Greetings from Monticello where....
....great things are happening
MSP time...check out this video!
The MSP is serious business but enjoy a video Alexandria Kaufman made staring Ms. Bakko's class....click on picture above to see the video
How about this? Perfect Attendance
Getting perfect attendance during the winter months is a challenge for any school. We had 115 students who had perfect attendance this past quarter. The eight graders led the way followed closely by the 7th graders. Congratulations to all who were able to achieve this feat! See who did it...
Who made the honor roll 3rd Quarter - see list
Art on Display
Monticello artists displayed their work at the area art show at the Cowlitz County Expo Center on May 6-8th.
Students of the Month for March
See who they are....
Now lets show them we are still making progress!
Monticello students and staff are hard at work preparing for the state testing window in April and May. Beginning on April 25th, all of our students will begin to take the Measurement of Student Progress (MSP). The 6th grade will have two days of testing in Reading and Math using the online testing engine. 7th grade will have the most days of testing with two full days of writing and then reading and math testing using the online testing engine. 8th grade will take all of their tests using the paper and pencil method in testing booklets. They will take a total of three tests in reading, math and science.
It is very important that each student take every test, and perform their best on each test. Students are placed in classes next year according to their scores on state tests and the MAP assessment (Measurement of Academic Progress). We will take this final assessment the end of May.
The testing window of April and May is very important to our students and our school. With the last year of our School Improvement Grant, and the reclassification as a Priority School, it is important that we are showing progress in our student performance each year. We know our students are all capable of doing high quality work and demonstrating their knowledge on these assessments. Please help us at home by encouraging your student to do their best every day. Students also need a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast to get started. Also, help us by not scheduling any appointments or vacations for any of the testing dates. This will help staff focus on the work that will need to be accomplished rather than trying to find students for make-ups. We are excited for our students to show what they know this year!
Best Test Taking Practices:
· Get a good nights sleep, at least 8 hours
· Eat a good high protein breakfast
· Take your time answering questions
· If you don’t know it, skip it and go back to it later
· Answer every question
· Show your work
· Use your tools
· Always do your best
It was a success...See what The Daily News had to say about it.
Spirit Week
We had 5 dress up days that the students had a lot of fun with. Sports Day, Duct Tape Day, Twin Day, Mix-Match Day and Green and Gold Day. Check out some pictures on our spirited students...and good picture of the 6th grade team all dressed up as Mr. Smith. See pictures
Monticello at the Rose Garden
Monticello boys' basketball to to play on the Portland Trailblazers home floor at the Rose Garden prior to the Trailblazer-Memphis Grizzlies game on March 12th. Getting to watch an NBA game live is one thing, but getting to play on their floor is something they won't forget! 7th got to play the 8th graders. See more photos provided by the Blazer photographers.
Some of our students were awarded scholarships through the Ethnic Support Council to attend La Chispa at Cispus on Feb. 24th-26th. It is a bilingual leadership summit to help Latino students take an active role in their schools to decrease the achievement gap. See more
The Daily News says...
"Monticello Middle School turnaround in full swing"See what they have to say.
Wonderful work girls! It was a great season of girls basketball for Monticello.
MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) - Students were amazing once again during this assessment time.
Social Studies goes high tech—all three middle schools have received tablets to implement the new Social Studies curriculum.
After-school math help—Monticello is offering after-school math help Monday through Thursday until 3:30
We are on the getting results...
Assistant Principal Kevin Palena has some great information to share with you. This is taken from the December newsletter. 150 students improved their Math scores from Spring and 209 improved their reading score from spring. Think that is good...read on At right... students pointing out their names on the list of students who improved their MAP. |
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Did you know: Monticello has 25% of the district’s National Board Certified Teachers working in our building.
See what we are teaching at each grade level
View our syllabi by each grade level.
Parents...want to know how to help your child with reading? Check out our
new YouTube videos
Monticello is trying something new this year. In an effort to preserve important time for our families we are trying to provide opportunities for families to find out about what we are doing at school. We will do this in a video series where you can learn about our reading strategies.
The first strategy is Read Around The Text and all students are using this strategy in their classes. By using video and internet technology we hope that you can watch the video with your student and help them with reading comprehension. Please check it out.
The second strategy is K.I.M vocabulary. K is for the key Idea, I is information and M is a memory clue. Check out or video to see how this is used. K.I.M Vocabulary.
Two Column Notes family video - This video describes Monticello Middle School's 3rd literacy strategy, Two-column Notes, and gives tips for parental involvement at home.
New...March 15th...
Reciprocal teaching literacy strategy - This video describes the reciprocal teaching literacy strategy being used at Monticello Middle School.
Read Aloud literacy strategy- Give the reader an idea of what good readers sound like and an opportunity to demonstrate their reading comprehension.
Added...March 30th
Sum it up - This video gives information about the Sum it Up literacy strategy and provides families with ideas for supporting these skills at home.
Student Art
A sample of some of the work students have been doing. In art were are doing lessons in ceramic two-dimensional work and in building structures. Also see photos of the Chinese blown ink art. The photos are cherry blossoms. See some of the work 8th grade language art students contributed a quilt square from a phrase in the book "Copper Sun." See slide show
How can we help?
Being a student is a task in itself. When one of our students thoughts are on where they may be living tonight, having enough food to eat or not getting the medical care they should, it can really impact their readiness to learn. Here is what we found in a recent student survey.
