Nessacus News

Inside this issue

Principal’s Message ............ 2

8th Grade Class Trip ........... 3

Hot Topics ........................... 3

PE News ........................... 4

Library & Yearbook........... 4

Guidance News ................... 5

Student s of the Month .……..7

Principal’s Message Dear Nessacus Community,

Topics such as curriculum, instructional methodology, homework, grading, standardized testing, mission statements, vision statements, sports teams and hot lunch invariably work their way into any discussion on public schooling. But take a look at the Nessacus Student Handbook. The 2015-2016 edition is 35 pages long. In those 35 pages we devote about a half page to MCAS and PARCC. The PTO gets three sentences. About a quarter page of text is titled “Academics”. Our mission and vision statements take about a third of a page and that much primarily because certain items are bulleted. I hog a paragraph’s worth of space with the “Principal’s Message”. Not a lot of time or paper on curriculum and instruc-tion and the like. Guess what the majority, the vast majority of the handbook speaks to? Discipline. Discipline in one form or another. Pages and pages include headings such as “Detention”, “Weapons”, “Due Process”, “Hazing” and dozens of related topics. What does that tell you? It tells me we spend a lot of time talking about discipline. And in my experience there are no more controversial or polarizing topics in a school than those of crime and punishment. The values embedded in our mission statement include concepts like intellectual growth, character, relationships and social responsibility. At Nessacus we recognize that all rules are ultimately rooted in values and therefore when the rules are violated try to balance those mandated with logical consequences. And there are times when we will exercise broad discretion in choosing a consequence that best addresses certain behavior or mis-conduct. A consequence that we believe has the best chance of success. And those deci-sions can be quite polarizing. The following is reproduced from “Marshall Memo 618: A Weekly Round-up of Important Ideas and Research in K-12 Education”. This article titled “A Sea Change in School Disci-pline Policies” is found in the January 5, 2016 edition. The original article, “From Reaction to Prevention: Turning the Page on School Discipline” by Russell Skiba and Daniel Losen can be found in American Educator, Winter 2015-16 (Vol. 39, #4, p. 4-11, 44), http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/ae_winter2015skiba_losen.pdf A Sea Change in School Discipline Policies “The idea that a zero-tolerance philosophy based on punishment and exclusion could cre-ate effective learning climates has proven to be illusory,” say Russell Skiba (Indiana Univer-sity) and Daniel Losen (University of California/Los Angeles) in this article in American Edu-cator. Recent research has overwhelmingly discredited the “get tough” approach to school discipline: it isn’t effective in reducing individual misbehavior or improving school safety; frequently-suspended students are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior and get involved with the juvenile justice system; and there are often negative academic conse-quences for disciplined students, including lower grades and increased incidence of drop-ping out. In addition, the logical-sounding and politically popular …...Continued on page 2

Nessacus Regional Middle School

35 Fox Road Dalton, MA 01226

Phone - (413) 684-0780

Fax - (413) 684-4214

School Nurse - Ext. 2177

Guidance Office - Ext. 2186

Adjustment Councilor - Ext. 2183

Student Absence - Ext. 0

Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/Nessacus

January/February 2016

Nessacus will once again be

offering our popular after school

program, Hot Topics, to 7th grade

students. Shannon Gallagher,

(former substance abuse educa-

tor from the Brien Center, Youth

and Adolescent Center Division),

and Mike Hogue, Nessacus 8th

grade Social Studies teacher, will

be running the program. They

will focus on teaching skills for

resisting peer pressure, respond-

ing appropriately to conflicts,

managing anger, and coping with

other stressful situations. The

class is based around “Project

Alert”, a prevention based pro-

gram designed to thwart the

introduction of drugs and alcohol

into students’ lives. It is free of

charge thanks to the United Way.

Food and a bus ride home will be

provided (bus ride may not be

door to door).

Hot Topics will run for five con-

secutive Mondays,

February29th,

March 7th,

March 14th,

March 21st, and

March 28th,

from 2:40pm to 4:40pm.

