October 16, 2009

Wow! Only two more weeks until the of 1st Quarter! Our students have been working hard and we are thrilled by their good behavior choices. Please help reiterate expectations that they arrive on time to class (including 8th period ELT).

Also, as we enter mid-October, many times friendships from elementary school/7th grade begin to shift for our 7th and 8th graders. Students begin to spread rumors about such friendships. Gossip online and through text messaging at home may begin. Please talk with your child about the face-to-face and virtual social networks at school/home. Ask your child how he/she knows whether telling an adult of gossip is “snitching” vs. REPORTING TO ENSURE SAFETY. Have your child tell you about his/her current friends, identify the positive/negative social influences he/she faces, and identify at least one staff member your child feels comfortable with in case there’s information to share. It’s important that all students have at least ONE GOOD FRIEND and ONE TRUSTED STAFF MEMBER at MTMS. If your child doesn’t, let us know and we’ll see what we can do to help.

October 13, 2009

Interim Reports were given to students on Thursday. What can your child to ensure he/she earns a spot on the ALL A or the A/B honor roll? What grades are needed to help your child be a potential candidate for the MTMS National Junior Honor Society (students must have a minimum 3.6 GPA as a basic requirement for their application in the Spring.)

READING Comprehension: Talking with your child about something he/she read? Ask him/her to explain to you the PURPOSE of the text: why did the author write this? Response may include: To entertain. To education. To persuade. To teach a lesson. To inform. To warn. Whether it’s reading a cereal box, a flyer that comes to your doorstep, an article in the editorial section of a newspaper. Help your child reflect on PURPOSE to learn that AUTHORS always have a purpose (My purpose in writing this? To help give you questions to probe your children in their reading comprehension skills.)

WRITING at home: Challenge your child! Have him/her explain things to you in writing (expository). Help your child see that expository writing has an “order.” First, second,  third.  Or, have him/her tell you a story in writing (narrative). This follows a “plot” diagram. Introduction, Initiating Incident that “starts” the events of the plot, Rising Action that leads to the Climax of the story, then, the resolution. A narrative always has a setting, characters, and theme-lesson to learn.

October 2, 2009

Holey moley! Can you believe we are almost at first quarter interim time? Wow!

I have been thoroughly impressed with our students. They are serious about their studies, polite and respectful to adults, while helpful and friendly to their peers.

Ask your child about Smartboards, Turning Point Technology “clickers,” how often he/she works with OTHERS to learn new information, and how often he/she is UP AND MOVING in the classroom. For example, today I visited three math classrooms: all had students “up and about” moving around the room, working with each other, and learning from one another. Education looks so much better than it did when you and I were in school! Long gone are the days with “rows” of desks and “silent” learners….Find out why….

September 25, 2009

Back to School Night was great! Thank you to all the community members who came out to meet our staff! We appreciate the positive feedback we received about our video introduction, our student AVID helpers, and-of course-our staff. Thank you for this feedback and please continue to keep us posted if you have ideas for ways we can improve! We always want to be getting better in meeting the needs of students and the community.

September 18, 2009

Wow! What a phenomenal start we have had! Hard to believe that interim reports come out soon! As the principal of the school, I have had the honor of being out and about in classrooms this week and let me tell you folks: school has BEGUN. Students are thinking deeply about the essential questions each course it designed to teach. Positive relationships between staff and students along with “classbuilder” activities to ensure students build positive relationships with each other have been frequent and on-going to support the academic rigor. Your children are phenomenal!

September 11, 2009

Welcome Back! What an amazing first week of school! We are so proud of our students, their work transitioning to the new school year, and their excitement and energy about a year filled with learning! Congratulations to the staff of MTMS for ensuring that our school made “AYP” for FY2009 according to the State of Virginia expectations. We are looking forward to continuing to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps this year! Excellence: Every Child, Every Day.

Mark Twain MS was honored by a visit from the Deputy Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, Richard Moniuszko. Dr. Moniuszko visited during locker night---and supported our PTA spirit are sale! On the first day of school, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction in Fairfax County Public Schools Peter Noonan, also visited to observe the relationship building and student learning that was already occurring! And, on the second day of school, Assistant Superintendent of Cluster V Betsy Fenske and Director Judy Matlock visited as well. Congratulations, MTMS!