McGary November 2012 Newsletter

November 2012

Evansvi l le Vanderburgh School Corporat ion

McGary Middle School Newsletter

McGary School Contacts

Tammy Dexter, Principal

[email protected]

Dale Naylor, Asst. Principal

[email protected]

Shannon Strieter, Professional

Development Specialist

[email protected]

Mark Simon, Counselor

[email protected]

Theresa Schneider, Social Worker

[email protected]

Dianna Augustine, Principal’s

Secretary/Treasurer

[email protected]

Valerie Deutsch, Secretary

[email protected]

Sheree Edwardson, Nurse

[email protected]

Terri Goldman, Cafeteria Manager

[email protected]

Julie Mullen, Community and

Family Outreach Coordinator

[email protected]

ATTENDANCE PROCEDURE

If your child is ill, going out of town, or will be late to school, please call the school office at 476-3035 by 9:00 A.M.

Developing 21st Century Learners

Principal’s Corner

Dear McGary Parents, Guardians, and Friends,

I would like to thank you for supporting the Cornbread Drive and the Penny

Wars the past several weeks! We love having the opportunity for our students to

give back to the community!

On Saturday, Nov. 3rd (barring rain), we will be working with our friends from

Bethel Church to clean up and prepare the community garden for the winter. We

also have plans to work on the courtyard area (we have stone paths planned) as

well as some other small landscaping projects. Please come over and join us from

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. We would love to have your help!

Parents of 8th graders will be receiving a lot of information in the next few

weeks about options for your students in High School. Please make sure that you

pay attention to Open House dates for the different programs. We are so fortunate

in the EVSC to offer a wide variety of secondary programs for our students

including: Early College, New Tech, The Shepherd Academy, and The Medical

Professions Academy.

8th graders and their parents are invited to attend the William Henry Harrison

High School 8th Grade Student and Parent Night on November 8th at 6 p.m. in the

Commons. This will be an important information session for all of our 8th graders.

Thanks for all you do to help your student be successful. Please let us know if we

can help in any way!

Best Regards,

Tammy Dexter

Collecting for a Cause

NOVEMBER 2012 MCGARY MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Kids Fest and Health Expo

The University of Evansville Physical Therapy Program will present Healthy for the Holidays, a kids fest, and

health expo. This event will be held Saturday, November 10th, on the U of E softball / baseball field from 9 a.m. to

11:30 a.m. The planned activities are a one mile family walk / run and a parent/ child 3-legged race. There will also

be free health care handouts for everyone, along with other fun activities for all age groups. Please make plans to

attend this free, fun event.

News from you School Social Worker

Winter is fast approaching, and your used coats can make a difference!

Infant and children coats are in highest demand, but ALL coats are

welcomed. Bring your gently used coats to any Don’s Cleaners now through December so they can be cleaned

and distributed in January. For distribution times, dates and locations, call The Evansville Christian

Life Center at 812-423-9222 or the Salvation Army at 812-422-4673.

Food For the Weekend

The Tri-State Food Bank sponsors a Back Pack Food for Kids Program. This program assists

students who may not have enough food to eat on the weekends. Good nutrition is important because

deficiencies can lead to serious health problems, including impaired cognitive development, growth failures,

physical weakness, anemia, and stunted growth. The program sends non-perishable food home with

participating students every Friday. Each Back Pack contains 2 lunches, 2 dinners, and 2 snacks.

If you are interested in this program, please contact your McGary Middle School Social Worker,

Theresa Schneider, at 476-3035.

WayBack Burgers Offers Report Card Specials

Jake’s WayBack Burgers is offering specials for students who bring in their report cards and have earned A’s

and B’s on it. Students will receive a free kid’s meal for every “A” earned and a free junior cheeseburger,

hamburger or kid’s chicken fingers for a “B”. In addition, Jake’s will also offer a free junior shake for perfect

attendance and/or perfect conduct.


6th Grade

Keona Brown

Bianca Collins

Jaidyn Forest

Tyler Lay

Lexie Rouse

Ce’Nheecia Skinner

Caleb Sweeny

Jeremiah Thomas

7th Grade

I’Nayha Brock

Brandt Hout

Breanna Julian

Hadrian Klees

Destiny Lerche

Aliyah Parker

Brooklyn Rogers

Hailea Rose

8th Grade

De’Ante Booker

Nykia Collins

Brandon Duncan

Meredith Hodges

Cara Hurt

Gammont Jackson

Darkaisha Johnson

Christian Nix

McGary 2012-2013 Student Council Members

President: Gammont Jackson

Vice President: Brandon Duncan

Secretary: Hadrian Klees

Fall Music Concert

BRAVO to the music department on a successful and entertaining Fall Concert. The auditorium was standing

room only!! Thanks to Mrs. Nance and Mrs. Schuessler for putting together this very special evening, and

congratulations to all the students who performed that evening.

