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2012 NY State Testing and Final
Exam Dates
NY State has issued
revised dates for
testing for Math and English. Please note the
changes below. |
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As you prepare your calendar of events
for the year, please keep in mind that middle schools
across New York State are held to a strict testing
schedule. The New York State Exam Schedule is listed
below for your information. |
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| Grades 6-8 |
Grades 6-8 |
Grade 8 |
Grade 8 |
| NYS English
Language Arts |
NYS Math |
NYS
Science Performance |
NYS Science
Written |
| Apr. 17, 18
& 19,
2012 |
Apr. 25,
26, & 27, 2012 |
May
23-25, 2012 |
June 4, 2012 |
| Tuesday,
Wednesday & Thursday |
Wednesday,
Thursday & Friday
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Wed. - Fri. |
Monday |
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Final Exams - Grade 6 - 8 June 15 -
21, 2012 |
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Military Mailbag Project Continues
Donation of used cards needed |
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E ach
year students and staff of BH-BL schools send
holiday greetings to military personnel through the
Military Mailbag project. Used holiday cards
are donated by community members; the cards are then
re-used by the students and staff to write a message
to service personnel. Please consider donating
your used holiday cards to the Military Mailbag
project by dropping the cards off at the O’Rourke
Middle School Main Office. Your support is
greatly appreciated |
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It's
New for the Middle School!!
2012 MIDDLE
SCHOOL YEARBOOKS
ON SALE ON LINE
Information
about ordering the 2012 Middle School Yearbook
on-line
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It's the 17th
Annual 8th Grade Community Service
Day - November 22, 2011
The 8th grade
class at O'Rourke will participate in a community
service day on Nov. 22nd. This is the 17th
year that Mrs. Marge Rizzo and Mrs. Joyce Brown have
coordinated this day of service, when all 8th grade
students either work on a project in-house, or go
off-site. In-house projects include making
scarves for Bethesda House, book bags for Ronald
McDonald House and fleece blankets for the
Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center.
Students who go off-site to work go to a variety of
locations including Glendale Home, Maplewood Manor,
Schenectady City Mission, Schenectady Salvation
Army, Parson's Pre-School, Glenville Senior Center,
and Bethesda House.
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2011
Fall Edition of the O'Rourke Observer |
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If
you are a Price Chopper shopper and are still food
shopping for the Holidays, please consider checking
to see if Richard H. O'Rourke Middle School is
receiving any "Tools for Schools" money from your
Advantage card. Last year we received music stands,
a printer, art supplies and paper, a flash drive,
pencils, a megaphone, and some PE equipment all for
free.It is easy to
do. You can either log on to : www.priceshopper.com
or go to the customer service desk and sign up
there.
Our school number 15715.
As of right now, we
only have 37 members signed up for our school.
Please take a moment out of your busy schedules and
start collecting points towards free items for our
school. They will stop collecting points on March
10,2012.
If you choose to sign up on
line, you will need to scroll down to the bottom of
the page, click on "Program sign up" and
choose "Tools for Schools" from the menu.
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CALENDAR ....
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Tues. Jan 24 -
Crossing Route 50 activities for Grade 8 during
periods 7, 8 & 9.
more info |
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Fri. Jan 27 - 7th and
8th grade dance - 7-9 PM |
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Mon. Jan. 30 - 2nd
Semester Begins |
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Fri. Feb. 3 - Grade 6 REC
Night |
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Mon. Feb. 6 - 2nd
Quarter Report Cards Issued to students for take
home. |
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2011-2012
Drama Club Website -
For Drama Club news, rehearsal
schedule, tickets and more
Click on Annie! |
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The Annual QSP/O'Rourke
Magazine Drive
Your magazine subscriptions help
support the many extra-curricular activities at
O'Rourke Middle School. Our one annual fund
raiser supports the cost of student agendas,
subsidizes the cost of the year book,
provides for free field trips and subsidized
field trips, supports 6th grade Spirit Day
and all Middle School Clubs to name just a
few.
You can order
magazine subscriptions from
your favorite student or on line.
