Homecoming week

started off with a SPLASH

of color and a dance!!

Students and teachers

alike participated in crazy

sock day, wearing their

wildest pairs of socks.

Snap-backs hats, pajama

pants, and sports

jerseys were the

norm on the days

that followed. Eve-

ryone went all out

on Geek/Nerd day,

emulating Amer-

ica’s favorite nerd,

Steve Urkle from

the 90’s TV show

“Family Matters” .

Inside this issue:

Soaring Cougars 2

Feature Teacher 2

Mighty Mountain Lions 3

Cool Cougar Cubs 3

Principal’s Corner 4

Purr-fect Panthers 4

Courageous Cougars

Elite Eight Cougars

4

4

Special points of interest:

Dates to Remember:

Oct 2-5 Discovery Assessment

Oct 8 2nd 9 weeks begin

Oct 10 & 11 Fall Break

Oct 15-19 CRE Math Test

Oct 17 1st 9 weeks Report

Card Issued

Oct 22-26 8th Grade Practice

Writing Assessment

Nov 7 End of 2nd 9 Weeks

October 1, 2012

Kirby Middle School

6670 E. Raines Road

Memphis, TN 38115

Volume 1, Issue 2

The week’s events culminated with the

crowning of this year’s homecoming

queen and king, Miss Nia Robinson

and Mr. Javonte Thomas, followed by

the traditional football game with Kirby Middle’s

arch nemesis, the Eagles from Wooddale Middle.

Kirby Celebrates!!

Kirby Middle School honored its grandparents on Thursday, September 13, ex-

tending an invitation to them to join their grandchildren for lunch at the school. It

was a day was filled will laughter, smiles, and hugs.

Also, Friday, September 28 KMS provided breakfast for the commu-

nity and its adopters in appreciation for their efforts and support of Kirby

Middle and its students.

Feature Teacher of the Month: Ms. Chata Williams

Soaring Cougars Team Motto: “One Team, One Goal”

Page 2

On September 21st, Team 8A The Soaring Cougars (A New Species) took their eighth graders to visit the IMAX Theatre at the Pink Palace Museum to watch Tornado Alley. The movie, Tornado Alley allowed students to fol-low Sean Casey and his re-searchers of VORTEX 2 on one of the most ambitious

efforts ever made to understand the origins and evolution of tornadoes. This heart-pounding science adventure came armed with a 70mm cam-era, a fleet of customized vehicles designed to withstand gale force winds, torrential rains and unrelenting hail, and an arsenal of the most advanced weather measurement instruments ever created. The stars of Tornado Alley took the audiences on a thrilling quest to experience a tornado’s destructive power at point blank range. This science adventure revealed the beauty and the power of some of our planet’s most extreme and least understood weather phenomena. After the movie, students embarked on a scavenger hunt through the exhibitions and these are some of the things we discovered:

Dinosaur Bones and Replicas (Triceratops)

Ida B. Wells (Crusader for Justice)

Mary Church Terrell (Teacher, Activist, Champion of Women’s Civil

Rights)

Lizzie Memphis Minnie (Memphis Blues Singer)

Claudine Hester Pine (First African American Memphis Policewoman)

Rochelle Stevens (Olympic Runner)

Maxine Smith

Different Animal Species, Rocks, and Marbles

We Had A Blast, Way To Go Soaring Cougars!

Tornado Alley

Joke of the Day

Q. What’s the difference be-

tween a teacher and a train?

A. A teacher says

“Spit out your

gum” and a train

goes “Choo Choo!”

Favorite Quotes:

There is more treasure in

books than all the pirates’ loot

on Treasure Island

- Walt Disney

Hello,

My name is Chata Williams, I

am a native of Byhalia, MS. I

earned a degree from Remington

College in Computer Information

Systems in 2004. I am basically a

homeboy that enjoys spending time

with my family. I have worked

with mentally challenged

and disabled adults for the last six years.

I enjoyed helping them complete goals

and daily activities, which is why I de-

cided that I wanted to help make a dif-

ference in the lives of children .

I am enjoying working the students

here at Kirby Middle School and I look

forward to each day .

SCREENINGS

Vision Screen will take place

for all 6th & 8th graders

October 29—November 2,

2012

Volume 1, Issue 2 Page 3 Cool

Cougar

Cubs

Preparation

Respect

Integrity

Discipline

Excellence

Dear Students,

Here are a few ideas to help

keep you actively engaged in the

learning process. In Language

Arts, students should read thirty

minutes each night to enrich vo-

cabulary and foster comprehen-

sion skills. Mrs. Pruitt suggests

the following readings: The Hun-

ger Games by Suzanne Collins,

Mandy by Julie Edwards, The

Secret Garden by Frances

Hudgeson Burnett, Bud Not

Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis,

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and

Holes by Louis Sachar. While

Science is very complex, it’s a

great opportunity for new learning

and helping our environment.

Implement the Three Golden

Rules—REDUCE, REUSE, RE-

CYCLE. Crunch! Crunch!

Crunch! Continue to crunch those

numbers in Math. Let’s explore

those numbers through concepts,

computation and application.

Last but not least , Social Studies

is one gigantic explosion of ad-

venture. Actively engaged cou-

gars will read about many differ-

ent things from the past and pre-

sent and hopefully will learn from

Knowledge Bowl. After all,

“Learning is All the Rage”, so

please don’t let the learning stop!

