This summer I have been humbled by the efforts of our We Care Miscoe Committee. This group, formerly known as the School Beautification Committee, has worked to create a sense of pride and ownership in our school. The photos above share some of the highlights of their work, which includes consistent paint colors in hallway; sprucing up bathrooms, the staffroom and cafe; and building organizational units for the locker rooms and lobby; and creating a more aesthetic landscape. We are so grateful to the efforts of all involved; they have been a small but mighty force! It's amazing what a few dedicated people can accomplish. We look forward to welcoming students, staff and families to Miscoe for the start of the 2019-2020 school year, knowing these efforts will be immediately impactful.

Teachers have started trickling in, preparing classroom spaces and reconnecting with colleagues. We look forward to welcoming students back on Wednesday, August 28.  ​New students are invited to tour the building Wednesday, August 14, from 10-11:00 with Assistant Principal Mr. Marshall, and again on Thursday, August 22 at 4:00. A reminder that students are off August 30 through September 2 for the labor day recess. 

Additionally:

• Support your child's summer reading efforts.
  
• Bring your incoming 5th grader to Miscoe for a scavenger hunt and popsicle on August 22!
• Attend the fall sports meeting August 26 at 6:00pm in our auditorium

It seems as though the school year always flies by as fast for educators as summer does for families. Here we are in June, a month that offers moments for reflection (between the multitude of end-of-the-year events!). Administrators review progress on the goals of the district and school strategic plans, teachers review progress on their student learning and professional practice goals, and students reflect on their growth in content, skills, and maturity. This reflection sets the stage for summer work (or leisure!) and the setting of new goals in the fall. When I was in early elementary school, I thought the new year started after Labor Day. We returned to school full of excitement and resolve for the year ahead.  I still continue to wish teachers a happy new year when we return at the end of August, excited for the learning and growth that is to come. The work is hard, and worth doing, so we strive to do our best all year long. Summer feels like a great reward for those efforts. It's also a time to refuel, reconnect, and relax! We encourage relaxing with a good book. Please see below for additional information on summer reading. Thank you for your attention to this, and thank you for another great year. 

Summer reading expectations for students: Please click HERE to access the link to student summer reading lists and expectations.

Guidance Department Update: In the 2019-20 school year, the Guidance Counselors will be piloting a looping model.  Each counselor will remain with two assigned grades until the grade transitions to high school.  We are excited to utilize this model as looping allows counselors a longer period of time to build close relationships with students and families, and to get to know and understand students needs on a deeper level.  

• Mrs. Allen will be working with grades 6th and 8th
• Mrs. Beauregard will be working grades 5th and 7th. 
• Mrs. Grant, Adjustment counselor will remain the same.

Building climate and culture at Miscoe: Jessica Minahan, M. Ed., and BCBA, asks, "Why do we teach language arts and math but punish behavior?” Reflection on this is one of the drivers behind goal number one of this year's school improvement plan: Promote student success and reduce behavior referrals through the development and implementation of tiered Social Emotional Learning (SEL) instruction, supports and interventions. As one of the action steps of this goal, a PBIS (Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports) committee was formed. The committee, comprised of Miscoe staff members, researched PBIS and worked hard to create a matrix of expectations that focuses on the following areas: Hallways, Classrooms, Cafeteria, Bus, Playground/Outside, Assemblies, Bathroom/Locker Room. The matrix was shared with staff and students for feedback. After revision, the decision was made to begin the roll out, starting with expectations for our hallways. Each grade attended an assembly where they responded to questions identifying what it should look like, sound like and feel like to walk in our halls. The effects were immediate, and our students are to be commended for their responsiveness. The work of this committee will allow us to continue to appropriately set expectations for our students throughout the school while also supporting them in ways that best meet their needs. We look forward to educating our families on the PBIS framework during the upcoming school year. Watch out for more information on how to learn more about these efforts.

Incoming fifth grade parent presentation: In case you missed it, the presentation slides have been posted to our website. Please click HERE to and then click the Incoming 5th Grade tab to access the link.

​In case you missed it: Our Student Safety Information Night for Parents received positive feedback from those who attended or viewed it live on Youtube. Please click below if you'd like to view the recording.

Our second community information night regarding school safety and dynamic response to an active intruder was well attended by both the people present in the auditorium and those viewing the live stream on Youtube. Thank you to all who participated in this way. Thanks also to all who collaborated to make the event possible. Even with many hands, it was not light work!