Permission slips are available in

guidance, or from Mr. Hogue in

room 180. Please call Mr. O’Brien

in guidance with any questions,

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zero tolerance policies have produced the most negative social and academic outcomes for students from historically disadvantaged groups. The widespread investment in security – vid-eo cameras, metal detectors, officers – has not improved most students’ sense of safety in school. Here are the troubling statistics on the percentage of U.S. secondary students who received at least one out-of-school suspension during the 2011-12 school year (the national average was 10.1%):

African-American – 23.2%

Students with disabilities – 18.1%

American Indian/Alaska Native – 11.9%

English language learners – 11%

Latino – 10.8%

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander – 7.3%

White – 6.7%

Asian – 2.5%

Studies have revealed racial bias in suspensions and other disciplinary consequences, with African-American students more likely to receive harsher consequences for the same offenses than their white peers. Recent research also shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students are at increased risk of expulsion, experiencing a hostile school climate, and being stopped by the police and arrested. The unintended consequences of harsh discipline policies have registered with many policy-makers, educators, and parents, and new approaches are being implemented in many parts of the U.S. There are four types of promising alternative strategies, some of which are being im-plemented simultaneously:

Relationship building – Interventions that foster positive teacher-student interactions have been shown to reduce the use of suspensions and expulsions, especially for black students. Restorative practices that build relationships and repair harm after conflicts have also shown positive results (a 47 percent drop in suspension rates in the Denver Public Schools), as has the MyTeachingPartner professional development program.

Social-emotional learning – These programs aim to build students’ skills in recognizing and managing their emotions, appreciating others’ perspectives, establishing positive goals, making responsible decisions, and handling interpersonal situations effectively. When the Cleveland Metropolitan School District implemented an SEL program, it recorded a 50 percent drop in negative behavioral incidents.

Structural interventions – Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a widely-used program that focuses on staff training to prevent discipline problems. It’s had some success, although Skiba and Losen note that it needs to be supplemented with additional components to bring about the best outcomes for African-American students. For PBIS to be effective, there needs to be staff buy-in, administrative support, and the time and money to implement it consistently schoolwide. Other structural interventions include improving school climate, rewriting codes of conduct, and being systematic in responding to threats of violence.

Classroom content and climate – Another study addressing racial disparities in discipline had several specific recommendations: teachers communicating high expectations and fairness for all students; creating a bias-free and respectful environment; ensuring academic rigor; and engaging in ………...continued on page 8

Principal’s Message (continued from page 1)

HOT TOPICS

8th Grade Washington D.C Trip

In an effort to help students

meet the cost of the end of

the year trip to Washington

DC, the eighth grade is running

another fundraiser. The Fund-

raiser will be through Butter

Braid. You may purchase pas-

try or cookie dough. The fund-

raiser will begin on February

22nd .

Completed forms need to be

turned in to homeroom teach-

ers by March 7th.

Orders will be available for

pick up on March 22nd.

Please contact slau-

rin@cbrsd.org or ask your

favorite 8th grader for more

details.

Nessacus Regional Middle School 35 Fox Rd

DALTON, MA 01226

413) 684-0320

HOT TOPICS After School Program Approval

Shannon Gallagher, (former substance abuse educator from the Brien Center, Youth and Adolescent Center Division), and Mike Hogue, Nessacus 8th grade Social Studies teacher, will be running the program for 7th grade Nessacus Mid-dle School students. They will focus on teaching skills for resisting negative peer pressure, responding appropriately to conflicts, managing anger, and avoiding and/or coping with other stressful situations. This program is funded by the United Way. Transportation and food will be provided. NOTE: BUS TRANS-PORTATION MAY NOT BE DOOR TO DOOR. Please make arrangements to pick your child up from the bus drop off area.

I, _____________________________, parent/guardian of ,

(print parent/guardian name) _______________________,

(print student’s name)

hereby give permission for her/him to attend this program at Nessacus Regional Middle School. _____________________________________________ Date_______

(signature parent/guardian)

Dates of Program: Mondays, Feb. 29th, March 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th.

Start Time: 2:40 p.m. End Time: 4:40 p.m

Location: Nessacus Middle School, Home Ec Room, Rm 159

MY CHILD WILL TAKE THE BUS YES NO ____ .

I UNDERSTAND I WILL PICK HIM/HER UP FROM THE DROP OFF AREA.

_______________________________________ Student’s Street Name

_____________________________________

Town _______________________________________

Parent Telephone #

Please return permission slip to Mr. O’Brien at Nessacus Middle School, Guidance Of-fice. Please call Mr.O’Brien with any questions, 684-0780, ext. 2183.

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The collaborative lesson from reading Homeless Bird by Gloria Whalen was hosted in the library. Students learned about India, culture, customs and tast-ed rice, pineapple, starfruit and coconut. There was a display of sarees and a demonstration of the art of wearing a saree and bindi.

