
Principal Welcome Back to Families
Back to School Newsletter 2022-2023
Greetings Nock Community
Greetings Nock Community:
I hope the summer months are treating you and your family well. It feels like it was a blink of an eye that we closed our school year in June and now we are ready to welcome you back in a few short weeks. We have been working diligently through the summer months to prepare for a great 2022-2023 school year. Our dedicated staff is already planning and preparing for your child(ren). Our new office team is registering new families, ordering needed materials and updating student files. Our incredible custodians have spent the entire summer thoroughly cleaning the facility. It looks incredible! Our amazing PTO continues to partner with the Nock to provide additional resources for our students. As I begin my 5th year as a school administrator in the Newburyport public schools, I continue to be amazed by the outreach and support of all members of our community. It is this continued partnership that allows our students to flourish and thrive year after year.
Below is information to prepare everyone for the opening of schools. If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.
Best,
Nicholas Markos
Principal
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New Staff
Each year brings positive change. This includes quite a few new additions to our staff. We are delighted to welcome a diverse, experienced, passionate group of educators to our staff this year. These professionals are rooted in the one thing that collectively binds the Nock Middle School together -- their love for their students.
Student Placement
A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2022-2023 school year. Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities. We will release Team Placement and Homeroom/Advisory assignments on August 19th. If you have lost or misplaced your Aspen login credentials, please contact the District IT team at rt-nock@rt.newburyport.k12.ma.us
Thank you for being positive with your child and helping them understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff works hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. The Nock is eagerly looking forward to enriching your childโs life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group, teachers and team.
PHONES/WIRELESS HEADPHONES/INTERACTICVE WATCHES
For the past four years, we have had an โAway for the Dayโ Policy which is outlined in our student handbook. Students are not allowed to use cell phones during the school day. There is a telephone in the main office available for students to use upon permission from the office staff. Below is the discipline policy for students using cell phones during the day:
First Time: Phone goes to teacher until the end of the day and then returned. A communication will be sent home notifying the studentโs parent/guardian..
Second Time: Phone is sent down to the office/Assistant Principal until the end of the day and returned. A communication will be sent home notifying the parent/guardian.
Third Time: Phone goes to Administration, parent/guardian will be contacted and student will sign a phone agreement.
Watches that have technology to receive and send messages or emails are also seen as โphonesโ.
No Wireless Headphones allowed. Students may use plug-in headphones
Phones will be passed in at the beginning of each period or students can place their phones in their lockers daily. We will review these expectations with our students upon their arrival.
If there are extenuating circumstances that a parent or guardian needs to be in contact with their child, please contact the Nock Administration so accommodations can be made. Otherwise, if you need to get a message to your child, please call the office and we will ensure the message is delivered
The policy was adopted to maximize student attentiveness, increase student engagement and limit student distractions. Below is a great article from an educator who has seen the similar shift in distractions and how they impact student learning.
We, again, thank you for your support in partnering with us to ensure that we maximize every opportunity we have to engage your child in learning.
Dismissal From School
Students who are not feeling well or need additional support from our nursing team are encouraged to request a pass to speak to the nurse. Our nurses are great problem solvers and advocates for all of our students. After our nurses follow their screening protocols they will assess whether the student requires a dismissal. They will contact families and work out a solution that works best case by case. When the decision is made to recommend a dismissal, or not, we ask that you trust our nursing team that they are working in the best interest of your child.
Drop Off
Family drop off is on Low Street. Please do not pull into the faculty/staff parking lot to drop off or use the parking lot as a shortcut onto Johnson or Low Street. Student safety is our priority. Since there is quite a bit of foot traffic in the parking lot with walkers, your cooperation is greatly appreciated. All students must enter the building through their designated grade level front doors. It will be most efficient if families pull up to the front of the building on Low street and encourage their students to walk up the crosswalk. Faculty and staff will be outside daily guiding vehicles to pull up and drop off at our designated areas. We will review this expectation during our locker set up.
Tardies
Band & Orchestra
The Nock has a vibrant and robust musical program. Students who are interested in our Band and Orchestra programs, and have not already reached out to Mr. Nickerson and or Ms. Sheperd, should contact them with any questions at bnickerson@newburyport.k12.ma.us or ksheperd@newburyport.k12.ma.us. Also, if you would like more information about scheduling band, chorus or orchestra, please contact Katy Parsons, Nock Assistant Principal at kparsons@newburyport.k12.ma.us .
We highly encourage all students that sign up for Band, Orchestra and Chorus to commit to the full year program. We understand that schedules can get overwhelming at times, but we truly believe that we should always finish what we start.
Important Events/Dates
Thursday, August 25th, 6 : 0 0 - 7 : 3 0 PM- NYS will be celebrating the "end" of the summer with some great activities at no cost!
COME CELEBRATE THE END OF SUMMER AND START OF THE
SCHOOL YEAR WITH NYS! WE'RE INVITING ALL INCOMING 6TH
GRADERS TO COME HANG WITH SOME SUMMER CLIPPER STAFF
AND MEET SOME OF THE NYS AFTER SCHOOL STAFF.
THERE WILL BE FREE PIZZA, AN ICE CREAM TRUCK, CRAFTS, CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT, AND MORE!
Monday, August 29th Locker Setup 3:30-5:30 p.m
Our Building Leadership Team and the Nock Administration will be present to assist students who would like to pick up their 1st day school supplies boxes, set up their locker and see their homerooms. Please note, this is not a meet and greet of your studentsโ teachers. Faculty present will assist with locker assignments and getting students an early head start on organizing their spaces. Another focus of the evening will be easing the unknown of walking into the building for the first time, after a few months for most, and the first time ever for some students.
We will have marked doors in the front of the school so you can walk in with your child(ren). Student helpers will be present to guide you to your respective grade levels and teams. We hope many of you are able to attend this event.
Wednesday, August 31st: First Day of School for students!!!
Wednesday, September 7th: PICTURE DAY!
Thursday, September 22nd Back to School Night: 6-8:00 PM
6:00 PM - All parents & guardians report to the Auditorium
6:30 PM - All parents & guardians report to their childโs team
Wednesday, November 2nd, Student Led- Parent Conferences: 2:30-4:30 PM
Thursday, December 8, Student Led - Parent Conferences: 5:30-7:30 PM
For both of our parentsโ conferences you will receive communication from the team to sign up for a time slot. We will send more information regarding conferences in late September/early October.
Back to School Night
6:00 PM - All parents & guardians report to the Auditorium
6:30 PM - All parents & guardians report to their childโs team
Thursday, Sep 22, 2022, 06:00 PM
Rupert A. Nock Middle School, Low Street, Newburyport, MA, USA
NEW DISTRICT WEBSITE
Resources for Parents
Nock Middle School
Email: nmarkos@newburyport.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.newburyport.k12.ma.us/domain/10
Location: 70 Low Street, Newburyport, MA, USA
Phone: 978-465-4447