Madrona Family Memo

Greetings, Madrona Families!

Our Madrona Wildcat Students are counting down! Just ONE more week of school before Winter Break, and it will be a cheerful one!

Student Leadership has planned fun-filled Spirit themes for each day of next week: Monday (Fuzzy Socks) and Tuesday (Grinch/Wear Green). Wednesday (Festive Hats), Thursday (Ugly Sweater), and Friday (PJ Day). Of course, academic instruction will continue alongside these festive events. It’s an excellent time for our students to stay focused on learning while still enjoying the spirit of the winter season!

Please see the information below for the sign-up form for the Madrona Basketball Team Tryouts, which will happen the week we return from Winter Break. Students who make the team will need to complete Athletic Clearance Forms to participate in the program.

8th-grade Families—On Friday, I visited all 8th-grade English classes to encourage students to apply for the TUSD Early College Program. The application window closes on January 17. Please have your students check their eTUSD email for the TUSD invitation and link to the application.

Madrona will be closed for Winter Break from Monday, December 23, through Friday, January 3. We return to school on Monday, January 6.

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend. Go Wildcats!

Sue Key, Ed.D., Proud Principal

Madrona Middle School

Madrona Families! Let's show our Madrona Staff some Holiday Cheer and help make the last week before Winter Break Merry and Bright!

Please click on the flier to review the Sign-up Genius available slots (or click here) and click on the button to sign up to "Stock the Staff Room" the week before staff go out on Winter Break. Items can be brought into the staff lounge between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. Thank you! ~Madrona PTSA

are reflected in Madrona students as they grow in their ability to demonstrate academic literacies and continuous pursuit of interdisciplinary knowledge, welcoming challenges as pathways to growth, and craft solutions by leveraging innovative ideas, critical thinking skills, evidence-based insights, technology, and diverse perspectives.

- an element of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

Clippers Read to Achieve program has concluded! Thank you to all the participants - our minutes read are in the 6 digits - we anxiously await the competition results in January! ~Ms.Osejo, Library Media Technician

Top reader = Ryan Sor = 1,200 minutes

Top class = Mrs. Young P5 = 7,578 minutes

Everyone = 219,013 minutes

HOMEWORK CLUB

Calling all students with a growth mindset! Come to Madrona Homework Club for a quiet space to do homework and get help from the supervising math teacher or peer tutors. Students will need to check in and check-out every session. Sign-up HERE. The club is limited to 35 student per session.

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

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

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Please Note: temporary room change for this week

• Monday, December 16 in Room 9 / Ms. Fu
• Tuesday, December 17 in Room 14 / Mrs. Bloomfield

are reflected in Madrona students as they grow in their ability to actively listen to understand others, seek common ground, and effectively articulate ideas, positions, and stories in ways that build strong interpersonal relationships and collaborations for mutual benefit

- an element of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

Mrs. Hallsted's Science Olympiad students are working in teams to prepare for their first competition: the USC Invitational, scheduled for January 18, 2025. This event is the flagship invitational tournament for the Southern California Science Olympiad and is the nation's largest in-person Science Olympiad competition. Good luck, Madrona Science Olympians!

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Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle school). Each year, events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, and technology. By combining events from all disciplines, the Science Olympiad encourages a broad cross-section of students to get involved., through preparation, commitment, coaching, and practice throughout the year. Each school-based team can bring 15 students who cross-train for various events in their skill set.

are reflected in Madrona students as they grow in their ability have a positive influence of others with a style of leadership that models integrity, responsibility, resilience, empathy, and respect for others.

- an element of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

are reflected in Madrona students who prioritize self-care by developing healthy habits and life skills that ensure long-term physical mental, emotional, social, and financial well-being

- an element of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

Basketball Tryouts!
Students interested in tryout for Basketball Games must fill out this Google form, check emails, and listen to announcements for updates. Tryouts will be held the week after winter break. Check your email after submitting this form to check for a receipt.

Volleyball

If you missed the last week's game, join us for the 12/19 game which be held at Madrona 4:00-6:00 pm in the GYM unless indicated.

• 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)

Cross Country

Run Club continues to meet weekly* on Wednesdays from 3:30 to ~3:50 pm on the blacktop for runs in the neighborhood. (*Check with Mr. Estefan)

Our next competition - Spring Meet: Thursday, March 27, 2025, 4PM, Hull Middle School

Athletic Clearance Packet & Physical Form
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.
TUSD Middle School Athletics Packet | Upload Completed Forms Here

are reflected in Madrona students as they grow in their ability to passionately champion civic engagement and global citizenship, proactively contributing to a more inclusive, equitable, and interconnected world through dedicated actions, advocacy, service, and environmental stewardship

- an element of the TUSD Portrait of A Graduate!

This past Thursday, Student in Sports Management proudly supported the Madrona Volleyball team by setting up the gym for game spectators, displayed school spirit graphics on the gym walls, and served as enthusiastic sports announcers!

