Boonsboro Middle School

Despite Punxsutawney Phil's prediction, it seems as though we have several more weeks of weather events that will leave us wondering, "Will Will call?" Be sure to download the WCPS app so you don't miss any alerts or messages sent by WCPS or BMS.

As of today, I do not know the make-up dates of our latest snow days, but the WCPS calendar states that April 5th and April 22nd could be used. I appreciate your efforts to rearrange schedules so that students are here for instruction.

Speaking of attendance, I know many of you have received letters from me alerting you that your child has missed more than 6 days of school. These aren't meant to imply that students should come to school when they are truly ill, but to promote awareness that the time they are missing is extremely valuable. Our teachers will provide missed assignments, but that can't make up for the direct instruction, collaboration with peers, hands-on investigation, or real-time feedback that occurs during classes. If your child is going to miss an abnormal amount of school due to a health condition or injury, please share that info with an administrator or counselor so we can give you more information about Home Hospital Teaching, which has full-time and intermittent options.

Lastly, Marking Period 2 report cards have been both posted in ParentVue and distributed to students. If your student is struggling in ANY class, please reach out to his or her teacher. If he/she continues to struggle, please speak to a counselor or administrator. We have various interventions in place during the school day and before and after school to help students succeed. It is NOT acceptable for our students to take a zero or a failing grade because assignments were not completed or turned in. We have recently added several strategies involving teachers, counselors, and administrators, but we need all parents to be part of this process as well. If you need more information to help your child submit assignments, please contact us!

Have a wonderful month and stay warm!

Counselors will be going into social studies classes next week (Feb. 19-Feb. 22) to discuss and schedule related arts classes for next year. Students will bring home scheduling forms, which require a parent signature. Please review your child's choices before returning the forms. If you have questions about any of the classes, please contact the Counseling Center.

Testing season will soon be upon us. As you schedule day time medical/dental appointments, please keep the following dates in mind:

MISA (8th grade science) --March 13th and 14th

MD ESSA School Climate Survey (all students)---TBD

MCAP--formerly PARCC--(all students)--May 7th-9th & May 14th-16th

As part of the MD ESSA Report Card, students and staff will be required to take a school climate survey. The results of this survey are factored into the other elements of the MD School Report Card to determine our star and percentile ranking.

All of our teachers will offer additional support to students who are struggling in their classes. Some have standing days/times each week, whereas others schedule as needed. Your child's teacher should be the first contact for extra help.

As a school, we also offer Homework Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays (3:30-4:30) in Mr. Ganoe's room. A permission slip is required and can be obtained from Mrs. Webber.

If you would like extra support for your student at home, we have APEX available for every student. Each student has their own login for math and ELA. If their login has been disabled due to lack of use, please have them see Mrs. Webber to reset the password. Below are the instructions for access and a quick tutorial for students as well as a view for you to see what their screen looks like.

https://d4a89egz0iyca.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/documents/gsg_student_tutorials.pdf

• Please continue to collect Box Tops! Turn these in to your child's 1st period teacher.
• The PTO will host a Color Run at 9AM on Saturday, April 14th.
  
• The next PTO meeting will be at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, February 19th.

Check out the latest about our magnet program:

https://www.smore.com/01g8p