MT. AIRY MIDDLE SCHOOL 410-751-3554 102 Watersville Road • Mt. Airy, Maryland 21771 301-829-1314 Fax 410-549-6475 Karl T. Streaker, Principal Andrew S. Bowers, Assistant Principal Dear Parents/Guardians, Upcoming Events We’ve enjoyed a wonderful start to the school year. I would like to thank our students, staff, and parents for your contributions to our school November community. The first few months have been very busy and rewarding. We held two school assemblies, an anti-bullying presentation from Camfel 1 Picture Retake Productions and our Vision kick-off assembly, began our school clubs, 1 PTO Meeting; 7:00pm Media Center completed our Vision t-shirt design contest, and our 6th graders attended 4 Early Dismissal (Mt. Airy Middle @ 12:15pm) outdoor school. The upcoming months are sure to be equally as busy with 7 Schools Closed for Students the drama club’s production of “Dorothy in Wonderland”, our winter concerts, and service opportunities for students. 8 Schools/Offices Closed; General Election Day 11 Report Cards Distributed In November, we will be holding our Can & Coat Drive to support local 16 Parent/Teacher Conferences; 3:30pm-7:15pm food pantries and the “Call for Coats” program. Students are encouraged to 16 Volunteer Training; 6:00pm bring in non-perishable food and coats during the drive. All students who 17 8th Grade Field Trip to Career & Technology Center make donations will be entered into a drawing. Students will be selected to 18 Dorothy in Wonderland; 7:00pm choose a staff member to perform for the entire student body during an 23 Early Dismissal (Mt. Airy Middle @ 12:15pm) assembly. We are fortunate to have a faculty who support our students in 24-25 School Closed, Thanksgiving Holiday their academic and social emotional development. I encourage parents to engage in communication with their children December regarding academic and social progress. Please utilize the online resources (Home Access Center) to help facilitate conversation about academics. As 1 Parent/Teacher Conferences; 3:30pm-7:15pm the quarter comes to an end, you may wish to meet with your child’s 1 Volunteer Training: 6:00pm Media Center teachers. Parent conferences will be held on November 16, December 1, 6 Parent/Teacher Conferences; 3:30pm-7:15pm and December 6. We will be using sign up genius for parents to sign up for 13 PTO Meeting; 7:00pm Media Center conferences. We will be sharing the website for conference sign-ups 15 6th Gr Band/Orchestra/Chorus Concert; 7:00pm Gym through email. We hope this new approach will be more efficient and 16 7th & 8th Gr Band/Orchestra Concert; 7:00pm Gym convenient. 20 7th & 8th Gr Chorus Concert; 7:00pm Gym We will be celebrating American Education Week from November 14-18. 21 8th Grade visit to South Carroll HS Inside the newsletter you will find a visitation schedule. We also plan to 23-31 School Closed, Winter Holiday have faculty members share their “Path to Education”. We have many staff with diverse backgrounds. Our hope is that this will encourage students to January consider multiple career paths and serve as a model of lifelong learning. 1-2 School Closed, Winter Holiday As the winter months approach, please keep in mind that weather 3 School Reopens cancellations and delays will be communicated through School Messenger and local media. It is important to have updated contact information on file 10 PTO Meeting; 7:00pm Media Center so we can reach you in the event of a weather related closing. Also, please 16 School Closed, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday be sure you have arrangements in place for your children in the event of 27 Schools closed for students late openings or early dismissals. The upcoming months are very busy at Mt. Airy Middle and filled with opportunities for parents to be present in the school. We look forward to seeing you during American Education Week, at parent conferences and at our winter concerts. Please remember, emails for absences can be addressed to [email protected] This email address is for Thank you for your continued support of Mt. Airy Middle. reporting absences only! You must call the school for any other attendance related matter, e.g. early dismissal, parent Sincerely, pickup. Karl T. Streaker So, parents have been asking, “Did we do it? Did we reach our goal?” We did great on the Student Investment Drive, but we did fall short of our goal. We earned 73% of what we needed to fully budget the items requested for the students and teachers. We appreciate all the families that donated and again congratulate those that won the raffle items! Now we are tasked with making up the additional 27% to cover the budgeted items for the MAMS PTO. We will continue to promote local businesses through Family Dinner Nights and recognition of sponsors