T I M B E R WO L F T I M E S S 3 S 6
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A Message From Ms. McGraw:
Volume 7, Issue 7 May - June, 2013
The Spring SOL tests will be given May 13-June 7 this year. We will attach an abbreviated schedule of testing to our school webpage for you to see. All students will be taking a test in reading and math. Sixth and Seventh grade students will be taking a social studies test (U.S. History 6, and Civics 7). Eighth graders will be taking a science SOL test. It is very important that all students attend school on time during these days of testing.
Exams for all students will begin Tuesday, June 11. This is a full day of school. Beginning Wednesday, June 12, all students will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m. for the rest of the week. Exams will continue through Friday, June 14, which is the last day of school. As part of the middle school exam exemption policy, students who passed an SOL test will be exempt from the exam in that SOL tested subject. If students are exempt from an exam, they do not need to attend school during that exam period. Of course, any parent who wishes for their child to take an exam may do so and students who are exempt may come it school. 7th and 8th grade students will be taking exams in their elective and PE classes. Sixth graders will not have exams in their elective or PE class. Parents should receive a letter from their student’s teachers to let you know which exams he/she may be exempted.
This year, in recognition of our five years as a Stafford County middle school, we are hosting our first Shirley Heim “Showcase of Learning” event. It will be held on Thursday, June 6th, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. The format will be similar to an open house. Students and their families are invited to see a variety of the activities, academic lessons and projects, and music performances our students have participated in during the past school year. Please take a look at the flyer within this newsletter. I hope to see you there…. As the school year comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support. I especially want to thank our wonderful PTO for all of their hard work supporting our students and staff. I wish our departing eighth graders the best of luck as they enter high school. I wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer. I look forward to seeing our returning students at our Open House at the end of August!
Sincerely, Mary Grace McGraw
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May 2013 Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed 1
National Physical Education Week
5
6
National Music Week
X
7
Y
Y
X
School Nutrition Employee Week NJHS Induction
National Teacher Appreciation Week National Teacher Day
Pops Concert 7 p.m. Gym
12
13
Mother’s Day
SOL Testing Begins
19
8
Thu
20
Y
14
X
7 p.m. Orchestra Instrument Fitting 5-7 p.m.
2
9
Fri
X
Y
Y
Band & Orch Trip to Kings Dominion
10
11
X
8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Chorus Trip to Kings Dominion 8:00 am- 8:30 pm
School Nurse Day
15
Y
16
X
17
Y
18 Armed Forces Day
X
21
Y
22
X
23
Y
24
X
Early Release 12:20 p.m.
27
4
FACs, Tech Ed, FBLA to Kings Dominion 8:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Band Instrument Fitting 5-7 p.m.
Bosses Week
26
3
Sat
X
28
Y
29
X
30
NO SCHOOL PTO Candy Grams
PTO Candy Grams
Word of the Month: Dependability
31
X
Choir/Band Trip to Busch Gardens 7 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Memorial Day PTO Candy Grams
Y
25
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June 2013 Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat 1
2
9
16
3
Y
4
X
8th Grade Awards Reception 6:45 pm Ceremony - 7 pm
Band Concert BPHS 7 p.m.
10
11
X
Y
Athletic Awards Reception 6:45 pm Ceremony - 7 pm
Orchestra Fitting 5-7 p.m.
17
18
5
Y
6
Orchestra Concert 7 p.m. - SHMS
Showcase of Learning 6-8 p.m.
