Hello, NMS Families & Community and Happy Friday!
The end-of-term items of note highlight the start of this week's Friday Memo, but don't miss the rest!
📝Report cards for Term 1! Look for report cards on the School Brains portal starting at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 9. The School Brains portal can be accessed easily from the NMS website by selecting the "Parent/Student Portal" link under "Parents & Students" in the drop down menu on the top right side of the page. Please be sure you are checking the portal regularly for information on student progress. If you have any questions on student progress in any class, please contact the teacher directly. Contact information can be found in School Brains. When do terms start and end? When do grades close? The schedule for the year's progress reports and report cards can be found here.
🍎 Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday and Tuesday, November 20 and 21! On Monday, November 20, conferences will be held in the afternoon (11:45 - 2:15) and evening (5:30 - 7:15), and on Tuesday, November 21, in the afternoon only. Fifteen minute slots for appointments will open on Thursday afternoon, November 9 at 3:00. Parents/guardians can sign up for a conference appointment by going to our NMS website and selecting "Teacher Conferences" from the "Parents & Students" section of the dropdown menu on the top right side of the page. From here, you will be prompted to create an account with the online conference scheduler, pickAtime, if you do not already have one. The platform pickAtime is an online appointment system that NRSD uses for parents / guardians to sign up for a conference slot. Parents / guardians will be able to access pickAtime slots between the opening on 11/9 (starting at 3:00 p.m.) through midnight on Friday, November 17. This gives teachers Friday, November 17 to prepare any materials that might be needed for conversations starting Monday. Please join us for conferences and if you are not able to secure a conference due to slots booking up, you are welcome and encouraged to schedule a meeting with the grade-level team or teacher of your choice by contacting them directly.
🎃 Spirit Dress-up Day and Halloween fun! On Tuesday, October 31, everyone at NMS was invited and encouraged to dress up according to the colors assigned to their class, or orange for faculty and staff. We had a spirited turnout! Some classes participated in spooky-themed lessons, like in 5th grade science and 5th grade math. Below in Fear Factor Math, Mrs. Despres' students pulled problems from boxes of creepy, crawly or gooey materials for their teams to solve. Far below, students in Mrs. McNamara's science class work to complete steps in a process that, if done correctly, inflate a balloon in a "ghostly" way.
5th grade families: check out this month's 5th Grade newsletter!
🧺Congratulations to the winners of the Leo Club Halloween Basket Charity Raffle! Halloween Theme basket winners were drawn on Friday, October 27 by 5th graders Padraic Thornton & Julia Boumil (shared ticket), shown below with NMS Art teacher Mrs. Janet Dupuis, among others. Baskets were filled with spooky decor, trinkets and games. The Leo Club says Thank You to all who participated in this charity fundraiser.
➡ Check out the Clubs & Activities section (below) for information on the next round of Intramurals! The Intramurals permission slip is below (click on the thumbnail in the Intramurals row to print out a copy!)
Stay Connected! Download the NRSD app and sign up to receive alerts for a specific school, or the district as a whole! Go to the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) to get the NRSD app and search "Narragansett Regional SD, MA"| 😁 Getting Involved: NMS Extracurriculars |
| Activity | Advisor / Faculty Leader | Meeting Dates |
| After-school Band 2:30 - 3:30* | Mr. O'Connor (NMS Music teacher) goconnor@nrsd.org | Tuesday: 5th Grade Band
Thursday: 6th Grade Band (*Band runs 2:30 - 3:30. Students riding the late bus are welcome to attend after-school band until 2:55!) Any 7th student interested--see Mr. O'Connor! |
| Art Club | Mrs. Dupuis (NMS Art teacher) jdupuis@nrsd.org | Thursdays (as announced)
Next meeting 11/16 |
| Leo Club (Volunteers) | Mrs. Dupuis (NMS Art teacher) jdupuis@nrsd.org | Tuesdays (as announced)
Next meeting 11/14 |
| International Club | Mrs. Medlicott (NMS Spanish teacher) jmedlicott@nrsd.org | Thursdays |
| Intramurals *New to Intramurals?Click here for the NMS Intramurals Permission slip. All students new to intramurals must submit a signed permission slip before attending. | Ms. Eaton (NMS PE/Health teacher) aeaton@nrsd.org & Mrs. Caouette (NRHS PE/Health teacher) lcaouette@nrsd.org | Monday, Tuesday, Thursday |
| Student Council | Mrs. Wheeler (NMS teacher) gwheeler@nrsd.org & Mrs. Parker (NMS Math teacher) lparker@nrsd.org | Every other Thursday (as announced)
Next meeting 11/16 |
| Science / STEM Club | Mr. Dufour (NMS PLTW teacher) cdufour@nrsd.org | Tuesdays |
| Theater Guild | Mr. Schlundt (NMS 7th grade Social Studies teacher) gschlundt@nrsd.org | Mondays |
| Yearbook | Mrs. Rivard (NMS 6th grade Social Studies teacher) drivard@nrsd.org | Mondays as announced
Next meeting 11/6 |
| 📣 Important Dates & Reminders |
| Tuesday, November 7 | No School for Students
Full Day Professional Development for staff |
| Thursday, November 9 | Report Cards available on the School Brains portal at 3:00 p.m.! Teacher Conference appointment scheduling available on pickAtime starting at 3:00 p.m. |
| Friday, November 10 | No School--Veterans Day Observed |
| November 13-17 | NMS Anti-Bullying Week! Stay tuned for details! |
| Thursday, November 16 | Teacher Conference appointment scheduling on pickAtime closing tonight at midnight! |
| Monday, November 20 | Half Day of School for Students—Dismissal at 11:10 a.m.
