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Ponaganset Middle School 7 Rustic Hill Road North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857 .JOSEPH PORRAZZO, M.Ed OFFICE: (401) 710-7500 ​ Principal FAX: (401) 647-1792 March 25, 2019 Dear Parents, Winter has come to an end but it is certainly not the end of the cold weather. We are all anxious for signs of spring – warmer temperatures, green grass, baseball, softball, tennis, etc. The third quarter marking period is moving along pretty quickly, a sure sign that spring is here. Spring is traditionally the season of renewal and cleaning out. Take the opportunity to spend some time with your children cleaning out their book bags, checking to see that they have and are still using their digital calendars, and to organize or replace any school supplies needed to get through the last months of school. It may not feel like spring yet, but Students will start to have “spring fever” and begin to think it is the end of the school year. Yet, we are far from the end of the ​ school year. On the contrary, this time of year is very busy as we begin to finalize plans for future activities such as the Eighth Grade Washington D.C. Trip and the Seventh Grade Boston, MA Trip. It is important to stress to our students that they must continue to study and complete their school work. It is also a good time for you to contact your child’s teachers and/or the ​ guidance counselor, Mrs. Vigneau or Mrs. Flowers, if you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress – it will be too late to help your child in May and June. We want all of our ​ students to successfully complete the 2019 - 2020 school year. Please be aware of the following information to help you plan for March and the future: - Please be sure to review your child’s grades with her/him. Don’t wait until the end of the ​ Third Quarter or for the Fourth Quarter, it may be too late to help. If you need assistance, please call Mrs. Vigneau, Guidance Counselor, at 710-7500, ext. 2284. (Third Quarter rd Marking period ends Monday, April 3 .​ ) ​ - Wednesday March 27, 8th grade field trip to PHS. 8th grade students have been invited ​ to attend the Ponaganset High School Unified Basketball game against RI School for the Deaf at PHS at 1:00pm. Buses will transport the students from PMS to PHS at 12:15pm and they will be dismissed from the fieldhouse at the high school at 2:15pm. All 8th Grade students ​ will be dismissed from the Ponaganset High School. Bus students will report the their ​ assigned bus while students who get picked up will meet their ride in the athletic parking lot at 2:15. If you need to pick up your student between 12:30pm and 2:15pm, please send notice in with your child in the morning and bring photo ID to the PHS Field House glass entrance for dismissal. - Reminder: Early Release Day on Monday, April 8, 2019 The schedule is a Day 3 with ​ periods B D F G E and then again on Friday, May 3, The schedule is a Day 4 with periods ​ ​ D F C A E. Students will be dismissed both days at 12:00 P.M. nd - Grade 7 Boston, MA Trip final payment was due Tuesday, March 22 .​ Any students ​ ​ ​ missing any of the required forms and/or payments will be removed from the trip. If you have ​ ​ ​ any concerns, please let us know by March 29th. ​ th - Grade 8 Washington, D.C. Trip final payment is due Friday, April 15 .​ Any students ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ missing any of the required forms and/or payments will be removed from the trip. ​ - The Algebra Readiness Assessment will be administered to students in grade seven between ​ th th ​ March 25 ​ and March 29 .​ This Readiness Assessment is comprised of two assessments ​ ​ which will determine each student’s ability/skills as needed to be placed in an Algebra class in grade eight. There is no preparation for this assessment. ​ ​ - State Testing: The RICAS (RI Comprehensive Assessment System) will be ​ th th administered at PMS between April 8 ​ and May 16 .​ While this is a 2nd year ​ ​ ​ assessment, several important attributes remain the same. Most importantly, our state standards have not changed. The RICAS assessments are aligned to the Common ​ ​ Core State Standards (CCSS). Instruction in our classrooms continues to be aligned to these standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics for all students. The RICAS schedule for each grade level is: o Grade 6: April 8 - 11 o Grade 7: April 23 - 26 o Grade 8: April 30 -May 16 o All students are encouraged to do their best as each student’s results provide information to our teachers about the progress each student is making in attaining the standards as instructed. The results will help to inform us about the successes and needs of each student as well as inform us about our instruction. The results will not be used to promote students to the next year ​ or hold back any student in the current year. ​ Again, we are starting the fourth quarter marking period very soon but we are far from the end of the school year. Our students need to know that it is very important for them to continue to work hard so that they may successfully complete the school year. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s progress, please contact the school; the Guidance Office telephone number is 710-7500, extension 2284. Sincerely, Joseph Porrazzo Principal The Foster-Glocester Regional School District does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, religion national origin, color or handicap in accordance with applicable laws and regulations P.M.S. Spotlight PRIDE in our ABCs - Academics, Behavior, Community ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Positive, Respect, Integrity, Dedication, Excellence ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Yellow Team Science: Wrapping up the large unit covering fossils, relative age of rock, and ​ ​ radioactive decay. We will then look at Earth’s geologic time scale Social Studies: We just finished writing an essay about ancient India using text ​ ​ evidence from three different sources. We are now moving into our ancient China unit. Math: The Yellow Team is working on piloting a new resource for mathematics. We are ​ ​ studying ratio relationships and rates. Ask your child about the new resource and the new topics. ELA: Yellow Team students are starting a poetry unit. ​ ​ Purple Team Social Studies: We’ve been learning about ancient India and how that ancient civilization ​ ​ became so successful. In preparation for the chapter test, the students were put in groups and had to create questions from an assigned text section. During the next class the groups used either Quizizz.com or Kahoot.com or Quizlet.com to create a quiz and we ended with four lively competitions. We are now finishing up the students’ most favorite activity - a five paragraph essay! They’ve been working diligently making sure to include explanations and details as well as to cite evidence from three different sources. Next up is ancient China! ELA: The students have been diligently working on essay writing illustrating how a character’s ​ ​ traits change from the beginning to the end of the story and supporting his or her opinion by using information from three different texts. The students practiced effective editing and revising skills through the use of ‘stations’. Thank you to the station leaders who helped make this activity successful! Clip of stations Finally, look for word related riddles in the ​ ​ ​ announcements on Canvas. Mason M. has taken over this task for me. Thank you, Mason! Science: GEOLOGIC TIME! Extra-Curricular: Team Wide Podcasts: Natural Disasters Event: ​ ● Mrs. Flowers gave a presentation and survey in Mrs. Lohr’s classes regarding future possible careers. Mrs. Flowers introduced them to several pathways that are offered right now at the high school as well as answered questions regarding potential career choices. ● As a team, we have been discussing successful test taking strategies in anticipation of the upcoming state testing. Green Team Teaching and Learning: Science: We have begun our Virus/Disease unit. During the unit students will be learning the ​ ​ differences between a virus and bacteria, how a disease is spread, and how a vaccine works. Students will identify areas of the school and swab to create bacteria cultures. We also will be working with ELA on a disease research project. Social Studies: ​ Students have been analyzing the causes and effects of the French and Indian War. They examined how the rivalry between Great Britain and France led to a war for control of North America and impacted the British, French, colonists and Native Americans. As a result, students are beginning to draw conclusions about how this war leads to conflict between the colonists and Great Britain. New self care break stations have started in social studies. Students have been taking advantage of the opportunity to practice self care, as needed, during class. Students can set a timer for 1, 3 or 5 minutes if they need a break. Stations include a 500 piece puzzle of the Statue of Liberty or coloring mandalas. Math: We have been working on the ratios and proportions unit. Students have found unit ​ ​ rates to find the “best buy” from several options. They are writing and solving proportions. They are able to interpret proportional relationships from tables, graphs and equations. ELA: Students finished reading and writing about Farah Ahmedi who faced and overcome ​ ​ tremendous odds, before and after coming to America. They learned of the generosity of others who helped her along the way.

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