September 2017 | Welcome to the 2017-18 School Year!

STUDENT SUCCESS:

Welcome to the 2017-18 school year! We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children can achieve their highest potential. As partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:
1) Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experience
2) Completes all homework assignments given by teachers
3) Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills
4) Shares school experiences with you so that you are aware of his/her school life
5) Informs you if he/she needs additional support in any area or subject
6) Knows that you expect him/her to succeed in school and go on to college or career readiness programs
7) Gets involved in extra-curricular activities such as Math Team, intramural sports, National Junior Honor Society, Girls Empowerment club, Project YES!, Amazon Robotics, Drama club, and a plethora of other clubs

PARENT INVOLVEMENT:

Please consider joining our PTO program as our students can greatly benefit from your involvement and contributions to the school’s program and its operations. We seek volunteers to help us with the following activities:
1) School-wide events
2) Student recognition events
3) Outreach and recruitment of parent and community volunteers
If you have any questions about the rules and expectations, please feel free to contact me or to discuss them with your child’s teacher. It is very important that you and your child are fully informed regarding standards related to appropriate behavior for a safe and productive school year. Please feel free to review the Student/Parent Handbook which can be accessed on the lynnschools.org website. A few upcoming dates to acknowledge:

SEPTEMBER DATES:

Emergency Forms
Due to the main office by Friday September 15, 2017

Picture Day
Tuesday September 26, 2017. Flyers go home Monday September 11th.

Open House
Wednesday September 27th from 5:30 to 8 PM. Enter through the A2 doorways.

First PTO Meeting
Monday September 18, 2017 in the library. 

October 2017

November 2017

November Looking Back!

November has been a flurry of excitement and activity. Our students have been getting involved in healthy behaviors by attending extracurricular clubs, Extended Learning Time in Math afterschool and on Saturdays, wrapping up their fall sports’ season, raising funds for My Brother’s Table, Unicef, Save the Children and Red Cross, competing in a school wide kickball tournament after school, and trying out for basketball. Please check out the calendar for dates and times of sports and clubs.

The week before Thanksgiving, our School Resource Officer, Ryan McDermott, our Social Worker, Stephanie Rossi and our administrative team ran grade level assemblies pertaining to Social Media Awareness, Internet Safety, and Bullying. We will post this presentation on our blog.

On Wednesday November 29th we kicked off the annual Grade 7-8 BAND and STRINGS students attending All-City Rehearsals at Breed Middle School. The bus leave promptly at 1:30pm and students are picked up at Breed after practice.

For your planning purposes, please take note of future All-City Rehearsals:
Dec. 13, Jan. 17 and 31, Feb. 14 and 28, Mar. 14 and 28, Apr. 11 and 25, May 9 and 23.

December 2017

December Looking Forward!

We kick off December on Friday December 1st with a trip for Clusters 5, 6, 2, 10, 11 and half of Cluster 1 to Lynn English High School to see their drama club perform Tales for a Winter’s Night.

The Book Fair officially opens on Monday December 4th. The librarian, Ms. DeStefano, has worked out a deal with Scholastic for bargain books for just $1.00 and under. Ask your child for the pamphlet.

The following Friday on December 8th the well-known artist and speed painter, Amazing Hero Art-Rob Surette will visit us for an all school assembly to deliver a message about what it takes to “Be Somebody” , while live painting a portrait of Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall.

On December 14th during the first two hours of school our drama students have been invited to a live performance and question and answer series by the actor, Judith Kalaora, who will perform Deborah Sampson Gannett.

Thank you to Dr. Frederick Cole and the Lynn Business Association for funding this very special opportunity to see how education and career pathways connect.

Grade 7 teachers will be sponsoring a Winter Solstice Dance on Wednesday December 13th from 5-7 pm in the cafeteria.

All are welcome to pop into the PTO meeting on Tuesday December 12th from 5-6 pm in the library. Enter through the main doorways.
Remember Interim Progress Reports will go home on Friday December 15th.
Winter Spirit Week

From December 18-22, Thurgood Marshall Middle School will be hosting a celebratory week of school spirit and gift giving. The school store will transform into the Holiday Mall where students can purchase gifts for friends and family. The store will be open Monday through Thursday in the Teacher’s Lounge off of the cafeteria after school. Prices range from $.25 to $3.00.

