August 18, 2014
22 Av, 5774
Dear Middle School Families,
It is hard to believe that the first day is school is rapidly approaching! We have a full year of fun and learning planned and cannot wait to start our year together.
Are you excited to hear a little bit about what this year will look like?
Your general studies teachers will be HaMorah Michelle, HaMorah Jaime, and Mr. Merlyn. Every student will have some classes with each of the Middle School teachers over the course of the year, in addition to several other fabulous teachers. We will continue grouping core classes (Math, Hebrew, and ELA) based on skills that individual learners are working on in order to challenge each student adequately. There will also be many opportunities for differentiation based on interest, and learning with students and friends in your own grade as well as the other middle school grades. You’ll have some new classes this year including arts electives, study skills, and more.
If you are wondering what you will need on the first day of school (in addition to your completed summer work), the back to school supply lists for Middle School can be found below, or at https://www.mwjds.org/for-our-families/back-to-school-supply-lists/
Even more important than what you put in your pencil case is the mindset you bring with you to class. We have extremely high goals and expectations for each and every one of you, and for the Middle School as a whole. We will work together with all of you towards a year of growth and transformation. Please come to class ready to be challenged, pushed, and celebrated!
In addition to adding a grade to our Middle School this year, we are ecstatic to welcome some new friends into our MWJDS community. We know that you all will extend warm welcomes as they join our ever-growing family.
We cannot wait to see all of you, and hear about your summer adventures! The hallways at school have been all to quiet without you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to any of us. We are all committed to making this year a huge success!
Love,
The Middle School Team
HaMorah Michelle, HaMorah Jaime, and Mr. Merlyn
Please use this reminder as a checklist to make sure you have completed all of your summer work. Please note the new assignment at the bottom. For those of you who have additional work (you know who you are) please use your own assignment sheet as a checklist. New students, please just complete the “summer talent assignment” and the “one more assignment”.
? Summer Reading Assignment
1.) Choose a “just right” fiction book that catches your interest.
2.) Read your fiction book
3.) Find a “just right” non-fiction book related to the fiction book that you read. The connection can be based on setting, time period, theme, or characters. We are happy to help you with this if you need.
4.) Create a 3-5 minute presentation comparing the two books and sharing what you learned about the topic they have in common. This presentation can be a Scratch, PowerPoint, movie, essay, speech, or graphic novel. You must create an outline prior to starting your project. We will be collecting this outline.
? Summer Talent Assignment:
1.) Think about a talent that you have that you could share with the class.
2.) Come to school prepared to present this talent in a 2-4 minute presentation. You will need to bring all of the equipment with you to school on the first day. We can’t wait to see what you can do, and are excited to learn from you!
? Summer Math Assignment:
1.) Work through a minimum of 5 hours of IXL.com math. You may divide this in any way you’d like as long as it all gets done. Please work on a variety of grade-level appropriate topics.
Remember to log in each time you work. We can only give you credit for the work that we receive results for.
NEW: ? One more assignment…
1.) Bring 1 printed photograph of you doing something you loved this summer. Be prepared to share ?
School Supply Lists
For ALL Students:
• Complete Change of Clothing to leave at school (even for upper grades; things do spill!)
• Kippot or appropriate head coverings, labeled with child’s name
• White Shirt for Rosh Hodesh
• Extra Sneakers for gym class
In addition to items listed below, all upper grade students will receive one MWJDS 8gb flash drive on one MWJDS lanyard, and all students in grade 1 and above will receive a Unified Binder system, as described in the email from Rav-Hazzan…
“This year we decided to assist with some of the organizational components of school work and assignments by providing a unified binder system for all our students Grade 1 and up (these are not needed for kindergarten students). These binders will be given out to your student the first day of school, so you DO NOT HAVE TO BUY a primary binder for them. I have also purchased composition books for Hebrew for all classes that will be included with the binders. Finally, in order to assist with the electronic files on the many computers that our students use, we will be supplying a 8gb MWJDS USB drive and lanyard to every student in the school. As a result of the added cost of these items, we will be charging a $20.00 Supplies fee along with the Activities fee (which, in case you were wondering, doesn’t entirely cover the cost of the supplies, but close enough).”
Grades Five, Six, Seven & Eight (Atid Middle School): Hamorah Michelle, Hamorah Jaime & Mr. Merlyn
• 2 glue sticks
• at least 25 #2 pencils (can be mechanical)
• 5 black or blue pens
• silent hand sharpener with top to collect shavings
• 2 boxes of tissues
• plastic homework folder
• homework app/ device or assignment notebook
• 4 different colored pens (not black, blue, or purple)
• graph paper
• lined paper
Hebrew Classes Grade 1 and Above
Students need to write their names on their materials. Note that some items are already listed by other teachers.
• Silent hand-held pencil sharpener with a top to collect shavings
• 1 Subject Wide Ruled Notebook 8”101/2” 70 Sheets
• At least 3 highlighters, of different colors.
• 1 case or pouch for pencils, pen, markers, erasers, etc.
• Pencils – a full box
• Erasers
• Thick markers, thin markers and colored pencils
• Crayons
• Bottle of glue
• Glue sticks (multiple)
• Scissors
• 1 ruler
• 3 packs of index cards
*Please Note: We have plenty of liquid glue, crayons, markers, colored pencils, and rulers in Atid that you are welcomed to use for Hebrew class.
Spanish Class
- 1 lined notebook (with three holes for binder)
- 5 notebook tabs
- two pencils
- one colored pen (not red)
- 1 set of colored pencils
Optional Items:
You may also want to bring a sweatshirt and a reusable water bottle labeled with your name. Feel free to bring some disinfectant wipes and/ or hand sanitizer for the class. We can always use it!