penn delco school district northley middle school monthly

A color version of this newsletter is available on our website: http://www.pdsd.org/nms/site/default.asp

March is off to a busy start as we anticipate the start of the PSSA testing period and do preliminary planning for next school year. 8th Grade students are already looking for-ward to high school, having gone through the course selection process and visiting the high school. Be sure to have conversa-tions with them about their upcoming tran-sition to high school. This should be an exciting time for them as they think about this next important phase of their educa-tion. Our website is being continually updated. You will find new photos and more infor-mation under the athletics tab, where you will find the upcoming sporting events for Spring Sports. PSSA testing begins on March 12th with all reading and writing complete before Spring Break. After Spring Break, 8th graders will take the science and writing portion of the test. We work very hard here to boost the students‟ confidence leading up to the test-ing. It‟s important that they realize how much they do know and worry less about what they think they don‟t know. The reality is that they often know much more than they believe. Building confidence in what they know makes a big difference in a student‟s mindset going into any assess-ment situation. Please encourage your child to get 8-9 hours of sleep each night and eat healthy meals so they can be at their best. Students who are sleepy or slug-gish due to unhealthy eating habits find it difficult to concentrate and retrieve the knowledge they possess. On March 8th, 9th and 10th the Sun Valley Music and Theatre departments will host Beauty and the Beast. The shows will be at 7:00 PM each night, with a 2:00 pm mati-nee on the 10th. Mark your calendars, tell your friends, and be sure to attend. You will be receiving two mailings in the next couple of days, one will contain your child‟s progress report and the other will be a personal note from me. Please keep an eye out for both of them. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Here‟s hoping for continued mild weather!

Carol Russell Principal

Penn Delco School District

MARCH 2012 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7

Principal’s Message

All Northley students participated in an activity during the recently celebrated Don’t Hate Communicate Week. The activity centered around cyber safety and how to use cell phones appropriately and safely. Students were given scenarios that a mid-dle school student may encounter involv-ing conflicts that may develop through texting. Students were required to write an appropriate text message response on a thought bubble.

We were so impressed with the wonderful responses students gave and how well they handed the scenarios presented. Here is a picture of the thought bubble text messages responses hanging outside

the Northley cafeteria.

Northley Middle School Monthly

The First Step in PSSA Preparation begins

at Home, with Diet, Exercise, and Rest

As you know, the PSSA test is coming up soon. The following health tips are cour-tesy of Alice! Health Promotion at Columbia University.

The best way to prepare for any test, or any other stressful life event, is to keep in overall good health.

Exercising regularly helps keep the mind alert, reduces fatigue, and facilitates a better night's sleep.

Maintaining a balanced diet that includes enough varied sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates will help you out a great deal on the day of your test. If your body has a sufficient store of essential nutrients, like iron and calcium, it will be better prepared to help you cope with the physical re-sponse to stress that you might experience if you are at all anxious.

On the morning of the test, include more dietary sources of protein in your breakfast, such as eggs, grains, and non- or low-fat dairy products like milk and yogurt. Try to avoid eating only carbohydrates for break-fast as this may increase feelings of tiredness and relaxation during the PSSA test.

In addition to eating healthy, make sure you also get a good night's sleep the nights be-fore the PSSA test. Getting 6 hours of sleep or less can put you into what is called a sleep deficit, or lack of sufficient sleep. Having a sleep deficiency can actu-ally make you less mentally sharp, which can negatively affect your performance on the PSSA, even if you spent those missed hours of sleep studying. So make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time that will allow you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.

No H8—Don’t Hate Communicate Week


NORTHLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL MONTHLY

Into The Woods: A Huge Success!

Northley Drama Club‟s production of Into the Woods took place Feb-ruary 16th and 17th. The two performances were the culmination of countless hours of rehearsal, which started in the beginning of De-cember. The show was a huge success, playing to nearly sold out crowds at both performances. It featured the talents of a 45-member cast and 11-member crew.

