Barrington Middle School BMS Connected learning Newsletter 5.14.2018 The BMS Learning Community is Respectful, Responsible, and Ready to Succeed! Upcoming Events: (Note: Please review the dates as dates are subjected to change due to a number of factors from one newsletter to the next).
Looking Ahead:
Note from Dr. Anderson Last week BMS had an opportunity to celebrate teacher appreciation week. After reflecting on the week, we can not begin to express how grateful we are for not only our amazing teachers, but also our amazing families who showed their gratitude throughout the week for our teachers. Over this past week we had a number of families drop off treats, notes, and meals for our teachers. On behalf of our teachers, we thank you for your generosity as it made the week that much more special. BMS Spotlight on Learning This week we would like to shine our BMS Spotlight on our BMS Student Council Representatives, 6th grade students, 6th grade teachers, teachers, BMS Pop’s Band, Mrs. Bienkiewicz, 8th Grade Chorus, and Mrs. Thurber. This past Monday they participated in the BMS Groundbreaking Ceremony. As Mr. Messore stated in his remarks at the ceremony, what makes a learning community so great is not the bricks and mortar, but rather the people who occupy the space. Our students and teacher representatives did an amazing job showcasing and demonstrating to our greater community what it means to be a great learning community! Well done students and teachers. BMS News you can Use BMS Building Update: The new building construction is well underway. To help with communication, each week I have been releasing the BMS Building Project Blog. You can access the blog by visiting the BMS Building Project Homepage or the direct link to the BMS Building Project Blog. In addition, each Tuesday morning we will have a student volunteer give updates to our student body during morning announcements. Device Free Dinner: Mark your calendars! On Thursday May 17th BMS families are invited to participate in the district “Device Free Dinner” event. Supported by the Barrington PTO and the Bay team, this initiative comes to us from Common Sense Media, a national leader in the smart, safe, and effective use of digital technology. We encourage you to enjoy dinner or any specified block of time that works for you, device free. Turn off and tune into your family! Below are links to Common Sense Media’s planning resources. Participate in the event and create a “Family Media Plan.” On the 18th, send your student/s into school with evidence of participation and he/she be entered into a raffle for a family prize. Any questions, contact Mrs. Maddocks, BMS Librarian [email protected] Common Sense Media Device Free Dinner Activity Ideas
BMS Best Device Practices: The Device Free Dinner also provides our learning community with an opportunity to revisit best device practices here at Barrington Middle School. Please feel free to remind your children of these best device practices as we have recently reviewed them with our teachers:
BMS Cluster Experience and Program Preference Forms: A few weeks ago, I emailed our BMS Cluster Experience and Program Preference forms to our families. We ask that families complete the form by Monday, May 21, 2018 as we will be using the information you provide to begin the scheduling process for the 2018 - 2019 academic school year. Please know that we understand the excitement that can build around the cluster assignment process. For a middle school student, cluster assignments can be a big deal! Throughout the summer months we work hard to ensure each cluster is balanced by gender, needs, and abilities. We do take into consideration cluster experience preferences from families, but due to the above mentioned considerations, not all preferences will/can be fulfilled. (Note: typically only 60% of preferences are fulfilled.) Once a child is assigned to a cluster, there will be no changes made to cluster assignments. Barrington Police Department Anonymous Tip Line: The Barrington Police Department has set up an anonymous tip line at 401-437-3933. Chief Lacrosse welcomes students, parents, and community members to use the line if they would like to remain anonymous and have something to report. BMS Robotics Boot Camp! Our Barrington High School Robotics Team will be running a 4 week BMS Robotics Boot Camp for our BMS Students beginning Monday, May 21, 2018. This will be a unique opportunity to get our BMS students reacquainted with competitive robotics. Although we do have some BHS parent volunteers, we would love to have some BMS parent volunteers as well to help monitor the sessions. Sign up online at https://bit.ly/2KCG82j In addition, it is important to note that BMS does have a BMS Robotics Team, however, we were unable to participate over the past couple of years because we did not have a coach. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in being a BMS Robotics Boot Camp parent volunteer or be our BMS Robotics coach, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. RICAS (Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System) This year, we introduced the new RICAS assessments (or Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System modeled after the Massachusetts Comprehensive State Assessment) in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA)/literacy. All students in grades 6 through 8 will participate. Students will take RICAS assessments using a laptop and will complete two sessions for both Math and ELA. The RICAS ELA assessment began April 3rd. The Math RICAS assessment will begin May 8th. Released items and practice tests are available. RICAS Student Tutorial and Practice Tests can be accessed here: ricas.pearsonsupport.com RICAS Released Items can be accessed here: ricas.pearsonsupport.com/released-items New Science Assessment Our state science assessments, will also change this year. Students in grade 8 will continue to take the new assessment (Next Generations Science Assessment or NGSA) aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students will take 2 sessions of this assessment using a laptop. This assessment will be administered as a field test and will begin May 21st. Test Items can be found at AIR Science Practice Test Items for Middle School https://airscience.tds.airast.org/student. BMS Assessment Schedule: Note: Barrington Middle School will be administering the following tests and the testing period for all tests is from 8:15 am to 11:00 am. Teachable Moment
Universal Design for Learning: Over this past year, our cluster teachers and special education teachers have been receiving ongoing training on a concept called Universal Design for Learning, also known as UDL. Our teachers have been learning about strategies on how to best make learning engaging and accessible to all learners. UDL can be broken down into three “networks.”
Please visit http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl for more information on Universal Design for Learning. Barrington Middle School Parent Newsletter
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