Important Information:

Best wishes to our 8th graders next year! Thank you for a great year!

Report Cards are available on PowerSchool (If you would like a paper version, please contact MMS at 603-424-6289)

Tech Ed:

Some final projects in Tech Education for the year!

71 Science:

Students chose a species to research and designed models for zoo exhibits and created educational materials that went with their models that included the animals' natural history and information like diets, range, food webs and more. Some students also did their models as drawings, Minecraft worlds among other digital/visual examples.

MMS Bloggers Final Update:

Turning Red Movie review by Brianna Wahome

Full story

Meilin Lee is a 13-year-old girl who is torn between being her mother's proud, good, amazing daughter and the mayhem of her childhood side. As if that were not enough, when she gets too excited, she turns into a big red panda. Her parents care for her a lot, but they don’t know if they can trust her with this kind of power. If that wasn’t enough, her mother & father will not approve of such as part of being an obsessive group of friends who go gaga over the boy band 4*Town. So, her friends help her get to that concert, by making sales, videos, and going to a birthday party after school. But the stakes are high!!! What will she do? Will Meilin lee choose to be a “good kid” & go to her parents for “help” or stand up to them and do everything it takes to be with her friends to the best concert of her life?

Review

I’ve watched this movie and I didn’t expect it to be THIS good! It’s an amazing, talent, family-fun movie. I would also say I give this movie a 10/10 review!

Jurassic World: Dominion Movie Review

Released June 10^th, 2022

The world is in turmoil. Dinosaurs have been released on the mainland and are spreading across the planet causing an ecological disaster. Biosyn Is back, the same corporation responsible for the incident in the first park, has now caused a prehistoric locust plague that’s destroying the world’s food supply. The original three cast members return from the first movie. This is the perfect ending to the franchise. See it now!

Joey's rating: 100/10

MMS Baseball Updates: Season Wrap-up!!

On 5/23 Merrimack played Hudson at Hudson, taking the win 6-3. Evan Sousa got the start for Merrimack, striking out 7 and giving up 3 runs in 6 innings.  Danny Lavigne led Merrimack with 2 hits. Evan had 3 stolen bases. Most of Merrimack's runs were scored by errors on Hudson. Great job by Merrimack.  They needed that win!

This would be the biggest game of the season, Merrimack needed to win this game to advance to the playoffs. There was extra pressure on the 7^th graders, because the 8^th graders were in DC, and the team only had 9 players. Merrimack took on Timberlane at home on 5/25. Jaden Gallano got the start for Merrimack. He pitched 7 innings, striking out 6 and only giving up 1 hit. Merrimack had good fielding and was great with only 1 error. Gavin Graves and Liam Aubut led Merrimack's hitting with 1 hit each. Merrimack took the win 2-0 to make the Hatchets move on to the playoffs.

MMS Baseball took on Londonderry on 6/2 in Londonderry in the first round of the playoffs. Evan Sousa got the start for Merrimack. Evan lasted 5 innings, allowing 5 hits and three runs while striking out five batters. Merrimack only had 4 hits, those hits were by Lucas Mantini, Shane Staskiewicz, Evan Sousa, and Danny Lavigne. Unfortunately, Merrimack's hitting was not the best. They were unable to get base runners and when they had those runners, they were unable to do anything with them. With that Merrimack lost 3-1. Great season boys.

Upcoming Dates:

6-20 - 8th Grade Awards at MMS (All parents of students receiving an award have been notified via US Mail, all parents are welcome!)

6-21 - Last day of school! Happy Summer!

 

Upcoming Dates:

6/16 - MMS School Dance - Tickets $10 (Advanced purchase only!)

6/20 - 8th Grade Awards (Parents of students receiving an award will be notified)

6/21 - Last day of school! 11:00 AM Dismissal

MMS Band/Chorus:

Last Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, was the MMS Spring Concert! Congratulations to all the musicians who participated! Here are a few photos from the event on Tuesday night as well as Wednesday morning.