The plot of Into the Woods is one that all ages find entertaining. It

features many well-known fairy tale characters such as Cinderella,

Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel, just to name a few. All of

these characters find themselves mixed up with one another in their

pursuit of their greatest wishes. The cast and crew did an absolutely

excellent job of capturing all of the intended drama, suspense, and

comedy in Northley‟s production. The caliber of the entire produc-

tion was top notch—the students displayed a level of professional-

ism that prompted high praise, some even likening the show to much

larger-scale high school productions. The students should all be very

proud of their effort and dedication. Their hard work paid off in a

big way!

A special Thank You and Congratulations goes out to Mrs.

Hazlett, for her wonderful direction and leadership. We would also

like to thank all of the parent volunteers for their dedication and

hard work!

NOTES FROM THE NURSE:

Immunizations again!!! Please look for a letter from me enclosed in the mailing you will receive in the next few days. This letter will tell you what I still

need from you regarding your child‟s immunizations in order for them to be in compliance with PA state law. You will only

receive a letter if I do NOT have the correct documentation from your physician for your child. This is very important and proof

of immunization must be provided to me by May 6 or your student will be excluded from school until it is received.

If you have any questions, please call me at 610-497-6300, extension 3338.


Mrs. Hazlett and the Cast of Into the Woods


VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7

PTL Update

The PTL is busy planning our 6th grade swim party and 7th grade skate party both being held on March 16th. Thank you to all of those who have volunteered to help with these parties. We can‟t do it without you. The flyers went home in late Febru-ary for these events. If you did not get yours, you can go on the web-site and print one. All kids must have a signed permission slip to attend and there will be no ticket sales at the door to either event. The 8th grade spring dance will be the next event being planned. It will be held on April 27th. Anyone interested in helping with this event is encouraged to come to the PTL meeting, or you can con-tact one of us. Our contact info is on the PTL page on the web-site. We would like to congratulate the cast and crew of Into the Woods for a fabulous job!! Also, thank you to Mrs. Hazlett and the volun-teers who helped to put the show together-great job!

Giant Shoppers- Register your BonusCard with Northley! www.giantfoodstores.com/aplus

Northley ID #: 03658

Please help our school by collecting the following Items: Box Tops coupons = 10¢ each

Tyson A+ labels = 24¢ each Empty Capri Sun Pouches = 2¢ each

Campbell’s labels = bonus points My Coke Rewards = bonus points

Any questions- contact Christa Ventura at [email protected]

EARN CA$H FOR NMS!

Northley Wrestler Goes Undefeated!

Northley Middle School Wrestler, Nick Garvey, finished his 8th Grade season with a perfect 12-0 record! Nick decided that he needed to participate in a sport that would suit him best. “Once I had success at wrestling, I knew it was the sport for me, and I decided to keep working at it.” Nick credits his coaching for helping him achieve such success. “I‟ve had a lot of great coaches at Northley and outside of school. I never stopped working all year round, and I feel like I‟m on a whole new level with wres-tling”. Nick is looking forward to becoming a part of the Sun Valley High School team next year. His ultimate goal is to make it to States. Congratulations on a great year, Nick!



Spotlight on...


SCIENCE PROBEWARE

During the last decade, science teachers in the United States have begun using computers and probeware in their classrooms as do our teachers at Northley Middle School and Sun Valley High School. Teachers want their students to have the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully par-ticipate in our increasingly global arena of science.

Probeware is scientific equipment which allows probes to be interfaced with software and computer systems for the purpose of collecting, inter-preting and analyzing data. There are a number of applications for probeware, ranging from gathering data in scientific labs to long term field pro-jects.

Historically, data picked up from laboratory probes had to be noted in a lab book or entered into a computer. With probeware, the probe talks directly to computer software, providing real-time data. The data can be organized and presented in a variety of ways to help students interpret it and under-stand it. In an example of probeware, a student in a science lab could clip a probe into a cylinder filled with a liquid, and the probe could return temperature data as a student performed various experiments. Having the probe return the data frees the student to focus on personal observations and run the experiment. The software can analyze the data with graphs and charts to help the student under-stand what occurred during the experiment.

Probeware is used by our teachers so that our students may develop the knowledge and skills to bet-

ter understand both the process and content of science.

From The Library Desk

The library has some beautiful new books for students to check out,

thanks to the generous PTL Book Fair profits. Besides adding to

our always popular collections of war histories and country books,

we received some additional copies of The Hunger Games, which is

flying off the shelves!

