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A Note from Ms. Reinman
A Note from Ms. Reinman
May 21, 2026
Dear Middle School Community,
As difficult as it is to believe, next week is the final week of academics in the Shipley Middle School! All homework assignments, essays, and projects are due by the week’s end, unless special arrangements have been made with teachers. We soon begin Capstone Week, and we end the year with a final hurrah at Medieval Times, Lehigh River, or Hersheypark!
Capstone Week, from May 29 to June 5, is a culmination of student learning. For students, there are no periods to anchor the day. Instead, they manage their time, seek their resources, work on their projects both independently and collaboratively - and decide when to engage in either, use technology with intention, and apply creative and critical thinking skills. Here are the themes for each grade level.
We invite you to come enjoy their Capstone presentations:
Grade 6
Beyond the Stars: A Space Exploration
Monday, 6/8, 10:30 am
MS Building
Grade 7
Generations
Friday, 6/5, 2:30 PM
Piltch Commons
Grade 8
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Think Globally, Act Locally
Friday, 6/5, 9:00 AM
Various locations; please begin in the MS
Until then, we have several activities to enjoy:
The Outsiders at Academy of Music on Wednesday, 5/27, for Gr. 6 and 7 (Gather in MS at 5:45 PM): We are offering 20 tickets to any 8th-grade student who would like to join. It is first-come, first-served. Please see the details and sign-up form in Announcements.
MS Mini Book Fair for Summer Reading on Wednesday, 5/27 (3:30 - 5:30 PM at Piltch Commons)
Gr. 8 Dance on Friday, 5/29 (7:00 PM in Piltch Commons)
I look forward to seeing you at the final day of our Art Show in the MS followed by a Choir and Percussion Concert in Riely.
Sincerely,
Chantra Reinman
Head of Middle School
CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS
ART SHOW AND PRE-CONCERT SOCIAL
Thursday, May 21
5:30 - 6:45 pm
Middle School Building
Celebrate the arts at Shipley by attending the last day of our Middle School Art Show before the Chorus and Percussion Spring Concert.
CHORUS AND PERCUSSION SPRING CONCERT
Thursday, May 21
7:00 pm
Riely Theatre
After the art show, come enjoy this concert featuring the Grades 6-8 Choir and Percussion Ensembles. Concert attendance is mandatory for all ensemble members, and concert attire is all black.
MINI BOOK FAIR: SUMMER READING
Wednesday, May 27
3:30 pm
Piltch Commons
Main Point Books will be selling the MS and 8th to 9th summer reading books at a discount right outside the school store. If you’re unable to attend, Main Point will also be selling the books with the discount on a dedicated table at their store located at 116 N. Wayne Avenue on Saturday, May 30.
6TH AND 7TH GRADE TRIP TO THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Wednesday, May 27
6:00-10:30 pm
The Academy of Music
All 6th and 7th-grade students are invited to attend a performance of The Outsiders at the Academy of Music. As the performance begins at 7:30 pm, students are asked to be on campus by 5:45 pm for a 6:00 pm departure. Buses will return to campus by 10:30 pm. Please see this letter for more information.
If you have a 6th or 7th-grade student, please fill out this form to indicate if your child will attend. We are now offering 20 tickets to Gr. 8 students. Please sign up using this same form.
8TH GRADE DANCE: A MASQUERADE
Friday, May 29
7:00 pm
Piltch Commons
To celebrate the years spent together in Middle School, we invite all Gr. 8 students to this semi-formal dance. Being mindful that the definition of “semi-formal” can range quite drastically, here are a few guidelines:
A shirt with a collar;
A blouse that fits well – can be as shiny and glittery as the wearer prefers;
Dressy pants or skirt that can be – and should be – ironed;
Blazer is optional;
Dress that does not constrict movement;
Shoes that complement the top, pants, or dress, and are comfortable to dance in.
6TH GRADE TRIP TO MEDIEVAL TIMES
Thursday, June 4
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Please see this letter for more information.
8TH GRADE CAPSTONE TED TALKS
Friday, June 5
9:00 am
West Middle School and Riely Theatre
8th-grade parents and guardians are invited to see the students present TED talks on their Capstone projects.
7TH GRADE GENERATIONS MUSEUM RECEPTION
Friday, June 5
2:30 pm
Piltch Commons
The 7th Grade will be hosting the annual Generations Museum on Friday, June 5, from 2:30-4:30 pm. This interdisciplinary project involves interviewing friends or family from different generations, so students might wish to include them in a visit to this event that will showcase the work from the unit. It’s always a fun time! Please feel free to reach out to Kirsten Small if you have any other questions.
7TH GRADE RAFTING TRIP
Monday, June 8
7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Please see this letter for more information. Please note that Adventure Rafting is in the process of updating its waiver system, so the waiver may be temporarily unavailable.
