Edwin Markham Middle School Newsletter

It’s finally fall! After a blazing hot sum-mer, and the start of the school year, we get to settle into our routines and really dig into our work. Hopefully you and your child have established your own school routines and have figured out how to balance home/school/family/play. If you’re still trying to figure it out, please contact your child’s teachers and ask for help! We’re happy to strategize with you! With this new year we have welcomed more than just new students! We have five new panther staff members! In 6th grade, Chase Bulkin is in science, and bringing his love of fun and play to the classroom. Emily Gillespie joins us in 7th grade history, bringing her vast travel experience to share with our stu-dents. Our new art/yearbook teacher is Jessica Foley-Sanchez and she has already incorporated new art projects to our program! Emily Moody is teaching our special education ELA classes, as well as our 6th grade intervention ELA class, and is a Markham alum! Many students are already familiar with our new PE teacher, Julie Dewater, as she joins us from Schnell, bringing her love of fitness to our campus. We’re excited at the energy and ideas our new staff members bring! How do I know how my child do-ing? Such a common question from parents! You have two tools to help you keep up to date. First, and most

important, the PLANNER! Every day, in every class your child is directed to rec-ord the agenda, including homework, into their planner. They are given time to do so, and teachers are spot check-ing to ensure it happens. This is how you know what is going on at school on a daily bases. Instead of asking your child about their day, or if they have homework, ask to see their plan-ner. This is a great start to a conversa-tion. Ask them to tell you about what they did in science. Ask to see their research from history. And ask to see their homework. This is how you will understand their day, their efforts and help them manage their time. Aeries is the online gradebook used by staff to record work and calculate grades. Once work is turned in, graded and recorded, you will see it in Aeries and then you can monitor your child’s progress. Information went home pre-viously about creating an account if you don’t already have one.

We hope you are able to join us for

Parent Conferences next

week! Teachers will be available to

meet with you regarding your child’s

progress Tuesday, 9/26, and Wednes-

day, 9/27, from 12:30pm to 3:30pm in

our Multipurpose Room. Thursday,

9/28 we will have later hours, from

12:30pm until 6:30pm. This is a drop-in

event, no appointment necessary!

Tornado Sales - volunteer after school to help us sell slushies to students. We need

volunteers to scope ice cream, collect money and clean up after school on Fridays

from 2:00pm to 2:40pm

The Next Parent Club Meeting is Wednesday, October 4th at 6:00pm in the Library.

Join us as we plan for upcoming events this school year!

Oct. 12th is Family Game Night from 5-7pm! Setup help needed after school.

Check us out on Facebook: Markham Panther Parents for up to date information.

September 2017 Principal, Terry Edinger

Principal’s Message

Contents

Principal’s Message 1

Parent Club 1

Academic News 2

Sports/Extra Curricular News 3

Tryouts News 3

Academic Help 3

Library 3

Technology and Your Student 4

Events Calendar 4

Edwin Markham Middle

2800 Moulton Drive

Placerville, CA 95667

Phone:

(530) 622-0403

Fax: (530) 622-5584

Parent Club

Page 2 of 4 Academic News Edwin Markham Middle

Schoolwide Parent/Teacher Conferences— Tuesday,

September 26th thru Thursday, September

28th are Parent/Teacher conferences. Con-

ferences begin at 12:30 pm and go until 3:30

pm, with the exception of Thursday, when

conferences will go until 6:30pm. No ap-

pointments necessary. Meetings will be

held in the MP Room and last 8-10 minutes

with each teacher. If you need longer than

the allotted time, please contact the teacher

to arrange another time. During this time,

school is out at 11:31am for minimum days,

including Friday.

Yearbook - Get your yearbooks for the

great price of $25 through December 16th.

The price will go up to $35 in January. Take

advantage of this deal and get those or-

ders in! Flyers are available from Mr. Black

or the Office.

Safe School Ambassadors

Academics Our newest panthers were able to partici-pate in the 6th grade field trip to Sly Park Environmental Center! Students went in two groups, traveling with their homeroom class. They got to spend the day hiking, building shelters, and exploring the creek habitat.

In 6th grade history, students have been studying ancient peoples. Ms. Villareal brought in examples of skulls from early hu-mans for students to observe. Students were able to choose two different skull types and research the difference between those early humans, comparing the physical characteristics as well as the time period and life style.

Ms. Schubert’s 8th grade science class has students learning about energy and investi-

gating ways to make electrical devices work when there is no power. Classes have come up with some ingenious ideas, like powering a system with a battery, using a hand-crank generator and a solar cell! Our young in-ventors are working overtime to solve prob-lems.

In 7th grade history, with Ms. Gillespie, stu-dents worked on a family tree project that allowed students to look into their past to see how it shaped who they are today. They explained their family background, inter-viewed a family member about the past, described their personality and who they got that characteristic from and finally ex-plained their geographical background and where their family came from. History is really about people and families and their stories throughout the past .

