November Newsletter

November Updates

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe the First Marking Period is already behind us! I’m truly impressed with your children’s flexibility and dedication as they navigate the year here at Maple Place. In class, we’ve wrapped up our narrative writing unit for the year and are excited to launch our new Book Clubs, where students will be investigating characterization in their reading. Unit 2 also marks the beginning of Argument Writing.

We also have many exciting events coming up over the next few weeks—be sure to watch for more details on how you can get involved. Wishing you all safety and wellness, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s any way I can support you or your child!

Important Dates in NOVEMBER

November 5 - End of the First Marking Period

November 6-7 - No School - NJEA Convention

November 19-21- Parent/Teacher Conferences (Early Dismissal Days)

November 26 - Early Dismissal

November 27-28 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

Reminders

The last day of Marking Period 1 is November 5; Report Cards should be available in the Portal on November 14 at 4:00 pm.
The Second Marking Period begins on Monday, November 10th, and will end on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences will happen in Genesis this year. Please sign up for a Team Conference under our Social Studies teacher, Mr. Evertz.
Keep an eye out for emails from Mrs. Iannotta checking in. Feel free to reach out anytime at eiannotta@oceanportschools.org!

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

SAVE THE DATE! 7th Grade teachers will be hosting "Team Conferences" giving you the opportunity to meet with the entire team about your child's progress this year. Conferences will be held on the evenings of Wednesday, November 19, and Thursday, November 20, from 5:00-7:00pm. Also, we will host conferences on the afternoon of November 21 from 1:00-3:00pm. Students will have Early Dismissal (12:15pm) on these days. Remember that if you have urgent questions or concerns, you can contact me for a phone call or virtual conference at ANY TIME!

Conference sign-ups are now available through the Genesis Parent Portal. Once logged in, select the “Conferences” tab on the left-hand menu. You will see two scheduling options—Maple Place Evening Conferences and Maple Place Afternoon Conferences. After selecting your preferred session, you can choose from the available teachers and time slots. Specials teachers each have individual conference availability, and you will also see options for your child’s Social Studies teacher (grades 6–8).

Please note that in grades 6–8, conferences are conducted as a team meeting with the core subject teachers. The Social Studies teacher serves as the representative for scheduling purposes, so selecting their name will reserve a conference with the full grade-level team.

STUDENT CORNER

Narrative Writing Bend 2: Creative Narrative

In our 2nd formal essay of the year, students were asked to design a Creative Narrative, written in the third person point of view and include an element of fiction. In this writing piece, students focused on refining their leads (or hooks) and endings, dialogue (with correct punctuation), inner thinking, and prepositional phrases.

Bend 2 - Student Sample 1

Bend 2 - Student Sample 2

Bend 2 - Student Sample 3

Bend 2 - Student Sample 4

Bend 2 - Student Sample 5

Bend 2 - Student Sample 6

Bend 2 - Student Sample 7

Bend 2 - Student Sample 8

The Character Autopsy Project: "The Follower" by Jack Gantos

As a culminating project for Unit 1, students were asked to analyze the characters in our Mentor Text "The Follower" by Jack Gantos. Students took a "deep dive" into the characters and determined what makes them unique by closely examining body parts associated with specific character traits and citing evidence from the text to support their claims. This project was an excellent segue into Unit 2: Characterization!

LEADER IN ME UPDATE!

What are WIGS?

This month, our focus is on setting and tracking WIGs — our Wildly Important Goals. These are the big goals that matter most to each student and to our class as a whole. To make it fun and motivating, we’re using a football-themed WIG tracking bulletin board where students can move their “team” down the field as they make progress toward their goals. Whether it’s improving reading fluency, mastering math facts, or building positive habits, WIGs help students take ownership of their learning and celebrate progress along the way. Families can support this at home by asking about their child’s current WIG and encouraging them to share their progress.

What's NEW in Advisory?

In advisory this month, students are learning about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and what it means to be a leader. We’re combining fun games, team-building challenges, and short lessons that help students practice leadership skills in real-life situations. It’s been great to see their confidence and collaboration grow each week.

MRS. IANNOTTA'S CORNER

What I've been Reading...

In October, I read The 4 Disciplines of Execution for Educators in a national book club. We met four times in October with educators from across the country to discuss how to implement the 4DX approach in schools. It was an interesting read and a great way to learn new ideas for setting goals and supporting students and staff. One of the most important lessons I took was creating a compelling scoreboard to track our goals. As a result, I was inspired to get students and teachers involved with choosing and creating our football field goal tracker.

Next up...

In November, I've been reading Uncommon Sense Teaching in a book club organized by our instructional coach, Colleen LaSalle. The club meets both virtually and in person before school, giving us a chance to explore practical strategies for helping students learn more effectively. The book focuses on research-backed techniques for memory, focus, and problem-solving, offering tips that teachers can use to make learning stick and help students succeed. It’s been a helpful and engaging read, full of ideas I’m excited to try in the classroom.

Why Stations?

I use stations in class to give students the independence to plan their own schedules and take ownership of their learning. While we offer guidance, they decide how to complete the work, which is a skill that takes practice but builds strong time management and prioritization. Stations also give me time to work with students in small groups or one-on-one, making the classroom more supportive overall. If you feel your child could use extra help in this area, please reach out via email!

Why Friday?

If you’ve had a previous 7th-grade student in my class, you know that weekly assignments were always due on Monday mornings. It's been that way in my classroom for over 5 years! This year, we’ve moved assignment deadlines to Fridays at 3 PM. We found that students were often relying on weekends to finish work, which sometimes caused stress and carried assignments into the next week. The new deadline helps students prioritize their work during the week, build a stronger sense of accountability, and finish the week feeling accomplished and leaving more time to enjoy the weekend with their families.

Weekly Planner.pdf

Narrative Family Letters

Thank you to all the parents and family members who took the time to write back to your student for our final Narrative Writing Reflection assignment. Reading your letters showed me just how powerful it is when families are involved in their child’s learning. We’ll be completing two more family letters as part of the Argument Writing and Information Writing units, and I’ll send an email to let you know when each assignment is available—roughly in late February and mid-April. Your support makes a big difference!

Student Handbook

In keeping open lines of communication, I wanted to make sure to share our Student Handbook and Code of Conduct in this month's newsletter. Be sure to review this important document periodically and let us know if you have any questions or concerns!

MPMS Student Handbook 25-26.pdf

TECH TIP OF THE MONTH

Updating Chromebooks

Just wanted to remind everyone to please make sure your Chromebooks are kept up to date. I know most may close out of the warnings in the bottom right of your screen, but it is important that the devices have the latest updates. To check to see if your device is up to date, please follow the steps in the Google Support link here. This will show you the latest way of updating your device.

Also, if you notice that your Chromebook is slow or is stuck on a black screen, please restart your device. You can do this by pressing the Refresh key and the Power key at the same time.

Remember, Chromebooks are constantly turned on unless you press the on-screen "Shutdown" button or physical power key for 5 seconds. This will solve the majority of issues most of the time. Please try these steps before reporting an issue to your teacher or the Technology Department.

Wishing you and your entire family a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

I am SO thankful for my amazing students and all of your support as we move forward this school year!

Thank you for all you do!

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