Madrona Family Memo

Greetings, Madrona Families!

This is a gentle reminder that Madrona is closed this Monday, November 11, Veterans' Day, in observance of our military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. On Tuesday, November 12, we will follow our Tuesday Late Start Bell Schedule—the first bell will ring at 9:20 a.m.

Supporting Student Achievement through School Attendance - Please notify our Attendance Office of your student's absence(s) within 48 hours to avoid truancies on their attendance record. We encourage families to plan out of town trips during school breaks to minimize student learning and achievement gaps. Contact our Attendance Office at madronaattend@tusd.org to submit an Independent Study Contract for any necessary extended absences. Although not a replacement for in-person instruction, the contract ensures staff awareness and your student's access to missed classwork and homework.

Supporting Our Students' Healthy Use Of Electronic Devices While On Campus—Students are expected to follow our school and district electric device policy during the school day. They may not access gaming and video platforms on school-provided Chromebooks or personal device. Our reminder is to encourage healthy social development, support a focus on academics, positive interactions, and active play through sports and other activities. Students may use Chromebooks during snack and lunch to complete classwork and homework.

Thank you for your continued support!

Warm regards for a wonderful three-day weekend,

Sue Key, Ed.D., Proud Principal

Madrona Middle School

Be sure to scroll through and open the Smore link to view our weekly updates, ensuring you stay informed about the latest happenings at Madrona Middle School.

Due to multiple requests by families, the Madrona Spiritwear Online Store has been reopened for a limited time.

Deadline for orders is this Sunday, November 10. Delivery will be on or around December 10.

At Madrona, classroom and extracurricular activities support our students' Growth Mindset & Lifelong Learning; Communication & Collaboration; Leadership & Character; Healthy Habits & Life Skills, and Civic Engagement & Global Citizenship - all elements of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

This week, Ms. Ton's Project Lead the Way Automation & Robotics students built a variety of mechanical gear assemblies in preparation for their design and build of an automated factory assembly line.

Mrs. Young's Social Studies 6 students worked in collaborative groups to explore Ancient Egypt's historical information in preparation for their group presentation.

Mrs. Hallsted's Science 8 students reviewed Newton's Law of Acceleration, Force, and Mass Calculations and actively practiced concepts.

Mrs. Miskimen's PE students participated in Tuesday Cardio Day as they ran and walked laps around the field. Mrs. Miskimen encouraged her students by joining them for a run each period!

Mr. Heussenstamm and Mr. Snow's English 8 students engaged in Socratic Seminars, a structured discussion in which students worked together using open-ended questions to express a deep understanding of the ideas, values, and issues expressed in The Twelve Angry Men, a book published in 1954 by Reginald Rose.

Our Educators participated in a hands-on "Stop the Bleed" emergency professional development session led by a UCLA/Harbor Medical Center nurse and Torrance firefighters. Every Madrona classroom is equipped with bleed prevention kits, which include all the resources to provide intervention in an emergency situation.

This week, Madrona's eSports team (with eSports sponsor Ms. Ton) took the win over Calle Middle School in Rocket League. Our Wildcats are UNDEFEATED IN TUSD!

Congratulations to the following 6th-grade students who participated in the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce JR CEO pilot program: Karina Aoki, Emma Arai, Steffano Barragan, Benjamin Chapman, Elliette Chung, Paige Davis, Abraham Deck, Caleb Garcia, Sen Hosoi, Simon Kakitani, Kaia Kinzinger, Ezra Koh, Joel Lee, Zoe Lee, Kaspar May, Mio Nishikawa, Lillian Norgren, Chanseok Park, Seohyun Park, Madeline Quintana, Ariel Rodriguez, Oscar Rosales, Jordan Su, Sena Takahashi, Seonghyun Yim, Soma Yoshimoto and Yuga Yoshimoto.

These students did an AMAZING job demonstrating what they learned about creating a business product. All 27 students sold items at the Torrance Business Expo at the Torrance Marriott on Thursday night. Excellent work, Wildcats!

