Mountview Middle School - Wachusett Regional School District

Mountview
Middle School
Web Site: http://www.wrsd.net/mountview
Newsletter— March 2011
Brian McCarthy, Assistant Principal C. Erik Githmark, Principal Karen L. Hughes, Assistant Principal
Brian_McCarthy@wrsd.net Erik_Githmark@wrsd.net Karen_Hughes@wrsd.net
Principal’s Message
The time honored saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Let’s hope that this old adage is true
and we have no more snow days!
We are now fully into our third academic quarter of the school year, and March promises to be a very, very busy month. Be
sure to take the calendar from the back of this newsletter and post it on your refrigerator.
First up is the start of the transition for our eighth graders as they begin the registration process for high school. There will
be a meeting for interested parents to hear from the Wachusett Regional High School guidance department as your children
are about to undergo that process. This meeting will take place on Tuesday evening, March 15th and will be held in the
Mountview cafeteria. Meanwhile, the WRHS counselors are working to complete the 8 th grade course recommendations using
students’ first and second quarter grades, MCAS scores, the results of the math mid-term exam, and the foreign language
placement test scores. The individual schools will get to review these recommendations on March 9 th . Recommendations
will be mailed home to parents from WRHS on Friday, March 11th and must be signed and returned to Mountview by the
17 th . The WRHS Guidance team will be here at Mountview on Wednesday, March 23 rd to assist each 8 th grader in entering his/
her courses into a computerized program. ALL eighth graders must complete this scheduling process, regardless if they are
planning to attend Monty Tech or a private school.
The 2011 Mountview Middle School Parent Survey will be posted online from March 7-21. Please take the opportunity to
give us feedback on curriculum and instruction, communication, school community standards and the atmosphere of our
school. Links to this survey will be posted to the Mountview website and sent to families via Connect-Ed. The results of this
survey will be reviewed by the Mountview School Improvement Council and at subsequent faculty meetings. Thank you in
advance for providing us with your feedback!
On behalf of our students and faculty, I want to invite all to attend the annual Mountview Middle School musical production
Seussical the Musical Our students have been working very hard to be ready to present several performances which will
be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, March 9th, 10th, and 11th at 7 PM, and one show on Saturday, the 12th at 4
PM. There will also be one daytime show for the 5 th grade students on Wednesday, the 9 th . Tickets are $5 and all proceeds go
toward next year’s production.
Also, congratulations go out to our girls’ and boys’ basketball teams. Each won the WRSD Middle School Championship. I
also would like to recognize our fine cheerleading team who supported our basketball teams and are now in the midst of their
own competitive season. Great job by all of the basketball and cheerleading coaches: Brad Clark, Thaddeus Bell, Dave Fredette,
Brianna Hassett, and Kristine Jones.
Finally, MCAS testing also takes place this month, in the area of English/Language Arts. The very important long composition
for seventh graders takes place on Tuesday, March 22 nd . On the 24 th and 25 th , all of our students will be taking the tests
for reading and grammar. Please do your best to see that your children get a very good night’s sleep throughout the testing
period and a great breakfast to start each day.
Looking ahead for this month, don’t forget that the March Principal’s Coffee and Chat is scheduled for Friday, March 18th
at 9:00 AM in the Cafeteria and that our PTA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 17 th at 7:00 PM in the Library.

