Good Evening Mustang Families,

Matriculation season is upon us. This coming week, we have our future Mustangs coming on campus for their 5th Grade tour and this past week our 8th graders visited SRHS for "Falcon Day". I want to say a huge Thank You to Scripps Ranch High School for a fantastic day. Their staff and student leaders did an awesome job guiding our 8th graders through a series of activities that helped them get a first-hand experience of high school life. They experienced their first high school pep rally, saw a presentation from the counseling office, went on a campus tour, engaged in some small group team building activities, and got to eat lunch in the quad. Our students saw performances by the SRHS drum line, cheerleaders, ASB, JROTC, and met many of the different clubs and student-body organizations at SRHS. We are also very proud of how well our 8th graders behaved and how they remained attentive, respectful, and engaged. In the coming weeks, 8th graders will be selecting their classes next year so be sure to check the timeline below. Thank you again Scripps Ranch High School!

Have a great week!

Josh Way, Ed.D

We are excited to announce that our Marshall parents are invited to a special experience called “What I Wish My Parents Knew” on Monday, February 6th from 5 – 6:30pm in the SRHS Library. What I Wish My Parents Knew is hosted by Scripps Ranch High, in partnership with the SRHS Foundation. The event is a mental health and wellness resource fair as well as a venue for adults to understand the child perspective of pressure and difficulties that children face today. Each year this has been an extremely powerful night, with mental health and wellness organizations around the county sharing resources and important information. The event is highlighted by a panel of SRHS students who share the obstacles they face in today’s society and how that affects them mentally. It is one of the most memorable nights of the year so you don’t want to miss it. The event is free and all families are welcomed to attend.

Attention parents,

Be sure to talk to your student about stranger danger and what to do if they encounter a suspicious person while walking in the community. This news article shared information about a reported kidnapping attempt in Poway this past week. Please know, there have NOT been incidents like this at Marshall or in our surrounding neighborhoods, but the incident in Poway is a powerful reminder to talk to your kids about what to do if a suspicious person approaches them. The article offers a couple of things you can have your kids do to stay safe:

• Walk in the company of others
• Stay in view of the street (do not go into hidden areas like bushes)
• Be alert (wearing headphones can reduce awareness)
• If a passing vehicle stops, do not get too close
• If a suspicious stranger approaches you, get away and tell an adult immediately

High School course selection process is drawing near.

On January 30th at 4:30 P.M., the SRHS counselors are hosting a zoom meeting for students and parents who have questions regarding high school classes.

Zoom ID: 947 838 048; Password: M & M.

On January 23rd, students watched an articulation video in their English classes about how to select and register/request for next year’s classes in their Student Portal. Students also received a hard copy of the Articulation Card and Support Document to use while choosing classes. The video, PDF copies of the handouts and additional information for the articulation process have also been uploaded onto the 8th Grade Student/Parent Info page on the SRHS Counseling website. Electronic submissions of course requests in the Student Portal and the Articulation Card submitted to their English teacher are both due by Friday, February 3.

On March 7th and 8th, SRHS Counselors are visiting Marshall to meet one-on-one with students during P.E. class to confirm class choices and answer any scheduling questions students have. Please make sure to review all the materials posted, read the course descriptions on the counseling website and attend the zoom meeting if you have follow up questions, to assist in the decision making process.

4-Year Plan Presentation

High School vs UC-CSU Requirements.pdf

Math Pathways.pdf

CCTE- Course Sequence for Pathways.pdf

As a way to tighten the security of our district network and student information, the district is in the process of resetting all student passwords. This Tuesday, January 31st, all student passwords will be reset. When students get to school on Tuesday, their current password will no longer work and their first-period teachers will distribute new passwords during class.

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!

MMS is excited to introduce you to our school nurse Ms. Lynda Madariaga. Nurse Lynda was instrumental in us navigating COVID the past few years. Her expertise and attention to detail helped MMS continually have the lowest case rates among middle schools in the district throughout the pandemic. Did you know she was a die-hard Michigan State Spartan's fan? Here is some more things to know about Nurse Lynda:

How many years in education?- In my career in schools, I have done health assessments, IEP assessments, Mental Health supports, and emergency planning for 27 years.

Why middle school?- I think it's good age group to teach and help direct future choices.

What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?- Reading about history and various cultures. Walking outside and exploring new areas.

What impact do you hope to make at Marshall?- I'd like to provide a safe and kind place for students who are struggling emotionally and physically.

Marshall Middle Parents!

Here is a quick reminder of our special events coming up:

• Since February is around the corner, The ASB is going to be selling Valentine's Grams February 6-10.

Be sure to check out our new logos to our ApparelNow shop, so there are more options for customizing your Marshall Spirit Wear! All proceeds help fund ASB activities on campus, so be sure to check it out! Show your school spirit all year!

Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/marshallmiddleasb/home

ApparelNow: https://apparelnow.com/marshall-middle-school-spiritwear

TikTok: @theactualmarshallasb

Instagram: @asb.marshall

Facebook: @Marshall ASB

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has officially entered the classroom. Recently, ChatGPT has made it possible for anybody to write an essay in a matter of seconds using AI technology. Anybody could type in parameters, like "Write me a 5 paragraph essay on American Westward Expansion" and they'll have it in seconds. Clearly, this has academic honesty implications in the classroom, so educators everywhere are scrambling to figure out how to deal with this new technology. There are some web-based programs that help teachers detect if a piece of writing has been created using AI technology like ChatGPT, but this raises bigger questions about the future of education. In this article from Education Re-Imagined the author offers up some ideas on how approaching learning differently than traditional schooling can help. For example, where traditional schooling often focuses mostly on the product and not enough in the process of learning, students will find ways to just provide a product. The author also suggests a more competency-based learning and authentic assessments approach, both in the spirit of standards-based learning, as ways to chip away at the need to rely on emerging AI technology.