|
|
|
|
|
|
In This Issue: School Wide Changes, After School Art Programs, Helping Our Kids Have Healthy Relationships, Lottery is Open for 6th Grade Siblings, Workshop on Bullying and Kids' Social Development, Meet the New Math Instructors, A 7th Grade Memoir by Abigail S.
|
MMS Vision Statement
Mountain Middle School will work with each student to achieve the highest academic and social potential in an educational framework of problem-solving, cross-subject application, and teamwork.
MMS Mission Statement
Within a supportive and safe culture, Mountain Middle School integrates technology and project-based learning into a rigorous liberal arts curriculum that prepares students to succeed in the 21st century as self-motivated, innovative thinkers who seek to resolve challenges collaboratively.
|
!!!!!!ALERT!!!!!!
The daily schedule has changed this semester. We have an all school math block 1st period, lunch has moved to 12:10, and Xblock has moved to the end of the day. Please have students arrive at school by 7:55am (this is 1st bell!) Students need to have put their things away and be in their assigned Math Class by 8:00am.
|
|
|
|
Message from Jackie
Dear Parents/Guardians:
The second semester at Mountain Middle School began with a significant school-wide change to teaching mathematics along with a school-wide schedule change to accommodate a common mathematics block first period of the day. These changes were a result of your feedback regarding math instruction in the project-based learning environment as well our analysis of student performance data from TCAP and NWEA assessments.
Research supports that generating consistent school-wide changes takes substantial time, effort, courage, and risk. We believe that successfully growing our students academically is attainable. Mountain Middle School's teachers are committed to creating learning environments where both teachers and students are encouraged to try new approaches or practices, and where failures are perceived as learning opportunities for continued growth. MMS continues to implement high-quality, high-yielding teaching practices.
Mountain Middle School's Unified Improvement Plan (draft) has been submitted to the Charter School Institute (CSI) in Denver for approval. We received the following comment on the plan:
"We have reviewed your Unified Improvement Plan, and I have to say it is one of the best I have reviewed! It is concise, includes a variety of data (from a variety of lenses), establishes rigorous performance objectives, and has well-aligned strategies to the data you are collecting/reviewing."
The plan will be submitted to the Colorado Department of Education by CSI on January 15th for review and comment. Please read the Unified Improvement Plan section below for further information.
Kind regards,
Jackie
|
|
NWEA Winter Schedule
January 14-18, 2013
|
Healthy Relationships for Teens
During the month of February, MMS will be offering four parent discussion groups in the evenings focused on 'Healthy Relationships for Teens'.  These groups will be facilitated by School Counselor, Mike Madden; Student Services Director, Heather Study; Darlene Clayton of Alternative Horizons and a representative from the local SASO. We are encouraging parents of 7th and 8th grade students, in particular, to join us. We will have 15 participants in each group and parents may sign up here. The dates will be Monday, February 4, 5:15 -6:15; Monday, February 11th, 5:15-6:15; Wednesday,  February, 13th, 4:30 - 5:30; and Wednesday, February 27th, 4:30 - 5:30. Please contact Heather Study if you have any questions.
|
|
After School Art Program
Mondays, January 14- February 4, 3:30-5:00 pm.
 "Stuff It!"In this workshop students will enjoy creating their own "stuffable" creations, from monsters and dolls, to pillows, aliens, and anything else they can put googly eyes on! The creations are endless. $49 registration fee includes all materials and 6 hours of instruction. Class size limited to first 20 students.
;
Monday, February 11, 3:00-5:00 pm.
"Out of the box Valentines"one-day workshop saves you a trip to the grocery store to buy boxed Valentines. Let your kids make their own using a variety of clever techniques, such as fortune-cookie valentines and keepsake ornaments. All materials included. $20 registration fee includes introductions to a variety of projects, and all the Valentines your child can make in 2 hours!Class size limited to first 25.&
|
Creating Positive Social Learning Environments:
Eliminating Bullying in School
-- A Free Workshop with Acclaimed Child Expert, Dr. Michele Borba
Save the Date
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Ft. Lewis Community Concert Hall
8:30 - Noon
Free to everyone. We welcome students, parents, educators, administrators, pediatricians, media, and business leaders throughout La Plata County
Participants will walk away with concrete tools they can instantly use to help their child be less likely to be bullied, be a bully or a passive bystander.
~ What bullying is and why it is increasing in children
~ How to know if your child is bullied
~ Signs of a bully and why a child may use aggressive bullying behavior
~ The CALM way to help children learn to stand up to a bully
~ Bully BUSTER Skills - six skills children who witness bullying can use safely to help their friends
~ Where bullying is most likely to happen (Hot Spots)
~ How to respond and what to do if you suspect your child is bullied
~ How to keep your child safer online and signs to look for that will help you if your child is cyber-bullied or cyber-stalked
~ What parents, educators and community members can do together to stop bullying and aggression
~ What to do if you suspect your child is a bully; a 7 step plan to turn bullying behavior around
|
| A Triumph of the Heart
by Abigail S.