Student Council’s Mission

Student Council members are the leaders of the school. The students were selected by a vote from the student

body. This year the student council will be planning and organizing dances, and activity night, and teacher

appreciation week. Student Council meets at 7:15 a.m. in room 8 every Friday morning.

Faculty Sponsors: Ms. Rachel Roberts, Ms. Janon Khaja, and Mrs. Eileen Korba

Spring Musical / Play Tryouts

Tryouts for the Spring Play/ Musical will be held the week of Thanksgiving on Monday, November 19th, and

Tuesday, November 20th, after school until 5 p.m. There will be an after-school bus available to transport the

students home at 5 p.m. The title of the show this year is 50 Years at McGary and will feature music from the past

and present, a story that includes the big events of our country and at McGary middle School, and the whole thing

will be student-driven. We will be needing lots of help with props, stage help, singers and dancers, and actors. Mrs.

Nance received a 2012 Excellence in Education grant for $1,000 from the Public Education Foundation of

Evansville, Inc. to help with expenses on the Spring Musical this year. We can’t wait to see the finished product!


November Family Night

November’s family Night will be Operation: Family Fitness. We have scheduled the date for November 29th from

5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.. We have many exciting things planned for the evening, so please join us. If you have any

questions, feel free to contact Julie Mullen at 476-3035.

Cornbread Mix/ House War Update

Students and staff at McGary were asked to bring in cornbread mix as part of a house war to benefit Evansville

Rescue Mission’s Gobbler Gathering, which is their annual thanksgiving gift for families in need. The mixes were

placed into Operation City Beautiful boxes that were decorated by each respective house at the entrance of the

school. We collected 360 boxes of cornbread mix for this very worthy cause. The winning house was Rispetto with

120 total boxes collected and they will be rewarded with bonus house points. Congratulations go out to all of the

houses on your efforts that benefit this very worthy cause!

Super Citizen of the Month

Congratulations to Robin Duncan, who is our October Super Citizen of the Month. Robin displays

characteristics commonly associated with Super Citizens of the Month making him worthy of this honor. Robin’s

picture, along with each month’s winner of the Super Citizen Award, is posted in the back hallway display case.

Congratulations on a job well done!!

Teen Power Penny War Update

McGary Teen Power is sponsoring a Homeroom Penny War to benefit the Tri-State Food Bank. Each homeroom

has been collecting pennies since October 1st. Teen Power will then take the donations to the Tri State Food Bank

where they will use all of the funds to help with their annual Christmas Dinner that the organization provides for

families in need. The winning homeroom will be treated to an ice cream party. As of this writing, Ms. Scheller’s

class leads the way with 3,983 pennies collected, followed by Mr. Morrison’s homeroom and the 3rd highest total

belongs to Ms. Robert’s homeroom. So far, we have collected 14,367 pennies that will feed 480 people! There is still

time left, so search for those pennies!!!!

November’s Health Tip

Divide your plate, conquer your weight. Fill half of your plate with veggies or salad (watch those fatty salad

dressings!). One quarter of your plate should be a lean protein, such as fish, chicken, or beef – that has been either

grilled, baked, or poached. And the last quarter should be a starch – but watch the butter and oil added to it.


Theatre Arts News

As part of our Project-Based Learning initiative, a selected group of our theatre arts students will be involved in

a field trip on November 29th that centers around studying architecture and design in the city of Evansville.

Students will meet with architects and building project designers, as well as visit CMOE Children’s Museum to

discuss how the building was renovated for the museum. A bus tour scavenger hunt will help students identify

architectural details and historic sites found in our city: Old Post Office, Courthouse Willard Library, St. Paul’s

Church, Ford Center, Reitz Home, Cedar Hall School, and Bosse Field. The end of the tour will be a

presentation/discussion at The Fantasy of Lights in Garvin Park.

Also, on November 18th, Mrs. Gilbert’s 5th period theatre arts class will be attending the University of

Evansville’s theatre production of “Mystery of Edwin Drood.” The mystery of Edwin Drood is a musical based on

Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel. The show tells the story of the upstanding young Edwin Drood who

mysteriously disappears and is presumed murdered. Who did it??? The audience will decided at the end. They

will also be doing research for the class production of “Mystery of the Royal Ruby.” A scene from this production

will be part of the Christmas performance for the students of McGary before winter recess.

