Family Mustang Memo
Parent/Guardian Newsletter November 16-30
In This Issue....
- Calendar of Upcoming Events
- What to Do When Your Student is Absent or Has an Appointment
- Denials for Student Photo's and Information to be Published
- PACT Meeting is Monday, November 22 - more information below
- Do You Need Insurance
- Brooklyn Park Families - See Below for a Giveaway
- Tic Tok Parent Resources
- MGMS Recycles
- Lunch ID's Needed
- Schoology Information
- School Meals/Free & Reduced Applications
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UPCOMING DATES
- A LOOK AHEAD
- November 18 - 8th Grade Choir Concert 7:00pm
- November 22 - PACT Meeting 6:30-8:00pm
- November 25-26 - Thanksgiving Holiday - No School
- December 2 - Jazz Band Concert 7:00pm
- December 3 - Last Day of Tri 1
- December 6 - Mark Reporting - No School for Students
- December 7 - Tri 2 Begins
- December 14 - 8th Grade Band Concert 7:00pm
- December 15 - 7th Grade Orchestra Concert 7:00pm
- December 16 - 8th Grade Orchestra Concert 7:00pm
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What To Do...
ABSENCES
If your child is going to be late or absent from school, please call the school with the reason for the absence. The telephone call eliminates the need to send a note with your student when he/she returns to school. We would appreciate having the call between the hours of 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM. Excused absences consist of illness, medical appointments, and family emergency situations such as a funeral. Oversleeping, missing the bus, or skipping school are not excused and are considered truancy.
MGMS 24 Hour Attendance Line: 763-315-7603.
APPOINTMENTS/EARLY RELEASE - HERE IS WHAT YOU DO
1. Send a note with your student in the morning
2. When the student gets to school they go to Student Services to get a white pass
3. At the stated time on the pass, your student leaves class and comes to the office with the white pass and signs out in the main office
4. The person picking up can wait in the car (very helpful on cold winter days)
If you didn't send a note, you will need to come in with a mask and your driver's license and we will call your student down when you arrive.
This procedure is in place to ensure student safety.
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Do Not Release My Student's Photo or Directory Information
If you wish to change it, this can be done through ParentVue, click on "Online Registration" in the upper right hand corner of the page, and go to the "Student" tab. Click and save until you reach the section "Information Release". The document below has step-by-step directions on how to do this.
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PACT
Hello MGMS Mustangs and Families,
Our PACT meeting is today Monday, November 22nd
Location: MGMS Media Center: enter through Main Office doors and up the stairs
Time: 6:30-8:00pm
Virtual Option: Virtual Meetings will be hosted on the Zoom Platform. If you are on a mobile device, it works best if you first download the Zoom app to your phone. If from a desk top, there is no need to download an app. Log on to: www.zoom.us. Click “join a meeting”. Enter the meeting ID: 952 929 0098. We look forward to seeing you there!
If you questions on how you can participate and get involved, always feel free to reach out to Andrea Dorn, MGMS Volunteer coordinator, at: dorna@district279.org, or PACT President, Ron Sonnek, at rsonnek@sicora.com.
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Do You Need Student Insurance?
You have the opportunity to enroll in low cost student accident insurance. Student Assurance offers dental insurance, an in-school only medical option, as well as 24-hour coverage and sports only coverage. This can also be helpful if you have high insurance deductible, or just need another source to help cover your student’s medical/dental care.
The school district offers this low cost insurance only as a services to our families; the district does not benefit in any way from this company. You will deal directly with Student Assurance when enrolling and if you end up filing a claim. Below is the link for information and enrollment: https://www.sas-mn.com/k12enronline/links/2021/mn/g1511_1513mn.html
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Attention Brooklyn Park Families
This Thanksgiving, we are honored to help families in need with Thanksgiving essentials!
Registered Brooklyn Park families will be provided a special brown bag with items to help make their Thanksgiving dinner special.
A turkey may be the main part of a Thanksgiving meal, but it takes more to have a full meal. We hope our brown bags help to ensure our families in the community have a full meal this Thanksgiving.
Pick up will be 1-3 p.m. Saturday, November 20 at Zanewood Recreation Center. Click this link to register: https://www.honored2help.org/events-2/brown-bag-giveaway
Zanewood Recreation Center
7100 Zane Ave N
Brooklyn Park, MN 55429
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Tik Toc Parent Resources
Looking for tips about various social media accounts and online safety?
CommonSenseMedia.org has some great resources. Explore the Parents Need to Know section. You’ll find information on apps, online safety and screen time. Here are a few resources on TikTok found on a couple different sites.
Social Media
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/social-media
Common Sense Media
Parents’ Ultimate Guide to TikTok
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok
National Online Safety
What Parents and Caregiver’s Need to Know About TikTok
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z_NR3ejTyySOapgy0tYrk5lK2RzSDjiz/view
Internet Matters.org
TikTok App Safety – What Parents Need to Know
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MGMS Recycles!
MGMS has implemented recycling building-wide this year. Not only are there recycling containers in the classrooms, now there are recycling containers in the hallways and lunchroom, too.
Schools have some of the worst recycling contamination rates. To reduce the chance of contaminated recycling having to be thrown in the garbage, we are only collecting paper and empty beverage containers at this time.
It takes on-going parent support to sustain the recycling program. If you’re passionate about helping our school be more environmentally friendly, contact Kendra Grand at KendraGrand@hotmail.com to learn how you can get involved.
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ID'S ARE NEEDED FOR LUNCH
Thank you.
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Schoology Information
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SCHOOL MEALS & FREE/REDUCED APPLICATIONS
School breakfast and lunch will be served FREE of charge to ALL students during the 2021-22 school year. There will be a charge for any a le cart items that students choose to purchase.
New this year, students will use there student ID card to scan at every breakfast and lunch time regardless if they are free or getting a le cart items. IDs will be handed out during the first week of school and we will start using them the second week of school. Please remind your child to keep their student IDs on them at all times while at school. We will be providing lanyards for them to hold their IDs.
FREE/Reduced Priced Lunch Applications STILL NEEDED: If you believe you would qualify for Free/Reduced Priced breakfast and lunch, PLEASE still fill out the application and turn it in. Even though breakfast and lunch will be free for all students this school year, these applications still need to be filled out in order for our school to receive funding. Please contact us if you have any questions or want assistance in filling out an application. Below is the link to fill it out online.
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WHO TO CONTACT
School Phone: 763-315-7600...............................Website: https://mgms.district279.org/
Attendance: 763-315-7603………………………………..Transportation: 763-391-7244
6th Grade
Patrick Smith, Principal………………….Email: SmithPatrick@district279.org
Caleb Willis, Counselor 6th Grade.......Email: WillisC@district279.org
7th Grade
Jennifer Hinker, Assistant Principal.....Email: HinkerJ@district279.org
Kaia Paquin, Counselor 7th Grade.......Email: PaquinK@district279.org
8th Grade
Cedric Fuller, Assistant Principal……..Email: FullerC@district279.org
Katie Gerdts, Counselor 8th Grade......Email: GerdtsK@district279.org
Student Management Specialists Assist With All Grades
Nathanial Davies – Email: DaviesN@district279.org
District Tip Line.........763-391-8660