I dug my fingernails deep into the ground, feeling the warm, moist dirt beneath me. I could see the sun beating down on the field before me, but I was hidden from it's wrath in my little pocket of shade. I glanced down at the book that lay forgotten in my lap, its dog eared pages fluttered slightly in the wind.
I was jerked out of my daydream with a familiar yell from my brother's over enthusiastic soccer coach. "Come on take that shot Paxton!" he shouted. I watched as Paxton leaned back and sent the ball soaring over the goal towards the parking lot. Glad for an excuse to move, I stood up wiping my dirty hands on my shirt. I couldn't help laughing as the wind whipped my hair to and fro, and the thick grass tickled my bare feet. The boys waved to me as I kicked the ball back to a slightly sheepish looking Paxton. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards my patch of trees.
"Abby," I looked over my shoulder at Jeff, " I really need one more player for this drill, so do you want to come play?" I hesitated, unsure, then as I opened my mouth to reply, I noticed the mischievous grins glued to the boys' faces.
"Sure," I told him corralling my messy brown hair up into a loose ponytail, "why not?" He threw me a blue penny as I jogged onto the field. The boys set up for a kick-off muttering and snickering about their new plan to destroy the other team. They waited until the whistle blew then Eli tapped the soccer ball back to Teagan who missed it, but managed to recover it anyway. The ball bounced back and forth between teams, leaving the score tied one to one. "Two minutes left!" Jeff yelled as he took another slurp of his smoothie, crunching the ice loudly as he watched us from the sideline.
I felt like someone was watching me, I turned around and noticed the line of parents watching from behind our goal. I felt my cheeks turn the color of ripe tomatoes, wondering what they were thinking. Although my friends and I sometimes played with them a recess this felt different to me.
A hard, curving shot from Emmett jerked me out of my reverie as I jumped up into it's path. I felt the hard thunk as it hit my chest and bounced out in front of me. I tapped the ball gently to one side dodging Paxton, and Alden. I could feel my body taking over, as dribbled towards the goal my bangs rippling across my forehead in the warm wind. I forgot about the parents, and all the boys watching me, my determination slowly filling my mind leaving space for little else. Standing alone there was a single defender between the goal and me, his expression stubborn as he sprinted towards me. I could hear the panting of the boys behind me as they struggled to catch up, and I saw the purposeful glare on Moo-shoo's face as he charged towards me. I leaned back as if preparing to take a shot, and watched as Moo-shoo stopped right in front of looking unsure. He only hesitated for a second, but that was all it took for me to tap it softly to one side of him, and take the shot. I watched the ball arc through the air, over the goalie's outstretched arms, and fall into the net.
It was so silent I could hear my own ragged breathing, as slowly I turned towards my team. I lifted my shoulders slightly, silently asking them for an answer. I opened my mouth but before I could say anything, I saw the wide grins appearing on the boy's shocked faces. A second later I saw Eli running towards me, followed by the rest of my team. I broke out in an ecstatic smile of my own. I shook my hair out of it's braid letting it stream out behind me, as I ran to meet them.
"Wow," Teagan said smiling shyly at me.
"Great shot," Keiran told me.
The boys surrounded me laughing and cheering, excitedly. Even Moo-shoo gave me a sheepish grin, and a hug. I heard clapping, and I whipped around in surprise to see the parents and Jeff applauding me. Jeff strode over to us, clutching his crushed plastic cup in one hand, and a whistle in the other.
He put an arm on my shoulder, "Nice job out there," he told me, "I'm guessing you play a little soccer?"
I nodded slowly, wondering what was coming.
"You know, we could always use another a practice," Jeff commented. "Do you want to join our team."
"Um," I looked around me, from the grinning boys, to the cheering parents, and finally back at Jeff.
"I'd really like that," I told him firmly.
"Okay it's settled then," he said warmly.
