April 2015 Home of the Wildcats!

Lucile Erwin

Middle School

4700 Lucerne Ave. Loveland, CO 80537

http://www.thompsonschools.org/erwin

Office 970.613.7600

Attendance 970.613.7690

Di Worner, Principal

An IB World School

Message from the Principal...

See Page 10

for Important

Dates to

Remember!

I hope that you and your family are able to enjoy some quality time together over spring break, April 6-10! I think we are all looking forward to some rest and relaxation. When we return we will have a whirlwind of events and activities.

On the first day that we return from spring break, Monday, April 13th we will begin the Colorado Measures of Academic Success testing (CMAS). CMAS includes an 8th grade science assessment and a 7th grade social studies assessment. We realize that this is not an ideal time to test students but due to the fact that we have limited access to technology, computers must be rotated between buildings which makes for complicated scheduling throughout the district.

You will definitely want to check the website for specific dates and times related to the NJHS induction ceremony, the Solo and Ensemble Festival, The Little Mermaid musical performances, and the Take Your Child to Work Day. Track and Field will be preparing for their conference meets and we will be kicking off the Flat 14’ers lunchtime walker program. We would love to recruit a few parent volunteers who would be interested in walking with students twice a week during their lunch period. If you are interested, contact Karen at the front desk (613-7601). We are also making plans for our May field day and school wide 3K run/walk. We invite volunteers to support these two events as well. As we end the month of April, we will complete our last state assessment, part two of the PARCC exam.

Continued...

Page 2 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

Message from the Principal, continued...

It is unbelievable to think that May is right around the corner and that in just a month we will put the 2014-15 school year to a close. We are really having fun and enjoying our time with your students. This is a truly amazing group of young adults who bless our lives daily.

Enjoy the break!

Loveland Classic

April 25: 5K and 10K run/walk @ 9am,

FREE Kids Run @ 10a.m.

Benefits the Early Childhood Program in the Thompson School District. Sponsored by TEF (Thompson Education Foundation).

Sign up at www.lovelandclassic.com or pick up a flyer in the school office.

Erwin Teacher Jacob Marshall wins Secondary

Teacher of the Year Award

Industrial technology and Computer Literacy teacher Jacob Marshall was honored by the Thompson Education Foundation on Friday, March 13, 2015 as the 2015 Secondary Teacher of the Year. Mr. Marshall was nominated by staff and students around his work with the MESA Foam Fighters program. He received a cash award and a free 2 month lease of a new car! Congratulations Mr. Marshall!

Spring Break is April 6-10 this Year

Page 3 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

Orchestra News

Thing have been quite busy for us in Orchestra since the beginning of the year!

Since January, we have had ten separate performances for audiences of all ages. Despite the amount of performances, the students have continued to shine with each new piece of music

they’ve brought to life.

We started off the year with our 8th graders combining with the students from Bill Reed Middle School for our second annual 8th Grade Orchestra Festival at Loveland High School. At this festival, our students had the opportunity to work with their soon-to-be orchestra colleagues once they reach high school in the Fall. The students learned five, highly challenging pieces of music for the festival, received sectional coachings from the principal players for the LHS Chamber Orchestra, and adapted to new leadership under the baton of Mr. Bennett Stucky from Poudre High School, our clinician.

Two weeks later, our Advanced Chamber Strings students had the opportunity to visit and perform for five area elementary schools as part of our yearly Spring tour. The students shared their experiences in orchestra with the elementary students, talked about why they chose their instrument, and also play pieces of music from each grade level so the younger students could hear how the music progresses gradually in difficulty from 6th through 8th grade.

Once we’d wrapped up our tour, the elementary students came to Erwin twice, once for the Instrument Try-It Night and then again two days later for Electives Night, where our students again had the opportunity to perform for the elementary students as well as their parents. On the 11th of March, we had our Spring Concert and wrapped up the whirlwind quarter with a performance at the Rialto for the All-City Ensemble Extravaganza. We are looking forward to performances at The Elitch Gardens Music Festival as well as our final concert in May. We’ll see you there!

