New Oxford Middle School

Spring may not have officially sprung, but it feels close. Seeing 70s in the forecast and knowing that it's March is enough to pull me out of my winter hibernation. With that in mind, we are at the time of year where we have a monthly incentive (in other words, it has to be earned) to keep students locked-in through the rest of the year:

• March: School Dance (March 27th)- information below
• April: Extra skating party at Magic Elm (April 30th)- sponsored by PTO
• May: 8th grade's trip to Hickory Falls (May 26th) and 7th grade Fun Day (May 28th)

All of these incentives have the same three basic criteria:

• Limit unlawful absences
• Check Sapphire to make sure your students handed in the notes. You can also submit absence notes in Sapphire itself!
• Stay out of trouble
• Passing classes (65% or higher)

Our goal is not to exclude students, but as a parent of a middle school student myself, I know we need to work together to keep everyone's focus through the end of the year.

We also will continue to have opportunities for our students that are not incentives. We have celebration activities, CHARGE assemblies, Middle Mini-THON, and an end-of-the-year Talent Show. Even with all the fun, our classes are also continuing to chug along academically. Please continue to check Sapphire to ensure that your students are staying on top of their work and making up assessments.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone that put together, worked, played, and attended the 3rd Annual Student vs Staff Basketball Game. If you were unable to join us, you missed a great game. The students played tough and took the staff to overtime, but eventually fell just short as the teachers hit several deep threes in a row. Every year, I'm so impressed with how well the middle schoolers compete against the adults and this year was no exception. Looking forward to next year's game (get ready, 7th graders!) to see if they can tie up the series.

Mr. Josh Schaffer, Principal

If your child will not be participating in spring picture day with Lifetouch, please send in a note excusing them from the individual pictures for our picture day this Friday, 3/6/26. Please note that not filling out the order form isn't enough to keep students from having their photo taken on picture day, which is why we need the note to ensure their photo isn't taken. If you have any additional questions, please call the NOMS office at 717-624-2157 x3004. Thank You.

Yearbook order forms were distributed by homeroom teachers on Friday. All yearbook orders must be submitted by April 1st. Unfortunately, we cannot honor late submissions because Lifetouch only creates the number of yearbooks ordered, so there are not extras made. The orders may be turned in at any time, but they must be in prior to April 1st.

An important note about our school dance: the dance takes place in late March and is an incentive for students that they must earn. At NOMS, we have celebrations (accessible to all students as part of our community, like a pep rally) and incentives, like this dance. We consider three factors when looking at dance eligibility: behavior, attendance, and grades. If you are unsure whether your student is eligible, please reach out to the MS office prior to purchasing dance attire.

As a friendly reminder from the beginning of the year, if you submit a note to the office from an email we have on file or via Sapphire, we do not need to check your ID when you come to pick up your student. We also do not need to check it if we called you to come pick up. However, if you come to pick up a student for an appointment or early dismissal and we have not received prior communication from a medium where we can cross-check your connection with the student, you must bring an ID. I know this additional step may be a nuisance, but it is in place to ensure that we are keeping our students safe and only releasing students to approved contacts on their release forms.

Whenever you send a written note to the office, make sure you include your student's first and last name. This will help us stay organized and ensure that the note is attributed to the correct student. We also ask that parents & guardians use their first and last name to ensure safety (matching adult to student).

You can now officially send absence excuses in Sapphire! Absences that are already in as "unlawful" (PA's wording, not CVSD's) can be found under the "Attendance" tab on the left side of Sapphire and current day excuses can be found under "Forms." Pre-Arranged absences should still be submitted via a form that can be found in the NOMS office. You can also send an email to ms_attendance@cvcolonials.org instead of submitting handwritten notes. As long as the email address matches the address used in Sapphire, we can accept it.

Attached is a picture for your convenience regarding parking for events or when you are visiting the school. There are additional visitor parking spots, marked with a sign, in front of the District Office that are available for use when visiting.

From time to time, students may become ill during the school day or may still be recovering from a recent illness. In these situations, a visit to the school nurse is often necessary. Please know that students are never denied access to the nurse. However, to ensure an efficient process and to maintain clarity regarding when an illness-related dismissal is excused, specific procedures are in place.

As always, families are welcome to pick up their child at any time, and we will never deny a student access to their family, nor deny a family access to their child. It is important to note, though, that a dismissal due to illness will be marked excused only when the school nurse determines that the student should be sent home. For example, if a student texts a parent from the bathroom or classroom stating they do not feel well, and the parent chooses to pick them up, the dismissal will be recorded as unlawful. Similarly, if a student texts a parent from the nurse’s office requesting to go home, but the nurse does not initiate the dismissal, the absence will also be marked as unlawful.

To ensure an excused illness-related dismissal, the school nurse on duty must be the one to initiate the call home.

Additional details regarding health room procedures can be found on pages 57–58 of the CVSD Student/Parent Handbook.

• 3/5- PTO Skating Party
• 3/6- Spring Picture Day
• 3/11- Sing into Spring Choral Concert
• 3/16- No School
• 3/17- Act 80 Day (no school for students)
• 3/22- Spring Strings Orchestra Concert
• 3/23- End of MP3
• 3/27- NOMS Dance
• 4/2 to 4/6- Spring Break

NEW OXFORD MIDDLE SCHOOL MISSION:

Students at the middle level have distinct social, emotional, physical and intellectual needs. The faculty and staff of the New Oxford Middle School are committed to recognizing the unique characteristics of the middle level student and will provide meaningful educational experiences that will prepare them to be competent, confident, and creative builders of the future.

Email: schafferj@cvcolonials.org
Website: https://noms.conewago.k12.pa.us/
Location: New Oxford Middle School, Berlin Road, New Oxford, PA, USA
Phone: (717) 624-2157