DC Portfolio Projects

DC Portfolio Projects

Hello everyone,
  We wanted to send out some information about your child's DC Portfolio Projects which they will be working on at times both at school and also at home in the coming week:




DC Portfolios: Their are two main objectives for the DC portfolios. The first is to demonstrate through their learning log and photos with captions what they have learned about justice through the sites visited on the DC trip. The second major objective is to document and reflect on their own personal experience on the trip through poetry written in English classes this week. In TAG this past Wednesday students received a checklist of requirements for creating their DC Projects.


Due Date: The portfolio project is due to their homeroom teacher during homeroom on Monday May 6th.
 

Time: Students will be provided time during next week's TAG on Wednesday 5/1 and also during next week's house block on Friday 5/3 to work on their portfolio project with their homerooms. During this time they will have access to computers and some basic materials for assembling their portfolios. Students will have to spend some time on their own at home working on assembling their DC Projects.
Photos: Part of the portfolio project involves students selecting both learning and social photos from their homeroom's trip and creating captions for each of the photos. If possible students should select the photos they would like to include in their portfolios at home and either color print at home or get them developed into "traditional 3x5 or 4x6 photos" online or in-store at various locations. Students will not be able to color print on the school printer. Homeroom teachers would like students to bring in their photos and project materials both this coming Wednesday 5/1 and also on Friday for the house block on 5/3.

DC Night: We will have much more information early next week regarding DC Night which is Thursday May 9th beginning at 7pm. We have many great things planned for this night and look forward to seeing you there!

Q3 Report Card Slips and Black DC Clipboards

Q3 Report Card Slips and Black DC Clipboards

Hello everyone,
   Welcome back from your April vacation - just a quick note for you.  We will have more information regarding DC Projects and DC Night at the end of the week.

1. Q3 Report Cards - Please sign and return the verification slip stating you have seen your child's 3rd quarter report card. These can be sent along with your child to their homeroom teacher by Wednesday.

2. DC Clipboards - If students have not done so already they should bring their black DC clipboards back to their homeroom teacher by this Wednesday as well.

Thanks .

DC Trip Final Updates

DC Trip Final Updates

Hello everyone,

  Here are some final updates for our DC Trip next week.

1. Packing List and Trip Information Sheet: Please remember that if you no longer have hard copies of either of these forms they can be downloaded off of my website for viewing or printing. Please remember that the trip information sheet has hotel address and phone numbers, information on departure and arrival times on Amtrak.

• Click Here to Access the Electronic Versions of the Packing List and Trip Info Sheet

2. Drop off times Monday April 8th: Please remember for Wayland Resident Students that drop off at 5:45 AM at the University Ave (Route 128) Station at Exit 13 (Westwood) off of Route 128 South. Please carpool if possible. For Boston Resident students only who are boarding at South Station drop off time is at 5:30AM in front of the Au Bon Pain in the middle of the lobby area. We are taking train #95 Northeast Regional to D.C.

3. Return/Pickup Time Thursday April 11th: We are returning on train #176. The scheduled arrival time back is 7:50PM at the University Ave/Route 128 Station and 8:00 PM at South Station. Please make sure your child is picked up on time.

4. Luggage Tags: On Friday your child will be coming home with two luggage tags with their names on them. One luggage tag is for their suitcase and the other luggage tag is for their backpack. Please ensure that your child puts both luggage tags on their two bags so that in the event they are lost they can be returned to them in a timely fashion.

5. Black clipboards and DC trip Learning Logs: Also on Friday your child will be coming home with a black school plastic clipboard. Inside the clipboard is their DC Learning Log, Poetry Notebook and a few other items. Please ensure that your child packs this clipboard in their backpack and brings it with them on the trip. They can also keep their pencils inside the clipboard as well. Each clipboard has been labeled with a sticker with their name on it. They can return these to their homeroom teacher the Friday after the trip.

6. Healthy Snacks and Food allergies: When packing snacks for your child please keep in mind that we have several children with severe food allergies. Common spaces we will be sharing include the train, bus, and also the hotel rooms. As you pack snacks for your child please avoid snacks which contain nuts in them as this is our most common food allergy. Thank you for this in advance. Also please remember students should not be packing with them energy drinks or caffeinated beverages on the trip. 

