Principals’ Corner Tim Long—Principal Terry Stoertz—Assistant Principal Monthly Parent Newsletter
Volume 6 Issue 6 March/April 2014
Newtown Middle School Connections Through Responsibility, Respect and Relationships
GREETINGS
The calendar says Spring—let’s just hope Mother nature cooperates! We have our first round of PSSA’s behind us, our Spring Lock-In is coming up and a whole season full of activities and opportunities is about to begin for your children! As our minds and efforts begin to look toward the future with our course selection process, let’s not lose sight of the power of the present as a magical time in the lives of our chil-
dren. Our Spring Play, “Thoroughly Modern Millie Junior,” will be performed on April 4 and 5. Please bring the whole family for a very special musical treat! As you know, Spring Break as we have known it, is now a casualty of the 2nd worst winter of all time in our area. We will be open for business every day but Good Friday. If you had a pre-set vacation, please make sure that your child stops by to pick up a
pink vacation form from the Attendance Office. One thing this winter has taught us is that we cannot control the forces of nature, only our reaction to them. Here’s to an enjoyable and prosperous Spring for you and your children! Sit back and enjoy
our offerings for this month!
Principals Greeting Spot on Staff Counselors Blog Cell Phone Use Social Networking Science Fair MathCounts Reading Olympics Library Fundraiser Fi5xpatric on debt World Language French Class Team Fusion Trip Lock—In Student of the Month Student Recognition March of Dimes
COUNSELORS BLOG
TO OVERRIDE OR NOT, THAT IS THE QUESTION Counselors are often flooded with questions from concerned parents wanting to make the right decision for their child’s course selection. No one wants to make a choice that will set their son or daughter down the wrong path in the future. While I can totally understand the dilemma, I want to offer some perspective on this process.
First, your child’s teachers make their recommendations based on many factors. These are performance, grades, work habits, potential, maturity and how they react to setbacks. They know what your child looks like as a student. Teachers want children to be successful and watching them struggle with their subject is not what proves to be the most motivating.
It is disheartening to watch a child receive a low grade because he is over-whelmed, particularly if your child wanted to be in an honors class be-cause she likes the subject. Rest assured, nothing can crush a love of math faster than a D. Liking a subject is simply not enough. It can set a child up for failure and that is the last thing we want as a student begins her secondary education.
That brings me to the second consideration. Middle school is the begin-ning of that process when your child becomes even more autonomous. He not only wants to do it himself, he won’t even tell you he is doing it! This is a normal and part of his growing independence. Studying on his own, keeping track of assignments, managing his time are all parts of the picture. He wants to become active in arts, athletics or some other area. He needs time to do this. If he is burdened and overwhelmed, he can’t progress at the normal rate and he will feel left behind.
The third consideration must be the simple logistics. Our schedule is tight. If she is in a course and not doing well (a D or F) your child may have to remain there because we cannot change the class. This may re-quire her to go to clinics and seek outside help but it will impact her time and yours.
For these and many more reasons, overrides are difficult. We can’t al-ways see into the future but I, for one, hate to see a child placed in a situ-ation that can set the tone for middle school and high school. Challenge is important but so is success. Choose the course wisely and aim for balance.
Signed by Chris Kokas
Important Dates
3/28—2nd Annual Autism Cares Lock-in 7 pm—6 am 4/11—New End of 3rd Marking Period 4/4 & 4/5—CRAFTPlayers : Thoroughly Modern Millie JR 4/12—4TH ANNUAL 5K/1M walk and Zumbathon for MOD 4/24— 4/26 District Art Show 4/25—Formal Dance 7:00—9:30 4/26— Jazz Festival 6:30 pm 4/30—New Report Card Distribution 5/5 & 5/6 Spring Concert 5/8—Team Fusion Field Trip 5/21—Team Synergy Field Trip
Spotlight on Bill Jainnini Our New TA
We would like to welcome Bill Jainnini to our staff. Bill has been working with Mr. Martoccio’s class for the last few months. He has been married for 42 years to his high school sweetheart. They have two children and four grandchildren, one of whom is presently a student at NMS.