8TH GRADE CLOSING EXERCISES REHEARSAL
Monday, June 8
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Students should come to school at the normal time and will have their Closing Exercises rehearsal from 8:05 to 9:00 am. They will depart for Hersheypark immediately after.
6TH GRADE CAPSTONE PRESENTATIONS
Monday, June 8
10:30 am
West Middle School Building
On Monday, June 8th, our students will present their Youth AstroNet research projects and share their capstone accomplishments with you. Come listen to engaging student research presentations and take a tour through our hallways to view additional capstone projects on display. This is a wonderful opportunity to support our students, celebrate their creativity, and see firsthand the dedication they have put into their learning.
8TH GRADE TRIP TO HERSHEYPARK
Monday, June 8
9:30 am - 6:30 pm
Please see this letter for more information.
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR 6TH AND 7TH GRADE STUDENTS
Tuesday, June 9
Dismissal will be at 12:00 pm.
8TH GRADE CLOSING EXERCISES
Tuesday, June 9
1:30 pm
Yarnall Gym
Our school year will conclude on Tuesday with Closing Exercises. Students should not come to campus until 12:30 pm on this day (note that 6th and 7th-grade students will have a noon-time dismissal as is traditional). When students come to campus, they should gather in the Community Room. The event will be held at 1:30 pm in Yarnall Gym and will take approximately ninety minutes, followed by a reception in the Shipley Commons. Dress for this event is dress slacks or a skirt with a conservative blouse or dress/dress shirt, tie, and a blazer or suit. Please note that dresses do not have to be white. No sneakers, please!
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
MIDDLE SCHOOL BLOCK PARTY
The Middle School Community Council is hosting a Block Party during periods 5 and 6 on Friday! Students can join the fun with friends outside the Commons to celebrate a great year together. There will be a Gaga pit, volleyball, Kan Jam, spikeball, cornhole, cotton candy, sno-kones, corn dogs, popcorn, music, a duck hunt, and more!
SHIPLEY SPORTS CAMPS
Shipley will be hosting multiple camps for young athletes over the summer and registration is now open. Click here to see the options and register.
TWO WEEKS AT-A-GLANCE
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT VOICES
A Recognition of MS Latin Students
By Anne Smith
I am very pleased to announce that MS Latin Students in grades 6-8 all participated in February in the 87th annual Philadelphia Classical Society's (PCS) Latin Week Competition, a regional judged competition with 19 other schools in the area.
Each Latin student submitted an individual, creative project entry in their choice of medium per contest parameters. Students chose a Greek/Roman-themed artifact or rendering inspired by mythology, art history, or historical significance and creatively made Latin projects. Some were interdisciplinary, either 3-D projects completed in the Makerspace or Art room (many thanks to Mr. Harris and Mr. Hanna for their supportive guidance). The project submissions were truly excellent again this year! I’m very proud of how The Shipley School was represented by these wonderfully creative artistic projects on classical themes at the judged competition.
Selected categories included colorful paintings, drawings, 3-D printed and models, Roman costume and hand-cut Roman military wooden swords, Jewelry, 3-D laser cut Roman coins, and mosaic. Congratulations to all these Latin students for their dedicated work and creative expression! Their projects competed very well and garnered many awards, with some outstanding award prizes including 4 ‘Best of Category’ projects and some donated to the UPenn Museum’s “Touch Tours." Here is the slideshow highlighting recognition of student award recipients.
MS Latin students also won top awards on the academic 2026 NATIONAL LATIN EXAMINATION. All 7th and 8th grade MS Latin Students participated in the annual National Latin Examination held in March, answering competitive questions on such topics as Roman history, mythology, Latin vocabulary and grammar, English derivatives, Latin phrases commonly used, a Latin passage translation for contextual analysis and reading comprehension. Well done to the 11 MS Latin Students who won awards for their academic performances. Certificate Awards have been distributed, including purple ribbons with 2 Summa Cum Laude gold medals, 3 Maxima Cum Laude silver medals, 3 Magna Cum Laude and 3 Cum Laude award recipients for their achievements in this (international) competition. They represented very well our Shipley School and the goals of academic excellence.
Congrātulātiōnēs!
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6th Grade Rube Goldberg Project
By Devin Halligan
We want to take a moment to shout out a fantastic group for their incredible behind the scenes work on a Rube Goldberg Project completed last month. This group not only won the most votes out of the entire 6th grade for their original design on the Rube Goldberg Contest but rose without hesitation to take on the added challenge of scaling up their project to be displayed in a store window in Philadelphia.
They spent countless hours redesigning their project to fit the window display metrics and 2 weeks every day during lunch to make the design come to life. From this teamwork came an incredible display that reflected not only what this group has accomplished, but the resilience and determination to create something larger than life. We thank the following students for their courage and grace: Jack C., Meku D., Adam F., Ben T., Sophia L., and Henry G.
We also would like to thank Mx. Schwarz for creating this connection with the store owner in Philadelphia and Mr. Harris for his guidance and advice in the engineering and building design!
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