The Hunger Games trilogy is just one of the series we can‟t live

without right now. Students are also reading the series books: The

Clique, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Shadow Children, and Maximum Ride.

Mike Lupica and Sarah Dessen continue to be favorite authors, and

this year many students have discovered Tim Green and Sonya

Sones. Parents, I hope your students share what they‟re reading

with you...who knows, you might even discover a new author or

series that you would enjoy too!


VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7

Do you shop at…

???

Why?? Each participating product that you purchase from your favorite

participating retailer will earn 1 point that will be credited to your school’s

Labels for Education account automatically when you check out. Our

school can redeem points for FREE educational merchandise!

A little work goes a long way!! -We recently received a check for $730.80 from Box Tops for Educa-tion for just 6 months of collecting! Keep sending in your Box Tops! -Labels for Education- We have 3,342 points that can be redeemed to earn products used around school. -Giant A+ School Rewards- We have 79 Bonus Cards registered, giving us $792.82 so far! Be sure to register your cards if you haven’t already!

Are You A Shopper?

If you have a Target credit card or debit card, you can help our school raise money!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How? Register your card with: www.targetredcard.com

Why? 1% of all sales (when using your card) get donated to Northley Middle School!

http://www.targetredcard.com



8th Graders Debating the Issues that Made Us Who We Are

Last week, 8th Blue Honors Social Studies Classes formed debate teams. They answered the question, "Is something wrong in America?" from the perspective of one of the progressive reformers of the late 1800 to early 1900s. Students assumed the roles of actor, investigative reporter, press secretary, or costume designer. After researching the positions these people held on specific issues, they wrote speeches, developed probing questions for their oppo-nents, and studied the mannerisms and demeanor of their characters. On debate day, stu-dents were transformed into 19th century reformers and muckrakers, looking to break the big story. Many students dressed in their best suits and attire to put their best foot forward in this event. It was great to see students form opinions, take stances, and respectfully put forth their points of view in an effort to influence others‟ opinions.

Credit Counts!

In Financial Literacy class 7th & 8th graders just completed their credit unit. Students com-

pleted a Credit Webquest to determine what a credit score is, what makes up a credit score,

good debt vs. bad debt and ways to correct/improve your credit score. Students will use this

information to help them complete a brochure project at the end of the unit.

Go Green and Help NMS!

Did you know that Northley has a paper recycling pro-gram called the Abitibi Paper Retriever? You can recycle all of your newspaper, magazines, shopping catalogs, office and school papers and mail 24 hours/7 days a week right here in our green and yellow bin. This is an easy way for you to recycle your paper every week and help us raise money for projects like playgrounds, land-scaping, books, and other school needs. By recycling paper, not only do you save water and en-ergy, but Northley earns money for every pound of paper you help us collect. Please put all of your maga-zines, mail, newspapers and office papers in the green and yellow bin in our parking lot; but do not include cardboard or phone books. Thank you for your con-tinued support of this important fundraising effort. Please add recycling to your errand route and bring your paper by once a week – help your school and the environment!

7th Grade Girls Basketball Goes Undefeated!

This year‟s 7th Grade Girls Basketball ended the season with a perfect 15-0 record! The secret to the team‟s success was, according to Captains, Kaitlyn Lannon and Shannon Sav-age, that they were all close friends. They would help each other out and share the ball. They were, according to Lannon, “a very connected team”. Most of the players had played together over the years, but this was the year that it really “came together”, said Lannon. “It was a fun season. We all had a good time playing together”, said Savage. The toughest game of the year was against Haverford. It was a very suspenseful game from start to finish. Northley was down in the final minutes, but managed to score a few baskets at the very end to tie the game up. They eventually won it in the last few seconds. Both of the Captains credit Coach Treml with much of their success. “Coach taught us fundamentals. He corrected mistakes at practice and made us a better team. He told us no one could beat us but ourselves and that gave us confidence”, says Lannon. During games, Coach broke the game down in small parts, telling them they “had to win the quarter”, said Savage. “We were always told to play like were losing and to never look at the scoreboard”. Congratulation, ladies, on a season for the record books!


VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7

Northley’s Approved Tutor List

Northley‟s guidance department has a list of tutors available for any students that are in need of such services. We are able to provide this to parents upon request. The list is updated each year and lists all teachers that are certified in specific content ar-eas/grade levels and are available for tutoring. Please contact the guidance department if the need arises.

The Swarthmore CATALYST Conference is a conference designed to foster an appreciation for science, math and engineering in 7th and 8th grade girls. We invite girls from local middle schools to perform science experiments in hands-on workshops led by female professors, students, and local professionals. Participants will also take part in a discussion about women in science, led by female Swarthmore College students. Parents and teachers of participating students are also invited to our adult conference, which includes a workshop, a discussion, a student-hosted panel discussion on college and higher education, and a poster session featuring the research of Swarthmore students. When: Saturday, March 17th, 2012 Registration begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 8:30 AM. The conference ends at 3:30 PM.A more detailed schedule of events will be emailed upon acceptance to the conference. Where: Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. Cost: The participation fee is $20, payable by cash or check with no additional fee for the parent‟s conference. However, scholarships are available thanks to the Swarthmore Foundation. We do not want the cost of participation to prevent students from attending the confer-ence, so if financial assistance is required, please indicate that in the box at the bottom of the application form. Eligibility: Any 7th and 8th grade girl is invited to apply. How to apply: Please fill out the application at http://www.agnesirwin.org/Customized/uploads/News/MS%20News%202011-2012/CATALYSTApplication.pdf Your/your student‟s application will not be processed until we have received all signed forms and the fee. Mail to: CATALYST Conference c/o Valentina Garcia „14 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081 Questions? Contact [email protected]

Discovery Education/3M

Young Scientist Challenge

Do you have what it takes to be America's Top Young Scientist? Discovery Education and 3M are looking for students in grades 5-8 who are enthusiastic about science. The top 10 students will receive a trip to the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, MN to com-pete for the chance to win $25,000! Go To: http://youngscientistchallenge.com/registrations/enterNow.cfm


March 7: PTL General Meeting - 6:30 p.m. in Library March 9: Early Dismissal for Students—12:30 pm—Teacher In-Service March 12: Grade 8 Math & Reading PSSAs Begin March 14: Grade 6 & 7 Math & Reading PSSAs Begin March 22: 8th Grade Band Parents‟ Meeting @ SVHS—7:00 pm March 27: Spring Band Concert—7:00 pm March 29: Spring Choral Concert—7:00 pm

Primary Business Address Your Address Line 2 Your Address Line 3 Your Address Line 4610-497-6300 x 3400 Fax: 610-487-5737

Important Dates

6th Blue & Gold In Reading, we just finished a unit on recognizing theme. Our next unit will correlate with the non-fiction project students worked on in Eng-lish. The students will be interpreting various types of non-fiction text and continuing to pre-pare for the upcoming PSSA. In English, students are finishing up a non-fiction writing piece. They showed great effort and en-thusiasm while researching topics of their choice. We are very excited about our next unit, poetry, which will begin in March, where students will be analyzing different types of poems, learning about different literary devices used in poetry, and creating their own pieces to become young poets! In Science, students will learn about minerals and practice non-fiction reading strategies. They will perform tests to indentify mystery samples and discover the many uses we have for minerals. In Social Studies, we are beginning our Ancient Greece unit. We will recreate the geography of Greece, learn about the city-states of Athens and Sparta, the creation of democracy, as well as the culture. One of our favorite parts of this unit is reading and learning about the Greek gods. In class we will be reading the book The Greek Gods by Evslin, which is also a Reading Counts book! In Math, students are working in the module Real-lotment. Students are working with different shapes and learning how to measure certain char-acteristics of each. They will explore both two and three dimensional shapes. Investigations will include: finding perimeter, calculating surface, and discovering the volume. This module covers algebra, geometry, and arithmetic.