This event was an action step in one of the four goals of our school improvement plan regarding safety and school beautification. Our school advisory council developed the plan and in our monthly meetings has supported growth in each of its four strategic initiatives: 
1. Promote student success and reduce behavior referrals through the development and implementation of tiered Social Emotional Learning
(SEL) instruction, supports and interventions.
2. Create consistent, proactive communication practices to inform and engage students, parents, guardians and community
members.
3. Develop understanding and skills of Project-Based Learning (PBL) Design
4. Engage students, families and community members in school beautification and safety efforts.
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In our June meeting, the council will review progress on these initiatives and begin identifying actions steps for next year's plan. If you have any feedback that would be helpful, please email me at jmannion@mursd.org. If you would like to be a member of this council, please read the August update this summer to learn how. Thank you to parent and community and parents members Steve Aubut, Suzanne Blalock, and Rob Cotton, and to staff members Paul Schwab, Wendy Morrison, Paul Marshall, and our amazing co-chair, Rina Manser, for their work this year. 

May 5-11 is Teacher Appreciation Week: Please help us celebrate our awesome teachers and Miscoe staff! During the week of May 5-11, send a note, bring some food, or take to social media to let our staff know you care. PTO will sponsor an appreciation breakfast and luncheon on Thursday, May 9. #ThankATeacher

From our School Resource Officer:
I am pleased to announce that we will begin using the Raptor Visitor Management System at the Miscoe Hill Middle School. Part of keeping track of visitors entering the Miscoe Hill Middle School is knowing who is in our building at all times, and the Raptor system will allow us to do that.  The Raptor system will allow us to better screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools and provide them with printed identification.

Upon entering the Miscoe Hill Middle School, visitors will need to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system.  If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a U.S. government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system.  The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sexual offenders. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.  Once the entry is approved, the Raptor system will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose for his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our school simply to drop off an item in the office or pick up paperwork.  

The Raptor visitor management system will allow us to enhance our visitor entrance procedure.  Thank you in advance for your understanding and your support.
Officer Sinko

From our guidance department: In May grade level teams work on student placement for the coming school year. There are many variables taken into consideration. If you have information of which we need to be aware regarding your child's placement, please contact your child's guidance counselor prior to May 15. Please do not request specific teachers or teams, as we cannot honor these requests. Instead, provide specific information about your child that will support decision making.

Comments Sought on Proposed Changes to Accountability System: The MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or DESE, is soliciting public comment on proposed changes to the state's district and school accountability system. A summary of the accountability system and the proposed changes is posted online. People can submit comments about the proposed changes in one of the following three ways:

1. Through DESE’s online survey,
2. By sending an email to esea@doe.mass.edu with the subject line “Public Comment on Proposed Changes to the Accountability System”, or
3. By mailing comment to: Erica Gonzales, Accountability Coordinator, Office of District and School Accountability Reporting, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education​, 75 Pleasant St., Malden, MA 02148

Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 31. The Department will share the proposed changes and related public comment with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in June 2019. If the Board approves the changes, DESE will implement them starting with the accountability results that will be released in fall 2019.

Reminder: May 10 is a half day for students so teachers can engage in professional development. Dismissal is 11:32.

​

May 1: PTO 7:00 in the Miscoe library
May 7: Vape Presentation - Vape pens and e-cigarettes are not harmless, yet our 2018 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey preliminary data showed an increase in current use by middle and high school students, and a combined 56% had tried them at least once (compared to 43% in 2016).
Learn more about what these products are, why they are harmful, and how to protect our kids from this latest trend.
​May 9:
- Teacher appreciation luncheon sponsored by the PTO
- International night, at Nipmuc 5:30-7:30
May 13: School Committee meeting, 7:00 pm at the Nipmuc PDC
May 14,15: Math MCAS. Please make sure your child is rested and fueled to do his or her best. No homework will be assigned prior to MCAS test days.
May 14: Attend the school beautification committee meeting at 7:00 in the Miscoe library and learn how you can join a group ready to do a little painting/prep work at Miscoe. You will also learn about upcoming projects you may want to support.
May 15: Pops concert at Nipmuc 6:00 pm
May 20: School Advisory Council Meeting 3:30-5:00
May 20, 21: Science MCAS for grades 5 and 8. 
May 30: 6th grade Greek day. (morning activity in the upper gym)
May 31: Come see the grade 8 Renaissance Fair, 8:30-10:30

