March 15, 2024

Welcome North Families,

Spring is in the air. With the birds and the bees and all that stuff, it seems like a good time to have a discussion about middle school dating. Families have different perspectives regarding dating as their students enter middle school. Some families feel dating is not appropriate until students enter high school, while other families find their student’s dating cute and age appropriate. As with most things, there is no one size fits all answer to how to handle your students dating in middle school.  

It is important to know that there is a long continuum of behavior that constitutes dating in middle school, which can range from friends asking a girl or boy out for their friend to sexual activity. And as with most things, the sooner we start on that continuum can be related to how far and how early we move to the other end. Don’t assume you know what dating means to your student, talk to them about your expectations around dating and the pressures associated with dating.  

One of the pressures of dating in middle school is the importance of being a part of a social group during this developmental stage of their lives. Dating links you to another person, creating a feeling of belonging. Yet, it is important that students do not learn that being in a relationship is the only way to feel like they belong. When that is the case, students learn to jump from relationship to relationship without developing a sense of self, independent of a dating relationship.  

Dating is complicated at any stage of life, but possibly the most difficult is in the middle school years. And like pretty much anything with parenting, early work goes a long way. The discussions you have now, while your student is beginning to explore dating, can lay the groundwork for healthy relationships in the future. 

Teri Kovars



We would like to congratulate our 113 North musicians who participated in the District Solo & Ensemble festival last Saturday at Sussex-Hamilton!

North was represented in 100 events by 7th and 8th grade choir, orchestra, and band members. We had 67 events in Class C, 28 Events in Class B, and 5 Events in Class A.

Three of our Class A performers, Avery Payne, Shiven Gupta, and Josh Imediegwu, received Starred first ratings, the highest rating possible, on their Saxophone Class A solos and will go on to play at the WSMA State Festival on April 27th at UW-Milwaukee.

Congratulations to all of our North Star musicians on your outstanding performances!

• Ariana Roessler
• Rachel Larson
• Ean Agle
• Harrison Currey
• Campbell Young
• Natalie Pyatt
• Kyra Starr
• Gavin Hutt
• Maya Froemming

• Seth Grob
• Jackson Dreyfus
• Thinh Nguyen
• Patrick McTavish
• Emma Hawksley
• Snigdha Kusuma Adavi
• Chloe Jones
• Jenna Birschbach
• Conner Schairer
• Ella Grace

• Taelyn Sikora
• Ethan Visoky
• Jayson Coleman
• Mariana Butler
• Makyah Patti
• Dylan Savage
• Emma Tippett
• Noah Given
• Laena Niemiec
• Michael Kittleson
• Daniel Messina

Forward Testing

North Middle School will begin Forward Exam testing in early April. Students will need to have wired headphones as part of the test as Bluetooth wireless earbuds are not allowed. Below is a chart of days that students will be testing.

Additional information will be provided in the upcoming Family Newsletter or can be accessed Forward Exam Brochure and Forward Info for Families.

Gabby works so well with all of her peers! She recently went the extra mile to make a new student feel welcome by having a genuine conversation and including her during work time. She always shows up ready to learn and tries her best!

Gabby J. - Nominated by Ms. Hibbs

Rachel is such a kind student. She always says "hello" and works well with everyone! She is also an incredibly hard worker. Rachel is a true shining star in our school.

Rachel B. - Nominated by Mrs. Marchese

Andrew, Mason, & Andy - These three students were working together in peer group learning. They read a text together, analyzed the vocabulary, and had discussions about the topic. On this particular day, I had visitors in my room to observe the curriculum I was piloting. The visitors were extremely impressed with the maturity of the boys and the quality of their discussions!

Andrew H., Mason K., & Andy E. - Nominated by Mrs. Lee

Congratulations!

We are extremely lucky to have Mrs. Anderson at

North Middle School!

2024 Falls Summer Academy (FSA) Course List: The FSA course list is published within the CE&Rec Summer Activity Guide and will be mailed to district residents in early April.

2024 Falls Summer Academy Registration will open online at 9PM on Sunday, April 14, 2024.



• Session 1 registration dates: April 14-May 16, 2024*
• Session 2 registration dates: April 14-May 30, 2024*

*Late registrations for enrichment & athletic courses will not be accepted.

