Above: On Wednesday, January 22nd, twenty brave students participated in the 2020 Baker Spelling Bee. It was an exciting event that lasted 33 rounds. We are proud of all participants and are impressed with the performances of our students.
Activities Calendar
End of the 1st Semester
The school year seems like it is flying by! We are already at the halfway point and have our sights set on the upcoming state testing and scheduling activities in the spring. Teachers are actively finalizing the Marking Period 2 grades preparing them for you to access in PowerSchool.
The final Marking Period 2 grades will be available in the PowerSchool Parent Portal by Friday, January 31st. To log in to the PowerSchool Parent Portal please click on the link below. If you have questions regarding PowerSchool please email pssupport@troy.k12.mi.us.
The Baker Spelling Bee
The 2020 Baker Spelling Bee was held on Wednesday, January 22nd at 3:15 pm in the media center. It was an exciting, competitive event that went 33 rounds, ending at 5:30 pm. Mrs. Mckenney, Mrs. Adelman, Ms Eve, and Mrs. Minnella served as the judges. After several talented students gave their best efforts, Niveditha Chandrakanth emerged as the 2020 Baker spelling bee champion.
In an interview, Niveditha stated that she felt prepared for the bee and studied the list of spelling words whenever she had an opportunity. Her parents helped her efforts by quizzing her before the spelling bee. We are proud of all of our participants. Congratulations are also in order for the runner up, Nicholas Carranza who won last year's spelling bee. He came within one word of being a back to back champion. In February, Niveditha will go to Oakland Schools to represent Baker and OneTroy when she competes in the Regional Spelling Bee. We wish her good luck and will be rooting for her.
TYA Youth Involvement Party
On Tuesday, January 21st, several Baker students travelled to Morse Elementary to participate in the Annual Troy Youth Assistance Youth Involvement Party. During this event, our students volunteered their time to play games, make fleece blankets, and eat pizza with Morse students.
This was a great opportunity for the Morse students to meet middle school students, ask questions, form relationships, and have a good time. During the event, students could be heard saying, "What are you most scared about in Middle School?” “These chairs are so small!” and plenty of laughter! It was a fun event for both groups of students.
Sign-In Kiosk
Starting Monday, January 27th, volunteers, students and visitors will sign in and out using our new touch screen sign-in kiosk in the main office. We are moving away from our traditional 3 ring binders for our visitor and student sign-in/out sheets. This will save you and your student time during drop-off and pick-up. It will also print passes and visitor name tags all with the push of a button. We are excited about this new addition to the office and have a tutorial for you to view below.
Baker Athletics
Save the Date: Volleyball Tryouts are January 27 - 29. Tryouts will be held in the gym from 3 - 5:30 pm. For more information contact Coach Barbat nbarbat@troy.k12.mi.us or Coach Miller slmiller@troy.k12.mi.us
WIDA Testing
For English Language Learners Only!
During the month of February, Mrs. Barbat, Ms. Economos and Mrs. Kakos will be administering the English proficiency test WIDA-ACCESS. This is a national mandated test that we are required to give to all English Language Learners at Baker. The test will be administered through student iPads on the DRC app. There are 4 sessions each student must complete: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Within each session, the test assesses a student’s English language proficiency in Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Social Interaction. Students will be begin testing on February 6th.
Each session will take approximately two class periods. We hope to minimize the amount of class time students miss for these tests by rotating the series of tests every week. Students will be responsible for making up any work from your classes that they miss because of testing (and we are here to help them!). Please see Schoology Group for the WIDA Testing Schedule and WIDA Testing Groups. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Barbat at nbarbat@troy.k12.mi.us
This Week at Baker
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Attention all musicians, artists, and actors! A representative from the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp will be at Baker on Monday January 27th to hear auditions for scholarship money to help pay for camp. Signs up for the audition begin Monday, January 27th and end on Tuesday. See the sign up table by the cafeteria and choir room. You can learn more about the summer arts camp at Bluelake.org. For more information about the scholarship opportunity see your currents arts teacher or Dr. X.
Baker Veteran's History Project
“The first installment of the Baker Veteran's History Project occurred on May 21 and 22, 2019. Veterans from all branches of service came in and sat down for interviews and shared their stories with groups of 8th grade students. Students recorded the interviews, documented with videos and images, and uploaded the files to an archive website that can be found at https://bakerveteransproject.weebly.com
The 8th graders are looking for more veterans to interview in May 2020. We are currently looking to get into contact with any veteran of any branch of service from any time that would like to come in and talk to a group of students about their experiences. Please take a moment to look at the website students created last year using the link above.
If you know someone that would like to participate please send them the link to the survey below as well! Sending them the link would help us gain more veterans and more stories to be told and shared! Please contact Mr. MacIntosh at zmacintosh@troy.k12.mi.us if you have any questions?
Washington DC Trip 2020-21
Counseling Resources
Athens & Troy High Counseling Dates
TYA Youth Recognition
The Baker Middle School Parent/Teacher Organization provides comprehensive services and support to students, parents and teachers to enhance the learning environment and experience. They provide support and funding for activities within Baker, TSD and the Troy community. If you would like to learn more information about the PTO and how you can get involved, feel free to join us for one of the PTO Board Meetings.
PTO Board Meeting Dates
- Monday 1/27
- Monday 2/24
- Monday 3/23
- Monday 4/27
- Monday 5/18
The 8th Grade Party
Save the Date: Wednesday, June 10th: 8th Grade Party (12 – 2 pm)
Attention 8th Grade Parents:
The PTO 8th Grade Party Planning Committee is beginning their work for this year's big event. More information will be coming out regarding donations needed, opportunities to volunteer both in planning and the day of the event. For more information, please reach out to the PTO at bakermspto@gmail.com.
The Bobshop
Hello and welcome to the Baker Bob Shop! We really appreciate you signing up to volunteer. The shift runs every school day from 11:15am - 1:00pm. On these days we need one Shop Keeper, with the exception of Tuesdays and Fridays. These are Candy Days and usually very busy, so we ask for two Shop Keepers.
Don't worry if you have not volunteered in the past. There are directions in the Bob Shop, and Jennifer Molotky is there most days as a noon aide. She is overseeing the Bob Shop this year and is happy to help anyone who needs it!
Please review the slots using the link below and sign up where you can. Be mindful to let everyone have a chance to take a spot so as to be fair. Again, we really appreciate your willingness to help out and have fun Shop Keepers!! Feel free to email or text me any questions.
Kristin Kennaugh
Kroger Rewards & Amazon Smile
The Baker PTO has the opportunity to raise a significant amount of funds every year through purchases regularly made at Kroger and Amazon! Many of you already make purchases through these companies. They are willing to donate a portion of the proceeds back to Baker. These funds go directly into the classroom, impacting all Baker students. If you have not registered yet with Kroger or Amazon, simply click on the links below to find out how. Please consider asking your family and friends to sign up for this FREE benefit for our Bobcats. Thank you for support of the Baker PTO.
Additional Flyers
Attention all Middle School students! Troy v Athens High School girls basketball is scheduled for Thursday, February 6th at Athens High School. In addition to being one of the biggest rivalry games of the year, it is also “Middle School Night” and “Coaches vs Cancer”. All Troy Middle School students get in free with your student ID. Girls Middle School basketball players will have a reserved section behind the players bench. Special activities are also planned during halftime of the Varsity game for all Middle School students. Girls JVB begins at 4 pm, followed by JVA at 5:30 pm and Varsity at 7 pm. Mark your calendars for an exciting and fun filled evening!