From the Principal . . . .

Greetings Parents,

It’s been a great first quarter at NHMS! We are anticipating one of the highest first quarter

GPA’s we’ve had in over five years. The October 23rd Striving for Excellence assembly, that

rewards academic achievement, should include a lot of participants! My job allows me the

privilege of observing our classrooms of all grade levels and subjects. I’ve been encouraged

this year to see stellar teaching and engaged students. I’m proud to work with such strong

teachers and motivated students. The year ahead is promising!

This fall’s parent teacher conferences were very well attended. Thank you for taking the

time to visit your student’s teachers and also for the feedback you gave.

Beginning October 20, students will be participating in the first of three rounds of NWEA

testing. Simply put, this test provides two benefits to your student’s education. First, it will

provide us with a RIT score that provides us information about where instruction should begin

for each student. The other major benefit this assessment provides is the specific standards

that need to be re-taught. It is structured so that every student will have a degree of success

which is a departure from last year’s Acuity assessment. It is a move in the right direction!

Upcoming events:

October 20 & 21: Basketball Tryouts. Boys will tryout from 3 – 5 PM, and Girls tryouts

will follow from 5 – 7 PM. Make sure your student has a 2015-2016 physical. It must be dat-

ed after April 1!

October 20: Spelling Bee 4 PM – Park Hill Auditorium. We are very excited to have this

competition!

October 30: Str iving for Excellence— 2:10 PM Our Striving for Excellence Assembly will

look different this year. Every student who has an A, or carries a C- or higher in all classes

will be participating in Flying Aces. The entire student body will witness this event.

November 5 (5 – 7 PM): DQ Night—last year we raised $650! Bring family for dinner or a

snack! Teachers and staff will be there. We earn 15% of all sales. Please consider dining at

DQ that night!

November 10 2:00 PM – Veteran’s Day Program – Last year’s program was amazing.

Check it out of you can!

Also a special thanks to you parents who’ve been a part of treating the teachers in the last

few years, Our teachers have been encouraged by your efforts. There are more opportunities

to help and be involved (work athletic events, assist with next Book Fair, eat lunch with your

student, help plan and organize the Spring Family Fun Night),

If you haven’t been in the building this year, please stop in! Our office is redecorated and

our office staff is available to welcome and help you with anything you have questions about!

If your students are like mine, they’re telling you that middle school isn’t the time to stop in

and chat with them at lunch, but these are the most important years to stay involved in their

lives! Our doors are open and we’d love to see you!

Doug Pickett

Newsletter

Highlights:

Principal’s letter

Band/Choir

Concert

Important Dates &

Information

Focus on Health

Egg Drop Experi-

ment

Hearing Screens

Clinic Notes

Information for

families: Family

Engagement

Veterans Day

Program

Dept. of Health

News Release

www.eacs.k12.in.us

New Haven Middle School Fall

2015 Volume 22, Issue 2

An investment in

knowledge pays the best

interest.

Benjamin Franklin

Vision: NHMS will be the CHOICE for students and families in the New Haven Community.

Page 2 Fall 2015

Student Lunch Balances can be viewed on Parent Access.

Order forms for the 2015-2016 NHMS Yearbook are

available in the office. Cost is $15.

Oct. 16th & 19th—Fall Break No School

Oct. 20—Spelling Bee @ Park Hill @ 4:00 p.m.

Oct. 30— Striving For Excellence @ 2:10 p.m.

Nov. 5—DQ Night 5 - 7 p.m.

Nov. 9—All students in grade 7 and students who are

new to EACS will have their hearing checked.

Nov. 10— Veterans Day Program at 2:05 p.m.

Nov. 26 & 27 — Thanksgiving Recess/No School

Dec. 7 — Winter Band/Choir Concert

Dec. 18—End of first semester

Dec. 21—Jan 4 — Winter Recess

Jan. 5—School resumes

Jan. 18—No School/ Martin Luther King Day

Feb. 5—Feb. 12 Book Fair in the NHMS Library

Feb. 15—President’s Day No School

Winter Band/Choir Concert

Monday, Dec. 7

7:00 p.m. Park Hill Auditorium

Admission is $2.00 Adults

$1.00 Students

Age 5 and under - free

Focus On Health

Over a two day period, twenty-eight 8th graders had the

opportunity to assist in the Focus On Health fair held at Prince

Chapman Academy. 6th Grade students from the district had

the opportunity to visit booths staffed by area medical facilities.

Our 8th grade leaders facilitated booths to measure weight,

height, blood pressure, and do vision screening. They also

were able to share personal, physical and mental health infor-

mation from the medical providers.

Please Note

Absent Homework Requests

1) Student should be absent a minimum of 2 days before

homework request

2) 24 hour turn around time for requests

3) Available for pick up until 3:30 p.m.

4) If not picked up, student should come and collect on day

of return

Reporting Student Absences

Parents/Guardians: In the morning, please call to report

any student absences including if a student will be arriving

late or leaving early due to an appointment. Attendance: 446

-0233 or 24 –hour Voice Mail at 446-0230, ext. 6099.

