Yesterday, UMMS welcomed guest speaker Mike Vecchio from the Travis Manion Foundation in honor of Veterans Day.
Mr. Vecchio spoke with our 8th-graders about the importance of character, leadership, & service. Through the stories of veterans Travis Manion & Brendan Looney, he shared the Foundation's motto, "If Not Me, Then Who?"
We’re grateful for this powerful reminder to lead by example & for the Foundation’s mission to build stronger communities. Thank you, TMF, for inspiring our students!
#UMProud #VeteransDay
Yesterday our amazing students at UMIS honored Mr. Joe & Mr. Bill with handmade cards & a parade in celebration of Veterans Day! Thank you to all of our staff members at UMTSD who have served our country! 💙🇺🇸 #UMProud #VeteransDay
This week, the UMHS Book Club made a special visit to our 3rd-grade classrooms at UMIS! 📚
3rd-graders designed & colored bookmarks, and UMHS students shared their favorite books like "Jumanji" & "Horton Hears a Who!" Afterward, students discussed the stories' themes, messages, & outcomes.
Thanks to our UMHS students for inspiring our young readers! 📖 #UMProud
Today, students & families at UMPS & UMIS celebrated Halloween with our annual Halloween parade! 🎃 It was amazing to see all the creative & fun costumes. A special thank you to the UMMS Band & Color Guard for the incredible entertainment they provided our spectators in the afternoon!
This week, #ProjectLIT Book Club kicked off its 7th year at UMMS with our first read, "A Work in Progress," - a story about a young boy's journey toward self-acceptance, using art to express his emotions.
During our activity, club members went around to four emotion-themed stations - happy, sad, angry, embarrassed - spending a few minutes drawing, doodling, or coloring what that emotion looks or feels like to them. We finished the activity with a gallery walk, seeing how others visualized each emotion.
Some reviews from this month's meeting included:
⭐ "Loved mixing with different people!"
⭐ "The community coming together is awesome!"
⭐ "The book was so inspirational"
⭐ "My group's discussion was great"
⭐ "The FOOD and the BLOOKET were my favorite!"
⭐ "We had so much fun"
⭐ "Pizza AND cookies?! Yes, please!"
⭐ "I loved the trivia game!"
Sound like something you're interested in? Stay tuned for our next book & meeting reveal in the next few weeks. Information will be shared via our weekly e-newsletters!
Earlier this month, the UMHS Diversity Club hosted its Kickoff/Kick Back Event, welcoming students back to school with an evening of cultural exchange, food, & fun! The event aimed to foster community & encourage students to share their cultures & learn about each other in a relaxed, welcoming environment.
Attendees enjoyed homemade dishes brought in by students & staff, played games led by the high school Physical Education Department, & enjoyed music curated by DJ Li (UMHS Senior, Lianna Adame).
It was a great event, bringing students & staff together to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up the UM community! #UMProud
This week at UMMS, Mr. Klocek’s 8th-grade Humanities classes explored the American Dream through a creative storytelling activity. As part of their Interdependence & Diversity unit, students tackled dense, challenging texts, breaking them down by Listing, Grouping, & Labeling key ideas. They then used this structure to create "Struggle for the American Dream" stories, focusing on the skill of simplifying complex ideas for their audience.
Students made the assignment fun by dressing up in costumes, and many groups brought humor into their presentations to keep their classmates engaged & entertained throughout the storytelling sessions.
This week at UMPS & UMIS, students hunted for treasure with our "Lucky Sticker Day" contest! Lucky students who found a sticker on the bottom of their lunch tray scored a prize from our pirate-themed treasure cart.
This year's theme, "School Lunch Pirates: Find Your Treasure!" had our Food Services crew dishing out a bounty of healthy meals to keep our young adventurers fueled through the day.
Many thanks to our incredible Food Services staff who dressed in full pirate gear & made this week extra fun for our students. We're so grateful for their hard work ensuring our students receive healthy, delicious meals during the school day!
#UMProud #NationalSchoolLunchWeek
At UMIS, students have been exploring the rich cultures, music, & traditions of Spanish-speaking countries to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
💃 3rd Grade: Students explored the sounds of the Spanish-speaking world by learning about music styles such as salsa, bachata, & flamenco! They even got to see traditional Mexican guitars and try out their own salsa & bachata dance steps.
🍴 4th Grade: Students became mini-chefs by researching famous dishes and currencies from various countries & creating food trucks and menus.
🚀 5th Grade: 5th graders worked together to create posters showcasing influential Hispanic figures & displayed them throughout the school. They also learned about NASA astronaut José Hernández & discussed how Spanish can be a valuable skill in future careers.
