The first marking period flew by! We are excited to continue working with you and your child and are looking forward to a great school year.
District-Wide Title I Meeting
There will be three virtual meetings held on Thursday, November 9th at 10:00, 1:00, and 3:00. We hope that you will join one of these virtual meetings to learn more about our program.
If you would like to participate, please click on this link, type in meet.google.com/cmq-bvng-vun in your browser, or use the QR code below on Thursday, November 9th at the time that is convenient for you. Dr. McPherson will provide a brief overview of the program and provide you an opportunity to pose questions about our district’s programming.
Research has shown that having parent involvement in schools has a very positive effect on a child’s education. The Harvard Family Research Project concluded that parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement.
They found that student success was higher in a variety of areas including academics, work habits, social skills and successful further education.
If you know of a teacher or other staff member who goes out of his or her way to help students and support our schools, consider nominating them for an Outstanding Educator/Employee Award. Nominees will be accepted online only.
You can nominate candidates for these awards through Friday March 10, 2023 at noon. Nominations can be submitted by parents/guardians, students, and colleagues of Penn Manor staff members. Learn more about the award guidelines.
All nominees must currently be employed by Penn Manor School District. Honorees from previous years are not eligible this year. See the list of past winners. You can make nominations here. Please use one form for each nominee.
Thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the hard work of our employees!
Join us for an informative and entertaining day designed especially for parents at this year’s IU13 Federal Parent Conference. Wynne Kinder (www.wynnekinder.com/) will provide the keynote session entitled “Trouble at Home:What Comes Before Fight, Flight, and Freeze? Oh, So Much”. Breakout sessions will run on topics spanning from recommended texts to share and read, to social emotional strategies for you and your children. A learning fair by Lancaster-Lebanon School Districts will provide literacy, math, and ESL take home resources. Also, area agencies will be on hand to showcase opportunities to get your family involved with the community. Each family will receive a goodie bag and free gifts.
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 Location: The Conference and Training Center at IU13, 1020 New Holland Avenue, Lancaster
Cost: No cost for parents and guardians who attend.
Please provide the following to amy.niemkiewicz@pennmanor.net or call (717) 872-9510, ext. 3114.
Name, Email, Phone, Address, Child Name(s), School/Building Name, Grade, & if you plan to attend the lunch.
ALL registrations from our Penn Manor parents MUST BE SUBMITTED by Tuesday, February 14th. NOTE: childcare is not available.
Most of the Title One students worked hard to improve their grades for the second marking period which ended on January 19. ALL Title One students continue to have an opportunity to get extra support during their lunch period and during Activity Period on a daily basis. Some students stay for After Hours on Tuesdays & Thursdays (2:30-4:05) for help with studying and/or assignment completion. If your child has earned good grades and has stayed out of trouble, CONGRATULATE THEM!If you feel they need more support during the next marking period, please reach out to us at amy.niemkiewicz@pennmanor.net or call (717) 872-9510, ext. 3114.
Don’t forget to add your child to our “Manor Middle School Title One Super Students” list by clicking on this link: I am proud…
Reminder…in March, there will be an in-person Title I parent advisory council meeting to review Title I parent engagement requirements and documentation. A brief review of our district’s Title I programming will be given and then each Title I school will meet with parents to discuss the specifics of the programming in that building. Please join in this 1 hour session.
The End of Marking Period Two will be on January 19, 2023
On Monday, January 9th at 3 pm, we will be offering a virtualor in-person conference. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to amy.niemkiewicz@pennmanor.net.
If you would like to meet, but need a different day/time, please send an email with your request to amy.niemkiewicz@pennmanor.net.
Here is the invitation with pertinent parent information …
Additionally, in March, there will be an in-person Title I parent advisory council meeting to review Title I parent engagement requirements and documentation. A brief review of our district’s Title I programming will be given and then each Title I school will meet with parents to discuss the specifics of the programming in that building. Please join in this 1 hour session!
Welcome to Manor Middle School’s Title One Program
The first several weeks of the 2022 – 2023 school year at Manor Middle School have come and gone, and we hope that each child’s experience so far has been one of encouragement and excitement.
The Title One Program at Manor is a unique program that offers additional support to students who qualify based upon academic performance on school-wide testing such as Reading and Math Benchmarks, PSSA & CDT assessments. If you received an email with the link to this blog, your child may qualify for this school year.
