Above: 7th grade science students participated in the Mobile Ed Sky Dome Planetarium presentation where they took a 45-minute journey through the universe. Photograph by Alex Keesling.
Important Dates
Monday, February 25th
- Mindful Monday - 1st Hour
- Girls' Volleyball @ Van Hoosen - 4 pm
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:15 pm
- PTO Meeting: Media Center - 7 pm
Tuesday, February 26th
- Peer Mediation Meeting: Band Room - 7:30 am
- Homework Help Club: Rm 113 - 3 pm
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:45 pm
- Washington DC Parent Meeting: Cafeteria - 6 pm
Wednesday, February 27th
- Early Release: Dismissal - 12:09 pm
- Baker Book Club Meeting: Rm 107 - 7:30 am
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:45 pm
Thursday, February 28th
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:15 pm
- Girls' Volleyball Game @ Boulan Park - 3:30 pm
- Religious Diversity Journey
- MSBOA Band Festival - Symphonic (2/28 - 3/2)
Friday, March 1st
- MSBOA Festival Concert: Lakeview High School - 6 pm
- Pennies for Patients Assembly - 7 Period Day
Monday, March 4th
- Girls' Home Volleyball Game vs Smith - 3:30 pm
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:15 pm
Tuesday, March 5th
- Homework Help Club - 3 pm
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:45 pm
Wednesday, March 6th
- NPLD Cohort Visit - 8:45 am
- IM Girls Volleyball Practice - 3 pm
- IM Wrestling Meet vs. Smith - 3:30 pm
- Girls' Volleyball Game @ Reuther MS - 4 pm
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:15 pm
Thursday, March 7th
- 7th Grade DIA Trip
- AHS and THS counselors meet with 8th grade students
- Science Olympiad Practice - 5:30 pm
Friday, March 8th
- 7th Grade DIA Trip
The 2019-2020 PowerSchool Parent Portal Scheduling Links Open Today!
Current 6th and 7th Graders
Baker Family, we are now scheduling classes for the 2019-2020 school year. Today we opened the PowerSchool Parent Portal Scheduling links. You may access them to make your student's course selections. This year we are using a three-step scheduling process that includes the completion of a course selection form, an online selection of your course requests through PowerSchool Parent Portal, and the submission of you student's course selection form to their Science teacher. This week the counselors met with current 6th & 7th graders to discuss scheduling details and distribute scheduling request forms. Please see the counseling section near the end of the Blast for copies of the forms.
If you need assistance navigating the PowerSchool Parent Portal, please watch the YouTube videos below to view a tutorial that guides you step by step through the online scheduling process for your student's grade level. The videos were made by the Smith principal using their PowerSchool Parent Portal, but the process is the same for all middle schools. If you have not yet established a Parent Portal account for your student, please register for an account as soon as possible. Click on the February 17th Baker Blast link below for additional information.
Course Selection Process
- Step 1 - Complete the paper course selection form
- Step 2 - Online course selection and submission through the PowerSchool Parent Portal
- Step 3 - Return completed course selection form to Science teacher
Important Scheduling Dates
- February 23rd – PowerSchool Parent Portal Online registration system opens for parents.
- March 1st – Online Registration Deadline: PowerSchool Parent Portal closes at 8 pm.
7th Grade Online Registration Tutorial (Current 6th Graders)
8th Grade Online Registration Tutorial (Current 7th Graders)
High School Scheduling
Current 8th Grade Students
Athens and Troy High School counselors will be visiting Baker on Thursday, March 7th to distribute materials and speak with students about the scheduling process for high school. They will be returning to Baker on Thursday, March 21st to collect the schedule request forms. Please be sure to create a PowerSchool Parent Portal before this date as the high schools will also be utilizing this system for scheduling. More details to come!
7th Grade Science Students Blast Off on an Out of this World Adventure!
