January 26, 2013

January 25th Update

It is amazing to think that we are almost at the halfway point of this school year. This school year is flying by. This time of year brings many important events:

–> 2nd marking period closes on January 30th. Please make sure you keep checking your student’s Parent Portal. It is a great tool for everyone.
–> Our 7th grade students will soon be taking the OLSAT test. This is an achievement test that provides us with some valuable data on your children.
OLSAT
–> Our 8th grade students/parents had an orientation at Mark T. Sheehan High School.
–> Our 8th grade students will soon be visiting Sheehan during the day to see the school in action and to work with their counselors to create a schedule for their 9th grade year.
–> Connecticut Mastery Testing (CMT) will begin in March. This is a great opportunity for our students and staff to gage how well our students are doing compared to the rest of the state.

As you may or may not know, Moran has several building-level committees that work to help improve the education at Moran. Students, teachers, parents, and administrators work together in the following committees: Safe School Climate, Anti-Bullying Club (ABC), Professional Development, Technology, Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Parent Teacher Advisory Counsel (PTAC), etc. As you can see, there are a lot of opportunities for all of the stakeholders at Moran to collaborate on what is best for your child’s education at Moran. Please get in touch with us if you are interested in learning more about any of these groups (203) 741-2900.

A this point in the year you typically see a slight decline in student enthusiasm. I would encourage every parent to continue to stay involved in their child’s education. Ask your child what they are working on, contact your child’s teacher, visit the school to stay connected to the facilities, etc. We are your partners in your child’s education. We look forward to our continued success.

Thank you and stay warm!!!

January 11, 2013

January 11th – Weekly Update…

Good afternoon.  We are about halfway through January.  The second marking period will be ending in 12 school days.  That is an amazing thought.  This year has flown by for me.  It is amazing that we have already begun planning for CMT’s, we are having meetings about high school scheduling for our 8th grade students, and we are beginning to focus on work for the 2013 / 2014 school year.  What I don’t want to do is lose sight of all of the great things that have gone on and are going on this year.

  • I want to thank Keri Carbone for putting together the ’26 Acts of Kindness’ display in our main hallway.  It is a great daily reminder of all of the fantastic things that our staff and students are doing for others.  I especially liked Ms. Pucciarello’s idea to donate 20 children’s books and 6 adult books to her local library.  Thank you, Mrs. Carbone.
  • Our custodial staff did a fantastic job over the winter break getting the building back in September form.  The gymnasium floor was shining as was the main hallway.  Please take a minute to thank Mr. Irish and the guys for their work.
  • Thanks to Jim Andreson, Moran Middle School will have the privilege of hosting the Mock Trial Quarterfinals for our region on February 5th.  Also, the JV Mock Trial competition between Dag and Moran will be on Monday (14th) starting at 3:00 p.m.  Please stop by and support our students if you have the opportunity.  Thank you, Mr. Andreson.
  • Thank you to Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Santiago, and Ms. Somers for livening up the main office.  It was great to see all of your family portraits over the years.  What a great atmosphere it was to walk into.

As you know, this time of year tends to get tremendously busy.  Below are just a few of the events that we have coming up:

  • OLSAT testing in January – 7th grade
  • CMT’s – March 1st and beyond
  • 8th grade high school scheduling
  • ELA will begin with their Common Core units in early February
  • Mindset Madness in March

Some business items that I want to address:

  • Please take the time to look at our school web-site.  It has been updated with some useful information and pictures. (www.wallingford.k12.ct.us/moran)
  • Please remember the Mindset challenge from the Wallingford 100.  A lot of work will be done with that in the month of March.  It is important that we act as educational role models for our children.  There is a lot of Mindset information on our web-site listed above.
  • As the marking period closes, please get in touch with teachers regarding your child’s progress for the year.  Please access Parent Portal as often as possible.
  • Please communicate all student absences as soon as you can to our main office.  If you know that your child is going to be absent, call it in immediately so we can log it in.

I encourage all of you to help your children keep that focus and drive that they began this year with.  Your students need you.  The Moran staff needs you.  Moran is headed in a great direction and that is a credit to all of your hard work at home.  I want to once again thank you for everything that you are doing this year.  You all have made our transition go so smoothly.  The welcoming atmosphere and the feeling of community has been exemplary.  You are all a credit to Wallingford and I am proud to be working with you.  Keep up the fantastic work!