After School Program
We are very excited to announce that the After School Program will begin on Tuesday, September 22nd. This year the ASP will look different as we will be 100% virtual. The good news is we still have over 15 clubs so far and a very excited staff that is ready to start working with the kids. The clubs that we will be offering at this point (but hoping to add more) are listed below and the formal schedule will be released next week.
- Cooking Club
- 4–H Club
- Arts & Crafts
- Technology Student Association
- Theatre / Improv
- Creative Writing
- Fitness / Weightlifting
- Tiny Hats 4 Tiny Babies
- Book Club
- AVID Club
- Poetry Club / Spoken Word
- News Crew
- Yoga
- Kahoot Games
- Twain Basketball Drills
- Twain Soccer Skills
What is Learning Seminar?
You may have wondered, “What is Learning Seminar doing on my child’s schedule?” Well, you are probably not alone and we would like to take this opportunity to answer this question.
Every student at Twain is enrolled in Learning Seminar during 4th period with a teacher they have for another class. The purpose of this time is to build community and deliver social/emotional instruction so that we are teaching the whole child. Throughout the year, we will be working to help students understand and manage emotions, set goals, show empathy for others, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
We are very enthusiastic about the opportunities that having this time devoted to wellness and personal growth will bring to our students and our school, and hope you will see some of the benefits at home as well.
Learning Seminar Overview for the week of September 14:
Each Learning Seminar lesson will be structured the same way. Class will begin with announcements from Twain TV. Here, any important updates and reminders will be given to students. You can see these and past news shows by visiting our YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/c/TwainTVNews. Next, students will have the opportunity to participate in a breathing or mindfulness exercise. This week, we’re focused on box breathing. Our School Social Worker will model this technique as students follow along. For those unfamiliar with breathing exercises, this is an activity meant to de-stress and ground our students before we begin our lessons. Following this, students will be led through a community building activity where the goal is to make connections to fellow classmates. Wednesday’s activity is called “Find Someone Who…” and students will be asked to design and share a slide that represents who they are. To close out Wednesday, students will play a game of would you rather and then reflect on how making connections to peers impacts our engagement. Friday, students will discuss motivation and how it can help drive us to reach a lofty goal. We will learn about some exceptional teens who have observed problems in their communities and worked to address it and bring about change. We will ask students to identify their own motivators and ask them to consider what they hope to achieve this year. To close out the week, we are going to have students create vision boards where they will consider what they hope to accomplish in the next 20 years. We have a fun week of learning and connecting with our students in 4th period. We encourage you to ask your student questions - Did they make any new friends? What motivates them? Where do they see themselves in 20 years? You could even ask them to show you how to do box breathing.
Digital Resources – Consent Required
At Twain Middle School, our teachers will use a variety of digital resources to support student learning and promote communication and collaboration with students and families. Some of the digital resources your child may use this year will require your consent before they can be used. You can find Twain’s list of the resources that require parental consent here: https://twainms.fcps.edu/adopteddigitalresources
Included on this page is also a link to a form where the enrolling parent or guardian will need to indicate whether or not their student is allowed to use the list of digital resources this year. This page also provides more information about how FCPS carefully reviews digital resources for approval and why we must request your consent before using certain tools. We encourage you to complete the parental consent for digital resources form as soon as possible, as your child will not be able to use the digital resources until we have received your permission. Please reach out to your child’s administrator if you have questions or concerns about the digital resources we’ve chosen to use this year.
2019-20 Yearbooks Still Available for Sale and Pick Up
Some 2019-20 Twain yearbooks are still available for purchase. Also, some students who purchased yearbooks last year have not picked them up. To purchase or pickup you can stop by Twain’s main office Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. Yearbooks can be purchase by check or cash. Checks should be made payable to Mark Twain Middle School. If paying by cash, exact change is greatly appreciated! If you have a receipt please bring it with you. Remember to read and respond to the required Health Questionnaire Screening before you enter the building.
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