Please see our Instagram account for more photos from this event

Participation in Madrona Sports and activities supports our students' Growth Mindset; Communication & Collaboration; Leadership & Character; Healthy Habits & Life Skills, and Civic Engagement - elements of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

Lunch league volleyball is starting soon. ALL GRADES AND ABILITIES are welcome to participate.

Students should use this link to sign up for a team with their friends (note: must be signed in to student gmail account to access form). Game updates will be sent to students by email.

Run Club continues to meet weekly** on Wednesdays from 3:30 to ~3:50 on the blacktop for runs in the neighborhood. (** Check with Mr Estefan to make sure the run is still happening for the day.)

Our competitions for the year:

• Fall Meet: Thursday, November 14, 2024, 4PM, Hull Middle School
• Spring Meet: Thursday, March 27, 2025, 4PM, Hull Middle School

Our Madrona Volleyball team is hard at work practicing for their first game of the TUSD middle school season!

All games are 4:00-6:00 pm in the GYM unless indicated.

• 11/21 - at Calle Middle School (girls first)
• 12/5 - at Casimir Middle School (boys first)
• 12/12 - at Madrona, vs Bert Lynn Middle School (girls first)
• 12/19 - at Madrona, vs Richardson Middle School (boys first)
• 1/7 - TBD 6:30 or 7:00 pm, vs Hull Middle School, Torrance High School Gym (TBD on the order)

Student athletes must complete an athletic packet and have a physical prior to participation on an athletic team representing our school. In order to try out for a team, you must have a 2.0 GPA and no more than 1 U in citizenship the previous Quarter. Progress report academic & citizenship grade will be examined for 6th-graders.

TUSD Middle School Athletics Packet

UPLOAD COMPLETED ATHLETIC PACKETS & ALL FORMS HERE

If your student does NOT intend to participate in Athletics next school year, then there is NO need requirement for the physical exam or any associated athletic paperwork to complete.

Top reader: Maxine (Queen) Dioquino = 1,084 minutes

Top class: Mrs. Young P5 = 4,863 minutes

Everyone = 122,290 minutes

Clippers Week 1 stats:

We have 123 participants so far who have read 16,000 minutes. All readers with 150 minutes have earned 3 GOTCHA tickets!

• Miskimen's Super Science Students for Quarter #1 with NO missing assignments. (There were 70 of them.) Great job!! Cash Abraham, Safwan Ali, Brandon Davis, Soraya Ehsan, Simon Kakitani, Ryan Kim, Gregory Lagrimas, Calvin Licup, Aniela Magtalas, Miwa Nagase, Ray Nago, Audrey Ondatje, Camryn Yuki, Anirudh Balakrishnan, Cian Bondoc, Victor Diaz, Jude Engoy, Aviana Evans, and Amour Stewart. Keep it up! I am so proud of you.
• Congratulations to my Quarter #1 Public Speaking Students. You all were great and demonstrated amazing skills in speaking in public. You overcame your fears. Thank you for sharing your personal lives with us all. My top students were: Safwan Ali, Justine Hernandez, Simon Kakitani, Aniela Magtalas, and Ray Nago. Good luck with the rest of your electives. ~ Mrs. Miskimen
• Tremendous round-of-applause for my 8th grade students successfully completing their first Socratic seminar of the year on the text, "12 Angry Men." ~ Mr. Snow
• For these students who stepped out while they were doing a Socratic discussion in language arts class: Mia Lopez, Madeline Gonzales, Max Espinoza, Lorenzo Rendon, Aaron Barajas, Gracie Birtch, Julian Sekiya and many other 8th graders who stepped out to speak when it was courageous. ~ Mrs. Brown
• Shout out to the following students for outstanding contributions to our Socratic Seminars: Daniel Patel, Hazel Betino, Mika Tawa, Arna Moghadam, Brooke Martin, Holland Hess, Damian Thompson, Jenny Lee, Reagan Ryan, Andrew Quijano, Josiah Zimmerman, Riot Mills, Ginny Mijares, Zach Liu, Elle Barnes, Evelyn Kweon, Alex Hur, Luna Ortiz, Riyad Cheah, Elizabeth Walsh, Aliora Kirsch, Daisy Rojas, Madelynn Gonzalez, Leah Atha, Valeria Vaca, Alexa Villardi, Valentina Martinez, Millie Quevado, Yasmeen Al Natour, Kilygene Joslin, Mia Fredericks, River Rodriguez, Lorelai Carter, Fadi Al Achkar, Layla Campbell, Baggy Garcia, Noah Lee, Aomi Nishikawa, Elan Garcia, Noah Marquez, Melanie Soto, Alondra Andrade Gama, Cori Song, Emily Coyne, Josh Park, Elijah Hwang, Emily Gotauco, and Emma Esqueda. Bravo! ~ Mr. H
• Miskimen top mile runners for the start of Quarter #2, week #1 November 7 were: Tatum Salinas (6:25), Kayden Wall (6:40), Hako Ono (7:20), Reyli Anguiano (7:23), Aoi Muramatsu (7:45), Wylliam Brazil (7:49), Leona Chiv (7:51), Nickolas Arcuri (7:55), Dylan Ohshita (7:55), and Gavin Spangenberg (7:58). Great job!
• I would like to recognize Sofia Briseno and Anthony Lim for going above and beyond with outstanding effort, character, and motivation. ~ Mr. Estefan