It is our desire that you excel as

you continue this educational

journey.

Keep it moving,

Educators of 6b

Kelvin Rucker

Tyler Davis

Jadon Richardson

Casey Leflore

Stefaun Wiley

Charlotte Maiden

Caught Caught

Look-Look-

ing ing

Good!Good!

“Drops in “Drops in

the the

Bucket” to Ms Hill and Ms Bucket” to Ms Hill and Ms

Easter for being selected to Easter for being selected to

participate in the TEI Am-participate in the TEI Am-

bassador program for the bassador program for the

20122012--2013.2013.

We also applaud Ms. Martin

for a fabulously planned

Homecoming

Week activity

schedule!

Mighty Mountain

Lions

The Mighty Mountain Lions would like to

give a hearty Welcome-Back to Mrs. Heath, who is

returning to teach 6th grade Social Studies after a

lengthy illness. Welcome Back Mrs. Heath. We

really missed you!

I would like to extend my heart-felt debt of

gratitude to my team members: Mrs. Cline, Ms.

Rice, and Ms. Slack for all your help, support, and

prayers during my illness. I would also like to men-

tion Ms. Bowers, Mrs. F. Harris, and Mrs. Hunt for

going above and beyond to assist me during my ab-

sence. Finally, I would like to thank the entire Kirby

Middle School staff for my card, your prayers, calls,

text and well wishes during my absence and since my

return. I feel truly loved and blessed to be a member

of the Kirby family.

God Bless you all!

Mrs. Heath

Shout outs to the Mighty Mountain Lion Su-

per Stars; 6-1 Ashley Clinton, 6-2 Axel Anaya, 6-3

Kris Bell, 6-4 Joshua Woods. Keep up the good

work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a Mighty Mountain Lion

Roooooooooarrrr to everyone with a September

birthday!!!!!!!!

Book Nook Fall is upon us and the weather

is turning cold. Cuddle up with a good

book. If you are looking for some-

thing with a little bit of drama, adven-

ture and mystery, try Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. It’s about

a boy, Bud, who sets off on a journey

to find his father. Times are tough but

Bud is determined.

Stop by the KMS Li-

brary and check out a

copy today. It is sure to

warm you heart.

The “COURAGEOUS COUGARS” from the 200

hall were ready to show their school spirit on Snap

Back and Jersey Day during Homecoming week.

Star Student: Team 7-B, the Coura-

geous Cougars, is pleased to announce

Dhanya Jennings has been selected as star

student of the week. Dhanya has been a

very respectful young lady who consis-

tently excels academically, exhibits re-

spect and exudes pride. Congratulations

Dhanya for being an exemplary Cou-

gar!!!!

Team 7-B would like to congratulate Ms.

Bowers for receiving the Prestige Award

for teaching excellence. Respected teach-

ers at 134 schools in the Memphis City

Schools district were honored on Tues-

day, September 11, during the "Prestige

Awards," an event recognizing teachers

who are valued and voted upon by other

teachers. The event was held from 5:30 to

7:30 p.m. at Memphis Botanical Gardens,

750 Cherry Road. Way to go Ms. Bow-

ers!!!

Kirby Middle School invites all

parents, teachers and community

leaders to join its PTO. The group

will be discussing its plans for the up

coming Fall Festival and the KMS

Clothes Closet. At its next meeting

held October 9, 2012 at 6:00 pm in

the KMS library. We look forward

to seeing you there.

The Purr-fect Panthers

would like to welcome its

newest teacher, Ms Tyler to

the Team. Ms Tyler teachers

Language Arts and loves to

challenge her students. In her

spare time she enjoys exercis-

ing, reading, and spending

time with her nephews.

Purr-fect

Panthers

To the Best Middle School Parents in Memphis and Shelby County

Schools -

Time has really flown by during this first quarter and the quarter will end

on October 5, 2012! With the extension of parent training opportunities,

the first PTO meeting, Open House, Grandparents Day Luncheon, Parent-

Teacher Conferences, and the Community Breakfast, parents and families

have had several opportunities to come to Kirby to sign up to volunteer in a capacity of

choice during the months of August and September. It is my hope that you took ad-

vantage of some of those. If you were not able to take advantage of these chances,

there will be plenty more to come!

If you, as a parent, have not had contact with your child’s teacher(s) thus far, I encour-

age you to do so as soon as possible. Research shows that strong home-school connec-

tions increases student achievement tremendously.

Are you part of the “Kirby Cougar 100”? Here, at Kirby Middle School, we are look-

ing for commitment from at least 100 parents to work with Cougar staff to make OUR

school the middle school of choice for our community. We will do this by holding our

students to the highest standards of achievement, making our building appealing to all

who enter it, and maintaining a staff who is dedicated to educating the middle level

child. Sign up in the office or online through our website today.

As we move forward through this school year, know that we are here to serve you. You

may contact me or Mr. Hall by leaving a message at 901.416.1980 or via email at

yancytaylorpn@mcsk12.net or halljh@mcsk12.net. Thank you for your commitment to

Kirby!

Sincerely,

Pamela Yancy-Taylor, Principal

Elite Eight

Cougars:

Star Students

Brittany Lewellen

Franchessica Childress

Ashala Gunn

Oneika Smith

We will be celebrating

those making the grade

with good cood conduct.

Our quarterly Block Party

will be October 19.