| | Upcoming Events: T.G.I.S - Thank Goodness It's Saturday Saturday, Feb. 1st
3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
SMS Cafe and Gym BOE Meeting Tuesday, Feb. 4th
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
SMS Media Center 8th Grade to 9th Grade Orientation Wednesday, Feb. 5th
6:15 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Suffield High School Auditorium
(Feb. 6th Snow Date) PTAC General Meeting Thursday, Feb. 6th
1:30 p.m.
SMS Media Center Future Chef Entry Form Due Friday, Feb. 7th PTAC Student / Faculty Basketball Game Friday, Feb. 7th
5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
SMS Gym SPED PAC Tuesday, Feb. 11th
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
MIS Portable 4 No School Feb. 17th - Feb. 18th
February Break BOE Meeting Wednesday, Feb. 19th
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
SMS Media Center
The Little Mermaid Friday, Feb. 21st
7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22nd
6:30 p.m.
Suffield Middle School Auditorium
2013-2014 School Calendar School Lunch Menu Bring your own Technology School Closing, Delayed Opening, and Early Release Protocol Letter - PDF 8th Grade ORIENTATION to 9th Grade February T. G. I. S. Snack, Dinner, Movies + MORE!! - Grades 3 - 6 FUTURE CHEFS CULINARY COMPETITION!! Students Staying for HOME basketball games... Ski Club BUS Roster 2014 SKI CLUB DATES HAVE CHANGED! STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN TRIFOLD FORM Suffield Little League Baseball and Softball Registration | |  A Message From The Principal I hope that all had a restful winter break and that the weather will allow us the opportunity to continue uninterrupted through the remainder of this winter season. I am proud to announce the success of the middle school First Lego League Robotics teams in the state competition. Through the dedication of Mrs. Lori Foss and her volunteer parent coaches two team were fielded in competitions in November and December. Suffield First Lego Robotics League  On Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 The Suffield Middle School Gym was full of excitement. The FIRST Lego Robotics Regional Competition was in town. This competition had 18 teams from the Hartford area, including two of Suffield’s own teams. These teams have students from 5th through 8th grade. Team #812 “The EV3 NXT Bombers”: Kyle Mascaro, Adam McDonagh, Tommaso Calderan, Sky Therian, Holly Tskea, Parker Harpley, and Mickey Barron. Coached by: Lori Foss, Lisa Tseka,and Brenda Judkins. Team #886 “The Dragons”: David Fitzgerald, Evan Craig, Ben Grigoriou, Michael Grigoriou, Oliver Norgaard, Matthew Skoczylas, and Seth Mascaro. Coached by: Rhonda Harpley and Melanie Chapman. The local FIRST FRC team #176 “Aces High” mentor the teams throughout the season and at competitions.
Teams are judged at competitions on Gracious Professionalism (team work), robot design, robot performance and their research presentation. This year’s topic was Nature’s Fury. The EV3 NXT Bombers researched wild fires and The Dragons researched blizzards.  The teams have 10 weeks to research their topic, write and present a skit to a panel of judges that demonstrates how they solved the problem and what they learned. During these 10 weeks teams must also design, build and program EV3 Mindstorm robots using Legos to perform various missions on the Lego competition field. All of the hours dedicated to this paid off when The Dragons earned the 1st place Champions Award and The Bombers earned the 3rd place Champions Award. Both teams received a Golden Ticket to the FLL State Championship at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU).
On Saturday, December 7th, 2013 the teams traveled to the CCSU campus in New Britain to compete in the State Championship against 48 other teams from Connecticut.
Although EV3 NXTs robot didn’t do as well as the kids would have liked. The students had a great time. After a fun day of competition The Dragons earned 2nd place for Gracious Professionalism (team work). This award recognizes the team that is able to accomplish more together than they could as individuals through strong communication, effective problem solving and excellent time management.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is considered the “little league” of the FIRST Robotics Competition for 9-14 year old children. It involves hands on learning of math, science and technology through robotics, using LEGO Mind storms products. Students are lead in a team building approach by interested parent volunteers, engineering mentors. These children are our future and math, science and technology is where we need to put our money if our country is to keep up with the changing times. Who knows what one of these kids will do or be some day with our help! 
Positive School Climate Committee  In December, our positive school climate committee hosted the first of our community building events in our gymnasium. Grade level teams of students and teachers competed in an obstacle course, dance contest, and other fun filled events while being cheered on by their grade level peers. Our student council president gave an inspirational speech on the value and recognition of persistence, hard work, and positive relationships as we, as a community, move forward into a new year. Click here to see more pictures.
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| | We are also in the process of reviewing the present schedule and course offerings at the middle school to restructure for the purposes of increased instructional time and providing more of a uniform unified arts experience for all students. This will be a three to five year plan including capital improvements in the middle school facility. More immediate steps are being reviewed which will have a positive impact on next year's students and staff. Thus far two teams of staff and administrators have visited two middle schools in Connecticut to observe their structure and conduct interviews. Findings from these visitations will be shared with our parent steering committee January 28, 2014 in the middle school media center. The steering committee meetings are open to all interested parents grade K-12. In early February, eighth grade students will begin registration for their freshman courses at Suffield High School. The high school orientation program for the incoming class is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, February 5th at 6:15 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Shortly, parents of sixth and seventh grade students will be receiving a letter explaining the process and criteria for teacher recommendations for accelerated class placement in English Language Arts and Mathematics, student registration for their core courses and unified arts opportunities for the upcoming year. In subsequent newsletters I will keep parents informed of our progress with these and other initiatives. | |
| | CALLING ALL FUTURE CHEFS!
We are excited to bring the Future Chefs event to our elementary schools again this year! This year we are offering the competition to students in grades 3-6 and will be featuring recipes for healthy sandwiches. Six (6) lucky winners will be chosen as finalists to compete in our contest at Suffield High School on March 27th, 2014. The idea behind this event is to help educate the kids in HEALTHY EATING HABITS. Too often we hear about childhood obesity and kids not making the right choices in terms of their eating habits. That’s why we want kids to submit recipes for their favorite Healthy Sandwich! | Judging will be based on: - Originality
- Kid Friendly
- Ease of Preparation
- Best Use of Featured Ingredients
- Healthy Attributes
- Plate Presentation
|  | Entry Forms and ‘Tips to be a Finalist’ are available in your school’s cafeteria, so pick up yours today! All entry forms are due by Friday, February 7th 2014. Future Chefs Student Flyer - PDF Tips to be a finalist - PDF Recipe Card - PDF As an added bonus, ours is just one of many local competitions that Sodexo will be orchestrating across the country in February and March. The winning recipe from each event will be entered to win a national competition in March. More details will follow, but we’re lining up some great prizes for those that are chosen to receive national recognition! If you have any questions you can contact Katie Brown at (860) 668-3825 or KBrown@suffield.org | |
