In This Issue of the Ballard Brady Middle School eNewsletter



February Parent/Teacher Conferences

The first semester of the 2011-12 school year came to a close on Thursday, January 19.  Report cards are scheduled to be mailed on Friday, January 27.  

At this time of the year, any parent who has specific concerns about his/her child’s progress is encouraged to schedule a conference.  During the week of February 6, parents will have the chance to meet with a teacher, one-on-one, to discuss areas of concern.  Conference appointments will be 10 minutes in length and will be offered during regular school hours.  Please be prompt as teachers have limited time available.  Conferences will be held in the old gym and are by appointment only.

Between Wednesday, January 25 and Friday, February 3, parents who wish to make a conference appointment can do so by clicking on the following link:  http://www.pickatime.com/schedule.jsp?ven=11604187  

Once at the site, you will be asked to enter the email address and password you used when you scheduled your November conference.  If you did not attend November conferences, you will need to create an account by providing an email address as well as a password of your choice.  On the next screen, you will be asked to enter a Student ID.  You may enter your child’s school ID or your child’s name (in the format FirstnameLastname; i.e. JohnSmith). Finally, you will enter your child’s birth date (in the format MM/DD/YYYY).  Click on the “Add” button, which will then take you to the scheduling screen.

Please contact Mrs. Regina Carter via phone (216-831-8600 ext. 3614) or email (rcarter@orangecsd.org) if you need assistance, if you are unable to access the Internet, or if there are no conference appointments available for a particular teacher.
Given the nature of this round of conferences, parents may find it more convenient to have their concern addressed via a phone call or through email. Contact information for members of the Brady Middle School staff can be found by clicking on the following link: http://www.orangeschools.org/schools/directory


Good News Briefs

Essay Winners Attend Naturalization Ceremony
Brady Middle School eighth graders from Mrs. Sam Schaedler’s class were asked to write an essay on “what does it mean to be a good citizen?” The seven students with the best essays were chosen to observe a Naturalization Ceremony at the Carl Stokes Court House in Cleveland recently.

The winning essays were written by Nathan Pflaum, Blake Zaffiro, Elizabeth Jordan, Briana Padilla, Kyle Kolb, Daniel Tonelli and Danielle Biggers.
Students attended the ceremony, partook in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and sang the National Anthem. Afterwards, they had an opportunity to interview new United States Citizens and hand out American Flags and copies of the American Creed.

PTA's Reflections Program
The PTA held its annual Reflections Display and Awards Ceremony on January 19 at Moreland Hills Elementary School.  All students are to be commended for their respective submissions.  The first place entries have been sent to Columbus for competition at the state level.  Special thanks to Laura Kochis who did a fantastic job chairing the PTA Reflections Committee.  Congratulations to the following Brady students for their participation in the program:
Literature, Grades 6-8:
1st place:  Ryan Kochis
2nd place:  Cherissa Lindsay 

Music, Grades 6-8:
1st place:   Charles Stewart-Bates   (2nd year in a row winning this category!)

Photography, Grades 6-8:
1st place:   Jeremy Stark
2nd place:  Santiago Bustamante

Visual Arts, Grades 6-8:
1st place:  Cherissa Lindsay

Click on the following link for pictures from the program:  
http://www.orangeschools.org/slideshows/view/209
  

8th Grade Dancing Classrooms Program
Eighth grade students enrolled in 2nd quarter Physical Education class had the opportunity to showcase what they have learned through the Dancing Classrooms program at a culminating event on January 19.  All students who participated in the program this year are invited to perform prior to a Cav's game on Wednesday, February 22.  See Mr. Apple for a permission slip and additional details.  For some great pictures of the culminating event, click on the following link:  http://www.orangeschools.org/news/view/578


Stargirls

Stargirl is an afterschool program designed to help creative seventh and eighth grade girls realize the value of their individuality and learn to respect diversity in others.  High school girls who have already gone through the challenges of peer pressure in middle school created this program after reading the novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.

Stargirl meets once a month at the high school. OHS Stargirl mentors plan the meetings and address issues such as peer relationships, bullying, female stereotypes, leadership, and service learning.  The high school mentors feel that many of their friendships today are based on relationships they established through the Stargirl program when they were in middle school five years ago.

The December holiday party included a blanket making community service project. The high school and middle school students worked together and created five colorful blankets that they donated to the Orange Senior Center. The Senior Center will sell the blankets to earn money for their spring garden.  Stargirls plan to help with this gardening project.   Jerry Spinelli was excited to see the pictures of the blankets and sent the girls a letter congratulating them on their creativity and thoughtfulness.


Teacher Feature - Mrs. Ann Tatman

Each month we will be doing an article on a staff member at Brady.  This month we are featuring Ann Tatman, 6th grade social studies teacher.

Q:  What was your childhood ambition?

A:  I wanted to work with special needs kids

Q:  What is your fondest memory?

A:  Becoming a mother

Q:  What is your favorite song?

A:  Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

Q:  What time is your alarm set for?

A:  4:45 am

Q:  What is your favorite place?

A:   Catawba, Ohio and Key Biscayne, Florida – I love to travel to Ireland and Africa!

Q:  What is your favorite food?

A:  Ice Cream

Q:  What has been your biggest challenge?

A:   Pronouncing foreign words

Q:  What is a perfect day? 

A:  Warm and sunny and spent outside with family and friends

Q:  What is your favorite book?

A:  Catch 22

Q:  What is your favorite color?

A:  Cobalt Blue and Red 

Q:  What is your favorite movie?

A:  Sound of Music 

Q:  What is your proudest moment?

A:  Getting my first teaching job and teaching for over 33  years

Q:  Who is you inspiration?

A:  My wonderful parents



Upcoming Events

January 25

Grade 5 Parents Scheduling Meeting, 7:00 pm, LGI

January 27

Report Cards Issued

January 27

Principal’s Recognition Award Luncheon – Media Center

February 6-10

Conferences

February 7

8th Grade Parent Orientation Program, 6:30 pm – OHS Media Center

February 7

6th Grade Spelling Bee, 8:00 am, LGI

February 8

7th Grade Spelling Bee, 8:00 am, LGI

February 9

8th Grade Spelling Bee, 8:00 am, LGI

February 15

PTA Advisory Council, 8:30am, OCR

February 20

Presidents’ Day – No School

February 21

Waiver Day – No School for Students

February 22

8th Grade Dancing Classrooms to perform at Cav’s Game

February 24

Midpoint of Quarter, Check Progress Book for Interim Report

February 25

Power of the Pen Tournament, 7:30 am-3:30 pm, BMS Cafeteria

February 27-March 2

Elementary PTA Book Fair

February 27-March 2

Right to Read Week

February 29

Book Fair Family Night, 7:00 pm, BMS Media Center




January 25, 2012

Grade 5 Parents Scheduling Meeting

January 27, 2012

BMS Report Cards Issued

January 31, 2012

Alumni Night at Orange/Chagrin Basketball Game

February 6, 2012

BMS Conferences

February 7, 2012

8th Grade Parent Orientation Program

February 8, 2012

Kindergarten Information Night

February 9, 2012

OHS Winter Band & Orchestra Concert

February 13, 2012

BOE Study Session

Orange Schools, 32000 Chagrin Blvd, Pepper Pike, OH 44124