12
13
X
7
Y
8
8th Grade Dance
Y
14
X
15
Exams ~ Early Release Days ~ 12:20 p.m. Fire House Subs Spirit Night 5-8 pm
19
Last Day of School
20
21
22
Report Cards Mailed
Father’s Day
23
X
24
25
26
27
30
Word of the Month: Forgiveness
28
29
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From the Chorus Room:
Our final concert of the year will be Monday, May 6th at 7:00 in the SHMS gymnasium. This will be our pops concert and I am very excited about the music we are preparing for this concert. Please come out and hear a variety of songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, as well as musicals and movies. Students should plan on arriving at the choir room at 6:30 for attendance and warm-ups. The 6th grade choir will be going to Kings Dominion on Saturday, May 11th. Information has already been sent home and some students have already returned their medical release forms. PLEASE go to Mrs. Irby’s SchoolFusion page to find this page if your student has not yet turned it in. Students will not be able to attend with the choir if the form is not returned!! There will be an after school rehearsal on Thursday, May 9th for all students attending. The 7th and 8th grade choirs will be traveling to Busch Gardens on Friday, May 31st. More information will be sent home with those who have turned in their payment and paperwork. Additionally, there will be a combined rehearsal on Thursday, May 30th for those students who are participating. This is our only opportunity to rehearse together before the event so it is extremely important that all students are in attendance. We will still be holding Karaoke Fridays in May and June. Our May event will be Thursday the 23rd. We may have a “group” karaoke on the 24th, due to the Memorial Day early release. The June day will be on the 11th, which is a Tuesday, but is moved due to finals. Upcoming Events: May 6 – Pops Concert; 7:00 PM; Students report at 6:30; SHMS Gymnasium May 9 – Kings Dominion rehearsal – 3:00-4:00 May 11 – 6th grade trip to Kings Dominion May 23 – Karaoke Thursday May 24 – Group Karaoke May 30 – Combined rehearsal for Hershey Park (7th and 8th only) May 31 – Hershey Park Trip (7th and 8th only) June 11 – Karaoke Tuesday Alyssa Irby Shirley Heim Middle School Choirs irbyak@staffordschools.net
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6th Grade News: Math - Mr. Kane: The last quarter will begin with the end of course material, covering measurement/geometry, as well as, probability and statistics. The second half of the fourth quarter will be spending class time preparing for the SOL exam in late May. We have a very busy schedule the last two months but nothing bigger than the SOL. In June, the students will be working on in class and take home projects. The last week of school will host their final exams, which will include all material covered in the third and fourth quarter. I hope everyone has taken the opportunity to learn from me, as much as I have learned from them and wish everyone a great summer!
Math - Ms. Beacham/Drees Students will be finishing up our studies with learning about measurements in the Metric and US Customary Systems and probability. We will then spend most of May working on reviewing for the SOL's. We have covered a lot of material this year and we want to make sure the students have it all fresh in their minds before they take their assessment. After students take their SOL towards the end of May, mathematical learning will not stop however. We will use this time to do several projects, giving the students some hands-on experience. As always, if you have comments or questions about what is happening, please contact Mrs. Beacham or Mrs. Drees.
English - Ms. Lloyd/Monaghan We will be working on reviewing for the SOL. We have covered a lot of information on roots, fiction, non-fiction, reference materials, poetry, figurative language, etc. After the SOL we will be working on a novel and some other projects that will help strengthen reading skills and prepare students for the seventh grade. As always, if you have comments or questions about what is happening, please contact Mrs. Lloyd or Ms. Monaghan.
Timberwolf Times
7th Grade News: English 7 - Glass We are a few weeks into fourth quarter and students have received their last project directions and supplements. Please see my school fusion site for more details and copies of all project materials. The projects will be due on Wednesday, June 5. Over the next few weeks in class, we will be studying connotations and denotations, author's purpose, and figurative language. After that, we will begin reviewing many of the reading comprehension skills we have learned this year in preparation for the Reading SOL at the end of May. Throughout the review we will continue our daily Caught'Ya warm-ups, vocabulary program, weekly word part studies, and our built in RTI time. A few weeks before the SOL I will be providing the students with a study guide of English terms and allowing them to take home their SOL prep books that we work from in class. Students should study the English terms and complete any remaining activities in the prep book as practice for the SOL. I will also post a Study Island review assignment that students can use at home. Happy almost summer. English 7 - Ms. Park Students are now reviewing for their upcoming Reading SOL tests that will take place on either May 28th or May 29th. Please ensure that students are eating a good breakfast and getting plenty of rest the night before their test. In lieu of a review packet, students should complete all assigned Study Island assignments.