7. Labeling items: Please make sure all of your child's items are labeled. This includes electronic devices, bags, cameras, etc. In the event something is lost it is much easier to locate a missing item if their is a name on that particular item.

8. Calling your child on the trip: If you would like to call your child while they are in D.C. we ask that you please do this in the morning only and not during the daytime when we are visiting the monuments, memorials, and hearing from speakers. It can be quite distracting to your child and the rest of the group if they receive a call from home while they are working and reflecting at the sites during the day. Homeroom teachers will allow students to call home or receive calls usually at breakfast time in the morning. Our cell phone policy is that students may have their cell phones on them during the day in the event of an emergency, but should not be used for taking/making calls, texts, or any other social media on it.

9. Washington D.C. Podcasts: Podcasts are available for your child to download onto their portable mp3 personal listening devices. The podcasts were created by Ms. Valdes and volunteer students and contain information about each of the monuments/memorials/sites we will be visiting while we are in D.C. These can be downloaded at home at the following site.

  Wayland Middle School Online Site

DC Update:

DC Update:

Below are 2 important pieces of information regarding our trip.  There will be a final blog update on Thursday or Friday with last minute trip instructions.  Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

 

DC Trip Updates - Medical Drop Off Day

Just a quick reminder that any medications which will be administered by Wayland Middle School staff to your child while on the D.C. trip must be dropped off on Friday April 5th, between 7:30 and 2:20. Your child's homeroom teacher will have coordinated with you this information but we wanted to send one more reminder about it on the cluster blog.

 Please remember that all medications should be in their original bottle, just the medication needed for the trip, your child's name on the bottle, and sealed in a ziploc bag. Your child's homeroom teacher will collect these medications at 2:20 and bring them on the DC trip.

 

Meeting with Rep. John Lewis

Dear 8th grade families,

We are excited to share with you an additional special event that will happen next week on our DC trip.

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with Rep. John Lewis.  As you may know, Rep. Lewis is a true American icon.  He was one of the key leaders of the Civil Rights Movement - a sit-in organizer, a Freedom Rider, and the leader of the Selma-to-Montgomery March in 1965.  Rep. Lewis is the sole surviving speaker from the March on Washington.  In 2011 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Rep. Lewis has been in Congress since 1986.  He remains one of our country's most articulate proponents of nonviolence and social justice.

Our grade will have the opportunity to meet with Rep. Lewis Wednesday morning, April 10th.  It is an experience all of us (teachers, staff and students) will surely treasure for years to come.

Rep. Lewis' website is here:  http://johnlewis.house.gov/.  You can read more about his life and work here:  http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/lew0bio-1. 

Just this week, Rep. Lewis was in the news twice.  He was interviewed on the radio show "On Being" [http://www.onbeing.org/program/john-lewis-on-the-art-and-discipline-of-nonviolence/5126] and his forgiveness of one of a Ku Klux Klan member was profiled in a New York Times obituary. [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/us/elwin-wilson-who-apologized-for-racist-acts-dies-at-76.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0]

Thanks for your continued support of your children, this trip, and our school.

Best wishes,

The Martin Luther King House Staff

8th grade MCAS, 9th Grade Recommendations and DC Updates...

8th grade MCAS, 9th Grade Recommendations and DC Updates...

Hello everyone,
  Just a quick reminder that 8th Grade ELA MCAS Testing will be this week on Wednesday and Thursday (3/27 and 3/28). In order to have kids ready for the test taking sessions please help assure that they get a good night's rest both nights and have a healthy breakfast before arriving at school. Homework in all subjects will be light if any at all so that kids may get a good night's sleep before the testing sessions.
   It is also important that students arrive to school on time both testing days as the MCAS test will begin promptly at 7:45 both Wednesday and Thursday. Students should arrive to their testing rooms with a drink and a snack, as well as a paper personal reading book for when they have completed their test. MCAS regulations do not allow students to use any e-readers in the testing session when there test is complete. No homework or other curriculum materials are allowed during the testing sessions.

Thanks in advance for helping prepare your child for the first round of grade 8 MCAS testing. Science and Math testing will follow in May.

DC Behavior Contract: On Monday your child received a D.C. Trip Behavior Contract from their homeroom teacher. The Behavior contract must be signed by students and parents and returned to their homeroom teacher by the end of the week. Thank you for seeing to this.

