Principal Message
It is my honor and pleasure to welcome everyone to Newcastle Middle School and the 2024-2025 school year. Our dedicated staff is busy planning and preparing for another successful year, and we are looking forward to having students back in the classrooms and hallways, filling our building with energy and enthusiasm for learning.
Our mission at NMS is to create a positive environment founded on learning, respect, and ownership in which every student feels safe, supported, and cared for. Additionally, we strive to challenge each student to grow academically, behaviorally, and socially during their time with us. We pride ourselves on frequent, honest, and clear communication with grownups at home. Please check your email and the NMS Facebook page regularly for information and updates. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out directly to me using the contact information listed above.
Newcastle Middle School continues to focus on three “Standards of Excellence” for everyone to adhere to: learning, respect, and ownership. The 2024-2025 Student Handbook covers these standards in greater detail, as well as rules and expectations regarding laptops, cellphones, dress code, and other information. It is available on our district website www.wcsd1.org and I will be going over these expectations in more detail with the students when we return to school and at our NMS New Student Night on Thursday, August 15th which begins at 5:30pm.
NEW STAFF:
Please join me in welcoming Patricia Miller as a special education teacher and Christen Gesinger as a paraprofessional at NMS, and welcome Ashley Diaz as the new school nurse for WCSD #1!
SAFETY & SECURITY:
For the safety of students and staff, please continue to use the high school parking lot by the Dogie Dome/Commons to drop off and pick up students before/after school and during after-school activities. School doors open at 7:30 each morning, but remain locked during school hours, so if picking up or dropping off your child between 8:10 and 3:30, please use the main middle school office entrance.
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Wednesday, August 7th: Online student registration opens, assistance available at NMS office
- Thursday, August 8th: 8th graders choose their lockers and pick up schedules – 12 to 2pm
- PLEASE SEE NOTE ABOUT LOCKER UPDATES ON NEXT PAGE
- Monday, August 12th: 7th grade locker checkout and schedule pickup – 10am to 12pm
- Monday, August 12th: 6th grade locker checkout and schedule pickup – 12 to 2pm
- Thursday, August 15th: NMS office closed from 8am to 2pm for district-wide meetings
NMS New Student Night – Thursday, August 15th
- Open House from 5:30 to 6:00pm
- Informational meeting with Mr. Bartlett in the auditorium at 6pm
- All are welcome, but new students and their families are especially encouraged to attend.
- Monday, August 19th: Fall sports practices begin – check with your coaches for more info.
MUST HAVE UPDATED PHYSICAL ON FILE WITH SCHOOL IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE
- Tuesday, August 20th: 6th Grade Jump Start: 1st Day of School for all 6th Graders!
- Wednesday, August 21st: 1st Full Day of School. Welcome 7th & 8th Graders!
8TH GRADE LOCKER UPDATES:
We have worked this summer to change out all the locks on our student lockers, and we’re currently waiting for locks from the supplier for our 8th grade lockers. Please do not bring personal items to the school until all lockers have working locks again, which may not be until just before school begins.
POWER HOUR & ADVISORY
NMS continues to utilize Power Hour as a literacy and math intervention period for all students Monday through Thursday. Students are placed in Power Hour groups based on individual need to provide targeted remediation, support, or enrichment. On early release Fridays, instead of Power Hour, students and teachers meet in their Advisory groups to help everyone connect with each other and receive additional help they might need. In addition to relationship building and academic support, our teachers guide their students through Habitudes, an image-based curriculum designed to help middle school students with character and leadership education and social and emotional well-being.
ADDITIONAL HELP:
We offer Homework Help Center Monday – Thursday after school until 4:00. Mrs. Anderson also hosts NET (Needs Extra Time) lunch every Monday and Wednesday. Our teachers are also flexible and willing to help students before/after school or during lunch if students reach out for assistance.
FEES TO KNOW:
The annual laptop maintenance and usage fee for students is $20, and PE unforms cost $20 each. Students must have at least one but can order extra if desired. The school cafeteria offers breakfast each day for $2.25 and lunch costs $3. If money is an issue, please contact the office; we will have free/reduced lunch paperwork available that must be completed each year to maintain eligibility.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
At the beginning of each year, all students must be registered online by going to our district website at www.wcsd1.org and selecting “Online Registration” at the top of the page, which will be available by the evening of Wednesday, August 7th. All students that are new to our district will need to come to the middle school office to complete their registration beginning that day as well.
Please note that if you have completed this process before, you do not need to make another new account; you can log-in using your existing account. Once you log in, you can then start to complete the necessary forms. If you are having trouble remembering your log-in information, please give us a call or email Brandi Evenson at [email protected]. Computers and assistance will also be available at the NMS office beginning the afternoon of Wednesday, August 7th to help you register your student(s) online if you are unable to do so at home or would like some help.
The online registration process helps ensure that your contact information is updated for the start of a new year and is a great chance to eliminate old emails, addresses, or phone numbers from the system. By completing an E-Funds registration online, you can pay necessary fees like our laptop usage fee or for PE uniforms. You can pay these fees in-person at the NMS office as well, but you must complete the online registration before we can provide laptops or internet access for your student.
In closing, we are grateful for the opportunity to work with your child and impact their journey through life. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or ideas on how we could improve, please contact me so we can discuss this further. We are here to help your child be successful this year!
Warmest regards,
Tyler Bartlett – Principal
Cell: 308-430-0324