Armada Middle School Newsletter

February 2025

2025-2026 Scheduling

Believe it or not it is time to start thinking about student scheduling for the 2025-2026 school year. Current 6th and 7th grade students will receive their course selection forms towards the end of February. This form gives students the opportunity to select elective courses they are interested in taking next year. More details and information about the course offerings will be included on this form. Current 8th grade students will be meeting with high school staff and receive scheduling information in the coming weeks.

M-STEP & PSAT

The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) and PSAT is scheduled to be administered this spring. The M-STEP, which is entering its 8th year as the official state assessment, will include summative assessments designed to measure student growth in various subject areas. All students in grades 6-8 will be assessed in English-Language Arts and Mathematics. 8th grade students will also be assessed in Science and Social Studies. The PSAT replaces the M-STEP English-Language Arts and Mathematics assessments in 8th grade and will be included in Michigan's accountability system. 8th grade students will continue to take the M-STEP Science and Social Studies assessments, which have been and will continue to be included in Michigan’s accountability system. Spring testing is scheduled to begin in early April. More information and details will be provided as the testing window approaches.

Additional Notes and Reminders

Please double check that your child is bringing appropriate outerwear to school for the cold weather. We have noticed a number of students walking home without coats and even wearing shorts.

Students are expected to exit the building in a timely manner after dismissal at the end of the day. If students are in the building after school hours for tutoring, athletic events, or meetings they must be directly supervised by a staff member. A supervised study hall is available until 3:30 pm in Room 140 for students awaiting rides, practices, etc.

February 7th - Half day all students
February 10th - No School - Teacher Professional Development
February 17th - No School - Mid Winter Break
February 18th - No School - Mid Winter Break
March 6th - Half day all students - Exams (Hours 1 - 3)
March 7th - Half day all students - Exams (Hours 4 - 6)/End of Trimester 2
March 10th - Start of Trimester 3
March 24th - No School - Spring Break (March 24th - March 28th)
March 31st - School Resumes

Board of Education Regular Meeting Notice

Regular meetings of the Armada Area Schools Board of Education for 2025 will be held the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. Official minutes of the school board meetings are stored and available for inspection in the Superintendent’s office at the Administration Building. The schedule for meetings is as follows:

2025 Meeting Dates/Locations

January 21 - Armada Middle School Community Room (23550 Armada Center Road)
February 25 - Krause Elementary Gymnasium (23900 Armada Center Road) (Note: 4th Tuesday of the month due to winter break on the 18th)
March 18 - Armada High School Auditorium (23655 Armada Center Road)
April 22* - Safety/Academy - Gallery (Note: 4th Tuesday of the month)
May 20* - Special Education - Gallery
June 17*
July 15*
August 19* (Note: Armada Fair takes place the week prior August 11th - 17th)
September 16*
October 21*
November 18* (Note: Thanksgiving is November 27th, the following week)
December 16*

* All other meetings will be held in the Macomb Academy of Arts & Sciences Gallery, 23211 Prospect Street, Armada, Michigan 48005 unless specified in advance of each meeting.

Upon a 5-day advance request to the Superintendent's office, the district shall make reasonable accommodations for a person with disabilities to be able to participate in a meeting.

Congratulations to our January

Students of the Month

Character Trait: Perseverance

Nikolas Hoogerhyde

Aliah Trusler

Milo Poole

Chloe Swann

Camden Crumrine

Addison Klee

Math Tutoring

Mrs. Milner is offering after school math tutoring for all students (grades 6-8). Tutoring will be available on Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30-3:30 pm in room 106. Any student who is planning on attending tutoring is expected to come with specific math related questions from their homework, a test review, or to prepare for an upcoming assessment. The number of students for each session is limited and students must sign up at the link below prior to the session. Walk-in tutoring is not available. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Milner at lmilner@armadaschools.org. Click HERE to sign up!

Global Impact Yearbook Page!

Attention all 8th grade parents, if you have any pictures of your child implementing their Global Impact Project and would like it documented in the yearbook please send pictures with the name of your child, and a small description of their project to Mrs. Bartels and it will be added to the yearbook page! kbartels@armadaschools.org

MSBOA District XVI Solo and Ensemble Festival

On Saturday, January 18th, Armada Middle School band and orchestra students had the opportunity to perform at the MSBOA District XVI Solo and Ensemble festival. The following middle school students earned a Superior Division I rating at the festival: Cooper Phipps, Amelia Martin, Jackson Duff, James Guinon, Cora Livingston, Ellie Watson, Kayla Simons, Isabel Davidson, Abigail McCord, Isabelle Younts, Austyn Mistretta, Vincent Gardner, and Sean Davidson. Congratulations to all who performed!

Macomb Family Services Adolescent Outreach

Macomb Family Services continues to offer counseling to students who need outside counseling for personal and family issues. The program is called Adolescent Outreach. Certified counselor, Mrs. Dorothy Yope, can meet confidentially with your child for up to eight sessions at no charge during school hours. She will rotate her sessions with your child so as not to miss the same class twice in a row as they are required to make up any missed class work. Please email Mrs. Husken at bhusken@armadaschools.org if you are interested in participating or have any questions.

Armada Middle School Expectations

All AMS students are expected to step up and help make our school a safe and drug free environment. The theme that ties it all together is the AMS Expectation Code of Conduct which states, “Take care of yourself, take care of each other, and take care of this place.”

How to Block Cyberbullying

If you’re a victim of cyberbullying, here are some tips on how to put a stop to your tormentors:

If you get a threatening message, tell a trusted adult and don’t hesitate to call the police. There are laws in place to protect kids from cyberbullies.
Block ‘em. You can do this on Facebook through your settings and you can do this with text messages by calling your service provider.
If you recognize the name of a bully, delete and destroy incoming messages before reading them.

Bullies want you to fight back so they can continue to tear you down. Ignore them and give ‘em the “silent treatment.” Contact the police if the perpetrators continue their harassment!

Bridging the Communication Gap

For some AMS students, facing responsibility is a daily challenge. If your child struggles academically and routinely states that they have no homework, please check the PowerSchool parent portal. You are able to view your child’s grade, e-mail staff members with any concerns or questions, or check teacher websites to view upcoming projects, assignments and tests. If you do not have online capability, please contact our staff members on the phone and leave a message. The end of this trimester is March 7th. If you have any questions about PowerSchool or teacher websites, please call the main office to get your password and username.

Drugs Are Trash Bag Fundraiser

From February 3, 2025 – February 21, 2025 you will have an opportunity to support Armada Middle School by purchasing and selling something we use every day…Trash Bags!! The sales kits will be coming home with students on Monday, February 3rd! The pick up date will be on April 24, 2025 from 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Gift card prizes will be awarded to the students who sell the most bags and turn in their order by February 21, 2025.

Armada Athletics

For all tryouts, students must have a valid sports physical on file dated on or after April 15, 2024 and a FinalForms account created. You can create this account by visiting www.armadatigers.org and click on the FinalForms tab. Please feel free to reach out to the Athletic Department if you have any questions. Our contact emails are: mpetz@armadaschools.org and tphillips@armadaschools.org.

Please click HERE to see the school breakfast and lunch menus!