THE COLOPHON

Volume 43, No. 2 October, 2018

A Publication of Memorial Park Middle School...Where Education is a Fine Art

Parents and Guardians, Thank you very much for a wonderful start to the school year! It is hard to believe that we have already made the turn into the month of October. Within the next two weeks, we will be wrapping up the first quarter of this school year. Many of our extra-curricular activities are in full swing at this point. Please review below the various ways you can stay informed of what is happening here at Me- morial Park Middle School. As always, you can contact our main office with any question you have as well!

Power School LMS Pinnacle Gradebook *Our newest form of communication. Look for your personal *Please contact our front office staff for your log-in infor- log-in information coming home this month. mation if needed.  Webpage for classes  Online gradebook system  Assignment Calendar  Track academic progress  Links for classroom activities  View your student’s current grades  NOT CURRENTLY USED FOR GRADEBOOK  Grades are updated weekly by teachers. Phone Blast Memorial Park Website  Weekly phone call to MPMS parents/guardians  Updated daily with after school activates  Reminders of upcoming activities  Contact Information  General reminders and school policies  School delays and closings  Access school Trumba Calendar

Thank you as always for all that you do as a parent in the support of your child’s education. Through this partnership, we can help all students reach their full potential. We are looking forward to the up- coming fall months and what second quarter has to bring!

Sincerely,

Brad Crozier Principal, MPMS

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October Happenings: Around the halls… 3rd: Cross Country @ Kekionga Students in Media Arts are working on software and 5th: research skills. They are working on their first project of PTA Fall Dance 7 p.m. the year: an informative brief using power point. They 10th: have researched a topic of their choice and are learning how to professionally design slides. They are also learn- Cross Country @ Towels ing to write professionally in writing scripts to go along 11th: with their presentations. End of 1st Quarter Sixth grade students in Technology Education are 12th: working collaboratively in groups to create board games. Fall Break-NO SCHOOL They implementing using their basic group skills and ap- plying computer skills that they have learned in class to 16th: cooperate and create these games. This project helps to City Cross Country Meet @ Wayne 5 p.m. inform students about the informed design process: a 24th: method of making informed choices. This process is used by engineers and architects! Chess Club Begins In Science, we are starting out the year with cells. 26th: “Cells! Cells! They’re made of organelles!” Ms. Squibb Fall Musical Production– Into the Woods 6 tells parents this is what they should be hearing their p.m. students say over and over again! Teachers and staff will be hearing it repeatedly down the halls. Ms. Squibb says 27th: she will be going bonkers by the time that they are Fall Musical Production– Into the Woods 2p.m. done! projects students have been making the last few weeks will be going home soon so they can show them 31st: off to the world! The next journey the students will take Halloween is down the unknown passage ways of circulatory and *Reminder that students may NOT wear cos- digestive systems! tumes to school on Halloween. A PUBLICATION OF MEMORIAL PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL THE COLOPHON PAGE 3

Meet Mrs. Debra D. Walton Debra D. Walton is now a part of the Memorial Park Middle School staff serving as our new 7th grade Social Studies teacher. Following in her mother’s footsteps, it was always her dream to become a teacher. Harris- burg, Pennsylvania is Mrs. Walton’s place of birth. At a young age, Mrs. Walton moved to Fort Wayne, and spent most of her life here. Debra attended Paul Harding High School in the East Allen County School District, and attended IPFW pursu- ing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Social Studies. Prior to accepting a position at Memorial Park Middle School, Debra was teaching at Adams Elementary School where she taught the second grade. She chose MPMS because she has a deep love and appreciation for the arts, stem- ming from ballet lessons from the age of five all the way through her senior year of high school! This is her 11th year in the Fort Wayne Community School District! She has two daughters and five grandchildren from the ages 5-17, most of them living in the Fort Wayne ar- ea. Debra spends some of her time following her grandson’s music and sporting events. One grandson is a part of the New Haven Middle School Band and another is in the New Haven High School Jazz Band—the love for the arts runs in her family! Mrs. Walton loves to quilt and read; her favorite authors include: James Patterson and John Grisham!