The TMMS band and instrument students will perform a holiday celebration of popular holiday music on Tuesday December 21st from 6-7 pm in the cafeteria

Extended Learning Time for mathematics continues to run. Look for invitations to Extended Learning Time in English Language Arts and Science.

Winter Break Dates
December 25, 2015 – January 1, 2018.
January 2, 2018 – First day back to school is a Tuesday at 7:45 am.

Enjoy your holidays – Be safe!

January 2018

We had an exciting week before Winter Break with school community celebrations like our extremely impressive Holiday Concert, Dress for Success, and of course the traditional Holiday Season Store. This fall we experienced an outpouring of generosity and community service fundraising by our TMMS students for people in need. Our foreign language and grade 6 students raised funds to support hurricane victims through Red Cross. Our National Junior Honor Society students fundraised for My Brother’s Table here in Lynn and our Project YES! students paired up LVTI’s Skills USA team to raise donations for homeless veterans. I’m looking forward to see what wonderful community service our students accomplish this spring!

January brings many fun filled activities and events. The acclaimed children’s author, Nila Webster, generously donated her book of poetry with contributions from several local authors and artists entitled Because We Believed It. Last year, Ms. Webster teamed up with the Lynn Public Schools to publish 1375 copies and donated them specifically to the Thurgood Marshall Middle School Community to honor our culture and climate derived from our guiding DREAM principles: Dignity, Respect, Effort, Attitude and Motivation. This year she had copies made for our entire sixth grade class. We look forward to visiting with her this winter to discus the important themes in the book about discovering what is important to us in our lives, treasuring what we love and pursuing our dreams.

A Sneak Peek Ahead!

This school year the Lynn Public Schools has teamed up with the non-profit organization, Sontag Prize, to offer a unique school vacation experience for select students to participate in hands on learning. They will offer two vacation camps focused on the two content areas of English Language Arts in February and Math in April. Golden Tickets will go home as invitations to this wonderful opportunity for Lynn students to be exposed to different approaches to curriculum. The selected students will attend an assembly in the first week of January as an introduction to the program. Look for a golden ticket!

The Amazon Robotics club at TMMS will return in January 2018. Look for permission slips from Ms. Meghan Singleton, our science teacher who oversees the program.

February 2018

We’d like to thank all the parents, family members, students and teachers for making our second Open House a big success! Thank you to the PTO who invited Tom Gould from Treadwell’s Ice Cream to come in and sell sundaes. Also a big thank you to the National Junior Honor Society members who teamed up with some teachers, paraprofessionals, guidance and homeless liaison to put out new winter coats and other winter apparel for free.

We spent the first month of the year participating in a competitive basketball season. The boys’ and girls’ have exemplified good sportsmanship, dignity and respect both on the home court and when traveling to other schools. We continually refer to our DREAM principles: Dignity, Respect, Effort, Attitude and Motivation to guide us as we pursue our athletic and academic dreams.

February is a short month but we have lots going on! Our English learners Saturday school program, Extended Learning Time in Math and ELA and Extended Learning Time in Science is in full swing. Please look for invitation letters that are sent home.

This year we have the special privilege of teaming up with the Sontag Prize, a non-profit organization that has invited a select group of students to participate in their vacation camp. We also have another February Acceleration vacation camp running during the holiday break.
GE and the Celtics organization are teaming up with their partner non-profit organizations: EverFi, CFES Brilliant Career Pathways to deliver a two week STEM curriculum to cluster 4 and cluster 6 students.

Check out our many images on our blog, www.tmmslynn.com, where you can see the adventures we’ve had at Thurgood Marshall this year. The National Junior Honor Society consistently involves themselves in community service endeavors, Ms. Gerardo introduces her students to yoga, and we’re planning for the big February fundraiser of carnations for Valentine’s Day and a school dance.

Check out our Black History Month tribute in the cases in the front foyer.

