The RMS Newsletter

March 2018

Dear RMS Parents/Guardians,

March is coming in like a roaring lion and winter is still upon us. Spring will find us busy.

Our students are preparing for various assessments that will assist with providing the best

placements for next year, spring sports begin March12th, and we will have our annual

school wide Spring Musical March 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

This year’s Spring Musical is “Shrek”. The RMS musical has been an annual event for

several years and is a highlight for our students. As you will observe, the show is filled with

enthusiasm and excitement that exemplifies Middle School student energy throughout the

production.

Many hours of planning and development have gone into this wonderful production. The

cast and support staff have dedicated their time after school and weekends to bring this

entertaining comedy to life. The cast and students have put a lot of time and effort into this

production. I am appreciative of the leadership of the director, David Reif, the producer,

Heather Spindel, the Music Director/Choreographer, Christine Puk, and the countless

behind-the-scene folks who have helped to bring this to fruition. I would be remiss if I

didn’t acknowledge all of the parent volunteers who have helped during practices, built

sets, created costumes, and supplied endless snacks. This truly is a collaboration and

celebration of parents, students and staff. The show will be another blast!

Please find time in your busy schedules to join us at one of the four shows so you can

witness for yourself the hard work that has gone into making this production a memorable

experience for our students. Thank you for your awesome support of our RMS Fine Arts

Program.

This month may you and your families join us in creating those quiet moments together as

we learn to appreciate the diversity in each of us. Please accept my deepest gratitude for all

you do to support Radnor Middle School.

Thinking Spring,

Esther M. Purnell

IMPORTANT Future Planner Note:

PSSAs are just around the corner: English/Language Arts assessments for 6th

thru 8th grade will take place in on April 10th. Math assessments for 6th thru 8th

grade will take place on April 17th. The PSSA Science testing for all 8th grade

students will take place on April 24th . Make-Ups will start on open dates

immediately following each assessment.

It is required that all students take all sections of the PSSAs. Please avoid making

appointments during the school day throughout these testing periods. Students

will be required to make up any missed sections of the PSSA.

No Child Left Behind legislation has placed a greater emphasis on standardized

testing. One result is that PSSA scores will have a direct bearing on some middle

and high school course placements. Please encourage your child to come to

school rested and ready to perform to the best of their ability.

8th Grade Course Selection for Radnor High School:

Mrs. Raines will be asking for all 9th grade Course Request Verification sheets to

be returned to the guidance office no later than March 9th. At that point, a

student may obtain an override/underride form. All course changes must be

made before May 25.

Opportunity Knocks:

RMS's Integrated Programs

The time has come to start thinking about next year and the

exciting opportunities that await RMS students in our nationally

recognized integrated programs. The options are: Crossroads

(6th), Watershed (7th), Gateways and Soundings (8th). In

April, students will learn about their integrated options for the

following year. The schedule for these presentations will be

posted on the RMS website, and parents will be encouraged to

attend these sessions as well.

In the meantime, we suggest you go to the Integrated

Department website to learn more about what integrated

learning is: RMS Integrated Department From there, you

will also be able to access information on each of the individual

programs.

From the RMS Nurse…

Carolyn V Seaton, RN MSN CSN

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

How much sleep you need changes as you age.

Although the amount of sleep you get each day is important, other aspects of your sleep

also contribute to your health and well-being. Good sleep quality is also essential. Signs

Age Group Recommended Hours of Sleep Per Day

Newborn 0–3 months

14–17 hours (National Sleep Foundation)

No recommendation (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

Infant 4–12 months 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps)

Toddler 1–2 years 11–14 hours per 24 hours (including naps)

Preschool 3–5 years 10–13 hours per 24 hours (including naps)

School Age 6–12 years 9–12 hours per 24 hours

Teen 13–18 years 8–10 hours per 24 hours

Adult 18–60 years 7 or more hours per night

61–64 years 7–9 hours

65 years and older 7–8 hours

of poor sleep quality include not feeling rested even after getting enough sleep,

repeatedly waking up during the night, and experiencing symptoms of sleep

disorders (such as snoring or gasping for air). Improving sleep quality may be helped by

better sleep habits or being diagnosed and treated for any sleep disorder you may have.

