Middle School Notes

Happy Friday!

We have had a great week here at Trinity Middle School! Here are some highlights:

- We had our first pep rally of the year

- Our volleyball teams played their first home games of the year

- Our students got to use Mac mobile laptops for the first time

- Our marching band students performed their halftime show for the first time

- We enjoyed a fun-filled Spirit Day

Here is a shot of our halls on a typical Friday afternoon - I think "crowded" would be an understatement! However, the students are getting much better at navigating their schedules.

Just a few reminders:

1. Remember that next Monday is Labor Day -- NO SCHOOL!

2. If you haven't already done so, check out this great new blog by Miss Emily Head, our 7th grade English teacher. She is encouraging her students to comment on the blog site and interact as they learn English the 21st century way. Way to go, Miss Head!

3. Please make sure you read this post regarding our communication policy.

4. Picture day is next Wednesday, September 3. Young men will wear uniform pants and oxford shirts with a Trinity tie (or red and blue tie ONLY), blazers are optional. Young ladies will wear a uniform skirt or jumper with a uniform blouse (oxford or Peter Pan).

5. The YMCA will be sponsoring a "3rd Half" social after the varsity football game Friday, September 12. There will be no admission charge, and the school will be providing chaperons. I will give you further information regarding this exciting event next week.

6. Tell your Middle School children to check out this new blog made just for them. I decided to do this after some of the kids asked if they could comment to my blog as they do Miss Head's. I will post pictures, questions, polls and other fun stuff just for our kids, so encourage them to visit it often!

7. The following major tests will be given next week in the Middle School:

6th Grade -

Thursday - Social Studies

Friday - Math

7th Grade -

None

8th Grade -

Wednesday - English and Algebra I

Thursday - Bible

Friday - Spanish

I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

GO WILDCATS!

Spirit Day!

Parents,

Tomorrow, August 28, is SPIRIT DAY here at Trinity! Here are our dress code rules for the day:

1. Students may wear a Trinity uniform shirt or a Trinity t-shirt.

2. Students may wear blue jeans provided that they do not have holes in them.

3. Students must wear uniform shoes - no crocks or flip-flops.

We will be having a pep rally at the end of the day tomorrow, and encourage each of you to come out and support our Wildcats as they take on St. James at 7:00pm. Our volleyball teams will be playing tomorrow afternoon as well, so please try to catch those if you can.

Have a great afternoon, and GO WILDCATS!

Communication Reminder

Parents,

As educators, we want to partner with you in helping your child succeed here at Trinity. Along those lines, we will be very proactive with respect to communication of academic requirements and expectations. At the same time, we will be helping our students become more responsible as we encourage the use of academic planners that are in use throughout the Middle School.

Here are the things that you can expect from us with respect to academic communication:

1. I will post a list of upcoming major tests for the next week to this blog each Friday.

2. Teachers are required to post updated grades to Edline every second and fourth Monday beginning September 8. You will notice that some grades have already been posted. You should have a very clear picture as to where your child stands as of the 8th of September.

3. Students are required to write homework assignments in their planners each day and are expected to keep up with these planners. Some teachers may elect to post homework assignments to Edline, but as of this year this is not a requirement (please see the Trinity Handbook, p. 8).

4. I am encouraging teachers to make contact with you whenever your child begins experiencing problems in the classroom with respect to academics or discipline.

Should your child begin experiencing academic problems, we encourage you to schedule a conference with the teacher, or perhaps all core teachers. We want to work with you to ensure that your child reaches his/her full potential here at Trinity.

Please bookmark or subscribe to this blog. I will update it frequently with important information pertaining to our Middle School program. As I have said before, please feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or concerns.

Have a great day!

The Future is Now!

Here are some pictures of Ms. McLemore's students using our Mac notebooks for a geography project earlier today. These laptops are part of our mobile laptop cart, and are connected to the Internet and a laser printer via a wireless connection.

Students were working in groups as they answered a series of geography questions and created posters with various land masses, etc. They used the Internet in their groups for research without ever having to leave the classroom!

We are encouraging our teachers to make use of this technology along with the Smart Boards that are found in every classroom in our Middle School. The kids seem enthusiastic about this technology integration, and our teachers seem to be enjoying it as well.

Learning is FUN at Trinity!