7th Blue & Gold

Students of the Month Gold Team Student of the Month: Bailey Delellis Viking of the Month: Robert Dukes Blue Team Reading- Haley Weaver English- Andrew Evans Math- Victoria Vinson Social Studies- Brandon Saul Science- Mathew Lillis Reading will be taking flight this month. 7th grade will be reading the novel Hoot during and after the PSSAs. The students will enjoy a humorous novel while learning about caring for the environ-ment and living creatures. The Hoot adventure will begin in the afternoons of the PSSA,. The

students will discuss the story events, create col-lages, and ultimately work on a service project that will give them the chance to help the envi-ronment and our domestic animals. Honors Math students just finished up their Building Formulas Unit. In this unit, they worked with pattern and many different formulas. They learned how to write, use, and analyze a variety of formulas. They learned about lichens, ancient Egyptian drawings, and the number of chirps a cricket makes in a minute to figure out the air temperature. Students worked extremely hard in this unit and are working rigorously to get ready for the PSSA. Accelerated Math students just finished up their unit on Ratios and Rates. They used ratio tables to figure out gas mileage, speed, etc. Over the next couple of weeks, students will be working on topics such as percents, proportions, area, and probability to continue to prepare for PSSAs. In English, students are exploring the elements of poetry and trying their hand at crafting their own verses. Students are demonstrating their under-standing of speaker, mood, tone, and theme through presentations using song lyrics. In addi-tion, we have been preparing for the upcoming PSSAs, learning how to cite and explain text evi-dence in written responses to reading pas-sages. Finally, our grammar unit is comma usage. In Science, students are getting ready to start the garden prep unit. They will be picking their plants, investigating the needs of seeds and ex-ploring the make-up and role of soil. Soon, stu-dents will be planting their seeds indoors and getting ready to get outside! It‟s gonna be a great Spring! In Social Studies class, we are finishing up our government section with the Bill of Rights. Stu-dents will be discussing 4 U.S. Supreme court cases and how they have impacted the way we live today. The next chapter talks about the establish-ment of Political Parties and how those ideologies shape how we vote.

8th Blue The 8th Grade Blue team has been very busy prep-ping for PSSAs! With Math, Reading, Writing and Science testing happening before and after spring break, teachers and students have been working to make sure that everyone is well-prepared come test time! We are confident they will be! To kick off testing, students will partici-pate in the annual Mathletics-Readaerobics com-petitions to earn prizes for homerooms with the

most points! During PSSA, students will also have an interdisciplinary unit on Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. It is a wonderful novel about an 8th grader whose little brother develops leukemia. The Leukemia-Lymphoma Foundation will be in to talk to students. We will also raise money to help their worthy cause. The team is also currently holding a challenge for students. Each student has a card that gets stamped by teachers. How can they get their cards stamped? Some ways include: having their assignment books, Reading Counts books, and other necessary materials. Completing home-work, doing well on tests and quizzes, and com-pleting class work are a few other ways to earn stamps. So far, the students are doing a fantastic job. Each student with a filled punch card and who is not failing any classes, will get to earn a reward on March 9! We want to see everyone earn that reward! And on a bittersweet note, Mrs. Barg, our 8th grade counselor, is leaving us a little earlier than expected for her maternity leave. We would like to send best wishes to her and her husband! We cannot wait for Baby Barg to make his/her arri-val! She will be greatly missed!

8th Gold

In preparation for the upcoming PSSAs , students have been doing practice Reading and Math tests and working on strategies that will help them be successful, not only when they take the PSSAs, but also with academic work in general. In addi-tion, they will participate in Mathletics and Readaerobics competitions to reinforce skills which they have been developing throughout the year. There are several special plans that have been made for the month of March. As a culminating activity for the goal-setting that we started last month, successful students will participate in re-ward activities on March 9, an early dismissal day. Beginning March 13, students will be reading Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie, a popular young adult novel. On March 12, we will have an as-sembly which will provide meaningful back-ground information for the novel and unveil a Pennies for Patients campaign. Congratulations to the following students who were recognized this month: Lindsay Wigo, Stu-dent of the Month; Andrew Osborn, Viking; Taharih Rogers, English; Frank Cresta, Foreign Language; Gavin Sekel, Math; Christina Britt, Reading; Kelly Clark, Science; and Jie Rhedrick, Social Studies.

Team Time

penn delco school district northley middle school monthly

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