MMS Visits Elementary Schools to deliver Choice Sheets

There are a couple of updates to the elementary school visits to deliver and discuss choice sheets. Please note, the SMORE is locked and cannot be updated, so refer to these dates below:

Hill: Jan 10 (10-11am) *DONE*
Doss: Jan 13 (1:30-2:30 pm) *DONE*
Summitt: Jan 14 (8-9 am) *DONE*
Pillow: Jan 14 (1:30-2:30 pm)
Davis: Jan 15 (8-9 am)

Choice Sheet Night

Choice Sheet Night is on the evening of Tuesday, January 14 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. Students and caregivers will have the opportunity to get more information about their potential courses by speaking to the teachers.

Ms. Harris will address the caretakers of rising 6th graders from 5:45-6:00 in the cafeteria.

Students from Davis get their choice sheets prior to the visit from MMS.

You can download a PDF of the 6th grade Choice Sheet here.

For students that attend one of Murchison's feeder schools, the Choice Sheet is due to their counselor on January 21.

For all other students who want to attend Murchison, the Choice Sheet is due to the Murchison Front Office by January 28.

Virtual Q&A Meetings Following Choice Sheet Night

January 15 - 11:00 am to noon

Murchison Rising 6th Grade Parent Virtual Q&A Meeting:

Wednesday, January 15 · 11:00am – 12:00pm

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/zgj-sbwy-kan

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 267-553-6326‬ PIN: ‪593 103 706‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/zgj-sbwy-kan?pin=7450729433608

January 16 - 3:00-4:00 pm

Murchison Rising 6th Grade Parent Virtual Q&A Meeting

Thursday, January 16 · 3:00 – 4:00pm

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/xcp-bxrz-dxu

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 662-527-2094‬ PIN: ‪351 369 673‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/xcp-bxrz-dxu?pin=5590087955228

Geometry Pathway Application

This is for rising 6th graders that want to apply for the Geometry pathway at Murchison.

Parent application form due by Friday, February 28, 2025
Application: https://bit.ly/GeometryStudentApp

Teacher completed recommendation due by Friday, March 28, 2025
Recommendation: https://bit.ly/MMSTeacherRe c25

Assessments are offered the following Saturdays at 10 am @ MMS: May 17 & August 9.
Assessment: The MMS created assessment covers 6th and 7th grade skills needed for Pre-Algebra readiness.

Reminder, this is only for students who want to take the following pathway at Murchison:

6th grade - Pre-Algebra
7th grade - Algebra
8th grade - Geometry

Both Algebra and Geometry are high school credit courses.

Students that do not apply for the Geometry pathway will be enrolled in 6th grade math.

Past events

Parent/Principal Coffees DONE

Murchison's Principal, Chara Harris, next year's 6th grade AP, Michelle Allen, next year's 6th grade counselor, Courtney Cardosa, and Murchison's IB Coordinator, Kevin Gaffney, will visit Murchison's feeder elementary schools to present information and answer questions about Murchison's 6th grade program on the following dates:

December 4, 2024: Davis Elementary *DONE*
December 5, 2024: Pillow Elementary *DONE*
December 6, 2024: Doss Elementary *DONE*
December 9, 2024: Hill Elementary *DONE*
December 12, 2024: Summitt Elementary *DONE*

All meeting start at 7:45 am

5th Grade Showcase at Murchison DONE

This event will take place on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. All of our feeder schools will attend and students from non-feeder schools that are interested in attending MMS can fill out a registration form.

Please note, the Showcase is not an in-depth information session or a tour. Visiting students will see some areas of the school but are primarily visiting to see brief performances from fine arts classes and learn more about classes from our elective teachers. We have a lot of great elective options at Murchison and that is what we will showcase!

Questions

Contact either next year's 6th grade counselor, Courtney Cardosa, or the IB Coordinator, Kevin Gaffney.

More MMS info for incoming students and caretakers

International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program

Murchison Middle School is an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP). Our lessons focus on conceptual understanding through inquiry, allowing students to make connections across their various subjects.

Every year, our students take a course from eight different subjects each year.

Those are the four core subjects:

Language and Literature (ELA)
Mathematics
Individuals and Societies (Social Studies/History)
Science

And four electives from the following:

Language Acquisition
Design (CTE)
Fine Arts
Physical and Health Education

Another very important part of the IBMYP is community service. All students are expected to participate in community service but our 8th graders are required to complete a community project. This is an expectation of all MYP students that exit the program after year 3 (8th grade). Last year we had a very productive group, with over 115 community projects completed!

Language Acquisition

We offer classes in six foreign languages as well as English for English language learners.

Chinese
French
German
Latin
Spanish
Vietnamese

Most students will follow the following sequence of language learning:

Grade 6: language foundations
Grade 7: level 1 (HS credit)
Grade 8: level 2 (HS credit)

Design (CTE)

Grade 6 students can either apply for the year long AVID course, or they will take one semester of IB Foundations and one semester of Career Discovery.

In 7th grade, students can choose from the following year long Design classes, which are high school credit and may require an application:

Engineering Futures
Team Robotics
Principles of Information Technology
Digital Media

There are semester long Design electives that are available as well, but course availability may change from year to year.

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.

Fine Arts

We offer classes in six different arts programs:

Band
Choir
Dance
Orchestra
Theatre Arts
Visual Arts

Physical and Health Education

6th grade students will either take a yearlong course of Dance Wellness or Functional Fitness + Physical Education

Students may participate in school sports in 7th and 8th grade. Murchison has the following sports:

Football
Volleyball
Basketball
Soccer
Cross-Country
Tennis
Track and Field

Math Pathways

There are three Math pathways at Murchison. Below are the names of each pathway with the courses a student would take in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.

Grade Level Pathway
6th - 6th grade math
7th - 7th grade math
8th - 8th grade math

Algebra Pathway
6th - 6th grade math
7th - 7th and 8th grade combined math (pre-Algebra)
8th - Algebra (HS credit)

Geometry Pathway
6th - 7th and 8th grade combined math (pre-Algebra)
7th - Algebra (HS credit)
8th - Geometry (HS credit)

Rising 6th Graders