Letter from the MC Principal
Hello MC families,
Congratulations to our 8th graders for completing their Exhibitions last week. It’s always a pleasure to watch the students present and each year they are so impressive. I visited each of the six 8th grade Advisories at least once over the course of the week and I saw students being really reflective and honest. They expressed themselves well and they weren’t afraid to get in front of a crowd. I’m grateful that Portfolio and Exhibitions are a part of what we do as a school. It gives us an opportunity to truly understand the growth and reflection that students have done over the course of their time at the Middle Campus. Using Portfolio and Exhibitions as part of our promotion criteria in addition to class grades, Milestones, and Community Project allows students to show us that they are ready for the next grade in multiple ways. 6th and 7th grade Exhibitions take place the week of May 11th and on that Tuesday our 8th graders head to Savannah for their year end trip.
The Pep Rally was a nice way to end the week. The kids always enjoy it and I love the way that we recognize everyone – clubs, sports, and academic success and growth during Power30.
Milestones testing began yesterday and continues this week for our 6th and 8th graders (8th graders begin at the end of the week and continue testing the following week). Seventh graders will test the following week. More specifically, the Spring 2026 Milestones schedule for next week is the following:
6th Grade
Mon. 4/27 (B day) Math sec. 1
Tues. 4/28 (A day) Math sec. 2
Wed. 4/29 (B day) ELA sec. 1
Thurs. 4/30 (A day) ELA sec. 2
Fri. 5/1 (B day) ELA sec. 3
8th Grade
Wed. 4/29 (B day) Algebra I (for students enrolled in online Algebra I)
Thurs. 4/30 (A day) Social Studies sec. 1 & 2
Fri. 5/1 (B day) Science sec. 1 & 2
We’re off to a good start so far – we just need students to continue giving their best effort. Please encourage your students to get proper rest, eat well, and get to school on time during Milestones so that they can put their best foot forward. As I mentioned above, our promotion criteria has multiple elements so Milestones testing is just one of the ways that we evaluate our students. We don’t want them to be overly stressed. They’ve worked hard all year, not they just need to come prepared each day to come in and do their best. Note: We’ve decided to keep Morning Meeting in the beginning of the day so that we can send our kids off into testing with good vibes. This is a change, because we initially had planned to do Morning Meeting at the end of the day as we’ve done the last few years.
The testing schedule for each the week of May 4th is the following:
7th Grade
Mon. 5/4 (A day) Math sec. 1
Tues. 5/5 (B day) Math sec. 2
Wed. 5/6 (A day) ELA sec. 1
Thurs. 5/7 (B day) ELA sec. 2
Fri. 5/8 (A day) ELA sec. 3
8th Grade
Mon. 5/4 (A day) Math sec. 1
Tues. 5/5 (B day) Math sec. 2
Wed. 5/6 (A day) ELA sec. 1
Thurs. 5/7 (B day) ELA sec. 2
Fri. 5/8 (A day) ELA sec. 3
As always if you have any questions feel free to reach out.
Kind regards,
Mark
Mark Sanders
Mark Sanders began teaching at ANCS in 2011. Before coming to the school, Mr. Sanders worked in New York City. He spent three years teaching 7th and 8th grade mathematics at Middle School 50 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and two years at Harlem Village Academies teaching Geometry and Algebra 2/Trigonometry. He taught 8th grade Math/Science/Technology at ANCS for five years.