Tech Ed:

Students just finished a 2 week project working on marble runs. The goal was to create a run that would last one full minute. The longest run was 42.7 seconds. While this may have been short of the goal, it was certainly a very amazing feat and effort by the MMS students.

Upcoming Events:

6/7 - MMS Band/Chorus Spring Concert (6:30 PM)

6/16 - MMS School Dance 4:30-7:00

6/20 - 8th Grade Awards (Parents of students receiving an award will be notified)

From the MMS Bloggers:

Movie Franchise Review 

By Joey 

Jurassic Park  

Released: June 9, 1993 

Summary: A rich man buys an island and builds the grandest park in history, filled with wonders and dinosaurs. When an incident occurs, Hammonds plans are in danger, so he brings Ian Malcom, Dr. Grant, and Dr. Sattler to sign off on his island. When the power shuts off the dinosaurs claim the island.   Will they survive Jurassic Park? 

Joey’s Rating: 10/10 

 Jurassic Park: The Lost World  

Released: May 19, 1997 

Summary: Four years after the incident of Jurassic Park, Ian Malcom has become ruined after Ingen lied about the incident.  Hammond lost the company.  He tells Malcom something still exists on Isla Sorna, and the new boss of Ingen has nefarious plans to bring the dinosaurs to the mainland.  Ian must stop them. 

Joey’s Rating: 10/10 

 Jurassic Park 3  

Released: July 18, 2001 

After the secrets have been released about the events at Jurassic Park, Alan Grant has been digging in Montana still, but he is low on funds and will have to shut down.   When a businessman offers him a lot of money to give him a flying tour of Isla Sorna, something goes wrong.   They are searching for someone.   Trapped on another dinosaur filled island, he must find a way out before a creature bigger than the T-rex hunts them down. 

Joey’s Rating: 10/10 

Jurassic World  

Released: June 12, 2015 

Years later, after all the incidents, Jurassic World, Hammond's dream, is finally perfected, until they took it too far.  A genetically modified dinosaur escaped and risked the lives of everyone on the island.  Claire fears for her nephews who are visiting the park.   When the only way to hunt the Indominus Rex is to release the raptors, Blue, Charlie, Echo, and Delta raptor trainer, Owen Grady, must trust that his bond with blue and the rest is enough.  

Joey’s Rating: 10/10 

 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 

Released: June 22, 2018 

3 years after the events of Jurassic World, Claire Dearing is trying to save the dinosaurs from the volcano that has become active on Isla Nublar.  Hammond's silent partner in Jurassic Park shows Claire that he wants to save them, too.  However, a dark secret lingers in the basement, a creature, more horrible than the Indominus Rex.   Claire must convince Owen to return to save Blue, the last raptor alive.  

Joey’s Rating: 10/10 

 Jurassic World: Dominion 

The next movie in the Jurassic franchise is going to be released on June 10th at theaters everywhere!  Don’t forget to buy your tickets to see what happens next! 

Will Joey rate this movie a 10/10?  Stay tuned for future Blog posts! 

 

Baseball Updates

By Gavin 

On 5/20 Merrimack Hatchets took on Windham Wildcats. Merrimack took the victory 4-2. Zach Retey got the start on the mound for Merrimack. He went 4 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 run while striking out two. The fifth inning was the “big talk!” Merrimack was down 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth. Lucas Mantini started the inning off by getting on base, on an error. Next Zach Retey hit a single into left field. Then Evan Sousa reached on catcher's interference, and Connor Page hit a double into right field, scoring two runs to tie the game. Shane Staskiewicz hit a single to score Connor and Evan, to take the lead. Merrimack closed out the game in the 7th and took the “W!” 

On 5/23 Merrimack played Hudson at Hudson, taking the win 6-3. Evan Sousa got the start for Merrimack, striking out 7 and giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. Danny Lavigne led Merrimack with 2 hits. Evan had 3 stolen bases. Most of Merrimack's runs were scored by errors on Hudson. Great job by Merrimack. We needed that win! 

