Operation Missing Assignment

I think this is the fourth year that I've done this on the Friday before Spring Break. As most of you know, we have a No Zero policy here and we work very hard to get students to complete and turn in their assignments. Tomorrow, Friday, any student that has a homework referral (missing assignment) will be sent to the cafeteria first hour after attendance, and will stay there until all of their missing assignments are done. Once they have completed the missing work, they can go back to class. I've been making announcements all week, posting missing assignment lists in the cafeteria, and begging students to get these assignments in...and if not, encouraging them to get what ever they need (handouts, worksheets, etc.) ready for Friday so we can check these off before break. To be honest, it's not a very fun day for me but it's well worth it when the majority of kids can head into Spring Break all caught up on assignments.

Congrats to our Science Olympiad Team

Our 2012 Science Olympiad Team placed 7th overall out of 20 schools at this year's competition....which is our best ever finish.

8th Graders
Christian Doenges, Morgan Kronner
Adam George, Eli George
Allison Urban, Lauren Mehlberg
John Staiger, Steven Whittlesey

7th Graders
Mikayla Burke, Kaylin Zajac
Aubrey Grevemeyer, Abigail Eitniear

6th Graders
Kiersten Burke, Emily Tenniswood
Gabrielle Morton

Medal Winners

Awesome Aquifers
4th Place Medal
Steven Whittlesey
Gabrielle Morton

Bottle Rockets
6th Place Medal
John Staiger
Adam George

Crime Busters
5th Place Medal
Abigail Eitniear
Kaylin Zajac

Dynamic Planet
5th Place Medal
Steven Whittlesey
Morgan Kronner

Meteorology
2nd Place Medal
John Staiger
Emily Tenniswood

Mousetrap Vehicle
4th Place Medal
Abigail Eitniear
Emily Tenniswood

Optics
2nd Place Medal
Steven Whittlesey
Abigail Eitniear

Storm the Castle
3rd Place Medal
John Staiger
Mikayla Burke

Towers
6th Place Medal
Steven Whittlesey
Lauren Mehlberg

7th Place Finishes (just missing a medal)
Forestry
Allison Urban
Eli George

Reach for the Stars
Steven Whittlesey
Adam George

Middle School Tennis

This is the third year that there will be a middle school competitive tennis clinic. Any boy or girl in grades 6th - 8th may participate. No tennis experience is required. Practices will be held at the SCHS tennis courts on Sundays. The cost is $50 and sign up sheets are in the main office. For more information contact Mrs. Kennedy at 810-676-1723 or mkennedy@ecsd.us

NJHS Collecting Books for Kids

NJHS students are sponsoring a community service project for March is Reading Month.

Details:

Starts: Monday, March 26th
Ends: Friday, March 30th
Collection will be done in our 1st hour classes.

Donations are going to St. John's Hospital and Kids in Distress, both located in St. Clair.

Please encourage your students to clean out their closets and book shelves at home. We will accept all gently used books.

DC Fundraiser #1

The Little Caesar Pizza Kits are being delivered today (Thursday, March 22nd). Parents please plan on picking them up in our Aux Gym from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Students will not be able to take them on the bus with them

SC4 Summer Arts Camp

Here is an e-mail I received today. I'll have the flyers available in the office as soon as I get them.

SC4 will be hosting a Summer Arts Camp during the last two weeks of June on campus in Port Huron. Offerings for students will be in two age groups: 8-12 and 13-18. Content includes drawing, painting, clay, vocal and instrumental music, and theater. Each class is a week long and meets *MON – FRI from either 9:30 am – 12:00 pm or from 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm. The cost for each class is $70.00 (with a slight lab fee for clay classes).

An informational flyer is being prepared and will be sent out to your fine arts teachers in the near future. I will also send some to the school itself to be made available in the office. These can be distributed to families who are interested in having their student(s) attend any of the camp sessions.

*Two of the classes will meet five times over two weeks

Lunch Time Visit

Thanks to Undersheriff Buckley for stopping in to spend some time with our students during lunch. The more contact our kids can have with law enforcement officers the better for everyone. Hopefully we have more visits from other officers in the upcoming months.

St. Clair County Mental Health Writing Contest

and the winners are.......

POETRY: 1st Place: Bettina Lee, St. Clair Middle School – Mrs. Acre
2nd Place: Erika Lindsay, St. Clair Middle School – Mrs. Acre

NON-FICTION: 1st Place: Benjamin Davidson, St. Clair Middle School – Mrs. Marginean

FICTION: 3rd Place: Alexis Smith, St. Clair Middle School – Mrs. Acre

Congratulations to all that participated.

Easter Egg Hunt

SCHS NHS will be hosting a free Easter Egg hunt this Saturday at St. Clair High School on the old football field. This event is for children ages 3-11. If you have little ones, we invite you to attend this fun event! 2:00 pm sharp, dress for the weather, rain or shine!!!

Ahhhhhh..Spring at the Middle School.

75 today, close to 80 tomorrow.....nothing better at the Middle School than trying to teach class when the weather is turning and Spring Break is just around the corner. Actually, what we really need is some cold rainy days leading up to March 30th. I'm giving each class a talk today during lunch regarding behavior, missing assignments, dress code, tardies....all the major topics. Any help you can give to try (key word being try) to help keep them stay focused it would be greatly appreciated.

May the force be with us.

