Open House Tonight!

Hello Everyone!

     Tonight is Open House, or Back to School Night, at Bonny Eagle Middle School. We in Clan Barclay are excited to welcome you into our little wing of the building, and we hope you attend. The event runs from 6:00 – 7:00 PM; we will be in our classrooms right up the front stairs of the building. Come in, come up, and see where your children spend their time this year.

     Remember, this is not a conference night — we don't know your children very well yet, and the year is just beginning. Rather, this is a chance to meet and greet teachers and other parents and get a feel for how the year will go. Conferences will take place later in November.

     We hope to see you there!

With Anticipation,

Mr. DeMaris

The Upcoming Week

Hello Everyone!

     We had our first day of school today, complete with tricky locker combinations, misplaced schedules, wrong turns, and plenty of laughs and smiles. Everyone has new faces and new names to learn, and we all took some time in the middle, of course, to get some food. It was, all in all, a good day.

     Friday we have no school, and Monday is Labor Day; in celebration of the holiday, we have no school again. This four-day weekend will be followed by a four-day school week, and we already have plenty to keep you busy, parents and students alike. Here is how it will break down.

     On Tuesday, students return to school and start their first genuine school day, without all the extra bits and modified schedules tacked on today. Tuesday will be a White Day, so our new Advisory period will take place from 9:15 – 9:45, where students will join small groups and meet with a staff member. Once school lets out, activity busses begin running that afternoon. In the evening, from 6:00 – 7:00, parents are encouraged to come to school (bring your kid back with you, too!) to attend our annual Open House, or Back to School Night. This is not a time for conferences, but an opportunity to meet teachers, see the clan, figure out what is where, and get a feel for how this year will go. Please be there.

     On Thursday, provided a parent has attended a technology seminar by that point, students will receive their new laptops from our IT department. These are fresh out of the box MacBook Airs, a slightly updated version of their previous machines. If you, as a parent, have not yet attended a meeting, please check the times on the district calendar here. There are sessions at all hours of the day, so there will be one to fit your schedule.

     On Friday evening, after this first nearly-complete week of school, students have the opportunity to attend their first school dance for 7th and 8th graders. Put on by the Pathfinder program, it runs from 6:30 – 8:30. Bring a friend or come alone, but students are welcome to dance and have a good time.

     In Language Arts today, students received their first reading books for the trimester, unless they identified books they are already reading. They also received their first assignment:  write a letter of introduction about themselves to me. Details about that assignment can be found on the assignments page of this website; see the link in the top menu.

     As usual, get in touch if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We in Clan Barclay genuinely want you to know what is going on in the school and with your child, and communication is key to that understanding. Our email addresses are below, and you can call the school if that works better for you. Welcome to eighth grade, and welcome to Clan Barclay!

Sincerely,
Mr. DeMaris

Mrs. Grace Davis
gdavis@bonnyeagle.org
Mr. Andrew DeMaris
agdemaris@bonnyeagle.org
Mr. Dale Menard
dmenard@bonnyeagle.org
Mr. Lawrence Robertson
lrobertson@bonnyeagle.org

Welcome to Clan Barclay!

Hello Everyone,

     The new year is about to begin, and for all of you, this means the transition into eighth grade, your last step before entering high school. You will have many challenges this year, including maintaining your personal responsibility for all assignments at school; we expect you to meet these challenges with maturity and respect.

     We are Clan Barclay. Our clan leader is Mrs. Davis, the math teacher. The rest of us are Mr. Menard, for science; Mr. Robertson, for Social Studies; and Mr. DeMaris, for Language Arts. We are a dedicated clan, and we believe strongly in personal student responsibility both in and out of the classroom. Each of us has his or her own teaching style, but we care very deeply for the success of our students, and we expect you to work your best to honor that.

     Our clan motto is "Aut Agere Aut Mori," which, reasonably translated from the Latin, means "Do or Die." We work very hard to make our assignments and lessons understandable and accessible to you, the students, and we strive for success in all aspects of our professional lives. In return, we expect you to embrace the motto with equal vigor. School is your training for adult responsibility and education, and the lessons you learn here will have a direct and meaningful impact on the rest of your lives. You have no reason to give up on your education, and we expect you to try your hardest at all times. If you struggle and cannot solve your own problem, recognize your limitations and seek help. Your classmates and your teachers are here. Asking for help is not the same as giving up, and we respect students who can honestly assess their skills. "Do or Die" means you should fight for your success and find it despite any obstacles.