 

Faculty In Five Facts 

By Liv and Bella 

Brian Mckenna

Position in school: Substitute 

Why did you start teaching: Give back to the community 

Favorite cookie: Chocolate chip 

If you weren’t a teacher what you be: Retired 

Favorite person/idol: Elon Musk 

Salt or Pepper: Pepper 

 

Mrs.Smith 

Position in school: Math Coordinator 

Why did you start teaching: 10th grade teacher 

Favorite cookie: Chocolate chip 

If you weren’t a teacher what you be: work with animals 

Favorite person/idol: 10th grade teacher Mary Beth Jones 

Salt or Pepper: Neither 

 

 

Quarter 4 FLEX Update 

At the start of quarter four on April 11th, MMS students started new FLEX activities. These are some of the highlighted activities.  

Photographers: Anna Corga, Cameron Bellen, and Chamberlain Jamiola 

Granite Gambit-Mr. Adams 

Embroidery–Mrs. Roy 

Kindness Rocks- Mrs. Rapson and Mrs.Tsourvakas 

Lovin’ in the library- Mrs. Denehy 

International Travel- Sra. Gomez, Sra. Sekela, and Sra. McHail 

Trail Walking- Mr. Babin 

Nature Journaling- Mrs. BC 

Current Events- Mrs. Croteau and Mr. Chasin 

Dodgeball- Mrs. Chapman and Mr. Battista 

MMS TV- Mr. Costa and Mr. Bike 

MMS Bloggers- Mr.Caragher and Mrs. Diggins 

Chorus- Mr. McGinnis 

Band- Mrs. Levine 

SIS- Mrs. Powers 

On Team Support- On team teachers 

 

Important Dates:

5/24-5/27 - DC/At Home 8th Grade Experience

5/30 - Memorial Day (No School)

Merrimack Vision of a Learner Survey:

Merrimack School District has created a task force of educators, parents, students, and community members to create a vision of a learner for the district. This vision would guide everything from curriculum design, to hiring, to professional development for educators, to budget appropriation requests, to planning at each of the schools. The task force has been reaching out to and interviewing members of the community in order to build this vision on the foundation of a common understanding of what we want for the young people of Merrimack. In order to include even more voices, we have created this survey. We look forward to your thoughts.

SURVEY

Nature Journaling with Mrs. Blain-Cohn:

Here are a few pictures of students doing some nature journaling outside during the spell of nice weather.

From the MMS Bloggers:

  MMS Baseball Updates

Hello, welcome back to MMS Baseball Updates! The Merrimack Hatchet’s took on Londonderry Middle School on May 3rd. They took a 6 to 2 loss. Cole Lancaster got the start on the mound for the Hatchets, and he had two strikeouts on the day. Merrimack’s fielding was not there that day with 4 errors. Zach Retey led the hitting game for Merrimack with two hits. Merrimack didn’t play their best game. 

Hello, welcome back to MMS Baseball updates. Merrimack took on Elm Street on May 5th, losing 4-1. Lucas Mantini was the pitcher for Merrimack that day. Lucas gave up zero hits but let 2 runs come in to score. He pitched 4 innings, striking out 6 batters. The fielding was not there for Merrimack; they had 4 errors on the day. Zach Retey led the team in hitting going 2 for 2. Merrimack only let Elm Street get 1 hit. Merrimack didn’t have a good day. 

Merrimack took on the Hudson Colts on 5/9 and had a hard loss 1-13. Merrimack had their worst fielding performance ever with 6 errors. Evan Sousa took the mound for Merrimack, he went 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on one hit, he struck out 5. Lucas Mantini, Evan Sousa, Cole Lancaster, and Gavin Graves all led the team hitting with 1 hit.