NHMS collects Box Tops for Education,

and all money produced from their redemp-

tion goes directly into our student activity

fund. Students should turn Box Tops into 1st

period teachers. During the 2nd 9-weeks grading period,

there will be a competition among 1st period classes.

Page 3 Fall 2015

Hearing Screens

Students at NHMS will

have the i r hear ing

screened on Monday, No-

vember 9th, 2015. All 7th

grade students and stu-

dents who are new to East

Allen County Schools will

be screened. If you have a concern for your student's

hearing, please contact Amanda Gossett,

agossett@eacs.k12.in.us or 446-0100 x6063, to have

your student added to the list for hearing screens. Also,

please do your best to be sure your student is on time

on Monday, November 9th, 2015. Hearing screens

start first thing in the morning!

Did you know?! Noise-induced hearing loss can

result from a one-time very loud sound or blast, or

from listening to loud sounds over time. Sometimes

"ringing in ears" can indicate that you have been ex-

posed to loud noise for too long, such as listening to

music too loud through ear buds. An estimated 12.5%

of children and adolescents aged 6–19 years

(approximately 5.2 million) have suffered permanent

damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to

noise (CDC website, 8/26/15). Tip: If you have ear

buds in, and someone else can hear the sound, it is too

loud. This can permanently damage your hearing over

time."

Thanks!

Amanda Gossett

Speech-Language Pathologist

Clinic News

Just a couple of reminders. If your child is vomit-

ing or running a fever, they may not return to school for 24 hours after the

last episode, and fever free without

medication for the fever. Just remem-

ber we want your child to have an ac-

tive roll in learning, and when they do not feel well it makes this difficult to

achieve. Once a student has reached

a total of 10 days of absence for any reason during

the school year, all subsequent absences must be

documented by a doctor note.

Also, if your child is prone to headaches, cramps, or other illness, please fill out a medication permit

and send in medication. Even cough drops require a

permit. Since the clinic does not keep stock medica-

tion, it is sometimes difficult to help with pain. Also,

if you received paperwork be sure to return it to the clinic. Finally, immunizations are now being re-

viewed, so if you have not done so please send in cur-

rent shot records.

Tasha Tumbleson, RN

Recycling

Help us turn used electronics into cash by collecting used laser toners, inkjets, laptops and iPods and cell

phones to benefit the students of

New Haven Middle School Please bring the items you collect to the school office.

Donations are greatly appreciated!

Program provided by

Recycling Advantage

EIGHTH GRADERS AT NEW HAVEN MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIMENT TO SECURE EGGS

New Haven Middle School 8th grade students demonstrated a scientific

‘egg drop’ experiment to find the most effective way to protect boxed eggs

dropped from the two story school building. It was an eye opener for a lot of

students as they realized the packaging was not secure enough to keep the eggs

from cracking. “This experiment is always a fun and engaging activity for stu-

dents”, said Mr. Knight, teacher. To add a real life component to the experiment, Mr. Watson's classes

performed a third trial where they mailed their Protective Egg Device (P.E.D.) from the downtown post

office in Fort Wayne back to the school. Students had a chance to evaluate their P.E.D.s and make

changes or modify them to protect the egg. Mr. Watson reported that the modifications must have

worked because all but one egg came back intact, yet many of the P.E.D.s were damaged.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela

Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health

Contact: Megan Reust, (260) 449-7395, megan.reust@allencounty.us

For Immediate Release Protect your health by testing your home for radon gas Free test kits available while supplies last

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (10/07/2015). – You can’t see, smell, or taste radon, but it could be present at a dangerous level in your home.

Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas responsible for more than 2,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States. Because it is odorless and invisible, the only way to know if you are being ex-posed in your home is to run a test.

The Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health is urging residents to reduce their risk of lung cancer by having their homes tested. Testing is simple and free test kits are available at the following locations in Allen County while supplies last:

Fort Wayne-Allen County Dept. of Health 200 E. Berry St., Suite 360 Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Vector Control & Environmental Services 2242 Carroll Road Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 pm

Grabill Town Hall 13717 1st St. Monday – Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Leo-Cedarville Town Hall 13909 Pony Express Run Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Monroeville Utility Department 101 S Water St. New Haven Utility Payment Office City Hall, 815 E Lincoln Hwy. Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Woodburn City Hall 22735 Main St. Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Kits can also be purchased at local hardware and home improvement stores for around $30. You also can hire a qualified radon professional to do a test for you.

Be sure to follow the directions on the packaging for the proper placement of the device and where to send the test kit to get your results.

If a high radon level is detected in your home, there are steps you can take to fix the problem to protect yourself and your family.

For more information on radon, visit www.allencountyhealth.com or www.epa.gov/radon. About Radon Radon is a natural, radioactive gas that is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. It is formed from the natural breakdown of uranium in the soil, rocks, and water under homes and can seep up from the ground into home s and buildings through cracks in foundations, basement walls, and sump pumps. Long-term expo-sure to radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. The only way to know if you are being exposed to radon in your home is to run a test. EPA recommends that all homes in the U.S. be tested for radon.