Letter from Mr. Brady
Dear Parents,
The 2009-2010 school year is flying by, and we can hardly
believe the time has come once again to administer the New
Mexico Standards Based Assessment (NMSBA) to our
students. We have seen many successes this year and look
forward to many more, particularly on the NMSBA. Marshall
NMSBA testing will begin on Tuesday, March 30th and will
conclude on Wednesday, April 7th, and we will only be
testing in the mornings.
Our school, along with our district and the New Mexico
Public Education Department (NMPED), places a high
priority on these tests; therefore, security of each test is
essential. This year the NMPED has decided that no cell
phones will be allowed in rooms designated for testing.
Therefore, Clovis Municipal Schools must enact a cell phone
policy. Students are strongly encouraged to leave their cell
phones at home during testing. However, if the student
elects to bring their cell phone to school one of the
following will occur each testing day:
- The student will turn the cell phone off; place it in
his/her backpack, and place the backpack in a central
location designated by the teacher.
- At the teacher’s discretion, the phone will be turned
off, placed in a Ziploc bag, and securely stored by the
teacher.
All cell phones will be returned to students at the end of the
testing session for that day. Please discuss this
requirement with your student to ensure all cell phones are
either left at home or turned in prior to testing. Any student
who still has a cell phone in his/her possession after a
testing session has started will immediately have the phone
confiscated for the duration of testing and will be required to
finish all additional testing in a one on one administration by
another teacher. We sincerely hope that this does not
happen.
We are very confident that our students will perform well
and do their best on the state assessment. Towards that
end we respectfully request that all appointments for your
children be scheduled outside of the testing dates. This
helps your student as much as it helps us. Thank you very
much for your continuing support of Marshall Middle School
and our state mandated testing.
Sincerely, Jay Brady-Principal
Random Fact
of the Month: |
| No piece of normail-size paper can be folded in half more that Seven Times |
Around Town
The Parent Center at Cameo Elementary
The Parent Center is a space that has been designated
for parents to come and spend time with their children.
We recognize that it is vital to have the presence of
parents in our schools. This is a fantastic way to link
parent, children, and the school. The Parent Center is
also a place that is filled with resources in parenting
skills, community resources, and other helpful
information. We invite all parents to come and take
some time to come and visit us and see where you as a
parent can be apart of making a difference in the lives of
the children at Cameo.
ENLACE Recreation Program
The Rec. Program located at Lincoln Jackson Family
Center is open to students grade 7-12 and is on
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm. The
Rec. Program offers students the opportunity to spend
time with friends in a safe environment. The students
are engaged in wellness activities and enrichment
activities. Students have the opportunity this school
year to learn about photography, art, dance, public
speaking, finance, cooking, careers, leadership,
traveling, civic engagement, etc. We invite you to not
only stay active and healthy but to also exercise your
brain and learn something new!
Drill Team goes to Competition!
The MMS Drill Team will be participating in the Sante
Fe Competition on March 19th and 20th. We are
positive that they will represent us well. A BIG
thanks to Mrs. Chavez for being such a great coach!
The Arts at Marshall
The Jaguar 8th Grade Team
The roles for 8th Grade Arts Academy performance of “Huck Finn” in
the spring have been cast, and practices are continuing. If you would
like to volunteer to help with the opera, please contact
Dustie Gonzales, Jaguar team leader. |
|
| The “PIC” Update |
| (Parent Involvement Committee) |
I just wanted to thank everyone who was able to come out to the
Modern Day Parenting Seminar, there was great information shared
and I am hoping to plan more events just like it. We will have out next
PIC meeting on March 4th at 5:30pm. If you can join us for this
upcoming March meeting we will be talking about snacks for testing
week. If you have any ideas or know someone who would like to help
us provide snacks for the 600 students who attend Marshall please let
us know. If you are not receiving PIC emails and want to be included
please email me at amy.sellers@ymail.com or
asellers@cityofclovis.org. I would also like to encourage anyone who
is concerned about youth activities in Clovis to go to www.clovis.edu
and fill out the “Clovis Youth Activity Survey” the goal is to get back
400 surveys and we have gotten just over half of that. And last: I
would like introduce your PIC board:
Amy Sellers- President
Tammy Rodriguez - Vice President
Andrea Bell- Secretary
Susan Lea - Treasurer
There are several regular members of the board as well. You too can
have a voice and make a difference for OUR kids of Marshall. Come
out and help us continue to Marshall the BEST Middle School in Clovis.
I would like to leave you with a quote: "Never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the
only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead.
I hope you have a great Month……. Amy Sellers, your PIC President |
Counselor's Corner
SBA test dates are (a.m. only):
Tue, March 30th
Wed, March 31st
Thu, April 1st
Mon, April 5th
Tue, April 6th
Wed, April 7th
Parents, PLEASE do no schedule ppointments
for your kids on these dates. It helps them as
much as it helps us. Thanks, so much.
Sincerely, Deacon Bob Pullings
Panther Talking Points
The Panther team is looking forward to Spring Break
and being rested when we come back!
We would like to say that the focus for the Panther
team is working on test taking strategies for the
upcoming 9 weeks SCA and then continuing for the SBA.
We will be working hard to prepare students to do their
very best by arranging them into classrooms for optimal
performance and working on readiness skills needed to
be successful.
We ask that the parents take the test taking time
seriously by helping their child get plenty of rest each
night prior to test taking. We would like to ask Panther
parents to please speak positively to their child about
the test and their performance. Please give them
encouragement as we Panther leaders are trying to do
as we are confident that if they just do their very best
they will be fine. We want to take all tests seriously
but we do not want anyone to stress out about it.
We will do our best and if you do your best success will
happen. Donna Tivis, Panther Team
MMS Science Success !
Marshall Middle School had 10 students representing them at the
Regional Science and Engineering Fair in Portales on February 27,
2010. The following students received awards:
- Alexus Lucero, U.S. Army junior division honorable mention and first
place, engineering: Materials and bio-engineering.
- Savannah Dosher- first place, physical science & astronomy.
- Cory Taylor, U.S. Army junior division honorable mention, Junior
division U.S. Navy-Naval Science Award.
- Mrs. Shaw received an award from Macatak, Inc. for her hard work
and diligence in helping prepare students for the science fair.
Alexus Lucero and Savannah Dosher will be representing us in
Socorro, NM on April 9 & 10 at the State Science and Engineering
Fair. Way to go, Alexus & Savannah!
A big pat on the back goes out to all the students who
participated in the science fair, and a big thank you goes out to
all of the teachers and parents who helped make this success
possible. A special thank you to Mrs. Russell for escorting the
students to Portales. |