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Grade Level Wikis

Good Morning!

I hope your day is off to a great start!

I will be posting my regular weekly blog post later in the day, but I wanted to go ahead and make all parents aware of our new method of providing you with information on our classes.  Please click on the links below to see each class in a particular grade level.  Just think of it as one stop shopping!

Over the weekend, I will make some changes to this blog site, removing old links and highlighting these Wiki spaces.

Here they are:

6th Grade Wiki

7th Grade Wiki

8th Grade Wiki

You will notice that some of our subjects to not have active links next to them just yet.  Many of these subjects (such as 8th grade Bible) do not begin until the second semester.

Have a great day!

Middle School Matters

Happy Friday!

We had officially made it through the first week of school!  I hope your child has had a great week.

Here are some important items to be mindful of as we enter the weekend:

1. Please remember to attend our PTO Open House scheduled for next Tuesday evening.  We will meet in Willett Hall at 6:30pm, and then you will have the opportunity to proceed through your child's schedule, meeting all teachers and getting a general idea of how his/her school day flows.

2. It is very important that we maintain open lines of communication.  If you have any concerns regarding your child, academically or otherwise, please let us know.  We are happy to arrange single-teacher or multi-teacher conferences.  Open communication fosters relationships between teachers and parents, and this ultimately benefits the student.

3. In the coming weeks, you will be receiving an invitation to a Partner with the Principal luncheon sponsored by our PTO.  I hope that many of you will be able to attend.  I enjoy the opportunity of meeting you and telling you about the exciting things we have planned for your students this school year.

Here are our upcoming tests this week:

6th Grade: None

7th Grade:

Wednesday - Civics

Thursday - English, Science

Friday - Math7/Pre-Algebra

8th Grade:

Wednesday - US History (W. McLemore, O. McLemore, Franklin), Pre-Algebra

Friday - Spanish

Have a great weekend!

Off to a Great Start!

Good Afternoon,

Thank you so much for making the opening of the 2011-12 school year one of the best yet.  We have been so pleased with things, and we are looking forward to a great year ahead!

Here are just a few reminders for each of you, especially if you are new to our middle school program.

• Please subscribe to my blog for weekly updates and resources.   I will make every effort to have this blog updated each Friday with important information and parenting resources.  You may also peruse the archives for past articles to get a feel for our program if you are new to the division or new to Trinity.
• Please remember that all absence requests are to be presented to Randy Ragsdale, our dean of students, for approval.  It is most important that these requests be submitted at least one week in advance, except in the case of an emergency such as a death in the family.
• Please take some time this weekend and consult our Middle School Handbook very carefully.  This handbook outlines our dress code requirements, as well as other information and procedures that are very important.
• Each teacher in the middle school division is required to have an online “presence” of some sort.  Our grade levels are working to develop central locations for all of this information.  Your children’s teachers should be making this information available to you in the very near future if they have not done so already.
• Middle school students who have siblings in the lower school are allowed to exit the building through the front entrance each afternoon.  All other middle school students are to be picked up on the steps of Willett Hall.  It is very important for you to pull all the way forward when getting your child.  We will move them down the hill toward your car.  Also, it is best if you do not arrive before 3:15, as this causes a traffic “tangle” with our lower school parents.  We have had two very smooth carpool days, so I am optimistic about our prospects for a great year in this area.
• The PE department will be sending home an order form for uniforms. Be looking for this in the coming days.

Thanks once again for your assistance in making our opening of school one of the most successful in recent memory.  You are deeply appreciated!

Paw Print Dress-Down Days for Exams

Parents,

If your child has Paw Prints, they may redeem them in order to dress down for exams.  One Paw Print may be redeemed per article of clothing. For example, if a student has one Paw Print, that student would be able to redeem it for, say, a shirt of his/her choice.  All other garments would have to be TPS uniform attire.  Paw Prints are to be redeemed daily - they do not carry over.

With respect to skirt/short lengths, we will use the same dress code we did for the Biscuits game Wednesday.  I am happy to report that our kids did a FANTASTIC job meeting our dress code requirements for this field trip.  That influenced our decision greatly.

Please let your students know that the faculty voted OVERWHELMINGLY to allow this as a thank you to our students for a fabulous school year.

Coach Rags and I will accept Paw Prints at the beginning of every exam, each day.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Middle School Matters

Wow, the end of the year is upon us!  We have several important events coming up, so get your calendar out and jot down these dates:

Monday, May 2
Abstinence Education Begins for Eighth Grade
2nd Period each day

Tuesday, May 3
Honors Assembly
8:20am - 9:20am - Willett Hall

Thursday, May 5
National Day of Prayer - Prayer Breakfast
7:15am - Willett Hall

Wednesday, May 11
"Grand Slam" School Day with the Montgomery Biscuits
Students will need money for lunch.
Boxed lunches are $4.00

Thursday, May 12
Eighth Grade Completion Ceremony
9:00am - 10:00am
Ceremony - Old Gym
Reception - Library

Monday, May 16
Exams Begin

Tests for Next Week:

6th Grade:

Wednesday - English

Thursday - Math

7th Grade: 

None

8th Grade:

Wednesday - US History (McLemore)

Thursday - English

Friday - Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Science

Have a Great Week!

. . . and He Took the Cup

With these words, our church completes the act of taking communion -- something we did this week to prepare our hearts for the observance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  However, this time, my pastor re-focused us on the choice that Christ made, and we traveled to a moon-lit Garden of Gethsemane to examine the most critical decision in all of human history.

The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" in the hours just before his mockery of a trial and ultimate execution (Mark 14:34).  We are told that his sweat was like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44).  He knew what was coming, and his human side was in anguish over the very thought of his fate.

Although Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer as model earlier in his ministry, I believe that the most beautiful prayer ever uttered actually occurred in this moment - a moment where a decision on the part of the sinless Son of God paved the way for our redemption.

Luke records it beautifully for us:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.  On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."  He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:39-42, emphasis added).

Authentic prayer is dangerous.  Seeking God's direction can be frightening.  However, real peace comes only from knowing and doing the will of God.  As in all things, our ultimate example is Christ Jesus.  May we learn to pray as he did, humbly submitting ourselves to God's beautiful, wonderful, perfect will.

My prayer is that you and your family will draw closer to the Savior during this most holy of seasons.