Mr. Jainnini served in the armed forces, and is a proud veter-an. He studied accounting in college. He is retired from the US Postal Service after 36 years. He comes to us from Council Rock High School North, where he was a hall monitor. He is very happy to come to Newtown Middle as a Teacher's Assis-tant. All the Administrators and Staff are wonderful, caring and true professionals.
Social Networking Ask.fm
In an effort to assist you in monitoring your child’s use of social networking, we
are highlighting one of the most popular sites on the Internet this month. As we
assist students in their navigation of the network, it has come to our attention
that many of our students spend time on this site. The premise is that ques-
tions are posed by an individual. Anyone can answer those questions at any
time. Some of the exchanges we have seen through student referrals have
been troublesome. We thought it would be a good idea to bring you the facts
about Ask.fm and then you can decide whether this is a site that is safe for your
child to use.
There are 57 million users on Ask.fm
This site originates from Latvia, thus not subject to the same regulations as
other sites.
It is considered “parent free” because most parents do not know about it.
Ask.fm claims to monitor the site, but you must make a claim in order for
anything to happen.
It is known for sexual innuendo, ugly commentary and bullying-type ex-
change.
Although it is claimed that children must be 13 years of age to have an
account, anyone can log on.
Interfaces with Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
Kids share passwords with each other.
The Maryland Attorney General has said: “this site puts children at risk
with its hateful posts and lack of monitoring.”
It might be a good idea to log on to this site and see what kids are saying to
each other. Whenever we have an opportunity to talk with students about
social networking, we suggest to them that they stay away from this site.
Remember, there is a lot of good out there, but the more we know about the
bad, the less likely it can hurt our children!
The following students placed in the PJAS competition held on February 22 at Bensalem High School. First Place winners go on to Penn State from May 18-20 for a state competition:
Eric Holst -First Place
Aalisha Jhaveri -First Place
Josee Li -First Place
Jonathan liu -First place
Shivanand peri -First Place
Shakti Ramnath -First Place
Akash Shah -First Place
James Weir -First Place
Davis Wojnovich -First Place
Margaret Zheng -First Place
Ronak Pandya -Second Place
Reese Hollister -Second Place
Julia Gokalp -Second Place
Kiara Alvarez -Second Place
Cell Phones and Your Child During the School Day
We are so well connected! Thank goodness most of our children have
cell phones so that we can know they are safe. In order to maintain safe-
ty and order in a building of 870 students, it is essential that we have
protocols for the use of cell phones in school. Please read the following
reminder and share with your children about the responsible use of cell
phones:
A reminder to students and parents:
Unless cell phones are being used in the classroom as instructional tools
at the behest of the teacher, they should be placed in the locker in the
“off” position throughout the entire school day. Students are welcome to
use our office phones should they need to contact you during the school
day. All student illnesses and dismissals for such are handled through the
nurse’s office and not by text or cell phone.
Cell phone violations punishable with detentions are the following:
Use of cell phone in the cafeteria
Use of cell phone to notify parents of illness during the day
Use of cell phone to text anyone during the school day
Use of cell phone in any class
*The use of a cell phone during PSSA Exams is against the PSSA Guide-
lines and could result in suspension.
Acceptable Use of Cell Phones in School in the classroom when a teacher
has requested it for instructional purposes.
Before 8:00 AM
After 3:00 PM
Science Fair Congratulations!
The following students are to be congratulated for placing
in the Bucks County Fair held on March 11 at Delaware Val-
ley College. We are so proud of their efforts and grateful to
Mary Joy Troxel, Pat Erhard and Joe Holm for inspiring
them. The first and second place winners will continue on
to the next level, which is April 1:
Aalisha Jhaveri -First Place
Kiara Alvarez -Second Place
Josee Li -Second Place
Rishi Mago - Honorable Mention
Shivanand Peri -Honorable Mention
Davis Wojnovich -Honorable mention
Shakti Ramanath -Honorable mention
Julia Gokalp -Special Award Philadelphia Associa
tionfor Critical Thinking
Congratulations to Math Counts!
