Middle School Happenings #6

Friday, March 27- 2nd trimester report cards published in Aspen Family Portal

Wednesday, April 4- Early release day/Teacher PD

Tuesday, April 7 and Wednesday, April 8- ELA MCAS- all grades

Wednesday, April1-1/2 day for students/PD day for staff

Manchester Essex Schools announced that it has received grant funds from the One8 Foundation to offer new applied learning curricular programming, Investigating History Magnify. This funding supports the implementation of Investigating History, a comprehensive social studies curriculum for grades 3-7 offered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Funds from the grant will support teacher professional development and the purchase of curricular materials. In addition, as a school with Investigating History programming in Massachusetts, Manchester Essex Schools will have access to community events for teachers and leaders, as well as opportunities for students and educators to connect with relevant industry professionals. Students can receive feedback from industry professionals on their Investigating History coursework through events, showcases and classroom visits.

Poets from all over the world will come together live and virtually to celebrate the 9th Annual Rockport International Poetry Festival on April 17-19, 2026. There will be poets from Cape Ann and the North Shore, Italy, Denmark, Scotland, Greece, and Australia, Czech Republic, India as well as across the United States. The event will be presented live and online. Regie Gibson, Poet Laureate of Massachusetts will open the festival on Friday evening April 17 at 6 PM at the Rockport Community House, 58 Broadway, Rockport, MA. On Saturday April 18, all events will be at Rockport Public Library, 17 Story Street, Rockport, MA. The poet Jennifer Jean and Iraqi artist Ghufran Yousif are presenting “OTHER PATHS FOR SHARAZAD”. Both are members of Her Story Is (HSI), a collective led by independent women writers which promotes projects aimed at expanding linguistic, artistic, and cultural boundaries in response to global conflict and its aftermath, with a focus on centralizing the experience of women. An audience Q&A will follow the reading. This event will be from 12:30 to 1:30 PM. Shortly after the feature all poets are encouraged to attend a REGIONAL POETS OPEN MIC. The day will close with short poetry films. On Sunday April 19 at 9AM there will be ZOOM International Poetry Reading held online and live at the Gloucester Writers Center, Gloucester Writers Center, 126 E Main St, Gloucester, MA. Two poetry contests are held in conjunction with the event. The Cape Ann Poetry Contest is open to anyone in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex, and Manchester-by-the Sea. There are five categories from 4th and 5th grade to Senior Citizens. The deadline is April 12. An International Haiku Poetry Contest is also offered. The deadline is April 12. Entries will be on separate sheets with no identifying information. Personal information will be in the body of the email sent to RockportPoetry@gmail.com. An Entry Fee of $3 per haiku can be sent by PayPal to the same email address. For the International reading link, or further information please put your request in the subject line of your email. ALL FESTIVAL VENUES ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC