Ayer Shirley Middle School

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9/17 - Middle School Open House

10/7 - Fall Picture Day

10/7 - Half Day (dismissal at 11:15)

Teacher Blurb:

This is my 8th year teaching 6th grade math at ASRMS and my 1st year teaching 7th grade math! I love being able to share my love of math with my students. My goal is that each of my mathematicians leaves me at the end of the year feeling more positive and confident about math. Outside of the math classroom I love spending time with family and friends, going on walks, eating ice cream, and reading my kindle. I can’t wait for another great year at ASRMS and to watch all my mathematicians grow!

Social Studies-

6th Grade is working on physical features, including examples and where to find them in the world. One thing I am looking forward to is seeing the students' fantasy island projects.

7th Grade is working on the Geography of South Asia, including how people interact with their environment. This week we are working on a gallery walk using pictures and facts from the Ganges River and the Aral Sea

ELA -

The Green Team seventh grade ELA class began the year with narrative writing to quickly boost their writing production, to learn the foundational skill of Focus and to become comfortable with the key classroom habits and routines they will use all year. After exploring the details of how they describe their own experiences and emotions, students pay the same kind of close attention to analyzing the details presented in the unit’s core text: Ji-li Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl, her memoir of growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution. Sixth grade ELA students also began the year with narrative writing and will begin to apply their new observational focus to some lively readings from Roald Dahl’s memoir, Boy: Tales of Childhood, and learn how to work closely with textual evidence.

Reading Workshop -

We are moving through Module 1A Summarizing Fiction - to build monitoring and retelling skills. We are distinguishing between important information vs extra details which in turn supports our comprehension skills. At the end of Module 1A, students will produce concise paragraphs that accurately outline the conflict and resolution of a text through retelling main ideas/events concisely, and identifying the central message or main idea.

Math -

6th Grade Mathematicians are currently dusting off the cobwebs and reviewing arithmetic operations from 5th grade to get ready to dive into new material soon! This first unit is all about decimal operations, dividing fractions, and greatest common factor/least common multiple.

7th Grade Mathematicians are connecting their learning from sixth grade with equivalent ratios to their current topic of proportional relationships. Students are working hard to identify the constant of proportionality on tables, graphs, and equations. Later in the unit mathematicians will work with unit rates and scale factor.

ALL mathematicians should stay organized by having a dedicated math binder for their learning and practice. Additionally, students should expect to get their weekly homework assignment at the beginning of the week. One way to support your student is to help create a plan on their first afternoon home from school of which day will be best to complete the assignment so it aligns with busy schedules or how many problems should be done each night to accomplish the assignment by its Friday due date.

Science -

Sixth grade students started their first open sci ed unit. They are working on light and how it interacts with different materials. (Glass, Mirror, 1-way mirror).

Milky Way Robotics hosted 7 teams from across the state this weekend for the big reveal of the new FTC Season BioBuzz! Our own students ran workshops and welcomed new teams to the robotics community with open arms.

Good afternoon,

Last week, it felt like we made the shift from opening the school year to being fully underway. Students have moved beyond introductions and routines and into the curriculum, while the relationships and expectations established during the first few weeks continue to provide an important foundation. Thank you for helping your student arrive ready to learn and adjust to the rhythm of a new school year.

Over the coming weeks, we will begin looking closely at information from MCAS and i-Ready to better understand our students’ strengths and needs. Staff will use this information alongside classroom performance to plan instruction and identify students who may benefit from additional support or challenge.

Bryan Oelerich

Principal

Thursday, September 17 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

We are looking forward to welcoming families to ASRMS! Each grade has its own scheduled window, so families do not need to remain for the entire two-hour event.

Grades 6 and 8: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

• 5:00 to 5:07: Welcome from the principal in the auditorium

• 5:10 to 5:25: Core team presentations

• 5:29 to 5:41: Unified Arts presentation in the auditorium

• 5:45 to 6:00: Classroom visits

Core team presentation locations

• Green Grade 6: Auditorium

• Purple Grade 6: Library

• Blue Grade 8: Cafeteria

• Maroon Grade 8: Room 151

Grade 7: 6:05 to 7:00 p.m.

• 6:05 to 6:12: Welcome from the principal in the auditorium

• 6:15 to 6:30: Core team presentations

• 6:34 to 6:46: Unified Arts presentation in the auditorium

• 6:50 to 7:00: Classroom visits

Core team presentation locations

• Green and Purple Grade 7: Auditorium

• Blue Grade 7: Cafeteria

• Maroon Grade 7: Library

As we establish consistent routines, please remind your child to report directly to assigned classes and remain there unless given permission to leave. Students should not visit other classrooms during instructional time or travel to another floor without a specific school-related reason.

These expectations help reduce missed instructional time and maintain a safe, orderly environment.

