News and Notes
from West Middle  
April 11, 2004

REALITY STORE

Martinsville West and East Middle Schools, in cooperation

with the Boy Scouts of America Learning for Life Program, are preparing to host their fifth annual Reality Store. The Reality Store will be held at the West Middle School Gymnasium on Thursday, April 21, 2005, from 8:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.

"What is a Reality Store?"

The goal of a Reality Store is to encourage students to think seriously about their future by learning basic skills in financial planning, goal setting, decision-making, and career planning.

It gives students an opportunity to experience the financial challenges they will face as adults based on the career they choose. It will also help them begin to understand the course selections necessary to reach their career goals.

If you would like to volunteer your time, or for questions and concerns, please contact Jonathan Crocker at 765-342-1288

or e-mail him at: jcrocker@bsamail.org.

National Junior Honor Society is an organization whose purpose is to create enthusiasm for scholarships, to stimulate

a desire to render service, to promote leadership, to develop character, and to encourage citizenship in the students of our middle school.

Students who qualified received a letter inviting them to join

the first National Junior Honor Society at Martinsville West Middle School. To receive this letter, each student had to be

at West for 2 trimesters and have a 3.5 grade point average or higher. The next step is to complete an application form. These are to be returned to Mrs. Shover by April 15. If you want more information about NJHS, please contact Mrs. Shover or come in and read the bylaws that are in the office.

The Central Indiana Chevy Dealers are calling all middle school students to action by asking them to write about their personal hero. Students are invited to enter the contest by picking up an entry form at a participating Chevrolet dealer and submitting their essay at the dealership. A list of participating dealers and an electronic copy of the entry form can be found at

www.choosechevy.com

The winning student will receive a $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond,

a matching donation to his/her school, tickets to the Indy 500, and their hero will serve as an honorary Pit Crew member on May 29, 2005, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Second and third place prizes will also be awarded to winning essay writers. Once all entries have been received, students will be notified prior to May 10, 2005, if they have won this year’s essay contest.

Look for posters throughout the school that display this information.

In July 2004, the Child Nutrition WIC Reauthorization Act was passed. In the act it states that all free and reduced applications from the previous school year are valid only for the first thirty (30) days of the next school year. This means that when school starts on 8/17/2005, families must reapply by 9/17/2005. After that date they will be removed from the program. This date will fluctuate with each year’s start date.

The West Middle School Spelling Bee will be held on Thursday, April 14. A written pretest will be given that morning. The top 20-25 scorers will compete in the Spelling Bee that afternoon. Interested students can pick up word lists in the library or in the front office.

We will have early dismissal on Wednesday, April 13, 2005,

for a teacher PBA in-service. School will be dismissed at 11:45 A.M. Lunch will be served to students.

West Middle School students and staff are looking forward to meeting Roland Smith during his visit to West Middle School on Friday, April 22, 2005. His novels include Sasquatch, Zach’s Lie, Thunder Cave, and The Captain’s Dog. Students are reading his novels now in preparation for his visit. Parents are welcome to hear him speak in the morning. Please contact the school librarian Cindi Valentine at 342-6628, or you may e-mail her at valentinec@msdmail.net, for exact times. You can learn more about Roland Smith at http://.rolandsmith.com.

Teachers at West Middle School are in the process of assessing students to make recommendations for promotion or retention. If a student is retained, he/she must repeat the grade level he/she is in currently. In considering students for retention, criteria used include academic performance, ISTEP scores, conduct report, attendance record, work ethic, age, and effort exhibited. As they are evaluating academic performance, teachers are closely reviewing the student’s core subject grades (math, English, reading, science, and social studies) and the student’s overall GPA. Students who are currently failing two or more classes are putting themselves in serious jeopardy of being retained.

At this point in the school year, students have been told by teachers and administrators several times that if they attend school every day and successfully complete and turn in all of their assignments they will not fail.

Parents will be contacted by a phone call or letter sometime

in April if their son or daughter is being considered for retention. However, in the next few weeks, parents can help their children avoid retention by closely monitoring their son or daughter’s academic progress, checking nightly homework, reminding him/her to study for tests and quizzes and reviewing work with them.

Parents are welcome to contact Mrs. O’Neal, the principal, concerning any questions about promotion or retention.

On Wednesday, April 6, West Middle School played host to two chemical engineers from Eli Lilly, Mr. Guy Hansen, assisted by Mr. Jeffrey Reid. They provided students with an hour-long program of entertaining and informative science experiments. Topics covered included properties of gasses, decomposition, and polymer science. Student volunteers were used in several experiments, and they were presented with their own safety goggles. Students and teachers alike enjoyed this presentation and all agreed that Chemistry is a Blast!! Thanks Mr. Hansen and Mr. Reid and thank you to Mr. Hankins, West Middle School science department chairman, who organized this program.

Saturday, April 9 - Band contest at Cloverdale High School.

Wednesday, April 13 - PBA Day/Early Release at 11:45 A.M.

Thursday, April 14 - Spelling Bee.

Monday, April 18 - 6^th grade orchestra recital in the bandroom

at 7:00 P.M.

Monday, April 19 - Track meet vs. Batchelor, Home at 5:00 P.M.

Thursday, April 21 - Progress Report Distribution.

Reality Store for 7^th graders.

Friday, April 22 - Read ‘N Feed. Also, Paragon Elementary

5^th graders visit West Middle, 10:00 - 11:45 A.M.

Saturday, April 30 - 8^th grade choir contest at Kentucky Kingdom.

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