Electives are offered to give girls a chance to explore areas beyond their regular classes. Each girl takes one elective that meets two times in each rotation. Some electives require a year-long commitment and others will run until the end of January, at which time the students may choose a different elective for the remainder of the year.

 

The majority of electives are offered on Day 1 and Day 5 during Flex (11:10-11:40) before lunch. Fifth and sixth grade choir and some orchestras meet twice during each rotation during a portion of D period study hall or Flex Period on days other than Day 1 or Day 5. I’ll provide the specific meeting times on the selection form. If your daughter chooses choir or orchestra, she does need to be aware that choosing an additional elective will reduce her study time during the school day. Once you receive the details, please call me if you have any questions or have your daughter stop by my office for clarification.

 

MATH PLACEMENT: During the week of in-service in June, all Middle School math teachers and I meet to confer about next year’s math placement for our students. All incoming fifth graders are placed in the same level class. However, we do offer an enriched section of math in grades six, seven, and eight and also a concrete-approach section in eighth grade. Students in these enriched sections follow the same curriculum as the other students in their grade; however, the pace is quicker and the scope and depth of concepts are broader. Our concrete approach offers a more comprehensive, detailed approach when introducing new concepts. Movement into the enriched sections is reviewed at the end of each school year so that the enrollment usually grows to two sections in eighth grade. In our meetings, the math faculty and I analyze a wide variety of criteria: the results of each child’s end-of-year math inventory, report card marks, ERB scores, ability to comprehend new and more abstract concepts quickly and confidently, frequency and accuracy of work on enrichment/bonus (higher level) problems, and comfort with taking risks in class. Most students are placed in our regular sections of math (which are actually advanced in comparison to other math programs). If your daughter appears to be well-placed in an enriched section or the concrete section in eighth grade, I will call you in June to talk about her choices. Again, please note that math placement for any given year is based on your daughter’s current cognitive development in this area; her growth is repeatedly analyzed by our math teachers, and through differentiated instruction and the fluidity of our program, we fully expect to meet her math needs.

 

STUDENT COUNCIL: Our Student Council election results are in! Congratulations to the following girls: President, Kate Clark; Vice President, Hollis Wood; Speaker of the House, Victoria Gonzalez; Secretary, Lacy Green; and Treasurer, Zoya Haq. All of the candidates presented wonderful speeches and should also be celebrated. New officers will be installed tomorrow morning.

EIGHTH GRADUATION SPEECHES: Some of our eighth graders are presenting their thoughts about graduating from Middle School to the eighth grade advisors this afternoon. One girl’s speech is chosen to be delivered at Eighth Grade Graduation; however, I weave portions of each girl’s speech into my comments at that event. In that way, the feelings of all are shared as we celebrate the eighth grade class. I’ll update you next week regarding the speech that was chosen.

 

WIILIAMSBURG DRAWING: Sixth grade parent chaperones for the Williamsburg trip were selected earlier this week. Interested parents submitted their names, and the grade reps and I drew the names of chaperones from the returned forms and put the remaining names on a waiting list. I extend my appreciation to all of you who volunteered to help chaperone the Williamsburg trip next fall! Parents joining the sixth graders and their teachers on the trip are the following: Stacie Blazek, Mary Lynn Hanna, Amy Isom, Dr. Rajani Kapu, Heather London, Monty Montgomery, Dr. Erica Muller, Anne Taylor, and Susan Viracola.

 

PLEASE RETURN: All US and MS library materials and borrowed uniform items are due on Friday, May 13. Please remind your daughter to turn those in if applicable. No report card is sent on a child who hasn’t cleared her library or uniform account.

 

FLEX PERIOD, MAY 19: As we have done in the past, teachers in grades six, seven, and eight will meet with their incoming students for the next year on Thursday, May 19 during our Flex Period. Fifth grade teachers do this on another day with the incoming fifth graders. This is just a time for the girls to put names with faces and to learn about exciting opportunities next year.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS: Eighth grade parents, please remember that your daughters will not attend school on Friday, May 20 as they are provided a review day at home for their upcoming exams on Monday, May 23. In addition, after-school care in Daisy Den will end on Wednesday, May 25. The girls are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 26 from our Middle School Closing Assembly and at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 27 from Eighth Grade Graduation. Click here to see a schedule for the last week of school. And…please add Monday, August 22 to your calendars for Book Distribution. Specific times for each grade level will be sent to you later in the summer.

 

Have a lovely weekend,

Linda Kramer

Head of Middle School