Principals’ Corner Tim Long—Principal Terry Stoertz—Assistant Principal Monthly Parent Newsletter

Volume 4 Issue 4 November/December 2013

Newtown Middle School Connections Through Responsibility, Respect and Relationships

GREETINGS

Hello Parents! It is hard to believe that December is upon us, but it is. This is a very ex-citing time of the year for all. No matter what or how you and your family celebrate the month of December, we wish all of our Newtown Middle School families a peaceful, happy and healthy season. November has been a very exciting time for us. Enjoy read-ing this month's offerings. We are so proud of our many exciting and worthwhile activi-ties and we look forward to many more memorable events in 2014. Timothy Long and Terry Stoertz

In this Issue November Review Internet safety No Shave November CARES Corner Upcoming Dates Faculty Guess Who Spotlight on New

Staff Word of the Month FAQ Sources of NMS

Pride

Holiday Collection

“Student Council and Newtown’s Music program

need your support in helping keep our local food

pantries stocked this holiday season. Please be

sure to bring your donations of non-perishable

food items to this year’s winter concerts. Collec-

tion boxes will be located in the school lob-

by. Happy Holidays from Newtown’s Student

Council.”

-Mr. Lebofsky

Important Dates

December 3 - End of the 2nd Arts Rotation December 13 - Interims December 13 - Team Phoenix Trip December 16 - Winter Concert I 7:30 PM December 17 - Winter Concert II 7:30 PM December 20 -Holiday Celebrations December 20 - Winter Break Begins January 2 - School Re-opens

Spotlight on New Staff

Our new staff member for the month is Mrs. Monica Assous. She is one of our new Instructional Assistants. Mrs. Assous and raised in Rome, Italy. She came to the USA for college, then got

married and moved with her husband to North Africa for three years. She came back and started her wonderful experience with special education. She spent 14 years as an Instructional Assistant in Autistic Support classrooms with the Bucks County IU. In her spare time, Mrs. Assous was busy being the Council Rock mom of 3 children. Now they are all grown. She has lived on 3 continents and speak 3 languages (very exciting!) --Now

she is excited and proud to be part of the Council Rock Community. Thank

you!

FAQ What does it mean if my child is told he is not eligible for a sport? As you are aware, we believe that involvement in sports is an excellent way for your child to expand his/her knowledge, expe-rience, social skills and teamwork outside of the classroom. How-ever, your child's academic progress is our priority. The state of Pennsylvania has a very specific standard for eligibility which reads as follows: PAII Rules state the following regarding eligibility: Academic and Curricular Requirements

You must pursue a full-time curriculum defined and

approved by your Principal.

You must be passing at least four full-credit sub-jects, or the equivalent, as of each Friday during a

grading period. If you fail to meet this requirement, you will lose your eligibility from the immediately following Sunday through the Saturday immediately

following the next Friday as of which you meet this

requirement.

You must have passed at least four full-credit sub-jects or the equivalent during the previous grading period, except that eligibility for the first grading

period is based on your final grades for the preced-ing school year. If you fail to meet this requirement,

you will lose your eligibility for at least 15 or 10 school days of the next grading period, beginning on the first day that report cards are issued. If your

school has four grading periods, you will be ineligi-ble for at least 15 school days; if your school has

six grading periods, you will be ineligible for at least

10 school days.(PIAA Website)

Cares Corner

There is a new group called Straight Talk about Cancer (STAC) that is facilitated by staff from Gilda's Club Delaware Valley. It is for students who have cancer in their lives. It is free to join the group. It will take place once a month for approximately an hour during the school day. It will be co-facilitated by Ms. Zila, our NMS CARES Coordinator. Infor-mation is available at www.gildasclubdelval.org or call 215-441-3290. Parents and guardians can call Ms. Zila at 215-944-2652 or e-mail at lzila@crsd.org if they are interested in having their child participate.

