Exploris Grade 8
That’s a wrap for Trimester 1! Hard to believe these students are ⅓ of the way through their 8th-grade year. We are thankful for you all! Please enjoy your break and we will see you back for Trimester 2 on Monday, November 29!
SIGN UP FOR OUTWARD BOUND NOW! The portal is live! Please complete Step 1 by TODAY! We have 37 students in the portal, but we need everyone to go ahead and do step 1 to get the process started! Top priority right now is payments or a scholarship application – (pay online here) or Scholarship Application A total of $600 is due TODAY!. We are still working on scheduling a parent meeting with Outward Bound!
Step 1: Please email each family the link below to sign up their child for Outward Bound. This is the first step in a 2 step process!
The Exploris School Outward Bound Sign-Up
Families will need to complete this preliminary enrollment process and answer a few health history questions, then submit. This process takes 1-2 minutes.
Upon submission of the sign-up application, families should expect to receive a Welcome Email with a link to their personalized Applicant Portal (within 48 business hours), which is where they will find all the required Outward Bound forms to complete (Step 2). Families are typically given 1 week to complete their Outward Bound forms. Additional information may be sought upon submission of forms. If that’s the case, Outward Bound will work individually with families to set any additional paperwork deadlines.
Families should plan to use a device larger than a smartphone (such as a tablet or laptop) to complete the Step 2 Outward Bound forms on their Applicant Portals. Portals will not show up on a smartphone.
Note that each student’s Applicant Portal will also have a link to the following web page: https://www.ncobs.org/forms-inv/223/
Updates from Admin:
- Yearbooks are on sale now! Buy early for the lowest prices of the year! Buy Your Yearbook at Jostens
- Pending Board approval, Friday December 17th will be modified from an early release day to a full vacation day.
- Exploris School Volunteer Form/Survey (PLEASE ALL COMPLETE): In an effort to update our Volunteer Processes, we are sending out the following form linked here. We’re hoping that gathering this information will help us to create an active volunteer pool here at The Exploris School that includes appropriate training, background checks and streamline communication. Our volunteers are able to experience firsthand our school environment and enrich our school community with their ideas, interests, talents and resources. We rely heavily on the help of Exploris families to do all that we do. We would love to partner with you to build community and enriching experiences for our students!
- In order to get into the spirit of giving, the PTO decided to put together an Angel Tree for some of our Exploris Families. This has been a hard year for many and we would love to bring some joy and cheer this winter season for our Exploris children. Please check out the SignUp Genius linked here.
- We will be doing a mid-year Social Emotional Learner screening when we return from Thanksgiving Break.
Club Updates:
Ultimate Frisbee: We had a successful meeting with some interested students this week on campus, but would like to offer another opportunity for interested students and parents to learn about the AWESOME sport of Ultimate and the team at Exploris.
If you are interested in getting involved in the team, click here, which will take you to a Google form. If you are willing, please take one minute or so to fill out the questions.
We are having a Zoom meeting on Monday, November 22 from 7:30-8:00pm, hosted by Prakash and myself. This is an informational meeting for parents and students. Here is the information:
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83244626623?pwd=NWRSZ0pqb3cwL0pjY0UvanpXbitEdz09
Meeting ID 832 4462 6623
Passcode kx5h9P
We will be having our first practice after school on Wednesday, December 1 from 3:30-5:00 at the Halifax (aka “Legislative”) Fields, which are between Salisbury and Wilmington, just south of Peace Street and North of the Legislative Building (Lane St). Players can be picked up at the field at 5pm. A parent volunteer will walk the group there after school.
As always, please email Michael: mreiskind@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like more information.
Helpful links:
Amazon Wish List – We WOULD LOVE MORE PENCILS! 🙂
Counselor Referral Form: Please use this link and complete the form.
Important Information regarding lunches:
- FAQ about Green Planet Lunch Program
- Exploris Online Ordering System Link
- Step By Step Guide: Create an account and how to order
Parent and Teacher Organization Resources:
- The Exploris Parent Teacher Organization is dedicated to supporting our teachers, supporting our students and building our school community. All parents and teachers are automatically members of the Exploris PTO. Please get involved!
- Please follow the PTO Blog to get weekly Exploris Updates: http://explorispto.org
- Link your grocery cards, use Amazon Smile, and support Exploris with these easy fundraisers: https://explorispto.org/fundraising/passivefundraising/
- Exploris School Directory: https://explorispto.org/directory/
THIS WEEK
| Monday 11/29 | CNN10 Humanities: 7A word pics, read for 30 mins, Thomas Jefferson @ Monticello Presentations Expedition: Trimester Two Kickoff – Michael Reiskind – Speaker 11:30 Lunch @ Nash |
| Tuesday 11/30 | CNN10 Humanities: Read 30, #7 Paragraph Expedition: Tipping Points Lunch@Halifax Mall |
| Wednesday 12/1 | CNN10 Humanities: Read 30 mins Expedition: Tipping Points Lunch @ Morgan Street Food Hall/Union Station/Working Lunch Ultimate Frisbee – First Practice |
| Thursday 12/2 | CNN10 Humanities: Read 30 mins Expedition: Tipping Points Lunch @ Moore Square |
| Friday 12/3 | New Electives Begin today! CNN10 Quiz Humanities: Read 30 Elective I Elective II |
| Next Week |
Important Dates (Exploris CALENDAR):
Friday, December 17 – Holiday
Winter Break – Thursday Dec 16 (3:15pm) – Tuesday, Jan 4 (8am)
Friday, Jan 14 – FULL PAYMENT toward Outward Bound DUE ($900)
Monday, Jan 17 – MLK Holiday
Friday, February 18 – Teacher Workday – Portfolio Conferences
Monday, Feb 21 – Teacher Workday – Presidents’ Day Holiday
Thursday, March 10 – End of Second Trimester
Friday, March 11 and Monday March 14 – Teacher Workdays
Spring Break – Friday, April 8 (3:15pm) – Tuesday, April 19 (8am)
Monday, April 18 – Friday, April 22 – Outward Bound Trip
Monday, April 18 – Teacher Workday (we will be on Outward Bound)
Tuesday, May 3 – Eid al Fitr Holiday
Monday, May 30- Memorial Day Holiday
Friday, June 10 – Graduation (10:30 am), early dismissal
Friday, June 10 – End of Third Trimester, last day of school
8th Grade Contacts
Jessie Francese, Jfrancese@exploris.org
Cori Greer-Banks, cori@exploris.org
Paula Mancini, pmancini@exploris.org
Adrian Findlay, adrian@exploris.org
Kelly Fauth, kfauth@exploris.org
Who’s Who?
Adrian Findlay – Crew, Math, Expedition
Jessie Francese – Crew, Humanities, Expedition
Paula Mancini – Crew, Math, Expedition
Cori Greer-Banks – Crew, Humanities, Expedition
Kelly Fauth – Special Education
Jamie Butler – Art
Julius Debnam- Health and Wellness
Christina Franklin – Digital Literacy
Aurelia Autman – World Cultures and Spanish Language
Michelle Duncan – School Counselor
Michelle Butterworth – Interventionist
Mary Margaret Moffitt – Development Coordinator, but mostly just about anything you need!
Michael Gilbert-Singletary – Data Manage – Attendance
Josh Corbat – Directors of Resources
Deborah Brown – Middle School Director
Exploris 8th Grade 