2024 Falls Summer Academy Dates

• Session 1: June 17 - June 28, 2024
• Session 2: July 8 - July 19, 2024

Locations:

Shady Lane 4K-2nd Grade

8:30 a.m. - 11:35 a.m.*

Valley View 3rd - 5th Grade

8:15 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. *

High School 6th-8th Grade

8:05 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.*

High School 9th-12th Grade

8 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.*

*This reflects general course times.

Some courses are offered outside of the times listed.



If you have questions about Falls Summer Academy,

please email Laura Alva Garcia at alvalau@sdmfschools.org

3rd Quarter Assembly

Students will participate in our 3rd Quarter Assembly on Friday, March 22nd. The North Jazz Band will be performing, and we will also have games that students can participate in. Look for pictures of this event on the North Middle School Facebook page and in our next newsletter.

During this special episode of Focus on the Falls, we're celebrating Youth Art Month, featuring 7th grade artist, Lilly Richardson! Learn why art education is important to our students and teachers.

A few weeks ago, Builders Club sold rubber duckies to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They were able to donate $400 to the cause in honor of one of our students who battled this disease.

Congratulations to our North Star Swim Team on a fantastic first meet! Lots of fast swims! They will be back in action on March 19th in Port Washington.

Track starts on Tuesday, April 2nd and is open to all 7th & 8th grade students.



Students must be registered and submit a valid physical form online prior to the first practice. Please note, North Offices will be closed over Spring Break (March 25th - April 1st) and no athletic registrations will be approved that week.

Does your student like to play

Badminton or Eclipse Ball?

What about Pickle Ball or Table Tennis?

Racquet Sports Club starts

Tuesday, April 9th! The club will meet in the gym every Tuesday and Thursday after school until 3:40PM, April 9th - May 23rd.

Athletic & Activities Registration Information

Your student has been participating in a Social Studies pilot. At this time, we would like to collect both family and student feedback as our second pilot using National Geographic begins to wrap up.

Your student will complete a survey during the school day, and we’d like to invite you to provide your feedback on this brief 

Parent Feedback Survey.

Favorites

Color: Purple

Food: Coconut Shrimp

Restaurant: The Stillery

Winter Activity: Cheering on my kids at volleyball & basketball

Summer Activity:

Being at the beach

Childhood Cartoon: Rugrats

TV Show: Friends

Book: I have too many to pick one!

How many years have you been at North Middle School? 

This is my first year

What is one thing that people would be surprised to know about you? I've always had white cars.

What was your first job? Office Max in the Copy Center

If you could get a free ticket to any event, what would you pick?

Box ticket to the Packers Superbowl

Where is one place you would like to visit? Italy

If you could travel to any decade, what decade do you choose? Let's live in the moment!

What is one thing you could not live without? Burt's Bees Chapstick

If you had a bumper sticker on your car, what would it say? 

"Be Kind - it's that simple!"

If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it? Go on vacation to Italy, Croatia, and somewhere tropical

If you had to sing karaoke, what song do you sing? You don't want to hear me sing!

What would be on your ultimate ice cream sundae? Vanilla custard, caramel, cheesecake chunks, and cashews

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be? Chocolate

• 6^th Grade: Students will be discussing how their interests match careers as well as the skills needed to be successful in a job. There will also be a focus on what steps they can take in middle school to help them reach their career goals.

• 7^th Grade: Students will explore career pathways, job interview scenarios, and employability skills. They will also connect academic skills to the world of work.

• 8^th Grade: Students will use the interests and skills inventory to research careers using Xello, our college and career exploration software.  College pathways will be explored, and students will again use Xello to complete the pathways to their chosen careers. We encourage parents to sit down with their student and explore Xello together.

Due to conflicts with multiple spring events,

the North Middle School Multicultural Fair is canceled for this year. Thank you to everyone who has been part of planning. We may try for a 2025 Multi-Cultural Fair. 

Thursday, June 6, 2024

6^th Grade – Urban Air

7^th Grade – Noah’s Ark

8^th Grade – Six Flags Great America

Eligibility Requirements for the trips:

Students must maintain passing grades (No more than 1 F) and not have more than 1 MAJOR referral or 3 MINOR referrals for the 2^nd Semester and no more than 5 Days total of Unexcused absences.

Any student whose grades, behavior, or attendance disqualify them after the May 19^th  grade/behavior/attendance deadline, will NOT receive a refund.