Word of the Month

Discerning a. painful b. ability to steer c. clever, astute d. differing Last month's word Magnanimous means generous and forgiving. Example: The man was very magnanimous in his treatment of his friend after he realized that he had hurt his feelings.

FACULTY GUESS WHO

Last month's question:

Who was the faculty member who double majored in crimi-nal justice? Answer: Mrs. Demskis This month's question: Which faculty member had a chance to meet one of her all-time favorite human beings, Julie Andrews of Mary Poppins and Sound of Music fame?

Counselor’s Blog—On Self Esteem

For a number of years, parents have asked me to help in building their child’s self-esteem. My reply has always been that self-esteem is not a goal, but a by-product. It is the result we get when accomplish a goal that was particularly hard. It is what we learn from failures that are finally over-come. In our well-meaning efforts to smooth the way for our children, we often overlook the value of hard-won vic-tories. All of us who learned to ride a bike or rollerblade did so with a few scraped knees and skinned elbows. For all who worked hard to learn to play a musical instrument or work a quadratic equation were not instantly successful the first time they tried. But once we did it, we felt on top of the world. It is that feeling of genuine accomplishment that fosters self-esteem. It is hard work that develops our stam-ina and perseverance and that is what we need to work through the tough times, in algebra, on the athletic field and in life. We are now in the second marking period. If your child is unhappy with the first marking period report card, guide him or her to the resources here in school that can help them be more successful in the next three marking periods. Their teachers and counselors are here to help. We have RA period and clinic on Thursday after school that has been set aside to support our students. Help us help your child and watch as they become more confident to risk not always getting it right the first time. -Chris Kokas

Student of the Month

Here is a list of the October Students of the Month. Congratulation to:

Josee Li Fusion

Zach Saifer Fusion

Abby Kollar Phoenix

Nicholas Karpovitch Phoenix

Eric Woodhead Synergy

Sarah Matrocola Synergy

Molly Fitzgerald Quest

Austin Kauffman Quest

Sabrina Green Super Nova

Akash Shah Super Nova

Robbie Doroshow Infinity

Rachel Stillman Infinity

Samantha Zubler Arts

Dan Han Arts

Student Name Award Team

Hunter Keen Courtesy & Respect Fusion

Kyra Zlock Courtesy & Respect Fusion

Nick Desautelle Academic Improvement Fusion

Samantha Shapiro Academic Improvement Fusion

Noah Myers Effort Fusion

Maggie Healy Effort Fusion

Weston Cohen Cooperation Fusion

Emily Clark Cooperation Fusion

Robert Ranelli Courtesy & Respect Phoenix

Karen Kraft Courtesy & Respect Phoenix

Colin Nowmos Academic Improvement Phoenix

Jordan Galing Academic Improvement Phoenix

Adam Vinglas Effort Phoenix

Hope DiJulia Effort Phoenix

Nicholas Tangradi Cooperation Phoenix

Riley Murphy Cooperation Phoenix

Hanna McNinch Courtesy & Respect Synergy

James Curtis Courtesy & Respect Synergy

Max Cohen Academic Improvement Synergy

Devon Kelly Academic Improvement Synergy

Zach Birbeck Effort Synergy

Marie Larounis Effort Synergy

Christian Boltner Cooperation Synergy

Colleen Kearney Cooperation Synergy

Nick Ripans Courtesy & Respect Quest

Kelly Osterman Courtesy & Respect Quest

Austin Hitchcock Academic Improvement Quest

Anna Pizza Academic Improvement Quest

Shawn Mullen Effort Quest

Nicole Rafalovsky Effort Quest

Phil Stollsteimer Cooperation Quest

Jordyn Ramsay Cooperation Quest

Kevin Sullivan Courtesy & Respect Supernova

Lucy Pavlow Courtesy & Respect Supernova

Matt McGovern Academic Improvement Supernova

Rebecca Downing Academic Improvement Supernova

Patrick Higgins Effort Supernova

Nicole Gardner Effort Supernova

Andrew Tate Cooperation Supernova

Tia Farese Cooperation Supernova

Harry Wyatt Courtesy & Respect Infinity

Lily Blair Courtesy & Respect Infinity

Ethan Merckx Academic Improvement Infinity

Alyssa Coates Academic Improvement Infinity

Christopher Lenge Effort Infinity

Nichole Khusid Effort Infinity

Justin Muhlbauer Cooperation Infinity

Jessie Gottlieb Cooperation Infinity

Jeff Zhao Courtesy & Respect Arts

Riley Murphy Courtesy & Respect Arts

Nick Nucero Academic Improvement Arts

Sanjai Pittman Academic Improvement Arts

Phil Stollsteimer Effort Arts

Marissa Haynes Effort Arts

Michael Welde Cooperation Arts

Madison Moore Cooperation Arts

SOURCE OF NMS PRIDE

Friday, November 15, Newtown Middle School

honored 54 of our students for extraordinary

demonstration of the following characteristics in

the first marking period: Cooperation, Effort, Ac-

ademic Improvement, Courtesy and Respect

These are attributes that we consider the em-bodiment of our Mission Statement of RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY and RELATIONSHIPS. These wonderful students were treated to a brief ceremony followed by a delicious breakfast with musical accompaniment in the background.

November 11 We had a Veteran's Day Celebration Assembly where the Thursday Guard from the Washington Crossing Veteran's Cemetery did a mock run-through of their Veteran's Burial Ceremony. Mr. Benson, a proud NMS Veteran acted as Master of Ceremonies, explaining the process. Melvin Benson Sr., his father, and a veteran himself, was actually a member of the guard. As usual, your children were a great audience demon-strating respect and caring throughout.

November 14

INTERNET SAFETY

This issue is one of major importance and timeliness for all of us. Keeping

our children safe is always a priority. We are a team in this fight and we

need to work together, with authorities and with you, the parents to help

our children navigate these waters safely, while taking advantage of the

boundless information and connections that are out there.

Cerena Coughlin FBI, a special agent from the FBI, visited us last Thursday.

She was here at NMS to speak to our 7th and 8th graders and then returned

in the evening to have a similar, but more adult-oriented conversation

with CRSD parents. She is an excellent speaker who was received kindly

and attentively by our students. This link will bring you to some of the ma-

jor points discussed in her presentation:

Dangers of peer-to-peer software…Instagram, Ask.fm, Twitter, etc.

Private moment can have one billion hits…”Charlie Bit My Finger” on

YouTube

Digital natives vs. digital immigrants…comparison of adults, who were

not brought up with technology, to our children, who have never

known a world without it.

Internet is good and bad.

Safety is the priority.

Think before you post.

“Most horrible excuse for a human being” can see a photo online

No matter how high privacy settings are, your information can still be

seen

People can pose as children.

Ask yourself, why would an adult want to talk with a child?

Never give personal info on line.

Google Street View is used to determine where you live – this all

someone needs to do to find your child.

GPS imbedding automatic in I Phone

Internet is a media machine – not free – bases everything on advertis-

ing

Be wary of taking self-photos of any kind

Be wary of the webcam on laptops or desktops – tape over aperture

Beware of adults who are too friendly

If you would not say it in person, why would you say it online?

ASK.fm – dangerous place to be

Online world just as real as your own

Do not share passwords

Never cool to be mean

Respect others the way you want to be respected

Secure Wireless at home

Google yourself

How would you feel about your Mom seeing this?

Safety 1st

Keep your private life private

Telling isn’t tattling

Support each other

November 22 Lose the Whiskers! As we are sure you aware, many of the NMS male faculty members participated in "No Shave Novem-ber," as a fund-raising activity to fight prostate can-cer. Our scruffy guys had the opportunity to have their beards trimmed and decorated before head-ing home to shave them off on Friday, November 22. The students and teachers had a great time while raising money for a very worthwhile cause.