News at GMS...
 (maintained by Mr. Berry)

Middle School Tidbits

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire--then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.

Robert Fulghum Writer

It is a pleasure to work with your children. Please send any feedback about our website to: pberry@galwaycsd.org 

All the best for a great week ahead,

---Paul Berry, Galway Middle School Principal   pberry@galwaycsd.org

Calendar Note Please note that June 16 is the final full day for ms students. Due to a Regents exam schedule change, ms students will not attend school for a half day on June 17 as noted on the school calendar. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

June 16 Awards Recognition programs:

Parents and other family members are certainly welcome to join us for our end of the year recognition programs that occur in the auditorium. Special thanks to Mrs. DeCristofaro for her efforts creating the literally hundreds of certificates and to Mrs. Landers for her coordination of the recognition programs. Thank you to everyone that will help to make the program meaningful for each student. During each lunch, each student that received a 3.5 or higher character/citizenship grade will enjoy an ice cream sundae, receive a certificate and other prizes. Please note that every effort is made to recognize each student; however, to remain in the timeframe allowed some certificates may be presented during other activities. Thank you for your understanding.

Period 1            7th grade awards (start 8:05)

Period 2           7th grade awards

Period 3           7th grade awards to 10am

Period 4           8th grade awards (start 10:15)

Period 5           8th grade awards

Period 6           8th grade awards (ends 12:23)

Period 6          6th grade awards (begin at 12:30)

Period 7           6th grade awards

Period 8           6th grade awards (return to HR or dismiss from auditorium-ends 2:22)
MSAB Update   The next MSAB meeting is scheduled for after school on June 17 at 7 PM in the ms office. This meeting will focus on preparing for our annual BOE presentation as well as to discuss the creation of a middle school student health advisory committee. The May 22 Internet safety program provided for our students served as an informative introduction to this important topic. Parents are encouraged to watch the presentation by following the link below. It would be powerful for parents to view this presentation with their student. http://www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us/missing/i_safety/videos_presentations.htm 
Math A Review 8th grade students in Advanced Math will take the Math A Regents exam on June 17at 8am. Review sessions for this exam have been set for the following days: 2:30 to 3:15 on Tuesday June 10, Thursday June 12, and Monday June 16. Sessions will be in Mr. Redman’s classroom. 

Spanish Review Mrs. Peconie has announced two review classes for the 8th grade NYS Proficiency exam scheduled for June 23 (8am-11). Review classes will be held Wednesday, June 18 from 8am to 11am (for Spanish periods 2 and 3); and Thursday, June 19 from 8am to 11am (for Spanish periods 4 and 5).

 Homework Central Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly what your student has for homework each night? Your middle school provides two tools to help you have this information. The first is the daily planner or agenda. The second is Homework Central. Link to the Galway Website at www.galwaycsd.org and follow the link for middle school and Homework Central. You’ll see all the information you need to make certain that your student has completed their assignments.

q           Middle School Research Websites: Have your students visit the following links when asked to do research by a classroom teacher. Each site is specifically geared toward education issues and research. This will be much faster than using Google or another search engine:

www.awesomelibrary.org          www.yakscorner.com     http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm    

http://search.ebscohost.com  (See librarian for password)  http://www.onekey.com/

http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html                        http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/index.html

http://www.atlapedia.com/ 

 

Here are great things happening in our middle school this week…

q   6/16                        Last full day of classes (award assemblies)

q   6/16                        PTSA Mtg. 7PM

q   6/17                        Advanced Math 8th Graders take Math Regents

q   6/17                        MSAB Mtg. 7PM

q   6/18                        New 6th Grade Orientation Program (students) 1PM

q   6/18                        BOE Mtg. 7PM

In the not too distant future…

q   6/23                        8th Grade Foreign Language Proficiency Exam

q   6/26                        Student Senate Trip to Great Escape, Lake George 9am-6PM

q   6/27                        Final Report Cards Mailed

q   7/1                          Summer School Begins

q   8/28                        Middle School Orientation 9-12PM

 

Focus On … Memories of School

What do you remember about your middle school years? Did you have any memorable teachers? What skills did you learn in middle school that helped you succeed in high school? Did you have a best friend that you thought would be around forever? Did you have your first crush?

I had two influential teachers in grades six and eight, Mr. Gillespie and Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Gillespie took a shy boy and turned him into a public speaker. Mr. Kennedy was scary. He could walk into an assembly of students and quiet the crowd with a stare. Mr. Gillespie helped me discover something that I could be good at and Mr. Kennedy helped me become more focused and disciplined. In addition to these teachers, my memories of my middle level years include sports, dances, friendships and fun.

I hope that our children are positively influenced by our middle school staff. As educators, I know that we are invested in making their experience positive and equipping them with the skills necessary to succeed in high school. I think we also realize that it will not be outstanding lessons that our students remember, but outstanding experiences.

For many, the most memorable things will be events like today (field day) and this week (field trips- Boston , NYC, Great Escape). For others it will be a club activity, a sport, a rec night or a dance. During these events, memories are made, mental pictures are formed, and stories are created. I hope that your memories of school are positive and I hope that all of our students will have positive memories of their middle school experience.