A few announcements

Hi folks,

With just a few days left before the Thanksgiving break, we wanted to share some announcements with you.

• 8th graders must return their Boston permission slips as soon as possible.
• Student Council is leading a Food Drive for the duration of this week. Please send your child it in with non-perishable goods that can be donated to the Milton Food Bank. In order to encourage participation, Student Council is going to reward the House that is able to bring in the most goods. Go House C!
• Orders from the fall fundraiser should be in this week.

Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving break.

Portfolio Conferences This Week!

This is a reminder that our Student-Led Portfolio Conferences are happening this Monday (11/9) and Tuesday (11/10) between 4:00 and 7:00PM. The students have been working hard to prepare! We look forward to seeing you.

Personal Learning Plans

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

We are pleased to inform you of an exciting initiative that Milton Middle School is working on this year. Personal learning plans (PLPs) have been mandated by the state of Vermont as a key element of the Act 77: Flexible Pathways legislation. Beginning in the fall of 2015, students in grades 7 and 9 are required to have a personalized learning plan that documents their growth and learning as a student, identifies educational opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting, supports student achievement of academic and personal goals, and demonstrates student proficiency with the Agency of Education’s Transferable Skills. Milton Middle School is embracing personal learning plans (PLPs) for all students in grades 6-8. This work will lay the foundation for the growth of their PLP as they progress through grade 12.

Using a Personal Learning Framework (see below), students explore their identity as learners, their supportive community relationships, and their academic and extracurricular goals. Additionally, students are given the opportunity to set goals, collect evidence of goal achievement, use technology to document and communicate their growth, and to explore opportunities of interest.

Each Milton Middle School student has initiated the process of developing his/her own PLP blog. This site is secure under the mymtsd-vt.org domain and the student has shared it with their House teachers and their adviser. We encourage you to ask your child about his/her blog. All students have written an About Me section and taken personality/interest/learning surveys. At our November conferences, the personal learning plan will serve as the basis for discussion with your child about his/her identity as a learner, his/her academic, extracurricular, and citizenship goals, and evidence of learning. We would also encourage you to come to the conference with your hopes and dreams for your child. From this meeting, students will continue to work on both long term and short term goals.

As we progress through the year, we will continue using the Personal Learning Framework to help guide your child toward completion of his/her goals, collection of evidence identifying his/her growth and learning, and reflection on the strengths and challenges he/she works on as a member of Milton Middle School. The work students do on their PLPs while in middle school will carryover into the work they do in high school.

In advance, thank you for supporting this important student work. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns, or comments. We look forward to our November conferences and using the personal learning plan as a key instrument in your student’s educational program.

MMS Curriculum Team Leaders
Nathan Caswell
Marcel Choquette
Jana Fabri
Maria Gordon
Amy Johnson
Josh Roof
Joe Smith
Lauren Talbot
Catherine Thibault-Cote

Wear Blue for Colin

Greetings,

Next week marks one year since our learning community lost friend and student, Colin O'Neil. Colin was a member of the MTSD learning community since preschool and made a significant impact on all those who were lucky enough to work with and alongside him. We on House C were particularly fortunate to have him on our team for over two years. Some folks here have organized a "Wear Blue for Colin" day for next Tuesday 11/10. We're asking as many folks as possible wear blue on Tuesday to honor Colin and the warm memories we have of him. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Pie Fundraiser

Dear Families,

Take some of the stress out of Thanksgiving and let Milton Middle School bake an Apple or Pumpkin Pie for you this Thanksgiving. Pies are $15 and when you order from your child, $9.00 of it goes to his/her fundraising account. Your child can even sell more pies to friends and relatives and earn even more money for Boston. Pie order forms can be picked up from one of your child’s house teachers or in the front office.

Please note: All middle school students can sell pies and start earning money for their field trip account. Even though 8th grade may be a couple of years away, it is wise to start fundraising the $350 need for this trip now. Students should aim to raise $100 each year.

If your child is in 8th grade, they can help bake the pies and they will split the total of $4.00 times the number of pies we make. Therefore the more pies we sell, the more money your child can earn towards Boston. We will be baking pies after school on November 17th and 18th. We will need ten students for each day. Students can sign up for one of these days outside of Mr. Smith’s door beginning on Wednesday, November 4th.

If you have any questions, please contact Joe Smith at 893-5529.

Sincerely,

Joe Smith
House A - Consulting Teacher
Boston Coordinator
Milton Town School District Radio  http://miltonsdr.blogspot.com/p/home.html
(802) 893-5529

Calendar Raffle Help Needed

Dear Families,

The time has come to start collecting items for our February Calendar Raffle. Last year we were able to collect over $2,000 in prizes and we raised over $4,000. This year I would like collect over $2,500 in prizes and raise $5,000.

The way this fundraiser works is that we collect donations, usually in the form of gift cards, from area businesses and restaurants. We then assign each prize to a day of the month in February. Beginning in December, we sell raffle tickets for $10 each. If the ticket is drawn in February, they win the prize for that day AND the ticket is placed back in the drawing for the next day.