Madrona Math Homework Club is for students who want a quiet space afterschool to do math homework and get help from the supervising math teacher or peer tutors (Madrona CJSF and THS National Honor Society Students). Students will need to check in and check-out every session.

After School Math Homework Club is open to ALL Math Content/Grade Levels- 3:30-4:30 pm (three days a week, Monday-Wednesday).

• Mondays (Room 14 w/Math Teacher Mrs. Bloomfield)
• Tuesdays (Room 9 w/Math Teacher Ms. Fu)
• Wednesdays (Room 6 w/Math Teacher Ms. Wulpern)

Sign-up your student(s) HERE. We have a 35 student limit for each session.

Your student does NOT need to be scheduled for any of the teachers running the club. All students regardless of grade and math level are welcome. Also, weekly attendance is flexible - students are not required to attend sessions weekly, but we ask that families sign-their student up at least the day of the club.

Students! Are you interested in joining a Madrona club? Talk to the club sponsor to learn more!

Cross Country Run Club – Mr. Estefan - Wednesday - After School - 3:20 - 3:50 - SIGN UP HERE

November

• Monday, 11/11 - Veteran's Day Holiday, No School
• Tuesday, 11/12 - School Site Council Meeting #2 via Zoom
• Thursday, 11/14 - Quarter 1 Report Cards Sent to Families via PowerSchool
• Thursday, 11/21 - Volleyball @ Calle (4:00 pm/Girls first)
• Monday, 11/25- Friday 11/29 - Thanksgiving 🦃 Break - NO SCHOOL
  
  

December

• Friday, 12/6 ⋅ Central Area Music Family Annual Caroling Stroll, 5:00 – 8:00pm

• 12/23-1/3 - Winter Break! ⛄

January

• Monday, 1/6 - School Resumes
• Thursday, 1/23 - TUSD Vision and Hearing Screening
• Friday, 1/24 - End of Quarter 2 Student Assembly
• Monday, 1/27 - 8th Grade Panoramic Picture during Tutorial
• Friday, 1/31 - Winter Concert @ Madrona, 6:00 - 8:00pm

February

• Friday, 2/7 - No School/Staff Development Day
• Monday, 2/10 - Lincoln's Birthday - No School
• Monday, 2/17 - President's Day - No School

* more events & dates to be added each week.

8th-grade families! The Madrona PTSA needs your help and contributions ensure your student's 8th-grade class activities are fun and memorable. Click here to learn how to help.

So far, the Madrona PTSA has raised $4,902 of their $25,000 goal for 8th-grade student activities.

Donate directly to the Madrona Middle School PTSA via the DONATE link below (or) Download the Donation Form and drop off donations to the PTSA Box located in the main office. 100% of membership goes back to our school.

Donate directly to the Madrona Middle School PTSA via link above (or)
Download the Donation Form and drop off donations to the PTSA Box located in the main office

TUSD is happy to provide different acceleration opportunities in math for students.

