Welcome to McClure Middle School

School/Parent Survey- Your Help Needed
We are asking for your support in filling out the parent portion of the State School Climate Survey.  The information we receive from this survey is used to develop our school wide plans for the next school year. If you would like to have input, please open the following website and answer the questions.  The survey should take no longer than 5-8 minutes to complete.

Earning Credit Through Demonstrating Competency

Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, students will have the option of Testing Out of a high school course.  In order to Test Out, a student may participate in the administration of an End-of-Course Test prior to enrolling in and taking the course and if he or she scores at the “exceeds” level on the state assessment, he or she will be awarded credit for that course. You can learn more by downloading this letter.

Thank You McClure Community
January 30, 2014

Dear Parents and Community members,

I wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for the way that students, parents, staff and community responded and came together to help keep our students safe during Tuesday and Wednesday’s snow event. 

McClure students are the best!  The way they handled the disrupted school day with eating lunch in their classroom, not being dismissed at 2:15 and then being consolidated into large groups to quicken the dismissal process did not fluster them at all.  Students listened and followed our directions to ensure a safe dismissal process which is what we stress during our safety drills.

Our parents really helped us by getting their students home and often taking many of their neighboring students home as well for those parents stuck in traffic.  I cannot thank you enough for working with us as we tried to make sure our students went home safely.

The staff was great in helping with dismissal and keeping order as we tried to expedite the dismissal process.  So many of our teachers and staff stayed late or spent the night to help ensure that students were delivered safely home or had a good time at our first ever McClure sleepover!

I cannot tell you how many phone calls I received from parents and community members offering to take students and staff home if buses were not available.  Over and over again we were offered assistance with anything we might need to help make our situation more comfortable.  Many of these good Samaritans did not have students who attend McClure, they just wanted to help.

 I would encourage students to write a thank you note to their bus driver.  These employees deserve our gratitude for a job well done on Tuesday.  Bus drivers take student safety very seriously and this training allowed them to get many students home safely that day.

As stressful as events such as these can be, it is important to see what we can learn from them.  We will be discussing as a school what we did well and how we can improve.  One thing that I learned, or had reinforced, is what a wonderful school community McClure has.  The way all of us; students, parents, staff and community came together is a testament to what is good and great about our school. 

My deepest thanks to you all,

Kelly Metcalfe

Principal

Aerospace Engineering Camp

The School of Engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) is holding Aerospace Engineering Summer Camps for 12-18 year old middle and high school students. The camps will be held at SPSU campus throughout the summer.

All camps are similar. Total fee for the camp is $250 per student per camp. Students will get a chance to learn the basics of flight, types of aircraft, introduction to helicopters, spaceships, balloons, blimps, sail planes etc. The camp also includes RC flight demos, flight simulator demos, introduction to computer aided design, and paper aircraft flying competitions. Visit their website for more information.

Language Arts Adoption Review
The Cobb County School District ELA Adoption Committee is offering a system wide review of materials. This is an opportunity to review textbooks and materials being considered for use in 6-12 English Language Arts Programs. These materials will be available for System wide review from January 27th through February 7th, 2014. Review of materials will take place at McClure Middle.

Don't Let Bullying Go Unnoticed
On Thursday, January 16th, Ms. Metcalfe introduced a new Bullying Incident Report form to the student body.  We will conduct three more lessons on bullying prevention during the rest of this school year.  Please contact Dr. Daniel with questions or for more information about bullying prevention. You can also click on the link to the left to learn about more school district resources.  Please help us make McClure a bully free zone.  If you are aware of a bullying situation, please download the form and return it to an adult at school.

High School Transition Activities for 8th Graders
Eighth grade students are invited to take part in a variety of orientation meetings and open houses at our three feeder high schools:

• Monday, February 3^rd – Rising 9^th Grade Orientation at Harrison High School (7 pm)

• Tuesday, February 4^th – All three feeder high schools at McClure to present information about high school to the studnets

• Tuesday, February 11^th – Rising 9^th Grade Orientation at Allatoona High School (6:30 pm)

• Thursday, February 20^th – Rising 9^th Grade Orientation at Kennesaw Mountain High School

• Monday, February 24^th – 8^th graders begin the high school registration process. Academic teachers make recommendation for all core classes, and near the end of the week students will bring home paperwork to choose electives and get a parent signature

• Thursday, February 27^th – Counselors for all 3 feeder high schools will be in the McClure Counseling office to answer parent questions – no appointment necessary

• Wednesday, March 26^th – Pebblebrook School of Performing Arts auditions held at McClure

Recognize your Student's Birthday
The McClure Foundation is excited to offer birthday posts beginning January 20th.....The McClure Foundation will post the honoree's name (student, teacher, staff, etc.) on the McClure school sign to wish them a Happy Birthday - Monday thru Friday only, for a $20 donation to the Foundation - Click here to learn how you do it!

