MS Newsletter 9/18/2026

Upcoming Events:

First dance of the year!!!!!!

Athletics:

Saturday September 19:  Modified Football vs. UV in Greene   10am  

Wednesday September 23:  Modified Football v. Elmira Heights in Greene  5pm

Thursday September 24:  Modified Girls Soccer home v. Greene  4:30pm

Thursday September 24:  Modified Boys Soccer at Greene  4:30pm

Guidance:

• This school year we continue to implement our character development program PurposeFull People  Please see the attached Kindness Kickoff parent information sheet to start our new year. The September character trait is Respect.

• Over the summer we had several generous donations to both our clothes closet, the Hawks Hanger, and our school supply closet.  Please encourage your child to see me or the school nurse, Mrs. Barber, for any supply needs they may have. 

• Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns- KStarkSp@oxac.org- (607)843-7185 ext. 2518

5th Grade:

•      5th Grade ELA Update:  This week, students completed their IXL benchmarking and reviewed the four types of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory).

• Independent Reading Project: Students received their Independent Reading Outline, which is due Thursday, October 8. All students have selected their novel and must bring both their book and outline to class daily.

• Optional Writing Contest: Interested students received an entry form for the Young Writers "Camp Scare" competition, offering them a chance to have their short story published. Please review the form with your child. Submissions are due Thursday, October 29.

• Upcoming Unit & Homework: We begin our Human Rights Unit on Monday. Students will have homework Monday through Wednesday, followed by vocabulary quizzes on Thursday and Friday. September homework calendars have been distributed to all students.

• 5th Grade Math - We spent the week multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, and 1000. We learned tips and tricks to make our computations easier. We learned exponential form and how to write exponents with a base 10. We took our first math quiz and worked hard showing work on a piece of scrap paper. I enjoyed seeing everyone at Open House and I hope you all have a restful weekend!  

• 5th Grade Social Studies- We’ve had another engaging week in 5th grade Social Studies! Students dove into foundational skills by exploring why we study history and analyzing primary sources to learn how historians gather clues about the past. We also got hands-on with geography by mapping ourselves—learning how we fit into our community, country, and world. Students were given their new vocabulary words this week.. Each student should have a ring with their vocab words attached. Please encourage your child to practice with their ring for a few minutes each night!

• Upcoming Test: Mark your calendars! Our first Vocabulary Test will be on Friday, September 25th

• 5th Grade Science is working on Earth’s Spheres. We will continue next week and then focus on the hydrosphere.  The next vocabulary quiz will take place on Wednesday September 23rd. The students received the list yesterday. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.   

6th Grade:

• 6th Grade ELA Update:  This week, students completed their IXL benchmarking and reviewed the four types of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory).

• Independent Reading Project: Students received their Independent Reading Outline, which is due Thursday, October 8. All students have selected their novel and must bring both their book and outline to class daily.

• Optional Writing Contest: Interested students received an entry form for the Young Writers "Camp Scare" competition, offering them a chance to have their short story published. Please review the form with your child. Submissions are due Thursday, October 29.

• Upcoming Unit & Homework: We begin our Human Rights review unit on Monday. Students will have homework Monday through Wednesday, followed by vocabulary quizzes on Thursday and Friday. September homework calendars have been distributed to all students.

• 6th Grade Social Studies- This week in 6th grade Social Studies, we introduced G.R.A.P.E.S.—a key acronym (Geography, Religion, Achievements, Politics, Economy, Social Structure) that students will use all year to analyze ancient civilizations! To practice using this framework, students applied G.R.A.P.E.S. to their own lives. We also introduced essential vocabulary terms that will set us up for success as we study world history.  Vocabulary words were handed out this week. Please encourage your student to review their terms regularly!

• Upcoming Test: Mark your calendars! Our first Vocabulary Test will be on Friday, September 25th

• 6th Grade Science is working on Thermal Energy and will continue next week. The next vocabulary quiz will take place on Wednesday September 23rd. The students received their new list yesterday. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.  

7th and 8th Grade:

• Eighth Grade ELA Update

It was a busy and productive week in 8th-grade ELA! Here is a recap of what our students accomplished and key details to keep in mind:

Classroom Learning & Skill Building

• IXL Benchmark Assessment: Students completed their baseline assessments. I look forward to tracking their academic growth at our upcoming 10-week checkpoint!

• Context Clues: Daily Bell Ringers focused on using surrounding context clues to select the correct words for various sentences.

• Text Structure Analysis: Students began to read a short nonfiction passage about Dolly Parton and her contributions to society. We will use it to analyze and understand problem/solution text structures.

Independent Reading Launch

• Library Visit: We officially launched our ELA 8 Independent Reading requirement with a trip to the library. Ms. Rosas gave book talks and highlighted several great recommendations before helping students check out their first book of the year.