Here is our February schedule:

Friday February 2nd
Wear your Pat’s jersey or colors to support our Super Bowl team
Clothing Orders for TMMS Swag due
Report Cards go home

Saturday February 3rd
Extended Learning Time 8-12
English learners Saturday School Academy from 9-11

Wednesday February 7th through Thursday February 15th
National Junior Honor Society students sell carnations as fundraiser for My Brother’s Table and TMMS students in need

Wednesday February 7th
Ice cream social
Faculty meeting 2:45 to 3:45

Saturday February 11th
Extended Learning Time 8-12
English learners School Academy from 9-11

Wednesday February 14th Valentine’s Day
Carnations are handed out in the cafeteria during the lunches

Tuesday February 13th
PTO meeting in the library 3-4 pm

Thursday February 15th
School Dance in the cafeteria 5 - 7 pm

Monday February 19th through Friday February 23rd  
NO SCHOOL WINTER BREAK
Sontag Prize Camp Monday through Friday
February Acceleration Camp Tuesday through Friday

Monday February 27th 
Pennies for Patients Coin Drive begins for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Foundation –Last year we raised $1,674 and the year before we raised $2,246!

Wednesday February 28th  
Ice cream social
Math Family Fun Night 6-8 pm in the cafeteria enter through the A2 doorway

March 2018

March roared in like a lion. We experienced a true Nor’easter storm for which the Red Cross used our facility as a Shelter in Place for the March 2nd weekend. We are so grateful and blessed to have a beautiful facility that can accommodate the needs of our entire community. Even though we are facing the possibility of another Nor'ester storm, our school continues to actively plan and prepare for the MCAS 2.0 computer-based state assessment for all grades 6-8. Over the February vacation week, we had two terrific acceleration camps – Sontag Prize and MCAS Acceleration - running to give students that little bit of extra work to prepare them for the rigor of the test. We will be offering these same two camps over the April vacation for preparation of the math testing. We also offer Extended Learning Time for ELA, math and 8th Grade science after school and on Saturdays. Please ask your child to take advantage of the extra time on learning we are offering to prepare them for these rigorous tests.

Due to the number of devices to test each student, the MCAS ELA test sessions will occur both before and after the April vacation. Each cluster will receive an automated phone call sharing the exact test dates and times for your students. The MCAS 2.0 math testing logistics will take place during the first three weeks of May. The computer-based MCAS Science exam - for grade 8 students only - will occur May 8 through 10 for support students and May 14-17 for clusters 5, 6, 7, and 9. Please look for informational packets that will go home with the students in April to explain exactly what the state test will entail. We will post all information as well. See our MCAS 2.0 schedule below. As always, your feedback is critical to the smooth operations of our school.

March Calendar - Updated April 2, 2018

Tuesday March 6th, 2018 
- Intramural Basketball permission forms due–all can play! 

Wednesday March 7th, 2018 
- Faculty Meeting to train for the MCAS 2.0 Computer-based testing sessions. 

Friday March 9, 2018 
- Quarter 3 Progress Reports go home with students. 
- All Call goes home to explain and describe MCAS 2.0 testing dates 

Tuesday March 13, 2018  Look for Reschedule due to snow
-PTO meeting at 5pm in the library  

Tuesday March 20, 2018  
-Polish Dental Visit  

Wednesday March 21, 2018 | 2-4:30 PM 
CANCELLED DUE TO PARKING BAN FOR STORM
-All City Band and String Rehearsal moved up one week from regular schedule due to Open House 

- Wednesday March 21, 2018 | 4-6 PM 
RESCHEDULED DUE TO STORM
-MCAS Evening for Parents in the library at 6:30 pm. Administrators and teachers explain the MCAS 2.0 testing and preparations for our students. MCAS Alternative assessments will be open for viewing and discussion. 

- Tuesday March 27, 2018 | 4-6 PM 
RESCHEDULED DUE TO STORM
-MCAS Evening for Parents in the library at 6:30 pm. Administrators and teachers explain the MCAS 2.0 testing and preparations for our students. MCAS Alternative assessments will be open for viewing and discussion. 