2014-15 School Choice
The Cobb County School District is again offering School Choice (HB 251 and SB10) transfers for the 2014-2015 school year.  Applications will be available beginning February 10, 2014.  For more information, please see our 2014-15 School Choice website.

McClure Middle School Writing Workshop
Eighth grade students are invited to practice and polish their writing skills to prepare for the 8th grade writing test with their Language Arts teachers.  The workshop is Saturday, January 18th from 11:15 to 1:15 at McClure and is absolutely free!  Download a permission form here.

New Safety Measures Added
The school district has installed new safety measures to the current surveillance system at McClure.  Effective immediately, we have a "buzz in" system on the front doors.  From 9:15 until the end of each day you will need to ring to buzzer next to the front doors.  Some one from the front office will ask your to identify yourself and indicate the nature of your visit before you will be allowed to enter.  A letter with full details was sent home with students on January 8, 2014.  You can also read it here.

Tutoring is Available
If you find yourself struggling in one of your core classes, we have a program for you.  We are offering before and after school tutoring in math, science, language arts, and social studies for all three grade levels.  The tutoring is run by McClure teachers and ias available for free.  Parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up students at the appropriate times.  Go to our tutoring page for times and locations.

Important Message About ParentVue
Parents and students, each time you log on to ParentVue/StudentVue, you will need to select the current grading period on the upper right corner of the grades screen.  The default is to show Progress Report 1 and we are currently in Progress 2. If you do not click on the current term you will not see an updated grade. We are working with the vendor to address this issue.

Interested in STEM & Careers?

McClure Middle School Foundation
The McClure Middle School Foundation's mission is to help support the instructional program of our school.  You can visit the Foundation's page to learn more about upcoming programs.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the "I have a dream" speech
Click here to listen to Dr. King's, "I have a dream" speech and to read Ms. Metcalfe's message from the morning announcements.  How can you help Dr. King's speech affect the future?

A Public Saftey Reminder about Fire Lanes at McClure 
Per the Fire Marshall's Office, no one is allowed to park in a Fire Lane, whether there is a driver in the vehicle or not, at any time other than the following:

• 30 minutes prior to the end of the school day and 30 minutes after the end of the school day (this does not include the After School Program nor any other activity at the school)
• passengers actively loading or unloading during the day (this would cover students unloading in the morning at the beginning of the school day)

We need to reemphasize that the only time a vehicle would be  allowed in a Fire Lane would be to actively drop-off and/or pick-up a student when there is no waiting.  Other times, such as after school activities would not be included.  If you are in violation of the ordinance, you run the risk of being ticketed. Should you have questions or concerns, please contact the Department of Public Safety (678) 594-8620.

Instructional Coaching at McClure
As part of the school district's initiative to increase student achievement local and district administrators will be spending more time in classrooms this year.  Read an important message from Dr. Hinojosa about instructional coaching (English/Spanish)

Magnet School Information for 8th Grade Parents
Eighth grade parents, if you are interested in information about the different magnet programs available through the CCSD, please visit the  magnet school website.  The link will also answer many of the questions you might have about the magnet programs we have available.

ParentVue & StudentVue are Live!
ParentVue and StudentVue are the new replacements for Pinnacle and they are both live!  Click on the link to the left to access your grades, attendance reports, and schedules. 

Students, you will log in using your normal school computer log in (lunch number and the password that you set up).  Now that your log in is tied to your grade reports it is very important that you keep your log in and password secure.  You should not share your log in for any reason. 

Parents, in order to set up your account you will need to come to school to fill out the necessary forms.  Once complete you will be given your family specific activation code.  Please note, you will be given a family account that will work with all the students in your family that are enrolled in grades 4 through 12.  If you have already set up an account for high school or elementary students you will not have to set up an additional account.

Your information can be picked up during normal school hours. 

WE DID IT!
In case you missed the broadcast this morning, Fox5 has us online too!  Click to enjoy our segments.  We all enjoyed being on air this morning and there is a lot of Maverick Pride around here today!

