sept 2014 passport

www.crecschools.org/mlc September 2014 ● Issue 1 ● Metropolitan Learning Center ● (860)242-7834

A Message from the Principal Dear MLC Families,

It has been wonderful to feel all the positive energy that has filled the building during the first few

days of school! As we have returned to school, we have focused on making this the best school year

yet. We will offer three international field studies this year: the South Africa field study will take place

this fall, while this Spring will bring an opportunity to visit Iceland as well as a potential opportunity to

attend an international summit in Costa Rica. We will also work to enhance our theme by bringing

the world to our classroom. This year, we start with six exchange students from Japan, China, Brazil,

Saudi Arabia, and Germany. We will continue building partnerships that challenge us to reach

beyond our borders and make global connections. We look forward to partnering with our parents

to make this year amazing and encourage all of your to consider how you can enhance our theme.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

~Mrs. Douglas

Welcome to the

2014/2015 School

Year

Important Reminders

DO YOU GET MLC EMAILS?

If not, call to update your

email address right away!

860-242-7834

DON’T FORGET:

MLC Open House

Tuesday September 23rd

IB Overview 5:30

All Parents 6:00 PM

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE

COMPLETEDE AND TURNED

IN THE FOLLOWING FORMS:

- Student Profile - Reduced Price Meal

Form - Health Information

Packet - Permission Form to Publish

Student Photo/Work - Laptop Agreement (HS

only)

MLC Passport

MLC OPEN HOUSE

Mark Your Calendars!

Tuesday September 23rd

5:30- IB Overview, 10th Grade Personal Project Meeting

All Parents 6:00 PM

Ms. Churila,

Mrs. Turgeon

and Mrs.

Jamin, Mrs.

Gleeson and

the Gleeson

girls take time

during the

Back to

School Ice

Cream Social

to take a

photo with

MLC’s

Dragon.


by Emily Wright, MYP Coordinator

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year, MLC families! Over the course of the school year, I

am going to use this section of the Passport to explain and reflect on the aspects of the MYP

that are most pertinent to you, our parents and guardians.

This year begins with some changes to the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) that we

think will simplify and clarify things for you and your children (and us!). Overall, the IB MYP

has not changed in any major ways. The Learner Profile, Approaches to Learning, Personal

Project, and criteria and rubrics are all still a part of the programme.

In my opinion, the most important change for students and parents has to do with criteria

and rubrics. In the past, different subjects (Math or Science, for example) had different

criteria for assessment (Math had four, Science had 6). The IB MYP has standardized the

criteria across subjects, so that EVERY subject now has four criteria for assessment, and in

each criterion, a student can earn up to eight points. Why is this change a good thing for

you? Well, when you look at your child’s report card this year, you will not have to try to

figure out how much each criterion is worth or how many criteria a particular subject has.

The chart below illustrates this:

MYP Subjects &

Criteria

Criterion A (8) Criterion B (8) Criterion C (8) Criterion D (8)

Arts – Visual &

Performing

(Art & Music)

Knowing &

Understanding

Developing Skills Thinking Creatively Responding

Design

(Technology)

Inquiring &

Analyzing

Developing Ideas Creating the

Solution

Evaluating

Language &

Literature

(English)

Analyzing Organizing Producing Text Using

Language

Language

Acquisition

(World Lang.)

Comprehendin

g Spoken &

Visual Text

Comprehending

Written & Visual Text

Communicating Using

Language

Individuals

& Societies

(Social Studies)

Knowing &

Understanding

Investigating Communicating Thinking

Critically

Mathematics

Knowing &

Understanding

Investigating

Patterns

Communicating Applying Math in Real-

World Contexts

Physical &

Health

Education

Knowing &

Understanding

Planning for

Performance

Applying & Performing Reflecting & Improving

Performance

Sciences

Knowing &

Understanding

Inquiring & Designing Processing &

Evaluating

Reflecting on impacts of

science


A Note from the PTO

MLC PTO would like to welcome all returning and new students, and invite parents and

teachers to join us as we work together to make this an amazing year here at Metropolitan Learning

Center.

My name is Renae France and I am the new PTO President and am excited for what we have

planned. Our first event will be working alongside the teachers and faculty for the annual ice scream

social. I look forward to meeting and working with you as we plan our first fundraising project to help

raise money to support all the various grade level activities being planned. We were fortunate to raise

enough money last year to give each grade $500, split between the end of last year and the start of

this school year. Our goal is to continue to increase the amount we can provide to each grade to

$600. New this year, families have the option of opting out of fundraising by donating $25 to the PTO in

the form of cash, check or gift cards. We hope that this new option will allow more families to

participate in supporting the school.

The PTO Board can always be reached at [email protected]. Please also join us for our first

meeting on Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. See you there.

