#1stWeekofSchool Great Showing of #NMSTigerPride

#NMSTigerPride!

The first few days of school are so important to setting up the learning that will happen.  

As I walked around the building during the first four days, getting into classes, I was so impressed with the work our faculty and staff was doing to build relationships with our students.

I saw teachers doing exercises for relationship building, forming a culture of together and learning, and then after that, starting to get into the academics.  All of these are important, and each holds its own individual importance, but research will say that a foundation of trust and a relationship is what the rest gets built upon.  For me, it was so much fun seeing faculty and staff do all of these activities in the first three days.  In every article I sent to teachers in the weeks prior to the school year starting, they all said that kids will learn and put forth the effort when they trust their teachers and have an established relationship with them.  This is exactly what I saw in these first few days.  

On the first day of school, Ms. Rae, Mr. Thomas, and I held a sign and took selfies with the students stating that "We're so happy you're here."  In a simple way, we wanted all students to see that they are wanted here at NMS.

On the third day, Thursday, we held another sign explaining to all students, "You are special."  Again, this was what many of our students saw as they were dropped off for school or got off the bus.  We want our students to feel special and know we care about them, and a little sign (inspired by my friend and colleague at Case High School, Principal Brian McCann) can do this for our students.

On Friday, September 9, it was the first day we had all of our students wearing their Class T-Shirts and our faculty and staff wearing their Staff Shirts.

It was an awesome display of school pride and unity.  In 6th Grade classes you would see a sea of gray; in 7th an ocean of orange; in 8th grade, a bouquet of black; and all along side, a staff shimmering in orange and black with spirit.

We are going to make this tradition happen for our signs on Thursdays and on the first Friday of each month, we will wear our T-shirts.  Our next #NMSTigerPride Day will be Friday, October 7.

Love the NMS Spirit!

Here are many of the snapshots of the week.

Here is also a Storify of the Tweets from the First Few Days of the New School Year:

Middleborough High School Building Project Community Forum 9/14 at 7PM

All Citizens are Welcome & Encouraged to Attend

The first Community Forum for the Middleborough High School Building Project is Wednesday, September 14, at 7 PM, in the Middleborough High School.

Here they will be discussing the planning and process around the proposed new high school project.

The Committee, Owner's Project Manager and Architect will review the timeline for the project as well as the process for how a decision will be made on the preferred option.

A portion of the forum will be devoted to an interactive discussion with all interested attendees to gather input about what a 21st Century high school for Middleborough should look like.

All citizens are invited.

For more information, visit:  MHSBuildingProject.com

NMS Spirit Day -- Friday, Sept. 9

Don't Forget to Wear Your T-Shirt

On Friday, September 9, we are asking all of our students in all three grades to wear their new Nichols Middle School Spirit Shirts.

Each grade has its own color and saying with it.

The sixth grade's shirt is ...

The seventh grade's shirt is ...

The eighth grade's shirt is ...

This was a new tradition we started last school year in honor of the work Mr. Branagan has done at Middleborough High School with their Start Strong program and their showing Sachem Pride.

We hope to continue to make this a tradition for us here at NMS for everyone to wear their Nichols Pride Shirts on the First Friday of each month.  #NMSTigerPride

We want our 6th Grade students to see their educational journey beginning in a fantastic way as Adventurers and Challengers.

And for our 7th Grade students to discover new worlds as Beacons and Explorers.

And for our 8th Grade students to take off to great new heights as we prepare them for that next step in their educational journey as Apollos and Comets.

So don't forget to wear your T-Shirt!

Student Google Accounts for Nichols Middle School

Student Google Accounts for Nichols Middle School

Middleborough Public Schools has created Google accounts for all K-12 students to allow for collaborative sharing using Google Apps for Education.  These accounts will be used for school-related communication and projects only.

Accounts for students in grades 6-12 will have access to Google applications including email.  However, email will be restricted to the Middleborough Public Schools domain.  A student will not be able to correspond with AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. accounts, but only with staff and students within Middleborough Schools. Email addresses associated with web 2.0 tools, such as Prezi and Lynda.com, will be allowed through the email filter.

The account naming convention will be the last two digits of year of graduation, last name, first name, middle initial@middleboro.k12.ma.us. For example, Jonathan L. Smith is a member of the class of 2015 so his email address would be 15smithjonathanl@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Students will receive their email address and password instructions from their homeroom teacher.

