T his year Marshall Middle School celebrated twenty years of making a difference in the lives of students. At a re-cent meeting of the Principal, Student, Guidance Advi-sory, representatives from each homeroom used these

words to describe their year at MMS. Their responses included, “Awesome, fantastic, hectic, exciting, interesting, majestic and exuberant.” These kinds of responses let us know we are fulfilling our mission and providing opportunities for students to grow aca-demically, socially, and emotionally.

Recently we were asked to recall the milestones of this school year. There have been many. Our students have won numerous competitions, both academic and athletic. They have excelled in the visual and performing arts. More than one third of them have been on the Honor Roll for three nine weeks. In addition, Marshall Middle School was rated third in Western Pennsylvania for our eighth grade (20013-2014) PSSA scores by the Pittsburgh Business Times. During the school year students have distinguished them-selves for their excellent decision making, behavior, and for their service to others.

This year is a milestone year for several of our staff members. We would like to wish Ms. Corinne McKenney (Secretary to the Assistant Principal), Mr. George Walker (Custodian), Ms. Sue Clark (8th grade Science), Ms. Phyllis Hoadley (Paraprofessional), and Ms. Sharon Stamper (Paraprofessional) our best as they begin their retirement at the end of the school year or in August.

There will be many new faces (staff and students!) at MMS when the new school year begins. We will especially welcome stu-dents coming to us from Franklin Elementary and Ingomar Middle School. We will have two 4 member teams in sixth grade and Team B (7th grade) will become a five member team instead of a four member team. Watch for staffing information and other news in the welcome back letter sent home in August.

Before we get too excited about the upcoming school year… let us thank you for sending us young people who are ready to learn. We appreciate your support and commitment to your child’s education. May you create some of your own milestones this summer as you take time to relax and to enjoy family and friends. Don’t forget to read a good book or two along the way.

Dates to Remember June

6 Mini-Course Day 9 6th Grade Awards Assembly 10 7th Grade Awards Assembly 11 8th Grade Awards Assembly Student/Faculty Softball Game Yearbook Distribution 12 Last Student Day 13 North Allegheny Graduation

2014-2015

August 15 New Student/Parent Orientation, 1 pm 28 First Student Day

September 1 Labor Day/No School 3 Sixth Grade Coffee, 7:30 am 5 Marshall Matters Day 12 Volunteer Coffee, 9:30 am 18 Open House, 7:00 pm

Next Key Communicator Meeting November 7, 2014

Volume 19, Issue 3

May 2014

WH@MM What’s Happening at Marshall Middle

Milestones… From the Desk of Dr. Kainaroi

Be sure to check the Marshall Middle School home page

often for important announcements, information,

and photographs of special events.

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Key Communicator Meeting Minutes - May 2, 2014

Welcome Dr. Kainaroi and Mrs. Michalowski welcomed parents.

Student Council News Alex Eggert, Student Council Treasurer reported:

$2,000 was raised from Pasta for Pennies for Leukemia.

Student Council paid for Wild West Day, Civil War Day and PSSA snacks., Grade 7 book club night , and the May 30 8th Grade semi-formal.

Student Council members attended the PASE District 3 Conference.

Officer Elections were held for next year.

President - John Ewing Vice President - Jake Willliams Secretary - Haley Jusino Recording Secretary - Kristen Chomos Treasurer - Aaron Miller

Sexting (Sex Texting)

Detective Scott Rick of the Northern Regional Police Department presented to parents at the Key Com-municator meeting and spoke to students on May 16. He is an 18 year veteran of the force. Detective Rick began with an overview of crime in our area.

Overall, the local crime rate is low, but when it does occur it tends to revolve around drugs. Transi-ents who are looking for quick money burglarize homes for items they can sell quickly. These burglaries occur mostly in homes in the more remote sections of our 54-square-mile Northern Regional Police area. If you see something wrong or out of place in your area, call the police. Do not think of it as an inconven-ience to the police; it is their job to protect us and our homes.

Some thieves pose as solicitors. They ring the doorbell or knock to see if anyone is home. Religious and non-profits can solicit but otherwise a soliciting permit is needed. A background check is performed before a soliciting permit is issued. Ask to see it. If they don’t have one, call the police. Teach your kids to do that too. If no one answers the door they will try to open it. Currently, burglars are looking for gold. They go through jewelry boxes and take the most valuable jewelry. Hide your good jewelry in a separate location. Keep the doors of your home locked.

Don’t leave your car windows down or the doors unlocked. About 90% of vehicles burglarized are found unlocked with valuables inside, resulting in a crime of opportunity.

Regarding kids who are home alone and burglars: There is no law against leaving kids home (ex. 8 years old.) but if they get in trouble, the parents are responsible. Tell your children that if someone comes to the door, look outside and make eye contact. Keep the doors locked. Call police if the person doesn’t leave.

Other currently common crimes are: Check and credit card crimes; the submission of fraudulent tax returns under stolen social security numbers; and debit card skimming at restaurants. In our area, a coun-terfeit $9000 cashiers check was linked with a person who had 42 aliases and was wanted in 10 states and had stolen millions of dollars. Other counterfeiting has been seen in which criminals turn $5 bills into $100 bills by first washing them out.

Summertime of course means that many kids are home from high school and college. Older kids

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have been known to go into open garages and steal alcohol that is kept there. Keep your garage doors closed when not in use.

Soliciting phone calls prey on the elderly. One such schemer told the victim that they had won a car. All they needed to do was pay the taxes on the vehicle and it would be delivered to them. An elder-ly Warrendale resident lost $80,000 this way.

Detective Rick then discussed the phenomenon of sexting. According to the officer, the sex tex-ting craze is prevalent. Sexting can cause mental health issues. It used to be a Felony 1 crime (equivalent to murder) to send naked photos over the phone. Now, if there are two kids consensually sending photos, it is considered a summary level offense and a fine is imposed. If a boyfriend forwards pictures of his naked girlfriend to his friends, it becomes a misdemeanor of the court of common pleas and is a misdemeanor for each kid who receives the picture. If the pictures go beyond the circle of friends, the person responsible for distributing them gets in the most trouble. This happened at the ice rink at North Park where a male student met girls from several local school districts and exchanged ex-plicit photos with them. He then distributed these photos beyond the local area. Keep in mind that de-leting photos from a phone doesn’t get rid of them. They can be retrieved unless the device is de-stroyed.

If a child receives an image over the phone, he/she should alert a parent /adult immediately. The adult can then determine if the image should be deleted or reported to the police. Boys are pushing girls for these images via Snapchat, Tumblr, Flicker, Facebook ,Ask FM etc. Police solve many crimes using Facebook. Parents can learn about these sites and apps at commonsensemedia.org.

When teachers or counselors are made aware of concerns about social media, regardless if inci-dents occur inside or outside of school, students involved are referred to administrators. Several things can occur including phone calls to all parents, consequences according to the NA Code of Con-duct, and police involvement.

Officer Rick recommends that parents monitor their children’s electronic devices despite their chil-dren’s resistance.

Committee Reports

SAC

Meeting Minutes - March 13, 2014

Redistricting Update. All information concerning the redistricting is on the NASD website, titled NASD Redistricting 2013 -2014. This includes a Transition Timeline and a grandfathering option for current 4th and 7th grade students. NASD created a closed Facebook account for the 4th and 7th grade families to support their transportation needs. There is no cost for the redistricting process, but it does cost money if we don’t redistrict.

PSSA Testing and Keystone Exams. PSSA testing began the week of March 17th in grades 3-8. Each building creates their own testing schedule.

The Reading and Math assessment (grades 3-8) testing window was March 17 – April 4, 2014, and consists of three (3) reading exams and three (3) math exams.

The Writing assessment (grades 5 and 8) testing window was March 31 – April 11, 2014, and

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consists of two (2) tests. The Science Assessment (grades 4 and 8) testing window was April 28 – May 9, 2014, and

consists of two (2) tests.

The Keystone Exams window began in May for students in grades 7 to 11 who are taking Algebra I, Biology or Literature. These are end of the course exams. The Keystone Exams are grad-uation requirements in the state of PA. The NASD offers the Keystone Exams three times per year. Dr. Scherrer (Assistant Superintendent, K-12 Education) will be confirming if these exams are listed on the high school transcripts.

Act 82 – Educator Effectiveness Project. Act 82 was passed in 2012, and its main focus is changing the way educators are evaluated. Educators are evaluated today on observation only. This is a brand new way of evaluating our educators. The state wants all schools to roll this out in the 2013/2014 school year, unless you have a collective bargaining agreement in place. The NASD will rollout Act 82 in the 2015/2016 school year. Here is how the educators will be evaluated:

50% - Classroom observation in the following areas: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities.

15% teacher-specific data including, but not limited to, student achievement attributable to a specific teacher as measured by all of the following:

Student performance on assessments. Value-added assessment system/PVAAS data. Progress in meeting the goals of student IEPs. Locally developed school district rubrics. 15% School Performance Profile of the NASD, including, but not limited to, all of

the following: Student performance on assessments. Value-added assessment system/PVAAS data. Student attendance rate. Student scholastic aptitude test and preliminary scholastic aptitude test data. 20% Collective Data. This can be whatever the educators agree upon. It needs to be meas-

ured, and a reason for it. It could be student surveys. It could be communications with the parents.

Act 82 will change the way teachers teach, and they will grow as educators. Teachers could lose

their jobs more quickly than in the past.

Principal Evaluation Rubric starts next year under the new model.