     We continue to explore new laws and new opportunities here at Bonny Eagle Middle School, and we will continue to communicate any important news throughout the year. In return, we hope you will communicate clearly with us about any questions or concerns you may have, or any obstacles you face that may impact your experience here at Bonny Eagle. We cannot solve problems if we do not know they exist, and communication should travel two ways. Personal responsibility means respectfully communicating concerns as well as compliments, and addressing consequences, both good and bad, for any actions. You are at the top of the middle school now, soon to enter high school, and you should be mature enough to recognize and accept responsibility for your work and actions.

     Welcome to Clan Barclay. We look forward to working with you this year.


Sincerely,



Mr. DeMaris

The Coming Week

Hi Guys,

You need to know three things about next week, May 30 – June 3.

1. Monday is Memorial Day, if you hadn't already heard, so it is a day off school. Take some time to consider who has given you the opportunities you have today and the freedom you so often take for granted. Show some respect and appreciation for those who have fought and fallen for your opportunities.

2. Wednesday, June 1, is the due date for the Final Project; make sure you proofread carefully and answer all the parts of each question. Some leeway can be given if you really need more time, but I have to grade all of these carefully before June 10, so I can't have everyone waiting until the last minute; I will literally not have enough time to grade your work, which will leave you on the list of potential candidates for Summer Academy. Don't do that to yourself, and don't do it to me.

3. Thursday, June 2, is laptop takeback day. MAKE SURE you save anything from the laptop you ever want to see again. These machines will be taken and shipped back to Apple once they have been processed, and you will never see them again. You will be issued a new laptop, essentially identical to your current one, once you get to the high school. Please remove all stickers, decals, cases, and any other additions to the laptop before you bring it in on Thursday.

Have a lovely weekend; Saturday looks to be a perfect day, Sunday a transitioning mix, and Memorial Day itself a rainy mess. Enjoy what you can and have some fun. And remember — rainy days are great for sitting with a good book… and finishing your project!

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Buy a Yearbook by June 1

To guarantee you get a yearbook, buy one by June 1! Order online at jostens.com, keyword Bonny Eagle Middle School, or bring cash or check to Room 83. Make checks to BEMS or BEMS Yearbook. Guarantee your copy of this year's memories, now in full color through and through!

Yearbook distribution will take place in early June.

—Mr. DeMaris

Out Friday

Hello All,

     I apologize for my sudden onset of poor health, but after my increasingly difficult headache today and the continuous sore throat that has progressed, disgustingly, to my sinuses and clogged nose, I have called in sick for Friday. I don't want to infect anyone, and I will not be much good at managing any work if I can hardly breathe and barely talk properly. I hope this is short-lived.

     Keep working on your projects and remember to stick to the story in your summary; don't judge or add your own opinion! If you do, it will not be objective, and that means it will be wrong. I hope to be back on Monday, as loud as ever.

Uncomfortably,
Mr. DeMaris

Upcoming Absences and Assessments

Hello All,

     I will be out of the classroom tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3; rather than pay a garage hundreds of dollars to replace the exhaust system on my car, I am taking the day to do it myself. As a man who doesn't own a garage or a car port, or even a nice pop-up canopy, I need to take the only partly sunny day in this week of rain to accomplish that. I'm sorry I won't be around, but it has to be done.

     Next week, Thursday and Friday (May 12 – 13),* I will also be out of the classroom, attending a conference at King Middle School on classroom design, lesson design, and modern teaching practices. This is a great opportunity to learn more about my job and hopefully experience a few good things. Believe it or not, I do always want to be a better teacher, so I take these conferences seriously and get what I can from them. I hate to be out of the classroom, especially with the year winding down, but this should be worth it.

     Tomorrow (Tuesday) students take the Voice and Mood quiz; you all have the notes on Google Classroom. The quiz is entirely multiple-choice, and involves definitions and examples. Make sure you know the differences between active and passive voice, and ensure you can differentiate between indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods. Remember, subjunctive is NOT the same as conditional. Look it up.

     Thursday of next week students take the SRI (Standard Reading Inventory), the in-class assessment of reading level and ability they have taken twice already this year — once in October, and once in February. Please do your best on it, and take it seriously. I want to see growth on these, not dismal scores. Even if you aren't confident, you should at least do better than you have in the past. Remember, the goal is not always to outdo the other students, but to outdo yourself. Take the challenge, and succeed.

     As usual, if you have any questions, please email me. I won't necessarily be able to respond from under the car tomorrow, but I can certainly address any concerns before or after.

Sincerely,
Mr. DeMaris

* — That was an en dash inside those parentheses; see how it replaces "to" or "through" in the list?