Gator News

It's hard to believe we are in the final moments of the school year. Thank you to everyone who made this year successful - our students, staff and caregivers. We have really appreciated your support and partnership with our student's families and caregivers to help partner with us to have an outstanding year at Main Street Middle School.

The last weeks of school are always action packed. We are working on finishing our learning and projects getting ready for summer. We also have our TA's this week and next exploring the significance of Pride Flag and Pride Month and Juneteenth. We will be celebrating on Friday with a MSMS Pride Day encouraging students in the community or acting as allies to wear the rainbow. And on June 19th, we will have an extended TA to celebrate Juneteenth and the historical impact of this federal holiday. The learning continues until the very end!

So many great things have happened lately allowing our Gators to really celebrate and shine in who they are as individuals and important parts of our school community.

• Our 8th graders had a trip to Boston where they learned history, culture, visiting the aquarium, seeing the Blue Man group and making memories in the final weeks as Gators. Big shout outs to and thanks to Eli Rosenberg for his overseeing the organization of the trip. Likewise thanks to Michelle Harper, Ashley Dubois, Beth Merrill, Bibba Kahn, Hannah Wilson, and Ben Matchstick for joining me in chaperoning and herding our gaggle of Gators through the city! Ben literally became a rockstar.
• Our Musicians have shined - both from our spring concert to the Jazz Band performance at the Burlington Jazz Festival last week.
• Six of our 7th and 8th graders are currently at the National History Day competition competing against their peers across the country.
• Our 7th Graders running an amazing Maker Faire for all of the rising 4th graders.
• Our 5th and 6th grade Ambassadors making that transition feel more comfortable and welcoming to our rising 4th graders.
• Our French students working on stories to share with UES students at the end of the year.
  
• Our 7th grade Bystander Trainers working to share with UES kids how to stand up to bullying when they see it happen.
• The overall social emotional and academic growth of our students this year in our learning and being at school has been great to see.
• Our Field Days are coming up as well as grade level field trips, like the 7th grade trip recently to Lake Elmore. Great opportunities to celebrate and share in the joy of a hard working year together.

Main Street Middle School is a special place because of the individuals that are here each and every day. We have some staff members that will be leaving after this school year onto other career paths. They will be missed and we are grateful for the positive impacts they have made in our school.

Once a Gator, always a Gator...

here are the few we are saying Seeing you Later (and Thank You!):

• Kara Attia, 6th Grade Math/Science Teacher is moving to her home school district
• Ali Kuhlman, our school Social Worker accepted a position at Hosmer Point
• Jordan Norcross, a Special Educator is moving Utah with his wife.
• Brent Pearson, Shine Special Educator accepted a position at Randolph Technical Center
• Kassandra Perrantoni (KP), a Special Educator is moving to the high school.
  
• Luke Pommerville, an Instructional Assistant, has decided to pursue a position closer to home
  
• Asah Whalen, our 7/8 ELA teacher is going to work for the Agency of Education.

We have been hiring and filling for these positions. Look below at our new Gator Staff Members and their Bios!

Half Day on June 18th Schedule:

We will be celebrating our 8th grade students exiting their time at Main Street Middle School on June 18th! Their last day of classes is on Monday, June 17.

On the 18th, after TA the 8th Graders will meet in the Gymnasium as we go over details of the day and remind our exiting Gators of the expectations for the rehearsal that morning and the event that evening.

At 8:45, our staff and students in grades 5 - 7 will clap off our 8th Graders through the 2nd floor hallway and out the Franklin Street Doors as they exit Main Street Middle School for the last time as students. Parents and community members are welcome to join the clap off outside of our school building. We will extend the clap off to a class walk through Montpelier to Montpelier High School for our promotion rehearsal.

We will rehearse the promotion ceremony between 9:30 to 11:30. At 11:30, our 8th graders will enjoy lunch at Montpelier High School and will be dismissed at noon from MHS!

Promotion Night Hopefully no storms will take out the power like last year!

Arrival: Students should arrive at the very latest at 5:45 for the promotion ceremony at the MHS Auditorium. If they are performing, they may be asked to arrive earlier per our music department.

Start Time: We will begin our Promotion Ceremony promptly at 6:00 PM in the MHS Gymnasium. It is expected to last about 75 minutes. Our ceremony includes a processional of our entering 8th graders and leaving in a recessional as Solons.

After Ceremony: There will be lot of time for students to take pictures with their families and friends after the promotion ceremony.

Video: We are working on arrangements to make our promotion ceremony available on video. When we have more information, we will share it out to everyone.

Promotion Dance: Our MSMS-CA is working hard to create a post promotion night dance to take place in the MHS cafeteria. More details about that will be coming soon!

8th Graders do not have school on the 19th or 20th!

Hello 8th graders hoping to take Biology next year,

Attached here are the study materials to test out of Integrated Science. I believe all the links work but let me know if they don't work for you or if you have any questions. We plan to host the test-out option on Monday, August 26th in the morning. Please make arrangements to begin the test at 8am that day at Montpelier High School. As we get closer to the test date, the exact location and reminders of times will be communicated to students and families.
All the best,

MHS Science Department

Algebra Opt Out!

Thank you for your interest in testing out of Algebra I. We have set a date of Friday, August 23 at 8:00 am for this assessment. If you are not able to make this date, please let us know and we can work to resolve that. When you come into the front lobby (by the flagpole) you will go directly up to the second floor where we will sign you in.

We are including a link to the topics covered on the assessment along with relevant review materials.

Welcome to MHS! We can't wait to meet you,

The MHS Mathematics Department

8:00 - 10:40

Regular Schedule - End of Year Celebrations/Closure

10:40 - 11:00

Welcome New Gator Parade To MSMS

(MSMS Students to Line the parade route)

11:00-12:00 pm

Meet and Greet New Teachers

12:00 pm

- All students will be dismissed.

