News from Mrs. Nantz Spring Greetings! It seems impossible that we are only months away from the end of school. This year has flown by quickly. Please be sure that you keep a watchful eye on our website for scheduled events and activities for the school. If you are interest-ed in summer opportunities for your student, check out the “Summer Opportunity” link at the website. Middle School students are not the best at giving you information about announcements, so please check the website regularly. 6th and 7th-grade stu-dents will be getting the scheduling form for next year. Please discuss their options and use this as an opportunity to talk with your students about school. If you have any questions, feel free to email Mr. Underdonk or me. Testing Schedule for the WVSA (West Virginia Summative Assessment), which replaces WESTEST: 7th Grade: May 4-8 6th Grade: May 11-15 8th grade: May 18-22 Please try to avoid appointments for the week of your student’s testing.

Golden Horseshoe Winners

Congratulations to our Golden Horseshoe winners from MMS: Hannah Vorndran, Noah Sampson, Mason Shockley, Margaret Warner and Elizabeth Cathell. Monongalia Coun-ty is allowed 6 winners, and once again, Mrs. Fowler helped our students from MMS earn 5 of the 6 county spots. Many of our 8th grade students stayed after school for extra study sessions and spent extra time before school and during their lunch time working on computer reviews of the “quick quizzes” to prepare for this exam.

Mrs. Fowler said she is “blessed to be working at MMS with so many outstanding stu-dents.” The winners will be honored as “knights” or “ladies” of the Golden Horseshoe in a ceremony in Charleston on May 1st. This tradition dates back to 1931.

Newsletter If you have any

information, pictures or announcements you would like to

have included in the

newsletter, please contact

Charmin Lerfald. lerfalds@comcast.net

304-288-8969

Crystal Nantz, Principal ◦ Josh Underdonk, Vice Principal

April, 2015

Mountaineer Middle News

Volume 1, Issue 3

Mountaineer Middle

News Crystal Nantz, Principal Josh Underdonk, Assistant Principal

PTO Announcements

PTO Parent Meeting: Monday, April 27th at 6:00 pm in the library. We encourage everyone to attend to dis-cuss Teacher Apprecaiton week, the budget, 2015-2016 PTO Board and next year’s goals. We would wel-come 5th-grade parents as well as we will begin making decisions for next year.

MMS Teacher Appreciation Week: May 4th—May 8th Needed

Monetary Donations—please send to the office marked: PTO—Teacher Appreciation (checks: MMS PTO)

Food Donations—breakfast on Monday and lunch on Wednesday and Thursday

Parent Volunteers—set up lunch, serve food and clean up on Wednesday and Thursday If you would be willing to help, please contact Cindy O’Malley at 304-685-7045 or kelseasmom7@gmail.com or Annie Hart at 801-200-7687 or hartfamily7@gmail.com.

Elizabeth, Mrs. Fowler, Noah , Margaret, Hannah (Mason not pictured)

7th Grade Science Seventh grade science students are finishing up their two chapters with chemistry and are moving on to biology. They will cover several chapters on human body systems and diseases throughout the rest of the year. The final large lab will be the frog dissec-tion in late May. Submitted by: Mrs. Wright, 7th Grade Science Teacher

Summer Snowflakes

LEAD Conference—Student Council

LEAD Conference: A way for leaders around the world to meet each other and share their leadership skills with everyone around them in a positive environment. I had the honor to attend such a conference in Washington D.C., beginning on Friday, January 30th and concluding on Sunday, February 1st. It was a very uplifting experience for me as a leader, and I recommend it to all lead-ers out there. Not only did I gain many leadership tips for in school and within my community, I also formed many life-long friendships. There were 3 people representing Mountaineer Middle: Andrew Durbin, Reis Snider and me. We represented West Virginia along with other kids from Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, and Parkersburg. We all attended workshops together through-out the day on Saturday about leadership, fundraising and many other things that would help us use our leadership skills in our lives. We also had keynote speakers come in and talk to us about how they became leaders, but it wasn’t just a boring old lec-ture. We played games, we told jokes, we took pictures and much more. If you’re in student council, or on the fence of joining, I recommend going to this conference to help recognize the leadership

potential that you have. LEAD is definitely a great place for aspiring leaders, as it is very helpful and will stay with you forever. I

definitely believe that it’s a one-of-a-kind experience.

