Middle School News and Updates (01/26/25)

Middle School News and Updates (Presentation)

Director's Update

A message from Mrs. Ridder, Middle School Director

Dear Middle School Families, 

I hope you all enjoyed our recent three-day weekend and managed to stay warm. We held our Annual Spelling Bee last week, and two students will advance to the District Spelling Bee. See the details below. We have quite a few other events coming up over the next couple of weeks: 

  • Our students will compete in Brain Bowl tomorrow, Saturday, January 25th at Heritage High School. 
  • Auditions for our 13th annual STEM’s Got Talent are coming up on January 28 and 30th.  The show itself will take place on Thursday, March 6. Students received an email from me with the details and a sign-up link. Additionally, you can find the information in the newsletter. 
  • Our Middle School SnowBall Dance will take place on Saturday, February 22nd from 5:30-8 p.m. in the Middle School Cafeteria. 

 

Spelling Bee Winners

STEM held its annual Spelling Bee with 19 highly qualified competitors from grades 4-8. After an intense competition that featured a whopping 111 word streak of correct spelling from the top 8, eventually the field was narrowed to our two top spellers.  

7th grader Anirudh Rao took home his third consecutive trophy as our Winner and 7th grader Aarna Varre finished runner-up after an almost 3 hour contest.  Both Aarna & Anirudh will compete at the DCSD District Bee on February 1st hoping to qualify for state and national contests. A huge thank you to Herr Voorn as well to our judges table headed up by sophomore Sophia Bertsch, assisted by  social studies colleagues Daniel Kerwin & Matthew Bellipanni!  An additional thanks to ELA & fourth and fifth grade teachers for holding the qualifiers to get our talented pool of contestants.

 

Middle School Snowball Dance – February 22nd – 5:30-8 pm 

We would love for you to join us and chaperone our dance.  If you are interested, please email me at maura.ridder@stemk12.org

 

New Speech and Debate Class for Fall 

Course registration time is here, and I am excited to inform you that we will be offering a middle school Speech and Debate elective class starting in the fall. The middle school class will be taught by Ms. Dillon and Mr. Griffin. The class is limited to 7th and 8th graders and will help students learn effective life-long communication, presentation, and collaboration skills.  We anticipate speech and debate will also boost academic performance in most other classes, and will set students up for success applying for college.If you would like more information, please take a look at this presentation. 

 

Important dates and events

  • February 1 – District Spelling Bee at Legacy Campus 
  • February 13 – 15 – TSA State Competition 
  • Monday, February 17th – No School – Presidents’ Day
  • Saturday, February 22 – Middle School SNOWBALL Dance – Chaperones Needed
  • February 28th – March 2 – Wish Week  
  • Thursday, March 6 – Our 13th annual STEM’s Got Talent Show and Staff Lip Sync
  • Wednesday, March 12  3:30-7 Parent Teacher Conferences – Last Name A-L
  • Thursday, March 13 3:30 – 7 – Parent Teacher Conferences – Last Name M-Z  More details to follow. 
  • March 14 – 23 – Spring Break 
  • March 24 – 26 and March 26 – 28 – 6th Grade Keystone Science Camp Trips

Thank you all for your continued support as we navigate the middle school years together!

In partnership,

Maura Ridder, Middle School Director

Upcoming Events

District Spelling Bee

February  1st 

Our own winners will head to the district competition to qualify for state and national contests.

TSA State Competition

February 13 – 15th

No School - President's Day

Monday, February 17th

Middle School Snowball Dance

Saturday, February 22nd

Chaperones Needed!

News and Updates

Update on Secondary Student IDS

Dear STEM Families,

We are dedicated to maintaining a safe environment for our students and staff. Safety is our number one priority and is a layered approach. One of the measures is to ensure that all students, staff, and visitors are identifiable on campus. Student IDs also alert office staff to who has off-campus permissions and allow students to quickly check in and out using our automated system. We ask for your continued support in ensuring your child is wearing an ID to school each day.

As time goes on, we understand that students will misplace their IDs and lanyards. We ordered another shipment of lanyards and ID holders, but our students are going through them pretty quickly.

After Fall Break, students will be charged $5 for replacements. This charge will run through their Myschoolbucks account. Please monitor the account and speak to your child about these charges if they occur.

Spartmart is looking into purchasing nicer, higher quality lanyards to sell as well and you may also purchase lanyards online.

Finally, because IDs are part of our dress code, if a student is not wearing an ID and does not have a temporary ID, they may be assigned a detention. Students have been made aware of this expectation.

Once again, we really appreciate your support. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of our building directors.

In partnership,

The STEM Admin Team

Tutoring during access in MS and HS commons

Our Math Society students are volunteering to assist with math homework during access periods (11-11:40 a.m.) on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Help will be available in both the Middle School and High School commons. Students who need support or want to catch up on homework should feel free to take advantage of this opportunity. Students should contact either their math teacher or access teacher to add their name to the list for help.

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