Teacher Conferences--Afternoon & Evening Sessions (details here) |
| Tuesday, November 21 | Half Day of School for Students—Dismissal at 11:10 a.m.
Teacher Conferences--Afternoon Sessions Only (details here) |
| Wednesday, November 22 | Half Day of School for students and staff |
| November 23 & 24 | No School--Thanksgiving Break |
| Thursday, November 30 | Students of the Month Assembly! |
| Friday, December 8 | Term 2 Midterm grades close! |
| Friday, December 15 | Term 2 Midterm Progress Reports on School Brains after 3:00 p.m. |
| Thursday, December 21 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. |
| Friday, December 22 - Monday, January 1 | Holiday Vacation |
| Tuesday, January 2, 2024 | School Re-opens; Happy New Year! |
| Friday, January 12 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Afternoon Professional Development for staff |
| Monday, January 15 | No School -- Martin Luther King Day |
| Friday, January 19 | Term 2 grades close |
| Friday, January 26 | Term 2 Report Cards on School Brains after 3:00 p.m. |
| Friday, February 2 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Afternoon Professional Development for staff |
| February 19 - 23 | February Vacation |
| Wednesday, February 28 | Term 3 Midterm grades close |
| Wednesday, March 6 | Term 3 Midterm Progress Reports on School Brains after 3:00 p.m. |
| Friday, March 8 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Afternoon Professional Development for staff |
| Thursday, March 28 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Afternoon Professional Development for staff |
| Friday, March 29 | No School--Good Friday |
| Monday, April 1 | Term 3 Grades close |
| Friday, April 5 | Term 3 Report Cards on School Brains after 3:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday, April 10 | Half Day of School for Students—Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Teacher Conferences--Afternoon Sessions Only (details forthcoming) |
| Thursday, April 11 | Half Day of School for Students—Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Teacher Conferences--Afternoon Sessions Only (details forthcoming) |
| Friday, April 12 | Half Day of School--Dismissal at 11:10 a.m. Afternoon Professional Development for staff |
| April 15 - 19 | April Vacation |
| 🗓️ Next Week @ NMS: Daily Schedule and Lunch Menu |
| Monday, November 6 | Tuesday, November 7 | Wednesday, November 8 | Thursday, November 9 | Friday, November 10 |
| E Day | No School for Students | F Day | G Day | No School |
| Pulled Pork Sandwich | Full day Professional Development for Faculty | General Tso's Chicken | Pasta Day: American Chop Suey | In Observance of Veterans Day |
NRSD Food Services Department
| ❤️🩹 Nurse Notes |
See information on upcoming Flu and Covid Vaccine Clinics up above in the beginning of the memo!
Contacting Nurse McKinnon JUST GOT EASIER: Text 978-939-6326 to reach the middle school nurse. Please feel free to use this text line for quick questions as well. Please save this number in your cell phone because Nurse McKinnon sends out reminders/updates this way.
With cold and flu season fast approaching, please remind your students to wash hands FREQUENTLY, bring a water bottle THAT SEALS to school, and to NOT touch their face and mouth.
Health office FYI- Both viral and bacterial strep has been on the increase recently, so please keep that in mind. Also, please be mindful of our exclusion policy, if anyone has any questions about that, please text/call Nurse McKinnon!
Narragansett Middle School Nurse:
Alyssa McKinnon ● Email: amckinnon@nrsd.org
Phone: 978-939-2113 ● Fax 978-939-8634 ● **NEW** Text: 978-939-6326
NRSD Nurse Leader:
Myriah Zwicker ● Email: ezwicker@nrsd.org
Phone: 978-652-0201 ● Fax: 978-939-8634
NRSD Health & Wellness Department
| 👟 Athletics |
Winter Sports Registration is OPEN!
Athletics-related questions?
Contact the Athletic Director:
Brad Bond ● gansettathletics@nrsd.org ● 978-939-7325
Next week's sports (Week of November 6)
(please check the updated online schedule regularly--link below--frequently as changes occur constantly due to weather or conditions)
Shared Expectations
It's been a fantastic first quarter of school, and we want to thank all our NMS families for their obvious preparation as students arrived ready to go! We will be continuing our calibration of school expectations and the return from summer vacation to help students meet the expectations of being back in school socially, behaviorally, and academically. This means reviewing, teaching, and consistently reinforcing behavioral expectations first, so that distractions are minimized and an environment where academic success can flourish is created and maintained. When asked “Why?” by a student in response to a redirection about voice level, running, or roughhousing, we often need to remind them of the fact “We’re in school.” In an effort to help our students, NMS focuses on four
basic shared expectations that our core values are rooted in: Be Nice, Work Hard, No Excuses, and Good Choices. Teachers have been teaching and reviewing these concepts in preparation for a rigorous academic return to school in order to have a successful year. As students are shown and explore these expectations, they are also learning to acknowledge the consequences of poor choices, including the progressive disciplinary actions that may result. Our goal is to keep families informed, and of how the system works (click here or on the thumbnail). The chart explaining what to expect, so that we can all work together for the best outcomes, is shown (left). We look forward to working together and having an amazing year!
📲 Did you need to contact someone at NMS? Click here for our new phone tree!