Middlesex Middle School 2017-2018

Darien High School Graduation Logistics: What to Expect, When and Where

Middlesex Students Use Chromebooks to Show Parents What They’ve Learned

Substance Abuse Meeting for Students About to Attend DHS and Parents

Middlesex Jazz Ensemble Plays at the Darien Senior Center

Blankets for Premies Program Stays Strong at Middlesex After 12 Years

Police: Homeless Man Yells at Kids During Middlesex Middle School Recess, Gets Arrested

Middlesex Middle School Students Selected to Participate in Music Festival

Middlesex Middle School Students Get Some Tech Wizardry: Augmented Reality

‘Non-Specific Violent Language’ from Middle School Student on Instagram ‘No Imminent Threat’ — Officials

Middlesex Winter Production, ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Sells Out

Middlesex Middle School Quiz Bowl Team Earns Place in Nationals

Darien Schools Hold Veterans Day Observances, Invite Veterans

Darien Eighth Graders See Historic Sites in Massachusetts

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Education

By MARC MARIN | October 17, 2017

The 2018 Darien High School graduation ceremony takes place at 5 p.m., Thursday, June 21 on the DHS Stadium Field (or indoors if there’s rain). No tickets are needed if the ceremony takes place outdoors and seating is unlimited there. There are special traffic rules, starting at 3:30 p.m., for both the high school and Middlesex Middle School graduation ceremonies, which happen at the same place (on Wednesday, June 20 for the middle school).

Here’s what Darien High School and Darien Police Department have announced:
DHS Graduation Day
Graduating seniors should arrive by 4 p.m. and report to the South Gym for robing and final preparations. Gates open at 4 p.m. and seats are first-come, first-served. There will be folding chair seats on the field, as well as the entire home side bleachers.

Spread out among the shelves and tables in the Middlesex Middle School library, sixth grade students waited for their end-of-year conference to start. There was, however, no teacher standing or sitting next to them.
Instead, students — with their Chromebooks — were leading parents through their digital portfolio which had work representing their growth as learners across all subjects. The portfolios featured spreadsheets of workout logs; Prezi (a computer program for presentations) for book reviews; and a mix of written work, images, video and audio clips from all subject areas. Avery Fahrman, a student whose interest in football and lacrosse could be seen in his portfolio, said compiling a digital portfolio was a good experience.

All Darien High School students involved in any extracurricular activity and their parents are now required to attend one of the few scheduled school meetings about the dangers of substance abuse. And there’s one scheduled on Monday night especially for students about to complete Grade 8 and enter high school, along with one of their parents or guardians. The school district will have more of these meetings over the summer, but school officials say the one on Monday is expected to be the easiest one for parents and kids to attend, since it’s unlikely to interfere with summer activities. The meeting takes place from 7:15 to 9 p.m. on June 11 in the Darien High School Auditorium. At 6 p.m. the same night, Grade 8 students are invited to the high school Gym to learn about the athletic program.

Darien Music Department Blog MMS Jazz Ensemble

The Darien Senior Center was in for a treat on Thursday, May 31 when Jim Carter, the director of the Middlesex Middle School Jazz Ensemble, brought the Middlesex Middle School Jazz Band to entertain with a lunch time concert. The band launched into a jazz classic by Bud Green called “Sentimental Journey” featuring Cosmo Amatruda (Grade 8) on trumpet before moving on to other pieces such as “Mas Que Nada” by Jorge Ben, featuring Jake Dansker (Grade 8) on alto sax. They rounded off the morning with a rousing number by Stevie Wonder, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” with Jack McDermott (Grade 8) on trumpet and Austin Ennor (Grade 7) on tenor sax. — This article is from the Darien Public Schools Music Department blog. After the concert, the Darien students joined their enthusiastic jazz fan Senior Center audience for lunch and good conversation.

For more than a decade, Middlesex Middle School students have been lending their handiwork to making thousands of blankets for area hospitals. Each one has been overseen by MMS Science teacher Kelly DePiano and dedicated to the memory of Sean James Maloney. Known as “Blankets for Preemies,” the community service project is partnered with the nonprofit organization The Tiny Miracles Foundation based in Darien. Students make fleece blankets that are given to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in Norwalk, Stamford, Bridgeport, and Danbury hospitals. Last week, students on the Navy, Gold, and Red teams got the assembly line in motion. Older students showed younger students how to turn the 1,000 yards of solid fleece, and 1,000 yards of printed fleece, into roughly 500 blankets.

“I loved making blankets for the families in the NICU,” said student Abby Neumann.

A 63-year-old homeless man familiar to Darien police went on the grounds of Middlesex Middle School on Tuesday and yelled at students, some of whom were shaken up, police said. The man was charged with breach of peace and held on a $1,000 bond. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

At about 11 a.m., school officials called police about the presence of the man on school grounds. Several teachers who were monitoring recess told police that they saw or overheard the man “hollering” at children outside at recess. The teachers told the campus monitor and school administrators, who discontinued recess.