For additional information on good sleep habits visit

www.sleepeducation.org/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits

Good Night……

From The Music

Department…

Band Students Represent RMS in Annual Festivals

19th Annual PMEA Delco Intermediate Band Fest

Radnor Middle School will be represented by eight 6th grade band

students in the 19th Annual Pennsylvania Music Educators Association

(PMEA) District 12 Delco Intermediate Band Fest on Tuesday, Feb. 27,

2018, at E.T. Richardson Middle School. The Band Fest is a one-day

event comprised of over 100 advancing fifth and sixth grade band

students from elementary and middle schools throughout Delaware

County. The participating students join together for a full day of

rehearsal and an evening concert. The guest conductor for the festival

will be Mr. Joe Gehring, conductor of the Immaculate University

Symphony and music director of the Chesco Pops Orchestra.

RMS sixth grade band participants are: Nikita Ravi, bassoon; Kenny

Hwang, clarinet; Kethan Kalra, trumpet; James Gates and Ashley Van

Trieste, horn; Ian Casillas, euphonium; Karl Fredericks, trombone, and

Eddie Kohn, tuba.

RMS to host 47th Annual Schuylkill Valley Area Band

Festival

Seventeen 7th & 8th grade band students will proudly represent RMS in

the 47th annual Schuylkill Valley Area Band Festival hosted this year at

Radnor Middle School. Students from seven area middle schools will

combine to form a large concert band of full instrumentation over three

days of rehearsals. An evening concert will be performed on Friday,

March 16, 2018, beginning at 8 pm.

The festival provides the opportunity for participating students to learn

and play challenging band repertoire as an extension of their band

programs of their home schools. In addition to playing together with

peers of similar interest and ability, the students also gain the experience

of playing under the batons of each of the participating school's

directors. Radnor Middle School is a founding member of SVAB.

Radnor Middle School participants are:

8th Grade – Audrey Niedland and Katie Johnstone, flute; Jason Tey

and Anna Ramesh, clarinet; Noah Choi, alto saxophone; Ridhima

Jain, horn; James McGovern and Kyle Leighton, trumpet; Parker

Drew, trombone; Michael Marino, string bass; and Ethan Gutsche,

Preston Breck, and Kanta Miyanaga, percussion. 7th Grade -

Raymond Luan, oboe; Mia Xie, clarinet; Olive Richter, horn, and

David Marshall, trombone, Gabriel Douthwaite, euphonium.

RMS will be presenting Shrek The Musical, Jr. on March 1st

and 2nd at 7:30 p.m. and March 3rd at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in

the RMS auditorium.

Tickets are $5 for students/senior citizens and $10 for

adults. Shrek Jr. features your favorite characters from the best

animated feature film of 2001. Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Lord

Farquaad and all their fairy-tale friends sing and dance as they

present the story live on stage.

Tickets can be purchased at

https://rmsmusical2018.eventbrite.com or on the RMS

website under “Activities and Athletics”.

We hope to see many of you at the Radnor Middle School's

Production of Shrek Jr.!

Upcoming Spring Sports

During the spring, Radnor Middle School offers boys’ baseball,

girls’ softball, girls’ and boys' lacrosse, boys' and girls' track, and boys’

tennis (all have separate teams for seventh and eighth grades except

track). In order to tryout/participate in an interscholastic sport, a

student must have a physical form signed and dated by a

doctor. Practices/Tryouts for all sports begin Monday, March 13th, so

please call your doctor early --- TRYOUTS WILL NOT BE

EXTENDED FOR LATE ARRIVALS.

*** If your child played a fall or winter sport at the Middle School,

the physical on file will cover the spring sport as well, but page 6 of the

PIAA form must be completed by the parent. If you indicate an

injury or illness on page 7, a new physical is required. If your child

did not play a fall or winter sport, a physical form (available on the M.S.

website) must be completed and returned to the coach before the first

practice.

If you have any questions about Middle School athletics, email

George Hahn, Athletic Director, at george.hahn@rtsd.org . Directions to

away games, game schedules, and physical forms are available online at

http://www.rtsd.org/domain/339.

Pen Pal & Popcorn Club

Check out the developments at our new school farm in

Uganda. This year's pen pals are helping to change lives by

attacking food scarcity in drought-stricken Uganda. Read all about

it here: www.penpaluganda.blogspot.com

News From the Library

On March 1st, Radnor Middle School, along

with schools across the country, celebrated Dr. Seuss’s

birthday. As part of the celebration, many classes signed

up to host guest readers from Radnor High School. Other

classes came to the library for read-a-louds by Lt.