Merrimack took on Woodbury Middle School and won 15-5. Merrimack had a great game overall. Jaden Gallano took the start for Merrimack allowing six hits and five runs and striking out six. Merrimack got 13 hits on the day, the big inning was inning number 6, Woodbury tied the game at 5 in the top of the sixth. Ian Gagnon started the inning off for Merrimack with a single to center field, Ian then steals second base, with 1 out Evan Sousa comes up to hit for Merrimack, Ian Gagnon steals 3rd base on a pass ball, Evan Sousa then hits into a fielder's choice the fielder goes home with it and Ian safe at home and Evan safe at first base, Zach Retey now up to hit, he hits a single to left. Gavin Graves gets up with 2 runners on he hits a ground ball to the pitcher, he misses it, picks it up, and then throws the first basemen off the bag, next Shane Staskiewicz walks now the bases are loaded. Cole Lancaster up to hit for the hatchets, then coke hits a base clearing double scoring three runs! With Cole on second he steals third base now Ben Goldstein has a chance to end the game if he scores Cole Lancaster. Ben hits a single to the shortstop and Cole Scores to end the game 15-5.  

Faculty in Five:

 

Upcoming Events:

5/16 - Permission Slips Due for 8th Grade At Home Program

5/20 - Mid Quarter 

5/24-27 - 8th Grade Culminating Activity (DC and At Home Programs for 8th Graders)

Yearbook sales are on! Click HERE for order information! (7th Grade portion is comprised of candid photos only!)

Webinar Event

LIKE Documentary Merrimack School District has a limited time access for free viewing of the documentary LIKE. LIKE is an iNDIEFLIX Original documentary that explores the impact of social media on our lives and the effects of technology on the brain. The goal of the film is to inspire and help us to self-regulate. Social media is a tool and social platforms are a place to connect, share, and care... but is that what's really happening? By understanding the effects of technology and social media on the brain, on our lives, and on our civilization, we can learn how to navigate it more safely together. Here is the way to get access to view the film LIKE! The access window is: May 9 @ 7am EDT through May 16 @ 11:30pm EDT. DASHBOARD LINK

Band and Chorus Honor Festival

On Saturday, May 7, 4 members of the MMS Concert Band and 1 member from the MMS Chorus participated in the NHMEA South Central District Honor Band/Chorus Festival.  Our kids worked very hard in preparation for the event and did a fantastic job!  Congratulations, kids!  You make Merrimack proud!

Drama Club Field Trip

Our Drama Club students had an opportunity to go and see a play today. As part of the event, they were able to talk to the performers after their lunch and ask different questions about productions and experiences.

It Takes a Village

The Merrimack School District System of Care and Learning Supports (SoCals) friends, family, and professional educators have organized our first It Takes a Village event. Friends and families from both the Merrimack community and our surrounding communities are welcome to join! This is a great time to meet up with friends while getting to know other local families!

When: May 21 from 10am - 1pm
Rain date: June 4 from 10am - 1pm

Where: 141 Camp Sargent Rd, Merrimack, NH 03054 (YMCA Camp Sargent)

Click HERE for more information!

MMS Baseball Update 3 

Hello, welcome back to MMS Baseball Updates. In this game, Merrimack Hatchets took on the state champs Mountain View Middle School. The Hatchets took a hard loss, 10-0. Zach Retey was the starting pitcher. Evan Sousa led the hitting game for Merrimack with one hit. The Hatchet’s fielding wasn’t that good, with three errors on the day. Overall, it was a hard loss for the Hatchets. 

Upcoming Events:

5/10/22 - DC Meeting (for parents and students attending the DC trip)

5/11/22 - 6th Grade Parent Night at MMS Cafe (6:30 PM)

This Week Only!

Merrimack School District has a limited time access for free viewing of the documentary LIKE. LIKE is an iNDIEFLIX Original documentary that explores the impact of social media on our lives and the effects of technology on the brain. The goal of the film is to inspire and help us to self-regulate. Social media is a tool and social platforms are a place to connect, share, and care... but is that what's really happening? By understanding the effects of technology and social media on the brain, on our lives, and on our civilization, we can learn how to navigate it more safely together.

Here is the way to get access to view the film LIKE!

The access window is: May 9 @ 7am EDT through May 16 @ 11:30pm EDT.

DASHBOARD LINK

New England spring blooms are studied and journaled by flex students!

