Patriot Newsletter May 2017

DePaolo Middle School Frank Pepe, Principal

Southington, CT Christopher J. Palmieri, Asst. Principal

Phone: 860-628-3261 Website: www.southingtonschools.org

Happy

Memorial Day!!!

Students of the Month

Congratulations to the following students who were named as

Students of the Month for their teams. They have truly demonstrated

“Patriot Pride” – Pride in Themselves, Pride in Each Other, and Pride

in Their School!

Grade 6 Grade 7 Blue: Trenton Laframboise Gold: Jillian Blaszko

Silver: Alex Landry Green: Nick Orange

Yellow: Farah LeBrun White: Charles Kaufmann

Grade 8 Unified Arts

Purple: Aedan Derrick Grade 6: Ben Taylor

Red: Aidan Dolan Grade 7: Gavin Anderson

Orange: Andrew VroegindayGrade 8: Faith Richert

Spring Concerts

All in auditorium at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 9 – Grade 6 Chorus &

Grade 7 Chorus

Thursday, May 11 - Grade 8 Chorus &

Concert Choir

Monday, May 15 – Orchestra &

Combined Con Brio

Tuesday, May 16 – Grade 6 & 7 Band

& Jazz Band

Wednesday, May 17 – Grade 8 Band &

Jazz Band

Drama Club

The twelfth annual joint production from DePaolo and Kennedy Middle School Drama Club was a huge

success! All of the scheduled performances of Beauty and the Beast were sold out! Congratulations to

all cast and crew members and thanks to everyone for their support in making this venture as successful

as it was.

Cafeteria Showcase

This month the Purple team will be

featured. Check it out!

From the Nurse’s Desk

Students will need a physical during grade 6 for entry into grade 7. All students entering grade 7 next year will need a complete physical examination done by their physician. Physicals must be completed within one year prior to the first day of grade 7. In addition, ANY students trying out for a fall sport would also need a current (within 13 months) physical. If your child has any medication on hand in the DePaolo Health Office please plan to pick up that medication on or before MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017. Please be reminded that we are not permitted to send medications home with the students and must destroy any medications left at school beyond our closing date.

If you have any questions, please contact the school nurse at (860) 628-3265.

Dress for Success!

As the weather gets warmer,

we would like to remind

everyone that the students do

need to continue to dress

appropriately for school:

spaghetti straps, bare

midriffs, pajama bottoms,

and short skirts should not be

worn. Our Board of

Education has approved a

Dress Code Policy which

indicates that, in addition to

the above items, shorts may

not have an inseam shorter

than 3-1/2 inches. Please

assist us by approving your

child’s outfit before they

come to school. This will

prevent us from having to

ask parents to bring a change

of clothing.

If there is a question as to

whether or not a particular

item is appropriate for school,

it probably isn’t. Please

err on the side of decorum

and choose something else.

Pennies for Patients Campaign

Thank you to everyone who contributed to

the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s

Pennies for Patients Campaign. DePaolo

raised a total of $1,246.79. Over the last

eight years, our school has donated

$12,488.98 to LLS thanks to the generosity

of our students, families and staff at JAD.

Book Fair

The PTO is sponsoring a

Spring Book Fair from

May 15-18. This is the

BOGO (Buy One Get One

free) Book Fair so there

will be many opportunities

to purchase books and

other items at very

reasonable prices. The

Book Fair will be held in

the school lobby during

school hours. All students

will attend the Book Fair

with a class designated by

their team. Sixth grade

students will visit the

Book Fair on Monday,

May 15th; seventh grade

will attend on Wednesday,

May 17th; and eighth

grade students will attend

on Thursday, May 18th. A

great selection of books

will be available, so stop

by and pick up some

selections for summer

reading!

The Magic of Communication

Thanks to the generosity of our PTO, our

students enjoyed “The Magic of

Communication on Friday, April 28. This

was a curriculum based assembly program

which explores the vital role communication

plays in students’ ability to express

themselves, work with others, and explore

the world around them.

The Literacy Coach’s Corner: Vocabulary Rocks!

Vocabulary impacts comprehension. Vocabulary learning takes place when

students are immersed in words. Repeated encounters with words in rich oral

and written contexts help build a word’s meaning over time. Reading to

children has been shown to improve not only their recognition of new words, but

their ability to use those words! This month, I’d like to share with you some

engaging word learning activities that don’t need worksheets:

Write the words in a vocabulary notebook – students can draw /add

details according to the word meaning

Make self-connections to vocabulary words (My driveway is treacherous

in the snow! I’m always slipping and sliding on it with my car.)

Synonym Web:

T-Chart for word comparison what the word is what the word isn’t

dangerous safe

Draw a pictoral representation of the word (or comic strip)

Sort the words according to meaning:

o words that go together in some way

Websites:

o Quizlet.com

o wordcentral.com/buzzword

Use the words as many times as you can in conversation with the student

and encourage the student to use the words in their speaking and writing

as well.

In all of the above ways, you are helping students do something with the words.

It’s not enough to just read through a list of words with their definitions and try to

remember them.

The BEST way to build vocabulary is to READ AS MUCH AS

YOU CAN in just right books!!!

Math Testing

Parents of Grade 6 & 7 students: Grade 7 Advanced

Math and Grade 8 Algebra Placement for 2017-18.