Page 4 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

IB Learner Profile Trait of

the Month

All School Musical

The Little Mermaid, Jr. begins April 22 at 4:00 followed by the 23rd and 24th at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults/$2 for Senior Citizens and students without ID. The cast and crew consist of over 50 students with some amazing set pieces and costumes presented during the show. Come bring your family for a night of entertainment.

Volunteer Host Families Needed

for International Students

Open your hearts and home to host a student for a short-term home stay this summer from June 26th to July 23rd. Students (ages 14-18) from Spain are coming to learn more English and about our culture and need places to stay. They will be taking English classes and excursions on weekdays from 9-5 PM and will want to spend time with you and your family during the evening and on weekends. No knowledge of Spanish is required since they are coming to improve their language skills. If you and your family are interested, please contact Julie Togbe at CompassUSA.julie@gmail.com or 970-682-3427.

LEMS Art Students Honored

Malaki McGee, Tyler Salanoa and Corina Hedahl had work selected for the annual ARTSTEPS: TSD Student Art Show. The students’ work will be displayed March 28-May 10 at the Loveland Museum and Gallery, with the opening reception Saturday, March 28 from 1:00-3:00pm.

This month’s learner profile trait is

“Principled.” We act with integrity and

honesty, with a strong sense of

fairness and justice, and with respect for

the dignity and rights of people

everywhere. We take responsibility for our

actions and their consequences.

Page 5 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

Advertising in this newsletter does

not imply endorsement by

Thompson School District.

Policy Reminder for Parents

Erwin Middle School is once again making a major effort to reduce interruptions to our instructional programs during the school day.

We receive numerous daily requests to deliver messages, homework, projects, athletic uniforms/tennis shoes, musical instruments, gifts, and birthday/holiday greetings/gifts during instructional class time. With our current student population of over 890 students, it is not possible to make all the deliveries that we are asked to during the day, and our front office cannot be responsible for student’s personal items. We do not like to call students out of class to retrieve these items.

Due to the increasing requests from parents and guardians to deliver items to students in the classroom, we have had to make adjustments to our policy. We are asking you to please limit requests for deliveries to just medications, money, or messages regarding changes in after school student pick-up.

Please do not bring items to school for us to deliver – if you have an emergency and need to contact your student, please call 613-7601. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation by keeping our classroom learning environments free from daily interruptions. Please do not send your child text messages as our policy is that student phones are to be off during the entire school day.

Thank you for your support!

Page 6 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

From Your Yearbook Staff

Erwin Middle School Yearbooks are on sale for $40.00 until May 15, 2015. This is the last date to order to guarantee a copy of the yearbook. Order at jostensyearbooks.com or pick up an order form in the front office.

Standardized Testing Dates Announced

7th graders will test in Social Studies and 8th graders will test in science April 13 and 14, the first two days after spring break. PARCC will run again April 29 and 30. Thank you in advance for planning appointments and family travel around these testing dates.

Homework 101

What’s that word?

Tackling new information is easier when your child understands the words he’s reading. Boost his

vocabulary with these ideas: 1) Pay attention to new words. They may appear in bold or italic type or in a separate box on the page. 2) Learn definitions. Sometimes the meaning of a word is right in the same sentence. (For example: “The least common denominator or the smallest number that can be used as the denominator for both fractions, of ½ and 2/3 is 6”) Other times, reading the whole passage can make the meaning clear. Definitions may also be in a separate box on the page or in the book’s glossary. 3) Make a list. Write down new words and their definitions as you come across them. Keep the list on hand for easy reference.

New

2015-2016

State

Immunization

Requirements

The state now requires two doses

of the Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine for all

students (Kindergarten

through 12th grade) for the 2015-16

school year. Please check your

immunization records or call your health care provider

to see if your student has had the required 2 doses. If

not, please schedule an appointment to obtain the second dose and provide a

hard copy to the school health office.

All incoming 6th grade students that are 11 years of age

are also required to have the Tdap

vaccine.