We are happy to announce that MathCounts won the Bucks County Competition last month. This qualified them for the State Tournament in Harrisburg. The fol-lowing students made the trip to Harrisburg and are responsible for the team placing 10th in the state!
Rishi Mago Margaret Zheng David Yang Andrew Xie
This is a great accomplishment. We are very proud of these students and our math department!
Reading Olympics
Mrs. Sanders and Mrs. Bovino will be accompanying
students to the Reading Olympics at Cecilia Snyder
Middle School on April 10. Good luck to all of our vo-
racious readers!
Congratulations to the Following World Language Students at the World Language Tournament on February 26 at William Tennent High School!
These students were selected by their language teachers for demonstrating a strong interest in their language of study and for their outstanding academic performance. These students partici-pated with their teams at the Novice Level and placed as follows:
Andrew Cabo - 1st Place (with his team)
Veronica Bochenek – 1st Place (with her team)
Kendre Hone – 3rd Place (with her team)
We are very proud of our students and thankful to the World Lan-guage Teachers for giving them the opportunity to participate.
Fun in Spanish and French Classes
French students learned about Mardi Gras and compared the
carnival celebrations in Nice, France, New Orleans and Que bec.
As they held a doublon coin for good luck in their left hand, they
made and practiced the flipping of the cre pes, this delicious thin
pancake dessert that is so popular in France and eaten in Febru-
ary. Their favorite topping was Nutella and whipped cream!
Spanish students had a culinary experience tasting dishes from
Me xico, Puerto Rico and Tex-Mex cuisine, the countries and
states we have travelled to. They especially enjoyed the Tres
leches cake and making their own quesadillas. They also partici-
pated in a restaurant real life scene where they ordered from the
menus they created and Sen ora Crognale and Sen ora Ramon-
Bobst were the waitresses. They were challenged by keeping the
conversation going at their table!
Second Annual Lock-In for the Benefit of Autism CARES
will take place on Friday evening, March 28.
Bringing History, Science, and Reading to Life: Team Fusion’s Coal
Mine
Trip On Thursday, May 8, 2014, Team Fusion will visit the Lacka-
wanna Coal Mine and Anthracite Museum, located in Scranton,
Pennsylvania. There, students will travel 300 feet below ground in
a mine car to explore the winding tunnels of a former anthracite
coal mine that began operating in 1860. After hearing about the
methods used by and efforts of the workers of this mine, students
will visit the museum to learn more about the lives and works of
the immigrants who labored in mines, factories, and mills in this
important area of Pennsylvania. With close ties to both the fossil
and fuel science curriculum and Growing up in Coal Country, a nov-
el by Susan Campbell Bartoletti that is read in reading class, this
trip promises to be both an enjoyable and educational experience
for all involved.
Library’s Fundraiser at Barnes and Noble in Fairless Hills
Date and Time: Thursday, May 1st, 6:00-?