New Tech Institute to Host Open House on November 8th

The New Tech Institute is hosting an Open House for current eighth grade students and their families

Thursday, November 8th, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the New Tech Institute. EVSC’s New Tech Institute is a

full-day program for high school students that utilizes Project-Based Learning (PBL). PBL is a learning method

featuring the use of technology and inquiry to engage students with issues and questions that are relevant to their

lives. Teachers at New Tech design projects and customize them to meet real-world applications and the interests

of students. Students then work in teams to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to solve problems. Students

are encouraged to take charge of their learning, and as a result, teachers become facilitators and coaches who help

guide students.

PTSA News

McGary PTSA is still in need of members. Membership is only $6 per person and everyone-students, parents,

grandparents, etc.- are all invited and encouraged to join. Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, November

5th, at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Can’t attend the meeting? No problem. If you would like to become a member,

please call 476-3035 and ask for Julie Mullen or Jayna Ennis. We can set a time to meet with you to let you know

what we are about and our goals for the school year. We have been having PTSA snack sales during lunches on

the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. We have had healthy offerings such as sliced bananas with chocolate

syrup and sprinkles, fruit roll ups, and yogurt for our students. Please remember that we are continuing to

collect Box Tops for Education. Every one we collect is worth 10 cents for our school.

Twenty-first Century Scholars Program

The Twenty-first Century Scholars Program is continuing to accept applications from seventh and eighth grade

students. If you have any questions, or need income guidelines, please contact Barbara Martin, 21st Century

Scholars Regional Outreach Coordinator-Southwest Indiana at [email protected].


Response to Intervention

At EVSC, we are always looking to improve the ways we serve you...our students and families, and we are

always looking at ways we can better provide the education you child needs and deserves. That’s why we have an

exciting change we would like to share with you.

This year, we will be introducing what’s called Response to Intervention or RTI. You may have already heard

teachers and staff at your school talking about RTI. It may sound a little confusing, but RTI is actually pretty

simple. It’s not a program, but a new, more organized way or process of putting programs and plans in place to

help students do their best. RTI gets its name because the programs are called “interventions,” and the RTI

process allows schools to check a students “response” to the programs or interventions to see if the interventions

are working.

Using the RTI process, we will screen your child three times a year to see how he or she is doing in reading,

math, and with his or her behavior. Your child may be doing really well, and might be just where he or she needs

to be with a plan to keep him or her challenged. But, if the screening suggests your child is not where he or she

needs to be, we will work with you to choose an intervention or plan to help your child succeed before he or she falls

behind.

Once an intervention or plan is in place, we will give it some time… and then, screen again to make sure your

child is improving or responding to the intervention. If he or she is not, we will make changes to the plan and may

choose a new intervention.

Part of what makes the RTI process so valuable is that the school will screen all children, and all of the

interventions we will have in place will be based on the latest research in learning. This will allow us to

make sure every child gets what he or she needs at the earliest age possible.

We will begin using the RTI process with grades K-3 this year, and then we will add other grades in the years

ahead.

As parents and caregivers, you are the most important piece in your child’s education. As we begin to roll out

RTI, we want to hear from you. If you have questions or concerns, or you would like to learn more about RTI,

please don’t hesitate to contact our school staff at 476-3035, or the Center of Family, School, and Community

Partnerships at 425-8866.

Icemen Hockey Game

As part of our PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support) incentive program at McGary, we have been

rewarding students who display peaceful hallway behavior and those who stay on task in the classroom with

tickets. These tickets are collected each morning by homeroom teachers and a running total is kept. The top 90

ticket collectors will be the winners of a ticket to watch an Evansville Icemen hockey game during the school day

on November 6th, and lunch the same day with Mrs. Dexter. The contest will run through November 1st with

winners announced on November 2nd. Good luck to everyone, and keep up the good behavior!!


Varsity

Darkaisha Johnson

Nykia Collins

Meredith Hodges

Kiara Bauer

Christina West

Kayley Hazelwood

Alexis Groves

JV

Shayna Murray

Kiersten Butler

Keona Brown

Ma’Nya Adams

Micayla Momon

Sydney Mitchell

Promise Wright

Rikki Pittman

Breanna Julian

Sarah Eubank

Marchelle Howard

Aliyah Parker

Lady Pioneer Basketball

Coaches: Mr. Tim Ferguson & Ms. Rachel Walters

2012 Girls Basketball Schedule

Thursday November 1st - Helfrich Park - Home

Monday November 5th- North Junior High - Away

Thursday November 8th - Glenwood - Home

Tuesday November 13th - Cedar Hall - Home

Thursday November 15th - Lincoln - Away

Monday November 19th - Lodge - Away

Tuesday November 20th - Plaza Park - Away

Tuesday November 27th - Washington - Home

Thursday November 29th - Thompkins - Away

Tuesday December 4th - Perry Heights - Home

City Tournament

Thursday December 6th

Monday December 10th

Wednesday December 12th

Thursday December 13th