September 21 to 25

Next week, ASRMS will participate in Start With Hello Week. These activities are designed to help students notice social isolation, reach out to others, and build a school community where everyone feels seen and included.

• Monday: Meet and Greet

• Tuesday: Table Switch Tuesday

• Wednesday: Wear Green Wednesday

• Thursday: Trusted Adult Thursday

• Friday: High-Five Pledge

Families can support this work by asking their student who helps them feel connected at school and how they can help someone else feel included.

Thank you for encouraging students to give their best effort during last week’s i-Ready assessments. We will continue working with students who need to complete make-up testing. Results will help us better understand individual learning needs and plan appropriate instruction and support.

We are pleased to welcome Dwipa Nanavati, our new school-based therapist from Advocates. Dwipa will provide in-person, insurance-based counseling services for students at ASRMS.

Our counselors, Cynthia Esielionis and Jessa Brine, are helping her get oriented and ready to begin. We will share more information about her schedule and the referral process once those details are confirmed.

Fall athletics are all underway. Students participating in sports at ASRHS should follow these transportation procedures:

Ayer students should take their regular bus and get off at the high school.
Shirley students should take Ayer Bus #2 to the high school.

We are reviewing these procedures with students during the school day. We apologize for sharing this information later than we would have liked and appreciate families’ flexibility.

We are excited to offer several extracurricular opportunities for students this year. Clubs are being promoted through morning announcements and flyers posted throughout the school. We are currently accepting sign-ups and will share a complete schedule once we have confirmed which clubs will run.

The annual extracurricular fee is $50 and covers all clubs a student participates in this school year. Payment will soon be available through FinalForms or may be submitted to the main office by check made payable to ASRMS. NJHS, Band, Musical, and Robotics are exempt from the fee. If a club does not have enough interest to run, we will provide a refund.

For more information, please contact the appropriate advisor:

• Yearbook: Savanna Champagne, schampagne@asrsd.org

• Student Council: Jackie Couture, jcouture@asrsd.org

• Band, Musical, and Chorus: Rachael Fletcher, rfletcher@asrsd.org

• Art Club: Heather Goddard, hgoddard@asrsd.org

• Guitar Club: Kevin Langford, klangford@asrsd.org

• Robotics: Amy Doyle, adoyle@asrsd.org

In order to better support our students and help them make the most of classroom learning, we use a classroom pass system. Like other schools that use paper or digital passes, this helps us monitor time away from instruction and recognize when students may need additional support.

At the middle school level, restroom trips can sometimes be a way to step away from academic difficulties or social and emotional challenges. Recognizing a pattern gives us an opportunity to understand and address the underlying challenge, helping students feel supported and stay engaged in learning.

Each student receives a pass with three checks per day, which teachers sign when students leave during class time. At the third check, the teacher briefly checks in about whether the trip can wait. If the student needs to go, they are permitted to do so, including additional trips beyond the third check. The three checks are a monitoring tool, not a limit on restroom access. Frequent trips may prompt a discreet follow-up conversation about support from the nurse, counselor, or teachers.

Urgent needs are addressed immediately without waiting for a pass to be signed. Students are never expected to explain private needs in front of classmates. Students with documented medical needs are exempt from this tracking system, and their accommodations are followed. Lost passes are replaced, with a follow-up conversation if losing them becomes a pattern.

These expectations are consistent across the school and apply only during class time, not during lunch, before school, or other nonclass times. Please contact me if you have questions about how we can best support your child.

We are excited for another great year of Panther Athletics! As we begin the new athletic season, we want to share an important update regarding admission prices for athletic events at Ayer Shirley Regional High School.

Varsity Athletic Event Admission

This year, we will be charging admission for the following events. Admission prices will be:

• Adults: $5

• Students & Senior Citizens: $3

Admission will be charged for the following sports

• Varsity Soccer

• Varsity Football

• Varsity Volleyball

JV games will remain free of charge. For events where a JV game takes place before the Varsity contest, the admission gate will begin collecting admission approximately halfway through the JV game. This will allow spectators attending only the JV contest to attend without an admission fee while giving Varsity spectators the opportunity to purchase admission before the Varsity game begins.

Payment Options

We are also offering two convenient ways to pay admission:

Cash: Cash will be accepted at the admission table.

Electronic Payment: Electronic payments will be available through Hudl, providing families and spectators with a convenient alternative to paying with cash.

Our goal is to make attending Panther athletic events simple and convenient while continuing to support our student-athletes and athletic programs.

Thank you for your continued support of ASRHS Athletics. We look forward to seeing our families, students, and community members in the stands cheering on the Panthers!

Go Panthers!

Thank you,

Nate Diffin
ASRHS Athletics

The Athletic Boosters need help in the concession stand at the High School this fall!

Please sign up HERE to help out!

To see the 2026-2027 District School Calendar click HERE!