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Ceramic Tile Mural at Shirley Heim Middle School Mr. Todd Lockhart, owner of Town & County Tile Inc., donated 600+ tiles to The Shirley Heim Middle School art department and volunteered to install the final work with the help of Mr. Todd Coffman. Mrs. Carol Coffman, art teacher, got permission for art students to reference a photo by Monty Sloan, photographer and tour guide at The Wolf Park in Indiana. The timberwolf is the school’s mascot. A group of talented eighth grade art students numbered all 523 tiles and worked on a scale drawing based on one of As the year draws to a close we have our fun and Mr. Sloan’s photographs of a wolf pack. The drawing was fabulous 8th Grade Send-off Dance: Shooting for the painted with ceramic glaze and each tile was fired in a kiln Stars on Friday, June 7th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The before being assembled and installed. This was a big 8th Graders will be getting more information directly. project and the students were excited to be a part of it. The Please consider sending in some food or volunteering student artists that worked on the mural are Emily Downs, to help decorate or clean-up. It is a lovely event for the Riley Mensah, Shanina Best, Andrew Segovia, Jack Harmon, Alexis Camp, Cydney Goodin, James Johnson, 8th graders. and Andrew Hergenrother.
The PTO at Shirley Heim would like to thank all of our wonderful parents, teachers and staff. We have had a great year full of fun activities and great work. We would not have had such a great year without all the contributions no matter how big or small. Every bit counts and we thank you.
We will also have two final Spirit Nights. May 23rd from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Aquia Towne Center McDonalds and June 12th from 5 to 8 p.m. at Firehouse Subs. Consider stopping by these two events for dinner or a snack. A portion of the evening sales will come directly to the PTO here at Shirley Heim. These nights help us support programs like our Classroom Grants! We hope to see you there. The PTO will be working over the summer to make plans for the 2013-2014 school year. We always have room for more helpers. If you are interested in getting involved please feel free to contact Lisa at shmsptopresident@gmail.com. Sincerely, Lisa Nelson
Link to The Wolf Park: http://www.wolfpark.org/
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Go Timberwolves ! GIRLS SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
BOYS/GIRLS TRACK SCHEDULE
05/02 Home vs. H.H. Poole
05/02 Home vs. H.H. Poole
05/07 Away vs. Drew Middle
05/07 Away vs. Drew Middle
05/09 Away vs. Dixon-Smith
05/09 Away vs. Dixon-Smith
05/14 Home vs. Rodney-Thompson
05/14 Home vs. Rodney-Thompson
The induction ceremony for rising NJHS members will be held on May 8th at 7 pm in the Shirley Heim forum. All rising and current members must attend. Throughout the year the members of the National Junior Honor Society have shown dedication to their communities through their individual and group service projects. A year end celebration will be held on May 15th to commemorate all those accomplishments. To be eligible to participate members must have attended at least 50% of the meetings throughout the year and must have completed and turned in all service hour forms.
The Shirley Heim Middle School Chapter of the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) has been selected as the 2013 National Community Service Middle School winner. They have been awarded with the Middle School Community Service Award of $1,000. All FCCLA students worked diligently to reach this level of service, putting in a great deal of energy and hard work into a large community event. Lisa White-Murrill, the sponsor of FCCLA, and FCCLA member Simone Cottman will be representing Shirley Heim Middle School FCCLA Club in the Spotlight Showcase in Nashville, Tennessee July 6th- 11th. The title of their project is “Shirley Heim Middle Passionately Pink for the Cure, Promoting Healthy & Sustainable Families.” Their project focused on making the community aware of breast cancer and how to support the patients and family members. The students discovered through their research that Shirley C. Heim, the school’s namesake, was a breast cancer fighter. The students with the help of Ms. White-Murrill developed commercials and had it televised at school, made posters, flyers, and a webpage on the Passionately Pink for a Cure site. They planned a Passionately Pink day for the school, where students, faculty, and staff wore pink, the football players wore pink socks, and we sold pink items at the concession stands during a football game. The proceeds were then donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