.

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Yearbook Pre-order

Library News

Yearbooks are now on sale. You can pre pur-chase them online at YBPay.lifetouch.com with yearbook ID code: 11975216 or send in your form and check payable to Nessacus Middle school Yearbook for $20. Please make every effort to place your order by March 31 , 2016. Late orders will not be accepted.. If you have any question, please contact dmuru-ga@cbrsd.org.

MUSIC NEWS

MARCH IS-MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOL’S MONTH Looking ahead, Nessacus Music students will begin an exploration of Rock Mu-sic. This exploration will be in preparation for our (Music In Our School's Month) Concert. The con-cert will be at Nessacus auditorium on March 30th at 7pm. More infor-mation can be found at the music program website at nrmsmusic.blogspot.com

WINTER ILLNESS!

This is the time of year when colds, flu, strep throats and viruses seem to

be everywhere. The best protection against disease is HANDWASHING.!

Please encourage your child to wash their hands before eating, after going to the bathroom, and after sneez-ing or blowing their noses.

If your child has a fever, is vomiting, has a persistent cough, sore throat or ear-ache, they should be kept home from school and see their primary care provider if indicated. Students should be at home until they are fever free for 24 hours without medication!

PE DEPARTMENT

We are excited to announce Tracy Foster from Kripalu is returning to Nessacus in February. She will be leading yoga sessions for all 6th-grade and select 7th-grade stu-dents during the first two weeks of the month. We look forward to her continued collaboration with our staff and students. Lastly, intramural dodgeball is in full swing. Ten teams are competing for the title, with the championship match sched-uled for February 9th. The PE Department would like to recognize its students of the month: Luke Dicicco (Gr. 6)

Jilly Cote (Gr. 7)

Dan Greenspan (Gr. 8)

These students earned the honor by demonstrating outstanding effort and sportsmanship in class.

Dodgeball Winners -- Drew’s Team

The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee has implement-ed the following policy: 5171.2. Special Requirements for Residents of Certain Towns. Section 5171.1 notwithstanding, a student resid-ing in a town listed in Section 5171.3, below, who seeks to be admitted to a high school for a specific Chapter 74-approved voca-tional-technical education program shall, in addition to applying to any other high school of the student’s choosing that offers the program, apply to the preferred high school for that town as listed in Section 5171.3, below, if that Chapter 74 program is offered at the town’s preferred high school. If the stu-dent is accepted into said program at the preferred school for the town in which the student resides, then the student shall attend the preferred high school for that Chapter 74-approved program

Guidance Department

The counselors will be going into 7th grade classrooms this month to teach students about the Signs of Suicide (SOS Program). Students will learn to ACT: Acknowledge, Care, and Tell a trusted adult. Information was mailed home with opt-out permission slips. Pittsfield Public School representatives are coming to talk to 8th grade students who are interested in vocational school programs. The McCann Technical School representative will be here on February 25th. Please call Stephanie Shafiroff, Guidance Counselor, @ 684-0780 ext. 2184 if you have any questions about vocational school programs. All vocational school applications should be handed in to guidance by March 1st. The deadline to get approval from Central Office is April 1st. This is a hard deadline set by the State. Applications will not be accepted after this date. You may also contact Mrs. Shafiroff in the guidance office at 413-684-0780, ext. 2184 if you have further questions.

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517.3. The preferred vocational-technical schools for specific towns of the CBRSD are: TOWN PREFERRED SCHOOL Cummington— Smith Vocational School, Northampton, MA Dalton -Pittsfield H.S. or Taconic H.S., Pittsfield, MA Washington - Pittsfield H.S. or Taconic H.S., Pittsfield, MA Vocational school applications must be submitted by March 1, 2016 so the guidance counselor recommendation section may be completed. Parents/guardians of students interested in vocational education must notify the Superin-tendent of the Central Berkshire Regional School District, Dr. Cam-eron, at PO Box 99, Dalton, MA 01227 or by phone at 413-684-0320 prior to April 1, 2016. These dates are critical and must be met.

Vocational School Information

8th Grade News

Science:

We have finished up our unit on Cells and Heredity and will be beginning our study of

the Human Body Systems.

Second Step:

Our Second Step lessons has been completed for this year. Our lessons this year fo-

cused on Empathy and Communication, Bullying Prevention, Emotion Management,

Substance Abuse Prevention, and Goal Setting.

