Mill Memo

October / November 2018 Mill Middle School Official Newsletter

Calandra’s Corner . . Important Dates Dear Parent(s) and Guardian(s), I hope you were able to attend our Open Houses over the past two weeks. If not, I encourage you to view the Drop Off/Pick Up video to insure that you understand our procedures. Student safety is always our highest priority. As was mentioned at Open House, November parent-teacher conference signup information will be forthcoming in a Wits mail. If you have not already opened a parent WITS account, I would suggest that you do. Many important pieces of information are disseminated through the WITS parent portal. The building WITS mails occur every Tuesday. However, many teachers also utilize WITS to communicate with their students’ parents. We are also on Twitter. Please consider following Mill Middle School. Our twitter feed directly connects to our WITS homepage. We use this social media as a communication tool for events and educational experiences occurring at Mill. Our parent teacher conferences will be occurring on November 15th, 19th and 20th. The hours are 5:00 8:00pm on Thursday, November 15th and Monday, November 19th. On Tuesday, November 20th, it will be a half day for students (early release at 11:30am) and then conferences will be held from 12:30 – 3:30pm. Parents can begin sign up on Wits Friday, October 26th through Tuesday, November 13th until noon. Parents will log into WITS and use their parent login and password. If you prefer to sign up via telephone, you may call the guidance office at 626-8310 Tuesday, November 6th through Tuesday, November 13th to arrange a conference. Mrs. Lindsay Kozyra will be scheduling conferences during the hours of 9:15- 1:00pm Monday through Thursday and 9:15 to 12:30pm on Fridays. Further information will be sent via Twitter and WITS as we approach the sign up date. 8th grade parents: The 8th Grade Celebration will be held on Friday, June 7th. 8th grade parents mark your calendars. The awards portion of the program will take place at South High School. This location will accommodate as many families and relatives that would like to attend. The auditorium at South is also air-conditioned. We will begin with a program honoring the class of 2019 at 6:30pm. The students should arrive at 6:00pm. The PTSA has graciously supported buses for students to return to Mill for the celebration portion. This event is for Mill students only. All students are encouraged to attend. This is a party, not a dance. The party concludes at 9:30pm. Guidelines for appropriate dress are: Gentlemen: dress pants, shirt and tie, sport coat (optional). Jeans, T-shirts and shorts are discouraged. Ladies: causal dresses, skirts with blouses and pant suits are appropriate. Halter and strapless dresses as well as short mini-skirts are inappropriate. Formal attire will become a cherished memory at your child’s high school prom/ I hope our students have had an enjoyable beginning of the year. Michael J. Calandra

From the desk of Mrs.Weir, Assistant Principal I would like to make all students and parents aware of the administration dates of New York State Assessments. Please see below for the 2019 testing dates and take a moment to discuss them with your son or daughter.

Date: Assessment: April 2 – 4, 2019 NYS ELA 5 -8 May 1 – 3, 2019 NYS Math 5 -8 May 22 – 31, 2019 NYS Science 8 Performance June 3, 2019 NYS Science 8 Writing

All students at Mill Middle take the NYS ELA assessments. All students except for those enrolled in Common Core Algebra 1 also take the NYS Math assessments. Students enrolled in Common Core Algebra 1 will take the Common Core Algebra 1 Regents assessment in June. In addition, all students enrolled in Science 8 take the NYS Science 8 assessment. Earth Science students do not take the NYS Science 8 assessment, but they will take the Earth Science Regents assessment in June. Also note, the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) is designed to annually assess the English proficiency of all English language learners enrolled in Grades K–12 in New York State schools. See below for New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) dates.

Date: Assessment: April 8 – May 17, 2019 NYSESLAT Speaking May 6 -17, 2019 NYSESLAT Listening, Reading, Writing

Please take these dates in to consideration when planning family trips or vacations. Do not hesitate to contact your child’s guidance counselor or the Main Office if you have any questions regarding New York State testing dates. As always, thank you for your continued support. Sincerest Regards, Mrs. Hillary Weir Assistant Principal Mill Middle School

A note from your School’s Dignity Act Coordinators Attention Parents & Students: ALL New York State public elementary and secondary students are entitled to attend school in a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property and at school-sponsored functions. See below for a definition of bullying: “Bullying is described as intentional acts of aggression (verbal, physical, relational, or cyber) intended to cause harm by a peer (or group of peers) operating from a position of strength or power, and it is usually repeated over time.” –Dr. Dan Olweus The staff at Mill Middle is committed to maintaining a strong anti-discrimination policy. The Dignity Act Coordinators (DAC) at Mill are: Mrs. Weir Mrs. Stelley DAC Contact Information: Main Office 626-8300 Guidance Office 626-8310 HWeir@williamsvillek12.org KStelley@williamsvillek12.org Need to contact the Guidance Office:

Mill Middle School Guidance Department Phone: (716) 626-8310

Fax (716) 626-8331

Name Title Grade Level Email Mrs. Knab School Counselor 5 SKnab@Williamsvillek12.org Ms. Berger School Counselor 6 CBerger@Williamsvillek12.org Mrs. Stelley School Counselor 7 KStelley@Williamsvillek12.org Ms. Kane School Counselor 8 LKane@Williamsvillek12.org

Mrs. Macri-Morell School Psychologist 5 th-8th JMacri-Morell@Williamsvillek12.org Ms. Krezmien* School Psychologist* 5 th-8th EKrezmien@Williamsvillek12.org Ms. DiSanto School Social Worker 5 th-8th PDiSanto@Williamsvillek12.org

* Ms. Krezmien is a half-time school psychologist and is typically in the building Monday afternoons, and all day Tuesdays and Thursdays. Office hours are 8:30 am to 3:35 pm, Monday through Friday, when school is in session.