All staff are outside with students to send them off for the summer!

In partnership with Hunger Free Vermont, Essex Westford School District will be distributing FREE 7-day meal boxes to Montpelier and Roxbury this summer. These meal boxes are available to families with children under the age of 18. No registration is required.

Pickup the free meal boxes this summer at:

• Montpelier:

  • Where: Washington Family Center - 383 Sherwood Drive, Montpelier, VT

  • When: Mondays from 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, June 24th - August 12th

• Roxbury:

  • Where: Roxbury Village School - 1559 Roxbury Road, Roxbury, VT

  • When: Wednesdays from 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, June 26th - August 14th

Boxes contain seven breakfasts and seven lunches and include foods like cereal, muffins, bagels, wraps, deli meats and cheese, nut butter, whole cucumbers, baby carrots, apples, raisins, and cantaloupe. Each box contains a gallon of milk.

Caitlin is a Central Vermont native who left the area for 20 years and moved back a few years ago with her young son to be closer to family and friends. She is a solo parent who graduated with a Master's in Social Work this year as a non-traditional college student. Caitlin is passionate about restorative practice and social justice. She looks forward to being a part of the MSMS community and supporting families with an open mind and heart.

My name is Stefanie Kingzett. I grew up in Massachusetts, came to Vermont 29 years ago to attend college, and pretty much never left this beautiful little state! I have lived in the Village of East Barre with my husband and four children for 18 years. We enjoy doing many things outdoors; from hiking, fishing, exploring, camping, and gardening. Personally, I enjoy working on puzzles, drawing and painting, reading, and playing with our three kitties.

Carla Occaso has been an interventionist with the Montpelier Roxbury Public School District since 2019. Before that, she worked at Laraway School as an English Teacher, and prior to that she worked within the Caledonia North Supervisory Union. She loves writing and language arts to the degree that she got a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing. She also enjoys contemplating the use of punctuation to the point that she has read, for enjoyment: "Semicolon: the past, present, and future of a misunderstood mark" by Cecelia Watson. Carla earned her teaching license in 2018, and has endorsements in English, 7-12, Social Studies 7-12, and Elementary Education. During her time at MRPS, she has studied the latest techniques on how to deliver scientifically sound literacy/reading lessons using explicit systematic multisensory instruction and sequential lessons such as the Orton Gillingham approach. She is furthering her research and delivery on how best to deliver literacy instruction through the Lexia LETRS professional development, and completing a Masters of Arts in Education degree at the Vermont State University focusing on literacy instruction. Apart from her work in education, Carla lives in East Montpelier (where she grew up) with her son, two dogs, and a cat. She likes gardening, sewing, knitting, hiking, exploring interesting natural wonders, writing, drawing, and following the news. She doesn't like unkind behavior and mashed turnips.

Ricky Powell is a new SEL Special Educator at Main Street Middle School. He was born and raised in Montpelier, VT and his family spans three generations in the school system. After high school, Ricky attended Maryville College, in Maryville Tennessee, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology. Since moving back to Vermont, Ricky has worked in the mental health field for approximately 15 years and has worked in a variety of schools along the way. He is currently the Head JV Boys Basketball Coach at Montpelier High School. Next year will be his 10th season coaching at Montpelier. Ricky is very excited to join the MSMS team.

“I am from Louisville, Kentucky and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a secondary education certification from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 2020. I immediately began my teaching career in Starkville, Mississippi when my wife started earning her degree at Mississippi State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. During that time, I’ve taught 8th grade math and algebra 1 as well as a foundations of algebra course for 9th grade. When I’m not teaching, I enjoy playing board games, riding my bike, and traveling to see different baseball teams play at their home stadiums. ”

Do you love to be in the garden? Will you be around this summer? MSMS needs help with their garden beds that are growing an assortment of pollinators, herbs, and vegetables for the MSMS_Sustain program. With school closed for summer, the students and faculty will not be there to water and weed, so they've asked the community to step up to care for the young plants this summer.

Can you commit 1 week this summer to care for this community garden? You would come to the school to water and weed the raised beds (located behind the cafeteria.) If there are weeds taking over, pull them out. If there are flowers or herbs ready for harvest, feel free to take some home. (not full plants, please, just the take-away parts!)

To pick a week, and for more details, click here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vN9jHJwVV_yum5ptSYPSRTW1JkAnL6ilMgpm97ZK_ko/edit

Questions? please reply to this email - and thank you for your help!!

MSMS CA

mrpspie.org/MSMSCA

Summer Speed, Agility, and Quickness (SAQ) Camp is Open Now!

This FREE camp presents a fantastic opportunity for your athletes to enhance their skills, gain a competitive edge, and build confidence in their abilities. Be sure to mark your calendars and encourage your athletes to secure their spots as space is limited.

Camp Details:

• Instructors: David Ball (VT Hall of Fame) & Ernie Spears former NFL players.

• Who: Students in grades 7-12, boys and girls, across all sports.

• What: Summer SAQ Camp focused on enhancing speed, agility, and quickness.

• When: July 23, 24, 25 from 5 PM to 8 PM.

• Where: Norwich University - Howard Field.

• How: Click here to register, or email speedagilityquickness@gmail.com to register, or if you have any questions or need assistance with registration.

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Caregiver Reporting: If you believe you have witnessed or experienced discrimination, bias-based harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, or bullying at MRPS, please report it to a school administrator as possible. If you do not feel comfortable reporting in person, please complete this reporting form. If you have any questions please contact MRPS Director of Social Emotional Learning & Wellness, Jessica Murray, at jessicamurray@mpsvt.org or (802) 505 0435.