Workshop Day:

Friday Feb 12th was a very different day at Nessacus. Guidance counselors from Wah-

conah visited to talk about course selection for next year and we had our second

awards assembly for the year. Student participated in a variety of workshops including

painting on canvas, geocaching, basketball, and cooking. The afternoon included the

movie Woodlawn. Set in 1970s Alabama, this film is about a gifted high school football

player who must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions

on and off the field.

Schedule appointments with your primary care physician and dentist for routine health checks.

Eat breakfast! Add fresh fruits and veg-

etables to your daily diet Replace sugar sweetened

beverages with water Get 30 – 60 minutes of

daily vigorous exercise Get 8 hours of sleep

each night Be sure you have had

your flu shot! Spend time playing and

socializing with family and friends

Practice stress protection activities relaxation and breathing exercises

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BOXTOPS

HEALTH INFORMATION

As the New Year is upon us, it is a great time to evaluate your health and fitness and take steps to make changes for a healthier YOU!

Nessacus library volunteers are collecting Boxtops for education. If you have any Boxtops, put them in a bag with your name and drop it off in the library. Top three students submitting the most Boxtops will receive prizes.

7th grade students just completed

researching a specific earthquake

zone or volcano. They made awe-

some posters and presented them to

their peers.

7TH GRADE SCIENCE

American Heart Association’s Annual Go Red for

Women Day will be observed on Friday February 5th!

Students and staff are encouraged to wear RED to

support awareness of Heart Disease and to promote

heart healthy behaviors!

Seven simple steps can help everyone to a heart

healthy lifestyle:

Know your numbers!

Total cholesterol = LDL + HDL + triglycerides

Blood Pressure

Fasting Blood Sugar

GO RED FOR WOMEN! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER - LEARN AND LIVE!

Maintain a healthy weight!

Exercise! (At LEAST 30 minutes 3 days/week)

Inactivity is as great a risk for heart disease as is smoking!

Manage stress

Don’t smoke

Don’t drink alcohol, if you do drink, do so in moderation.

DO drink water!

WORLD LANGUAGES

Mr. Demler's language classes are

watching a humorous cartoon

called "Glued" about the pitfalls of

too much time spent in front of the

TV watching video games. Then,

they retell the story to the class in

Spanish or French. Challenging and

fun!!

On December 23, 2015 Nessacus staff and students celebrated

Mrs. Drosehn. Mrs. Drosehn, head cook for Nessacus Food Ser-

vices, was retiring from her position after 22 years of service .

We send her our best wishes to her for a happy retirement.

RETIREMENT

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JANUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

6TH GRADE

Joey Diver Arlynn Keefner

Emily Cruz

GREEN TEAM

Luc Ouellet Kaelynn Walsh

BLUE TEAM

Anabelle Todd Lucas Walsh

SILVER TEAM

Ernie Lampron Layla Hirsch

GOLD TEAM

Rachel Houghtaling Jack Pudlo

FEBRUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

6TH GRADE

Hannah Connelly Nicolas Salinetti

Joe Massaro

GREEN TEAM

Hunter Duguay Julia Trager

BLUE TEAM

Amanda Drager Easton Eberwein

SILVER TEAM

Kassidy Krejmas Aiden Trager

GOLD TEAM

Michaella Moncecchi Halli Lang

Culturally relevant and responsive teaching. These approaches all depend on professional development, administrative support, collaboration with community agencies, well-formulated alternative strategies, increased presence of mental health and instructional support per-sonnel in schools, working with parents to promote less-punitive approaches at home, and ongoing collection and analysis of disaggregated discipline data. Respectfully, John E. Martin Principal

Upcoming Events @ Nessacus

WRHS visits 8th Grade

Hot Topics

Video Club Dance

8th Grade D. C Trip Fund-

raiser 2/22—3/22

Winter Break Feb 15-19

Band Concert

PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE

NESSACUS NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016

Nessacus Regional Middle School 35 Fox Drive Dalton MA 01226 Phone: 413-684-0780 Fax: 413-684-4246 http://www.edline.net/pages/

MAIL TO:

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

The Nessacus Middle School Newslet-ter is a publication of Nessacus Middle School. Send news to

dmuruga@cbrsd.org. Deadline is the 30th of every month.

Principal’s Message (continued from page 2)