Upcoming Events

Athletics Update

MLC Boys Soccer: 15 players have attended the first three days of training so far. Those interested in joining

the team please contact Coach Comrie via email at [email protected]

CREC Colts Football: CREC’s football team, coached by MLC’s own Mr. Mincey, participated in a 3-team

organized scrimmage on Tuesday 8/26. CREC Colts played powerhouse Bloomfield and Manchester and did

extremely well. Coach Mincey and staff were very pleased with the team’s ability to compete with their

opponents and are looking forward to their next match against Coginchaug HS on Sept 6th.

MLC Volleyball: The MLC Lady Dragons Volleyball Team have hit the volleyball court for their first season!! We

had a fantastic turnout for tryouts with 34 girls trying out for the team. We are looking forward to a fabulous

season. Our first game will be on Tuesday, September 9th against MPTPA. The JV game will start at 4pm and the

Varsity game will start right after at 5pm. Come on out and support the MLC Dragons.

MLC Co-Ed Cross-Country: Attention students who are interested in running and not afraid to break a sweat!

Coach Colon will be accepting new runners through 9/6. Practices are Monday-Friday 3:15-5:15 and Saturdays

8:30-10:30. Please see Coach Colon for more information.

Please join us for the following upcoming events:

Who? What? When?

MLC Parents PTO Meeting September 3rd 6:30 to 7:30 pm

MLC Families S. Africa Field Study Fundraiser Concert September 18th 7:00 pm

New MLC Parents IB Overview September 23th 5:30 to 6:00 pm

All MLC Parents All School Open House September 23th 6:00 to 8:30 pm

mailto:[email protected]


Nurses’ Notes Metropolitan Leaning Center

1551 Blue Hills Avenue

Bloomfield, CT 06117

Phone: (860)242-7834

Fax: (860)242-0732

www.crecschools.org/mlc

MLC Leadership Team

●Sasha Douglas, Principal

●Jennifer Hoffman: Asst. Principal,

High School

●Henry Munoz: Asst. Principal,

Middle School

●Heather Gish: Dean of Students,

High School

●Todd Zenczak: Dean of Students,

Middle School

●Emily Wright: IB Coordinator, MYP

●Caroline Alexopoulos: IB

Designate, DP Candidacy

Parent Communication is very important to us! There are many ways or families to stay in touch with MLC.

Phone: Call 860-242-7834 and ask to speak to your child’s teacher, counselor or administrator.

Email: All MLC faculty and staff check email daily. Send an email to [email protected]. For

example, email Mrs. Douglas using [email protected]. Make sure that MLC has your updated email address

as most communication is sent via e-mail.

In Person: At any time during the year, you can schedule a face-to-face meeting with your child’s teacher,

guidance counselor or grade level team.

Website: Visit our website at www.crecschools.org/mlc. (Please bookmark this page.) Our website will reflect all

of the information in this mailing by the start of school. It is updated regularly during the school year.

Ms. Devon Leighton: Ms. Leighton graduated in 2012 with a B.S. in Biology and a second major in

Secondary Education from Roger Williams University. She student taught at Durfee High School in Fall

River, MA. Ms. Leighton also spent the 2013/2014 school year teaching 8th Grade Science at

Branksome Hall Asia, an International Baccalaureate School in Jeju, South Korea.

*************************************************************************************************** Ms. Tameshia Henry: Ms. Henry graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Elementary and

Special Education and is also a 2007 MLC Graduate! In Philadelphia, she taught 1st and 3rd grade

inclusive classrooms at Walter D. Palmer Charter School. She also co-taught 4th grade inclusive class at

Achievement First Hartford Elementary School.

http://www.crecschools.org/



http://www.crecschools.org/


News from the 9th Grade!

9th graders who would like to sign up for the annual Washington D.C. trip must submit a deposit

by September 26th. Information about the trip and how to sign up can be obtained from the bulletin board in the 9th grade pod or from Mr. Wolf.

**********************************************************************************


We are excited to start off the 2014-2015 school year with our newest MLC class. The first few

days of school are designed fo.r students to get to know their peers, teachers and become familiar with and comfortable in the 6th grade pod. Teachers then are beginning with the exciting first units and there will be some baseline assessments as well.

Let's get off to a great start!

The Sixth Grade Team


Students will be studying economics which is how individuals, families, businesses, and societies

use limited resources to fulfill their unlimited wants. While microeconomics deals with behavior and decision making by small units such as individuals and businesses, macroeconomics deals with the economy as a whole and decision making by large units such as governments. This class will have a significant focus on research and statistics as well.

Monday, 9/22– Friday, 9/29 including Open House If you prefer, to order online, our sale can be found at http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/metropolitanlearningcenter1 or visit www.scholastic.com/fair and search by school Contact Person: Ms. Artis, School Librarian 860.242.7834 x2340 [email protected]

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/metropolitanlearningcenter1



7th Grade Team all smiles!! 6th Grade Team line-up!

Staff and families enjoy themselves at the Back to School Ice Cream Social.

sept 2014 passport

Documents

best school year

ib myp

year amazing

different criteria

days of school

mlc emails

ib overview

ib middle years programme