Message from the Principal

Dear Middle School and Parents and Guardians,

We are excited to have school start on Wednesday, September 9.  As so much is different this year, we would like to review the schedule for the next few weeks as well as clarify expectations:

Most students will start the year with virtual learning (with limited exceptions).  Virtual Learning this year will look very different than it did last spring.  In general terms, we anticipate that remote instruction for students will consist of a mixture of daily live interactions with teachers, guided assignments to complete, check ins with teachers, and independent work throughout the instructional day. To this end, all students are expected to wake up early, eat breakfast, find a comfortable work area and be ready to join their first period Google Classroom (virtually, on their chromebooks at home) to engage in learning at 7:55 AM.  Please note that attendance will be taken in each class. Students should have their cameras on when attendance is taken and follow teacher direction. Your child should have begun receiving invitations in their school emails to Google Classrooms for each of their subjects. They should accept the invite to each of these Google classrooms where they will find the invite to their Google Meets. This will help them to log on to each of their classes each day. 

The first three days of school (Wed. Sept. 9, Thursday Sept. 10 and Friday, Sept. 11) students will be following a half day schedule (please see Half Day Schedule).  Students will be able to take a break from their Google Classrooms during their scheduled "lunch".  They will be done with virtual instruction at 11:01 AM. Wednesday will start the year as an A day. The MS runs on a 4 day cycle A B C and D days. Please disregard the colored cohorts at this time until we return in a Hybrid model. 

On Monday September 14th students will have their first full day schedule. Starting that day students will follow the Daily Bell Schedule for all of their classes by logging into each  of the classes Google meets through their Google Classroom. 

We are expecting to switch from a virtual schedule to a hybrid schedule beginning October 5th.  

There are a small number of students who will be coming in the building for live instruction each day. The families of those students have been notified. 

We wish all of our students the best of luck for the 2020 -2021 school year and look forward to welcoming them back to the building in the not so distant future. 

If you have any questions in regard to schedules please contact your child's Counselor

6th Grade  
Team A and team B letters A-L  
Ms. Powers
powerss@mahopac.org


Team C and team Be letters M-Z
Ms. Maxwell
maxwellj@mahopac.org

7th Grade
Ms. Pugliese
pugliesea@mahopac.org

8th Grade
Ms. Felder feldero@mahopac.org

 

Respectfully,
Tom Cozzocrea
Principal

News & Headlines

  • Revised September/October Calendar

    In an effort to answer questions that have been asked about the revised calendar (click here for a printable version), we have prepared the following notes to accompany it:

    • September 29 through October 2 - full-day, remote instruction for all students in grades 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12. 
    • Tuesday, September 29 - half-day schedule for all students in grades K, 1, 2, 6, and 9. Both cohorts will follow the half-day schedule on the revised calendar. Blue in person, Gold remote.
    • Wednesday, September 30 - full-day schedule for all students in grades K, 1, 2, 6, and 9. Both cohorts will follow the regular full-day schedule on the revised calendar. Blue in person, Gold remote.
    • Thursday, October 1 - half day schedule for all students in grades K, 1, 2, 6, and 9. Both cohorts will follow the half-day schedule on the revised calendar. Gold in person, Blue remote.
    • Friday, October 2 - full day schedule for all students in grades K, 1, 2, 6, and 9. Both cohorts will follow the regular full-day schedule on the revised calendar. Gold in person, Blue remote.
    • Monday, October 5 - all students will begin following the previously shared hybrid schedule see above. On Tuesday (9/22), we will share the Blue/Gold schedule for the remainder of the year.
    • Friday, October 9 will be a half day of remote instruction for all students.
    • Monday October 12 is a holiday - schools are closed.

    Thank you.

    MMS News & Headlines

  • Letter Day Calendar

    The 2020-2021 MMS Letter Day Calendar will be updated monthly. Please note the date at the bottom indicates the most recent update.

