April 7, 2017





  Dear Parents and Guardians,

The first week of PSSA testing is behind us and today's College and Career day activities were an overwhelming success. Take some time to check us out on Twitter: The Northley Viking @NorthleyMS or on Instagram: Viking Visions. We posted a number of photos and videos from today's activities.

Northley won another award this past week for their "So What's Cool About Manufacturing" competition video. There is an in-depth write up below and you can check out their video by clicking on this link: tinyurl.com/m0lbl2p. This newsletter is a bit longer than a typical but there a number of tidbits on upcoming event for each grade level. Please take a second to check out each section and jot down a notation in your calendar. 
 

I hope you all have a safe and rewarding Spring Break. We will see your children again on Tuesday, April 18th.  

 
Lanny Blair, II, Principal
Northley Middle School
2801 Concord Road
Aston, PA 19014
610-497-6300 X 3400

Encourage, Empower, Excel
Northley Weekly Bulletin ~ April 10 to April 14, 2017


Monday
April 10th
SPRING BREAK!
yellow_spring_daffodil.jpg
Tuesday
April 11th
Offices Open/ No School
Wednesday
April 12th
Offices Open/ No School
Thursday
April 13th
Offices Open/ No School
Friday
April 14th
Offices Closed/
No School
Upcoming Events                         
4/17           Teacher in Service Day ~ No School for students
4/18            NMS PTL  8th Grade Dance Committee Meeting ~ 6:30 p.m., Cageteria
4/20            Enviromental Club Meeting ~ 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Library
4/24-4/29    PSSA Mathematics
Americanism Essay Winners 

Please congratulate the Americanism Essay winners who won the 6 th grade award category for the Americanism Essay Contest:
Xain Cabalo, 3rd place, Joey Pennewill, 2nd place and Megan Saunders, 1st place.
Students read their essays and were presented their awards with family members and their represented teachers Ms. Kenney and Ms. Di Pietro last Sunday at the American Legion building in Aston. 







What's so Cool About Manufacturing  

This past fall, Northley 8th grade students Levi Das, Jake Crowder, Patrick Gill, Tyler Milnes, and Steven Lawson participated in "What's so Cool About Manufacturing" video contest sponsored by the Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties and CCIU.  Teams of 8th grade students from Chester and Delaware counties, led by teacher coaches, are provided with video equipment and instructional materials and matched with a local manufacturer. Teams had five months to create a video profile of their partner company and the career opportunities they offer, to answer the question "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?"
 
Northley Middle School was matched with Nielsen-Kellerman, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes rugged, waterproof environmental and sports performance instruments for active lifestyles and technical applications.  
 
During their visit on November 15th, the students interviewed a Product Manager, Assembler, Software Engineer, Advertising Manager, and even the CEO of Nielsen-Kellerman, Ms. Alix James.  They were given an in-depth tour of the factory and saw just about how every product was assembled and then prepared for shipping. On their tour, students captured interesting up-close footage of machines and finished product with their Go Pro. 
 
Over the past few months, the students worked on the video, sifting through the footage they captured on their visit.  In the end, they created a video that definitely captured the attention of the judges.  Northley's video on Neilsen-Kellerman won the prestigious prize for the "Best Educational Video" category beating out 12 other schools from across Delaware and Chester counties
 
Northley students along with their teacher leaders Renee DiPietro and Kathy Sculley were recognized at an award ceremony hosted by industry and education leaders, on April 4th at Penn State University Great Valley.  Congratulations again to the student members of the winning group: Levi Das, Jake Crowder, Patrick Gill, Tyler Milnes, and Steven Lawson.
Loco Robo Robotics Presentation to Northley - Save the Date


Join Philadelphia based robotics company, LocoRobo for an evening of coding, robotics and drones! Learn about robots in the real-world, sensor technology, locomotion, how drones fly and coding robot behavior.
April 27 - 7 PM.
Northley Middle School Library
Loco Robo Robotics Presentation
Presenter: Pramod Abichandani, professor at Drexel and also the founder of LocoRobo

Families welcome! The evening starts with a presentation on robotics followed by interactive robotic session and drone science lesson (fly the drone!). Code the lights, motion and sounds of the LocoXtreme. Draw shapes with the robots and even create songs! Get information about LocoRobo's 2017 summer program, LocoSummer.
Ask your career questions! More info about LocoRobo at www.locorobo.co.
Please RSVP below if you are attending our meeti ng at Northley. All grades are welcomed. 
 
Thank you. Please let me know if you have any questions.  

.

Pennies for Patients

Hi Families!
 
We are off to a great start for our Pennies for Patient campaign!  Has your child updated you on what our school's fundraising thermometer says? Our Pennies for Patients campaign is in full swing. Excitement is high as we join forces to help cure blood cancers once and for all.
 
