Canaan Middle School Update
September 15th, 2023
Principal Corner
Canaan Families,
It has been a very busy couple of weeks at Canaan Middle School as you will see in our pictures and updates throughout the newsletter. We have several activities and events coming up over the next few weeks. On Monday, September 18th, information will be coming home for our Cookie Dough fundraiser. Please be on the lookout for this. Students can participate by simply sharing a link with friends and families on social media! Also coming up, we have a Professional Development Day for staff on September 25th. Students do not have school on this Professional Development Day. Finally, we need to change the date for our 6th Grade Parent/Guardian Night. The Homecoming parade is on the same night and on the same date. Once we have a new evening selected, we will communicate this information to all families. As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns!
Mr. Walter, Principal
Canaan Middle School
Homecoming Spirt Week Themes for September 18-22
Monday: Comfy Day
Tuesday: Neon/Tie-Dye
Wednesday: Dress like a teacher day and teachers dress like students
Thursday: Class Color Battle (each homeroom will be assigned a color)
Friday: Black Out (Dress in all black)
5th Grade Update
In science, we have been learning how plants make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Students will be introduced to the different types of consumers, (organisms that must eat to get energy), next week after they take their quiz covering "photosynthesis". Group A will have their quiz on Tuesday, 9/19, and Group B will take the quiz on Wednesday, 9/20. Students have a diagram of photosynthesis and the vocabulary words in their notebooks to use as a study guide. The slide presentation and links to all materials passed out in class are in Canvas under "modules".
We will be creating ecosystems in a couple of weeks to watch photosynthesis occur right before our very eyes! Students will need to bring in a 2-liter plastic pop bottle, (rinsed out with water please), for this activity anytime between now and October 2nd.
6th Grade Update
Reminder!
On Friday, September 8th we had our unity kick-off as an entire 6th grade. The 6th grade Symphony 2030 t-shirt forms are due Friday, September 15th.
Click here if you need an additional form.
Be on the lookout for more information about conferences coming soon!
Conference dates will be October 3rd and November 6th.
6th Grade Parent/Guardian Night Information
****DATE CHANGE***. We have moved our Parent/Guardian Night that was originally scheduled for Sept. 20th.
We have a scheduling conflict with the Homecoming Parade next week. Once we have a confirmed date, we will communicate this to you.
6th-grade Parent/Guardian Night. Our goal is to share "all things 6th grade" with you and answer any questions that you might have. This is an informational meeting for parents/guardians and students are not expected to attend. If you are not able to attend, please reach out with any questions that you might have. Below are the details of the time and location:
Students with a last name that starts with A-L - DATE TBD at 6:00-6:25 PM
A-F will be located in the cafeteria
G-L will be located in the library
Students with a last name that starts with M-Z - DATE TBD at 6:35-7:00 PM
M-R will be located in the cafeteria
S-Z will be located in the library
Counselor's Corner - Mrs. Hein
Fifth graders have been learning about and practicing self-regulation strategies. Students learned that even though the portion of the brain responsible for logic and reasoning isn’t fully developed until age twenty-four, they can use a variety of coping skills to manage their emotions and make good decisions. Please ask your child(ren) what coping skills they have identified as helpful to them and practice them together.
What's New in Specials
Additional Student and Parent Resources
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is an online tool that can help parents and students make informed decisions regarding media use. This tool can be used for many types of media, including books, movies, video games, and apps.
Canvas is a Learning Management System that is used in grades 5-12 at Jonathan Alder. You and your student will find a lot of information about the school and your student's classroom through this platform. It is VERY important to stay connected and log on to Canvas. This link should help you log on and explain Canvas.
Talking Points
We are excited to share that our staff members will be using a safe and easy to
use two way communication tool called TalkingPoints to communicate with
families. Families have three easy ways to use TalkingPoints to communicate
with their children’s teachers for free! You can use text message, download the
app or use it on the web at https://talkingpts.org/families/. Once you log in to
Talking Points, you should be able to see your students and teachers.
Mark Your Calendar
September 18th: Fundraiser Kickoff
September 18-22 Panorama Survey given to students
September 20th: CANCELLED 6th Grade Parent/Guardian Meeting (A new date will be communicated once it has been set)
September 25th: NO SCHOOL for students for Staff Professional Development
October 3rd: The first night of Parent Teacher Conferences (Sign-ups will be sent out. We also have a second night of Conferences on November 6th)