All 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band members and colorguard should report to the band room during Enrichment today.
There is no Drama Club rehearsal today.
Athletics
There is no girls lacrosse practice today.
Softball practice - 2:45-4:00 at Memorial.
Baseball practice - 2:30 - 4:00
Track practice - 2:30
Boys lacrosse practice - 3:00
Tomorrow is hat day at Memorial. Bring in $2.00 to wear your favorite hat. All money will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
The Builder's Club will be selling rose pins on Friday morning for Mother's Day. The cost is $1.00. Money will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Please turn in all picture money or picture packets by tomorrow.
There is no Drama Club today.
Athletics
Boys Lacrosse vs. Kennebunk at Mahoney Field - 3:45
Girls Lacrosse @ home (Memorial Field) - 3:30
Baseball vs. Bonny Eagle @ So. Portland H.S. - 3:30
Softball vs. Bonny Eagle @ Wainwrigh Field - 3:30
Track meet at Windham High School
After a series of workshops and public hearings with public input, the School Budget was developed by the Board of Education and ultimately approved by the City Council. The May 13th Referendum asks voters to validate the School Budget that was approved by the City Council at their May 5th, 2008 meeting.
The city will be using the South Portland Community Center as a common voting location for all residents.
Don't forget to vote on May 13th!
Athletics
There is no girls and boys Track practice today.
Girls Lacrosse at Scarborough - 3:30
Boys Lacrosse at Scarborough - 4:30
Baseball practice at 12:15 at Memorial
Softball practice 12:00-1:00 at Memorial
Friday is hat day at Memorial! Bring in $2.00 to wear your favorite hat. The money raised will be donated to American Cancer Society.
The Builder's Club will be selling rose pins Friday morning for Mother's Day. The cost is $1.00. Money will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
]]>There is Drama Club today at 2:30 in the cafeteria.
Please return picture money or complete packet by tomorrow, Wednesday, May 7.
The Strikers soccer travel team will be holding a walk in registration on Thursday, May 15 from 6:00-8:30 at the Community Center. The fee is $130.00.
First year players must bring a copy of their birth certificate.
All players must be 8 years old by July 31, 2008 and not older than 13 on July 31, 2008.
Happy Monday! After another rainy, cold weekend, I found myself looking forward to getting back to school. I hope you all were able to eek out some fun from the chilly weekend.
Thank you to all of the parents, guardians, friends, and family members who attended our 3rd quarter Student Recognition Assemblies. While we didn't have huge crowds in the stands, we did have a lot to celebrate. For the first time in my four years as the principal at Memorial, we had a 3rd quarter where all of the grades had significant increases in the numbers of students who made the Honor Roll! The 8th grade, alone, saw a jump of nearly 20% as compared with the 2nd quarter. It provided me with the perfect segue to my spring mantra: Keep up the hard work! Set goals for yourself in the 4th quarter! In fact, we were so excited by the excellent work that a few folks came up with the idea of issuing an academic challenge to all of our students for the 4th quarter. Students will be encouraged to work hard to earn good grades. Grades will be assigned a point value, A=4, B=3, C=1, D=0, and E = -2 and the homeroom with the highest score (as determined by the total points earned for all students, divided by the total number of students in the homeroom) will win an undisclosed prize. It is undisclosed at this time because it has yet to be determined. It is our hope that this kind of friendly competition will encourage all students to work hard and to stay engaged in the learning process.
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I am including the message from our parent volunteers that I included in last week's memo in case someone missed that information:
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
-For 6th grade parents contact Lisa Fitzgerald at: sideshow@maine.rr.com, or Marie Cross at: mcross@maine.rr.com
-For 8th grade parents contact Cindy Fletcher at: fletcc@aol.com
I have heard from a few of our parent volunteers and know that your generosity and your willingness to contribute to the events of the week have been tremendous. Thank you so much. I cannot tell you how much it means to our teachers and staff to have such supportive and generous families. One cannot overestimate how much it means for a teacher to receive a simple "thank you" or a kind note or email from a student or from a parent. It sounds trite, but such gestures of gratitude truly are the perks of teaching. So, if you see a teacher this week, tell him/her "thank you!" Thank you for all of your help in making the week so special for our teachers and staff.
Most of our sports teams began their competitions last week. While there were a few rainouts, many of our teams were able to play. Our drama club also completed auditions last week. All students were cast, though not necessarily in the role that was their first choice. The performances will be held on June 4th in the Memorial Cafetorium.
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, May 5 - Day 6
1:35 p.m. - Builders' Club - Conference room
2:15 p.m. - Homework Club in room 108
2:30 p.m. - Drama club - room 315
2:30 p.m. - Track practice
2:45 p.m. - Lacrosse practice
3:30 p.m. - Baseball & Softball vs Moore @ Moore
Tuesday, May 6 - Day 1
9:15-12:15 - Math Meet - Portland Expo
1:35 p.m. - Builders' club - Conference room
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. - Baseball game vs. Windham @ Memorial
3:30 p.m. - Softball game vs. Windham @ Wainwright
Wednesday, May 7 - Day 2
National Nurses Appreciation Day
Early Release - Students dismissed at 11:45 a.m.
3:45 p.m. - Boys' Lacrosse vs Scarborough @ Scarborough
3:45 p.m. - Girls' Lacrosse vs Scarborough @ Scarborough
Thursday, May 8 - Day 3
Field Trip for 7th grade REACH students to Camp Ketcha, Scarborough
1:35 p.m. - Builders' club - Conference room
No Homework Club today
3:30 p.m. - Boys & Girls' Track Meet @ Windham High school
3:30 p.m. - Baseball vs Bonny Eagle @ SPHS
3:30 p.m. - Softball vs Bonny Eagle @ Wainwright
3:45 p.m. - Girls' Lacrosse vs. Kennebunk @ Memorial
3:45 p.m. - Boys' Lacrosse vs Kennebunk @ Mahoney
Friday, May 9 - Day 4
Field Trip for 7th grade REACH students to Camp Ketcha, Scarborough
1:35 p.m. - Builders' Club - Conference room
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 12-16 - NWEA Testing
May 13 - Music Boosters' meeting @ SPHS - 7 p.m.
May 14 - Progress Reports go home
May 21 - Incoming Grade 6 parents Night 6:30 p.m. in the Library
May 22 - Parent Forum (the last Forum of the year!)
Today is a Performance Jazz Band day.
There will be Colorguard rehearsal after school today.
Homework Club is in room 108.
Drama Club rehearsal will be in the cafeteria at 2:30.
The baseball and softball teams play make up games at Lyman Moore today at 3:30.
Reminder to Math Team members
Please bring your permission slip tomorrow along with lunch. Meet in room 205 at 7:15.
Reminder
Students wishing to purchase pictures must drop their orders with money off in the main office.
If you do not wish to purchase pictures, please return complete packet to the office.
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
It's the best-kept secret around! Check it out!
]]>Some resource that were shared, included the following websites:
http://connectedmath.msu.edu/parents.html
Click on the "CMP Parents' Website" link.
Click on the "Mathematical Help" link.
Choose the book that corresponds to your child's book.
Once at this page, navigate to the left margin and select "Concept with Explanation" to get additional information.
Students may "drop in" to Homework Club where they can receive help with their homework from 2:30 until 3:30. Students attending Homework Club will then be given a late bus pass to take the 3:40 p.m. bus home.
With the exception of Early Release days and the days when we have staff meetings Homework Club is held every Monday through Thursday from 2:30 - 3:30.
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