From the MMS Bloggers:

MMS Baseball Updates by Gavin: (1st and 2nd edition)

Hello, welcome to MMS baseball updates. Here I will be keeping you updated with the MMS baseball, that includes games, stats, and player updates. Here we will be recapping game 1 of MMS baseball. MMS Hatchets played at Bedford on 4/14/2022, it was a tough loss for the hatchets as Bedford walked it off against Merrimack in the 7th inning. Evan Sousa started the game on the mound for Merrimack, he threw 33 pitches in 2 innings and only gave up 1 hit! Lucus Mantini led the hitting game for Merrimack with 2 hits for 2 singles with a batting average of 667. Danny Lavigne had the only run for Merrimack. The final score was 2-1 with Bedford taking the win. 

Hello, this is MMS baseball update #2, MMS traveled to Timberlane on 4/21 and took a major win, it was the first win for MMS baseball in more then 3 years. Zach Retey started on the bump for Merrimack with 5 K’s, Evan Sousa came into relief, he pitched 1 and 1/3 innings and closed out the game for Merrimack. Merrimack out up 3 runs in the 6th inning. Connor Page, Kyle Brander, Zach Retey, and Danny Lavigne all got 1 RBIS for Merrimack.  Total score, 4-2 Merrimack Hatchets take the win. 

Faculty in Five:

Upcoming Events:

4/25 - 4/29 April Vacation

Animal Encounters:

Today our 7th grade students got a visit thanks to the PTG from Animal Encounters. This program brings a variety of different animals into the building for students to see and in some cases hold. They are primarily species of animals that are not native to our area or are part of their rehabilitation efforts.

National Junior Duck Stamp Competition Results:

Earlier this year, MMS students submitted artwork into the National Junior Duck Stamp competition. Six MMS students received honorable mention ribbons from the State of New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife Service. Students should drop by Mrs. Roy's art room to pick up their art and ribbons. 

Here is the beautiful artwork that was entered into the competition:

From the MMS Bloggers:

 

Upcoming Events:

Today 4/8/22 - End of 3rd Quarter

Tuesday 4/12/22 - Voting day for the public at MMS! Please consider sending your students on the bus. Note below the change in traffic pattern for the morning drop off!

Menu Change for 4-12-22

• Chicken Patty or Spicy Chicken Patty, Carrots, Apple
• Bagel Meal
• Cereal Meal
• Sunbutter and Jelly Sandwich Meal
• Milk

Tech Ed News:

Quarter 3 Race Winners! Balsa wood dragsters were created by 8^th Grade Tech Ed students. The cars are raced on a 30 foot indoor track. Here are the winners for Q3!

81:   1^st Place: Haylee

        2^nd  Place: Mia  

        3^rd Place: Cassie

82:   1^st Place:  Carter

        2^nd Place:  Kesley

        3^rd Place: Kallen

83:   1^st Place:  Carter

         2^nd Place: Lincoln

         3^rd Place:  Emily

Art Paintings:

All 7th grade students participated in the creation of beautiful watercolor landscapes. Take a peak below for some of the results of thier efforts!

Honors selection notification has been delayed. Letters will be sent home as soon as possible!

From the Bloggers...

Garage Band App Review

Garage Band is an app that allows you to play a variety of instruments such as the drums, guitar, sitar, piano, and violin.  After experiencing this app, we gave it an average rating of 1.8 out of 5.  Here are our individual reviews:

Kaiden Okowuga: I rated the game 3 out of 5 because you can explore different instruments, but it is hard to learn how to play instruments through the app, so that is why I rated it a 3.

Evan Flores: I rated this game a 2 because the piano doesn't make different sounds. Very boring after 2 minutes.

Evan Sousa: I rate this game a 1 out of 5 because it is boring and a waste of time, but you can learn the keys on a piano.

Cooper Koutalakis:  I rate this app a 2 out of 5.  It’s pretty useless and not very fun.

Gavin Graves:  I rate this app a 1 out of 5 because it is a waste of time, super boring, and unrealistic compared to real life music playing.

Upcoming Dates:

4/1 and 4/2 - MMS Drama Club Musical CLICK HERE for ticket information

4/8 - End of 3rd Quarter!