Submitted by: Sadaf Nikzad, 8th Grader

Page 2

Mountaineer Middle News Page 2

Two students from Mountaineer Middle School were selected as members of the West Virginia Middle School All-State Orchestra. Clara Lehki (7th grade) and Griffin Miller (8th grade) passed a rigorous audition in January and were selected as mem-bers of the group. The students attended two days of rehearsals and performed with the group on March 12th and 13th in Charleston, WV. The WV Middle School All-State Orchestra performance was held as part of the West Virginia Music Educators State In-Service Conference. Congratulations to Clara and Griffin on their musical excellence! Submitted by: Mrs. Bennett, Orchestra Teacher

All-State Orchestra

Free and fun!! Monongalia County Schools’ Summer Snowflakes offers summertime

learning opportunities to MCS students from PreK-12th grade. Taught by certified teach-

ers, every course gives kids a chance to experience—and experiment in-subject areas

that piquie their interests, keep them academically engaged and help prepare them for

the upcoming year. Visit the Mon County Schools website for more information.

http://boe.mono.k12.wv.us/

Mountaineer Middle School will be presenting "Disney's Alice in Wonderland Jr." Wednesday and Thursday, May 27th and 28th at 6 p.m. The show lasts approximately one hour. The en-trance fee will be $5. With a cast of 29, exciting music, colorful sets and costumes, as well as singing and dancing, you will undoubtedly be entertained. The show has been double cast, so come both nights and enjoy both sets of talented leads. Any Mountaineer Middle family members are invited to assist with set construction and cos-tume creations. Please contact Ms. Morgan at school or on edline at dbjmorga@k12.wv.us Submitted by: Mrs. Morgan, Music Teacher

Spring Musical

Cheerleaders The MMS Cheerleaders placed 3rd in the Liberty High School Cheer Classic in Clarksburg on February 28th. Front Row: Belle Nichols, Kendall Kirby, Livvy Staud, Au-brey Metz, Sadaf Nikzad Middle Row: Allie Goodwin, Madison Mitchell, Hannah Heiskell, Kayla Wilkins, Madison Baugh Back Row: Sophia Valachovic, Madison Hussing, Shelaya Edwards, Caroline Kirby, Sarah Lowjeski

Middle School Honor Band

The following MMS Band Students were selected to perform with students from Westwood, Suncrest, South and Clay Battelle Middle Schools in an All-County Honor Band Concert. These students practiced one evening and one day for a concert at Westwood Middle on March 25th. Front Row: Stephanie Chmiel, Avary Hamilton, Jordan Gilmore, Valerie Brunner Back Row: Mr. Cappellini, Erika Lerfald, Madelyn Lander, Sophie Armstrong, Hannah Vorndran, Matt Agazie, Max Kitzmiller (Jacob Lemoff—not pictured)

Volume 1, Issue 3 Page 3

County Commission Essay Winners The Monongalia County Commission in Conjunction with the National Association of Counties and the WV County Commissioner’s Association presented awards to Elizabeth Cathell and Mason Shockley for their 1st and 3rd place essays to celebrate National County Gov-ernment Month.

Mountaineer Middle students rose to the occasion and proved that they are leaders in the state. Congratulations go out to the Mountaineer Middle School Teams that quali-fied for the Future Problem Solving State Bowl! In the Middle Division, Matthew Bouis, Elizabeth Cathell, Hannah Vorndran and Katie Wessman will represent MMS at the WV State Bowl. In the Junior Division, 2 teams from MMS qualified. The first team consists of Bailey Joyce, Ashley Tucker, Sophia Valachovic and Katelyn Vance. The second team consists of Timothy Cargill, Julia Garrison and Kathryn Lerfald. Mountaineer Middle also performed very well in the FPS Scenario Writing Competition. In the Junior Division (Grades 4-6), Amelia Cox won first place with her story entitled “New Beginnings.” Kathryn Lerfald earned second place with her story “The Hover Board.” In the Middle Division (Grades 7-9), Jordan Shomo received a second place finish with her story “Barriers.” Both Amelia’s and Jordan’s stories were submitted to the International Competition for three additional rounds of evaluations. The International Scenario Writing Competition requires a student to write a futuristic story based on one five topics. The composition must contain 1500 words or less and must occur at least 20 years into the future. Scenarios are evaluated based on their content development, creativity, futuristic elements and the author’s personal touch. Good luck Amelia and Jordan! The results will be made public by Future Problem Solving International on April 24th. The state bowl will be held April 17th-18th at Mountaineer Middle School. GOOD LUCK to all our state qualifiers. Submitted by: Mrs. Addie, HOTS Teacher

Congratulations to the students listed above who represented MMS at the County Spelling Bee on February 12th. Amelia Cox, Annalies Stealey, Sterling Gibson, Annabella Kuehn and Josh Sharkey advanced to the Regional Spelling Bee which was held on March 19th at South Middle School. A student from Suncrest Middle won the regional competition and will represent our region at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC in May. * Not Pictured

Future Problem Solving—FPS

Spelling Bee Winners

Volume 1, Issue 3

7th Grade Winners Annelies Stealey, Sterling Gibson,

Katie Wessman

8th Grade Winners Josh Kozlowski, Annabella Kuehn, Josh

Sharkey, Eric Rhoads*

6th Grade Winners Alex Adams, Leo Weimer, Amelia Cox,

Sam Moody*

Page 4

Geography Bee Winners The Geography Bee is a national competition that culminates with one student from each state in Washington, DC in the spring. Matt Agazi and Mason Shockley were the semi-finalists with Mason being named the finalist from our school. Mason was invited recently to compete at the state level.

