Fall certainly fell in this weekend! It feels like with the colder weather the school year finally feels like it has gotten under way. It was so great to see all of you who were able to make it to Curriculum Night and Intake Night last week. We really believe that our parents are our partners and we couldn't do this thing called education without all of your support. If you were able to make it last Thursday, 7th and 8th grade families should have received their child's TSMS e-mail and JumpRope log in information. If you were not able to make it, you should expect to see that information in the mail soon. 7th and 8th grade families, the log in information should be the same as last year. For 6th grade families, your accounts are all new and you should receive that information via the mail. Your children will get some instruction on how to log in, proper e-mail etiquette, and navigating JumpRope in advisory. Ask them to help you figure it out! If you have any questions regarding JumpRope or e-mail accounts, please reach out to Matthew Masterson, our Assistant Principal at mmasterson@tsmsonline.org.
Calendar
SEPTEMBER 27 • DAY 2 OF OUT TO LUNCH FOR 7TH GRADE
Today was our 7th graders first Tuesday out to lunch. Up until now, they have only been going out on Thursdays. Please take some time to review street safety with your child. It's important they understand that going out to lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays is a privilege and they should behave appropriately.
SEPTEMBER 28 • EARLY DISMISSAL DAY
Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 28 will be our first Early Dismissal day for professional development. Students will be dismissed at 12 or 12:50 after a bagged lunch depending on how you filled out the form. If you would like your child to stay until our regularly scheduled dismissal time at 2:35, please contact Shirley via e-mail or phone at 347-563-5303.
OCTOBER 3 AND 4 • NO SCHOOL FOR ROSH HASHANAH
Monday and Tuesday, October 3 and 4, all NYC DOE public schools will be closed in observance of Rosh Hashanah. Happy New Year to our Jewish brethren.
OCTOBER 10 • NO SCHOOL FOR COLUMBUS DAY
NYC DOE Public Schools will be closed in observance of Columbus Day.
OCTOBER 12 • NO SCHOOL FOR YOM KIPPUR
Wednesday, October 12, all NYC DOE public schools will be closed in observance of Yom Kippur. This brings an end to what is referred to as the High Holy Days in Judaism.
OCTOBER 17 • SLT AND PTA
Monday, October 17 will be our monthly SLT (at 5pm) and PTA (at 6pm) meetings. Every one in the community is welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!
OCTOBER 17 • GIFTPAK FUNDRAISER DUE
We have started our first fundraiser of the year. The GiftPak fundraiser is due by October 17th to Shirley in Room 351. Student were given a catalog package to bring home. This fundraiser is to help raise money for School trips and copy paper. If you have any questions, please let Shirley know.
Highlights and such...
VISUAL ARTS WITH MS LACKEY
Ms. Lackey's 8th grade art classes are learning how to draw! They will be recreating a black and white photograph using just pencils and shades of gray.
Her 7th graders have been studying composition techniques that artists use as they create works of art. Their final piece will be done with oil pastels and incorporate light and shadow as they explore symmetrical and asymmetrical compositions.
The 6th graders are learning about collage as they cut organic and geometric shapes. They will be creating images out of only cut paper as they design their Art Journal book covers.
6TH GRADE DUES FOR CAMP RAMAPO
Please send in your 6th grade dues! Our overnight trip to Camp Ramapo, in Rhinebeck, is scheduled for November 9th and 10th. We are so lucky to be able to spend that time together team building and making new friends! Dues will cover not only this big trip, but the smaller day trips we will be taking throughout the year. Everyone will go on all our trips no matter what your financial ability. Please pay as much as you can knowing that no one will be left behind. If you can give more than the $225 requested, that extra money will go towards helping others afford our trips.
7TH GRADE HUMANITIES • SUSPENSE AND MYSTERY
7th grade humanities teams Suspense and Mystery created personal reading histories to capture their evolving relationships with books and reading. Also, check them out conferring about their Personal narratives!
HAPPY FALL FROM THE SPEECH ROOM
Now that school is in full swing, teachers and children are settling into their new classroom routines! Children are working hard and gaining more knowledge, while they are doing their best to follow school expectations and set goals for the new school year. Did you ever wonder how difficult it is for a child with speech and language difficulties to comprehend these expectations and set goals for themselves? They may have trouble understanding what the expectations are communicating and may have some difficulty coming up with a plan to meet their goals. So, what can we do to help? As speech therapists, we work closely with these students to make sure they can infer the meaning of unknown vocabulary words using context clue strategies. We use social stories to help students respond to certain situations and to understand different points of view. Additionally, we help them develop a way to reach these goals by engaging in conversation where examples are provided and read picture books that show how characters have met similar goals and expectations to serve as a model.
Since these students have trouble understanding language, a great way to assist them is to provide visuals so they can easily comprehend what is being conveyed. As always, frequent check-ins are an excellent way to make sure the student understands what is being communicated. Feel free to reach out to us anytime with any questions or comments!
Warmest Wishes,
Christine & Yolanda
TSMS Speech Room 311
FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICE
September 2016
Welcome back! I am so excited for another Fall and another school year at TSMS. The Fall is a busy time for all of us! 6th graders are making the transition to middle school, 7th graders are hitting their middle school stride and 8th graders are right in the middle of the high school process.
While changes in academics are in the front of our minds, there are also changes amongst friends. New classes means new people, which for some is exciting and others is nerve wracking. Check in with your child to see how their friendships are progressing. Ask if they have made any new friends and encourage them to meet new people. A refresher on how to make friends is helpful and sometimes roleplaying is the best way to test this out.
Like my mom always says, “Make new friends but keep the old!”