Baker Middle School has partnered with the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) to create an experiential learning opportunity that sparks our students' imaginations and challenges them to step outside of their familiar experiences while being exposed to a variety of cultures and perspectives. Our DIA field trip allowed students to explore art, build skills in creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and active collaborative learning. Our students had a blast exploring one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States.

The DIA contains more than 65,000 artworks that date from the earliest civilizations to the present. During our visit we were immersed in more than 100 galleries and thousands of artworks. This year, visitors to the DIA have access to an augmented reality (AR) smart device called Lumin that uses Google’s Tango technology to provide in-depth ways to engage with the art collection. You can see images of this technology above. The DIA is the first art museum in the world to integrate this 3-D mapping and smartphone AR technology into a public mobile tour. This was an exciting event and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

March is Reading Month at Baker Middle School

“Let Our Reading Adventure Begin!” 2019"

Our National Reading Month activities are well underway. Looking around our building, you will see door decorations going up celebrating reading and literacy. Our students are taking the lead in motivating everyone to read more this month and the adults are joining in the fun. Each week this month, staff and community members are participating in First Chapter Fridays where they participate in a read aloud of the first chapter from their favorite middle school novel. To see how you can support our student's efforts in their mission, please look at the information below.

March is Reading Month Fundraising Event: “Let Our Reading Adventure Begin!” 2019

We are fundraising to install book murals like the ones below

These are the locations where we will put the murals

Events throughout the month...

• Read-A-Thon: (March 27th) Students will collect donations to add book murals to our Baker Hallway. Pledges are due March 25th.
• Door Decorating: (March 27th Voting) Students will decorate their classroom doors to celebrate reading. It can be a favorite book, a book related to your content area or related to our theme, “Let Our Reading Adventure Begin”.
• Book Drive: Used book collection March 11 - 15 in the flag hallway before school. This is a great time for students to clean out their bookshelves at home and bring in books they’ve finished reading. Raffle tickets will be given for every three books donated. Prizes include Zoyo gift cards and new books! Students can drop books off before school in the flag hallway.
• Need a Book, Take a Book: Book shop March 19 & 20 in the flag hallway before school. The books collected during our drive will be displayed for browsing. Before school, students may take up to 2 (new to them) books.
• Bake Sale: March 26 & 27 in the flag hallway before school

NPLD Oakland County Cohort Visit

On Wednesday, March 6th, the Troy School District hosted an NPDL (6C) County Cluster Cohort Professional Learning Day. Baker was selected as a host school for the morning activities. Each host school designed an experience for visitors that showcases their work toward deep learning. We were excited to have this opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from Berkley, Birmingham, Clarenceville, Ferndale, Rochester, and Oakland Schools.

The visitors engaged in classroom learning walks, participate in student-led conversations, and concluded with a facilitated debrief at the school. During the afternoon activities, the visitors and participating teachers and administrators met at Athens to participate in 4 NPDL (6C) break out sessions. This collaborative reflection helps educators challenge their thinking and design lessons with an emphasis on the concept of deep learning.

Pennies for Patients

Collection for the fundraiser began Monday March 4th and runs through Wednesday March 22nd. The collection will again take place during 4th hour. The money collected will go to the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society, which funds lifesaving research for the most lethal disease children face, blood cancers, and provide aid to Michigan patients and their families.

The 4th hour class with the most money raised will win a pasta lunch courtesy of Olive Garden. The Second place classroom will receive a pizza lunch. Any classes that reach a total of $500 or more will also receive cupcakes from Mrs. Traver.

Upcoming Dates

• Pay to Plug will take place at lunch Wednesday March 6th, March 13th, March 20th - $3 donation
• Hat Day will take place Friday March 15th - $1 donation
• PJ Day Tuesday March 19th - $1 donation.

Baker Athletics

Sports Update

Thursday, February 28th the Girls' Volleyball teams went on the road to play a tough battle against Boulan on their home court. The 7th grade team tied their game 2 to 2. The 8th grade team lost despite consistent passing and strong serving. On Monday, March 4th the Lady Bobcats hosted the Smith Knights at Baker but could not defend home court and come out with the win. The 7th grade team lost a hard fought game and the 8th grade team lost their game 1 to 3.

On Wednesday, March 6th the Wrestling team held their first meet of the season in front of a packed house. There was standing room only for those who attended after the start of the meet. It was an exciting evening and both teams came to compete. The Girls Volleyball team also had a game on Wednesday and went on the road to play Reuther. They continued their losing streak; however, they are looking forward to turning things around in their next game against Smith, Monday March 11th.

