January 2, 2019

Dear Parents,

I would like to congratulate our Star Students for the month of December:  Brianna Tully, Courtney Surabian, Wilmarika Annacacis, Janice Granata, and Bree Lakeman

Star Students are nominated by any staff member who recognizes a student performing an act of kindness toward another student or staff member.

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THE SCHOOL TRAFFIC PLAN

I just want to let you know that we are reconfiguring our Middle School traffic pattern. We are widening a section of the driveway at the Pomeworth entrance. Once this is completed, cars will have the ability to turn around and leave the school to exit back onto Pomeworth.

The new Traffic Plan is for traffic to enter from Pomeworth and exit back on to Pomeworth. The traffic flow from Central will remain the same. The biggest change is on the Pomeworth side where cars can no longer drive through the lot and exit on to Central Street. Simply put, if you enter from Pomeworth you have to leave from Pomeworth. If you enter from Central, you exit onto Central.

The new traffic plan will be in effect when we return the Holiday Break on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
 

Winter Concert

The Stoneham Central Middle School will be presenting its annual winter concert on Thursday, January 17th at 7PM in the middle school cafeteria. Performing that evening will be the Middle School Chorus, The Middle School Flute Ensemble, the After Hours Jazz Band, and the Middle School Concert Band. All family and friends are invited."

  

Math Team

Math Team Hosts December Meet

Congratulations to the Math Team which placed fourth at its meet here in Stoneham! Leading the scoring were Giovanni Gomez, Jessica Hom, Nicole D’Souza, and Konstantina Hantzis, followed by Bhoomika Chopra, Quinn Nial, Maya Ibrahim, Wilmarika Annacacis, Radhika Patel, Bree Lakeman, Nihal Berrad, Alex Dubuisson, and Matteo Molinaro. Also doing well were Sophie Brewin, Tyler Coyne, Sam Goncalves, Ivy Wong, Christian Mendez, Derek Alleyne, and Noah Rivera.    

Konstantina Hantzis also received an award as highest scoring 5th grader at the meet. Congratulations to all participants and a special thank you to our 8th grade volunteers who helped at the meet!

 

Book Fair

The SCMS Scholastic Book Fair will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2018 through Friday, January 25, 2018.This year’s theme is Paws for Books.   The Scholastic Book Fair is a reading event that provides the books kids want to read.  It’s a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level. All purchases benefit our school.  All students will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair with their English classes on days listed below:

GRADE 5: Tuesday Jan 22                            GRADE 7: Thursday Jan 24

GRADE 6: Wednesday Jan 23                     GRADE 8: Friday, January 25th

 

The fair will also be open during lunch as well as after school Tuesday through Friday until 3:30. The fair will be located in Room 270.

Don’t have time to stop by? Our online bookstore opens on January 14th and all orders ship FREE to our school: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/stonehamcentralmiddleschool

 

PAJAMA DAY

Pajama day was a huge success as middle school students raised over two thousand dollars for Holiday Helpers. The students were able to wear pajamas if they made a five-dollar donation. All donations went to the Holiday Helpers of the PTO. The donations are used to purchase Holiday gifts for Stoneham Middle School families who may be facing hardships during the holidays. Holiday Helpers and the PTO have been helping Stoneham families for more than thirty years.

FOOD DRIVE

The 11th annual Middle School Food Drive was a huge success. Middle school students donated 126 cases of food to our local food pantry located in the First Congregational Church here in Stoneham. Thank you to all staff and students who donated to the drive. Special thanks to Nicole Desouza, Julian Jules, Maddie DeLeo, Connor Day, Michael Kruse, Camryn Scott, Sophia Romanowski, Jillian Spinale, Matt Donovan, Jake Scully and Jo Jo Celli. These students packed and delivered all the boxes of food.

Congratulations to Mr. LeClerc’s 8th grade homeroom for collecting 31 cases of food. Thank you to Mr. Tom Sweet, Mr. Kevin Yiannacopoulos, Mr. Dan Corteau, Mr. Ken Frey and Officer Ed Fucarile for assisting with the delivery of the food.

