Important Reminders

WHO DO I CALL WHEN…
- I’m worried about my student’s grades
Guidance Counselor and/or Teachers

- My child is having personal relationship problems with peers
Guidance or Social Worker

- I’m worried my child is bullying or being bullied by someone
Social Worker is bullying coordinator

- I have a serious safety concern
Officer Torres, Vice Principals Doucette and Pavia or Principal Cohen

- I want to meet with the teachers in my child’s cluster
The Guidance Counselor can arrange to set that up or you can email a teacher in the cluster directly. All email addresses are on the website under staff

- I have a concern about how my child is being treated by school personnel Principal Cohen

- I have a health concern for my child
School Nurses and Lynn Community Health Clinic

HOW DO I GET INFORMATION
1. The website www.lynnschools.org/thurgoodmarshall. (check the electronic calendar, (HAC) Home Access Center)
2. All-calls go home – be sure your contact information is updated in the system.
3. The main office clerks - (781) 477-7360
4. Notices and flyers that go home with your child

ANTI-HAZING POLICY - This is a reminder that it is a state requirement to notify families about anti-hazing policies and laws.  If you have not yet had a chance to read our handbook, a link to the handbook is listed below, in English & Spanish.  The anti-hazing policy and laws are to be found in the 2017-2018 handbook.   Hazing applies not only to the school day, but to all extracurricular activities and sports.  We thank you for reviewing the district policy and state law about hazing.
October is National Bullying Month. This year Thurgood Marshall will host the annual Anti-Violence assembly to hear powerful speakers share personal accounts of the influence violence has had on their lives.

STUDENT SUCCESS - Welcome to the 2018-2019 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

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.

SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST - Dear Parents/Guardians and Students, We hope that you are enjoying your summer vacation!
Please see the list below of recommended school supplies for all students at TMMS.

High Priority Supply List - Box of No. 2 Pencils, Blue or Black Pens, Spiral Notebooks (1 Per Class), Folders (1 Per Class), Three-ring binder with loose-leaf paper, Erasers, Composition Notebook (for Science)

Additional Recommendations for Supply List - Pencil Pouch, Highlighters, Markers, Crayons, Colored-Pencils, Pencil Sharpener, Index Cards, Box of Tissues

September Celebrations
We kicked off the school year with the return of the GE Foundation and Celtics Organization Brilliant Career Pathways for our 8th grade students.

We are so honored and privileged to have this opportunity to expose our students to the incredible world of STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) programming. Extracurricular clubs kicked off with lots of enthusiasm and excitement!

November is a month packed with sports, extracurricular club events, holidays, and school events. On November 5th we conduct our annual Fall Walk to raise money for our Student Activities Fund, which defrays costs of future field trips, dances, and 8th grade activity week. We also use these funds to purchase snacks and materials for after school and Saturday programming. 

Remember we have a handful of days off from school in November. There is no school on Tuesday November 6th, Monday November 11th and there will be an Early Release time for Thanksgiving at 11:45 on Wednesday November 21st. Lunches will not be served on that day. No School on Thursday November 22nd and Friday November 23rd.

We hope you have healthy and safe holiday weekends.  If ever you have any questions about our busy schedule, please contact your child’s guidance counselor in the main office.

March roared in like a lion (as usual). 

We experienced our first significant snowstorm the first weekend in March. We are so grateful to have such a beautiful facility to which to return so our school can continue 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 a terrific ELA Acceleration camp that gave our students that little bit of extra work to prepare them for the rigor of the test. We will be offering the same acceleration camp 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 mid-May 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 including our MCAS 2.0 schedule for all clusters. As always, your feedback is critical to the smooth operations of our school. 

Finally, our School Council is planning a community events Health Fair one Saturday either in April or May of 2019. The general idea is to connect our family community with businesses and organization in our local communities. We will also be offering free resources and workshops. More information on that to come! Feel free to stop by either the School Council planning meeting or PTO on March 12th to share your ideas and input.

June is a busy month with fieldtrips and cluster events. Please stay tuned. Remember fieldtrips are a privilege. Students with behavioral, academic, punctuality or attendance challenges will not be permitted to attend field trips.

This spring has been a whirlwind of excitement for our school community. We have now inhabited our new school for three years and we had the priviledge of hosting Senator Markey’s Town Meeting in our beautiful setting.

Our school allows students to participate in vocational classes which set us apart from other middle schools. Our new gym can accommodate the entire student population for whole school assemblies. We had a very successful all school Memorial Day Assembly in our gymnasium on Thursday May 23rd.

At this time, I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy summer break. We look forward to beginning another successful school year next fall.

Ms. Molly Cohen
Principal, Thurgood Marshall Middle School

Download Our Newsletter and Calendar For June