It's a sure sign of spring when students rehang the hitting net for our softball and baseball teams! MCAS, although less nostalgia-inducing, is also a sign that spring has sprung, Our students will take the assessment for language arts on the 23rd and 24th of April. On April 9 we will have an abbreviated trial run so our IT team and students can practice with the technology in preparation for the real thing. Between the two we will enjoy April vacation week. Our school beautification committee and supporting community members have several projects planned for that week. If you find yourself with some free time and would like to get involved in ANY way, we ask that you fill out this brief survey. Thank you to all who participated in our last school beautification meeting. We'd love to see even more folks get involved! If you are doing any spring cleaning at home and find yourself looking to re-home items, consider supporting our Rachel's Challenge students in their Stuff the Truck event. More info to come!

Did you know...Our eighth grade students and staff have monthly grade level meetings to recognize students for all kinds of cool reasons and to have some fun as a grade level community? The last meeting saw a spirited dance competition between homerooms. In this pic Mr. Charest is bustin' a move with his homeroom!

​Term three report cards: Report cards will be published via iParent on April 11. Often conversations about grades focus more on where students underperformed rather than where they showed growth, proficiency or mastery. One suggestion is to help students develop a growth mindset by asking them to share what they did to earn a satisfactory grade and how they could apply those skills to promote growth in other areas. Carol Dweck has pioneered this work in her book Mindset; The new Psychology of Success. Check out this video from Standford Alumni featuring Dweck providing an overview of how to foster a growth mindset:  Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck

If Only/Hidden in Plain Sight: We would like to thank the community members who attended our March 19th event to learn about how parents and guardians can help prevent substance abuse. I would also like to thank the staff members from our guidance, nursing, and Wellness department, our school resource officer, and our esteemed panel members for coordinating and providing an informative evening. 

Save the dates:
For those who were unable to attend our initial offering,  we will again offer a parent information night regarding school safety for Clough and Miscoe parents and guardians on May 2. Officer Sinko will again present on ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training, providing parents information on how schools, businesses and other organizations prepare and plan to more proactively handle the threat of an aggressive intruder or active shooter event. Whether it is an attack by an individual person or by an international group of professionals intent on conveying a political message through violence, ALICE Training option based tactics have become the accepted response, versus the traditional “lockdown only” approach. Staff across the district have received initial training, and our hope is to begin to train students at Miscoe Hill in how to stay safe whether at school or in other settings. Come hear the presentation and have your questions answered as we partner in keeping children and each other safe.

May 7 at 6:30 in the Miscoe Auditorium there will be a 45 minute presentation for parents and guardians by Tina Grosowski from Get Outraged on adolescent vaping and nicotine addiction. Vaping is becoming more and more common among our middle school students. Come learn what you can do to support your child in avoiding this behavior at this early age.

We won! Thanks to Dave Quinn, MURSD Director of Technology Integration, and Lisa Young, Miscoe parent, for their efforts in securing a grant for the Miscoe Hill Middle School Clean Energy, Garden and Compost Program. Miscoe has been chosen as one of the 10 winners of a 2018 Possibility Grant from Boston Scientific. The grant will fund materials for a weather station, which will aid us in improving the watering system for our school garden while teaching students valuable STEM skills in electronics, physical computing, and programming for the Internet of Things.

​For your planning purposes,
​this year's MCAS dates are the the following:
April 23, 24 ELA
May 15, 16 Math
May 20, 21 Science Grades 5 and 8 only

It's February, and that makes us think about doing things with heart. One of the things many of our students and staff pour their hearts into is the arts. We were recently treated to the One Act Plays, directed by some of our talented eighth grade Miscoe Hill Youth Theater members. Our fifth and sixth graders treated us to two amazing winter concerts. And, this month some of our talented Miscoe students will have their work on exhibit in Boston. Talk about doing things with heART! Well done, all!

ALICE Parent Information Night: On March 7th, Principals Jennifer Mannion, Janice Gallagher, and School Resource Officer Stephen Sinko will be joining together for a parent information night at the Miscoe Hill Middle School Auditorium from 7:00 – 8:00 pm.  All parents from the Henry P. Clough Elementary School and the Miscoe Hill Middle School are welcome to attend.