• One opportunity for 6th graders is to independently practice 7th grade content on Khan Academy and then take a test in April (date TBA) in order to enroll in Accelerated Math 7 or Algebra 1 in 7th grade.
• Students currently enrolled in Math 6 can study 1st Semester 7th Grade content and test into Accelerated Math 7 as 7th graders.
• Students currently enrolled in Accelerated Math 6 can study 2nd Semester 7th Grade Content and Math 8 content and test into Algebra 1 as 7th graders.

Here are some links that were shared during a recent TUSD Math Acceleration Zoom Meeting. These are also on the TUSD Parent/Student Mathematics Website

• Acceleration by Defense (Pathways and FAQ)
• Math 6 to Accelerated 7th (Presentation Slides - 2023-24 version is still current, Sign Up Form, sample assessment, learning targets, and links to Khan Academy)

There are other acceleration opportunities available to 6th, 7th and 9th grade students. If your student is not ready for independent practice/testing as a means of acceleration, they will have additional acceleration opportunities in the future.

All students can access the online version of textbooks as well as educational resources through the Torrance Unified School District CLEVER portal

Please take a moment to have your student log in to CLEVER (https://clever.com/in/torrance) using their TUSD email and password to show you all the wonderful learning tools they have access to including:

• Schoology - an the online learning management system many teachers use to post their agenda and assignments.
• iReady - a resource our English and Math teacher use to support and target student learning in essential English and Math domains.

What is the i-Ready Diagnostic?

The Beginning of the School Year Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that identifies students’ strengths and opportunities for growth during this school year. This information helps teachers determine how best to support their learning. Mid-year and end-of-the-year diagnostics allow our teachers and staff to monitor student growth over time. Watch this video to learn more.

How can I access my student’s beginning of the year results?

1. Log in to your student’s i-Ready Dashboard through Clever.
2. Click the "For Families" dropdown and select the "For Families report".
3. Enter the Torrance Unified School District’s Report Code: 40497Y.
   
   

For more information:

• Madrona_iReady-Communication-to-families ( Spanish | Japanese | Chinese )

iReady benchmark assessments and MyPath learning activities supports our students' Lifelong Learning & Life Skills

PowerSchool & PowerSchool app - Download and use the PowerSchool smartphone app to monitor your student's grades and attendance. Enable in-app alerts to receive real-time information on your student's progress. Android | Apple. The district code is TCXN. Students will need to use their student ID # and password to login. Families will need to use their PowerSchool login credentials.

Anyone (student, staff, parent/guardian) can fill this out our Google Form to refer a student for counseling. Referrals will be prioritized by the level of urgency and responded to as soon as possible.

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀

NOTE: All referrals are first sent to Ms. Lujan, School Counselor. The school counselor may refer the student to our school therapist, Darren Thomas. In either case, counseling is an optional service and completely confidential, unless there is a safety risk at-hand.

If this is an 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 and you do not have immediate access to the counselor, please call 911 and/or contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988.

ACTIVE PARENTING FOR TEENS
Virtual Parenting Classes For Parents of Teens and 'Tweens - see flyer. Parenting class series starting! Free Parenting Class 6 week series starting this week for parents of youth or teens. VIrtual sessions weekly on Wednesdays 5-7pm. Parents can sign up at this link or through the QR cod on the flyers below.

Parent Workshops

Free district parent workshops offered beginning in November! Please distribute flyer below and parents can sign up by emailing buildingbridges@tusd.org or through link on the flyer.

Curious About AI & Media Literacy? Join Our Family Webinar!

Wondering how AI is shaping your child’s world or how we are helping them build strong media literacy skills? Join our EdTech team on Thursday, November 14th, for a quick, family-friendly webinar on these topics and our new SchoolAI pilot program. You’ll get practical tips to keep your family informed and tech-savvy!

When: Thurs. Nov. 14, 6:00-7:00 pm
Where: Zoom Link: bit.ly/TUSD-Zoom

Bring your curiosity, and let’s learn together!

Teacher Residency Program Applications Due Nov 22!

Have you or someone you know thought about becoming a teacher? The innovative South Bay Consortium (SBC) Teacher Residency Program combines immersive, hands-on practice in the classroom with educational theory and research in both in-person seminars and online classes.