VOLLEYBALL SPIRIT WEAR ON SALE - Spirit wear shirts are available to all fans (staff, students, families, etc) that support our Baker TOUGH student-athletes. It will be available for purchase for $10 (or $12 for larger sizes) and we expect to have them back in about a week. Please click on the link above to place your orders online.

Science Olympiad

On Saturday, March 2nd, 30 Baker scientists competed against the best teams in Oakland County to claim 2nd place in the Primary Division and 1st place as an Alternate Team. After a long day of competing in 23 events they sat on the gym floor and awaited the results. In every event Baker students ran to the front to collect their prizes-ribbons and medals for being among the best. The primary team moves on to represent Region 6 at States on April 27 at MSU.

There are too many events and winners to mention them all but these scientists earned top in their events.

Primary Team: 1st Rank

• Anatomy: Rithwik Paladugu , Vishnav Ramesh
• Boomilever: Nurayda Albeez, Shreya Bala
• Battery Buggy: Akash bolineni, Rhea Pawar
• Heredity: Akshaj Sharma , Vishnav Ramesh
• Game On: Anish Chandra, Ananya kalidindi
• Solar System: Rhea Pawar , Gayathri Vanka

Alternate Team: 1st Rank

• Boomilever: Sritha Neelam , Akash Sarda
• Mystery Architecture: Arya Naidu , Divya Thirumaran
• Water Quality: Divya Thirumaran , Pranavi Kumar
• Write It Do It: Michelle Leon, Sridevi Swaminathan

World Class Wednesday

OneTroy Element Bee

On Wednesday, March 6th, Baker staff members and students were featured in the Troy School District World Class Wednesday video about the OneTroy Element Bee. Click on the video above to learn more about the OneTroy Element Bee, it's origin and how it's used to be an engaging and fun way for students to master the Periodic Table.

Drop Off Reminder

Over the past few weeks, we've seen an increase in students getting out of cars on the driver's side, parents not pulling up far enough around to allow several cars to drop off students at the same time. Please be reminded that the safety and security of our students is our highest priority! Help us ensure that drop off, especially with the ongoing construction is completed in a safe and orderly manner. Below are some reminders around drop off and pick up that will help us achieve that goal.

• Please remember to pull as far as possible all the way up to the bike-racks (See the image above). This allows multiple vehicles to unload at the same time. (You don’t have to be at the front of the line to unload!)
• Please have your student(s) ready to exit the vehicle by gathering all bags, materials, jackets, etc. prior to reaching the drop-off zone.
• STUDENTS SHOULD ONLY EXIT ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR!
• Please plan ahead and allow enough time to drop your child off safely. Students can be dropped off starting at 7:00 am. Dropping off early helps you avoid congestion and traffic delays at the start of school day.

Washington DC Trip

Registration is open for the 2020 8th Grade Washington DC Trip. The trip is scheduled for February 14 - 18, 2020. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Macintosh zmacIntosh@troy.k12.mi.us 248.823.4689. For more information and early registration, please click on the link below.

Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thursday, March, 14th from 5 - 8 pm

The Spring Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March, 14th from 5 - 8 pm. We are using the online Conference Manager scheduling tool to reserve conference times. This software, will allow you to pick and choose your own schedule for conferences, which can make for a more efficient and personalized experience for parents. Click on the link below to visit the Conference Manager website.

The Conference Manager closes Wednesday, March 13th at 3 pm.

A few tips:

• Keep “travel” time in mind and please do not schedule back to back conferences as it will take time to travel from room to room. Please allow 5 minutes between time slots.
• Please only schedule one conference per teacher/class (unless you have more than one child per teacher). 6th grade parents may schedule two back-to-back sessions with their ELA teacher since it is a 2-hour block.
• You can add comments/questions when scheduling your time that the teacher can see to help guide the conference
• Need help with directions? You can always call the office and we will help get you scheduled.

This Week at Baker

Sixth grade scientists worked on constructing models of DNA this week. They started the week by using blocks and ended by using licorice and marshmallows to create their DNA and eat it too. DNA testing never tasted so sweet!

PTO Communication

Help Needed in the Bobshop

The sign up is open for March! Please click on the link below to sign up. Spots fill up quickly. Thank you. We are looking forward to a great Bob Shop for the rest of the school year! - The Bob Shop Committee

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 theses 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.

Counseling Department

High School Scheduling

Current 8th Grade Students