Mountview Middle School page 2 Newsletter—March
Slip Sliding Away! 6 Gold Science
The continents of Antarctica and Greenland are covered by massive ice sheets called
continental glaciers. The Antarctic sheet alone covers almost 14 million square kilometers.
Around 90% of the fresh water on the Earth's surface is held in the ice sheet.
Meanwhile, an area like Alaska is home to the alpine or valley glaciers. Movement of
the glacial ice is determined by a number of processes. Six gold science students designed
their own experiments to test the influence of several factors on how rapidly a
glacier flows. They included the shape of the land (topography), temperature of the
ice, and slope of the mountain as part of their experimental design. Students calculated
the speed at which their glacier flowed. At the conclusion, a complete set of data
was compiled by the six classes so that a comparison could be made. Students found
that the Greenland type glaciers flow the fastest.
Marshmallow Madness Math Mistake
Last fall, one of our sixth graders, Paige Moore, brought in a Swiss Miss Marshmallow Madness box to
her math teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, inquiring about the math problem printed on the package. Mrs. Lawrence’s
classes had been learning about the order of operations, and Paige questioned the answer provided on the bottom of
the box (92) since, according to her calculations using the order of operations, the correct answer was 29. Paige
presented the problem to the class: On average, how many mini mallows are in one serving? 3 + 2 x 4 ÷ 2 – 3 x 7
– 4 + 47 = ?? Her classmates all got the same answer of 29. It appears that whoever solved this problem for Swiss
Miss performed the calculations from left to right; however, the order of operations follows a different sequence:
parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.
Mrs. Lawrence contacted ConAgra Foods (parent company of Swiss Miss) and spoke to a customer service
representative, then later sent a letter to Mr. Andre Hawaux, President Consumer Foods, to which she received
an immediate reply. Soon after, Mr. Hawaux sent a personal letter thanking Mrs. Lawrence and her students for
notifying ConAgra Foods about the math error on the Swiss Miss boxes. He assured them that the company had
noted the correction on their website, www.swissmiss.com, and is working on revised packaging. He congratulated
Paige for discovering the mistake and commended our students for their excellent math skills and attention to
detail. Along with the letter, ConAgra Foods shipped 21 cases of Swiss Miss Cocoa to Mountview Middle School,
including a special gift pack for all 125 grade 6 blue team students!
In accordance with ConAgra Foods’ pledge commitments, as proud participants of the Children’s Food
and Beverage Advertising Initiative of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, we have agreed to distribute the
gifts to parents of our students since many of them are under 12 years old. As notified in Mr. Githmark’s Connect-
Ed message, if your child is on the Grade 6 blue team, please come to the Mountview office to pick up your child’s
free Swiss Miss gift at your earliest convenience. Enjoy!
MCAS TESTING
MCAS testing for all grades will take place on March 24 and 25. Grade 7 ELA
long composition will take place on Tuesday, March 22nd. Please be sure to have
students arrive on time at school each of those days. We are also in need of snacks
for these testing dates including small water bottles and pretzels. Please send these
donations in by Monday, March 21st to your child's homeroom teachers. Thank
you in advance for you assistance!

Mountview Middle School page 3 Newsletter—March
Mountview Artists at the Bowes Gallery
The following Mountview students have visual arts and graphic arts work on display at the Bowes Gallery at Wachusett
Regional High School for the celebration of Youth Art Month. We would like to recognize and congratulate
these students for representing Mountview Middle School at this K-8th grade district wide exhibit:
6th Graders: Shane Sullivan, Taylor Hurrell, Matt Russell, Ethan Cohen
7th Graders: Juliette Rice, Allie Olson, Maya Strickland, Anna Osgood
8th Graders: Grace Gunning, Gray Foley, Rachel Vallee, Leslie Chase,
Sarah Bjorn, Madolyn Dauphinais, Amber Aynesworth
The opening reception will be from 5pm – 6pm on March 8 at the Bowes Gallery near the front entrance and office
area of the high school.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mountview Artists at the Worcester Art Museum
Youth Art Month-March 1–31
The Worcester Art Museum joins the Massachusetts Art Education Association and visual art and
graphic arts teachers throughout the state in celebrating this national observance sponsored by the National
Art Education Association. Youth Art Month (YAM) encourages public support for quality school
visual art and graphic arts programs. Young artists in grades K-12 from schools throughout central Massachusetts
create the artwork for this annual month-long exhibition in the Museum’s Higgins Education
Wing. You will be inspired by the creativity and talents of the young artists right here in Massachusetts.
The exhibit it free and open to the public during museum hours: W-F & Sun 11am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm,
and open the third Thursday of every month 11am-8pm. The Opening Family Reception is on Sunday
March 13, 1pm-4pm.
We would like to recognize and congratulate the following students for representing Mountview at the
Youth Art Month Exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum: Katie Benoit, Brooke Chapman, Julia
Premo, Chloe Amour, Brooke Cardwell, Jack Mastrototaro, Grace Gunning, Natasha Honcharik,
Abigail Codner, Jordan Walker, and Zach Stevens.
6 Gold Geography Olympic Winners
Lavender Ligers - Brandan Donohue, Noah Skodis & Nicole Gould
Frolicking Blue Butterflies - Alexis MacMaster & Ben Grigorov
Smiley Egg Giblets - Katherine Trainer, Nora Fleming , Katherine Trainor & Lexy Mendez
Rapping Rhinos - Colin Cummings & Jonathan Rubin
Pig and Turtle Twinkle Stars - Reilly Fournier & Mackenzie Carl
The Farmers - Dylan Farmer and Julia Grondin