 

French Class

Eighth grade French students submitted poems in the style of Guillaume Appolliaire's Calligrammes as part of a creative writing contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Several eighth graders are also pursuing independent French projects as required for induction to the SCMS chapter of the French honor society, Jeunes Amis du Français, this spring

 

Jazz Band

Congratulations to the Stoneham Central Middle School Jazz Band for their excellent performance at the annual Stoneham Senior Citizen Holiday Luncheon. The event took place on Wednesday, December 5th at the Stoneham High School Cafeteria.

 

Grade 5 Assembly

Deanna’s Educational Theatre performed the play Bus Stop for our fifth grade students. Bus Stop is an interactive play that addresses bullying and cyberbullying. The performance was well received by students and staff.

Thank you to the Stoneham Alliance against Violence for sponsoring the play.

 

Finance Workshop

Stoneham Public Schools is hosting a unique workshop series open to any/all Stoneham residents. It is a personal finance series. This workshop series is offered through the National Campaign for Financial Literacy and there is no cost to take the course.  There is a $6.00 fee for the course workbook and associated text, "Saving Your Future."  The $6.00 fee is payable at the first class.
 
This 6 part workshop series (click here for details and registration) will run from January 9th through February 13th (6 consecutive Wednesdays), from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. and is open to all members of the public.
 
Participation is limited to 30 seats. The registration deadline is January 8th, 2019. For questions about this workshop series, please contact instructor Andrea Polcaro: apolcaro76@gmail.com
 
REGISTER HERE
 

Presentation at Colonial Park School

Stoneham Coalition in partnership with Stoneham Public Schools invites you to attend an evening with Sam Drazin.  The event will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, 6:30-7:30 pm at Colonial Park School. 
 
Sam Drazin is an educator born with Treacher Collins Syndrome—a rare congenital disorder resulting in both facial anomaly and hearing loss. Sam underwent seven surgeries as a child while attending the local public school. Sam presents to a wide array of audiences across the country sharing his story and facilitating meaningful conversations around what it means to be different.

Sam connects his experience to the character Auggie in the book Wonder who had the same syndrome. His presentation with parents/guardians focuses on disability awareness, empathy, and how to talk with your children about differences. Sam will be visiting with students at the three elementary schools too.
 

PTO NEWS

The SCMS PTO distributes information, the PTO newsletter, and other school news electronically.  If you would like to receive this information please sign up at:  https://www.groupvine.com/stoneham-middle-school/@@apply.  

The PTO could use your assistance at school events and with planning activities this year.  There are many ways you can support the SCMS PTO.  If you are interested in volunteering please contact us at:  stonehampto@gmail.com

The Stoneham Central Middle School P.T.O. has a Facebook group.  This is a closed group for families of current SCMS students.  It is managed by the PTO, but open to all current SCMS families:  

http://facebook.com/groups/StonehamCentralMiddleSchoolPTO/

The SCMS PTO would like to thank those who have supported the PTO Donation Drive.  
The 2018/2019 PTO meetings have been scheduled:  November 7th, January 9th, March 20th and May 8th.


IMPORTANT DATES IN January:

Wednesday, January 2nd -  School is in full session

Thursday, January 17th –Winter Concert 7:00 PM Middle School Cafeteria

Friday, January 18th- EARLY RELEASE NOON DISMISSAL LUNCHES WILL NOT BE SERVED

Monday, January 21st- NO SCHOOL Observance of Martin Luther King Day

Tuesday, January 22nd- Quarter three begins

Tuesday, January 22-Friday, January 25th BOOK FAIR

Friday, January 25th – Report Cards distributed in school

PLEASE VISIT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL WEBSITE TO ACCESS OUR MONTHLY SCHOOL CALENDAR. DAYS TWO and FIVE ARE DAYS THAT BAND AND CHORUS MEET DURING ACTIVITY PERIOD.

Mrs. Fulmer and I will continue to update you via email throughout the year. Please feel free to call us with any questions or concerns.

Christopher Banos
Principal SCMS