Historically, Federal, State, and private agencies have recommended a lockdown-only approach that includes students hiding under desks or against the wall, with the shades drawn, lights out, and a locked door.  Today, these agencies have spent considerable resources researching active shooting and violent intruder events.  Their findings in these unfortunate events have resulted in a movement away from traditional lockdown techniques to more empowering programs such as ALICE protocols.  The administration, teachers, and staffs of the Henry P. Clough Elementary School, Memorial Elementary School, and the Miscoe Hill Middle School participated in an initial training on January 18, 2019, and it was a great success. The next step in our process is this information night with parents and guardians to support understanding of how our safety practices are evolving. 

​
​For your planning purposes,
​this year's MCAS dates are the the following:
April 23, 24 ELA
May 15, 16 Math
May 20, 21 Science Grades 5 and 8 only

We won! Thanks to Dave Quinn, MURSD Director of Technology Integration, and Lisa Young, Miscoe parent, for their efforts in securing a grant for the Miscoe Hill Middle School Clean Energy, Garden and Compost Program. Miscoe has been chosen as one of the 10 winners of a 2018 Possibility Grant from Boston Scientific. The grant will fund materials for a weather station, which will aid us in improving the watering system for our school garden while teaching students valuable STEM skills in electronics, physical computing, and programming for the Internet of Things.

Thanks to the adult and student members of our School Beautification Committee, we are preparing to see some changes at Miscoe! Mr. McInnis has a group of students ready to tackle the eighth grade boys room and give it a much needed make over. The eighth grade girls room will be next! If you can wield a paintbrush and have some extra time, please consider joining this effort. You can email Mr. McInnis at wmcinnis@mursd.org or come to our next committee meeting. Students and adults from BVT have been in to begin planning the renovation to the upstairs boys room. And, we have some beautiful new furniture that we've used to update meeting spaces for students and adults, thanks to a generous donation from the Brochu family. Join us on 1/9 if you'd like to get involved, or watch for notification of projects in which you might be interested in supporting.

New face in the office: Before the break, we thanked Cindy McDevitt, administrative assistant to the principal, for her many years of service to our school and tearfully wished her a happy retirement. This week, we congratulate Liz Black as she embarks on her new role as administrative assistant to the principal. And, we joyfully welcome Raphaela Morais-Peroba to join the awesome Anglea Tinio in the role of office administrative assistant. Please introduce yourself to Mrs. Morais-Peroba when you have a chance.

​One of the wonderful ways to celebrate our students is to be part of the audience for a student performance. This month we have several concerts and hope to see you there! Please read the weekly emails sent Mondays and Thursdays for details. Our Student Council is also hosting a Holiday Carnival for students in grades 5 and 6 on Dec. 7. Lots of fun to be had this holiday season!

School Garden: In addition to donating pumpkins, our students held a pumpkin raffle to raise funds for this year's garden. If you have a green thumb or some innovative ideas about school gardens, please let us know how you'd like to be involved!

FREE - ADHD Workshop: Open to Everyone!
​Speaker : Brendan Mahan
Date: November 28th
Time: 6:30 – 8:30
Location: Miscoe Hill Auditorium
Sponsored by Mendon-Upton SEPAC.

Metrowest Health Survey: In the October 11 email update you will receive from Miscoe, there will be a link to an informational letter regarding the administration of the Metrowest Health Survey to our students in grades six, seven and eight on October 23. Please be sure to read the letter carefully as it will contain information regarding how to opt out should you choose to do so. However, we hope your child will participate, as a key aspect of promoting adolescent health at the community level is gathering the necessary data to determine priorities, raise awareness, and support local programs and policies. 

Student art work: Should you find yourself in our lobby, download the Quiver app and use it to interact with our student artwork. Watch as reality is augmented for each of the Dots on the display boards there. Suddenly, the work is 3-D! Thanks to Mrs. Gentili's art students for sharing their work!

iPad update: Thank you for your patience as we transitioned to new iPads, and more significantly, a new iPad management system (JAMF). After some unexpected enrollment errors, JAMF suspended the process and worked to target the cause and fix it. Our IT team has now moved forward to finalize the resets. Our gratitude to our tech department for their support, and to our students and teachers for their flexibility and patience.

Nature's Classroom: Many of our fifth graders returned from Nature's Classroom with funny stories, interesting facts, and new skills to share. We are fortunate that our students have the opportunity for this type of learning experience. I'd like to publicly thank the staff members who supported this event. It takes staff hours of planning, time away from their own family and friends, and extreme flexibility to make this event possible. But, they all agree - it's worth it!