Benefits include:

• Earning your Master’s Degree and Preliminary Teaching Credential in one year

• Apprenticing four days a week with an expert teacher in your residency school.

• Chort of peers who will become lifelong friends and colleagues

• Priority consideration for a full-time position upon completing the program.

• Affordable cost, including financial support.

For more information and to apply, visit tusd.org/sbcteach

TUSD DELMAC Annual Parent Conference
Save-the-Date flyer in all languages.

Event: TUSD DELMAC Annual Parent Conference

Audience: Parents & Guardians of Multilingual Learners

Date: Friday, December 13, 2024

Event Time: 9:00am - 12:00pm

Location: Levy Adult Center

This year's conference theme: Bridging Cultures: Empowering Multilingual Learners for Success. This theme emphasizes the importance of cultural exchange and inclusivity while focusing on practical strategies to support language development, academic achievement, and social integration.

Event flyer with more details and parent interest form coming in early November!

As a California public school student, your child may be eligible to receive a CalKIDS scholarship of $500 to $1,500 for college or career training. Funded by the State of California, a CalKIDS scholarship can be used for qualified college and career training expenses such as tuition and fees, books and supplies, computer equipment, and some room and board expenses. Checking a student’s eligibility and claiming a CalKIDS scholarship is easy. It only takes a minute. All you need is your child’s 10-digit Statewide Student Identifier (SSID), which can be found at the top of the page when you select your student in PowerSchool. For more information and to check your child’s eligibility, visit CalKIDS.org.

Link to the TUSD 2024 State of Our Schools
Annual Report to Our Community

Our Board of Education voted to extend the free Metro GoPass program for a second year, and we are proud to offer this benefit to all our students. The program includes a Metro TAP (Transit Access Pass) card that offers FREE unlimited rides on Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) bus rail and subway lines, including Torrance Transit, Long Beach Transit, Culver CityBus, Gardena Transit (GTrans) and LADOT Dash.

If your student has a TAP card from last year, you will just need a new code, which you can pick up from our school office. We also have a stock of TAP cards for new riders or those who lost their old cards. New cards will need to be activated before being used. For more information, visit https://www.tusd.org/administrative-services/metro-gopass.

Looking for a way to help out our school? We are ALWAYS in need of school supplies! Any help we can get is ALWAYS greatly appreciated. If you do purchase an item(s) please have it delivered to:
Madrona Middle School 21364 Madrona Avenue Torrance, CA 90503 310-533-4562. Thank you!
If you have it delivered to your home, please drop off at the front office (or) have your student bring it in. Madrona Middle School Wishlist Link

Sign up for Ralphs Community Contribution Program ad NO added cost to you. Use Madrona's Organization ID UF902. Click here The program requires registration each September to stay active!

As you may have seen in the Back to School Highlights from TUSD Superintendent Dr. Stowe, this year, we have unveiled an updated vision for our District. After more than 18 months of input, best practice research, and development, we have published our "Portrait of a Graduate." Our Portrait describes the key skills that we want every student to have developed by the time they graduate from Torrance Unified.

At Madrona Middle School, we take pride in being the stepping stone that prepares your child for the transition to high school and beyond. Our focus on rigorous, relevant, and engaging academics and enriching activities ensures that your child is well-equipped for their high school journey. We look forward to sharing stories about how our teachers and staff are helping our students practice these elements at our school.

Madrona Middle School was voted the Best Public Middle School in the 2024 Daily Breeze/Beach Reporter South Bay Best Readers' Choice survey! This recognition is a testament to the supportive and safe learning environment created through the collaborative effort of our student body, staff, and families.

The Daily Breeze / Beach Reporter published its annual Readers Choice Awards - link to the webpage and insert: https://dailybreeze.readerschoice.la/2024-south-bays-rc-on-issuu-com/

School Website: https://www.tusd.org/schools/madrona

Address: 21364 Madrona Avenue, Torrance, CA, USA

General Email: madronainfo@tusd.org

Attendance Office: madronattend@tusd.org

Main Phone #: (310)533-4562

Visit our school website and follow us on Instagram for updates on school events and activities.