Sky Dome Planetarium Presentation
This week Baker hosted the Mobile Ed Sky Dome Planetarium Astronomy Assembly for 7th grade science students. Mr. Dave Keoleian from Mobile Ed led a 45 minute presentation using a portable, inflatable planetarium in the IAE gymnasium. Mrs. Kemp, Mrs. Bollovaram, and the 7th grade future astronomers had the opportunity to take a tour through the solar system and deep space. They were introduced to a star filled sky and explored constellations, planets, and celestial landmarks. Students learned to identify and understand various aspects of outer space. They enhanced their global perspective through a scientific lens all from the comfort of the Baker & IAE campus. The students loved the presentation! After they returned to class they raved about what they learned and wrote several notes to me advocating for the continuation of this assembly. I have great news for them. We will definitely consider this for next year!
Bobcats of the Month
Congratulations to our January Bobcats of the Month! They were nominated by teachers for being the KINDEST Bobcats of the last 2 months. This is a great achievement and we appreciate their leadership in demonstrating our Baker Family core values. Please click on the link below to meet each of the nominees!
Band & Orchestra Pre-festival Concerts
This was another big week for the Fine Arts department. On Wednesday, February 20th, Dr. Xydas, the Band students held their Pre-festival Band Concert. On Thursday, February 21st Mrs. Xydas and the Orchestra students held their Pre-festival Orchestra Concert. These concerts included a brief clinic at the end judged by an MSBOA adjudicator. The concert was a huge success and a great warm up for the upcoming Festival Concert.
The Pre-festival concerts are designed to prepare students for Festival where they will play for 3 judges, who will give feedback and grade them on different areas of musicianship. They will also be evaluated on the ability to sight read or play a piece never seen before. The Festival Concert will be held at Lakeview High School Friday, March 1st. You are more than welcome to come out to support our Baker Family and enjoy the performances. We hope to see you there!
PTO Winter Party
On Friday, February 22nd, the Baker Middle School PTO hosted the Winter Luau Party. The students and staff in attendance had a great time. We enjoyed a special performance from the Athens Dance Team. It was great to see extended members of our Baker Family come back to spend time with our students and promote student engagement in activities at the high school. The PTO did a great job and the pictures above say it all! Thank you for hosting this fun event! We appreciate all of our volunteers. We couldn't do this without your support!
Washington DC Trip
Save the Date! : Parent Informational Meeting Tuesday, February 26th at 6 pm
March is Reading Month at Baker Middle School
Fundraising Event: “Let Our Reading Adventure Begin!” 2019
We are fundraising to install book murals like the ones below
These are the locations where we will put the murals
Events throughout the month...
- Read-A-Thon: Students will collect donations to add book murals to our Baker Hallway.
- Door Decorating: Students will decorate their classroom doors to celebrate reading. It can be a favorite book, a book related to your content area or related to our theme, “Let Our Reading Adventure Begin”.
- Book Drive: Used book collection March 11 - 15 in the flag hallway before school
- Need a Book, Take a Book: Book shop March 19 & 20 in the flag hallway before school
- Bake Sale: March 26 & 27 in the flag hallway before school
The students have been working on posters and video announcements to advertise the events. We hope to gain your support in encouraging reading at Baker!
This Week at Baker
PTO Communication
PTO Meeting: Monday February 25th - Media Center - 7 pm
Help Needed in the Bobshop
The sign up is open for February! Please click on the link below to sign up. Spots fill up quickly. Thank you. We are looking forward to a great Bob Shop for the rest of the school year! - The Bob Shop Committee
Kroger Rewards & Amazon Smile
The Baker PTO has the opportunity to raise a significant amount of funds every year through purchases regularly made at Kroger and Amazon! Many of you already make purchases through theses companies. They are willing to donate a portion of the proceeds back to Baker. These funds go directly into the classroom, impacting all Baker students. If you have not registered yet with Kroger or Amazon, simply click on the links below to find out how. Please consider asking your family and friends to sign up for this FREE benefit for our Bobcats. Thank you for support of the Baker PTO.
Counseling Department
On Wednesday February 20th and Thursday February 21st, the Baker counselors went into 6th and 7th grade Science classrooms to hand out course selection forms and speak with students to introduce the process for selecting next year's classes. Students should have brought the forms home with them. If you did not receive your form, please see the scheduling request forms below and go over them with your student. After completing the online registration, please return completed course selection form to your Science teacher.
Math Test Out 2019 Information
All TSD Middle and High School students have the opportunity to waive a mathematics course through the process of testing out. Using the link below you may access documents that explain the process in detail. It also contain study guides for each course with the test out option.