- Do you know anyone who did not eat yesterday? Yes—28%
- Do you know anyone who has worn the same clothes for two or more days in a row? Yes—50%
- How many times have you seen the dentist in the last year? 0 times—20%
- How many students do you know who need to see a doctor but cannot for various reasons? 1 or more—11%
- Do you know anyone who worries about not having a place to live? Yes—25%
- Do you know anyone who does not have a place to live? Yes—nearly 10%
We can often either provide help or point you in a direction to get assistance. Read More.
School Improvement Action Planning
As part of being classified a “Priority” school we have developed an action plan that will help us further our success as a school. Four areas have been selected as focus areas for the school action plan. These areas are: Providing strong leadership, using data to inform instruction, strengthening the schools instructional program and establishing a safe and supportive school environment. Read more...
Monticello's Garden
Check out the Monticello Garden.
Emergency Information
We've received information from the district safety officer on videos from the Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) on how to respond to various emergencies. Planning for what to do in the event of an emergency cannot be over emphasized. Some of the video on this page are in Spanish and sign language. A link to the page is now on the Parent menu bar.
What do we do when the weather or other emergency impacts out school day?
Our school hours and other emergency info can be found on the Longview School District website. You will find info about bus snow routes and hours of school operations.
In addition to local radio stations announcing weather delays, you would like to get notices sent to your my email. Sign up for a free service called "Flash Alert". Please note: you must subscribe and keep your contact information updated; some spam filters block these messages; you can get messages pushed to your smart phone or tablet with the FlashAlert Messenger App. Info is on the FlashAlert signup site.
Information will be posted before 6 a.m.
We are making progress!
Monticello students did amazing on last year’s Measurement of Student Progress (MSP) scores. Scores went up in every area but one group. The trend for Monticello scores has been mostly positive as we work through our last year of the School Improvement Grant funding. Students made large jumps in 6th grade reading, 7th grade math, writing and 8th grade science. Listed here are the trends in scores from when the grant started in 2009-2010 to where we are at currently. We are so proud of our students and staff for their continued work in all areas. See the stats!
Internet, Mobile Phones and Texting Safety Tips...
Check out some information we received from the U.S. Attorney's Office regarding safeguarding students relating to Internet, Mobile Phones, and Texting Safety Tips. Also if you would read the letter from the US Attorney you will see why we are making this information available.
We need your email address...
If you haven’t already updated or added your email address to your students Skyward information please call the school to do that. Weekly emails will be sent home by Principals and by teachers to inform you of classroom details and school events. This is the primary way to keep informed of how your student is progressing.
After School Activities Are Here
We will be offering a few classes and clubs for students to get involved in after school this year. Available for students to participate in are:
CAST—Student Theatre/Drama
Garden Club—Thursdays til 4:30
Guitar Club—Begins in October
21st Century Program—Before and after school
4-H Quilting—to be announced
Cardboard Boat Building—TBA
Welcome new staff
Monticello welcomes 6 new staff to the building: Gail Wells—6th grade math, Paula Biwer—Art, Andrea Bergquist—8th grade language arts, Devon Greenfield—7th grade language arts, Steven Stewart— 6th & 7th language arts and academic assistance, and Yang Zhiyue—Chinese language
Chinese Language is Here
A new opportunity for Monticello students this year will be for students in 7th and 8th grades to take Chinese language classes. This elective will be available for students to learn the basics of a new language and also learn about the Chinese culture. Our new teacher Yang Zhiyue is excited to begin her new adventure of teaching the Chinese language to American students. It has been her dream to come to the United States and teach. Yang Zhiyue has left her family in China to have this experience in the US. I know that you will all welcome her when you see her and make her a part of the Monticello community.
Planning for High School & Beyond
Parents and Guardians, you are the #1 influence in your child's life. All Cowlitz and
Wahkiakum County high schools want to join with you to create an educational
experience that will open doors to your student's success. Together we can help
students build essential confidence and knowledge to face challenges in whatever they
do next. Check out this 67 page comprehensive document to assist you in that process.
Our Mission Statement from a student's point of view....well said....
Lexi Weiser (7th grade) wrote a poem using our mission statement that she read before the entire student body. Well said!
Don’t underestimate the kindness in other humans!
Life gets better as it goes on, it really does. Don’t give up on your life, just because things happen to you doesn't’t mean you have to give up. You should never give up, there is so much ahead of you that you haven’t gotten to yet, but soon enough you will get there. Things happen in life that you may not understand, or you can’t stand. Just believe in yourself that you can do much better and succeed, all you have to do is just turn the other cheek. Be who you want to be! Don’t let anything get you down. You are yourself and that’s who you have always been since the beginning, and that’s who you will always be. You will never change no matter how hard you try. Begin a brand new start if you have to; just don’t let anyone get in your way, find the truth in others and yourself. Like I said, be who you want to be!
BELIEVE, INSPIRE, SUCCEED!!!
-Lexi Weiser
Grading...Standards Based Grading
We've made some changes and adjustments in how we determine grades based on research and best practices....read more...
Inspiring your Child to Succeed
How can a parent inspire and help their child with reading and writing? Here is a one page article that will give you pointers on how to support reading, writing and success in class. Families and Literacy: Inspiring your Child to Succeed
New After School Student Pick-up
We are making changes in after school pick-up procedures. In order to take the congestion off of 28th Avenue and Hemlock intersections parent pick-up will now be behind Monticello through the gates on the back side of the gym. The access gates will be open to one-way only traffic from the back parking lot through to Hemlock street. The gates will open at 210pm and then close at 230pm. Parents will be able to park alongside the back of the gym adjacent to the playing fields with one lane of parking and one lane a drive-thru. Students will be asked to exit the building from the back breezeway and health corridor. Student safety is our highest priority. Please use our new pick up route.. (see map)