STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
ISSUE 5
NOVEMBER 2013
NEWSLETTER
Happy Fall!
STEM Staff Participates in a STEM-Themed Ha#oween
Parent-Teacher
Conferences
STEM Middle @ Baldwin
Ro a d w i l l b e h o s t i n g
parent-teacher conferences
on Wednesday, November
1 3 t h a n d T h u r s d a y,
November 21st. Please
use
the
"Conference" link on the
Baldwin Road home page
at reyn.org to schedule a
conference with your
student’s teachers.
The STEM Middle staff participated in a STEM-themed
Halloween dress-up day on Thursday, October 31st. Teachers and
staff members surprised students by wearing various STEMrelated costumes.
Mrs. Angle will be available
in the media center each of
the two evenings from
5:30pm - 6:15pm.
6th Graders Helping to Make a Difference
During the last few weeks of school, the 6th
grade team has been working on a Design Challenge
during their Innovation Lab called Reyn-a-book.
The concept is very similar to the national
movement called “Little Lending Libraries”.
It is the student’s hope that people will return
the book they have borrowed when they are finished
reading it, but if they don’t it is OK because students
are really just interested in getting books into the
hands of community members.
The idea is for Book Boxes to be placed in
various locations around the city of Reynoldsburg
which will then provide the opportunity for anyone
to walk up to a box and borrow a book -NO strings
attached! The main goal of the Challenge is to
promote reading in the community. Part of the challenge is for students to monitor
the boxes and ensure there are a variety of book
levels and interests. They will also stock boxes if
additional books are needed.
PAGE 1
Be on the look-out around Reynoldsburg for a
Book Box and borrow a book to read!
STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
ISSUE 5
NOVEMBER 2013
PTO NEWS AND INFO
• The PTO meeting
originally scheduled for
November 12th at 6:30pm
is cancelled.
• Cookie Dough PICKUP for those who
participated in the PTO
fundraiser this fall will take
place November 12th from
3:30pm - 6:30 pm in the
cafeteria.
• The PTO will be
sponsoring a Book Fair
November 13th - 21st.
Students will be able to
visit the Fair during their
lunch periods. The Book
Fair will also be open
during Parent Teacher
Conference on November
13th and November 21st
from 4pm - 8pm.
• The December PTO
meeting will take place
December 10th at 6:30pm
in the library at Hannah
Ashton Middle School.
All are WELCOME to attend
and volunteer at any and all
PTO meetings, dances, etc.!!
STUDENT COUNCIL UPDATE
Student Council is hosting a Canned Food
Drive for the Reynoldsburg Food Pantry
through Friday, November 22nd. Students will
be collecting the canned food items in their 1st
period classes and the top 3 1st period classes
collecting the highest number of food items
will compete in a castle building contest on
November 26th. Please support our students as they
strive to support their community! Start
collecting and sending in those canned food
LEADERSHIP ROLES FOR STUDENT COUNCIL
President - Ian Turner
Vice President - Michele Schmitz
Secretary - Tory Thomas
PAGE 2
STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
ISSUE 5
NOVEMBER 2013
Help for the
Holidays
The local Rotar y club
would like to help some of
our families this Christmas.
Their mission is to help
provide gi$s for up to 15
teenage kids (7th-12th
grade). If you think your
family might need some
extra help this Christmas,
yo u n e e d t o d o t h e
fo#owing:
Email or ca# Mrs. Evans,
our school counselor at
[email protected] or
367-1616.
In your message, please
include the names, grade
l e v e l, a n d a g e s o f t h e
teenage children in your
family, your address, and
phone number.
You must act quickly.
The list wi# fi# up
very fast.
PAGE 3
STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
Meet Ms. Spence!
Ms. Spence works with
grades 5-8 in the Autism Unit at
STEM Middle. Prior to
working with STEM students,
she taught for two years at
Waggoner Road Junior High
School.
Ms. Spence is originally
from Coal Grove, Ohio which
is a small river town in southern
Ohio. She has attended Ohio
Dominican University (BA Ed.),
Mary Grove College (MA Ed.),
and Ashland University
(Administrative Licensure Pupil Services).