Thanks for your support! |
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Order
Magazines On-Line at
QSP.com
O'Rourke Middle School code number is:
425011522 |
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Middle School
Greenhouse Restored
An
exciting event at O'Rourke Middle School
this past Saturday was the restoration of
the Greenhouse. Brian Banks and Andy
Lancaster, middle school teachers,
worked with volunteers Robert Karandy,
from KAPL, and Kirk Gladding, a BH-BL parent,
to replace several of the damaged windows in
the middle school greenhouse as well as
build a shelving unit that was designed by
Robert Karandy. The goal is get the
greenhouse back in usable condition to be
able to plant seedlings, grow and propagate
plants, and design diverse gardens within
the courtyard space. The greenhouse will
eventually be used by any class and/or
student who wishes to be involved in some
way. |
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Hats off to to everyone involved!! |
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Andy Lancaster, Brian
Banks, Kirk Gladding & Robert Karandy |
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2011 PTA
REFLECTIONS CONTEST
Winners
Announced
The National PTA developed the Reflections program
in 1969 to interest children, parents, teachers and
communities in the arts. This year's contest
theme was "Diversity is..." Students created a
piece of art work, took a photograph, or wrote a
story about the theme. Following is a list of
students whose work will be judged at the Regional
Level:
Photography: Nick
Sinnenberg
Visual Arts: Shelby
Kislowski |
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Absentee
Call-in procedure
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Parents:
Please remember to call the school
Attendance Office at 399-9141, ext. 4002
to let us know whenever your child will be
absent from school due to illness or another
reason.
When you call to
say your child will be absent, please give
the child's name, grade and reason for
absence.
When your child returns to school, please
send in an excuse note to be handed in to
the Attendance Office.
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It's
time to re-enroll for O'Rourke!
Price Chopper is
asking all AdvantEdge card holders to re-enroll for
Tools for School. Please re-enroll your AdvantEdge
card (or enroll or the first time) to benefit O'Rourke
Middle School! Through this program we are
able to acquire extra sports equipment and student
supplies each year. Go to
Tools for Schools and follow the links to enroll. O'Rourke's
school code is 15715. |
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PowerSchool
Parent Portal Pilot
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District has
adopted new computer software called PowerSchool for
managing, reporting, and storing student data. PowerSchool
will allow
enhanced communication between the school and home via a
“Parent
Portal,” where parents/guardians can log on to
the system and check their students’ progress at any
time. This fall we are
conducting a pilot program with teachers who have
volunteered to participated in using the portal in order to ensure a
smooth transition for school-wide use of the
Parent Portal at the start of second semester in January
2012.
Parents who have received a letter with their log-in
information can click
the
Parent
Portal to set up
their account. Please
note that only those students who have teachers
participating in the pilot have received letters with
log-in information.
For more information, download the
Parent Portal
User Guide
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Playing
a Sport??
A Health Clearance (Yellow Sheet )is required.
A Health
Clearance Form
(yellow sheet)
is required for students to tryout for any sport.
The Health Clearance form needs to be obtained from
the school nurse within 30 days prior to the
start of the sports season once all needed paperwork
is on file in the nurse's office. Complete
information can be found on the
Middle School
Nurse's page.
Physical
Form
Health
Recertification Form |
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Link to the 8th Grade English
Vocabulary List.
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School
regulations regarding the attendance of Middle
School Students at Sporting Events

Along
with the privilege of participating in an athletic
contest, either as a spectator or player, comes the
responsibility to exhibit exemplary conduct, spirit
and sportsmanship. Please
review the specific rules for Middle
School students attending sporting events. |
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Homework Request Policy
A reminder to parents of the
policy for requesting homework that is found on page
7 of the O'Rourke Middle School Student Agenda and
Handbook:
Homework can be requested when a
student is absent 3 consecutive days by calling the
main office where work will be collected and can be
picked up. If you need texts or supplies from
your child's locker, please come to the school at
the end of the day as lockers are inside classrooms
(please be sure to have your child's locker number
and combination with you).
In the meantime... please
check teacher websites, or call a study buddy to
find out what assignments have been given. |
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Parents
are kindly reminded
to follow the
MORNING DROP-OFF PROCEDURES
These procedures have been established to ensure the
safety of all our students and staff. As
always, your patience and courtesy are appreciated.
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All student drop-offs must occur at the music door
entrance ONLY (the second entrance toward the
back of the building) no earlier than 7:15 AM and up
until 7:45 AM.* Students should not be dropped
off at the main entrance (the first entrance toward
the front of the building) between 7:15 and
7:45 AM.
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Student
drop-off must be from the right lane only and in
front of the music door entrance. Please do
not drop students off in any other place in the
parking lot and not from the left lane or at the
main entrance.
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The
left lane is for through traffic and parking access
only. No drop-offs should occur from the left lane.
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* After 7:45 AM students are considered tardy
and need to enter through the main entrance and
report to the attendance office to sign in.
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Procedures for getting out of
school early
If it becomes necessary
for a student to leave school early, the student
should:
Bring a signed note from your
parent/guardian to the attendance office before
morning homeroom period. If you are walking to
a local doctor's office, the note must state that
you are walking.
Leave class at the excused
time and wait in the Main Office. A
parent/guardian must come into the Main Office to
meet and sign out the student. If the student
is not being picked up by a parent/guardian, the
signed note from the parent/guardian must state who
is picking up the student or the person must be
designated as an emergency contact on the emergency
information sheet handed in at the beginning of the
school year. |