Mountview Middle School page 4 Newsletter—March
Seussical the Musical
The Mountview PTA proudly presents this year's musical,
"Seussical the Musical". Performances will be
held March 9th, 10th, and 11th at 7pm and on March
12th at 4pm. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased
at the Mountview office during regular school
hours beginning on March 1st, and at all performances.
We do tend to sell out, so please consider purchasing
your tickets in advance.
Celebrating Diversity!
Once again, Mountview is celebrating Diversity by creating “Country
Collages”. Students may have noticed that their homeroom flag
(representing the country they studied at the beginning of the year) was
replaced with a new flag. During activity period over the next few
weeks, students will have the opportunity to work with NJHS members
to create a collage that represents their assigned UN country.
On March 18, these “Country Collages” will be displayed in the cafeteria. Students and
teachers will have ballots available to place their votes for the most creative and informative
at all grade levels. The winning homerooms will receive an ice cream party on Friday,
March 25: a well- deserved break from MCAS.
By participating in this activity once again, we hope that the school will continue to develop
a sense of community and learn more about other countries and cultures.
We are looking forward to a successful celebration of Diversity in the coming weeks!
Read Across America Day
March 2 nd marks national Read Across America Day, a day in which students from around
the country celebrate the joys of reading on Dr. Seuss's birthday. Mountview NJHS members
will celebrate by sharing their favorite picture books with the younger children of Holden.
NJHS members will have the unique opportunity (and responsibility) to prepare minilessons
to share with students at all three Holden elementary schools. It's sure to be an
experience cherished by elementary students and NJHS members alike.

Mountview Middle School page 5 Newsletter—March
March Important Dates
March 2 nd Spring Pictures 8:35 a.m.
Monty Tech VIP
2:00 p.m.
March 4 th Staff vs. Student Basketball Game 3:00 p.m.
P.T.A. School Dance
7:00 p.m.
March 9 th Fifth Grade Orientation & Tour 9:00 a.m.
Monty Tech VIP
2:00 p.m.
School Play – SEUSSICAL
7:00 p.m.
March 10 School Play – SEUSSICAL 7:00 p.m.
March 11 School Play – SEUSSICAL 7:00 p.m.
March 12 School Play – SEUSSICAL 4:00 p.m.
March 14
No School – Professional Development!!!!
March 15 th SIMCO Meeting 5:30 p.m.
WRHS Gr. 8 Parent Orientation at MTV 7:00 p.m.
March 16 th Monty Tech VIP 2:00 p.m.
Grade Five Orientation for Parents
7:00 p.m.
March 17 th P.T.A. Meeting 7:00 p.m.
March 18 th Principal’s Coffee & Chat 9:00 a.m.
March 21 st DWSC Meeting 9:30 p.m.
Mathletes Competition (home)
3:00 p.m.
March 22 nd MCAS Gr. 7 ELA Long Comp. 9:00 a.m.
March 24 th MCAS ELA Gr. 6,7, & 8 8:20 a.m.
March 25 th MCAS ELA Gr. 6,7, & 8 8:20 a.m.
March 28 th Monty Tech Interviews Grade 8 8:30 a.m.
March 30 th Monty Tech VIP 2:00 p.m.