Volume 1, Issue 3

6th Grade Luke Monti, Daniel Myers

7th Grade Talia Kniceley, Bella Balko,

Dylan Baugh, Brayden Wilson

8th Grade Ella Strader, Mason Shockley (finalist), Chase Miller,

Breanna Areford, Matt Agazie (semifinalist)

Softball Schedule Layne Assif Lily Atkins

Victoria Childs Carly Herring Chasity Louk

Sarah McChesney Kennedy Meadows

Madison Moon Abigail Murray

Hayden Powroznik Gwyn Shuman

Jade Spina Hannah Vorndran Lindsey Vorndran

4/7 5:30 pm Home South

4/9 5:30 pm Away Westwood

4/13 5:30 pm Home North Marion

4/15 5:30 pm Away East Fairmont

4/16 5:30 pm Away North Marion

4/17 5:30 pm Home Clay Battelle

4/21 5:30 pm Away Suncrest

4/22 5:30 pm Away Clay Battelle

4/24 7:00 pm Home Elkins

4/27 5:30 pm Home Westwood

4/28 5:30 pm Home East Fairmont

4/30 5:30 pm Away South

5/1 7:00 pm Away Elkins

5/6 5:30 pm Home Suncrest

Come out to a game to support our team!

Page 5

Thank You! Thank you to the Cheat Lake Rotary for donating the two Mountaineer Middle benches for our students to use in front of our school.

Softball Team

Young Writers

Winner Congratulations to Allison Wolter for placing first in the Young Writers Competition for the county level. Allison and her teacher, Mrs. Groves, will travel to Charleston on May 15th where she will be recognized at the state level for her narrative essay “The Third Floor Bedroom.”

Girls Basketball County Champions

Congratulations to the Girls Varsity and JV Teams for placing 1st in the Monongalia County Tournament this season. Both teams were undefeated in our county!

Volume 1, Issue 3

Boys Basketball

The boys basketball team also had a great season. Both the varsity and JV teams were the runner’s up in the county tournament.

MMS Track and Field

The MMS Track team is ready to begin their season. We have more than 80 runners participating this year. There are 5 track meets at Westwood Middle School on Wednesday afternoons. Students choose from a variety of events from the 100 m dash to the 3200 m (2-mile race), plus hurdles, relays, long jump and shot put. Consider spending an afternoon at the track to cheer on our runners!

Track Meet Schedule

4/8 4:15 pm Westwood

4/15 4:15 pm Westwood

4/22 4:15 pm Westwood

4/29 4:15 pm Westwood

5/6 4:15 pm Westwood

Page 6

Mountaineer Middle News Page 7

Mountaineer Middle School

991 Price Street

Morgantown, West Virginia 26505

Phone: 304-284-2856

Fax: 304-284-2409

Attendance: 304-291-9203

Mrs. Nantz: cnantz@k12.wv.us

Mr. Underdonk: junderdonk@k12.wv.us

All teacher/staff email addresses can be

found on the MMS webpage under the

parents tab.

2014-2015 MMS PTO Executive Board

President Annie Hart hartfamily7@gmail.com 801-200-7687 Vice President Cindy O’Malley kelseasmom7@gmail.com 304-685-7045 Secretary Marcie Holt marcieholt@comcast.net Treasurer Jennifer Lyons djamlyons@comcast.net

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

12 13

5:30 Softball Away 14 15

Track Meet 5:30 Softball Away

16

5:30 Softball Away 17

5:30 Softball Home FPS State Bowl

18

FPS State Bowl

19 20 21

5:30 Softball Away 22

Track Meet 5:30 Softball Away

23 24

7:00 Softball Home 8th Band Bridgeport

25

26 27

5:30 Softball Home 6:00 PTO Meeting

28

5:30 Softball Home

29

Track Meet

30

5:30 Softball Away 7:00 Band Concert

1 7:00 Softball Away

2

April 2015

3 4 7th Grade Testing

5 7th Grade Testing

6

Track Meet 5:30 Softball Home 7th Grade Testing

7 7th Grade Testing

8 7th Grade Testing

9

10 11

6th Grade Testing

12

6th Grade Testing

13

6th Grade Testing

14 6th Grade Testing

15 6th Grade Testing

16

17 18 8th Grade Testing

19 8th Grade Testing

20 8th Grade Testing

21 8th Grade Testing

22 8th Grade Testing

23

24 25 No School

26 27 6:00 Spring Musical

28

6:00 Spring Musical 29

30

31 June 1 5th Grade Step Up Day

2 3 6:00 Choir Concert

4 7:00 Orchestra Concert

5 6

7 8 8:15 6th Grade Awards

9 8:15 7th Grade Awards

8th Trip to Wisp

10 8:15 8th Grade Awards

11 Last Day of School

12 13

May 2015