8th Grade Open House at MHS, 10/15, at 6:30 PM in MHS Auditorium

8th Grade Parent Open House at Middleborough High School

The Nichols Middle School 8th Grade students had their opportunity to tour MHS last Friday morning/afternoon, now parents/guardians will have their opportunity to tour the high school and meet the great Sachem teachers on Wednesday, October 15^th for the annual open house. 

The Principal’s Roundtable will be coordinating the tours for the evening.  

The evening will begin in the Auditorium at 6:30 PM and will end at 8:30 PM.  If you have any questions, please contact MHS at 508-946-2010 or Mr. Branagan at pbranagan@middleboro.k12.ma.us.  

Check out the video on how The Choice Is Yours at:  MHS: The Choice Is Yours

MHS has so much to offer, so please take a look at the high school before you make your choice.

Come and become a Sachem!

NMS School Council Meeting on Wed, Oct. 15 at 3 PM in Media Center

2014-2015 John T. Nichols, Jr. Middle School Council

Are you interested in getting involved with your child’s education in another way besides PTA or fundraising?  Would you like to be more involved in the academic aspects and decision making of your child's education here at Nichols?  If you are, then seriously consider whether you would be interested in joining the Nichols Middle School Council (also called a School Improvement Council).  By law, every school in the country has to have a School Council.  

The law outlines four major areas of responsibility for councils.  School councils are to assist principals in:  

1. Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards; 
2. Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school; 
3. Reviewing the annual school building budget; and 
4. Formulating a school improvement plan.

We meet once a month on the 3^rd Wednesday of each month, except where specified below – with our next meeting on Wednesday, October 15, for about an hour, beginning at 3:00 PM and ending around 4 PM, to discuss such items as our School Improvement Plan, parent involvement, how we are working with MCAS data, what we are doing to improve teaching and learning, different curricular ideas, courses, etc.  In all, the group is not like the “PTA”; it is more a group of people who are looking into school improvement and how we can get the improvement we are looking for.

The group is made up of parents, teachers, and at least one community member.  If you are interested or would just like to come and check it out, please come to the next meeting, Wednesday, October 15, at 3 PM, in the Media Center at NMS or email me at mgeoghegan@middleboro.k12.ma.us. If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thank you.

2014 – 2015 NMS School Council Meetings

November 19, 2014

December 17, 2014

January 21, 2015

**February 25, 2015

March 18, 2015

April 15, 2015

May 21, 2015

June 17,2015

** All dates are the 3^rd Wednesday of each month – except where specified

NMS Fall Book Fair 10/29 through 11/5

NMS Will Host the Scholastic Book Fair

Ms. Walgreen will again be hosting the Scholastic Book Fair in the NMS Media Center from Wednesday, October 29, through Wednesday, November 5.

Students will be able to go to the Book Fair during the school day, including lunch.

The Fair will also run during the two Parent-Teacher Conference nights of October 30 and November 5.

Please come by and support our Media Center by buying some books.  Please visit our Scholastic homepage for details and to answer any questions:

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/johntnicholsjrmiddlesch

Or contact Ms. Walgreen at dwalgreen@middleboro.k12.ma.us.

Thank you.

Trimester 1 Progress Reports Distributed Friday, 10/10

First Trimester Progress Reports

Progress Reports for Trimester 1 will be issued this afternoon, Friday, October 10, and the way I think of it, the new school year is no longer just an idea; it is truly underway.  Your child will be coming home with the Progress Report as well as a receipt that needs to be signed and returned to school on Tuesday, October 14.

The marks that you have found on this progress report should never be a surprise to either you or the student.  Please make sure you check out the grades as well as the comments, which could mention progress for Conduct and Effort.  If you feel that discussion regarding your child’s progress or lack of it in any of these categories is needed, please make an appointment to schedule a time that would offer both you and the teacher enough time to adequately discuss your child's present situation.  We need to make sure there is an open door of communication between school and home that is necessary to bring both the teacher and you to the same page in this educational journey.  As for the progress report, it is just that:  progress.  Students should understand that the marks that are present at the halfway point of a term can change easily in either direction.  Students should recognize that they can very simply transform those grades, again, in either direction.  So if the grades were high-quality, students need to continue with the work habits they have displayed in the first month or so, and if the grades were not where they should have or could have been then that student needs to understand that a change in work habits is needed.  Remember also, please keep up with checking your child's agenda book on a nightly basis, for this will help in keeping track as to where your child's grades stand as they progress through the rest of the trimester.