• Huge SHOUT OUT to the Central Area Music Family for another amazing Caroling Stroll last Friday, 12/6/24!!! It's always so much fun to hang out with our Music Fam from the Central Area. ~ Mrs. Snider
• Also thanks all the parents who helped make the event possible by donating hot cocoa and cookies, working to set-up, serve and clean up and walk and sing with us. ~ Mrs. Snider
• Bravi Tutti to Andante (Beg. Band)! You have worked so hard this week and have made great progress. Keep up the hard work! <3 Mrs. Snider
  
• Thank you Mia and Alivia for helping clean and organize my classroom last Wednesday! ~ Ms. Fu
• Shout out to Alex Hur for outstanding creativity and participation in ELA. Bravo! ~ Mr. H
• Additional shout out to Lilygene Joslin, Timmy Idowu, Ada White, and Molly White for assistance in casting this year’s Drama plays. Thank you! ~ Mr. H
• Final shout out to Reagan Ryan, Giani Golia, Lucas Park, Lorelai Carter, Kevin Upton, Noah Lee, Leanna Seo, Lilliana Shimasaki, River Rodriguez, and Kyra Castrilon for excellent argument essays. Bravo! ~ Mr. H
• Shoutouts, "today a reader, tomorrow a leader," to Cash, for reading The Crossover and Rebound; Hako, for reading How to Survive Middle School and Under Pressure; and to Milan, Patrick, Connor Y., Sophia, Cru, Lori, Nathan M, Celia, Nathan J., Miwa, Ivy, Seigo, Sen, Keita, Ysabella, Marissa and Jayden S. for Leadership & Character. ~ Mr. Estefan
• HUGE SHOUT OUTS TO: Dylan Ohshita for donating supplies for our school. It REALLY HELPS OUT OUR SCHOOL! ~ Ms. Janet in the Principal's Office
• Miskimen's Fastest Mile Times for 12/12. Nathaniel Cole (6:14), Tatum Salinas (6:23), Kayden Wall (6:38), Dylan Ohshita (7:00), Aio Muramatsu (7:19), Gavin Spangenberg (7:30), Nicholas Arcuri (7:40), Henry Kim (7:49), Koh Sugiura (7:50) and Wylliam Brazil (7:58). Great job!
• Congratulations to the Girls Volleyball Team for their first win of the season. Great job! ~ Ms. McGurk
• Shout out to the Boys Volleyball Team for their 3rd consecutive win of the season! ~ Ms. McGurk
• Congrats to the Girls and Boys Volleyball Teams for their victory over the Lepards this past Thursday. ~Mrs. Schiappa-Gobee
• Leadership, thank you for planning the up coming week before winter break week of fun activities. ~Mrs. Schiappa-Gobee

• Leana Gaytan, thank you for being an advocate for your friends. ~ Mrs. Schiappa-Gobee
• Shout-out to Student Leadership and Art Students for their collective efforts bringing Winter and Holiday Cheer to our campus! ~Dr Key
• Shout-out to Sports Management for your ongoing support of Madrona Athletics including Madrona Volleyball home games! ~Dr. Ke
• Shout-out to Culture Climate Student Group and Student Leadership for sharing your insights on our school climate survey data ~Dr. Key

Families! Has your student lost an item at school?

Once again, our collection of clothes, jackets, hoodies, water bottles, pencil pouches, hats, shoes, and more are waiting to return home. Please stop by the Lost & Found rack on the inside of the main gate. All items will be donated to a local charity NEXT WEDNESDAY - DECEMBER 18!

The City of Torrance will be hosting the 19th Annual Students and Government Day on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. 8th-grade students interested in participating must complete the form by February 3, 2025 to be considered. One student will be selected per TUSD middle school.

December

• 12/19 -Madrona Volleyball vs Richardson at Home (boys first/4:00 pm)

• 12/23-1/3 - Winter Break! ⛄

January

• Monday, 1/6 - School Resumes
• Tuesday, 1/7 - Tentative Madrona Volleyball vs Hull Middle School, Torrance High School Gym (TBD on the order/ 6:30 or 7:00 pm)
• Monday, 1/20 - Martin Lutheran King, Jr. Day - No School
• 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.

Click Here to Place Your See's Candy Order, and Help Madrona PTSA Reach Their Goal!

Thank you for supporting Madrona Middle School!

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 $8,586 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.

1. 6th graders - 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.
2. Students currently in Math 6 can study 1st Semester 7th Grade content and test into Accelerated Math 7 as 7th graders.
3. Students currently 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 links shared during a TUSD Math Acceleration Zoom Meeting, also posted 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 access the online version of textbooks and educational resources through the TUSD CLEVER portal

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 of their learning tools

• Schoology - an online learning management system teachers use to post agendas and assignments.
• iReady - a resource teachers use to support learning in essential Reading and Math domains.

The iReady 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 student learning and monitor student growth over time. Watch this video to learn more.

How can I access my student’s 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 )

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

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

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.

Families with 8th-grade students interested in our Early College Program are invited to check out information on the TUSD Early College Information Page or the informational video.

This comprehensive 4-year program begins freshman year and allows students to simultaneously complete their high school graduation requirements, along with transferable college-level general education courses. The program saves students valuable time and money and helps open accessibility to college paths. A link to the Google Form application was sent to student eTUSD emails and parent/guardian emails (Note: students must access the form using their eTUSD account).

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.

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.