NMS November 2025 Newsletter

During Parent Teacher Conferences  we hosted the Hidden in Plain Sight experience at NMS and it was a huge success. Sgt. Dennett and Officer Robichaud did an incredible job leading the event and engaging families as they arrived for conferences, creating a welcoming and approachable entry point for parents. What stood out most was that families came specifically for this event, even if they didn’t have a scheduled conference which speaks to its relevance and impact. Feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive and many shared how eye-opening and meaningful it was. Events like this strengthen prevention, family partnership, and community connection in real ways. An awesome project from our Rubik's Cube Club recognizing and honoring our beloved United States Veterans

 Thank you to the Norton Middle School Parent Board for their support during two recent events. Encouraging reading at the middle school level both for learning and for joy is incredibly important, and our parents did an amazing job organizing and running our Scholastic Book Fair. In addition to raising funds that will directly support reading initiatives throughout the year, this event helped put books into the hands of students in meaningful ways.

We are also very grateful to the NMSPB for planning and providing a staff dinner between our afternoon and evening conference sessions. Many of our educators commute from out of town, and having dinner provided helped make an incredibly long day more manageable and enjoyable.

Their partnership and support continues to make a difference for our staff and students each day  thank you, Parent Board!

Unified Bocce

SPECIALS HAVE HAD THEIR FIRST SWITCH…THE SCHOOL YEAR IS MOVING FORWARD…IN THE GYM MR BRITO AND MS. MOTYL BEGAN WITH A QUICK FEW DAYS OF VOLLEYBALL BUT WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING OUT OUR HOCKEY STICKS IN THE COMING WEEKS 8TH GRADE ART STUDENTS DID SOME STILL LIFE DRAWINGS THAT WERE AMAZING.  STUDENTS LEARNED HOW TO DRAW  FORMS WITH THE TECHNIQUES OF SHAPE BUILDING AND CROSS CONTOUR LINES. THEN THEY MIXED COMPLIMENTARY COLORS TO ACHIEVE REALISTIC SHADOWS. CREATIVE DESIGN IS DOING SOME PRETTY COOL PROJECTS. THIS ONE IS CREATING A MAZE GAME. HERE YOU WILL SEE THE PROGRESSION OF THE PROJECT.  DRAWING, DEVELOPING A PROPTOTYPE OUT OF CARDBOARD, THEN ENTERING THEIR DESIGN INTO THE PROGRAM FOR THE 3D PRINTER TO MAKE IT COME ALIVE…..COOL! SOME MUSIC CLASSES WILL BE STARTING ON UKUELE THAT'S ALWAYS A TREAT FOR THE STUDENTS IN GENERAL MUSIC TO LEARN AND INSTRUMENT…HOLIDAYS ARE COMING IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR GIFT IDEAS AT HOME 😀 STUDENTS HAVE BEEN REFRESHING MUSIC THEORY CONCEPTS TO APPLY TO PIANO AND UKULELE. THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN LEARNING THE PARTS OF THE INSTRUMENTS AND ARE READY TO MOVE TO LEARNING THE SONGS IN THE COMING DAYS. ITS ALWAYS FUN LISTENING TO THE MUSIC AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THE HALL. THERE’S A LOT OF CLUBS IN C WING TO HIGHLIGHT ART CLUB JUST FINISHED DRAGON EYES OUT OF CLAY. THE STUDENTS IMAGINATION JUST CAME ALIVE!! NEXT FOR ART CLUB IS CASTING….WE HAVE A FIRST CASTING GROUP DONE WHEN EVERYONE HAS COMPLETED A CAST THE NEXT FUN PART IS DESIGNING   TV MEDIA CLUB  Please check out our latest NMS News Broadcast       https://youtu.be/BqUSUmMoA5w  If your students are interested in hosting the news, it is open to all students; they just need to reach out to Mr Kramer….everything is pre recorded so the kids get plenty of practice before taping. It has been great seeing NEW faces in the broadcast booth! TEAM 6 Purple Math - Mrs. Holicker We’ve wrapped up the second part of our Number System unit and are now diving into ratios and proportional reasoning! Students will be learning how to calculate unit rates, such as miles per gallon or dollars per pound, and use these rates to solve real-world problems involving larger quantities. You can help your child practice at home by turning everyday situations into math challenges. For example, ask them to figure out which package of paper towels is the best deal, or compare prices at the grocery store to see which brand gives the most value for the money! Folder Cleanout - Students can recycle any worksheets from our last unit (long division, decimals, factors/multiples) except for their pink notes pages. 🙂 Students should keep any papers about ratios and rates. Science - Mr. Cummings Science on 6 Purple is continuing our study of Life Science. We will be exploring the Six Kingdoms of living things this month, beginning with bacteria and moving towards plants and animals. We just took an assessment on cell structure and variety - your children may have come home quizzing you about which organelle is “the powerhouse of the cell”! As we enter the cold and flu season, we’ll discuss and try to understand how bacteria and viruses affect humans and our world. Keep an eye out for instructions for our Infectious Disease project next week and labs exploring Protists and Fungi. Also, please ask your children about how they are organizing or managing their Science Notebooks - they are building their own resource, so they should be proud of it!   Social Studies - Mr. Fiore 6 Purple Social Studies has officially left the Stone Ages and will begin our journey to Mesopotamia, birthplace of human civilization. We won’t be starting our trip to the Land Between the Rivers” empty handed, with us we will take the knowledge we learned in our travels through the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. Including our tool-making skills! In class we carved our own spearheads out of soap. Maybe not sharp enough to hunt woolly mammoths but certainly an important skill to have as we continue onward towards the rise of the first empires.     ELA - Ms. Hartnett We are officially wrapping up our Roald Dahl unit, with final essays being turned in this week! After our celebration of the conclusion of the unit with “Dahl Day,” we’ll be shifting gears into our next unit: “Mysteries & Investigations.” In this unit, students will step into the role of investigators, learning to read closely, analyze evidence, and develop theories based on the information they uncover. Through the text, The Secret of the Yellow Death, they’ll explore how Dr. Walter Reed and his team used scientific inquiry to solve the mystery of yellow fever- discovering along the way that not all evidence carries the same weight or credibility. 6th Grade Roald Dahl Day To wrap up our Roald Dahl unit, students celebrated Roald Dahl Day on November 7 with a series of creative, hands-on activities inspired by the author’s imaginative worlds! Students began by mapping Dahl’s life, learning about the experiences that shaped his unforgettable stories. Next, in our Science of Storytelling Lab, they became curious observers—using mystery objects to spark descriptive writing and vivid imagination. The fun continued as students invented their own Wonka candies, complete with magical effects and clever advertising posters! We also brought scenes from Boy: Tales of Childhood to life through mini skits, showcasing students’ acting and storytelling skills. Finally, everyone took part in a Gobblefunk Word Workshop, inventing their own playful Dahl-inspired words and definitions. The day ended with a bit of Dahl trivia and a movie inspired by one of his classic tales. It was a truly phizz-whizzing day of creativity, laughter, and language!

