
You can see why the squid hat, then, was well deserving of a broad smile from this seasoned middle school principal on a Tuesday morning. As the adults shepherding the children in our care through these precious yet fragile years, join me in protecting the freedom of our children to wear their version of the squid hat.
SAVE THE DATE:
Monday, March 27, 2023: Day 1 of ELA MCAS in Grades 6-8
Tuesday, March 28, 2023: Day 2 of ELA MCAS in Grades 6-8
Tuesday, March 28, 2023: Baseball Meeting - After School Room 312 or virtual meeting at 7 p.m.(information and link in the spring sports notice below)
Wednesday, March 29, 2023: 7th Gr. Track and Field Meeting - at 7:45 a..m. in 331
Thursday, March 30, 2023: 8th Gr. Track and Field Meeting at 7:45 a.m. Room 331
Thursday, March 30th and Friday, March 31st: Make-Up Days for ELA MCAS
Thursday, March 30, 2023: Unified Basketball Jamboree 2:45 - 5:30 p.m.
Monday, April 3, 2023: Urban Improv Assemblies Ocean and Indigo Teams
Tuesday, April 4, 2023: Softball Meeting at 7:45 a.m. in Room 119
Tuesday, April 4, 2023: Volleyball Meeting at 7:45 a.m. in the gym
Thursday, April 6, 2023: Last Day of Term 3.
Friday, April 7, 2023: No School - Good Friday
Monday, April 10, 2023: First Day of Term 4
Tuesday, April 11, 2023: Women in Jazz 6th Gr. Performance
Thursday, April 13, 2023: Groovesity Assemblies
Monday, April 17- Friday, April 21, 2023: April Vacation
PREPARATION FOR MCAS THIS WEEK
ELA MCAS Dates this Week are Monday, March 27, 2023 AND Tuesday, March 28, 2023
(make up ELA MCAS are Thursday and Friday of this week).
A few reminders for students:
- Get a good night sleep and eat a healthy breakfast.
- Bring an independent reading book.
- Prepare their Chromebooks (click on the checklist below that should be done at home on Sunday)
Future MCAS Dates:
Math MCAS (gr. 6-8): May 16th and May 18th
Science, Technology and Engineering MCAS (gr. 8): May 22nd and May 23rd.
SPRING ATHLETIC REGISTRATION
Spring Team Sports
Family ID registration opens: Mar 13, 2023
Season runs April 3- June 2
Please read the F.A. Day Athletics Welcome Letter linked again below with details about the steps needed to register.
Baseball (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Head Coach: Bob Conron. Email: conronr@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Pasquale
Other Coach: Zach Herring
Boys Lacrosse (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Head Coach: James Thompson. Email: thompsonj@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Benjamin Gresser
Girls Lacrosse (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Head Coach: Amanda Church. Email: churcha@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Cedric Quakenbush
Other Coach: Catelin Thompson
Softball (tryouts open to 7th – 8th Grade)
Head Coach: Leah Bowers. Email: bowersl@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Eddie Pang
Co-Ed Track and Field (no tryouts open to 6th – 8th Grade *roster cap may apply)
Head Coach: Daryl Scott. Email: scottd@newton.k12.ma.us
Assistant Coach: Daily Armstrong
Other Coach: Ellen Leonard
Other Coach: TBA
Intramural Sports/skills clinics (TBD) open to all grades 6-8
Spring: volleyball, ultimate frisbee
Volleyball:
Head Coach: Tim Murphy (From Newton North). Email: murphyt@newton.k12.ma.us
Ultimate Frisbee
Head Coach: Dylan Landfear. Email: landfeard@newton.k12.ma.us
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Athletic Directors by email. We look forward to sharing in a successful year of F.A. Day Athletics.
GO Dragons!
Andy Comings comingsa@newton.k12.ma.us
Mark Murphy murphym@newton.k12.ma.us
REMINDERS OF STUDENT EXPECTATIONS
Tomorrow during advisory we will be doing a reset around our shared expectations for students to support their safety and focus on learning. Please also take a moment to review these expectations with your child at home, and do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our administrative team with any specific questions. Your partnership with us is critical to our students' success.
Administrative Team Contact Information:
Assistant Principal: Dr. Deborah Romeo - romeod@newton.k12.ma.us
(8th Gr. and 6th Gr. Sky and Ocean Teams)
Assistant Principal: Mr. Michael Harding - hardingm@newton.k12.ma.us
(7th Gr. and 6th Gr. Indigo and Ocean Teams)
Assistant Principal for Student Services: Mr. Mike Thurm - thrumm@newton.k12.ma.us
Principal: Ms. Jackie Mann- mannj@newton.k12.ma.us
PARENT/CAREGIVER WORKSHOPS
Fostering Teen Resilience Through Community Connections: Healthy Minds, Substance Use Prevention, and Our Youth
- Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 7:00-8:30pm
- Newton Wellesley Hospital’s Resilience Project and Substance Use Services Council will be hosting a free virtual workshop.