Students considered for advanced math and algebra have

the following characteristics:

exhibits excellent problem solving skills

including perseverance and learns math easily

demonstrates consistent superior performance

on all work and assessments

understands relationships and connections in

mathematics

applies skills to demonstrate mathematics

conceptual understanding

works independently and looks for challenges

is highly motivated with excellent study skills

and has a strong work ethic

There are several criteria used for placement in advanced

math or algebra:

current grade level work

district assessments

standardized assessments

problem solving abilities

prognosis assessment

Grade 6 students will take a prognosis assessment the first

week in May and grade 7 students will take a prognosis

assessment the second week in May. There is no review

or studying for this assessment similar to any standardized

assessment. Only parents of students accepted into either

Advanced Math in grade 7 or Algebra in Grade 8 will be

notified by letter in early June. If you have any further

questions, please contact the district math coordinator @

driedinger@southingtonschools.org.

PTO Happenings

Restaurant Night

The following are a list of the PTO restaurant nights for

May. More information to follow. Chili’s – 9th

Moe’s – 24th

IHOP – 31st

Staff Appreciation Week

The DePaolo PTO will be showing our appreciation for the

DePaolo staff throughout the first week of May!

8th Grade Class Night

We will be holding a class night for the 8th graders on

Friday, June 16th! Entertainment will include a DJ, Karaoke,

Games, Raffles and dinner generously donated by

Bertucci’s!

Box Tops

Please keep clipping those Box Tops! Students can drop

them off in our Box Tops bin in the lobby.

SCRIP – Gift Card Orders

You can purchase gift cards for some of the most popular

retailers on a monthly basis and earn money for DePaolo.

There is no additional cost to you! Purchase gift cards for

purchases you know you are already going to make

(grocery stores, birthday gifts, etc). We will be placing

orders on the 15th of each month.

7th Grade Visitation to SHS’s Technology and

Engineering Department - May 10, 2017

The Southington High School Technology and Engineering

Department is excited to host the 7th grade classes from JAD

and JFK Middle Schools! Our goal is to help students

become aware of the Technology and Engineering

opportunities available in their town’s high school. These

opportunities will help students make informed decisions

about coursework they have available to them when they

enter the high school in another year. The variety of courses

offered help prepare students for college and career choices

they will have in the very near future. There are countless

jobs with the STEM sector which go unfilled each year and

we want to help students find a career they are happy with,

appreciated in, and paid what they are worth! We have

students from our program who go onto very competitive 4-

5 year college programs, associate degree programs,

certificate programs, as well as students who graduate and

immediately find employment. Additionally, we teach

valuable life skills. We teach students to problem find,

troubleshoot, work in teams, and develop a solution. Our

students design, build, and test products using conventional

and cutting edge technologies. Our students take pride in their work and accomplishments because they have to

persevere to bring an idea to reality while applying concepts

from other classes like math and science. We are the “TE”

in STEM education! We hope the visitation is enlightening

to your student as we look to help prepare them for

whatever their goals in life may be.

Youth Services

Handling Children’s Anger is the next topic of Southington Youth

Services’ Parent Information Series. This workshop will focus on

common causes of childhood frustration and anger, and the

impact of a child’s emotional, social and intellectual development

on their ability to manage their anger. Together we will

brainstorm strategies to help your child learn to express anger in

more socially appropriate ways. This program will take place on

Wednesday April 26th, 2017 from 6:30-8:30pm. All programs are

only available to Southington residents, and are held at the

offices of Southington Youth Services, 196 North Main Street.

Admission is free. Space is limited! Please call (860)276-6281 to

register or for more information.

School Counseling Update GRADE 8 STUDENTS 9th Grade Transition to SHS If you have any questions about the 9th grade transition to SHS please contact our 8th grade counselor Ms. Steinnagel at 860-628-3260 ext 7 or ksteinnagel@southingtonschools.org. Information may also be found on the Southington High School website under 9th Grade Academy. SHS Student Life/Activities Night for Freshmen

On May 22, 2017, incoming freshmen will have the opportunity to explore clubs and activities offered at SHS. The time has not yet been determined for this activity. Wilcox and Goodwin Technical High School Applications

Applications for Wilcox Technical High School and Goodwin Technical High School are now past due. However, if any student is interested in applying to either of the technical high schools, they should meet with Ms. Steinnagel or contact the schools directly. Wilcox Technical High School: 203-238-6260 Goodwin Technical High School: 860-827-7736 Private and Parochial School Applicants Any 8th grade student applying to private or parochial high schools should contact Ms. Steinnagel for information required for the application process.

GRADE 6 to 7 and GRADE 7 to 8 REGISTRATION During the month of May, Mr. Nyerick (grade 6 school counselor) and Mrs. O’Neill (grade 7 school counselor) will be speaking with all grade 6 and 7 students about the registration process for the 2017/2018 school year.

SCHOOL COUNSELOR VISIT to ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Ms. Steinnagel will make presentations to 5th grade students at Derynoski, Hatton, Kelley, Flanders and Thalberg schools in May. She will distribute a registration packet and discuss academic programs and extra-curricular activities at DePaolo Middle School.

GRADE 5 STUDENTS VISIT DEPAOLO Grade 5 students will visit DePaolo on May 12th along with their teachers. They will have the opportunity to meet the administrators and school counselor and hear selections from the music department. Current 6th grade students will share personal experiences of their first year in middle school and provide tours of the building to all 5th grade students.

PEER MEDIATION DePaolo has trained Peer Mediators to assist their classmates in finding a fair resolution to conflicts. Mrs. Rock and Mr. Nyerick are the advisors and school counselors work closely with the mediators to resolve conflicts.

STUDENTS MOVING If any student is moving out of the DePaolo School District please inform the school counseling office as soon as possible. Additional information about the school counseling office can be found on the Joseph A. DePaolo website by going to http://www.southingtonschools.org. You can also access the school counselors’ email addresses through the site. We look forward to hearing from you.