Message from the Principal

10/8 - 10/14

Good afternoon.

I wanted to provide you with some important updates at NMMS.

End of Quarter Update

Our first quarter ends on Friday, November 7th. At this time, students will take either one or two new Allied Arts classes, depending on their schedule. Students who are struggling academically may also be moved in Competency Recovery, which is a dedicated class for students to get caught up on missing or incomplete work, while also receiving additional academic support by certified teachers. Competency Recovery provides support in all four core academic areas.

Teachers will be reaching out in the coming days, if your child is struggling academically.

This is also a great time for parents and guardians to check grades on the Infinite Campus parent portal. If you need help accessing the parent portal, please visit the following link for more assistance: https://www.sau4.org/technology-resources/infinite-campus-for-parents

Now is also a great time to request a parent during our Parent-Teacher conferences on November 7th from 4-8 and November 8th from 8-12. If you want to set up a time, please contact the team leaders listed below:

• 6th grade: Jay Peringer jperinger@sau4.org

• 7th grade: Chris Cronin ccronin@sau4.org

• 8th grade: Donna Ritchie dritchie@sau4.org

• Allied Arts: Eve Bagley ebagley@sau4.org

Music Teacher Update

First, I am pleased to announce that we have hired a second music teacher. Ms. Logan Cormier come to us after years of working in New Hampshire schools. Ms. Cormier will be starting around early November and will be largely co-teaching with Ms. Staub during quarter two. We are finalizing a schedule for music classes for quarters three and four that I will share in the coming weeks.

Nurse Update

Nurse Maddy will be out on leave until further notice. We are in the process of finding a school nurse and have substitute nurses who are already lined up to assist next week. In the meantime, our Office Manager, Ms. Campisi, and I will be assisting students with basic medical needs. This includes dispensing daily medication, providing first aid, and contacting parents and guardians when their child is not feeling well.

While we are in this transition period, we will be contacting parents and guardians for their consent if a child requests over-the-counter medication, including pain relievers. This will ensure that home and school are on the same page with the type and amount of over-the-counter medication provided to your child.

Additionally, we would ask that you keep your child home if they have a fever or have had a fever in the last 24 hours.

I also want to take a moment to thank Nurse Maddy for her dedicated service to the students at NMMS. She is a constant advocate and caregiver for our students, showing intelligence, wisdom, and compassion when providing medical treatment for our students.

Student ALICE Training

This Thursday, we will be having an extended homeroom to review our ALICE procedures with students. ALICE is an acronym that stands for Alert, [enhanced] Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. ALICE provides responses for students, faculty, and staff to hostile intruders. At the middle school level, we do not train students on countering hostile intruders.

Talking about hostile intruders can be anxiety-inducing for parents and students alike. Our training is designed to balance an honest conversation about hostile intruders while also being mindful of students' worries.

Our training is talk-based. Students will not be required to engage in active training. I would encourage parents to review the presentation ahead of time, including with your child if that helps to reduce their worries. You can find the ALICE presentation here.

While we strongly recommend students participate in the training, please email me if you would like to opt your child out of the training.

NMMS PTCO Movie Night

The NMMS PTCO will be having a screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas this Friday from 6-8 p.m. in the NMMS LMC. Tickets are $2 per person with concessions available for $1 or $2.Students and families are welcome.

🎀RED RIBBON WEEK

National Red Ribbon Week is approaching (Oct 28 - Nov 1)! It's the largest drug prevention campaign in the U.S., promoting a drug-free lifestyle. Ms. Bagley's 8th-grade Wellness classes have been learning about it, and we are excited for the rest of our school to participate!  See below for information of the various ways we will be celebrating. 

DOOR DECORATING CONTEST

We will be inviting Homerooms to participate in a drug-free slogan door decorating contest and spirit week. The winning homeroom will receive free tickets to the Halloween dance on Friday, Nov 1! We will have extended homeroom on Tuesday, Oct 29, and Thursday, Oct 31 (no support block that week) with winners announced on Friday.

THEME DAYS

We will have several theme days next week: 

• Jersey Day on Monday

• Twin Day on Tuesday

• Wear Red on Wednesday (shirts will be provided by NMMS) 

• Halloween on Thursday (please no face coverings, props, or play weapons) 

• Red, White, and Blue on Friday

GIANT RED RIBBON/HELICOPTER FLYOVER
On October 30th, we will form a giant red ribbon with the help of the 8th-grade Algebra I students and Ms. Lievens on Wear Red Day.  Our giant red ribbon will be photography by the New Hampshire National Guard from a helicopter; last year, our Red Ribbon was featured on WMUR.    

Chris Ulrich

Principal

Upcoming dates

10/24 Student ALICE Training

10/25 PTOC Student/Family Movie Night fundraiser @ 6:00 pm in the LMC

10/28-11/1 Red Ribbon Week

11/1 NMMS Halloween Dance @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

11/7 - Quarter 1 Ends

11/11 - Quarter 2 Begins