Middlesex Middle School Band and Jazz Ensemble

The Music Department of the Darien Public Schools is proud to announce that band and Jazz Ensemble students from Middlesex Middle School were chosen to participate in the 2018 Connecticut Western Region Middle School Music Festival. — an announcement from the DPS Music Department

The students were chosen to perform in the festival based on their competitive audition scores and earned the privilege of performing in honors ensembles with some of the best middle school musicians in Western Connecticut. The students joined with other students from throughout Western Connecticut on March 16-17 at Wilton High School and were conducted by renowned conductors and educators. The festival is an annual event sponsored by the Connecticut Music Educators Association. Pictured above:

Front row (from left): Will Abbott-8th Grade ,Tenor Sax ,Jazz Ensemble, Ella Bates, 7th Grade, Alto, Choir, Luke Ryan, 7th Grade, Soprano, Choir, Sophia Condon, 7th Grade, Soprano, Choir, Cillian Hallinan-7th Grade Percussion Concert Band

Second row (from left): John Raskopf, 7th Grade, Alto, Choir, Riley O’Connor, 8th Grade, Baritone, Choir, Caroline Zerbe- 8th Grade-Baritone Concert Band

Third row: Alex Sutanto, 8th Grade, Bass, Choir

Not Shown: Nicky Condon, 8th Grade, Tenor, Choir

One student had a Category 5 Hurricane in the palm of her hand. Another a giant honey bee hovering over her head (see picture), while a group later inspected a digital model of DNA like detectives. Inside two classrooms at Middlesex Middle School (MMS), students in the STEM and Computers classes recently had one foot in the real world and the other in the digital. The experience was part of the Google Expeditions AR program — a unique experience offered to select schools nationally to introduce this new Google educational tool under development. Watch this short video for an introduction:

For the day, a Google trainer worked with STEM teachers David Fetter and Jim Brochinsky, and Computer teachers Sandy Norelli and Timara Bruton.

Middlesex Middle School wikipedia 5-25-16

An Instagram post by a Middlesex Middle School student that contained “non-specific violent language and memes,” was judged by town police to be “no imminent threat to any student or the school,” Principal Shelley Somers told MMS parents in an email sent out Tuesday afternoon. The Instagram post, which Somers didn’t describe any further, “circulated amongst a limited number of MMS students,” she said. School officials identified the student who posted it, and the account was deleted, she said. “Parents and police were notified.” Somers continued: “Although police assured us that there was no imminent threat to any student or to the school, we took the necessary precautionary steps to ensure the continued safety and well-being of our children.”

Middlesex Middle School put on its winter production of Bye Bye Birdie recently, playing to sold-out audiences over multiple days. Fifth graders from across the district had a sneak peek at the show during a daytime dress rehearsal. The tradition of bringing the soon-to-be rising 6thgraders began last year, and has drummed up support and enthusiasm for the program, said teacher Katie Lindquist, who directed the middle school production.

With a cast and crew of over 130 students, the show proved to be one of the most spectacular productions ever to cross the middle school’s stage. The show was produced by Lily Morgan, choreographed by Colleen Amirsakis, musically directed by Ruth Lettera, costumed by Amy Raskopf, and set designed by Timothy Sorensen.

Bye Bye Birdie is the story of Conrad Birdie (played by Pace Flaherty), a rock star crooner from the 1950s who has been drafted in the Army.

Middlesex Middle School (MMS) Quiz Bowl earned their spot at nationals earlier this month by placing second and fourth place. The wins came during the 7th annual Charter Oak Scholastic Open Quiz Bowl tournament held at Middlesex.

The competition included 34 teams from a dozen schools from the tri-state area, including 10 teams from Middlesex. “This year’s field was quite possibly the toughest we’ve ever faced, but I am proud to announce that Middlesex captured 2nd and 4th place, and have qualified for the Quiz Bowl Nationals in Chicago in May,” said teacher and Quiz Bowl Adviser Ken Romeo. The Middlesex A team (8th graders Kiran Ebrahimi, Michael Dong, and James Leone and 7th grader Nick Yoo) made their 7th consecutive trip to the finals, but fell to the champions from Greens Farms. The B team (8th graders Rhea Bhat, Luke Smith, Evan O’Rourke, and Noah Mobarik) had a deep run in the playoffs which included impressive wins over Western (Greenwich) and Tuxedo Park (New York). Competing in the Novice Division (for 6th graders and other first-timers), the Middlesex G team (6th graders Sophie Bickford, Grace Liu, Leyton Tucci, Grant Wang, and Liam Tomaszewski) finished 8 – 1 on the day, placing 2nd in the division. Individually, Evan O’Rourke was the 4th overall leading scorer, 8th grader James Leone was 9th, and 8th grader Andy Lin was 10th, and in the Novice Division, 7th grader Tabby Auster was the 2nd leading scorer, Grace Liu was 4th, Sophie Bickford was 5th, 6th grader Adi Pai was 6th.

Holmes School Veterans Day Palen Althoff

In honor of Veterans Day, the Darien Public Schools hosted a variety of assemblies and gatherings for students last week. The following is a snapshot of efforts to honor those who answered the call of duty. Hindley School

Over 30 veterans attended the 12th Hindley Veterans Day Share. Fourth and fifth grade students kept the school in a patriotic mood with songs like, “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.” The question and answer portion of the assembly was informative. “Veterans answered the students’ questions with facts and stories that complimented their learning about this special day,” said Principal DJ Colella.

Middlesex Middle School Grade 8 trip Massachusetts 10-17-17

« August 2022 »

Salem witch trials, famous meeting houses, and Revolutionary War battlegrounds were among the stops last week for Middlesex Middle School students. The eighth grade class traveled to Boston to visit early American historical sites that were important to the founding of our country. The two-day trip included the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail walk that winds through the city and stops at the Old North Church; a visit to Plimouth Plantation, and exploration of Lexington and Concord and the events leading to the start of the American Revolution. All the events and sites are part of the eighth grade social studies curriculum, said school Principal Shelley Somers. “Not only did students have a chance to socialize and have fun, but history came alive for them, ” said Somers, who was a chaperone on the trip.