` In this Issue: Presidents Letter 1 Library 2 Next PTO Meeting 3 CharityWater 3 Robotics 5 Public Library 6 Parenting Workshop 7 PTO Members 8-10 PTO Membership Form 11 Art Club 4 Basketball 5 School Calendar 12 Arts Alive 3 KIDSCOPE The Newsletter of the BMS Community NOVEMBER 2013 VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 Contact the Editor: Submit Kidscope articles and ads via email with any special requests by the 25th of every month. Please call or email with any questions or suggestions to: Karen Flint 246-9999 [email protected]Many thanks to the Guidance counselors: Natalie Stein, 6th Grade Counselor; Maggie Bell, Psychologist; Courtney Canario, Social Worker; Marta Iachetta, Student Assistance Counselor; and Janet Johnson, Nurse, for their presentation at our last PTO meeting. They shared some good information about the stresses that middle school students experience and the services that they can provide. Please join us for our next PTO meeting, which will be held at 7pm on Monday, November 4th in the BMS library. We will be joined by our Superintendent, Michael Messore, who will present an update on technology in our schools. We have distributed $7,150 in cluster funds, which have been put to good use by the teachers. In the Scholastic Book Fair, we raised $1200 for the BMS Library. Thank you to everyone who has supported our fundraising. It directly benefits our school and our students! It’s never too late to become a member of our PTO. We currently have 218 out of 740 families who have signed up for PTO membership. We would love to see that number increase! Please remember to send in your membership form. It is attached to this Kidscope. We also have several open PTO positions: * Variety Show committee (chaired by David Lauria and Lori Mason): This show will be moved to early 2014 instead of the May date in the past. We’ll be looking for talent as well as volunteers. * Fundraising chair * Library volunteers Please contact Carolyn Greeley ([email protected]) or Kirsten Davis ([email protected]) if you are interested in any of the above positions or have any questions about the positions. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the PTO, please do not hesitate to contact either of us. Thank you for your support! Debby Perugini – Co-President Lisa Mc Gartoll - Co-President [email protected][email protected]Happy November! THINGS TO REMEMBER NO SCHOOL—November 11th, 12th, 28th, 29th SPORTS NIGHT—Friday Nov 15th 7:00-9:00 Admission $5 SCHOOL COMMITTEE—Nov 14th, Nov 21st YEARBOOKS—Deposit of $25 due Nov 25th, balance of $20 due in the spring SECOND MARKING PERIOD—November 1st - January 17th
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In this Issue: Presidents Letter 1
Library 2
Next PTO Meeting 3
CharityWater 3
Robotics 5
Public Library 6
Parenting
Workshop 7
PTO Members 8-10
PTO Membership
Form 11
Art Club 4
Basketball 5
School Calendar 12
Arts Alive 3
KIDSCOPE The Newsletter of the BMS Community
N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 3
Contact the Editor: Submit Kidscope articles and ads via email with any special requests by the 25th of every month.
Please call or email with any questions or suggestions to:
Many thanks to the Guidance counselors: Natalie Stein, 6th Grade Counselor; Maggie Bell, Psychologist; Courtney Canario, Social Worker; Marta Iachetta, Student Assistance Counselor; and Janet Johnson, Nurse, for their presentation at our last PTO meeting. They shared some good information about the stresses that middle school students experience and the services that they can provide.
Please join us for our next PTO meeting, which will be held at 7pm on Monday, November 4th in the BMS library. We will be joined by our Superintendent, Michael Messore, who will present an update on technology in our schools.
We have distributed $7,150 in cluster funds, which have been put to good use by the teachers. In the Scholastic Book Fair, we raised $1200 for the BMS Library. Thank you to everyone who has supported our fundraising. It directly benefits our school and our students!
It’s never too late to become a member of our PTO. We currently have 218 out of 740 families who have signed up for PTO membership. We would love to see that number increase! Please remember to send in your membership form. It is attached to this Kidscope.
We also have several open PTO positions: * Variety Show committee (chaired by David Lauria and Lori Mason): This show will be moved to early 2014 instead of the May date in the past. We’ll be looking for talent as well as volunteers. * Fundraising chair * Library volunteers
Please contact Carolyn Greeley ([email protected]) or Kirsten Davis ([email protected]) if you are interested in any of the above positions or have any questions about the positions.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the PTO, please do not hesitate to contact either of us.