Flanagan (Radnor PD), Anny Laepple (Radnor Memorial

Library Director), Andrea Elson (RML Librarian), Mrs.

Purnell, Mrs. Horan, and other RMS teachers. Students

also participated in a Dr. Seuss trivia contest in their

Advisory classes. The Advisory from each grade who had

the most questions correct earned a Seuss related

prize. Read Across Radnor took place at 2pm when

students and staff across the district stopped what they

were doing and read for 10-15 minutes. Happy Birthday

Dr. Seuss!

On March 1st, Radnor Middle School, along with schools across

the country, celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday. As part of the celebration,

many classes came to the library for read-a-louds by Lt. Flanagan

(Radnor PD), Amy Goldman (RTSD School Board member), Andrea Elson

(RML Librarian), Mrs. Purnell, Mrs. Horan, and other RMS teachers.

Read Across Radnor took place at 2pm when students and staff stopped

what they were doing and read for 10-15 minutes.

Close to 100 Radnor Middle School students will compete in the

Delaware Reading Olympics competition on March 7th at Upper Darby

High School. RMS Reading Olympic teams have worked all year to read

forty-five books from the Delaware County Reading Olympics Book List.

The Crossroads Section By Daniel Kaper and Lauren Meyer

Crossroads has made a lot of progress in the past two months, but here are a few of the

major projects and lessons we took part in. In the beginning of January, we began our study of

cultures of the world. We did some activities to examine our own ethnocentrism, and how it

impacts our views of cultures different from our own.

We did a group project where we researched about a certain area or country in Central

America and South America in our small groups. Some of the groups in that project were the

Amazon Rainforest, the Pampas, Nicaragua, the Ancient Maya, the Incas, and more. The special

part of this project was that not everyone was researching the same kind of thing. While some

people researched areas, others researched groups of people. Our presentations had to be

twenty minutes long, and we all very much enjoyed it when we could learn about different

topics from all around the Americas.

After that, we did a project on the famous cities of Europe, and made a presentation

and a bulletin board of that city. Some of the cities covered include Amsterdam, Paris, Florence,

St. Petersburg, Berlin, and many more. The presentation and bulletin board were due on the

same day, so we had to be as productive as we could to complete them on time. Crossroads

students also read Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. This ties to our European unit

because it is based in Europe. The book is about a Belgian investigator on a train, but one night a

passenger is killed and the train gets caught in a snowdrift, so it is up to the investigator to solve

the crime. Another connection to our study of Europe was our study of Impressionism. We

went to the Barnes Museum to examine the many works of impressionistic art there, including

many from the great masters, Renoir and Monet.

Since the end of January marked the half-way point of the year, we took that

opportunity to reflect on the yearly goals we each set for ourselves back in September. We

evaluated our progress on each of those goals, determining if we had fallen short, achieved

them, or surpassed them. Then we supported our answer with evidence from our work from the

first half of the year.

This past two months we worked hard on our different projects including the Americas

Project, the European Cities Project, our goals, and Ethnocentrism. And that’s how we got to

enjoy the fun experience of our new unit, Cultures of the World.

Government at RMS… Team 8 Copper Social Studies has been learning about the beginnings of American government. During marking period 3, students will be arguing the decision of Supreme Court Case, Tinker vs. DeMoines. Students will be exposed to the power of

the teenage voice, while learning about persuasive strategies and rhetorical techniques. In class, students listened to Stoneman Douglas High School senior, Emma Gonzalez's powerful speech about creating changes in government that reduce violence in

schools. Students are also crafting inspirational letters to the high school students to show support and how teenagers can create positive differences in government (like the Tinkers) and in the world around them.

Students encourage their peers to do the same:

Address:

Stoneman Douglas High School

5901 Pine Island Road

Parkland, FL 33076

The RMS Gateways

Integrated Program

recently completed the Future City Project. The class was tasked

with creating a city of the future based on a specific theme. This

year's theme was "The Age-Friendly City." The 4-month project

began with students interviewing for positions and culminated at

the regional competition, in January, where the group won two

design awards. Gateways would like to thank RMS and RTSD for

their support. More information and pictures can be found in the

link below.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/GJBlqhrxLx7oc/