DC Medications: If your child will be taking any special medications or has any medical concerns your child's homeroom teacher will be in contact with you by Friday March 29th regarding the administration of medications while they are on the trip. Your child's homeroom teachers will be responsible for the administration of the medications or any special considerations due to food allergies or dietary concerns. Please note that we will be supplying the Tylenol and Motrin (non-chewables) and you do not have to provide this.

DC Medications Drop off day: Any medications you will be sending for your child to be administered on the trip must be dropped off to the main office on Friday April 5th by 2:20PM. All medications should be in their original container, with your child's name clearly printed on it, and sealed in a ziploc bag. Please only send the amount needed for the trip. Your child's homeroom teacher will also coordinate this with you if you are sending medications along for your child.

High School Recommendation Forms: These forms were sent home Friday afternoon 3/22. Please review them and help them sign up for electives. The back of the sheet has further information regarding the scheduling and course selection for 9th grade. The sheets should be signed and returned to your child's homeroom teacher by TUESDAY MARCH 26th.

SSG Matthew Pucino and the WMS 8th Grade House

SSG Matthew Pucino and the WMS 8th Grade House

Hello everyone,


We wanted to put up a post for you regarding our upcoming visit to Arlington National Cemetery and our most recent focus in TAG and house block with our homerooms:

Over the past four years the 8th grade house has become extremely close with the parents, sisters, nieces, nephews, and fellow soldiers of Staff Sergeant Matthew Pucino. Matthew was a Special Forces Green Beret soldier from Plymouth, MA who was killed in Afghanistan in November of 2009. In TAG and house block we shared with the 8th grade class the story of Matthew, as a soldier, a brother, a son, and an uncle. Matthew's two sisters, Melissa and Lisa have shared with us over the years many photos and stories of their brother which in turn we have shared with the 8th grade students leading up to the D.C. trip. The bond between Matthew's family and the school has grown over the past few years and we are honored to have this bond continue with this year's class and the Pucino Family. Through Matthew and has family we in turn try to teach the students the importance of paying respect, remembering, and honoring our nation's fallen soldiers.

Click here to watch the news clip from NECN regarding the memorial service given to Matthew in Plymouth in 2009


While at Arlington National Cemetery in D.C. we will be visiting Matthew's gravesite and giving the students an opportunity to remember one of many of our nation's fallen heroes.

This year the 8th grade class is especially honored as the entire Pucino family will be visiting the middle school in June. Students and staff will have the opportunity to meet with the Pucino's and pay their respects to Matthew's family as well. Matthew's family, in part inspired by the 8th grade house, recently created the Matthew Pucino Memorial Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to raise funds for the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund (this fund raises money to help support the families of fallen soldiers from MA) and the Green Beret Foundation (this foundation supports Green Beret soldiers who sustained injuries in combat and their rehabilitation back home).

At D.C. Night as in the past few years it has become a tradition that the 8th grade house honor's Matthew by holding a bake sale fundraiser to make a donation on behalf of the Wayland community to Matthew's foundation. Over the past 3 years we have raised more than $3000.00 for Matthew's foundation with our D.C. night fundraiser bake sale. We also will be selling t-shirts from Matthew's foundation at D.C. Night.

Through Matthew's family's willingness to share their fallen hero's story with our students we have been able to teach them the importance of honoring and remembering the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make as they serve our country. We have also been able to share with them the importance of paying respect to our nation's fallen soldiers as well. While in D.C. we will be honored to visit Matthew at Arlington National Cemetery along with all of our other fallen military heroes.

Q3 Progress Reports and DC Trip Forms Reminders

Q3 Progress Reports and DC Trip Forms Reminders

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update regarding progress reports and DC forms,


3rd Quarter Progress Reports: By now, we are sure that you have received and reviewed your child's progress report which was sent home on Friday.   If not, please ask/look for them in your child's binder and review their performance so far this quarter. Students who are missing work should consult with their teacher regarding missing work and come up with a plan for making up any work that can be completed. Please sign the front sheet stating you have seen the progress report and send it through your child to their homeroom teacher on Monday.

DC Forms: A reminder that DC forms should be returned to your child's homeroom teacher as soon as possible. Medical Consent forms for those students who have inhalers, epipens, or take prescription medication should be returned by Wednesday March 13th. Please read our previous, more detailed post regarding DC forms if you have any questions.

Thanks