“The collaboration with
colleagues and experiencing the
level of engagement of students
throughout the school is my
favorite part about teaching at
STEM Middle. Because I work
with all the various grade levels,
I am fortunate in that I get to
see how teachers and students
collaborate and challenge each
other across the curriculum and
grade levels. It’s inspiring”
NOVEMBER 2013
Family/married/kids: Single
with no kids.
Pets: Too many! I have 2 dogs: a
Yo r k i e Po o n a m e d Ma c ke y,
Dachshund named Bella, and 3
cats: Gibby, Bean, Annie.
Hobbies: Cycling, working out,
gardening, reading, traveling,
watching movies, playing
Minecraft!
Other: When I am not at school,
I am usually working on something
for school. Aside from that, I enjoy
relaxing with my friends/family
(which included animals) and
where ever that may take us.
Meet Mrs. Sleeper!
Mrs. Sleeper teaches 6th grade about the world around them and
Science at STEM Middle and has become life long learners!”
been teaching here since she
began her teaching career four
years ago.
Mrs. Sleeper is originally from
Virginia Beach but moved to
Puerto Rico for several years
where she graduated high school
before moving to Ohio to attend
The Ohio State University. Mrs.
Sleeper graduated from Ohio
University with a Masters of
Education in 2008.
Mrs. Sleeper’s favorite part
about teaching at STEM Middle
is; “Inspiring students to care
Family/married/kids:
Married with an 8 month old
son, Lucas.
Hobbies:
Jogging, baking, reading,
watching football, and
spending time with my
family
Favorite holiday:
Christmas because I get to
spend so much time with my
family!
STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
Meet Mrs. Dorsey!
taught at Pickerington High
School North and is originally
from Lewis Center.
Mrs. Dorsey attended
Bishop Watterson High School
in Columbus Ohio. Her
favorite part about teaching at
STEM Middle is the students!
“I love how energetic everyone
is. Our students are always
ready to tackle a challenge!”
Family/married/kids:
I
am married to with no children
Pets: I have a schnoodle dog
named June. You may see her
here at school as she comes to
school with me to visit
sometimes.
Hobbies: I love interior
design and even do design work
outside of school!
Check out my blog:
www.dorseydesign.weebl
y.com
Mrs. Dorsey teaches 8th
grade Physical Science. Prior to
working at STEM Middle she
Meet Mrs. Geist!
Mrs. Geist teaches sixth grade
Language Arts and Social Studies.
Prior to working at STEM Middle
she taught at French Run
Elementary. Throughout her 23
years at French Run she taught
five years of first grade, five years
of second grade, five years of first
and second multiage, five years of
fourth grade and three years of
third grade!
NOVEMBER 2013
Mrs. Geist grew up outside of
Toledo in a small farming
community called Curtice, Ohio.
She lived on a farm until she
graduated high school and
attended The Ohio State
University where she earned a
degree in Health Education and
Dental Hygiene. After working as
a hygienist for 12 years, she went
back and earned her elementary
teaching certification through
Capital University.
“I love the opportunity to try
new things in the classroom and
showing students that there is
more than one way to be
successful. I love the challenge of
reaching students and helping
them find success.”
Family/married/kids: I have
two adult married children;
both teachers. Kelly Branson
teaches in the Gatway program
at WRJH. Derek teaches 7th
grade math in Westerville. Kelly
has two boys (My first
grandsons), Malik, age 11, and
Carter age 4, and is expecting
my first granddaughter in
January. Derek and his wife
have a son that was born back
in March.
Pets: I have one dog named
Webster.
Hobbies: Gardening, reading,
photography, paper crafts and
my grandkids. My dogs and I
competed in agility (weaves,
jumps, teeter-toters, etc) up
until about 2 years ago.
STEM MIDDLE @ BALDWIN ROAD!
High School Credit
Opportunities at
STEM Middle@
Baldwin Road
2013-14
Life Science/Biology- All 7th
graders are enrolled in Middle School
Life Science 7 as their required science
class. Students who meet mastery
standards will be given the opportunity
to take the ACT End-of Course Exam in
May. If a student scores college-ready
on this exam, he or she will have the
option to earn a high school Biology
credit which will be recorded as a flex
credit on their transcripts. The grade
they earn in Life Science will be their
grade of record for Biology. The grade
will be weighted (see information
below) on their high school transcript
and calculated into their high school
GPA.