This is one of the best fundraisers that we have for students. Students who sell tickets can earn $9 for each ticket sold towards their field trip account. Also families who own a business and can donate or can secure a donation to the raffle can earn $25.

I am also looking for a couple of families to help secure donations and put together the calendar. If you are interested please contact Joe Smith at jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or at 893-5529 by Monday, October 19th.

Thanks,

Joe Smith
House A - Consulting Teacher
Boston Coordinator
Milton Town School District Radio  http://miltonsdr.blogspot.com/p/home.html
(802) 893-5529

Progress Reports and More

Hi folks,

At the end of the day today (Friday 10/16), your child was handed a packet of the following important documents:

• Three progress reports - one for math, one for science, and one for humanities.
  
• PowerSchool log in letter with information for accessing your child's class performance information.
  
• Student Profile - This is how your child's information is currently listed in our system. Please update and return to school with your child, if applicable.
  
• Conference Invite - As was posted earlier, it's time to sign up for conferences. You may either do this online by following the link - http://bit.ly/housecconferences8 or by returning the completed half sheet. The times are given on a first come, first served basis. 

Please let us know if you have any questions. Have a great weekend!

Student-led Conferences

How time flies! We're well into autumn and it’s already time for our first round of Student Portfolio Conferences. Children benefit greatly from having meaningful conversations about their learning with important adults in their lives. To that end, we invite you to a Portfolio Conference, where your child will present to you artifacts of his or her learning - work from each class that he or she has thoughtfully selected to demonstrate learning and growth. 

New to the conference this year is the inclusion of your child’s Personal Learning Plan (PLP). You will have a chance to view the first two components of the PLP - which is Milton Middle School’s way of incorporating the new requirements under Act 77. You will have the opportunity to reflect on your child’s strengths and areas for growth and then collaboratively set a goal. These conferences are important to your child and represent many hours of hard work. The portfolio process helps students build life-long skills including: organization skills, self-evaluative skills, and communication skills. Most importantly, the portfolio process helps your child take more ownership of his or her learning and be more accountable for his or her academic progress. Thank you for the important role you play in this process!

Please visit http://bit.ly/housecconferences8 to indicate your preferred conference time, or return the form attached to this letter that your child will be bringing home. Any caring adult is welcome - parents, adult siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors. If no adult is able to attend at one of the times offered, we will gladly make arrangements for you to conference with your child at another time. Conferences will take place in the Middle/Elementary School Library.We look forward to seeing you!

Milton Monster Mile to Benefit Milton Mentoring

As you may have heard by now, the third-annual Milton Monster Mile will take place on October 24th and benefit Milton Mentors. Right now registration is low, but there's still time. If you plan on participating, please register as soon as possible to make sure the program receives benefit.

The mile-long fun walk/run begins and ends with a Halloween themed party at LD Oliver Seed. The event will include spooky treats, a petting zoo, and autumn bake off!

Remember, all of the proceeds from the event directly benefit this awesome program and will help us meet our fundraising match goal of $5,800!

You can register online by visiting: www.miltonindependent.com/monstermile/

8th Grade Boston Trip

Dear 8th Grade Families,

As part of the rite of passage to high school and as a culminating activity of your students time in middle school, we go on a three days, two nights excursion to Boston.~ The dates of the trip are Wednesday, May 25th through Friday, May 27th.~ As part of this trip students will stay in a college dorm room, see Blue Man Group or Shear Madness, visit the Science Museum, walk the Freedom Trail, and have the opportunity to visit local colleges, eat in Chinatown and/or in the North End, and visit other museums in Boston.~ This is a trip that your student will never forget.

The total cost of the trip is $350.~ To help with the costs there will be ample opportunities for your student to fund raise for the trip.~ Your student has a fundraising account.~ The amount that your student raises will be deposited into your student's account.~ In April, the remainder of the balance will need to be paid.~ Families will also have to option to just pay the $350.~ To get the most out of this opportunity, I would strongly suggest that your student be responsible for a portion of the cost.~ Partial scholarships will be available to students, if they have participated in the fundraising activities.

For the student that raises the most money, we are looking for a unique experience for them and a friend. It may be dinner at a North End Restaurant or a special show. The prize will be offered based on the student’s interest.

Tentative list of this year’s fundraisers:

September – PTA Fundraiser – All students who participate, 50% of the profits from their orders will go towards Boston.
November – Thanksgiving Pie Sale
December – February – Calendar Raffle
February/March – Spaghetti Dinner

If you or your student would like to organize a fundraiser, please contact me and will try to make your idea work.

A letter went home with your child yesterday stating how much they have earned for Boston. Please ask them for it.

If you have any questions or suggestions for fundraisers, please contact Joe Smith at [ mailto:jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org ]jsmith3@mtsd-vt.org or 893-5529.