HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL Home of the Eagles A Note About Middle - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

HERITAGE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Home of the Eagles

A Note About Middle School...

Aim For This… ➢ Love of learning ➢ Autonomy, Confidence and Diligence ➢ Forming of Positive, Meaningful Relationships Not this…. ❖ Achievement ❖ Over-parenting ❖ Grades ❖ Control and Hovering

Important People to Know

❖

• Mr. Kelly, Principal

❖

• Ms. Young, Assistant Principal assigned to 7th grade

❖

• Mr. Grosso, Assistant Principal assigned to 8th grade

❖

• Ms. Woytas, Mrs. Sullivan - Main Office Secretaries

❖

• Ms. Connelly, Attendance Secretary

❖

• Mrs. Appello, Guidance Secretary

❖

• Mrs. Tauro, Athletics Coordinator

❖

• Mrs. Gelker, School Nurse (new as of April 2019)

School Counselors

❖

• Mrs. Sinead Crews, Director of School Counseling

❖

• Mrs. Campbell and Mrs.Balasic (currently on maternity leave) -

Counselors assigned to grade 7 ❖

• Mrs. Iannuzzi and Mrs. Walter - Counselors assigned to grade 8

❖

• Ms. Emily Petrillo - Student Assistance Counselor

Role of School Counselors

❖ Provide academic, social and emotional support for students ❖ Run/offer support groups ❖ Meet weekly with academic teams to get feedback on performance of students ❖ Facilitate our Advisory Program - foundation of our character education and decision making model ❖ Leadership Advisory Group (option for students) - Groups embedded within

• ur program to connect our school with the surrounding community:

➢ Pay it Forward, Critter Crew, Teaching Tolerance, Ted Talks, Write and Illustrate, ➢ School Beautification, Uke Can Do It, Yoga/Mindfulness, Human Rights ➢ Crafts for a Cause

What Are The Big Differences Between MPM and HMS?

❖ Your School Counselor - Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Balasic will be staying with you as your assigned counselor for the duration of your middle school experience

➢ Help to provide you with a familiar face as you make the transition ➢ Someone who is familiar with you as a student and also as an person and can provide support you need during middle school years ➢ Will also be there to help guide you as you complete your high school schedule in 8th grade

❖ World Language - CORE Academic Class you see every day ❖ Lunch & Recess: two different locations where you can eat

➢ Cafeteria - hot lunch option available (seating for 325students) ➢ Gymnasium - grab and go items and bagged lunch (seating for 250 students)

General Information

School Hours: ❖ Bell for home base rings at 8:20 am ❖ Building is open as early as 7:30 am ❖ Some clubs, intramurals and G/T Art and select music ensembles meet during the mornings at 7:30 ❖ Late bus runs Tuesday - Thursday (4:05 pm departure - for bus riders

• nly)

❖ School attendance and being punctual to school is important

➢ There will be remedial actions taken for excessive absences and tardies to school

Rotating Bell Schedule

❖ Breaks up the day to relieve some stress placed on students by repeating less academic core classes in a row ❖ A,B,C Days - AM/PM Classes will rotate spots to provide students with varying experience to break up the monotony ❖ One bell schedule for the entire school - every class period the same exact amount of time (42 minutes) ❖ One lunch for each grade level ❖ Assist students in preparing for the transition to LHS Schedule

What will your day look like?

❖ 9 periods in a day, with each class period being 42-minutes long ❖ 5 CORE Classes (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies & World Language) ❖ 1 period for Physical Education & Health (one marking period) ❖ 1 cycle period w/ marking period classes which consist of the following:

➢ Computer Applications ➢ Technology Education ➢ General Music ➢ Art ➢ Family and Consumer Science

❖ Lunch & Enrichment Periods (Middle of the Day)

LPS 1:1 Initiative (Grades 7-12)

❖ Year four of the initiative = devices for all HMS Students ❖ Each student will receive a HP X360 Convertible Laptop ❖ Digital Inking Capability (a pen) ❖ Two cameras - great for project-based learning ❖ Microsoft Office / OneNote ❖ Battery life that should last the entire school day ❖ Carrying case to ease transition between home & school and from class to class

What happens if my device breaks?

❖ Each student is expected to pay a maintenance fee prior to picking up their device in the summer ❖ Fee covers maintenance of your device if it is not functioning properly (2 breakages) ❖ Pen breaks/malfunctions it gets replaced ❖ Lost pens or devices are not covered ❖ Good news, we have never lost a laptop yet!

Academic Teams

❖ Similar to MPMS, HMS also has interdisciplinary academic teams ❖ Each grade level has four teams ❖ Placement on teams will vary and be randomly assigned, however, some placements may be based upon your choice of world language or your math placement ❖ CORE teachers are assigned to teams, which include ELA, Math, Social Studies (Civics & American Government), Science (Life Science) and World Language ❖ Only CORE Class that is “leveled” is Mathematics; the rest are a heterogeneous class composition

Academics - What’s Different?

Mathematics

❖ Classes are grouped for 7th grade, placement is based upon: class grades, teacher recommendation, placement exam score, standardized test scores ❖ 7th graders can be placed into B/A Level Pre-Algebra or Algebra ❖ 8th grade math program consists of Pre-Algebra, Algebra or Geometry ❖ Placement can change mid-year if grades reflect you are struggling or exceeding expectations in current placement ❖ Placement can change from one year to the next based on classroom performance ❖ Placement information we be posted in Genesis early June ❖ Option to appeal placement decision reinstated

Academics - What’s Different?