on our Facebook page. Our next Family Dinner Night will be held on Tuesday, November 15th at The Greene Turtle in Mt. Airy. We will also offer items from local market places such as “Unwined” candle products starting in November. Come see samples at our November 1st meeting and visit: http://unwinedcandles.com/. Our Schwan’s promotion is a great opportunity for holiday meal items. From now until December 1st we will earn 20-40% on every purchase. To make a purchase, to support our campaign: Visit www.schwans-cares.com and Enter our school campaign ID#29628 in the white search box. Hershey Park tickets will be offered in the Spring. Please look for more details after the beginning of the year. You can get updates on PTO sponsored events, important dates and news you need to know from our Mt Airy Middle School PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/833152683456206/. Ask to join and we will post information regularly. We look forward to seeing more of you at our evening meetings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 1st at 7:00 pm in the Media Center. and look forward to you being a part of our events this year! Thank you for your support of the MAMS PTO! Joyce Anderson, President Mike Yokay, 1st Vice President Leslie Mertz, 2nd Vice President Amy Fipps, Treasurer Alison Brickey, Secretary Mt. Airy Middle invites you to join us for... AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK November 14-18, 2016 Monday, Nov 14: Kickoff Day 102 Watersville Nationwide Kickoff across the country. Road Mount Airy, MD Tuesday, Nov 15: 8th Grade Parents Day 21771 Parents of 8th graders are invited to visit for a firsthand look at what the 410-751-3554 school day is like for their children. *Please park in Wednesday, Nov 16: 7th Grade Parents Day the bus loop and Parents of 7th graders are invited for a firsthand look at what the school enter the school. day is like for their children. There will be a check in table for Thursday, Nov 17: 6th Grade Parents Day all visitors. Parents of 6th graders are invited for a firsthand look at what the school is like for their children. Friday, Nov 18: Grandparents Day Grandparents are invited to come visit our school. What is American Education Week? American Education Week— November 14-18, 2016— presents all Americans with a wonderful opportunity to We encourage students to participate in our celebrate public education canned food and coat drive that will go to help and honor individuals who our local are making a difference in ensuring that every child community! receives a quality education. The weeklong celebration features a special ob- servance each day of the week. Nurse’s Notes Virus or Bacteria? Colds and Flu - Viral, symptoms may last up to two weeks. Cough and Bronchitis - Almost always viral. (IF illness lasts more than two weeks, may be bacterial) Sore throats - Most often viral. (“Strep” throat is bacterial) Ear Infections - Often require antibiotics, but not all ear infections are bacterial. Sinus Infections - Sometimes bacterial. (Use antibiotics for severe infections, or infections that last more than two weeks) All over-the-counter medications need to be brought in to the school by an adult, in the original bottle with a physician’s signature. The only exceptions are Tylenol or its generic; and Advil, or its generic. (These do not need an MD signature.) A parent’s signature is also required. Please make sure the medication dosage is appropriate for your child’s age, otherwise you will need a physicians signature. The following items are not considered to be medications and therefore students may carry them without being in violation of our drug and alcohol procedure: Chapstick Non-medicated cough drops (Ludens’, Halls’, Throat Breezers are non-medicated. Chloraceptic, Cepacol, and Sucrets would be considered a medication) Saline eye drops Hand cream/lotions Sunscreen Please have your child bring in a parent note for saline solution, water, and cough drops. The nurse will need to sign & copy. Please call the school nurse if you have any concerns or questions. Attention Parents: New School Vaccine Requirements 2016-2017 Current 7th grade students These students will need the following: MCV4 (Meningococcal) Vaccine Tdap (Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Contact your child’s health care provider for immunizations, and proof of immunization to meet new entry requirements for students entering 7th grade. After students have received the required immunizations, please provide documentation to Nurse Trumpler. We will need documentation from your physician or an immunization form. This can be faxed, scanned, e-mailed or dropped off by a parent or student. Any student not in compliance by the start of school, August 2017 will be excluded from school.