This year is the last year for middle school students at Mark Twain. These 8th graders here are determined to forever leave a mark in school history. One third of the 8th grade population at Twain decided to experience their final journey in middle school with one more task. They’ve joined MSP! Bearcats continue to strive for excellence every day. Bearcats come to school every day. Bearcats keep their grades up and go to tutoring. Bearcats are accountable and respectful. Bearcats have received 6 out of 7 distinctions from TEA for state testing. Oh yea, they do a little MSP work too!

North Park Toyota is so proud of our MSP student’s accomplishments. They are aware of our MSP student’s goals and Toyota has Mark Twain on their map. Toyota has sponsored our 2017-2018 MSP shirts!

Neveah, a student in MSP 4th period, describes the feeling of being sponsored by Toyota by saying, “It’s awesome because no one has ever done that for me.” She continues to explain the importance and meaning of wearing a Mark Twain MSP T-shirt by stating, “It means a lot because we are the last 8th graders and the little ones in elementary will be by themselves next year and it’s our chance to let the school shine while wearing the shirts and to let people know who we are."

North park Toyota is a proud supporter of Twain – Middle School Partners. Thank you to everyone at North Park Toyota. We can't wait to visit the Toyota plant this month in November. Our kids are extremely excited.

Mark Twain to Mission Control:

“Mission Control we have over 32 kids in MSP. We’re going to need a grant to fund all 40 kids. Over.”

Mission Control to Mark Twain:

“We copy Mark Twain. That’s a negative on the extra funds. You’re going to have to apply for more than one grant but each grant can get you 32 kids on the ship.”

Mark Twain to Mission Control:

“Roger. We read you loud and clear. Mission Control be ready to receive 4 SCOBEE GRANT APPLICATIONS in T minus 10, 9, 8…

Mission Control to Mark Twain:

“Mark Twain this is Mission Control. We received all 4 applications and give clearance to your whole 8th grade team to come aboard the spaceship for an unbelievable voyage and exploration. See you in the sky MT.”

Mark Twain to Mission Control:

“10-4 Mission Control. Prepare for launch dates February 26th & 27th.”

Chris, a student in MSP 5th period, states that if he could ask one question about space he would ask, “What is inside a black hole?” When given the option to ask an alien from outer space two questions he responded, “As an alien, are you as eager to find us as we are to find you?” Chris would also ask, “How did you get the technology to come to Earth?”

FOCUSED l TRUST l COLLABORATION l RESPECT l SELF-EFFICACY

These are the values from 7th period MSP at Twain Middle School. The student of the week is in 7th period. She has done what others dream of doing. From the first day of class on September 7th she told me she wanted to get as many credits as she could. She wanted to get the most credits out of all the MSP kids at Twain MS. On October 19th she officially completed Word Geo “A”. From start to finish, she finished World Geo “A” in 30 school days. Something to know about MSP at Twain MS is that the kids only get to work on MSP for one period versus other students at other campuses who have the opportunity to work on MSP for two periods during the school day. This student’s hard work in MSP has gone noticed by all the MSP students because everyone saw her progress chart get covered with stickers exponentially. She played football for Mark Twain middle school for her 8th grade year and is now playing soccer. She balances academics and extracurricular activities to uphold the true meaning of a student-athlete. Let her name be heard and echoed across all campuses. Let me introduce to you a super star, a one of a kind, and future leader. The Mark Twain Middle School MSP Student of the Week!

Congratulations, Daniella.

When asked what motivates her to work hard every day she responded, "The first day I came to class you told me there is this girl who got 5 credits last year and I wanted to beat her. I want to be the student who has the most credits by the end of the year."

This Halloween Mark Twain was able to host our local community church for a fun “Trunk or Treat” event for all students. Students were able to collect treats from the trunks of church volunteers on October 31st, 2017.

Samantha, a student in MSP 4th period, shares her Halloween experience, “I dressed up as Thing 1 from Cat in the Hat and my friend Mallorey dressed as Thing 2.” When asked about trunk or treating she responded, “I got a little bit of candy but then I gave it to my cousins.” She continues to describe here cousins' outfits, “I took my cousins trick or treating. They were the Hulk, Spider Man, and Bam Bam from the Flintstones.”

Thank you to all the volunteers who decorated their vehicles and gave candy away to Mark Twain students.

MSP students were invited for a special after school session to work on Edgenuity in order to get ahead of the game. These kids were treated to pizza, chips, drinks, and two hours of available Edgenuity time. Special shout out to all the parents who allowed their children to stay after school in order to work on World Geo A & B.

(Left to Right)

Richard, a MSP student in 7th period, likes pepperoni pizza and works on Edgenuity at home. When asked about what motivates him to work on MSP at home he responded, "Whenever I come to school I see the sticker chart and see whos ahead of me and it gives me the motivation to beat them or catch up to them."

Our first MSP field trip was on Wednesday November 1st, 2017. We were able to attend the SAISD College Fair at the Convocation Center. Mark Twain MSP appeared to be the only middle school in attendance. Why were we there? Well, there was a poster that read, “The road to college starts in high school.” At Mark Twain we believe the road to college starts in middle school. The students start preparing for tests such as the SAT in middle school by taking the PSAT. Middle School students are sometimes asked what colleges and universities they are planning to go to. They are often asked what they want to be when they grow up. This trip gave the MSP students an opportunity to go out and seek information about schools and the programs they offer. They were able to find their top choice colleges and universities and were also able to collect some cool college gear along the way. It was a successful first field trip.

Kassy, a MSP student in 7th period, shares her thoughts about the college fair, "I thought it was really helpful for us because it gave us a chance to visit different colleges. It was helpful for me because I saw a couple of colleges that I want to go to." She describes the importance of going to the college fair as a middle school student, "It's important to get the feel of it so you can be more prepared when you move to high school."

Thank you to the MSP department for supporting this adventure.