Parent-Teacher Conferences Conferences will be held November 15th for all grade levels in the evening (5:00 – 8:00pm), November 19th for all grade levels in the evening (5:00 – 8:00pm), and November 20th for all grade levels in the afternoon (12:30 – 3:30pm). On November 20, students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Report Cards Report cards are issued every 10 weeks to inform parents about the current progress of their children. These report cards include information on the academic achievement, school citizenship and effort of the pupil. Numerical grades will be used in academic subjects and teacher comments are noted. Parents are urged to examine the report card very carefully and to contact the Guidance office for answers to any questions which may arise concerning student progress. They are accessed through WITS. Grades All grades will be based on the achievement of each student. The minimum passing grade is 65. The final grade in all courses will be the average of the four marking period grades. Therefore, it benefits a student to work all through the school year. Honor and Merit Roll The Honor Roll is published after each 10 week marking period. To qualify for this, a student must have a 90% average or higher. For the Merit Roll an average of 85% - 89% must be earned. 5 Week Report A five week interim report may be issued between the ten week marking periods. The notice may be sent to parents of students doing unsatisfactory work, improving their grades or doing exceptional work. These grades are available on WITS.

It is hard to believe, but the Scholastic Book Fair is right around the corner! The book fair will once again be held in the Mill Library and the hours are as follows: Thursday, November 15 8:30 – 3:30 and 5 – 9 Friday, November 16 8:30 – 3:30 Monday, November 19 8:30– 3:30 and 5 – 9 Tuesday, November 20 8:30 – 3:30 The accepted forms of payment include MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. Cash and checks made payable to Mill Middle School PTSA are also accepted. Profits from the book fair go directly to benefit library programming and materials. Hope to see you there! Thank you for your support.

Fall Newsletter

Mill Middle Gifted and Talented Program News

Dear Mill Community,

The first two months at Mill have been very busy in the GT program! Please keep checking our wits page, as well as wits mails to get the most up to date information on competitions, clubs, and activities!

If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me through wits mail or call the school directly.

-Mr. Gammiero, 5-8 Gifted Programming Specialist

Parents often ask- “How can my child get involved with the GPS Program at Mill?” There are many Level 2 services offered to ALL students of Mill with special interests. For example: STEM Club- meets Mondays before school at 8 AM for any Mill student interested in STEM-related design challenges, computer coding, and problem solving. Makerspace Club- starts in March before school on Mondays and Wednesdays before school in the library Science Fair- meetings throughout January-March. Prepare and present a science or engineering project at our District STEM Showcase on February 8 and the WNY Regional STEM Fair in March. Competition Club- Meetings either Monday afterschool or Fridays before school (check WITS). Work on entries for one of many academic competitions. Social Justice Club- For 7th/8th grade students passionate about Social Justice- meetings held twice a month before and after school

Upcoming Events November 1

Poetry Competition Entries DUE to Mr. G! November 20

Geography Bee December 21 Spelling Bee

January 19 Future City Regional

Competition

Missed Mr. G at Open House?

Check out the Gifted and Talented Programming

at Mill WITS Page for the Open House slideshow describing Mill’s GPS

Program.

Need Resources and Support? Check out and join our SEPTSA group!

www.williamsvilleseptsa.org Parent support group meeting dates here:

http://www.williamsvilleseptsa.org/events/septsa-networking/

GT Program Updates • 5th Grade students met Mr. Gammiero in their

Science and Social Studies classes with a lesson on Resilience with 5th grade Counselor, Mrs. Knab. Ask them how they persevered through several challenges building their paper towers.

• 5th Grade Math Pullouts begin on Wednesday, 9/26. We will be studying problem solving strategies in preparation for the Math Olympiad program.

• 5th Grade students in ELA will work with Mr. Gammiero during the month of November on Narrative Writing.

• 6th Grade Math Enrichment classes have started. Students are working feverishly learning about the Stock Market in anticipation for spending their virtual $100,000 in the Stock Market Game.

• 6th Grade students will work with Mr. Gammiero in ELA starting in December.

• Some 7th grade students will be studying several short pieces by Roald Dahl with Mr. Gammiero, Mrs. Kautz, Mrs. McDonald, and Mrs. Tulowiecki.

• Mr. Gammiero will be presenting the Science Fair to ALL Mill Earth Science students in 8th grade this year. He’s every excited to see what they will present in February!

• STEM Club and Future City are getting started with LOTS of student interest. Check wits and wits mails daily for further announcements.

• Debate Team has started with the returning 8th grade students. Debate Team will be open for new students starting in February.

• Any student interest in developing a project for History Day or C-SPAN StudentCam should see Mr. Gammiero ASAP!

Resources for Parents of High-Achieving and

Gifted/Talented Students National Association of Gifted

Children

https://www.nagc.org/

Davidson Institute for Talent Development

http://www.davidsongifted.org/

UB Gifted Math Program

http://giftedmath.buffalo.edu/

John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

http://cty.jhu.edu/talent/

Hoagie’s Gifted

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted

http://sengifted.org/

Yearbooks are now on sale! Order yours today at www.jostens.com

Mill Memo Information for future Issues The deadline for the December/January issue of the Mill Memo is Friday, November 16. Please be certain that all articles are submitted to Bridget Lanigan by this date to insure they are included in our publication. Please email articles to blanigan@williamsvillek12.org. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.