Maverick Pride has been strong this week!  Your efforts really paid off, with more than 68,000 votes, we won a visit from Good Day Atlanta on Thursday, March 14th.  Make sure you tune in on Thursday to see live shots and segments that show off the great things that are happening here at McClure!

Perhaps the best part of the week was watching McClure exhibit our four words:

• We were Encouraging to each other to get the vote out!
• We showed great Enthusiasm as the excitement built throughout the week.
• Our Excellence shined, especially as we made suggestions about what programs we should highlight on TV.
• The Ingenuity soared as administrators stepped out of their usual roles and showed up on the serving line at lunch or that teacher who dyed his hair blue because we reached the 65,000 votes level.  There are rumors that even the Harlem Shake might make an appearance one day next week!

Most of all we are proud that we pulled together and made this happen!  Good job McClure- we have a lot to be proud of!

GIMME 5 is Back!
This year, McClure is once again participating in the GIMME 5 campaign for the Cobb Schools Foundation. Did you know that if we raise more than $750, 50% of whatever we raise will go directly to McClure projects? Please visit the Foundation's GIMME 5 page to learn more. Remember to specify McClure if you donate to make sure we earn the credit! As always, thank you for your generosity in support of McClure!

CRCT Preparations are here!
Each April, McClure students take the Georgia Criterion Referenced Tests to show what they have mastered during the school year. Preparations are already underway to help ensure that our students do the best they can on the tests. You can help increase scores at home through practice, we recommend the following websites for additional practice and tutorials:

• USATest Prep
• Skills Tutor
• Khan Academy
• GA Department of Ed Preparation Materials
• McClure Vocabulary Packets

The Words You Should Know!
Research shows that students who have a rich vocabulary achieve at higher levels than those who do not. On questions that do not specifically test vocabulary, students are often expected to understand the meanings of the words they encounter within passages, questions and answers on sections that involve reading. But because vocabulary knowledge is useful for all reading comprehension, an increased vocabulary is not only beneficial on standardized tests, but in all content areas. (Read More)

BYOD Has Arrived at McClure!
If you weren't able to attend last week's BYOD/Common Core meeting you can download the PowerPoint presentation and learn more at the new BYOD Resource page.

Is Your Child a Car Rider?
Please view this video on car rider pick up procedure. This informative video provides assistance for you to pick up your student in the safest possible manner. We want all of our students to depart from McClure with as little delay and risk as possible. (The movie will take a while to load.)

Common Core Coming to McClure
You may have heard about curriculum changes coming to our schools next year. The shift to Common Core Standards will help our student be more competitive in our ever changing society and ushers in some exciting changes for all of us. Click here to learn more about Common Core.

Welcome to our new 6th Graders!
Thank you to the families that were able to make the Sixth Grade University program on May 7th. If you weren't able to make it, you can download the PowerPoint presentation. Also check out the Sixth Grade University blog for more information.

New Registrations
If you are moving into our attendance zone and need to register your student please call the guidance office at 678/331-8131 to make a registration appointment.  Please note that appointments are at 9:30 each day.  For more information about what you will need to register your child, please visit the CCSD Enrollment page.

Get Involved
McClure students, do you want to be more involved with the McClure community? Are there untapped skills and interests that you want to explore? There are lots of clubs and organizations here at McClure that want to meet you! Download a list of our clubs and organizations and check the McClure calendar at the left to see meeting times and locations.

Back to School Dress Code Information
Please take a few minutes to review the McClure dress code. Additional information can be found in the student handbook.

Sixth Grade University!
Parents of rising sixth graders, do you have a question about next year? Visit our new Sixth Grade University blog. Learn great tips and suggestions for how to make your student's transition into middle school a success.

Performing Arts
The purpose of the Performing Arts program is to provide opportunities for our students to experience uniquely rewarding performing arts that might otherwise be unavailable to them. We try to spark curiosity, broaden awareness of the arts, stimulate minds and emotions. The program is entirely dependent on your donations. For more information, please visit the Performing Arts program's website.

Internet Safety
The Internet offers students a wealth of opportunities to communicate, socialize, and explore the world. These benefits come with certain risks. Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online is a new guide with practical tips to help parents help their kids navigate the online world. It's produced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and covers a variety of topics- from cyber bullying to using mobile phones safely. Copies will be available during conference week or you can download your own PDF copy.

Need to ride a different bus home?
If your student will be riding home with another student there are some important guidelines that must be followed. All bus changes must be approved through the attendance office before a student will be allowed on a different bus. More Details.