E-cigarettes and how students may be using them. We are not experiencing problems with the e-cigarette at the middle level at this time. This is just informational. An e-cigarette looks similar to a traditional cigarette, but contains cartridges filled with a liquid nicotine solution. Some come in flavors, which makes them taste nothing like traditional cigarettes. Most e-cigarettes have a blue tip instead of a red one that lights up upon inhalation. According to a report released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarette use has doubled among high school and middle school students, and 1.78 million mid-dle and high school students in the U.S. currently use them. The report also says that one in 10 high schoolers have smoked an e-cigarette. One e-cigarette issue that is causing the most concern among parents and school administrators

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is that students are replacing the liquid nicotine solution in the cartridge with THC. THC is marijuana oil that is used to get high.

-Jeannine Burdsall

Meeting Minutes - April , 2014

At the April SAC meeting, Administrators reviewed the Educational Technology Update that was presented to the School Board in March. This plan reflects how the School District will take steps to move towards successful educational technology integration in order for blended learning to occur (both face-to-face and online components). Technology will be available both in the classroom (interactive whiteboards, document cameras, video streaming, etc.) and for the students (one to one devices per student). Staff will be trained to use the devices prior to student implementation. The first step, implementing wireless technology in all school buildings, is underway. The rollout of the technolo-gy devices to the staff and students will occur over the next two years.

In addition, staff from the Student Assistance Program presented their role in the District. Staff members at both NASH and NAI coordinate this program in conjunction with counselors, principals, and teachers assigned at each building. The goal is to provide Student Assistance with anything that is im-pairing a student’s success including: drugs and alcohol, mental health issues such as depression, anxie-ty, etc., and any other issue. The team works with parents, teachers, and staff to remove these barriers to education. A student may be referred to the Student Assistance Program from parents, teachers, friends, or even self-referral. In order for the team to work with the student, first parental permission must be granted. Then the planning, intervention, recommendations, and support will occur for that student.

-Anne Mlecko

UBO

To access the UBO Website for current news and events:

Go to the North Allegheny School District Homepage Click on Athletic Choose UBO on the left side of the page

SPLC

To access updated minutes from the SPLC meetings :

Go to the North Allegheny School District Homepage Click Administration on the top bar Click on Superintendent of Schools On the left side click on SPLC Click on Meeting Minutes

District News The budget needs to be approved. There are openings for elementary teachers and technical help.

MMS News

The School Profile for Marshall Middle School is now available at the website: paschoolperfor-mance.org. The score for MMS was 96.4%

MMS will be closed for the summer for renovations. These include paving, replacing windows,

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installing a new PA system, installing new wiring, and replacing the roof. The building is scheduled to open two weeks before school starts in August.

Teams and Teachers for 2014/2015

There will be two teams of four teachers each for the 6th grade next year which will have approximately 224 students

There will be two teams, one with four teachers and one with five teachers, for the 7th grade which will have approximately 234 students.

The 8th grade will have 217 students. Due to retirements and enrollment hiring will take place throughout the summer.

There will be 26 new students in the 6th grade next year due to redistricting. Many students in grade 8 have chosen to be grandfathered and will be staying at their current middle school until they move on to NAI. There are 623 students at MMS this year and there will be about 675 next year. Ca-pacity is 800 students.

Retiring at the end of this school year are: Mrs. Clark, Mr. Heckman, Mrs. McKenney , Mr. George Walker, Mrs. Hoadley, and Mrs. Stamper.

Topics for Next Year

Submit all topics you would like to see discussed at next year’s Key Communicator meetings to Dr. Kainaroi or Mrs. Michalowski.

Civil War Day February 28, 2014

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Civil War Day February 28, 2014

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STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

January Team I Jack Palicki Team A Michael Mitole

Sunny Lee Kristen Chomos

Team II Connor McQuiston Team B David Limauro

Rebekah Rest Rebecca Shaw

February Team I Sam Passodelis Team A Michael Ceccarelli

Vennila Ramasubramanian Nisha Rao

Team II William Zeisler Team B Daniel Kolano

Sophia Spano Paige Hartle

March Team I Ben Phillips Team A Kazu Tobita

Macy Erimias Anna Sproule

Team II Sam Giannetti Team B Nick Marcennelle

Margaret Fenton Macki Kreeger

April Team I Camden Burdsall Team A Jake Williams

Holly Dougherty Mitali Belambe

Team II Soumyak Mattagajasingh Team B Richard Karapandi

Alaina Johnston Trystan Laughrey

May Team I Rene Abdalah Team A Haden Shimko

Mikayla leimer Kelli Brickner

Team II Sanath Panicker Team B Brennan Donovan

Kendel Barber Rachel Schaelchlin

7th Grade 6th Grade

We are in need of an editor for WH@MM for the 2014 – 2015 school year.

WH@MM is published four times a year.

If you are interested or would like to know more about it, please contact Mrs. King at (724)934-6036.