Introduction of a new Pirate Mr. and Mrs. Frisk welcomed their little baby girl into the world on Tuesday September 18th! Emmalyn Ann Frisk was born at 10:20 p.m. after fifteen hours of labor! She weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21 inches long! Mr. and Mrs. Frisk are overjoyed and in love with their baby girl! Mrs. Frisk is look- ing forward to some time off with the baby, and will return to school in mid-November!

Memorial Park Middle School 8th Grade Trip to Washington DC  45 8th graders will be going to Washington DC this year.  We will leave after school on Friday, March 29th.  We will be home late at night on Monday, April 1st.  The cost of the trip will be $629.00* per student. *This includes the bus, hotel, all tours, and all food! For more information, please contact Mr. Whitlock at [email protected] A PUBLICATION OF MEMORIAL PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL THE COLOPHON PAGE 4

Just Keep Running The Cross country team is well on their way through this season! There are only three more meets for the year as listed in the October Happenings. The team is thankful for all the support they have received from Memorial Park staff and parents. The City Cross Country Meet is approach- ing! It will be held at Wayne High School on Wednesday, October 16th at 5:00 p.m. The Pirates would love to have some extra support as they compete for the City Champi- onship! Go Pirates!

Fall Musical Opens At The End Of The Month “Into the Woods Jr.,” Memorial Park’s fall musical, will be performed October 26th at 6:00 p.m. and 27th at 2:00 p.m. Fifty students auditioned to be in the cast of twenty. There were many talented students! It made it difficult to make the final cuts! Into the Woods is considered a “fractured fairy-tale” and centers on a baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a witch’s curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse and wind up changed forever. The cast consists of: Noah Graves, Simara Jarrell-Mann, Jack Voirol, Savannah Woehnker, Ta’Korei Moore, Tierra Gibson, Karis Moss, Vincent Hood, Haley Fulton, Delaney McNally, Nicholas Barrone, Elisha Brown, Isabella Yates, Renee Moore, Kiley Baca, Bethany Block, Rayna Hettinger, Giovonni Espinosa, Ashton Hunter, Felipe Tascon, and Noah Tennant. Along with two student assistants: Alyssa Ropa and Roshawnda Johnson. Final Dress Rehearsal will be performed for the Weisser Park fifth grade students on Thursday, October 25th during school hours. Tickets for both shows will be available for purchase at the door and will be $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for all students. Mark your calendars to come out and see an fantastic show by our tal- ented students! A PUBLICATION OF MEMORIAL PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL THE COLOPHON PAGE 5

Chess Club Memorial Park’s chess club will be starting Wednesday, October 24th. We will meet every Wednesday through February. In February, there will be a chess tournament against the other schools’ chess clubs. You do not have to know how to play chess in order to join the club. Mr. Whitlock will be happy to teach you.

Support MPMS PTSA Kroger Community Rewards. Link your Kroger Rewards Card to our PTSA! Every time you shop, you support the school! You can update your account details by going to Kroger.com, and entering Memorial Park Middle School code DM970. You can also shop at smile.amazon.com. Select Memorial Park Middle School as the organization you would like to support and shop as you normally would! Amazon will donate to Memorial Park on eligible items!

Students Write Letters & Art for NE Indiana Honor Flight Several 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students created cards, pictures, wrote po- ems, and letters to the veterans who will be part of the NE Indiana Hon- or Flights this fall. The veterans will take a trip to D.C. to visit memorials in honor of those who served America. When they return from their trip, they will be greeted at the Ft. Wayne airport by volunteers who will have the students’ work to distribute to the veterans. The organization’s goal is to have at least 10 pieces of mail to give to each veteran. To get in- volved, visit https://www.hfnei.org/