Last week over 60 students participated in

training for our Safe School Ambassadors

(SSA) program, learning how to support

their peers when they witness acts of un-

kindness. We participate in the Community

Matters program (http://community-

matters.org) every year in this inside-out

approach, helping students identify and help

stop unwanted and bullying behaviors within

their own peer groups. Many of our ambas-

sadors’ actions are not instantly recogniza-

ble, but SSA members meet twice a month

with their groups to discuss and strategize

on how to help our campus members get

along with each other. This program is very

much peer-to-peer, making it very effective

in improving student relationships.

Follow us on

Twitter!

@MarkhamMS to learn of all

the great things happening

on campus!

Page 3 of 4 Sports/Extra Curricular News Edwin Markham Middle

Sports Boys Basketball— tryouts will be middle of

October. If you are interested in trying out,

please bring Sports Physical and latest re-

port card to Mr. Hendel. Listen to the

Morning announcements for specific dates!

Cross Country—Finals for the County will be

at El Dorado County Fairgrounds on Tues-

day, October 10th.

Library

Academic Help

Extra Curricular Box Tops Keep collecting those box tops! They make a difference! We were able to purchase our Pan-ther mascot and help buy the screen in the Gym with previous donations. See the back page for a product list of where you can find Box Tops! Online Gradebook

Want to check your child’s grades or miss-

ing assignments? Then get registered with

Aeries.net to access all this information! All

students were sent home with login infor-

mation from their English teachers or Home-

room, and this is an easy way to keep up-to-

date on your child’s progress. If you missed

the login information, please contact the Of-

fice or Library for your student’s information!

Associated Student Body Fund Raiser

It is Feed the Panther time! No doubt you have seen us out and about on campus. Please do-nate to our one ASB fundraiser this year. The school gets 100% of the money earned. We offi-cially are at $2,000! For those that are out of town, here is a link you can send in an email!

http://www.pusdk8.us/o/emms/page/feed-the-panther-fundraiser

This goes directly to a PayPal account. You can also feel free to send money to school, just make the checks out to Markham. Look for the donation box at conferences too! Thank you for helping our school and helping us reach our goal of $4,000!

Academic Grace—T,W,Th 2:30pm-3:30pm with Miss Haviland

Math Tutoring—T,W, Th 2:30pm-3:30pm with math teachers

Breakfast Club — 7:15am to 7:45am in the mornings Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and

Friday

Every year our students participate in

Accelerated Reader as part of their

English Language Arts program. They

take a diagnostic test, and from

those results the number of points

they must have each quarter for their

ELA grade is determined by the teach-

er. In addition, the library awards priz-

es to the top readers in each grade.

Every quarter Mrs. Higman hands out

prizes and kudos to those students

who have read the most points in each

grade level.

Download the Placer-

ville Union School Dis-

trict App on your

phone, and get access

to Aeries, lunch

account, Face-

book page and-

much more!

Page 4 of 4 Middle School Musings Edwin Markham Middle

Technology and Your Student

“He drew a circle

that shut me out

— Heretic, rebel,

a thing to flout.

But Love and I

had the wit to win:

We drew a circle

that took him in.”

~Edwin Markham

Did you know that most social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, re-

quire users to be at least 13 years old to have an account? Children need a great

deal of guidance when accessing these sorts of sites. You can help your child use

these sites safely by explaining the importance of setting strict privacy controls,

using smart judgment about what they choose to post, behaving appropriately,

and understanding that anything they put online can potentially be misused. For

more information, visit commonsensemedia.org to learn tips for keeping your child

safe online.

Be a good digital citizen. A good rule of thumb: If they wouldn't do something in real life, they shouldn't do it online.

Visit the site's safety section together. Sometimes you can find these sections under "About Us" or "Privacy Policy." Review the rules and find out how your child can report mean behavior or unkind content on their favorite sites.

Avoid strangers. Tell your kids that people aren't always who they say they are online. Explain that if someone they don't know talks to them, they shouldn't respond and should let you know.

Keep some stuff private. Your name, address, phone number, and how much

money your parents make should stay private. But your hobbies, favorite ice

cream flavor, or pet's name all can be fun stuff to share with like-minded folks

online.

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

25 26 Last Day for Feed the

Panther Drive

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Football Home Game

Volleyball Home Game

27 Parent/Teacher

Conferences

08 Parent/Teacher

Conferences

29 Cross Country Meet –

EDHS

Oct.2 3 4 Leadership Field Trip 5 6 Girls Volleyball

Tournament

9 10 Cross Country Finals-El

Dorado County Fairgrounds

11 Fall Music Concert 12 School-wide Writing Day 13

16 17 18 LifeTouch Photo Re-

takes

19 20

September/October 2017