Here are a few things you can do to continue helping your child get the most out of this exciting event:
It's a fact that the most successful Pennies for Patients fundraisers raise money using their online giving pages. So keep encouraging your child to share that page with friends and family. (Need info on setting up a page? Here's the how-to.)
  •  Ask your child about the program each day. What did he or she hear on the school announcements? How close is our school to reaching the fundraising goal?
  • Join in the fundraising fun! Take a coin collection jar to work or ask your company about matching gifts. If you have a favorite local business, ask if you can put the jar by the cash register during the campaign. Those donations add up!
Did you know that Pennies for Patients helps cancer survivors too?
Dealing with a life-threatening disease is tough-and so is returning to "regular life" after treatment. By participating in our school's Pennies for Patients campaign, you help fund the Trish Greene Back to School Program for Children with Cancer. This program helps children cope with life after treatment and teaches parents, classmates, teachers and health care professionals how to deal with the issues surrounding childhood cancer. Thank you for giving these young survivors and their families the resources they need!
 
If you have questions about Pennies for Patients, contact your child's teacher or our school program coordinator (mconstantino@pdsd.org). Or visit LLS.org.
 
Thanks for your valuable contribution to making blood cancers a thing of the past!
8th Grade Spring Formal
The 8th grade Spring Formal is  Friday, May 19th.   We need your help in volunteering for this to be a great night for our kids.  We are looking for generic gift cards or monetary donations to help with purchasing items needed for the dance. 
If you are donating gift cards or monetary donations, please send in an envelope labeled:  
PTL 8th grade Spring Dance Committee and students name by April 4th.  Deadline  for sending in extension cords and white lights is also April 4th. 
    Please click here to sign up  SignupGenius
***NEW DATES ****        
Spring Book Fair        May 15th - 19th
The Book Fair will be back in the library from May 15th- 19th. The week before the fair, students will bring home the book fair flyer with featured books. This is a great opportunity to stock up on summer reading books. Parents, you can sign up to volunteer on Mrs. Coffman's Library page.  See you at the Fair!                                     
FROM THE NURSES OFFICE:
 
Attention Parents:
This is a reminder that some students are missing important information that is required for this current school year.  The information needed may include:
  • 6th grade physical exam
  • 7th grade dental exam-(see attached flyer for information about a free dental exam)
  • Updated immunization information for 7th grade students- you would have received TWO letters in the mail telling you what your child is missing.
If you have not sent in your child's physical or dental form, please use this week off to get your child's file up to date and return the forms to me upon return on 4/18. 
If your 7th grade student is in need of updated immunizations as outlined in the letters mailed home, please have these completed and return to me on 4/18 also.  REMEMBER: ANY STUDENT THAT HAS BEEN ENROLLED PROVISIONALLY SINCE SEPTEMBER WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO ATTEND SCHOOL BEGINNING MONDAY, 5/8/17 UNTIL IT IS RECEIVED.
 
Thank you and have a great Spring Break week off!!!
 
Mrs. Saunders, RN                   CLICK HERE for  Free Dental Exams
8th  Grade Field Trip

As we are now entering April, the annual 8th Grade Field Trip has been planned. Students already received permission slip forms and information, which can also be found on both the 8th Grade Gold Team page and the 8th Grade Blue Team page.  The trip will be on Thursday, May 25th and will be to the Maryland Science Center and the Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The cost of the trip will be $50.00 per person. We are looking for chaperones to attend so that students can be grouped with their friends. The cost is also $50.00 for chaperones. This trip is one that the students always look forward to and enjoy!
 
The parent chaperones are a huge part to this success! Parents do need to make sure they have their clearances and their volunteer form on file for the school, which need to be no older than 3 years old.
 
The information for the clearances can be found here.
For Parent to sign up please click here.

**Completing the form does not guarantee parents are selected; parents are selected on a first come and first serve basis according to the order of receiving money and clearances
 
Please contact the eighth grade team leaders with any questions: Samantha Wren (swren@pdsd.org) or Marianna Constantino (mconstantino@pdsd.org)
PBiS  
 The PBiS committ ee has decided to help the environment and raise money  for the school store by initiating a new competition.  During the fourth marking period, collect soda tabs and bring them to your first period to earn points for a special reward!  Start collecting soda tabs today!
Northley Yearbooks
 
Orders are online only, and at the regular price of $20.00. To order online anytime, visit www.barksdalephoto.com , click  "online orders," click "continue" and enter 01047YB as the password.
Don't miss out on the memories, order today for the best price!
Student Contest Corner for APRIL 2017
Listed here  are monthly contests for our students to participate in that offer extra enrichment in a variety of subjects and challenge students' writing, research, and multi-media skills!
Many offer cash student prizes and awards. These contests are optional and can be submitted on your own or also through your teachers. We hope you will take this opportunity to compete academically both locally and on a national level.  
  "The Counselor's Corner"
The counselors has a very successful career day on Friday, April 7.  We cannot wait to post pictures and information about all of the students' great experiences from a wide array of careers.  We will submit this information in the next Weekly Bulletin.  We hope all our students and families have a wonderful and safe Spring Break!

-Ms. Sayre, Mr. Siegel, and Mrs. Crowley
Money sent in to school.
When sending money into school with your child or dropping off at the office, please place it in an envelope clearly labeled with Students name, Home Room, Student ID# and what the money is for. (lunch, trip, fundraiser, etc.)
Please click the following items for additional information.
Northley Middle School | 2801 Concord Road, Aston, PA | 610-497-6300 |  Website