Thank You!

A very big THANK YOU to our teachers and students for the amazing level of cooperation during yesterday's severe weather outbreak. As you know, our series of tornado warnings occurred at one of the worst possible times - the opening of the school day! As I walked into the building, I found teachers calmly directing students to safe places, and students cooperating fully and without disruption.

Give your child a big pat on the back for doing such a great job yesterday! They certainly deserve it!

Middle School Notes

Good Afternoon, Parents:

This is the first installment of a weekly update on things going on at Trinity Middle School. I hope you find this communication tool to be helpful!

Our classes are off to a great start, and our teachers are doing a fantastic job. As of this afternoon, I have had the chance to visit nearly every middle school classroom. The quality of instruction is outstanding and the students seem engaged and cooperative. We're beginning to feel like a real middle school, and I'm excited about the year ahead!

Let me encourage you to attend our PTO Back to School night next Tuesday, August 26 at 7:00 p.m. This is an important opportunity for you to go through your child's schedule and meet the individual teachers. Please understand that this is not a time for individual conferences. Those may be scheduled by contacting the school. Back to School night is designed for you to get an overview of the various subjects that your child is taking, as well as the classroom expectations of each teacher.

In an effort to be open with regard to communication, I will be posting upcoming tests each Friday. There should be no more than two major tests scheduled for any school day in the Middle School. Teachers post these tests weekly, and I will make that information available to you so you will know what is upcoming. However, please understand that there are times when test dates have to be moved for various unforeseen reasons. Posting of tests will begin Friday, August 29.

One final note: You might want to check out Miss Head's English Class Blog. It can be found here.

Here are some upcoming events that you don't want to miss next week:

Tuesday, August 26

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. ACA (Home)

7:00pm - PTO Back to School Night

Thursday, August 28

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. Prattville (Home)

5:30pm - Tailgate Party

7:00pm - Varsity Football vs. St. James (Home)

Thanks for your support as we have cranked things up this year.

GO WILDCATS!

Technical Difficulties

Parents,

If you have been attempting to correspond with some of our teachers via email and have not received a reply, it is probably due to some problems that we have been experiencing with our server. Please be assured that we are working on this, and hope to have everything restored very soon.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Open House Error

6th Grade Parents:

There was an error in the email sent yesterday regarding the upcoming PTO Open House (August 26). Parents of 6th-graders are to report to first period immediately following the assembly instead of homeroom. Last year's schedule was posted by mistake.

I look forward to seeing each of your next Tuesday night!

College Day Early Dismissal

Parents,

Trinity will conduct a College Day for our Upper School students on Tuesday, September 16. In order to accommodate this event, the Middle School will dismiss at 12:00 p.m. on that date.

Please mark this on your calendars and make plans now to pick your child up at noon on the 16th .

Have a great weekend!

Off and Running!

School finally started today and the halls were full of activity as students reunited with friends, fought with their lockers, and got into the swing of things. Our middle school students looked particularly good today as most were in dress code and took great care to wear their uniforms properly.

We had the opportunity to gather this morning for a brief assembly where the expectations for a great year were outlined. Students were most attentive and polite, so give them a big pat on the back!

Here is what we're shooting for this year:

We are going to strive for Christ-like Excellence in the following areas (think of it as earning "Straight As"):

Academics
Athletics
Arts
Appearance
Attitude

Our students have a clear understanding of our expectations in these areas, and we're geared up for a great year. Please help us by reinforcing these ideas at home.

See you in the halls!

Back to School!

The halls of Trinity are abuzz with teachers getting classrooms ready, students decorating lockers, and cheerleaders, athletes, and band members preparing for the fall season. Next week, we'll be in full swing and off to another great year.

A friend of mine, Dr. Frank Buck, is the Supervisor of Curriculum and Special Education for the Talladega City Schools, and author of the book Get Organized! Time Management for School Leaders. Dr. Buck maintains an excellent blog on organization, and has included some posts for parents helping their students get their act together for the school year.

You might find some great tips in the following articles:

"Write it Down"

"Break Big Projects Down Into Little Parts"

"Empty the Bookbag Totally Every Night"

"Learn to Deal With Papers"

"Get Everything Ready the Night Before"

Hopefully these articles will help your child get organized and stay that way.

See you next week!