1. education
2. school

Volume 3, Issue 1
March 26, 2015
Where Learning Takes Place!
Marquardt Middle School
1912 Glen Ellyn Road
Glendale Heights, IL 60139
(630) 858-3850
Principal’s Letter
Dear Parents,
I would like to say Happy Spring, but as I write this letter it is snowing like
crazy! But it is winter in Chicago and we know that spring will eventually be
here. Hopefully many of you were able to make it to Parent/Teacher conferences on March 23rd. I know our staff loves to spend time chatting with you
about your son or daughter. If you were unable to make it, please don’t hesitate to call and schedule some time to meet with teachers.
I have some very exciting and bitter-sweet news. This is my 12th and last
year as principal of Marquardt Middle School. I have loved every minute
of my time here and will certainly treasure all the great memories I have. In
my 30 year career in education, all of those 30 years has been at the middle
school level which shows you how much I love this age group. I am proud to
say that I will be moving over to the District Office of Marquardt School
District as the new Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. I definitely am appreciative of the Board of Education in their decision to hire me
for the position.
I am also very pleased and excited to announce that Mrs. Meredith Haugens
will be the principal of MMS starting next school year. Mrs. Haugens is
currently one of the assistant principals and has been for two years. She also
has some previous administrative experience. Mrs. Haugens is enthusiastic,
child-centered and focused on improving student achievement. I am confident
that she will do some amazing things.
We just finished up our first round of PARCC testing and the students and
teachers did a great job and worked very hard. The PARCC test is replacing
ISAT tests and is aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The
end of the year PARCC test will take place in May. In between, we will be
taking our 3rd and final NWEA MAPs test. Our students and staff are anxious
to see how much they have grown over the school year and where they fall in
regards to their grade level peers both at MMS and throughout the country.
The end of the year is filled with all sorts of important activities and opportunities. Please make sure to check the end of this newsletter which gives
important dates. We have the play Annie coming up, the Battle of the
Books, field trips, track and so much more. If you are ever unsure, please
don’t hesitate to call the office and speak to our lovely secretaries. They are
extremely helpful.
As always, thank you for the opportunity to work with your children. Feel
free to stop by and chat with me about any concerns you may have, or call or
email me.
Warmly,
Marie Cimaglia
Principal
Mrs. Marie Cimaglia
Principal
Mr. Matt McDonald
Assistant Principal
Mrs. Meredith Haugens
Assistant Principal
ATTENDANCE should be
called in by 9:00 a.m.
The attendance message
line is available 24 hours
a day.
Fax 6th grade:
(630) 858-4296
Fax 7/8 grades:
(630) 790-5042
Inside this issue:
News from LMC, Nurse,
System 44, and R180
2
Orchestra, Choir, Gen
3
Music, and Student Council
6th Gen Music, PE, Art,
and Foreign Language
4
Calendar of Up-Coming
Events
5
Grade Level Newsletter
6-7
NEWS from the LMC
Mrs. Stoiber, Learning Center Director
Legend is the Caudill winner for 2015. This first book of a dystopian society series will be a
great summer read! Battle of the Book participants will be receiving their t-shirts today and
tomorrow. These were bought through a grant from DO and community sponsors, so a BIG
“thank you” for those. Speaking of Battle of the Books, the grade level Battles will be taking
place April 7-9 in the 7/8LMCs. Grade level winners will battle for building champion on April
16. Students are filling out their brackets for the number 1 book in each LMC…results will be
in April.
Notes from the Nurse:
All 6th grade students are required to submit a completed dental exam no later than May
15th. Please make your appointment now if you have not already done so.
Students going out for a spring sport need to check in the health office to see if they have a
current physical on file. They will not be able to tryout without it.
~Monica Blum RN MS PEL-NCSN
System 44 Blurb:
Currently students are in our 4th workshop of the year entitled, "Famous or Infamous".
In this workshop students are learning about the pros and cons of being famous. While
reading the various texts in the workshop, students are answering various comprehension questions, finding the texts' main ideas and key details, and summarizing what
they've read. Additionally, students are learning about contractions and how to use them
in writing.
READ 180 Blurb:
Currently in READ 180, students recently started a new workshop entitled, "Wired for
Trouble". In this workshop students will learn about the troubling side of technology. The
first text is a debate about whether or not schools should ban cell phones. The second
text is about cyber bullies. The final text is about students' additions to technology like
cell phones, iPods, and computers. The main skill being taught in this workshop is being
able to decipher the difference between facts and opinions.
Additionally, students are learning about the Holocaust in social studies. In a combination
of authentic informational and historical fiction texts and videos, students are learning
how Nazis came to power prior to World War II. Additionally, they are learning how and
why over six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis over the course of 12 years.
~Mr. Rzemieniecki
Page 2
Marquardt Middle School
Congratulations to the Mustang Orchestras on their straight First Division ratings at the
annual IGSMA Organizational Contest. Our Advanced Orchestra has kept the “tradition” of
‘straight ones’ going here at MMS for yet another year. The first year the orchestra
achieved this outstanding achievement was back in 2011. Way to go ORCHESTRA! Miss B is
SO proud of you! The next big event on the MMS Advanced Orchestra calendar is the Solo
and Ensemble contest on Saturday April 25, 2015. There will be more information coming
home about this event, please look for it in your child’s folder and/or backpack. Also, please
ask them about how their preparation and practice for the event. They should be practicing
their instruments at home at least four days a week. Practice makes permanent!
