News From Bankbridge Regional Middle School

The Middle School had a Grandparents/Parents, Sweetheart Valentines dance on February 18th. We held the dance in the gymnasium from 12:00-1:30. Andrew Nino was our DJ and he had many tricks up his sleeve for dances. He played the Electric Slide, the Limbo, The Hustle, and many other favorites. The students and family members had many fun and memorable moments. Mr. Dan and Ms. Stefanie ran the picture table, where students had a chance to get their picture taken with other students and/or family members. Refreshments were served at 1:00 in Mrs. Athey’s classroom. Snacks included chips, dip, cookies, cakes, donuts, fruit, vegetables, soda, and juices. This was a fun PRIDE sponsored event.

Miss Mosby’s class has been writing descriptive paragraphs and essays on various topics. The topics included were a movie that interested them, a business they would like to own when they are older, and a state in the United States that they would like to visit. The students needed to show strong topic sentences, supporting sentences with details, and ending sentences to wrap up their stories. Then, the students gave oral reports in front of the classroom. While the students read their stories, out loud, the students listening had to critique their stories by looking at voice/tone, eye contact, posture, details of the story, and understandability. This activity gave the students a chance to explore different topics, as well as, writing styles and to help with the oral report grading.

Miss Mosby’s class is joining forces with Mrs. Yvonne Morse’ s class from GCIT to write letters to the students. This activity is a way to socialize and find out likes and dislikes of other students from a different school setting. The students will also be meeting each other after the letters are written and correspondence is made between students. In May, a dance will be held for the Middle School students and the GCIT students to socialize with our pen pals.

In math class, Mr. Fallon’s students designed advertisements for the Burj Khalifa, the world’s largest building. The Burj Khalifa opened this year and is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The students participated in a competition to create advertisements to attract visitors to the 2,717 feet building that has 160 floors. Visitors have the capability to see 60 miles from the top of the building. Students worked with the various distances involving the magnificent world wonder and developed their critical thinking skills as well as their presentation skills. All the advertisements were quite intriguing and very inviting.

Mrs. Athey's math classes are counting coins. Students brought in $3.25 in change. Everyday they are learning to count quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. They have also played Money Bingo and played counting games on the board. At the end of the unit, they will use this money to count the coins and purchase items in the Hawk's Nest. Shopping at the Hawk's Nest is a great way to learn functional skills.

Mrs. Field's class celebrated "Read Across America" on Tuesday, March 2. On this day Dr. Seuss's birthday is also celebrated. We had many guest readers come to our room and read some of our favorite Dr. Seuss stories. Thank you to Mr. Steve, Mr. Bob, Ms. Joanne, Brooke, and Mrs. Lawlor. We also made "Green Eggs and Ham" thanks to Ms. Ronnie. It was yummy and fun for all. Come and read to us next year!

Mr. Hearey (who took over for Ms. Woodburn's class near the end of January), has enjoyed getting used to his new surroundings at Bankbridge Regional, and especially getting to know his new students in Middle School South. Everyone has been particularly interested and focused during Science class, as we have explored the properties of matter (solids, liquids, and gases), and did some experiments involving various kinds of objects found in the classroom to learn whether they would either SINK or FLOAT when dropped into a large container of water. To our surprise, we quickly discovered that a few items actually did both..... they "SLOAKED!" We also had a good time studying about light energy and the seven colors of the light spectrum. We even found out how light absorbs (soaks up) or reflects (bounces off) by using a flashlight and a desk lamp. I think the students are having a good time getting to know me as well, and all of us are eagerly looking forward to beautiful Spring weather. On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone on the faculty and in administration for making me feel welcome, and above all, special kudos to Miss Ann and Mr. Dan, for their invaluable assistance and help in the classroom each and every day.

On March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day, the Middle School had an ice cream social. The social was held in the conference room from 12:00-1:00. Stefanie Sheehan used this social as a functional communication activity. The students greeted other students, helped to serve the ice cream and used their speech skills to tell people to “Have a nice day.” The conference room was decorated like an ice cream shop in multiple colors and pictures of ice cream cones. The students had a chance to pick their favorite flavors of ice cream, sprinkles, gummy bears, and other toppings. This was a nice treat for the students because they are working very hard in their academics. Thanks to Ms. Stefanie, Ms. Annie and Ms.Wendy for helping with decorations and serving up the ice cream for the South campus middle school.

The South Campus Middle School will be making banners for the veterans at the VA Hospital in Philadelphia. The banners are for monthly celebrations throughout the year. The students will be making the banners during their Functional Communication Classes.

On March 26th the Middle School attended the GCIT Theatre for our movie day. The movie was from 9:00 am until 11:00 am and our movie choice was “Ice Age 3”. After our movie, the students had a pizza party with chips and soda. This end of March activity gave the students a little break from the long month of March academics and helped them to get ready for April testing.

During the month of April, the middle school is planning another ice cream social and hopefully we can invite community members to this social function. During the month of May, we are planning to have a Mother’s Day Tea event, and in June we are planning a field day. All three events will be sponsored by PRIDE.