Our own science teacher, Mr. Holm will be in attendance conducting wacky science experiments, the NMS Jazz band will be performing and 4 middle grade authors will be pre-senting and signing their latest books. Information about the authors may be found at this link:
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/83591
Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick highlights Newtown student letters in hearing on National Debt
ONLINE: http://1.usa.gov/1rvhJwT
Watch: http://bit.ly/1msXZsM
Student of the Month
We would like to congratulate the following students of the month
Name Month Year Team
Allison Reinhardt February 2014 Fusion
Shivanand Peri February 2014 Fusion
Esther Kardos February 2014 Phoenix
Joseph Willenbucher February 2014 Phoenix
Marie Larounis February 2014 Synergy
Max Cohen February 2014 Synergy
Nick Ripans February 2014 Quest
Bridget Thompson February 2014 Quest
Taylor Briggs February 2014 Super Nova
Henry Liu February 2014 Super Nova
Nicole Khusid February 2014 Infinity
Eddie Mancinelli February 2014 Infinity
Tia Farese February 2014 Arts
Chris Fricker February 2014 Arts
Name Month Year Team
Abigail Seiple January 2014 Fusion
DJ Mischak January 2014 Fusion
Parker Luff January 2014 Phoenix
Kiara Alvarez January 2014 Phoenix
Justin Shapiro January 2014 Synergy
Jillian Schweizer January 2014 Synergy
Kaelin Mealey January 2014 Quest
Phil Stollsteimer January 2014 Quest
Justin Ross January 2013 Super Nova
Jessica Kusters January 2013 Super Nova
Jordan Koseski January 2014 Infinity
Riley Rogerson January 2014 Infinity
Grace Porter January 2014 Arts
Ronak Pandya January 2014 Arts
STUDENT RECOGNITION—2ND MP
Student Name Award Team
Jarett Zelinksy Courtesy & Respect Fusion
Julia Bailey Courtesy & Respect Fusion
Anirudh Shastry Academic Improvement Fusion
Jenna McCaffrey Academic Improvement Fusion
James Drew Effort Fusion
Hannah Barsky Effort Fusion
JT Zlock Cooperation Fusion
Bailee Mathews Cooperation Fusion
Noah Phayre Courtesy & Respect Phoenix
Anna Gambescia Courtesy & Respect Phoenix
Thomas Weed Academic Improvement Phoenix
Becky Osterman Academic Improvement Phoenix
Aiden Lauck Effort Phoenix
Olivia Sulewski Effort Phoenix
Matt Byrne Cooperation Phoenix
Kory Zlock Cooperation Phoenix
Drew Smiley Courtesy & Respect Synergy
Colleen Moore Courtesy & Respect Synergy
Alex Peltekis Academic Improvement Synergy
Chris Doroshow Academic Improvement Synergy
Laney Maisel Effort Synergy
Jonathan Xiong Effort Synergy
Dylan Ceslak Cooperation Synergy
Isabelle Taber Cooperation Synergy
Matt Shenot Courtesy & Respect Quest
Morgan Karp Courtesy & Respect Quest
Ivan Lee Academic Improvement Quest
Katie Lux Academic Improvement Quest
Aubrey Saunders Effort Quest
Maddie Adams Effort Quest
Andrew Qiao Cooperation Quest
Sarah Lundgren Cooperation Quest
Michael Bedard Courtesy & Respect Supernova
Lauren Sullivan Courtesy & Respect Supernova
Kyle Jaggard Academic Improvement Supernova
Kate Stiffler Academic Improvement Supernova
Shane Thompson Effort Supernova
Morgan Bamrick Effort Supernova
Jason Gamils Cooperation Supernova
Anna Belle Warren Cooperation Supernova
Ethan Koza Courtesy & Respect Infinity
Sorelle Sax Courtesy & Respect Infinity
Ethan Vegotsky Academic Improvement Infinity
Emma Bovee Academic Improvement Infinity
Ryan Campbell Effort Infinity
Raagini Pareek Effort Infinity
Cavan Tully Cooperation Infinity
Morgan Pfleger Cooperation Infinity
Ben Green Courtesy & Respect Arts
Tara McGuigan Courtesy & Respect Arts
Cameron Champ Academic Improvement Arts
Marissa Haynes Academic Improvement Arts
Ian Waitkus Effort Arts
Samantha Zubler Effort Arts
Max Benz Cooperation Arts
Isabelle Miehle Cooperation Arts
Middle School Challenge
How many runners can you get?
Is 7th
grade faster than 8th
???
Let’s find out, while supporting a great cause.
Council Rock Runs for Babies
CoLoR rUn!
5k Run/ 1Mi Walk / Zumbathon
Saturday, April 12th, 2014
Council Rock High School South
Registration at 9:00 am
Run/Walk begins at 10:00am
Take part in a Run/ Walk/Zumbathon benefiting the
March of Dimes, an organization raising money to
save premature babies.
RUN Registration fee -$25.00
Walk & ZUMBATHON Registration fee-$10.00
To pre-register for this event, go to:
www.active.com/holland-pa/running/distance-
running-races/4th-annual-council-rock-runs-for-
babies-2014
Any questions or concerns, please contact:
Allison Crognale at [email protected] or Ben Lebofsky at [email protected]