Please read the Middleborough Public Schools Student Google Account Responsible Use Guideline (see page 2).

Middleborough Public Schools Student Google Account Responsible Use Guidelines

Middleborough Public Schools has created Google accounts for all K-12 students to allow for collaborative sharing using Google Apps for Education.  

These accounts will be used for school-related communication and projects only. Accounts for K-5 students will have access to Google applications only, and will not have access to email.  Accounts for students in grades 6-12 will have access to Google applications including email.  However, email will be restricted to Middleborough Public Schools domain.  A student will not be able to correspond with AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. accounts, but only with staff and students within Middleborough Public Schools.

The account naming convention will be last two digits of year of graduation, last name, first name, middle initial@middleboro.k12.ma.us. For example, 15smithjonathanl@middleboro.k12.ma.us

Students will receive their log-in and password instructions from their homeroom teacher.

Middleborough Public Schools supports the use of Google accounts to enhance the teaching and learning process.  All middleboro.k12.ma.us accounts are housed on a Google mail server, thereby giving students’ access to Google Apps for Education.  This also allows teachers and students to share information housed in these file areas with others. The account will be considered the student’s official middleboro.k12.ma.us email address until such time as the student is no longer enrolled in Middleborough Public Schools district.

Students must follow the Middleborough Public Schools Network Acceptable Use Policy.  Access to and use of student accounts is a privilege and Middleborough Public Schools maintains the right to withdraw the access and use of an account when there is reason to believe that violations of the law or district policies have occurred.  In such cases, the alleged violation will be thoroughly investigated.

Middleborough Public Schools does not guarantee the security of electronic files located on the Google system.  Privacy will be maintained to the extent possible; however, system administrators may have to examine activities, files, and electronic mail to gather sufficient information to diagnose and correct problems with system software or hardware, as well as investigate any alleged violations as stated above.

Revised with permission from Norwell Public Schools

Reminder: NMS PTA's 1st Meeting of the 2016-2017 School Year Wed 9/7 at 7PM

1st Meeting of the Year for NMS PTA

The NMS PTA will hold its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 7, in the NMS Media Center at 7 PM.

Please come and help support NMS.

Hear from Mr. Geoghegan, our Assistant Principals Ms. Rae and Mr. Thomas, and hear about all the great things NMS PTA does to support all of our students year-round.

Visit the NMS PTA website as well:  NMS PTA Blog

Come meet this helpful, supportive group of parents, who are working hard to make sure the Nichols Middle School is a sensational experience for each and every child.

7 PM in the NMS Media Center on Wednesday, September 7!  Be There.

Reminder: 1st Day, Tuesday, September 6 for All NMS Students

First Day of School -- Welcome Back!

Welcome back!  Just a reminder that the first day of school for all students in grades 6, 7, and 8 for NMS is Tuesday, September 6.

To start the day, students will be directed to their Homerooms in seventh and eighth grade; students in grade six will meet in the Auditorium for their opening meeting with Mr. Geoghegan, Assistant Principals Ms. Rae and Mr. Thomas.

Later in the day, Mr. G, Ms. Rae, and Mr. T will meet the 7th and 8th grade students to have their opening meetings.

We are all very excited to get the 2016-2017 School Year started!  See you Tuesday morning!

Grade 6 Open House/Ice Cream Social/Orientation -- A Sweet Success

A Sweet Evening for Incoming 6th Grade Students

On Tuesday, August 30, evening NMS hosted our 6th Grade Open House/Orientation/Ice Cream Social.  Our incoming sixth grade students were able to meet their teachers and their teacher team while being introduced to the Nichols Middle School building.

It was a tremendous evening to help alleviate the anxiety and fear of our incoming students, as well as their parents.

The end of the night culminated in an ice cream social provided for by our Nichols Middle School PTA as ice cream bars, sandwiches, and Popsicles were handed out by NMS members, Art Teacher Extraordinaire Jeriann Tucker, Health Teacher Carolyn Ciulla, PE Teacher Kelly Rich, PE/Fitness Teacher Megan Enos, Assistant Principals Greg Thomas and Stephanie Rae, and Principal Marty Geoghegan.

Thank you to all who helped in the evening's events and to all our parents and students who came; you made the night a sweet success.