Call in Santa Program through North Andover CAM 

This Friday, December 13, 2019 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. 15 of our NAMS students will be singing live on TV with Santa and Mrs. Claus. If you have believers at home, they can call and talk to the big man himself at 978-687-6570. The broadcast is shown on Comcast 22 and Verizon 24 (if you live locally).

If you don't live locally, you can also access it here:

bit.ly/Santa-Call-In-Show-2019

The show is really cute, and it's a really great way to get your family in the holiday spirit.

The theme for December is Service here at NAMS. Our first service project was our annual food drive. We should find out by the end of next week how much we were able to donate in pounds. For our next service project, you are all invited to make holiday cards for children at Children’s Hospital. There is a 6 year old boy who is awaiting a heart transplant at Children’s in Boston since August whose wish is to receive holiday cards to decorate his room. With your help we can make his wish come true and also help decorate other spaces at Children’s Hospital. Please consider making a holiday card and drop it off in the main office before the end of the day on Thursday, December 19th.

You can read about Carlos’s wish here or at the following website:

https://www.boston.com/news/health/2019/12/05/this-worcester-6-year-old-whos-awaiting-a-heart-transplant-wants-you-to-send-him-a-christmas-card?s_campaign=bcom%3Asocialflow%3Afacebook

Trimester 1 Grades & Comments

Final Trimester 1 Grades & Comments will be available to students & parents/guardians in PowerSchool after school on Friday, December 13, 2019. You may find directions for how to view comments and Honor Roll status here. The directions are also attached as a pdf document.

NAMS Geography Bee - Coming Soon!

Do you have knowledge of cultures, states, countries or animals? Then you would be the perfect candidate to compete in the North Andover Middle School Geography Bee!  All interested students must register with Mr. Poirier (Room S104) in advance in order to compete on Thursday, January 9 at 2:30 p.m. Top ten winners will advance to the final round with one student becoming the NAMS Geo Bee Champion. This winner will have an opportunity to advance to the State Finals in April, with a possible shot at the National Geographic Society’s National Championship round in May.

Future NAMS PTAC Meetings (All Tuesdays from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the Grade 8 Cafeteria)

• January 14, 2020
• February 11, 2020
• March 10, 2020
• April 14, 2020
• May 12, 2020
• June 9, 2020

Beyond the Classroom Days - The following is being shared with NAMS Families.

North Andover Public Schools believes learning can take place beyond the walls of a classroom! We’re excited to share with your our website which describes various learning opportunities. Last year we created the “BEYOND THE CLASSROOM” school cancellation day initiative, however we did not have enough snow days to use this alternative learning experience. During the 2019-2020 school year, these alternative school days will go into effect after the 3rd school cancellation day. Our teachers and staff have been working on a wide range of assignments for students to complete on these Beyond the Classroom Days. The following provides some general information. Please visit the Beyond the Classroom website for additional information here or at the following address: https://sites.google.com/northandoverpublicschools.com/beyondtheclassroom/home

Beyond the Classroom General Information

• After the 12/2/19 and 12/3/19 school cancellation days, our last day of school is currently scheduled for Thursday, June 18, 2020.

• If school is cancelled 1 additional time, we will make up each of those days with the last possible day of school being Friday, June 19, 2020.

• If school needs to be cancelled more than a total of 3 times, students will be assigned independent learning experiences to complete instead of making up cancelled days. These Alternative School Days have been named Beyond the Classroom Days. 

• The website provides specific information about all Beyond the Classroom expectations.

• You can view the FAQ’s for answers to questions you might have.
  Click on your child(ren)’s school for specific assignments. Due to copyright restrictions, students will need to log in using their NAPS login. Directions on how to access this via PowerSchool are also on the website.

• Teachers will be reviewing assignments and expectations with students in advance of the 3rd school cancellation day and sending home hard copies as needed.

Assignments will…

• Provide students with choice in what assignments they complete or how they complete them

• Be both online and offline (traditional paper and pencil) 

• Be consistent across grade level and content areas 

• Be linked to a standard

• Be accessible for all students 

• Be collected and given feedback from teacher

INDEPENDENT school work should be completed within the following time guidelines:

• Pre-K & K: optional

• Gr. 1-2: ~ up to 60 minutes

• Gr. 3-5: ~ up to 90 minutes 

• Gr. 6-8: ~ up to 20 minutes per subject area 

• Gr. 9-12: ~ up to 30 minutes per subject area 

Please note that the website also includes Superintendent Snow Day Challenges for school cancellation days #1, 2 and 3 as well as Supplemental Learning ideas.