"Group hug!" Eli yelled and the boys all rushed towards me laughing. Crushed in the center of their mob, surrounded by jubilant shouts, I felt my heart soar along with them. |
|  Meet Randi Foster
Fundamentals of Mathematics Instructor
Randi Foster grew up in Edwards, which is in the mountains of Colorado near Vail. She earned her bachelor's degree from Fort Lewis College with a major in interdisciplinary studies, teacher education option. She is a certified teacher with endorsements in Linguistically Diverse Education, Spanish-English Linguistically Diverse Education Specialist, and K-12 Drama. She is also highly qualified in Mathematics, and has experience tutoring elementary through the college-level students in math. Ms. Foster is a circus artist who has performed and taught juggling, unicycle, and other circus arts with Salt Fire Circus in Durango, Circus Smirkus Roadshow in Vermont, and Colorado Academy Circus Camp in Denver. In the summer, Ms. Foster is the director of the Silverton Summer Youth Program ( SSYP), a theatre arts camp for children, and the director of the Peer Theatre Production at Fort Lewis College. Throughout the year, Ms. Foster volunteers for the Durango Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) school prevention programs and as a hotline advocate. Ms. Foster is a choreographer and dancer with Dance  Co-Motion, and she frequently practices yoga. In the winter, Ms. Foster enjoys going sledding and snowshoeing, especially with her parents and her brother Will, who also lives in Durango. Ms. Foster is excited to be part of Mountain Middle School's team of teachers! |
|  Meet David Hamman
Algebra Instructor
Mr. Hamann is a Wisconsin native who graduated from Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He also studied at the Free University of Berlin in Germany and the Graduate School of Commerce in Madison, Wisconsin. Following a 35 year career in the computer technology arena he spent two years as a Director for Prison Fellowship Ministries. He studied in Germany, lived in Paris for four years and speaks both French and German rather poorly. That was followed by five years teaching high school math at Gilbert Christian School in Arizona. Mr. Hamann is coming out of retirement to join the staff at Mountain Middle School. He has been married for 45 years to his wife Jean and has two sons and six grandchildren. In his spare time Mr. Hamann enjoys golf, fishing and solving puzzles. |
6th Grade Math & Science News
 The 6th Grade ended last semester with an outstanding exhibition of our Submarine Project. Throughout the project students were engaged with the study of mass, volume, and density by building a submarine that would set sail on a mission to change density twice without any outside forces. In order to change density twice, the submarine would either start floating, sink, and then float again or start sunk, float, and then sink again. The project culminated with a final copy of our Captain's Blog, a scientific paper about their experimentation within the project, as well as our public exhibition on December 19th.
 This semester we are starting off with our Biome Project where the students will research and experience the major biomes around the globe. This project be presented at the MMS all school exhibition at the fairgrounds when the students will display a written piece along with a large scale recreation of their biome.
--Mr. Dalley
|
Unified Improvement Plan
Mountain Middle School is engaged in a continuous improvement model to improve student learning, manage our student performance, and analyze the effectiveness of our systems and programming. We used Colorado's Unified Improvement Plan Model to create an annual improvement plan. This model requires Colorado public schools, including Charter Schools, to use the results of the TCAP assessment tests to analyze student performance needs. Based on our first year results, MMS received the designation of Priority Improvement. Although student achievement met Colorado expectations, MMS did not achieve adequate growth in mathematics or writing. MMS's designation is based on this growth model.
MMS has begun implementation of the action items noted in our plan. A math instructional block has been implemented school-wide to address differentiated math needs and our Academic Coaching block is now focused on Humanities with an emphasis on reading and writing. You can review the complete draft of the Unified Improvement Plan here. |
|
|
Lottery is Open
If you have a child who is enrolling next year (2013-2014 - 6th grade) as a sibling - you MUST enter them into the Lottery Enrollment form located here.
You are guaranteed a seat as a sibling, however you must enroll to claim this seat. Enrollment will remain open through February 8th.
|
|
Upcoming Dates
January 15-18
NWEA Benchmark Testing for Reading, Math, Language Arts & Science
January 21
No School
February 8
Valentines Day Celebration
Auction & Fundraiser
February 8
Last Day for Lottery Enrollment
February 9
Creating Positive Social Learning Environments with Dr. Michele Borba
February 18-22
Winter Break
March 11-15
Student Led Conferences
April 4
School-Wide Exhibit
La Plata County Fairgrounds
|
|
Save the Date
February 8
2nd Annual Valentines Gala
A Funraising Event Event For Mountain Middle School
Strater Hotel
World Class Entertainment
by MMS Students
Delicious Food, Open Bar
Pomegranate Sweetheart Martinis
Luxury Silent Auction Items
|
A New Look
The culmination of many months of work by students, faculty, and volunteers. Volunteer, John Witchel, worked with my advisory group of 8th graders to help them understand the process of web development and design. This 8th grade team gathered data from sample groups of students, parents, and faculty, and used this input to generate messaging and design proposals that were reviewed and refined into a final design. The new design reflects the misson of Mountain Middle School, and the energy, effort and excitement of our student body. Stay tuned as we continue to add new content and images to the site, transforming it into a public showcase for our work. --Mr. Parker
|
Fundamentals of Mathematics Class
In Fundamentals of Mathematics class, we have begun a unit on fractions. The students took a pretest to determine prior knowledge and where we should begin. The first week, we reviewed equivalent fractions, various visual representations of fractions and equivalent fractions, and common denominators. We are now adding and subtracting fractions using common denominators, equations, and visual representations. Next, we will be learning how to multiply and divide fractions.
--Randi Foster
|
Missed Picture Day?
Want a retake?
Thru the Lens will offer the same package prices at their store. |
News for the community?
Let Jessica know. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