- Explore the ways that community engagement can help your teen achieve and maintain optimal mental health and avoid the temptations and pressures of substance use. Click Here to Register.
Helping Teens Heal From Trauma
- Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
- Families for Depression Awareness invite parents, caregivers and caring adults to this free, virtual webinar.
- Deborah Vinall, LMFT, Psy-D, defines trauma and discusses its impact on long-term wellness. She will also cover the signs of trauma in teens, effective treatment approaches, and practical strategies that caring adults can use to encourage teen mental wellness.
- Click here to register.
The 4th Annual Multicultural Potluck Dinner
The Day Diversity Club in collaboration with Day PTO and FORJ is proud to announce its 4th Annual Multicultural Diversity Pot Luck Dinner for Day Families!
Nothing brings a community together like sharing food, stories and traditions!! Come join us for an evening of food, fun and jazz courtesy of the amazing Day Middle School Jazz Band!
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Time: 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Click on the link below to sign up.
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEWTON EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
We are fortunate to welcome the Newton Early Childhood Center to our Albemarle neighborhood. They moved in to the former Horace Mann School over a month ago. In the coming months we look forward to partnering with them on learning buddy activities.
As part of being good neighbors, we want your help in reinforcing to our children that the preschool play area should be off-limits. The play equipment is only suitable for preschool age children. and unfortunately as of late some of their equipment has been misused and broken by older aged children.
We hope to place our middle school students in a mentoring role with their new preschool partners, and as such together we should remind them of our responsibility for exhibiting positive behaviors. Thank you in advance for sharing this message with your children at home.
2nd Annual Career Day
Day Middle School is currently planning our 2nd annual career day and we are looking for guest speakers! Career day will take place for 7th and 8th graders on Friday, June 2 between approximately 8-10:45 a.m.. If you know of someone with a career path that you think middle schoolers would find interesting, please reach out to either Meghan Hudson or Jenn Gritter for more information at the emails below:
Volunteers will need to complete CORI forms and participate in a brief group zoom orientation/info. session with Principal Mann before hand. We are hoping to have a range of careers and backgrounds represented and make students feel excited about the possibilities that await them beyond middle school.
Thanks for partnering with us on this! We are hoping to finalize our list of speakers by Monday, May 1 to allow us time to survey students about which sessions they’re interested in attending and create student schedules for the day.
Unified Basketball Season
Come join the Day Community in supporting our Unified Basketball Team as they launch their spring season this month.
The remaining home games are listed here below:
Thursday, March 30, 2023: Jamboree Hosted by Day Middle School
Images from Thursday's home game vs. Brown are below:
F.A. DAY YEARBOOK 2023
It's time to order your student's yearbook!
The FA Day Yearbook includes the students of all three grades and this year it is parent-designed.
The cost is $35 per yearbook and the deadline to order is April 30th.
No orders will be accepted after APRIL 30, 2023.
How to start your yearbook order:
1. Hover over the menu item marked “Order Central”
2. Click "Yearbooks"
3. In the School Password field, enter: FAD2023
Please contact your child's guidance counselor if you need financial assistance in ordering a yearbook.
IN OUR CLASSROOMS AND AROUND DAY THIS WEEK....
AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS UPDATE
Parent Club Advisors- We Need. Your Help!!!
We are looking for Day parents who might be interested in running one of our after school clubs so that we can expand our offerings for students. Information below:
Time Commitment: One Day a Week (of your choosing - except Wednesdays) from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Pay: The pay rate for club advisors is $26 /hour and the afternoon is 1.5 hours.
($39 /day)
If you are available one afternoon a week from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m., and are interested in offering a club on any topic of your interest or expertise, or one of interest to students, please email Andy Comings at:
comingsa@newton.k12.ma.us or Mark Murphy at: murphym@newton.k12.ma.us.
Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) at WPI
WPI Student Chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) are excited to announce Sonia Kovalevsky Days (SK Days) at WPI!!
An Empowering Day for Middle School Girls Who Love Math
When: Saturday, April 15, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Where: Salisbury Labs on WPI’s campus
Who: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls with interest in math
In honor of the first woman to obtain her doctorate in mathematics, Sonia Kovalevsky
Days (SK Days) at WPI aim to bolster our participants’ passion and enthusiasm for
mathematics in a supportive environment, while meeting girls in the New England area
who share similar interests and, of course, having fun!
SK Day 2023 will provide an interactive experience for participants to engage in math
activities led by current WPI students and faculty, lunch, and presentations by women
leaders in STEM, including a keynote talk by a woman mathematician.
For more information and to register to participate, please visit:
https://www.wpi.edu/news/calendar/events/sonia-kovalevsky-day
Space is limited, so please register early (no later than Friday, March 31)!
We hope you will be able to join us!
Please contact Prof. Andrea Arnold (anarnold@wpi.edu) with any questions.
SK Day 2023 is supported by a grant from the Women’s Impact Network.