Tuesday March 27, 2018 – Rescheduled PTO meeting
-PTO meeting at 5pm in the library  

Wednesday March 28, 2018 | 3-4 PM 
- School Council from 3-4 in the Principal’s conference room 

Wednesday March 28, 2018 | 6-8 PM 
-Our Third and Final Open House 

• -Grade 6 & 7 families report to the gym 
• -Grade 8 and Cluster 7 families report to the cafeteria 
• -Support families will meet in the library 

-PTO will be selling pizza and drinks
-Community organizations and vendors will be available to discuss programming in and around Lynn

Wednesday Ice Cream Social dates: March 14th and 28th   
- Students can purchase sundaes for $3.50 during lunches 

Thank you for supporting our school by coming out for sports events, parent conferences, and Open House. We wish you and your family an energized entry into early spring.

Ms. Molly Cohen
Principal, Thurgood Marshall Middle School

April 2018

April kicks off the start of the state mandated testing schedule. April 2018 will mark the first computer- based standardized testing for all of our students. Packets of information involving MCAS 2.0 expectations and testing schedule will go home at the beginning of the month. We appreciate your assistance and cooperation in preparing our students for these 21st century skills. It is critical that students get a good night’s sleep, eat a substantial breakfast and arrive to school on time.

The weeks prior to testing, we have run computer-based testing practice sessions to allow students the opportunity to experience computerized test. We have been running Extended Learning Time sessions in math, ELA and science Monday through Saturday. On April 25th we celebrate our second annual anniversary in the beautiful new site. We are very fortunate to have this incredible school as our center for learning, growing and improving.

March 28th marked our last Open House for the school year. Thank you to all who attended! The final formal invitation into our school was our opportunity to show off our curriculum materials, student projects and content materials for all grades. As usual, we will post all information electronically. Please continue to provide your feedback to ensure the smooth operations of our school.

April Calendar
Monday April 2, 2018 and Monday April 9, 2018
-SBIRT for Grade 7 students

Tuesday to Friday April 3rd to 6th 2018
-Computer-Based MCAS 2.0 ELA for Clusters 5, 6, 9 & 10 students

Wednesday April 4th 2018 | 2:45 PM
- Faculty Meeting

Friday, April 6, 2017 | 3 PM Changed to the 13th due to snow Days
- Third Quarter closes. Grades and Absent notes are due.

Monday April 9, 2018
-SBIRT for Grade 7 students

Tuesday to Friday April 10th to 13th 2018
-Computer-Based MCAS 2.0 ELA for Clusters 2, 3, 4 & 8 students, Cluster 11 all grades

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 | 5 PM
- PTO Meeting in the library

Friday April 13, 2018 | 3 PM
- Third Quarter closes. Grades and Absent notes are due.

Monday April 16, 2018 to Friday April 20, 2018 | No School
- April Vacation-

- SONTAG Camp Monday through Friday during vacation week
- April Vacation Academy Tuesday through Friday during vacation week

Monday April 23, 2018 | Return to school
-School resumes on time at 7:45

Tuesday through Friday April 24th to 27th 2018
-Computer -Based MCAS 2.0 ELA testing sessions for Clusters 1 & 7; Make Up

Wednesdays April 11th & 25th Ice Cream Socials
- Students can purchase sundaes for $3.50 during lunches

Wednesdays April 11th & 25th
- Grade 7 & 8 Band and String students attend All City Band practices at TMMS

April Sports Announcements

INTRAMURAL BASKETBALL
Intramural basketball will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A schedule is posted on our Thurgood Mashall Middle School web site as well as in the café and outside the gym.

WRESTLING PROGRAM
Practices for wrestling are on Mondays and Wednesdays (Friday make up day if needed) in the gym from 2:45pm to 5:00pm

TRACK AND FIELD
Tryouts for Track and Field will begin on Tuesday, April 10th. Permission slips will be handed out prior to tryouts to be signed by a parent/guardian and returned to the coaches by April 10th. A schedule of the meets will be posted on our Thurgood Marshall Middle School website.

Thank you for supporting our school by coming out for sports events, parent conferences, and Open House. Remember to pop into a PTO meeting whenever you can. No commitment required; we’d just love to hear from you. We wish you and your family an energizing spring.
Ms. Molly Cohen
Principal, Thurgood Marshall Middle School

May 2018

June 2018