Sept. 1(, 2007
Pawcatuck Middle School
40 Field Street
Pawcatuck, CT 06379
Jane S. Giulini, Principal
Principal’s Comments
Dear Families:
It’s hard to believe that we have
been back to school for only 9 days.
The school is abuzz with teaching
and learning in classrooms and the
sounds of friendly conversation in
the hallways. We have enjoyed a
great start in this new school year.
Back to School Night
We thank you for your patience
with our rescheduling of Back to
School Night. It will be held on
Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, at 7
p.m. in the gym. We have scheduled the informational evening as
early as possible to better serve you
and your children. It is our goal to
continue to provide ‘Parents as
Partners’ meetings and workshops
for you throughout the year.
We expect a “full house” and
ask that you fill in all seats, in order to avoid crowding in the back
of the gym. Additionally, please
avoid parking in the No Parking
lanes. Because the building will be
crowded and the discussions will
be for adults, we ask that children
not attend.
We look forward to meeting
with you. We will provide refreshments throughout the evening in
the Staff Room.
After School Activities
I have included for you a pre(cont’d, page 2)
Parents...
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Please join us for
Phone: (860)599-5696
Fax: (860)599-8948
Mark Your
Calendar
Monday, Sept. 17:
~Cross Country practice:
2:45 p.m.
~Math Counts, 2:45-4 p.m.
~FAB Mtg., 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 18:
~BACK TO SCHOOL
NIGHT, 7-8 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 19:
~Cross Country practice:
2:45 p.m.
~PTO, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 20:
~Intramurals begin
Wednesday, Sept. 26:
~Portraits--grade 7/8
~Cross Country practice:
2:45 p.m.
October 2-5, 2007:
Gr. 8 Washington Trip
Don’t forget!
PTO
Night
Tuesday, Sept. 18
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7-8 p.m.
Wed. Sept.1D
E p.m.
Fm. 1G5
Welcome
new <th grade
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Principal’s Comments
Fitness &
(cont’d. from page 1)
Athletic
liminary list of activities that will
Boosters
be offered after school. Most
Show Your School teachers have not yet set beginning
dates. We will include updates for
Spirit
you within a few weeks.
Pawcatuck Panther logo clothing is for sale by the Fitness and
Athletic Boosters. We offer hooded
sweatshirts, long-sleeve tee-shirts
and short-sleeve tee-shirts.
We will be selling/ taking orders at Back-To-School Night on
Tuesday, Sept. 18.
.
Cross Country
News
from Tracy Romano
Our first practice is
Monday, September 17
at 2:45 p.m. Runners will
not be able to participate
unless they have had their physical and necessary paperwork
handed in to the school nurse.
Math
C ounts
Math Counts Begins Monday,
September 17th from 2:45-4 p.m.
Where? Room 205 w/ Mrs.Yates
For Who? Anyone interested in
challenging themselves with mathematics.
Panther Tracks
Send submissions
to
[email protected]
or drop off in school
office.
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Late Bus/ After School Sign-up
A late bus is provided for students who stay after school for extra help or an activity. The bus
picks students up at 4:10 p.m. on
Monday through Thursday each
week We require that anyone staying after school MUST sign up on
the pink log in the office. Students
provide name, reason for staying,
Gr. E/R Photos
Fescheduled
Due to time constraints, grade
7 and 8 picture day has been
moved to Wednesday, September 26. Please mark this on your
calendars. Use the same order
form that was sent home on the
first day of school. Extra order
forms are in the office.
Team
News
The grade eight team currently
has a website for parents and students to access homework! It is updated daily or as needed when work
is assigned. Please consider using
this to check on daily assignments,
when your child is absent or will be
out of school for several days.
The address is: http://
folio.stonington.org/pmsteam8
date, and how they will get home.
Bus Behavior
We ask for your support as we
enforce respectful and safe behavior on school buses. Drivers have
tremendous responsibility in transporting our students. We have zero
tolerance for acting out on the
buses.
We look forward to seeing you
on Tuesday evening. We are
pleased to share with you the many
changes that we have in place to
make learning opportunities exciting for each of our children.
Have a great week,
Mrs. Giulini
Planning Ahead-Columbus Day
Parade
Show your Panther Pride! We
would like to have as many PMS
students as possible represent our
awesome school in the Columbus
Day Parade in October.
Listen for announcements
from Mrs. Ingham and look for
more info in future Panther Tracks.
Check out PMS
on the Web
Parents and students-check out the happenings at PMS
and Stonington Schools on-line.
1) Go to:
www.stoningtonschools.org
2) Click on School Info
3) Click on PMS - website
4) Click on Panther Tracks
Washington, D.C. Ussays
Congratulations to Samantha L. and Thomas M., who wrote these winning essays. Samantha and
Thomas will have the honor of representing Pawcatuck Middle School at the wreath-laying ceremony at
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 2 in Washington, D.C.
The Tomb of the Snknown Soldier
by Samantha L.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a powerful monument that represents all of the men who
have fought and died for our country. I would be honored to lay a wreath on this grave. If I were to
say a speech for the unknown soldier, this is what I would say:
“As you know, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the grave of a very brave man who has sacrificed his life for our country. Nobody knows who he is because he died before there was DNA testing.
Our country has guarded the grave with honor because it is not just a tomb of a deceased soldier – this
grave has a deeper meaning. You may think that this monument symbolizes all of the anonymous men
who have died for this country and have never gotten the credit that they deserve for making this
country what it is today. But I think differently. I believe that this grave is for all of the families who
have no idea what happened to their relatives. Those who had no idea for so long, now have somewhere to go and remember what their grandfather has done for our country, even when identified.
Anyone could go to this monument and reflect on who might be the heroes who are represented by the
unknown soldier. This meaning is so powerful that I feel honored just to stand here and look at it. As
far as I know, I don’t have any relatives who have fought and died for us, but I could be wrong. I may
be a descendant of a hero and never know for sure. There may be many heroes lost in time who will not
be known. But with our country as a family, we can still respect those who have no names with this
memorial. That is why we are here today to honor the unknown and their loved ones.”
War
by Thomas M.
In these questions, “Is war always right?” or “Is war ever right?” it can take people five
seconds to say “yes” or “no”, but if you stop and think, you might be able to change your mind.
Thinking about our history and mixing my own opinion in, I can say war is never right. Since when
does war make killing another human being right? War is just another way to solve a conflict. It is
just like fighting with your brother.
In a book I was reading, Viewpoint of World War II from our library at Pawcatuck Middle
School, I learned that World War II ended the Great Depression. That was a good thing that
resulted from war. But that still doesn’t make war right. In my opinion and according to my
religion, killing someone on home territory (USA) or on foreign soil is wrong.
Having war over religion or other beliefs doesn’t make war right. Whoever you worship doesn’t think
killing another is right. For example, in my religion we have commandments (laws of God basically) and
one of them is, “Thou shall not kill.” There is no exception to that! Even if you think your God will be
happy, he won’t.
The United States is supposed to give opportunities for people – “the home of the brave.” Protecting
your country is not wrong; the choice might be wrong though. War is sometimes necessary, but,
that doesn’t make it right. So therefore, this is why I think war is never right under whatever
circumstances – but it could be necessary.
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