Science

In science class, we are continuing our exploration of the kingdoms of life. Students have been learning about the differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells through engaging labs and hands-on activities that help them understand cell parts (organelles) and their functions. Recently, they created detailed models of prokaryotic (bacterial) cells to demonstrate their understanding. Next, students will compare and contrast bacteria and viruses as we continue to explore how these tiny organisms impact the world around us. Fun Fact- Viruses are actually not in any of the kingdoms of life because they are abiotic or non-living!

Social Studies

ELA

Math

7 Purple had a fantastic month of October with multiple learning opportunities across all of their classes with many more to come in the month of November.  

Science classes wrapped up their Potential and Kinetic Energy Unit by presenting roller coaster projects and completing the end of the unit assessment. 

Next, they are  moving on to Thermal Energy. In Thermal energy, students will learn about the different types of heat transfer as well as what insulators and conductors are. To introduce Thermal Energy to students,  they completed some Inquiry based labs to build a strong foundation in the new topics presented. Students will do several literacy activities and labs as they master all standards. The thermal energy unit concludes with the Insulated Water Bottle Project. Students will design, build, and test a device that must retain heat. The project is a fun way to demonstrate their knowledge of all topics covered and mastered.

Math  classes are wrapping up their first chapter on Rates and Proportions, while the Algebra students are finishing their second chapter on Number Sense. Every class created review videos to share with their respective classmates—ask your child to show you their acting skills!  The videos were creative and fun and the students had a great time making them. Next, students are looking forward to next month's video productions. 

 7 White has been having a blast so far this year! All 7 White teachers loved seeing everyone’s costumes on Halloween and had a great time surprising our students with our Saved By the Bell/90s themed team costume and activities. Students made Nickelodeon Slime, belted out some 90s tunes, played some retro Sega and Nintendo games, made friendship bracelets, and took on a 90s trivia challenge. Radical! Our next “theme” day will be December 1, when students will celebrate their  “Peak Day” after we finish our first Team Novel Study. Keep an eye out for a permission slip that will be sent home and posted on Mrs. Gonet’s Google Classroom page prior to Thanksgiving break.