• Daily Reading Goal: Students are expected to read their chosen book for a minimum of 30 minutes every day.

Important Date

• September 24: Students must bring their independent reading book to class for our first graded book/page check.

As always, please reach out via email at ncrandall@oxac.org if you have any questions or concerns!

• 7th grade Social Studies students have their first quizzes today on vocabulary and continents and oceans.  They will have short vocabulary quizzes about every two weeks.

• 8th grade Social Studies students have their first quizzes today on vocabulary and five of the 50 states.  They will have five more states to remember each week until we reach all 50.  They will also have short vocabulary quizzes about every two weeks.

• Math 8:  class has a quiz on integer operations and vocabulary this Thursday, September 24th.

• Math 7: This week we began review of multiplication and division of decimals and fractions. We worked with improper fractions, mixed numbers, complex fractions and distinguished between some properties commonly used in math. We had a great week!  

• Spanish 7: Hello families! Please take a few moments to review the classroom grading policy that I sent home recently. It details how assignments, tests, and retakes will impact your child's progress this year.

• If you have any questions or need clarification on any of the policies, please feel free to reach out to me here or via email. I am happy to help! Thanks for your partnership. It was a pleasure seeing you at the open house this week. 

• Spanish 8: Hello families! Please talk with your child about the importance of completing classwork as soon as it is assigned. Class assignments are directly tied to our daily lessons, and finishing them right away prevents students from falling behind.

• Please check in with your child tonight to ensure they are caught up on all recent tasks. Thank you for your support in keeping our students on track! It was a pleasure seeing you at the open house this week.

• ELA 7:  This week ELA students continued our writing unit.  We revisited writing terms such as complete sentences (requiring a subject and predicate) and ways to avoid writing errors like sentence fragments and run-on sentences.  Students  learned the four types of sentences in language (declarative, imperative, interrogative and exclamatory) and in which situations do you use the conjunctions because, but and so.  

• Students also completed a language arts benchmark assessment designed to show where their academic strengths lay and which areas are in need of improvement. 

• Next week students will learn about appositives, and subordinate conjunctions.  Additionally, students will be assigned their first independent reading assignment.

• 7th grade science is off to a great start, and students are getting ready for their first lab on Monday! Please make sure you have reviewed the lab rules and expectations with your student.

• We will have vocabulary quizzes every 1–2 weeks. New vocabulary lists are posted in Google Classroom weekly, and students are encouraged to print the list or make flashcards to study. Please note that quizzes are scenario-based rather than focused on rote memorization.

• 8th grade science hit the ground running by creating their own experimental procedure.  Student groups were given research questions to design an experiment around.  (see photos)

• We will have vocabulary quizzes every 1–2 weeks. New vocabulary lists are posted in Google Classroom weekly, and students are encouraged to print the list or make flashcards to study. Please note that quizzes are scenario-based rather than focused on rote memorization.

• Next week we will be working on a NYS Lab.

News / Programs / Clubs / Related Arts:

Breakfast matters! Skipping breakfast can sometimes leave students feeling tired, dizzy, nauseous, or just not quite themselves. Please encourage your child to eat breakfast each morning to help support energy and focus throughout the school day.

Stay hydrated! With the weather still warm, please remind your child to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Staying hydrated can also help prevent headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and feeling unwell. Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle, and refill stations are available throughout the building.

6TH Grade Reminder:

Safety Patrol is starting up for the 2026-2027 school year.  We encourage all 6th grade students to sign up and be part of the team.  Come to a meeting and get all the information before deciding it’s not for you!   Permission slips are due by Monday, September 14, to ensure patrol post schedules can be implemented by Monday, September 21.  If you need any information, please contact Mrs. Murphy @ 607-843-7185 ext. 2520.

• Multicultural club : 

Hello families! Our Multicultural Club will be participating in the town community event on Saturday, October 3rd!  We are looking for students who want to be a part of the club, help out, and participate in this exciting event.

If your child is interested, they must sign up with Ms. Acevedo next week. Please talk to your child this weekend to see if they would like to join the fun and represent our school!  Grades 5-8 are welcome. 

• FAB LAB:  Fletcher Bess embedded some neodymium magnets in a 3D print to create a custom magnet for his locker.  

PRINCIPALS MESSAGE:

• Welcome to the 26-27 school year. We are excited for your children to be in middle school.  Looking forward to a great year.

• ParentSquare will be used for all communication from the school including progress and report cards in the newsletter.  You can download the ParentSquare app and create an account or you can go to the schools website and scroll all the way to the bottom and can get to the site from there as well.

• Thank you for sharing your children with us.

• Be great everyone.