World Language: ❖ HMS World Language Program is a 2-year program ❖ Takes a level-1 high school course and breaks it down over the span of 2 years. Final grade counts towards year of induction into World Language Honor Society. ❖ Language of your choosing must remain the same for your time at HMS; you may not change your language mid-year or between 7th and 8th grade ❖ Language options to choose from:

➢ Spanish ➢ French ➢ Chinese ➢ Italian

Enrichment - What’s Different?

❖ Music ensembles meet during Enrichment Periods, meeting on a M/W/F or T/Th/F schedule

➢ Band ➢ Orchestra ➢ Chorus

❖ Select ensembles also available for students who are interested. Tryouts are at the start of the school year

➢ Select Choir ➢ Select Orchestra ➢ Jazz Band (Two different ensembles; Eagle and Blue)

❖ Project Art also a course available to 7th graders ❖ Sustained Silent Reading & Time to Complete Independent Work ❖ Receive Extra Help from Teachers

Select Ensembles

❖ Select Orchestra and Chorus meet during the mornings @ 7:30 am ❖ Jazz Band meets after school ❖ To be a part of either, you must be enrolled in the regular ensemble for that particular area of music

Project Art for 7th Grade - What is it?

❖ Project Art is a class that students can elect to participate in during enrichment ❖ The class meets every other day during the week, for a total of 90 times during the school year ❖ Project Art is for kids who love art and doing projects related to the arts ❖ Any student who enrolls in Project Art will not have Art as a marking period elective course ❖ Projects consist of ...

Marking Period Cycle Courses

❖ At HMS, we offer five marking period cycle courses. You will have the

• pportunity to select which four you prefer to enroll in.

➢ Art ➢ General Music ➢ IBA/Computer Applications ➢ Family and Consumer Science ➢ Technology Education

Marking Period Cycle Courses

Art

❖ Painting ❖ Drawing ❖ Sculpting

Marking Period Cycle Courses

General Music ❖ Music Theory ❖ Technology in form of computers and keyboards ❖ Create compositions

Marking Period Cycle Courses

IBA /Computer Applications ❖ Microsoft Office Suite & One Note ❖ Coding & Programming ❖ Business Applications and Keyboarding

Marking Period Cycle Classes

Technology Education ❖ Design, Build and Create Your Own Invention, Board Game ❖ Engineering & 3D Printing ❖ Simple Machines - levers, pulleys

Marking Period Cycle Courses

Family and Consumer Sciences ❖ Sewing and cooking (half of the marking period in each unit) ❖ Multicultural group research projects ❖ Recipe design

Academic Support Programs

❖ Basic Skills Instructional Programs

➢ Run by a certified Reading Specialist ➢ Basic Skills for Mathematics - run by our classroom mathematics teachers ➢ Specifically designed to target areas where a student may be demonstrating gaps

❖ Academic Support - “Homework Club” - supervised by a teacher; targets students who need support in completing homework and or do not complete it on a consistent basis

Co-Curricular Clubs

❖ Fall Drama and Spring Musical ❖ Literary Magazine - write, draw and publish your own works ❖ Technology - TSA & Femgineers - build your own city, design your

• wn invention and enter competitions around the state to see if you

can win prizes! ❖ Diversity Club ❖ MATHCounts ❖ Science Olympiad ❖ Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) ❖ School Newspaper - The Heritage Gazette

Co-Curriculars Continued

❖ Digital Photography ❖ Classic Literature Club - read the classics with friends ❖ Yearbook Club - help create and design memories for students to treasure @ HMS ❖ Garden Club ❖ Stock Market Game Club ❖ Booked for Lunch - book club that meets during lunch periods ❖ Challenge Team - looking to break down barriers that exist in our society and unite us together ❖ Builders Club - primary goal is to give back to the community ❖ Student Council

Interscholastic Sports Program - West Essex YMCA

❖ Boys and Girls Soccer ❖ Cross Country ❖ Girls Field Hockey ❖ Girls Tennis ❖ Boys and Girls Basketball ❖ Boys and Girls Volleyball ❖ Wrestling ❖ Boys Baseball ❖ Girls Softball ❖ Boys and Girls Lacrosse ❖ Boys Tennis ❖ Track & Field

Heritage Interscholastic Sports Program

Registration Requirements: ❖ A yearly physical is required to be eligible to participate ❖ The pre-participation physical examination form and health history update questionnaire must be completed and submitted to the HMS Main Office ❖ Physical Forms are due to the school for fall sports by the middle of August ❖ All sports forms can be found in the Genesis Parent Portal

Intramurals

❖ Offers the opportunity to compete against one another ❖

• Mr. James Merlo, HMS Intramural Program Coordinator & Health and

PE Teacher ❖ Sessions take place before and after school ❖ Offerings include:

➢ Flag Football, Basketball, Ping Pong, Badminton, Floor Hockey, Handball & Speedball, Fitness Room among others

What do we do for fun?

❖ Pep Rally’s and Team Competitions ❖ Spirit Weeks ❖ Student & Teacher Talent Shows ❖ March Madness Basketball Tournament ❖ 8th Grade Dance ❖ Character Trait of the Month Recognition - Free Lunch! ❖ Field Trips - Philadelphia, The MET, Romeo & Juliet ❖ Interactive and Engaging Assemblies Be a part of the tradition and help build your own legacy!

Pep Rally

Pep Rally

Things we do for FUN!

Winter Pep-Rally! Duct Tape the Principal! 8th Grade Dance!

What Matters the Most...

❖ Your children come to school happy and leave happy every day ❖ Have fun learning and at school ❖ Feel valued ❖ Grow and develop into young adults ❖ Learn from the mistakes they make ❖ We work together to support them and help them along the way