🎵 Mrs. Harmon's, Mrs. Lesher's, & Mrs. Malia's students crafted maracas to play along with the music they’ve been learning about.
Our schools were filled with PINK today as students & staff came together for the 10th Annual Pink Out, showing support for those impacted by breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 🎗️
Big shout out to the UMHS Field Hockey team for leading this initiative & raising money for breast cancer charities through their t-shirt sales! 🙌
Don't forget to join us tonight @ 7 PM as we continue our Pink Out at our football game against Wissahickon! 🐻 🏈 #UMProud #BreastCancerAwareness
Congratulations to the UMHS Marching Unit on their 1st Place finish at the Quakertown "Music in Motion" US Bands competition this past Saturday with their performance of the UMMU's 2024 production entitled, "A World Where We Belong."
This was their first competition of the season and they earned a score of 83.7 & swept the specialty awards for Best Music, Best Visual, Best Overall Effect, Best Percussion, & Best Color Guard in the Group V Open division, along with posting the HIGHEST score of all Open Class bands at the show! 🤯 Go UMMU! 🎉
UMMS students celebrated Constitution Day by exploring the history of Voting Rights and how they’ve expanded over time. They learned about who could vote in 1787 and analyzed key amendments that granted voting rights to people of all races, ethnicities, & genders. After their lessons, students engaged with the material in fun ways like hands-on activities & games!
On Constitution Day, students in Ms. Martz's 4th-grade class participated in a Zoom read-aloud of David Catrow's book, "We the Kids," based on the Preamble. Organized by The Rendell Center for Civic Engagement, the read-aloud gave the students the opportunity to dissect the meaning of this important historical document and consider its relevance to their lives today. Later in the school day, the class created "We the Kids" documents with their own ideas of what rights kids should be afforded! #UMproud #ConstitutionDay
On Constitution Day, 12th-graders in Ms. Loughnane's AP Government class stepped into the shoes of the Founding Fathers! 📜 Each student was assigned a signer of the Constitution and researched their historical figure & the states they represented. Dressed as their characters, students mingled just as the framers might have - discussing the unique challenges & goals of their respective states.
After their networking session, students engaged in a college-like seminar to prepare them for next year. They worked independently to answer prompts & then came together to discuss their responses as a group.
Happy Constitution Day! Today at UMIS we had a special visit from Uncle Sam himself! He stopped by all classrooms to share fun Constitution Day trivia & engaged with students in meaningful discussions about the purpose & importance of our Constitution. #ConstitutionDay #UMproud
Last month, UMHS hosted an orientation to welcome our new 9th-graders & other incoming students. Students & families enjoyed student-led tours and visited information stations across the school. Additionally, they were able to explore an activity fair where they could interact with representatives from various clubs, athletics, & other extracurricular activities. The event wrapped up with Kona Ice, soft pretzels, & an Upper Moreland Golden Bears t-shirt as a welcome gift. 🐻 We hope our 9th-graders are having a great second week of school! #UMProud
UMTSD students & staff are observing Patriot Day today by wearing their red, white, and blue in remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001. #NeverForget #PatriotDay #September11 #UMProud
Welcome back, Upper Moreland! We were thrilled to see so many smiling faces last week on the First Day of School.
Last week, UMMS welcomed incoming 6th-graders during their Orientation Day! 🎉
🌟 New 6th-graders met with current 7th & 8th-grade student council members who shared helpful insights about life at middle school. Student leaders covered topics generated by students & families from last year’s 5th-grade visitation & throughout the summer.
📅 Students reviewed their schedules, toured the building, & visited their classrooms. At the end of the tour, they received a Welcome 6th Grade BEAR Pride T-shirt 🐻💜 (BEAR = Belong, Empathy, Achieve, Resiliency)
👨👩👧👦 While the students were exploring, families met with the principal for a presentation about the transition to middle school. The Montgomery County Detective’s Office also provided valuable information on the safe and responsible use of social media.
For more details, click here: https://secure.smore.com/n/wbhzm
Our Primary School was buzzing with activity last month! 🏫✨
🌟 Our Kindergarteners learned how to find their classrooms & navigate the school at their Orientation last week. They participated in a fun scavenger hunt to discover important locations like the cafeteria, art room, & gymnasium. They even hopped on a school bus to learn all about bus safety! Teachers, school staff, and community sports & activity groups were also on hand to chat with families about all they have to offer.
🌟 Grades 1 & 2 AND New Students to the District visited UMPS and had a great time meeting with our Principals, touring the building, & getting all their questions answered.
Special thanks to the HSA for providing our kiddos with new class shirts & popsicles!