How many of you, like me, remember torturously constructing bibliographies after a long hard slog through an important paper? Today that arduous task is relatively simple thanks to several computer programs. EasyBib is the program used at BMS. Some of you may have heard about it from your student/s. To get the most out of the program, a student needs to set up an account. Many seventh and eighth graders already have accounts so the focus is on getting sixth grader set-up. This is a tool for both creating bibliographies and taking notes. There is no question that the process for creating citations is much easier than sitting down with the style manual and trying to figure out exactly what to do, but it does have certain complications. Students have to remember their BPS email address and the password they used when they set up their account. They also have to make sure that they use the correct tab, which matches the medium of each source, when they create their citations. If you have a student who is struggling, please remind him/her to visit the library for help. The shift to the Common Core State Standards puts in-creased emphasis on the importance of nonfiction text. Students are expected to be able to locate information that supports ideas and opinions. They need to be able construct meaning from what they read and put it together to demonstrate understanding. When students use EasyBib’s note taking feature, there is a specified field for showing a quote and then, right under it, an area to para-phrase. Teachers can review the notes and
determine both what information students are selecting to answer their information needs and how they are interrupting that text. In addition, the information’s source is included with each card. There are numerous options for organizing the information as well as an option for creating outlines. Feel free to ask your students about EasyBib. If they haven’t used it yet, they will. With that said, EasyBib is not the only way to create a bibliography or, especially, to take notes. It is just one tool. One size does not fit all. It is important for students to know what their choices are and then decide what works best for them. The goal is to nurture curiosity and independence. Students need to be able to read to learn not just learn to read. Please support this year’s Box Tops program. It is a simple way to help our school. Each Box Top Coupon is worth ten cents. Last year
we raised $1067.00. Over the years the money we earned has purchased flags for the library, a scanner, two
bookcases, and more. All you have to do is check the items you get at the grocery store for the Box Top coupon. If you find one simply cut it out and send it to school with your student/s. Make sure to identify the student’s cluster and homeroom. - Mrs. Nancy Maddocks BMS Library Media Specialist [email protected]
From the Library Media Center
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 3
Arts Alive!
The Arts Alive! / BMS PTO production of "High School Musical, Jr" is off to a great start! The sign ups are now complete and the cast is FULL (there is now a waiting
list). Auditions for placement in parts will take place on Monday 11/4 and Wed 11/6 and rehearsals begin on 11/18. There are other ways to get involved with the play for those interested! Band kids are encouraged to sign up for the "High School Musical Marching Band" (info coming soon) and anyone interested in working on Sets & Props
(painting and making props for the show) or Backstage Crew should emails us at: [email protected] (you will be contacted at a later date)
"We're All In This Together" !!!
Bryan Butera, a 7th grader in the Blue Cluster, is looking to raise funds and awareness of CharityWater.org.
CharityWater is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations..
Please go to Bryan’s website for more information or to donate.
http://my.charitywater.org/bryan-butera
NEXT PTO MEETING Monday: November 4th
Barrington Middle School Library 7:00 PM
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 4
Boys and Girls Basketball
Practices/tryouts begin on
Thursday, November 7
in the gym after school
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 5
1st Annual BMS Faculty Basketball Game!
The game will take place at Barrington High School on November 7th from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm and the two faculty teams will be led by Coach Kearns and Coach Keller. Come support your teachers as they battle it out to help raise money for a local charity. Admission is $5 and any student who would like to participate in the half-time events should see Mr. Kearns in Room 222 or Mr. Keller in Room 230. See you there!
Robotics Teams important dates:
Saturday Nov. 9 FLL Scrimmage at BMS from 8-12 noon.
Saturday Nov. 23 FLL Qualifying Round at St. Mary's Bay View all day Time leaving BMS, to be determined.
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 6
Graphic Novel Making Club - Ongoing. Meets every Wednesday from 3-5 in the teen room. Create your own graphic novel. Have your finished masterpiece bound on our awesome binding machine!
Monday, November 18th 6-8:30 pm - Film -The Hunger Games. Relive the ULTIMATE survival of the fittest movie of 2012. Door Prize: Two movie passes to the showcase cinema! Catching Fire premieres in theater's Nov. 22nd! There can only be one victor! Will it be you?
Thursday, November 21st 6:00-7:30 pm- Celebrate 50 Years of Doctor Who. (No) "Silence in this Library!" Discuss your favorite episodes (and Doctor). Make a duct tape bow tie and a tardis magnet (held in the teen room).
Saturday, December 7th – 10:30 -12:30 – The Rhode Island Computer Museum presents Robots on the Run! Learn about interactive software called “Arduino” and create your own sample Robot. Bring in your broken electronics and learn about circuits, making lights blink, motors run, sounds and more! Limited to 16 participants. Call 247-1920 ext. 310 to reserve your spot!
Barrington Public Library
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 7
Kidscope News and Notes - November 2013 Page 8
2013-2014 PTO MEMBERS Abatecola, Kristen & Michael