Page 7 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

ELD Success Day Field Trip

On Wednesday, March 18th, ELD (English Language Development) students had the opportunity to attend an ELD Success Day field trip hosted at Conrad Ball Middle School. Students from Lucile Erwin, Walt Clark, Conrad Ball, and the Newcomers program came together to meet each other and to hear from diverse speakers on the definition of success.

Our very own Officer Alex Quinones was one of the speakers, sharing his unique experiences as a middle school ELD student in our district. He shared about his life, the choices he made, and how he defines success for himself, all while encouraging students to think about what they want to accomplish. Officer Ben Avitia also spoke to students about dealing with racism and stereotypes. He also spoke to students about their expectations from their families, school, society, and their own expectations for themselves.

We had a lunch break where students enjoyed pizza and fruit while mingling with each other. It was fun to meet other ELD students in the district!

At the end of the day, local author Theresa Funke came and shared her experience with the students. After sharing about her work and her family’s background, students participated in a workshop where they identified key people who help them in different aspects of their lives. We also got to work together to create an outline of a fictional story with a character, obstacles, and possible solutions.

Page 8 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

Continued...

“TAKING A BREAK” at Erwin Middle School

In the old days, students entered class, took their seats, got out their materials and prepared to listen to their teachers instruct them. Some students were better at this than others. This scenario is changing thanks to new strategies that offer activity breaks to students intermittently during classroom instruction. This is tremendous news for students who have difficulty listening, struggle with sitting for long periods at a stretch, or find staying focused a challenge. In fact, research indicates that activity breaks are helping all students improve cognitive skills, attitudes, and academic behavior and teachers at Lucile Erwin Middle School are stepping up to bring these strategies into their classrooms!

Gerd Bobe, assistant professor at Oregon State University, and a leader in “Brain Breaks” research, notes the benefits of activity breaks in the classroom, including improved academic performance, student focus and classroom behavior, especially in the afternoon when attention spans and concentration tends to waiver. Just ask Shirley Martinson, math teacher at Lucile Erwin, who introduced breaks to her students back in the fall. She reports overwhelming success, explaining that students who feel frustration with tasks benefit by taking a break and being able to return to

their work refreshed and ready to tackle difficult tasks. Students with high abilities benefit because the breaks encourage time management and a healthy balance to learning for those who become immersed to the exclusion of everything around them. She has developed a routine that is student-led, incorporates quick transitions to and from learning, and builds in vigorous activity to increase oxygen and heart rate as well as yoga to allow for needed relaxation and stress reduction.

Page 9 April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

“TAKING A BREAK”, continued…

Mike Finders, special educator at Lucile Erwin, is another educator who can speak to the success of using activity breaks in the classroom. He offers breaks that encourage cross-midline activities (arm and leg movements that cross over from one side of the body to the other) forcing the two sides of the brain to communicate and improving neural pathways. He integrates these activities into his instruction everyday and his students respond with increased work performance and positive outlooks toward their often challenging work.

The evidence is resounding – when you move more, you learn more. At Lucile Erwin, educators and students are taking this to heart. For both kids and teachers, “taking a break” is making a huge difference in helping achievement and building positive attitudes toward learning!

Sources for article:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The association between school based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/sep/%E2%80%9Cbrain-breaks%E2%80%9D-increase-activity-educational-performance-elementary-schools

Additional resources for educators: http://www.coloradoedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CEI-Take-a-Break-Teacher-Toolbox.pdf

Page April 2015 Lucile Erwin Middle School Newsletter

April Calendar

April 6-10 Spring Break

April 13 CMAS testing for 7th and 8th grade 9-11am; SAAC/IB/ PTSO 6pm

April 14 CMAS testing for 7th and 8th grade 7:25-11:05am; NJHS induction ceremony 5:30-6:30pm

April 20 No School, Professional Day

April 22 Musical, 4:00pm

April 23 5th grade visitation, 6th grade Take your Child to Work Day; Musical, 7:00pm

April 24 Musical, 7:00pm

April 27-May 1 Spirit Week; Dance--May 1st, 5-7pm

April 29 PARCC testing 7:25-10:45am

April 30 PARCC testing 7:25-10:45am