Social Studies

In Social Studies students have moved on to their unit covering Ancient China. We will continue working on our writing skills, specifically with citing sources in our open responses. During this unit we will see the impact of Eastern Philosophy on early governments and education systems, imagine what daily life was like during the Han Dynasty, and work on some mini projects along the way! Students will have a quiz on 11/22 and a test at the end of the unit in December.

ELA

Students in ELA are preparing for their short story unit test, in which they will identify and apply their knowledge of literary terms to stories. After, they will begin their first five paragraph essay of the year, which will be a character analysis of their favorite character from the short story unit. 

Science

In Science, students recently showcased their understanding of potential and kinetic energy via their Roller Coaster Engineering Project. In groups, students needed to determine the roles they would take, either leading their team, heading up the design and ultimate construction of their coaster design, showcasing their design in a poster, or leading the presentation of their design to the class. To be successful in their design challenge, students were tasked to successfully move a marble through the entirety of their track using only gravitational potential energy. Students are now underway with learning about thermal energy, which has afforded ample opportunities for class laboratory investigations and activities. Our Halloween celebration included a slime-making activity which seemed to be a hit!

Math

After an intensive review campaign, students in Mr. Beard’s Grade 7 Math class recently took a comprehensive end-of-unit exam on Ratios and Proportions!  Just prior to that, they meticulously worked through an important quiz on determining win percentages based on number of wins and number of total games played.  With November being a short month, in regard to quantity of school days, there are a lot of important (and fun) things planned in Mr. Beard’s class for the penultimate month of 2025.  In addition to the conventional MidSchool Math instruction, Mr. Beard’s students will enjoy making their own math videos next week (for a MSM lesson entitled “Space Selfie”).  Finally, as is a tradition in Mr. Beard’s classroom, students will spend the final two days before Thanksgiving break creating (and then playing a game with) their own personalized “Mathematical Turkey Hands”, complete with intricate self-written number sense problems.

Dear 8 Purple Families,       We enjoyed meeting so many of you during conferences!  It’s hard to believe, but November is here and always seems to fly by.  With the holiday approaching, we want to remind you that Term 1 officially concludes on Tuesday, November 26th.  This is the perfect opportunity to sit down with your student to review and discuss their accomplishments and challenges throughout Term 1.  Instead of just focusing on the final grades, try asking open-ended questions such as, "What study habit worked best for you?" or "What's one thing you want to change for Term 2?".  This reflection helps them identify what they can control, like organization, asking for help, or time management.  It also provides an opportunity to make a small, productive plan for the new term.  Remember, middle school is the ideal practice ground for high school.  This is the time for students to learn how to be students, and it is perfectly normal, and even necessary, for them to falter.  Learning to recover from a missed assignment or a tough test now builds the exact resilience and study skills they will rely on for success in the future.   Thank you, 8 Purple Teachers   Math Math students are investigating equations involving square roots and cube roots within the Ship Shape lesson.  They continue to work on their communication, problem solving, and critical thinking skills with each lesson in MidSchoolMath. ELA English classes continue with their perspectives and narrative unit study.  Students wrestled with thought provoking questions about how family and cultural expectations influence a young person’s sense of self and how one’s perspective may change over time.  After reading “My Mother’s Garden” by Kaitlyn Greenidge and “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, students explored whether the mothers in these stories are role models.  Students collected text evidence to support their claim and are now finishing their essays.  SCI Science students completed several hands-on activities to reinforce their understanding of atoms and bonding.  Not only did these activities help students prepare for their unit assessment, they also provided students with opportunities to work collaboratively with peers. Civics In civics, students are learning about the transition from our nation's "first draft" of government, the Articles of Confederation, to the Constitution we live under today.  Students will explore how the founding fathers gathered for the Constitutional Convention, not to just revise the Articles, but to start over.  Students will learn that this process was not easy, clean, or unanimous. Try asking your student about a problem with the Articles of Confederation and how the Founding Fathers tried to solve it!

Team 8 White    Math Exponents have been powering Math classes over the past few weeks.  In November students are using Scientific Notation to calculate very large and very small numbers more efficiently.  ELA The first round of Independent Reading Projects (IRPs) were due on November 7th in English.  Students are continuing their work on Personal Narratives by reflecting on a meaningful prior experience that has shaped who they are today. SCI Civics Students in Ms. Jenkins’ civics class are dissecting the Constitution! Continuing on a Mr. Kuzmich favorite- they had the opportunity to recite the preamble. Some students came up with interesting ways to remember the important paragraph. Events