​Newly released resource from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: The Family Guides to the Standards are guides to the Massachusetts learning standards designed to help families understand what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of each grade. Designed to help families and teachers work together to support learning, the guides are available in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.

We need you! The Scholastic book fair is returning to Miscoe on October 22 - 26th and Mrs. Arnold, our school librarian, needs your help.  She is looking for volunteers to assist with running the registers, putting up displays, and helping with many other tasks to make this event run smooth and fun for our students.  If you are interested or have questions, please email her at karnold@mursd.org.  We're looking for people during the hours of 8:30 am to 2:30 pm and Wednesday night from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.

The 2018-19 school year is off to a great start. We have thrived despite the heat and the adjustment to our first full week of school! Classroom routines and expectations have been established, and students have learned their schedules. The kinks were worked out of dismissal procedures, and the area for play has been expanded at recess. We assembled as a school community to share our Miscoe pride, and we got down to some serious learning. We're looking forward to our fifth graders' trip to Nature's Classroom, Open House, and cooler, drier days. Thank you for all you have done to send us students who are ready to learn and grow. Miscoe in September is a great place to be! Please see below for this month's updates.

Handbook: At the September 10 School Committee meeting, our 2018-19 Family School Handbook revisions were approved. The most significant changes are to our dress code. These revisions were made based on feedback from our seventh, eighth and ninth graders last spring. We're so grateful for their efforts and willingness to engage in what was a lengthy process. In addition, we've revised the language around consequence for controlled substances. These revisions were made to reflect current research around the developmental levels of our middle school students. Please access the handbook from the Parent page of our school website. After reviewing the contents with your child, please sign the Google form that will be shared online in a forthcoming email to indicate you have done so.

SRO: School Resource Officers have been around since the 1950s. In the past we have had a part time SRO who we shared with Clough Elementary School. We now share Officer Sinko, a full time SRO, with Clough. He's quickly become a wonderful addition to our staff. The information below is from the National Association of School Resource Officers. 

• What is a school resource officer? A school resource officer, by federal definition, is a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority who is deployed by an employing police department or agency in a community-oriented policing assignment to work in collaboration with one or more schools. NASRO recommends that agencies select officers carefully for SRO assignments (see question below) and that officers received at least 40 hours of specialized trainingin school policing before being assigned.
• Are school resource officers usually armed? Yes. A school resource officer is a commissioned, sworn law enforcement officer, not a “security guard.” NASRO recommends that all SROs be issued and carry all the same equipment they’d have on any other law enforcement assignment. NASRO is aware, however, that a few, local jurisdictions unfortunately prohibit their SROs carrying their firearms when on school campuses.
• What are appropriate roles of school resource officers? The goals of well-founded SRO programs include providing safe learning environments in our nation’s schools, providing valuable resources to school staff members, fostering positive relationships with youth, developing strategies to resolve problems affecting youth and protecting all students, so that they can reach their fullest potentials. NASRO considers it a best practice to use a “triad concept” to define the three main roles of school resource officers: educator (i.e. guest lecturer), informal counselor/mentor, and law enforcement officer.

Officer Sinko will speak briefly at Open House as well as at grade level meetings with students. In addition, he interacts informally with students throughout the day. Please introduce yourself to him if you have a chance!
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​Help us raise “MONEY FOR MISCOE”: September is our PTO Annual Giving Campaign. Money for Miscoe is an annual fundraiser where 100% of your donation goes to support the PTO. Your participation will allow us to provide the best resources and programs for our students and teachers.  Your contributions help the PTO sponsor the Ice Cream Social for incoming 5th graders, educational programs such as Rachael’s Challenge and scholarships for Nature’s Classroom. The PTO would not be able to to do this without your help.  The participation form, which includes more information about this fundraiser, can be found as an attachment in our Monday/Thursday updates.

Additional Ways to get involved at Miscoe this month:

• Through PTO: Attend the next PTO meeting on Oct. 10 at 7:00 in the library or check out the PTO's Facebook page to see how you can get involved either short term or throughout the year.
• Attend an Open House on Sept. 19 or 20.
• Reach out to Officer Sinko, ssinko@mursd.org,  to express interest in participating in our school safety committee.
• Contact your child's teacher(s) to share a skill, talent or area of expertise you would be willing to share with students either in person or electronically.
• Support the Cookie Dough fundraiser for interscholastic sports, Yankee Candle fundraiser to support our PTO, and/or the PIE fundraiser for our music boosters.