The Mustang Round Up
March 26, 2023
Happy Spring Break!
Good Evening Mustang Families,
Can you believe it's already Spring Break? The last couple of weeks have been busy as classes prepare for state testing and our school hosted two important assemblies. Our first assembly was about the dangers of drug use. The 6th and 8th graders received a presentation by former DEA agent Rocky Herron and the 7th graders received a presentation by UCSD medical staff. Rocky Herron also spoke to parents in an evening event so parents could also be up to speed on the most current trends impacting young people in San Diego County. Rocky will be returning to Marshall for a community-wide evening event on Tuesday, April 25th. Joining Rocky will be Jennifer Harmon, Director of the San Diego Sheriff Crime Lab, and Bill Perno from SAY San Diego. Parents, this will be a second chance to get this important information. Click here for a flyer.
Last Week, we had our Kindness Rocks program. This program included a schoolwide assembly and two workshops, where 150 students each day went deeper into the ideas and concepts presented at the assembly. Our presenter Stu Cabe, spoke to the whole school about what it takes to spread kindness across campus. Stu shared the story about juvenile elephants that were placed in a refuge in South Africa and were developing violent and dangerous behavior rarely seen in elephants. When the park placed large mature elephants, the behaviors changed. (You can read more about the study here). Stu challenged the students, "Who are the big elephants on your campus? Who stands up for what is right?" In the following two days, Stu worked with 150 more student leaders to help them develop those "big elephant" practices. For the full day, students were led in experiences that tested and challenged their habits of engaging with others. Stu framed harmful behavior as habitual and just like habits, it takes:
#1 Awareness- Are we aware of what we say and how powerful words are? Are we aware of the damage harmful speech does and how much words can lift up others?
#2 Practice- Changing our behavior takes practice. A single workshop won't immediately change our behaviors, this work takes intentional practice. Expect mistakes and setbacks, but keep working on being kind and lifting up others.
#3 Communication- Are we speaking up when peers are harming others? This is where our big elephants step in to say, "This is not how we act here."
In the end, it was a powerful experience for our students. This program was funded and supported by our MMO. I am so grateful to our parents for trusting us and supporting us, with not only the funding but by providing lunch and volunteers for the week.
Have a safe and restful spring break!
Josh Way, Ed.D
NOTICE- Heightened Police Activity on Marshall Campus During Spring Break
San Diego Law Enforcement Training on Marshall Campus During Spring Break
MMS is excited to host the San Diego School Police and San Diego Police Department emergency training on the Marshall campus during spring break, March 27-31st. All week, officers will be training and practicing how to respond to active threats on a school campus.
Please be aware there will be heightened police activity on campus during spring break.
CAASPP Testing Scheduled for 4/24- 5/5, 2023
Marshall Middle School has identified April 24th through May 5th, 2023 (Tuesday-Thursday of each week) as our CAASPP assessment window. The CAASPP is comprised of the following:
- English Language Arts and Mathematics for all students in grades six through eight
- California Science Test (CAST), only for students in grade eight
- Receives adequate hours of sleep each night during the assessment window
- Arrives to school on time each morning (bell rings at 8:00am)
- Eats a healthy breakfast at home
- Refrain from scheduling routine dental/doctor appointments between the hours of 8:00am- 2:40pm on assessment days.
Thank you in advance for your support of our continuous efforts to enhance your child’s learning experiences at Marshall Middle School. If you have questions regarding the CAASPP assessment, please contact, Associate Principal Lauryn Edwards, our CAASPP Testing Coordinator at ledwards@sandi.net.
Sign Up for SDUSD Text Messaging
San Diego Unified School District has been sending important information via text message through SchoolMessenger in addition to email. To learn more about text-messaging, open this link.
How do recipients opt-in to receive text messages?
Text the word " YES" to 67587 from each wireless device they wish to receive texts on.
Confirm the text device number(s) are in SchoolMessenger. Note: Depending on the data synchronization configuration it may take 24 hours or more for numbers to be updated from the district SIS database.
NEW EVENT- Festival of Cultures!
Did you know there are 39 languages spoken at MMS? Let’s celebrate all the many different countries and cultures represented at MMS at our first ever FESTIVAL OF CULTURES! It will be on Wednesday, May 10 at lunch. We are looking for students who would like to host a country table, perform a cultural dance or song, or make a video sharing their culture. If you’d like to participate, fill out this Google Form and more information will be sent to you!
ASB Corner
Marshall Middle Parents!
Hello Marshall Middle Parents! Here is a quick reminder of some of our special events coming up in April:
- Taco Tuesdays are coming in April! Starting Tuesday, April 4th, students can purchase tacos after school every Tuesday in April!
- Spring Dance/ Red Carpet Gala Tickets will be on sale from Monday, April 10th to Tuesday, April 25th for $10.50 on the Marshall website. Be sure to order yours before they sell out!
The Marshall Market Student Store is open every Wednesday. Be sure to send your kids with money to buy some mechanical smencils, keychains, erasers, and vinyl stickers!
Our online apparel shop has new logos and customizable designs. Get your Marshall Spirit Wear at ApparelNow:https://apparelnow.com/marshall-middle-school-spiritwear
ASB Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/marshallmiddleasb/home
TikTok: @theactualmarshallasb
Instagram: @asb.marshall
Facebook: @Marshall ASB
.Some Things to Consider...
Have you ever wondered about the history of grading? This recent article in Edutopia shares the birth of grading in education and how it's evolved. When discussing the purpose of grades, the consensus is to provide feedback on student progress. Interestingly, this article reports that grades were initially created to intentionally sort and rank students. It raises a compelling problem with grading reform: how do we keep practices aligned with the intention of providing feedback, without letting the long-standing tendency to use grades as a way to rank students?