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STAFFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DRESS CODE The following is prohibited in Stafford County Schools: Clothing and accessories that promote alcohol, tobacco, or drug usage or which display weapons or violence and which cause or are likely to cause disruption within the school environment. 1) Decisions regarding the appropriateness of clothing, footwear and accessories will be made by the Principal or a designee. Items deemed inappropriate will be brought to the parent's attention for corrective action. Continued violations of the dress code will subject the student to suspension from school. 2) Clothing and accessories that contain vulgar, derogatory, or suggestive diagrams, pictures, slogans or words that may be interpreted as racially, religiously, ethically, or sexually offensive and which cause or are likely to cause a disruption within the school environment. 3) Clothing symbolic of gangs or disruptive groups associated with threatening behavior, harassment or discrimination and which cause or are likely to cause a disruption within the school environment. 4) Clothing, accessories and/or any words, pictures, diagrams, etc., thereon which are lewd, vulgar, indecent, plainly offensive, or which cause or are likely to cause a material disruption. 5) Tank tops, tube tops, mesh tops, sheer tops, sleeveless tops, halters, or bare midriff tops. 6) Shirts cannot have necklines that are lower than the straight line from top of underarm across to opposite underarm. 7) Shirts must cover shoulders, must have sleeves, and must extend pass the top of the pants. Display of cleavage is not permitted. Tops may not expose the midriff, and clothing must cover undergarments at all times. Note that at the Elementary level, sleeveless tops and dresses are permitted providing they do not violate any other part of the dress code. 8) Fringed garments in CTE areas or in Drama and Art areas, which contain machinery. 9) Leggings or tight fitting spandex type pants, pants with side slits or holes above the knees, see-through pants, tights, or leotards worn as outer garments. 10) Sagging pants, pants worn low on the hip so as to reveal underwear or skin. Pants must be worn with both legs down (not one leg rolled up), and pants legs may not extend past the sole of the shoe. Clothing must cover undergarments at all times. 11) Dresses, skirts, shorts, culottes, and skorts that are shorter than the extended tip of the longest finger with arms hanging naturally at the sides. 12) Pajamas, loungewear, and dorm pants. 13) Items of clothing that would impair the health and safety of the student during normal school activities. 14) Bedroom slippers, roller sneakers, or heels higher than 3 inches. Shoes must be worn at all times. Athletic shoes or closed shoes with a rubber sole should be worn for Physical Education and recess. At the Elementary level, high heels, loose fitting sandals and flip-flops are discouraged for safety reasons. 15) Sunglasses or permanently tinted dark glasses. 16) Dog collars, chains, wallet chains, safety pins, spike jewelry or fishhooks worn as jewelry, accessories or ornamentation. Bandanas may not be worn anywhere on one’s person. 17) Head coverings of any kind in the building (except for religious or medical reasons). 18) Curlers, picks, combs, or hair rakes in the hair.
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CLINIC NEWS END OF THE YEAR MEDICATION PROCEDURE
All medications will need to be picked up from the clinic by parents on Friday June 14, 2013 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. If you are unable to do so on that day, please contact the school nurse to arrange another time. Medications will not be sent home with students. Medications not picked up will be properly disposed of by the last working day of teaching/nursing staff. This includes epi-pens and inhalers. Medication Permission forms must be renewed annually. Medication forms, Asthma, and Anaphylaxis care plans can be obtain in the clinic or downloaded from the clinic fusion page. **Stafford County Public Schools require that if medications/treatments are to be taken by a student while he/she is in school, the school Must have the following information completed and on file in the health clinic:
1. A signed order from the health care provider 2. A signed consent from the parent or guardian The medication in the original pharmacy container
THIS APPLIES TO ANY MEDICATION, PRESCRIPTION OR OVER THE COUNTER. Rising 6th grade Students
A Tdap (Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus) booster is required of students enrolling in grade 6. This vaccination may be listed as T, Td, Dtap, and/or Tdap. Tdap can be given to student’s age 10 or 11. No Student will be allowed to start school on September 3, 2013 without the proper documentation of Tdap immunization. Documentation must be brought to school prior to the first day.
Lyme disease Lyme disease is a common tick-borne infection in Virginia. Common symptoms of Lyme disease include the following: Fever, headache Weakness, fatigue Bull’s-eye-rash Stiff neck Muscle or joint pain, tenderness Lyme disease is a preventable illness. Practices that help decrease risk of acquiring Lyme disease are proper clothing when outdoors (woods), use of repellants, and prompt removal of ticks. As always, be sure to report signs and symptoms of Lyme disease to your primary care physician. Have A Wonderful Summer Jennifer Granderson, BSN RN
Stafford County Public Schools Shirley C. Heim Middle School 320 Telegraph Road Stafford, VA 22554