Madrona Family Memo

Hello, and Happy November, Madrona Families!

As of Friday, November 1, your student has officially completed Quarter 1 of their 2024-25 School Year. Quarter 1 Report Cards will be sent to families on Thursday, November 14.

The academic workload and pace of middle school support the development of many essential skills that prepare our students for the rigors of high school. Our students have adapted to their six classes and continue growing academically and socially-emotionally through your support and the support of our school staff!

Families of 6th-grade students enrolled in the Wildcat Elective Wheel (Enrichment). Your student was given an updated class schedule with their new Period 5 class, starting Monday, November 4. On Friday, teachers and students said farewell and gave their well wishes during the last class session for Quarter 1. A class list and map will be posted outside the main office for Wildcat Wheel students who need to look up their new classroom location.

Reminder! There is no school next Monday, November 11, Veteran's Day, in observance

of our military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

May November bring you many things for which you are grateful.

Have a wonderful 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.

6th-graders enrolled in the "Wildcat Wheel/Quarterly "Enrichment" class will need to report to their new elective class starting this Monday, November 4. The following changes will appear in PowerSchool for Quarter 2:

• Q1 w/Mrs Miskimen --> Quarter 2, Mrs. Ton - Intro to PLTW Design/Modeling (SC3)
• Q1 w/Mrs. Ton --> Quarter 2, Mrs. Snider - Intro to Music (Music/Rm 1)
• Q1 w/Mrs. Snider --> Quarter 2, Mrs. Wulpern - Intro to Art (Rm 6)
• Q1 w/Mrs. Wulpern --> Quarter 2, Mrs. Mskimen - Intro to Public Speaking (Rm 7)

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!

Mr. Phillips' 7th-grade ELA students reinforced their understanding and use of adjectives and descriptive vocabulary words. The memorable and engaging activity asked students to identify and understand the meaning of words based on the range of emotions each term expressed, along with the synonyms and antonyms.

Mr. Waldschmidt's 7th-grade Math students worked with their seat partners to critically examine data and complex math prompts. Fantastic work, Problem-Solvers!

Madrona 6th-grade students participating in the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce Jr. CEO Program visited Torrance City Hall, met with Torrance Mayor George Chen and District #3 Councilmember Sam Sheikh, and learned about local city government and business policy. They also received a certificate in recognition of our students' participation in the Torrance Business Expo next Thursday, November 7. Wonderful!

Once again Madrona's eSports team (with eSports sponsor, Ms. Ton) take the win, this time 3-0 over Casimir Middle School in Rocket League. They also defeated Paso Robles High School 3-2! AWESOME, Wildcats!

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 = Rocco Freeman

Top class = Dr. Torres P4 = 14,822 minutes

everyone = 103,966 minutes

Clippers challenge is happening now! Upper grades - pick up a reading log in the library!

• Miskimen's Super Science Students who scored a 4 on their Quarter #1 CFA on Introduction to Models: Soraya Ehsan, Ryan Kim, Gregory Lagrimas, Miwa Nagase, Ray Nago, Nicholas Sonandres, Anirudth Balakrishnan, Jack Conner, Bennett Davidson, Aviana Evans, Barret Hanes, and Dawit Miller. Great job. This wasn't an easy test.
• Hannah Lavi- for being brave and reading aloud part of a play in Language Arts class. ~ Mrs. Brown
• Shout out to the following students for outstanding essays in ELA: Holland Hess, Noah De Guzman, Jenny Lee, Daniel Patel, Mika Tawa, Andrew Hong, Connor Wesner Lorelai Carter, Kyra Castrillon, Gabby Garcia, Sophia Lee, River Rodriguez, Hailey Alva, Emily Coyne, Elan Garcia, Emily Kim, Cori Song, and Cooper Yamauchi. Bravo! ~ Mr. H
• Proud of all of my students for making it through their first quarter of 6th grade- keep up the good work! ~ Ms. Fu
• Congratulations to our Rocket League eSport Team: Josh Montenegro, Kevin Upton, and Daniel Patel for defeating Casimir 3-0 and Paso Robles High School 3-2 this week! Great job and keep up the good work! ~ Mrs. Ton
• Thank you to my Quarter 1 Elective Wheel class for a great quarter. Good luck with the rest of the school year. ~ Mrs. Ton
• Leadership Period 4- You all amaze me every single day. Thank you for your hard work and your enthusiasm. You inspire me with your ideas and energy! Your Q1 Assembly was absolutely amazing!! Great job to each and every one of you. ~ Mrs. Spotts
• Thank you, 6th-grade JR CEO Program students, for Being Respectful and Responsible during our visit to Torrance City Hall this past Wednesday. ~Dr. Key
• Thank you, Madrona Students, for showing your school spirit this week! You are AMAZING! ~Dr. Key
• HUGE Thank You to: Liam Guba, Mei Pearne, Ben and Olivia Abbott for purchasing items from our Amazon Wish List for School Supplies! It REALLY HELPS OUT OUR SCHOOL! ~ Ms. Janet in the Principal's Office
• One more HUGE Thank You to Mia Lopez and Family for donating basketball nets for our outside basketball hoops!!! ~ Ms. Janet in the Principal's Office

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 - Movie Night, hosted by Leadership 6:00 pm

• 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

* 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 in the future, so 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.

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.