In terms of meeting with teachers to discuss progress, our Parent-Teacher Conferences are coming up.  The first is on Thursday, October 30, from 6 to 8:30 PM, with our second evening on Wednesday, November 5, from 4 to 6:30 PM.  Please mark your calendars with these dates. 

Also a reminder, if you haven’t done so yet, please enter your email, to the right, so you can receive updates on any and all important information about what’s happening or will happen at school.  There is a calendar at the bottom of this page, please check it out to stay updated.

Thank you and have a great, long, holiday weekend.

NMS Fall Frenzy, Friday, Oct. 17 2:30-5 PM

NMS Fall Frenzy

FALL FRENZY

FRIDAY 10/17

2:30-5PM

AT NICHOLS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Fun, Fun, Fun with

music, photo booth, games, Food*

come have fun with friends!

ONLY $5*

Tickets will be sold by NMS StuCo all next week, Tuesday, 10/14 - Friday, 10/17

(REFRESHMENTS AN ADDITIONAL COST)*

Sponsored by NMS PTA

QUESTIONS? NICHOLSMSPTSA@GMAIL.COM

__________________________

I give permission for my child to attend the Fall Frenzy 0n 10/17.

Student Name:____________________________________

PARENT/GUARDIAN Signature:________________________

TELEPHONE:_____________________________________

ROAR Award Winners for September 2014

September 2014 ROAR Awards Handed Out

Last fall NMS, and specifically Mr. McLaughlin, began a new program, which recognizes student achievement each month.  The ROAR award is given by each cluster and Unified Arts to acknowledge students who have been Respectful, On-time,  (displaying a positive) Attitude, and Responsible.  The goal is to recognize students who not only take care of basic expectations in class but are good citizens and role models in our community.

Award winners receive a certificate, a coupon for a free book at the book fair, bumper stickers for their parents’ cars, and their individual picture displayed in the school for the month.

The September award winners received their certificates from Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Geoghegan in a brief ceremony on October 6.

The ROAR Award winners for September 2014 for each team were:

Grade 6 Challengers:  Justin Plausky

Grade 6 Adventurers:  Maggie Desrosiers

Grade 7 Explorers:  Riley McMorrow

Grade 7 Beacons:  Morgan Derby

Grade 8 Apollos:  Dylan Tobiaz

Grade 8 Comets:  Johnnie Harris
Unified Arts:  Skyla Carassquillo (8th Grade)

Congratulations to all!  Thank you for all your efforts; you are ROARing to a great beginning of the school year!

As the Calendar Turns ...

A September Message 

I can't believe September is over.  It has been an incredible month of new beginnings.  We are over a month into our new school year.  It has been a joy to see the faculty, staff, and students of the Nichols Middle School attack the school year with such energy and motivation.  I have said this before, but I will say it again, the 6^thgraders have made their transition look as though they have been coming to NMS for years, and the 7^th and 8^th graders are taking the mantel of school leaders to a new level.  It has been a wonderful opening to the year.

Soon you will be receiving the Spring 2014 MCAS Score Reports, which will be mailed home Friday, October 3.  As you may be aware, last spring’s MCAS results were just received, and we can now release these scores to you.

Improvement of our MCAS scores is something that we as a school community know and understand that we need to do; for success to us will only be when we have 100% of our students in the Advanced and Proficient range.  Each and every day we are working to make this a reality.  We teach to the standards and we hold ourselves to a high standard of making sure we do the best we can with everything we do each and every day.  Trust us, we understand the work we need to do to make all Proficient/Advanced attainable.

It has unquestionably been a terrific opening for all of us here at NMS as we start the 2014-2015 school year.  Mr. McLaughlin and I could not be happier with how things are progressing.  We have started to put together many changes, which we feel will only make the Nichols' experience greater for all of our students.  Please stay in touch through this blog and also to us in the Main Office.  We are here for your students but also for you as well.  

Please remember to check out the calendar at the end of this site, for it holds a wealth of information.  As you can see, there are PTA Meetings, School Council meetings, Parent-Teacher Conferences, and Progress Reports all coming up.  Please get and stay involved with your child's education.  Middle school is such a special time and the children in these "tweener" years need our help and support more than ever. 

Please continue to visit this website, for I will be updating it as often as I can with posts, events, news, and other school proceedings.  Also continue to check the Twitter site or check on the right-hand side to see the Tweets I have sent out, which consist mostly of our daily announcements and reminders.

Sincerely,

M R Geoghegan