NanoCamp

Just received this from our SCC RESA:

The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility is now accepting applications for the
Spring 2012 edition of NanoCamp, a free, one-day camp on nanoscience for
middle and high school students. The event will be held March 31 on North
Campus of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 9am-5pm.

The NanoCamp will include a variety of activities demonstrating concepts
in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Attendees will have the opportunity to
do hands-on lab activities in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, the
University of Michigan's research cleanroom laboratory, and learn about
the micro/nano- electronics fabrication techniques that are used to make
computers and other electronic devices.

For more information, please go to:

NanoCamp

8th Graders....Reminder

From Ron Miller, Principal of SCHS:

"8th graders - you and your parents will be making your freshman academic schedule, this Wednesday night at St. Clair High School. Your actual schedule will be turned in that evening. Please be sure you and your parent are at St. Clair High School, this Wednesday, at 7:00pm"

PD (Half-Day) Rescheduled

Our half day that got iced out last week has been rescheduled for next Wednesday, March 14th. Classes will be 4th, 5th and 6th hours and students will dismissed at 11:48. Please help spread the word.

Spring Slide.....

This time of year it's getting warmer, the sun is starting to come out more often and...it happens at every school....students start to let things slide. Getting to class, turning in homework, etc. Every morning I generate a list of all homework referrals (missing assignments). This morning the number was close to 700 late assignments. Now, before you fall out of your chair, we have over 600 students and many of those missing assignments are from a very small group of students that are just refusing to do anything, regardless of how we try to motivate them. Many teachers also will assign a referral when a student is absent as a reminder to the student that they need to get the make up work in. But even with that, 700 is a lot of missing assignments. Please check Parent Connect and have a talk with your student to make sure they are staying on top of their assignments. The light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel but we've still got a ways to go to get to summer break.

Tardy Conversation....

Just had a conversation with two 8th grade girls who were coming out of Mr. Bialk's office. They were trying to debate with me why they shouldn't be disciplined for multiple tardies. Both girls are great kids...rarely in any other kind of trouble. Their debate consisted of the usual....not enough time, had to go to their lockers, etc. After listening, I told them that their biggest downfall was that they are both very popular females that can't go from point A to point B without stopping to have a conversation with six classmates. Then I pointed out that our main job was to prepare them for high school. In high school, I explained, two tardies equals one unexcused absence. They get to a certain number of unexcused absences and they lose credit. Our discipline here is basically a slap on the wrist...whether it's lunch detention(s) or Saturday School, but in the big picture, our hope is that we are teaching them a lesson for the future so they aren't freshman year after year. They both looked at me and said "you lose credit for tardies in the high school?". The reason I bring this up is that I have had this conversation with all classes during lunches, over the PA, during assemblies, countless times. Glad to know that these kids listen to me as well as my own.

8th Grade Parents....

Another reminder. Just got this from SCHS.

We are holding our 8th grade student/parent meeting on Wednesday, March 14 at 7:00 here (SCHS) in the cafeteria. The plan is for students and parents to create a four year plan and a schedule for 9th grade before leaving that evening. The focus will be on looking at the four year plan and options for postponing classes in an effort to fit in electives, if desired.

8th Grade Explore Test

We will be giving all 8th graders the Explore test this Thursday. It is a standardized test that mirrors the ACT. The Explore test is an excellent predictor of where a student currently stands and what they can expect to get on the ACT. As we continue down this path of National norms, more and more colleges are looking at a student's ACT score as a determining factor in being admitted (like it or not, these are the rules that we are playing by). It is very important that our kids understand this and take advantage of preparing for these tests. It could make the difference between being admitted to the college of their choice.

Morning Routine

For those of you that might be looking for me, I'm changing up my morning routine a bit. I usually get to school around 6:15 and from time to time I've had parents stop in to see me around that time. I'm trying to get up and get my engine running early in the morning(aka workout...which is a whole separate blog entry), I won't be getting to school until around 7:00. If there is ever anything that you need to see me about and the morning is the only time that works, contact me the day before and I'll make arrangements to be here early.

Box Tops....Until Next Year

Since we've started collecting Box Tops again as a fundraiser (see the results below), I've been given a website that allows us to earn Box Top rewards online that parents/grandparents/community members can use. If you'd like to keep stock piling them until next fall, that's great....but if interested the website is:

Box Tops

First DC Fundraiser

I'll be passing out information today regarding our first Washington DC fundraiser to our 7th graders that are going on next year's trip. Here is what the cover letter says:

Little Caesars Fundraiser
2012 Washington DC Trip

We have used this fundraiser for the past four years with great success. For each kit that your child sells, they will receive a $4.50 credit for pizza kits or cookies/pies toward his/her individual account for the eighth grade Washington D.C. trip. That means the more he/she sells, the less it will cost you! The amount your child has earned will go directly into his/her account.

The order forms and money are due in the office on the morning of Thursday March 15th. The kits will be delivered on Thursday, March 22nd and must be picked up between 3:00pm – 6:00pm in the auxiliary gym.

If your seventh grader takes part in this fundraiser and for some reason does not go on next year’s trip, the money he/she earned will go into a scholarship fund.

On the order form, please fill out the top portion with your child’s name and phone number in case any questions may arise. Teacher, Organization, room number are not necessary to fill in. All checks are to be made out to St. Clair Middle School. Remember, these kits are to be picked up on March 22nd . Parents, please make arrangements to pick up your child’s order as these kits are too large for bus transportation.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Have fun selling and good luck!