Hello MMS Families:

Hope that all is well with everyone as we all prepare for a quick deep freeze over this weekend. Hopefully short lived but please be safe and stay warm.

Things are going well here at MMS as we are in the middle of our second tri-mester. Today, we will be sending home progress reports with your students. Please check in with them and see how they are progressing in Tri-mester II.

Please take time to review the newsletter below to see all the wonderful happenings at MMS. I am so proud of all the work that our teachers and students are doing this year, well done!

Enjoy,

Paul

3rd - 6th & 7th grade Glow in the Dark Dance in the MMS Cafeteria 5:30p-7:30p

14th - **VALENTINES DAY**

20th - 24th - **FEBRUARY BREAK**

20th - President's Day

MMS Spring MCAS Dates:

• Grade 8 ELA : April 11 and April 12

• Grade 6 & 7 ELA : April 25 and April 26

• Grade 8 Math : May 10 and May 11

• Grade 6 & 7 Math : May 17 and May 18

• Grade 8 STE : May 23 and May 24

Please place these dates somewhere to remember. It is important that we do all that we can to have students attending during these dates as we have a small window in which to complete testing. We appreciate your support in students being present during testing.

We are 1/2 way through Term 2 and the school year. Progress reports will be going home soon. It's a great time to check in with your students to ensure they have the writing utensils they need for daily class activities. Also, please remind your students to charge their Chromebook every night!

Please be sure to send your child to school with a winter coat. We will be going outside as long as the temperature is 22 degrees or above.

7th Grade Science students are gathering evidence that attractive and repulsive forces exist!

Grade 8 Families:

As it states below, grade eight teachers are hard at work planning for the end of the year for our grade 8 students. These activities include, promotion ceremony, grade 8 dance, field day and other activities. We do have tentative dates for these activities that we will share shortly. Although our winter this year has been mild we still have a few more weeks. We will send out EOY dates to families at the beginning of March. Please also stay tuned for their volunteer request. Looking forward to a great end of year with our grade eight students!

Thanks,

Paul

The 8th grade is busy planning end of the year activities and will be reaching out to ask for help with the Semi-formal Dance, Field Day, and Promotion in the near future. There is a form coming home that needs to be signed regarding the roll-over or reimbursement for the cancelled Trinity Theater trip. Please make sure to get the form from your child and sign it for them to bring back in to Mrs. Monaghan. Form

What is Active Parenting of Teens?

A comprehensive program to help parents through the often tumultuous years of 11-16. Each session also shows parents how to handle sensitive issues. Below is the covered curriculum that caregivers will engage in. They will have the opportunity to complete “Home Activities” and come back to the group the next week for support and follow up.

ALL of PPAL's programing is 100% Free.

SESSION I – The Active Parent

Teens today

Styles of parenting

Control vs. influence

Mutual respect

The method of choice

SESSION II – Winning Cooperation

Who owns the problem?

Active communication with teens

The key of encouragement

SESSION III – Responsibility & Discipline

Logical consequences and more

Problem-solving with FLAC

SESSION IV – Building Courage, Redirecting Misbehavior

The Think-Feel-Do Cycle

Courage and self-esteem

Five goals of teen behavior

Eliminating power struggles

SESSION V – Drugs, Sexuality, and Violence

Reducing the risks

Overview of the issues

Prevention strategies 1-4 (focus on sexuality)

SESSION VI – Drugs, Sexuality, and Violence (continued)

Prevention strategies 5-10 (focus on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs)

If your family or someone else you know is in need of food assistance, know you are not alone.

The Millis Ecumenical Food Pantry is available to any Millis resident in need.

Location: Church of Christ, Bottom Floor—142 Exchange Street, Millis

Hours of Operation: Saturdays (10am-12pm), and also the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (10am-12pm).

In order to shop at the pantry, all you need is proof of Millis residency, and you will be

registered and can shop the same day.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you are struggling.

More information can be found at the following website: Millis Ecumenical Food Pantry

(millisfoodpantry.com)

The library just installed a new stand with an iPad for students to access our catalog. This stand was purchased thanks to the support of the Norfolk County Teachers Association.

6th grade art students looked at traditional Chinese Scroll Paintings. They created their own images and folded them into lanterns in celebration of Lunar New Year which begins on January 22.

Follow the Millis Middle School art room on Instagram

@radartroom