September 14, 2017 Volume 5 Issue 2 Thoreau Matters is published every two weeks by the Thoreau Administration and the PTA to inform the community of important information about school life at Thoreau Middle School. THOREAU MATTERS Dear Thoreau Community: It was wonderful to see hundreds and hundreds of parents at Back-to-School Night last Wednesday. I realize it was a rainy evening so I wanted to extend my appreciation to those parents who were able to make it to meet our dedicated teachers and staff. For those parents not able to attend, here is the YouTube video of the Thoreau administration and PTA president welcoming our parents back to the new school year. As I did last year in my Thoreau Matters messages, I will continue to update you on instructional initiatives that are multi-year focal points for our school. These items include 1) block scheduling, 2) project-based learning, and 3) our executive functioning program known as Steps to Success. We started these initiatives last year and we are in our 2 nd year of implementing each of them. I would use this forum last year to update the community regarding our progress in each of these areas and I will continue to do the same this year. Instruction is at the core of what we do and I hope you will find my brief updates in Thoreau Matters to be useful in staying informed as to what is going on at Thoreau from a school-wide perspective. Finally, Eagle Time has started and it is a daily 40-minute period for all of our students. It is listed as 4 th and 5 th periods on the students’ schedules. Eagle Time is used for five main reasons: 1. Intervention (teachers helping students who are struggling along the way) 2. Remediation (teachers going back to reteach students who did not meet learning standards) 3. Organization (students organizing their binders, notebooks, lockers, etc.) 4. Work Completion (students completing assignments, making up assessments, etc.) 5. Enrichment (students extending their learning) A good question for a Thoreau parent or teacher to ask a student is, “How did you use Eagle Time today?” With 200 available minutes at our students’ disposal each full week, Eagle Time is the perfect opportunity for students to keep up with their academics, get extra support and/or move ahead in their learning. Sincerely, Yusef Azimi STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (SIS) 2 EXCEPTIONAL MILITARY FAMILIES SUMMIT 2 MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS CONFERENCE 2 CREDIT EXAM FOR WORLD LANGUAGES 3 THOREAU YEARBOOK 3 THOREAU LETTER AWARD 3 NEWS/NOTEWORTHY 4 PTA NEWS 4 MESSAGE FROM MR. AZIMI Inside this issue: IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES School Planning Day (Student Holiday) - Friday, September 22nd First Day of After-School Programs and Late Buses - Monday, September 25th Columbus Day Holiday - Monday, October 9th
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September 14, 2017 Volume 5 Issue 2
Thoreau Matters is published every two weeks by the Thoreau Administration and the PTA
to inform the community of important information about school life at Thoreau Middle School.
THOREAU MATTERS
Dear Thoreau Community:
It was wonderful to see hundreds and hundreds of
parents at Back-to-School Night last Wednesday. I
realize it was a rainy evening so I wanted to extend my
appreciation to those parents who were able to make it
to meet our dedicated teachers and staff. For those
parents not able to attend, here is the YouTube video of
the Thoreau administration and PTA president
welcoming our parents back to the new school year.
As I did last year in my Thoreau Matters messages, I will
continue to update you on instructional initiatives that
are multi-year focal points for our school. These items
include 1) block scheduling, 2) project-based learning,
and 3) our executive functioning program known as Steps to Success. We started these initiatives last year and we are
in our 2nd year of implementing each of them. I would use this forum last year to update the community regarding our
progress in each of these areas and I will continue to do the same this year. Instruction is at the core of what we do and
I hope you will find my brief updates in Thoreau Matters to be useful in staying informed as to what is going on at
Thoreau from a school-wide perspective.
Finally, Eagle Time has started and it is a daily 40-minute period for all of our students. It is listed as 4th and 5th periods
on the students’ schedules. Eagle Time is used for five main reasons:
1. Intervention (teachers helping students who are struggling along the way)
2. Remediation (teachers going back to reteach students who did not meet learning standards)
3. Organization (students organizing their binders, notebooks, lockers, etc.)
4. Work Completion (students completing assignments, making up assessments, etc.)
5. Enrichment (students extending their learning)
A good question for a Thoreau parent or teacher to ask a student is, “How did you use Eagle Time
today?” With 200 available minutes at our students’ disposal each full week, Eagle Time is the
perfect opportunity for students to keep up with their academics, get extra support and/or move
ahead in their learning.
Sincerely,
Yusef Azimi
STUDENT INFORMATION
SYSTEM (SIS) 2
EXCEPTIONAL MILITARY
FAMILIES SUMMIT 2
MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELLNESS CONFERENCE 2
CREDIT EXAM FOR
WORLD LANGUAGES 3
THOREAU YEARBOOK 3
THOREAU LETTER AWARD 3
NEWS/NOTEWORTHY 4
PTA NEWS 4
MESSAGE FROM MR. AZIMI
Inside this issue:
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
School Planning Day (Student Holiday) - Friday, September 22nd
First Day of After-School Programs and Late Buses - Monday, September 25th
The Thoreau Letter will be awarded at the end of the school year based on participation and
accomplishments in the following areas:
Academic recognition
Service to the community
Extracurricular activities
Students will accumulate points for activities and honors throughout the school year, and must have a total of 200 points in order to be awarded the Thoreau Letter at the end-of-year