The program provides your child with academic support in English, Reading, and Math in the following ways:
Additional Adult Support during Activity Period
Additional Adult Support during Lunch
Additional Adult Support in After Hours
Individualized scheduling based on specific needs
The program also allows for social and emotional support such as:
Provisions for a safe environment where students feel secure and respected
Provisions for diversified learning opportunities with effectively proven strategies needed for continual educational advancement
Positive connections with trusting adults
There is much more to share and a BIG PART of our success this year with your child will be YOU!
Each marking period we will request that you share some information either through a face-to-face meeting or a Zoom meeting. We may also ask your participation in some surveys and provide comments through links provided in this blog. We sincerely hope that you communicate any needs of your or your child with us so that we may help make this a fantastic year! We are looking forward to getting to know each and everyone of you a little better…
“‘Stop and smell the roses’ isn’t just good advice—it’s also a powerful safeguard against stress. Mindfulness, or the practice of consciously and non-judgmentally observing the present moment, has been linked to better well-being in previous research.
Luckily, mindfulness isn’t just a personality trait—it’s a skill you can learn.”
– taken from an article in Women’s Health BY AMARY WIGGIN MAR 12, 2013
One of our goals for the 2022-2023 school year is to introduce Mindfulness to the students we will be working with. You may ask why we would choose to teach this? Well, here is some interesting research.
“Not knowing the answer to a question when you’re called on in front of the entire class. Forgetting your homework. The kid behind you pulling your hair. School poses a lot of stressful moments, but how children (and teachers) react to them can make all the difference.
A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.”
8th Grade: PSSA tests in reading, math, writing, and science
The PSSA assessments are criterion-referenced tests, as opposed to norm-referenced tests. Thus, your child will only compete against him or herself, rather than be compared against the group. Also, the PSSA scores have no influence on promotion, placement, or grades for our students.
The real preparation for the PSSA tests, or any standardized test, begins with your commitment to your children’s education throughout their school years. Devote time and effort to helping your children learn. Start by making sure your kids do their homework and read every day.
People who regularly take time to notice and note the things they’re thankful for, experience more positive emotions, sleep better, and express more compassion and kindness toward others.
In response to your BRAGGING RIGHTS survey feedback, this blog addresses the topic of Active Listening.
When you practice active listening, you make the other person feel heard and valued. In this way, active listening is the foundation for any successful conversation. Sometimes we confuse LISTENING with HEARING. However, listening requires attention, meaning it’s active. Hearing is passive — you can’t close your ears, so sounds will enter and be heard. This makes it involuntary.
As an active listener, you are there to act as a sounding board rather than ready to jump in with your own ideas and opinions about what is being said. This can be difficult for all of us to do and requires thought and practice.
The following tips will help you to become a better active listener:
Make eye contactwhile the other person speaks. In general, you should aim for eye contact about 60% to 70% of the time while you are listening. Lean toward the other person, and nod your head occasionally. Avoid folding your arms as this signals that you are not listening.
Paraphrase what has been said, rather than offering unsolicited advice or opinions. You might start this off by saying “In other words, what you are saying is…”.
Don’t interrupt while the other person is speaking. Do not prepare your reply while the other person speaks; the last thing that he or she says may change the meaning of what has already been said.
Watch nonverbal behavior to pick up on hidden meaning, in addition to listening to what is said. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and other behaviors can sometimes tell you more than words alone.
Shut down your internal dialogue while listening. Avoid daydreaming. It is impossible to attentively listen to someone else and your own internal voice at the same time.
Show interest by asking questions to clarify what is said. Ask open-ended questions to encourage the speaker. Avoid closed yes-or-no questions that tend to shut down the conversation.
Avoid abruptly changing the subject; it will appear that you were not listening to the other person.
Be open, neutral, and withhold judgment while listening.
Be patient while you listen. We are capable of listening much faster than others can speak.
Learn to recognize active listening. Watch television interviews and observe whether the interviewer is practicing active listening. Learn from the mistakes of others.
Something to think about…
Other upcoming events:
Manor Middle Spirit Week Feb. 7 – Feb.11
Monday PJ’s
Tuesday Crazy Socks
Wednesday Hair Color
Thursday Flannel
Friday Freaky Friday
February 16, 2022 Last day for Cult. Arts rotation#6
February 18, 2022 Early Dismissal
February 21, 2022 No School President’s Day
By the way, if you haven’t completed the BRAGGING RIGHTS survey, you may still do so! So far, we have received 18 responses – Thank you!
