Hello, NMS Families & Community!
NMS's Anti-Bullying Spirit Week is a Success!
We had another fantastic spirit event during the full week prior to Thanksgiving: Anti-Bullying Spirit Week! Each day, students and staff were challenged to dress up to show their spirit as well as meet "kindness challenges" meant to reinforce important skills and make NMS and even brighter place to be! For each dress-up day and kindness challenge, students were awarded a bead or charm to commemorate their participation.
Over 3200 items were awarded, for an average of a little more than 80% participation in any given event throughout the week! On Friday afternoon, as a culminating event, our Student Council announcement readers led the building through the Anti-Bullying pledge over the intercom. Here are just a few images from the week.
🧥Missing a jacket, sweatshirt, book, water bottle or other item? Check out the rapidly filling lost and found! We have a large supply of abandoned items that have been collected from the gym, cafeteria, classrooms, and other places around the school. Any items that are in good repair will be donated if not collected by December 22, so don't delay in checking it!
🇺🇸NMS Veteran Appreciation! Each year around Veteran's Day, NMS 5th Grade students take time to show their appreciation for Veterans and the meaning of Veteran's Day. Ms. Lisa Damon, 5th Grade Social Studies teacher, leads the students through lessons on sacrifice and giving to highlight how soldiers' efforts affect to not only the soldiers themselves, but how it impacts their families. One of the special things students do in addition to writing dozens of cards to Veterans, which are given to local Veteran groups for distribution far and wide to various Veteran organizations, is to demonstrate their understanding of sacrifice by donating some (or all!) of their Halloween candy to a supply that is also distributed to Veteran groups as a token of their thanks. Veterans were invited to NMS on Tuesday, November 14 and presented with these cards and a huge box of candy donated by the students. Two students read meaningful poetry and Ms. Damon spoke of the purpose of their study, and how impactful Veteran sacrifices of all types are. Each Veteran also had an opportunity to speak of their service, and several voiced their appreciation to the students for the recognition. Thank you to all of the local Veterans who came to speak to our students and be recognized!
Above (top), the students and gathered Veterans recite the Pledge of Allegiance together to begin their recognition assembly; above (center) a student reads a poem; above, the Veteran attendees gather with Ms. Damon (far left) and the donated treasure chest of candy. Below (bottom) the candy chest is presented to the Veterans; below, another student reads a poem commemorating Veteran efforts.
Middle School holds pre-Thanksgiving Pep Rally to kick off the long weekend!
🍎 Thank you to everyone who joined us for Teacher Conferences on Monday and Tuesday, November 20 and 21! Please remember if you were 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.
📸 Dear Parents, As a token of appreciation, Lifetouch is offering discounts on school photography!
50% off a purchase of $50+ with code THANKFUL50
40% off a purchase of $40+ with code THANKFUL40
30% off a purchase of $30+ with code THANKFUL30
Valid through 11/25/23. To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's school ID number. Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card! More about the Smilesafe program here. Thank you from Lifetouch Photography!
📝 Progress Reports for Term 2! Progress Reports for Term 2 will be available on the School Brains portal after 3:00 p.m., Friday, December 15. 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.
➡ 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 11/30 |
| Leo Club (Volunteers) | Mrs. Dupuis
(NMS Art teacher) jdupuis@nrsd.org | Tuesdays (as announced) Next meeting 12/12 |
| 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 |
| Science / STEM Club | Mr. Dufour
(NMS PLTW teacher) cdufour@nrsd.org | Tuesdays |
| Student Council | Mrs. Wheeler
(NMS teacher) gwheeler@nrsd.org & Mrs. Parker (NMS 6th grade Math teacher) lparker@nrsd.org | Every other Thursday
(as announced)
Next meeting 11/30 |
| Theater Guild / Drama Club | 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 11/27 |
| 📣 Important Dates & Reminders |
| Thursday, November 30 | Students of the Month Assembly! |
| Thursday, December 7 | Holiday Concert, 6:30 p.m.! Don' t miss this combined middle / high school event! |
| 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 27 | Tuesday, November 28 | Wednesday, November 29 | Thursday, November 30 | Friday, December 1 |
| B Day | C Day | D Day | E Day | F Day |
| Meatball Subs | Chicken Patty Sandwich | Tangerine Chicken & steamed rice | Penne & meatballs | Assorted Pizza |
| or the salad bar | or the salad bar | or the salad bar | or the salad bar | or the salad bar |
NRSD Food Services Department
| ❤️🩹 Nurse Notes |
Contact Nurse McKinnon via text ! Text your message to 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 Health & Wellness Department
| 👟 Athletics |
Winter Sports Registration is OPEN! (except for Cheer!)
Athletics-related questions?
Contact the Athletic Director:
Brad Bond ● gansettathletics@nrsd.org ● 978-939-7325
NMS Athletic Schedule (clickable link)
Shared Expectations
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!