BCAT News

As students return to a more traditional school setting following a year of learning in a predominantly hybrid or remote setting, results from our fall diagnostic assessments show positive academic growth and show that our students are out performing national and state averages in Mathematics and Reading. While academically our students are showing positive signs of growth, schools are confronted by the overwhelming impact of the pandemic on student mental health and well-being. Research shows that after-school programs promote positive youth development and offer a safe space where students can explore their potential.

After-school programs support social, emotional, and academic development, promote physical health, and provide a safe and supportive environment for students. Marshall Simonds Middle School is excited to be able to bring back pre-pandemic after-school programming, as well as adding new programming to provide places for our students to build stronger connections to the MSMS community.

For students looking for more physical activity and sense of team, students can run on the Marshall Simonds Middle School Cross Country Team. As the only team sport associated with MSMS, the XC team trains up to four days a week after school and competes against local middle schools each fall. The MSMS XC team travels to other towns for away meets and hosting home meets at MSMS. Students interested in a variety of sports also have the opportunity to participate in Intramurals. Intramurals is a recreational sports program which is offered twice a week where students are provided choice and a variety of team sports throughout the school year.

Students looking for more of an academic experience have the opportunity to participate in clubs like National History Day, Math Olympiad, Coding Club, Girls Who Code, and the Robotics Team. Some of these offerings are just for fun, while others have culminating competitive events.

Long standing MSMS after school activities are still here, such as Student Council, the School Newspaper, the Grade 8 Yearbook, and the Photography Club. We also have some representation from our music department. The Chamber Orchestra, an audition ensemble, which is a subsection of our orchestra meets after school to further deepen their skills.

Marshall Simonds has also expanded offerings in the area of affinity groups. An affinity group is a designated “safe space,” where everyone in that group shares a particular identity. This identity can be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, physical/mental ability, socio-economic class, family structure, religion, etc. Affinity groups can be a place for underrepresented people in a community to come together to feel less isolated and more connected. During affinity groups participants might share and talk about their experiences or focus on working towards a particular mission or goal. While the Spectrum club has been around for a number of years, this fall we are excited to host the Asian Heritage Group and the Black and LatinX Club. Through a partnership with the Leading Equity Center, MSMS is also excited to offer the Advocacy Room. The Advocacy Room empowers students of any identity to self-advocate, become co-conspirators, and social justice leaders at their schools.