Merrimack Drama Club Presents: Peter Pan the Musical (MMS Bloggers) 

Hello MMS students! I have an important announcement to make. The play Peter Pan is going to be performed on April 1st and 2nd. Now, let’s look at what a member of the play has to say. 

Joselyn Rutstein, who has been doing theater for about 10 years, plays the part of Peter Pan! The scene she’s looking forward to doing is Act One. She found out her role from the stage website, and it got onto Tik Tok. It then went viral and got on TV! She’s very passionate about making this play a good one, so come and cheer for her and all the cast and crew! 

APP Review: AMONG US (MMS Bloggers)

 

The first game we reviewed was “Among Us.” We played 3 rounds and then at the end we rated the game on a scale of 1 out of 5.  We added up the total and then the average rating was 2.6; here are our reviews: 

Gavin Graves, “It was fun but got boring by the second round.   It isn't fun when you’re face to face with other players like your friends.  For that I gave it a 3/5.”  

Evan Flores, “It is a fun game sometimes, but the only thing that is dumb is that it is hard to be the selected imposter, but overall I gave it a 4.”  

Evan Sousa: “It was very boring, so I gave it a 1.”  

Kaiden Okowuga: “I think the cons where when you were playing with friends in the same room, it is extremely easy to tell who the impostor is.  The pros are that when playing online with random people there is a good mystery in the game, and that is why I gave it a 4.  

Cooper Koutalakis: “Game was horrible- 1/5.” 

Social Media Survey (MMS Bloggers)

Our goal was to learn about the differences between younger and older people and the social media apps they prefer to use.  We went around the school handing out a survey we created to 4 students and 4 teachers, from 4 different FLEX activities. We asked them to answer questions about the social media that they have/use. After all the surveys were done, we typed up all the information and eventually made it into graphs comparing teacher's social media to students.

Here’s what we found out:

• Out of all the people that we surveyed, the teachers of MMS use a greater variety of social media than students.
• While the students use fewer social media apps, more students use the same apps.

MMS Phone Usage Survey

By: Alexis Covey (MMS Bloggers)

The current MMS phone policy is that phones should be off and away in the halls.  Students are not allowed to use them in the lunchroom.  If students do, it will get taken.  Students can use them in class, but only with a teacher’s permission. I’ve interviewed some students to find out how they feel about this phone policy and here are their answers:

Opinion on phone usage?

Lila- I think we should be able to use our phones as long as we want, if it’s not a distraction.

Keirra- I think we should be able to use our phones when we aren’t doing anything. We should be able to use them when not disrupting the class, but in some matters, there are times we shouldn’t be using them because some students can’t be trusted.

Alyssa- It's fine. I don’t really care.

Gavin- It’s fair.

Should we be able to use our phones during lunch?

Lila- Yes, it’s on our own time.

Keirra- Yes, we should.

Alyssa- Yes.

Gavin- Yes.

Should we be able to use our phones when we aren’t working?

Lila- Yes, because we are sitting there quietly.

Keirra-Yes, because if we aren’t doing anything, I want my phone. 

Alyssa- Yes.

Gavin- Yes.

Should we be able to listen to music if it helps us focus?

Lila- Of course we should!

Keirra-YES!

Alyssa- Yes.

Gavin-Yes.

Exciting Things Happening in Mr. Hill's Science Class:

One of the many areas where art overlaps with science is when paleontologists discover fossils. Given only the skeleton, and oftentimes partial skeletons, scientists employ artists to draw, sculpt, and imagine what that animal may have looked like. Because of this, all of the dinosaurs that we see in pictures, movies, museums that have anything besides their skeletons, are the best guesses based on the artist's interpretations. Mr. Hill provided students with a challenge, where he gave them the picture of a skull and asked them to draw what they thought the animal looked like. 4 individuals took that challenge. These are what our artists came up with.

The Skull: Hippopotamus 

MMS Concert Band Performance  

Recently, the MMS Concert Band performed at the NHMEA Large Group Festival on Saturday, March 19, 2022.  The band did an amazing job!