     

    MMS News & Headlines

  • 2020-2021 Supply Lists are here!

    Before purchasing all the items on the supply list, please have your child check in his or her teachers during remote learning. 

    2020-2021 MMS Supply Lists

    MMS News & Headlines

  • Special Edition Spotlight: MMS Reopening

    Please enjoy this Spotlight especially for MMS Families about the reopening.

    https://youtu.be/HyVnGIfV0io

    MMS News & Headlines

  • Summer Reading Information for Incoming 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders

    Dear Students, Parents and Guardians:

    Over the summer months all matriculated students, grades six, seven and eight, will be required to read an assigned book.  The books were chosen for relevancy to the respective grade level, and they address issues and themes which will be a center of focus during the school year in English and/or other content areas.  They will help facilitate verbal development, maintain literacy skills and serve to optimize student preparation from the very first day of school in September.

    Download and print this letter and list here.

    We strongly recommend students and their families enjoy the books together; read aloud to one another, discuss the ideas, events, characters met, and spend some pleasant moments in the worlds these authors create.

    All incoming sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students should be prepared to participate in class discussions and/or group activities related to their assigned book upon return to school in September.  These books serve as the focus of English instruction during the opening days of the 2020-2021 school year.  Students will be asked to demonstrate their understanding of these books during the first weeks of school via reading and writing assessments. This literature will also serve as a foundation for a number of assignments throughout the year.  As an aid for recollection and comprehension, our English Language Arts Department has created a suggested  summer reading outline ; it is strongly suggested that students have this outline completed when returning to school.

    Reading is a pleasurable and life-long activity that educates, entertains and enriches the lives of all who participate; join us in making Mahopac Middle School a haven for avid readers.

    The following list has been distributed to the Mahopac Public Library for your convenience.  These books can also be obtained at local bookstores and through online shopping sites that sell books.

    Incoming sixth graders must choose ONE of the following books:

    Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
    The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
    The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin 
    A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
    Counting by Sevens by Holly Sloan 
    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac 
    The Detective's Assistant by Kate Hannigan 
    The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder 
    My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder 
    Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
    The Giver by Lois Lowry
    Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate 
    Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
    Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt 
    Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
    Crossover by Kwame Alexander 
    Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli
    The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 
    How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart 
    Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly 
    Pax by Sarah Pennypacker

    Incoming seventh graders must choose ONE of the following books:

    My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier
    The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

    Incoming eighth graders must choose ONE of the following books:

    Snow Bound by Harry Mazer
    That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton

     

    Sincerely,
    The Mahopac Middle School English Department

    MMS News & Headlines

  • Eighth Graders Move Up!

    The muggy mid-June weather, teachers and administration gathered to hand out certificates, and non-stop cheering as each student’s name was announced felt like the typical 8th grade moving up ceremony. This year, though, instead of sitting together as a class while parents looked-on from the stands, the class was divided the class into four sections for four parades of decorated cars with a DJ playing festive music as they students and their families drove from the high school parking lot to the middle school.

    Teachers held hand-made signs and waved and blew kisses to the cars as they passed to reach their final destination: the front doors of the middle school where and Principal Tom Cozzocrea, Assistant Principals Allyson Fallman and Patrick Keevins and district administrators were positioned under a ballon arch. Mr. Cozzocrea called out each student’s name with the precision and enthusiasm of a ballpark announcer:
     
    “We will miss you!”
    “We loved having you!”
    “Have a great summer!”
    “Good luck at the high school!”
     
    The team greeted each one as he or she approached the tables to accept the moving up certificate and other goodies to commemorate this milestone in their Mahopac educational journey. The last stop in their middle school moving up adventure was a picture taken in front of the Mahopac logo background before getting back in their cars and driving out of the driveway horns beeping loudly.
     
    Check out the videos all four Moving Up Ceremonies:
     
    Congratulations MMS Class of 2020!
    MMS News & Headlines
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