Upcoming Events:

• Reminder to parents that the Middle School dismisses at 2:40 on Fridays.

• No school:  May 8

• Half-day:  May 15.  Students dismissed at 11:30.

Athletics:

• May 5:  Modified softball home at 4:30.

• May 5:  Modified baseball home at 4:30.

• May 7:  Modified softball away at Greene 4:30.

• May 7:  Modified track home meet 4:30.

Modified Track team: Adriana Ballard- Noah Banner - Haley Barber -  Fletcher Bess- Christopher Brower -Julianne Chesebro-Carter Davis- Lincoln Davis- Adam Foster- Adeline Ohl- Abigail Ryan- Jacob Sejersen- Madilyn Williams- Addison Williams- Christopher Hernandez. They had last night the second meet at UV and it was a great success. 

The next meet will be May 7th in Greene at 4:30. Come and cheer on our wonderful athletes. 

Guidance:

Grade 8 students will be completing their 9th Grade schedule requests over the next month or so.  Please contact the guidance office if you would like to be a part of your student's scheduling meeting. 

• We continue to implement our character development program PurposeFull People. Our character trait for the month of April is Courage.  

• Our clothes closet, the Hawks Hanger, and our school supply closet are full of helpful supplies for any student in need.  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:

• ELA:  It has been a productive week as we kicked off our new novel, Freedom Crossing by Margaret Goff Clark. The students are finding the pre-Civil War era quite compelling and are actively participating in our class discussions.  Please note that we will introduce new vocabulary next week, with quizzes scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

• Math- Students continued reviewing for the NYS Math Test they will be taking next week. Everyone has been working very hard! There will be no quizzes or assessments next week aside from the state test. Please encourage your students to practice their math facts nightly. Have a great weekend! 

• Social Studies-Students received new vocabulary words. The quiz will be 5./7. Students are stepping into the role of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention. They will continue to learn about the decisions those delegates made to help create this nation. If you have any questions, please reach out! Have a wonderful weekend!

• Science is working on reviewing electricity and general review for the NYS Science Assessment coming up.  We will continue next week.  The next quiz will take place on Thursday May 7th due to there being no school on Friday next week.  I gave the students the vocabulary list today so they have extra time to study if they need it.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.   

6th Grade:

• ELA: We have officially begun our study of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder. This compelling work of realistic fiction follows a young boy navigating the complexities of attending school with a significant facial difference.  The students are already deeply engaged with the narrative, which serves as a perfect vehicle for our Purposeful People curriculum. Throughout this unit, we will explore the profound impact of our actions and emphasize the importance of empathy and inclusivity in how we treat others.   Please note that we will introduce new vocabulary next week, with quizzes scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

•  Readers of the Month:   5th Reese Rhodes

• Math: The students have been practicing answering state test questions all week.  We are focusing on showing all steps when answering a question and taking pride in doing our best. They are prepared and ready to take it! The state test will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.  Have a great weekend! 

• Social Studies-Students received new vocabulary words. The quiz will be 5./7. Students are wrapping up Ancient Greece. Students learned about ancient philosophy, the Olympics, Greek mythology and the mathematical and scientific contributions of Greece on future civilizations. Greece FINAL EXAM will be 5/7. .If you have any questions, please reach out! Have a wonderful weekend!

• Science is working on the water cycle and weather and climate to work up to the NYS Lab that needs to be completed.  We will continue working on this next week.  The next quiz will take place on Thursday May 7th due to there being no school on Friday next week.  I gave the students the vocabulary list today so they have extra time to study if they need it.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.   

• NCAA  March Madness 6th grade winners received lunch at Roma’s.

• Readers of the Month:   6th: Abryanna Rhodes

7th and 8th Grade:

• ELA 8:  This week in ELA 8, students focused on several engaging and important activities.

• Quote Editing and Vocabulary Building:

This week classes kicked off with daily thought-provoking Bell Ringer activities where students edited quotes attributed to the influential singer and cultural icon, Selena Gomez. This exercise served as a practical way to refine their understanding of punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure in a context relevant to popular culture. Furthermore, students were introduced to a new list of challenging vocabulary words, carefully selected from the novel Inside Out and Back Again. The study of these words will not only enhance their comprehension of the text but also significantly expand their overall academic lexicon.

• Final Independent Reading Project:

As the school year draws to a close, a significant focus is being placed on the final Independent Reading assignment. The final book for this assessment is due to be completed by Monday, June 1st. To make the culmination of their reading journey both meaningful and creative, students have been given the opportunity to choose from a selection of six diverse projects for their final assessment. These projects are designed to allow students to demonstrate their comprehension and analysis of their chosen text in a format that best suits their individual strengths and interests.

• Crucial Deadlines:

Students must report their final project choice to me no later than Monday, May 4th. Adhering to this deadline is essential for planning and pacing the final weeks of the unit. This culminating Independent Reading project is a high-stakes assignment, as it will be counted as a double-weight summative grade. The final completed project is due on Friday, June 12th. Students are strongly encouraged to begin planning and working on their project immediately to ensure a high-quality submission.

• Thank you for your ongoing support! Please reach out to me with any questions at ncrandall@oxac.org.

• 7th grade Social Studies students have been researching nineteenth century inventions and their impacts on American society.

• 8th grade Social Studies students are currently learning about World War II.

• 7th Grade Science: Our exploration of genetics is underway. Be prepared for some fun conversations at home as students begin identifying the specific traits they’ve inherited from family members.

• 8th Grade Science: We’re in the home stretch! After completing our last NYS Lab, we will begin review sessions for the NYS Science Exam on Wednesday, May 13.

• Spanish 7 grade: We are learning places in Spanish and verb -to go. We will work on drawing a town with different services and places to visit. 

• Spanish 8 grade: We are diving into a fun and practical unit! Students are learning to talk about clothes, describe them, share their opinions on fashion, and discuss how much items cost. We have helpful resources to practice vocabulary such as IXL, where students can practice on their own vocabulary, grammar and listening skills. Please encourage your student to continue practicing all the skills;speaking, reading, and listening. They will have their final test on June 9th. and their speaking test will be on June 10 and 11th. 

• ELA 7: This week ELA students went back to basics.  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.  Next week we will build off this and discuss conjunctions, subordinate conjunctions, appositives and the four types of sentences in writing.  

• Students also completed their sixth Independent Reading assignment of the year.  On Friday they each gave a presentation discussing the book which they read outside of class over the course of the previous five weeks.

News / Programs / Clubs / Related Arts:

• The multicultural club will meet on May 5th after school in room 224. Come and join us!!! 

Spirit Fridays:

May 4 - Star Wars Days.                        

PRINCIPALS MESSAGE:

• I held our 10 week student expectation meetings with each grade level this week to remind all students of the expectations at Oxford Middle School.   Some of the points we emphasized were:  dress code, plagiarism with AI, stiffer consequences for repeated code of conduct violations, and taking care of their chromebook. If any parents have questions about our expectations, please contact me.

• Now that the weather is getting nicer and more kids are riding their bikes to school, kids under 14 are legally required to wear a helmet when riding bikes, scooters, and skateboards.  

• 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.