The nine weeks grades a student earns
in Life Science will be used to calculate
their middle school GPA. This grade is
not weighted.
Physical Science- All 8th graders
are enrolled in Middle School Physical
Science 8 as their required science
class. Students who meet mastery
standards will be given the opportunity
to take a district-created End-of Course
Exam in May. If a student scores
college-ready on this exam, he or she
will have the option to earn a high
school Physical Science credit which
will be recorded as a flex credit on their
transcripts. The grade they earn in M.S.
Physical Science will be their grade of
record for H.S. Physical Science. The
grade will be weighted (see information
below) on their high school transcript
and calculated into their high school
GPA.
Algebra 1- All 8th graders and some
7th graders are enrolled in Middle
School Algebra 1 as their required math
class. Students who meet mastery
standards will be given the opportunity
to take the ACT End-of Course Exam.
If a student scores college-ready on this
exam, he or she will have the option to
earn a high school Algebra 1 credit
which will be recorded as a flex credit
on their transcripts. The grade they earn
in M.S. Algebra 1 will be their grade of
record for H.S. Algebra 1. The grade
will be weighted (see information
below) on their high school transcript
and calculated into their high school
GPA.
NOVEMBER 2013
opportunity to earn 0.5 high school
credit for Chinese. The grade they earn
will be their grade of record and will be
on their high school transcript and
calculated into their high school GPA.
Sign Language- Students who take
this class during the 2013-14 school
year have the opportunity to earn 0.5
high school credit for Sign Language.
The grade they earn will be their grade
of record and will be on their high
school transcript and calculated into
their high school GPA.
Spanish- Students who take this class
during the 2013-14 school year have the
opportunity to earn 1.0 high school
credit for Spanish. The grade they earn
The nine weeks grades a student earns
will be their grade of record and will be
in M.S. Algebra 1 will be used to
on their high school transcript and
calculate their middle school GPA. This calculated into their high school GPA.
grade is not weighted.
Geometry- Some 8th graders are
enrolled in Middle School Geometry for
the 2nd semester. Students who meet
mastery standards will be given the
opportunity to take the ACT End-of
Course Exam in May. If a student
scores college-ready on this exam, he or
she will have the option to earn a high
school Geometry credit which will be
recorded as a flex credit on their
transcripts. The grade they earn in M.S.
Geometry will be their grade of record
for H.S. Geometry. The grade will be
weighted (see information below) on
their high school transcript and
calculated into their high school GPA.
Weighted Grades: A weighted
GPA is based on the simple idea that
some high school classes are much
harder than others, and these hard
classes should carry more weight. In
other words, an 'A' in Enriched Algebra
1 represents a greater accomplishment
than an 'A' in remedial algebra.
In an effort to acknowledge the effort
that goes into challenging courses, our
high school academies weight the
grades for AP, honors and enriched
courses.
AP, Honors, Enriched Courses:
'A' (5 points); 'B' (4 points); 'C' (3
points); 'D' (1 point); 'F' (0 points)
The nine weeks grades a student earns
in M.S. Geometry will be used to
Regular Courses: 'A' (4 points);
calculate their middle school GPA. This 'B' (3 points); 'C' (2 points); 'D'(1 point);
grade is not weighted.
'F' (0 points)
Health and Wellness-Students
who take this class during the 2013-14
school year have the opportunity to earn
1.0 high school credit for PE 1, PE 2,
and Health. The grade they earn will be
their grade of record and will be on
their high school transcript and
calculated into their high school GPA.
The nine weeks grades a student earns
in M.S. Physical Science will be used to
calculate their middle school GPA. This Chinese- Students who take this class
grade is not weighted.
during the 2013-14 school year have the
If you have any questions about
the opportunities listed for earning
High School credit please feel free to
contact the main office and ask for
Mrs. Evans or Mrs. Angle for more
information.