FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

 

June 12, 2009

 

Dear Innovation Families:

 

With ten days left in the school year, I am writing to let you know about some more of the internal staffing shifts that we will be making for next year.  While there are some role changes, we are currently planning to retain all of our full time teaching staff for the 2009-2010 school year.  With the shift to the teaming model, teachers who have been teaching in multiple content areas such as ELA and project, will now be teaching in only one content area.  In the coming weeks, I will be sharing more information on staff members who will be new to our community for the 2009-2010 school year. 

 

On the 5/6 team, Mrs. Orpen will be returning from her maternity leave to teach ELA.  Mr. Maier will be teaching Science Project all day and will not be teaching Math Enrichment anymore.  Mrs. Kalpas, who has been a collaborating teacher this year, will be a Homebase Teacher next year, and she will teach 5^th and 6^th grade math.   Mrs. Doire, who has been working as a Homebase and ELA Teacher this year, will return to her previous role as a Student Services Teacher.  Ms. Anderson, who has been a Student Services Teacher this school year will be working as an ELA and Homebase Teacher.  Katy Lianos, a teacher who has worked at IACS in the past, will be re-joining our staff as a Humanities Project Teacher.   The other teachers on 5/6 will remain in their current roles. 

 

On the 7/8 team, Ms. Tarshis will be teaching ELA next year, and Ms. Jensen will be teaching Science Project.  Mr. Pereyra, who has been teaching one math class and assisting with Mrs. Orpen’s maternity leave, will be a Homebase and 7/8 Math Teacher.  Mr. O’Neil-Willoughby, who has been a collaborating teacher this year, will be a Homebase Teacher teaching two sections of Humanities Project next year.  Mr. McKinnon will be leaving the 7/8 team to take on a new role on the specials team, and Mrs. Goucher will also be taking on a new role.  The other teachers on 7/8 will remain in their current roles. 

 

Mr. McKinnon will be one of our Challenge/Health Teachers next year, and Mrs. Goucher will be teaching in Math Enrichment.  Senora Fiorentino and Senora Hawthorne will continue to teach Spanish, but they will be teaching a variety of grade levels.  Senora Hawthorne will teach all 8^th graders who take Spanish, and some 5/6 classes.  Senora Fiorentino will teach some 7th grade classes and some 5/6 classes.  Our other specialist teachers will remain in their current roles. 

 

As many of you know, Erin Attfield Quinlan is expecting her first baby in September, and she will be out on maternity leave for the first three months of the school year.  In her absence, Melissa Kapeckas, a long-time staff member at IACS, will be stepping into the role of acting Middle School Principal for 5/6. This is a great opportunity for Melissa to try her hand at school administration, and I know that she will do a wonderful job. 

 

Please do not hesitate to call me or send an email if you have questions about these plans for next year. 

 

 

 

Best,

 

 

Kathleen Seward

 

Emergency Forms

If you have not turned in a new emergency form for the 2009-200 school year, please do so ASAP.  Students without new forms will not be able to start school on September 1^st.  If you lost the form that was mailed home to you, the form is available on the school website.

 

Return Library Books

We need all students to return library books as soon s possible.  In preparation for summer renovations, we need to get our collection inventoried and stored safely.  Please help us with this task!

 

 

8^TH Grade Dane Help

We have six volunteers to chaperone the 8th grade semi-formal and need four more.  The dance will take place at IACA on Friday, June 19 and chaperones are needed from 6:30 – 10:00 pm.  Please contact Allyson Printz to volunteer (aprintz@comcast.net).

 

Earthwatch: Costa Rica from Community to Cup

 

Follow Mrs. Kapeckas’ expedition to Costa Rica as she travels to a coffee plantation. She will learn about how scientists are helping farmers in Costa Rica develop more sustainable and earth-friendly farming practices. Follow the trip on her blog at:

http://www.earthwatchcoffee.blogspot.com 

The trip is from 6/20-6/29, but she plans to update the blog frequently both before and after the trip as well. You can post questions and comments without signing up for an account.  Be sure to only use your first name for internet safety.

Volunteers Needed

We are looking for families of 5-7th graders to assist us in the 8th grade celebration breakfast on Wednesday, June 24th.   This is the start of a new tradition at IACS, and we are seeking help with planning and executing the breakfast and some other surprises for our transitioning 8^th graders.     If you are willing to help, please contact Erin Attfield Quinlan.

 

 

Box Tops

The SCORES are FINAL!  We’ve completed our Box Tops Baseball contest for this Academic year and the results are shown below!

 

The TOP TWO TEAMS (Roosevelt and Hershey) will each be rewarded with a COOL TREAT in the next week or two for RALLYING to support our school!  With these submissions and the “stranded runners” (submissions without HB designation) – we collected over $250.00 for our school during this contest.  THANKS TO ALL!

Keep collecting those box tops over the summer – another contest will begin when school returns in September.

 

 

Roosevelt 46.1

Hershey 39

Angelou 17.9

Henson 17.6

Disney 8.9

Goodall 6

Earhart 5.1

Seuss  4.2

Wakefield 3.7

King 2.7

Einstein 2.2

Higinbotham 2.6

 

Thanks for your support!

Kate Torres – IACS Box Tops Coordinator - katetorres@hotmail.com – 978-244-1244