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April 28, 2008
Week 32 - Monday, April 28 through Friday, May 2
Dear Memorial Parents and Guardians,
You may or may not know that each week my memo is posted on the Memorial website after it is emailed. As it turns out, my own parents loyally read the weekly memo on line from their home outside of St. Louis. In my last memo I might have exaggerated a bit about the length of spring in Missouri. For the record: spring there lasts longer than 15 minutes at the end of March. It is much closer to 3 or 4 hours in early April. Moreover, Missouri is a lovely place to live or visit (except in August).
Welcome back from what I hope was an enjoyable break. While I recognize that few parents are able to have the same time off as their children, I hope that the break provided some time for family fun and relaxation. We are entering the last stretch of the school year. I have to admit that it is almost unimaginable that we will be in the month of May before the end of this week!
As next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, a number of our parent volunteers have asked that I include the following announcement in the memo:
A few parents have volunteered to organize some special celebrations for the staff at Memorial.
On Tuesday the 7th grade parents will "shower" the teachers room with chocolates and candy to show the teachers how "sweet" we think they are.
On Thursday the 6th grade parents will share special snacks and desserts with our wonderful teaching staff.
On Friday the 8th grade parents will host a luncheon...details are secret (cuz we don't have it planned yet).
Please email the following if you can help out with these expressions of appreciation for the Memorial teachers!
---For 7th grade parents contact Kelly Amadei at: letitsnow@maine.rr.com, her number is 756-8533.
---For 6th grade parents contact Lisa Fitzgerald at: sideshow@maine.rr.com, her number is 772-5432, or Marie Cross at: mcross@maine.rr.com, her number is 828-3702.
---For 8th grade parents contact Cindy Fletcher at: fletcc@aol.com, her number is 828-0946.
Like you, I continue to be so impressed with how hard our teachers work, especially given the increasing demands of the job. Being a teacher today includes so many more responsibilities than it did when I began teaching. Our teachers are truly dedicated professionals who are committed to our students' learning and, while they do not teach for the glory of the week that is dedicated to them, it is a great time to offer them a quick thanks.
Tonight (Monday), Chris Corson, from DayOne will be joining our Parent Forum to talk with parents and answer questions about some of the risky behaviors in which some of our students engage. The Parent Forum will be held in the Memorial Library at 6:30 p.m.
Our Student Recognition Assemblies will be held this Wednesday. Times for the assemblies are included below. On Friday night, there will be another All-City Middle School Dance at SPHS, sponsored by the Project Graduation committee. All-City dances are not sponsored by the Memorial and are not considered a school event. While the event is held at South Portland High School, the dances are chaperoned by parents (typically parents of the sponsoring group) and is not staffed by school personnel. There have been times when students who are not South Portland middle school students come to the dances and are allowed entry because those who are at the door don't know the students. Typically, this is not a big problem but it is information that I thought you should have.
While it can be at times a little challenging, spring is a wonderful time in schools. One of the biggest challenges for everyone is to stay "present" and focused on the details of the end of the year while at the same time beginning to think more and more about the next school year. Our 8th graders have already filled out requests for elective classes at the High School, and for many of them thoughts are turning to end-of-the-year activities like the 8th grade social. Our 6th and 7th grade students are also thinking about next year, wondering which teachers they will have and when their lunch block will be - the important things! Our next edition of The Mirror will be sent home early next week and will include a calendar of end-of-the-year activities.
In the meantime, I will once again reach out and ask for parents' assistance in helping students continue to focus on this year. With the warmer weather comes the temptation to abandon the good work habits that students have spent the year establishing. 6th and 7th grade students should be reminded that in order for them to be eligible for activities in the fall they must pass their classes. While students could be on academic probation if they fail one class, they will be unable to even apply for this probation if they fail more than one subject. More important than issues of eligibility is the trend that we see for students who "let down" in the spring. For many of these students, this "let down" is a hard habit to break in the fall when the new school year begins. Please encourage your child to continue to try his/her best everyday.
At school, the adults will continue to maintain our high expectations for student behavior. This includes consistent enforcement of some of the basics like dress code and the District's prohibition of electronic devices in school. Students are asked to monitor their dress and appearance when attending school. We will continue to expect students dress appropriately for classes. Hats, bandanas, or any head coverings are not to be worn in the building. Shorts and skirts should pass the "fingertip test." This means that the shorts or skirt should be longer than the longest finger when the student is standing upright with her arms down at her side. In addition, students are not permitted to wear pajama bottoms to school. Students will not be permitted to wear tank tops or shirts with spaghetti straps or "belly shirts." In addition, students will not be allowed to wear any article of clothing that displays logos or advertisements about tobacco, alcohol or drugs or that have suggestive language or slogans. If a student's clothing is determined to violate the dress code, students will be asked to change clothes. If the child does not have clothing to change into, parents will be contacted and asked to bring a change of clothes to school. Students are asked to leave mp3 players and other electronic devices at home. We recognize that some students will bring cell phones to school in order to call parents on their way home from school. Students are asked to keep the cell phone off and to leave it in a locked locker. Students may not use the cell phone until the end of the day when they leave the building. If you have questions about these expectations, please contact me.
Most of our sports teams will begin their competitions this week. Please check the schedules that are posted on the Memorial website in the Reflect Respect link.
Have a great week and a wonderful break. As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Megan Welter
This week:
Monday, April 28 - Day 1
2:15 p.m. - Homework Club in room 108
2:30 p.m. - Drama club
6:30 p.m. - Parent Forum - Library
6:30 p.m. - City Council Meeting - Review of Capital Improvement Projects - Community Center - Presentation by members of the Secondary School Facilities Committee
Tuesday, April 29 - Day 2
2:15 p.m. - Homework Club - room 108
2:30 p.m. - Track practice
2:30 p.m. - Drama club - room 315
2:45 p.m. - LaCrosse practice
3:30 p.m. - Boys' baseball vs. Mahoney @ Mahoney
3:30 p.m. - Girls' softball vs. Mahoney @ Wainwright
Wednesday, April 30 - Day 3
8:00 a.m. - 8th grade Student Recognition Assembly
9:00 a.m. - 7th grade Student Recognition Assembly
10:15 a.m. - 6th grade Student Recognition Assembly
2:15 p.m. - Homework Club - room 111
2:30 p.m. - Girls' Track meet @ Bonny Eagle
2:30 p.m. - Baseball practice
2:30 p.m. - Softball practice
2:30 p.m. - Drama club
2:45 p.m. - LaCrosse practice
Thursday, May 1 - Day 4
2: 15 p.m. - Homework Club in room 108
2:30 p.m. - Track practice
2:45 p.m. - Boys and Girls' LaCrosse vs. Gorham @ Gorham
3:30 p.m. - Boys baseball vs. Moore @ Moore
3:30 p.m. - Girls' softball vs. Moore @ Moore
Friday, May 2- Day 5
2:30 p.m. - Track practice
2:30 p.m. - Baseball practice
2:30 p.m. - Softball practice
2:45 p.m. - LaCrosse practice
Upcoming Dates:
May 5-9 - Teacher Appreciation Week
Wednesday, May 7 - Early Release 11:45 a.m.
Wednesday, May 7 - National Nurses Appreciation Day
May 12-16 - NWEA testing
May 13 - Band Boosters meeting @ SPHS - 7 p.m.
May 14 - Progress Reports go home
Posted by memorial at April 28, 2008 05:40 PM