(reinforcing what your child needs to keep working on and solidifying what they already
know). We will begin rehearsing for this next week (the week of March 23 and all the way
through April 25—excluding the week of spring break). This event is REQUIRED, please
plan accordingly. Thank you! Question about Orchestra please email: Miss Baker at
jbaker@d15.us
~Ms. Baker
CHOIR
It's a busy month for choir.
3/20 Dr. May Reception Concert
3/21 IGSMA State Contest
3/26 D15 Elementary Choir Festival
Lots more coming up this spring. A trip to The Opera House in Chicago, and a few more concerts.
Students who are interested can still join. We meet before school on TUE, WED and
THURS. Advanced Chorus also meets on MON and FRI for those who want to come 5 days per
week.
GENERAL MUSIC
The 7th and 8th grade general music classes are focusing on MUSIC THEORY, PIANO, and GUITAR this year. We are using various technology resources such as NOTEFLIGHT online notation,
WEB DJ, VIRTUAL PIANO, and VIRTUAL DRUMS. Links to these and more can be found on Mr.
Gentry's worksite. Simply click on the link in the calendar.
STUDENT COUNCIL
Student Council is currently collecting loose change at lunch for FMSC (Feed My Starving Children) a local charity that packs food for hungry children around the world. Last year , we raised
$1000 and fed 42 kids for a year. We are hoping to contribute more this year when we attend
our packing session in Aurora on March 24th.
~Mr. Gentry
Volume 3, Issue 1
Page 3
6th Grade General Music
We have been working on our Rhythm Unit. We've reviewed the notes and rests and their values in
common time (4/4), as well as cut time (2/2) and compound meter (6/8). The students composed different rhythms and performed them. In April, students start the Melody Unit and learn to play piano.
~Mrs. Manzke
6th Grade PE
The 6th Grade Center Physical Education/Health classes are in the middle of a combination unit of
fitness testing and health. In health, students will learn about the six major body systems. Students will use online resources to learn about the body systems as well as participate in activities
and games in class to help support their learning.
Along with health, the students are also performing their final fitness tests for the school year.
We have encouraged students to show improvement and/or reach their age level norms for each
test. So far, each student has been tested twice and has created goals and implemented strategies
to show growth. We have seen a lot of hard work throughout the year and are excited to see how
much everyone has progressed!
Here are the current top scores for the PACER in trimester 3.
Boy – Dylan Alejandro with a score of 175
Girl- Juliana Gallego with a score of 139
Class Average – Mr. Soerens’ 5th Period with an average of 84.
We are very proud of the hard work the students have put into improving their scores and we look
forward to another amazing trimester!
~Ms. Moore and Mr. Soerens
6th Grade Art
In 6th grade art, the students have begun to explore their artistic talents while
learning about specific artists and artistic styles. We are focusing on working with the elements of design. The elements of design will be revisited throughout the trimester. We
will begin to study Cubism, which was made famous by Pablo Picasso. The students will produce a cubist drawing in a similar style.
We will then start working with perspective, which is a realistic drawing style. The
students will be studying various artists with a focus on one or two of their paintings during
the perspective unit. At the completion of the study, the students will select one of the
artists to recreate a painting as the selected artist. The painting will be done with acrylic
paint on canvas paper.
~Mr. Foster
¡Hola a todos! En la clase de español de hispanohablantes, empezamos capitulo 10
en el libro. Estamos estudiando el pretérito y los objetos indirectos. Vamos a crear
un cuento para los niños usando la gramática nueva. In Spanish 2B, we are just finishing up chapter 4B. The students have learned vocabulary words about birthday
parties and can conjugate the verb jugar (to play) and use “ir + a + infinitive” (going
to do something). We will start chapter 5A after spring break.
~Srta. Kaszynski
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
Fri., Mar 27th
Straight “A” Celebration
Mon.-Fri, Mar 30th-Apr 3rd
Spring Break (No School)
Tue, Apr 7th
8th Grade Holocaust Museum Field Trip
6th Grade Battle of the Books
Wed, Apr 8th
8th Grade Holocaust Museum Field Trip
7th Grade Battle of the Books
MMPA meeting 6:00 pm
Thurs, Apr 9th
8th Grade Battle of the Books
Blackhawk Concert @ MMS 7:00 pm
Fri, Apr 10th
Volunteer Breakfast 7:30 am
Tue, Apr 14th
School Board Meeting 7:30 PM
Wed, Apr 15th
Track @ Glenbard East 4:15 pm
Thurs, Apr 16th
Midterms
Battle of the Books (District level) 10:00 am
Fri, Apr 17th
Jazz Band @ Blackhawk 1:00pm
Track Meet @ Glenbard North 4:15 pm
Mon-Fri, Apr 20th-24th
NWEA Testing all week
Tues, Apr 21st
Wed, Apr 22nd
Teens Taking Charge
Teens Taking Charge
Track Meet @ Glenbard East 4:15 pm
Thurs, Apr 23rd
Teens Taking Charge
Annie Musical 7:00 PM
Fri, Apr 24th
Character Counts Breakfast 8:30 am
Track Meet @ Glenbard North 4:15 pm
Annie Musical 7:00 pm
Mon-Fri, Apr 27th-May 1st
PARCC Testing
Wed, Apr 29th
Track Meet @ Glenbard South 4:15 pm
Thurs, Apr 30
Tues, May 5th
5th Grade Parent Night/Laptop meeting 6:00 pm
Track Meet @ Downers Grove South H.S. 4:15 pm
MMS Choir Concert 7:00 pm
Wed, May 6th
5th Grade Mixer 2:30 pm
MMPA Meeting 6:00 pm
Thursday, May 7th
MMS Band Concert 7:00 pm
Newsletters posted on website (www.d15.us)