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Principal for a Day On October 18th, Memorial Park Middle School will welcome Randy Strebig as Principal for a Day! Mr. Stre- big is the President of Strebig Construction Inc. His start in the construction industry began in 1980 at the age of 15—his business has now turned into a a very respected commercial and industrial construction com- pany! Randy is a very active community member, and has been in Memorial Park classrooms while volun- terring for Junior Achievement. When asked why Mr. Strebig wanted to take on the task of Principal for a Day, he responded like so: “At the end of the day I am committed to spending time with our young people; they are our future, and I see it as an investment in our future. My message is always very simple, very real, and very down to earth: I try to encourage young people and motivate them by telling my very simple story of dedication and hard work to realize your dreams and ambitions. I especially like to connect with young people who were like me as a kid: not a great student, but a great mind, a great dreamer, and a great ‘make it happen attitude’. “ He concluded by sharing the hope to inspire one student and help them find their greatness would make his day worthwhile! Memorial Park is excited to welcome him into our halls!

Congrats to Mr. College GO! Week Whitlock, win- College Go! Week is an initiative of Learn More Indiana and is ner of the Door designed to promote a pro-college atmosphere. Teachers decorat- Decoration Con- ed their doors for the week to get Memorial Park students excited test! Repre- about college and to work towards college preparation. Students senting Purdue participated in spirit days, had a logo scavenger hunt each morning, Fort Wayne! Go Dons! and answered college trivia throughout the week.

Creation of a New Communication System

, Memorial Park's 7th grade national science contest team has been meeting this past summer with persons to get ideas for its project. Twenty-two 6th graders were nominated for the team by their teachers in May, and all were interviewed by retired Memorial Park teacher Larry Lesh. Fourteen students turned in an appli- cation. Melanie Reyes, Vincent Hood, Nigel McFarren and Haley Fulton were selected to be our 23rd national science contest team. The team has chosen as its project for the 2019 eCYBERMISSION national contest to develop a communica- tion unit that would work even when all other communication systems were knocked out. The unit will have the advantage of being inexpensive enough to allow many to be able to afford it. The team hopes to involve all the neighborhood associations in Allen county and find two persons in each association who will agree to have a unit that will work even in a catastrophe. Mr. Lesh will be the team's advisor, and the team will be mentored by Bernie Beier, the Director of Home- land Security for our county. Fort Wayne Community Schools

Memorial Park Middle School

The art department has had a great start to the year! This year there are two 8th grade ad- vanced art classes, two 7th grade advanced art classes and one 6th grade all year class! Art Club has started with Ms. Keeslar and her awesome student teacher! They are working on Latin inspired paper mache project. Festival of trees is gearing up for the season with a tree theme of "Think Big, Draw Big." This year's tree will include giant art supplies made by the stu- dents in the group! Ms. Keeslar's students are working hard on Illuminated Manuscripts, and her advanced stu- dents are doing a bookmaking project! Miss Clark's Traditional Art students have been draw- ing and shading 3D shapes, making tessellations and learning about mathematic artist M.C. Escher. Advanced 8th graders are working on drawing anatomically correct hands in a surreal- ist setting as the learn about Salvador Dali! Functional skills students are currently working on a unit about author and illustrator, Eric Carle. They have made, "Grouchy Lady Bugs," paper mache tortoises and more! 10-15 6th grade students are going to be chosen to have their art displayed in the Fort Wayne Community Center this fall! Stay tuned for more information on that!

The Colophon, our school newsletter, is published nine times during the school year. Colophon is de- rived from the Greek word, Kolophon, “Summit. Brad Crozier, Principal Katie Dean, Editor/Design Editor

FORT WAYNE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS Dr. Wendy Robinson, Superintendent

Memorial Park Middle School

Brad Crozier, Principal—2200 Maumee Ave., Ft. Wayne, IN 46803

Phone: 260.467.5300 • Fax: 260.467.5298—www.fortwayneschools.org

School Improvement Plan Focus Area: Writing

School Improvement Plan Action Steps: All teachers will embed weekly writing in all classrooms using journaling and/or quick

Mission Vision

Fort Wayne Community Schools educates all Fort Wayne Community Schools will be

students to high standards enabling them to the school system of choice and a source of

become productive, responsible citizens. community pride.

Non-discrimination statement: In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discrim- inating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.