Mooresville Middle School
Community Newsletter -- November 11, 2022
A Message from Mr. Kosal:
Together we make a family!
Thanks to all families & community members that provided feedback on our School Improvement Plan for the 2022-23 school year. The MGSD Board of Education approved of our steps to improve this year and we're excited to continue progressing forward for the benefit of our students and their learning. Because MMS dropped a letter grade in the state's report card rating, largely based on underperforming EOG scores and lower-than-expected growth for all students, a focus of our Leadership Team discussions has centered around how to find more minutes for instructional time. A change in the master bell schedule is certainly up for discussion, as we believe the more time students spend with a highly-qualified teacher each day, the more likely they demonstrate mastery in that content, grow as students, and pass the End of Grade exams. Options to locate more core instructional minutes are centered around reworking Imp Time, SHAC time, and transition times. Further details on any proposed bell schedule change for next semester will be coming to parents soon in order to collect feedback and answer questions.
Here's what's in this week's newsletter:
- EC parent night for MGSD - 11/15
- Revision to MMS air pod / headphone policy
- Sign up for Early College info session on 11/15
- Feed NC food drive during Imp Time
- Order Yearbooks today!
- November Teacher- and Staff Member-of-the-Month
- free online tutoring for 8th grade Math / Science
- Loss of Privilege list
- this week's home athletic events
- PTSO announcements (Change Wars, Alino's fundraising night, Little Caesar pizza sales)
- and more!
Thanks so much for reading, and I wish every Red Imp family a truly wonderful weekend!
Mr. Kosal, interim principal (pkosal@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Brown, 7th grade assistant principal (kbrown@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Richardson, 8th grade assistant principal (tabitharichardson@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Mr. Miller, assistant principal intern & MMS media center coordinator (justinmiller@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Clark, MMS Athletic Director (annclark@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
No school on Friday, November 11th in observance of Veteran's Day
Early College Information Session - sign up your student today
Also, there will be a parent information session on Tuesday, November 15 at 6pm where he will present information and answer questions. Both sessions will be held in our MMS media center. If you have any questions, please see Ms. Buff.
EC parent night @ EMIS -- November 15th
The Exceptional Children's Acceptance Center (ECAC) will present and discuss the philosophy, legal issues, barriers and strategies related to the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classroom settings. Participants will have a better understanding of how to partner with teachers to create inclusive school environments for students, including students with significant disabilities.
Please see this SMORE for more details and RSVP if you plan on attending. Thank you!
Feed NC Food Drive - sponsored by Student Government Imp Time
Parents: the MMS Student Government Imp Time will be hosting the Feed NC food drive for this holiday season. We will kick off the food drive on November 2nd and it runs through November 18th..
The food drive competition will be through homeroom (Imp Time). The Student Council will be collecting and tallying food drive items on Tuesdays and Fridays (with the exception of Thursday 11.10 since we are out on that Friday) for the duration of the food drive.
We have homeroom prizes for the top 3 leaders for participation. Thank you in advance for helping our community.
Week #1 standings:
3rd Place-Mr Wright’s Homeroom
2nd Place- Mrs. Ketchie’s Homeroom
1st Place- Ms. Adam’s Homeroom
Thank you to all of the Homerooms participating!
Find the Feed NC Wishlist linked below, and as always, please contact Ms. Orlando (8th grade social studies teacher) with any questions or concerns. I will place a flyer in your mailbox with these wish list items found on the Feed NC website. Thanks!
MMS Celebrations for November:
Staff Member of the Month
Teacher of the Month
Attention: revision to Air Pod policy at MMS
(revised from notice in October 7th newsletter)
Notice to Parents: it is not necessary to send Airpods or other Bluetooth headphones to school with your students. With cell phones required to be OFF during the school day, there's simply no need for students to use Bluetooth headphones without teacher permission in the classroom. In addition, bluetooth headphones are frequently lost by students during the school day and can be quite expensive to replace.
Beginning Monday, November 7th, Air Pods & headphones should be used for instructional purposes only. Students also must obtain teacher permission first before using them. This supports our School Improvement Plan of eliminating distractions from the classroom. MMS staff is directing students to remove non-wired headphones from their ears during lunch, SHAC, and transition times (when laptops are not used and cell phones should be powered off). Students found using Air Pods or headphones without teacher permission will be subject to the same consequences as the MMS cell phone policy, which began September 26th.
If your student needs to purchase wired headphones, some are available at the PBIS school store (open before school / during Imp Time) for only $1 or $2. The MMS media center also has some available. Thanks for your help in supporting our learning environment!
This week's message from our MMS PTSO:
There's only a few days left of our Little Caesar's Pizza fundraiser. Order now before time runs out! And don't forget you can share your personal page link with family and friends anywhere as items ship directly to your customer's door. If you haven't already, you can still sign up and help us reach our goal! https://bit.ly/MMS-Pizza The sale ends Sunday, November 13. Our top seller will get to be principal for the day with our very own interim Principal Mr. Kosal!!! Our group earns $6 for every kit sold and we need your help to reach our goal. There's no limit on the number of pizza kits you can sell. Thank you for your support of MMS and the MMS PTSO!
Make plans to join us for our next Spirit Night! Take the night off from cooking and enjoy a yummy dinner while supporting MMS and MMS PTSO. Tuesday, November 15th from 5:00-8:30pm at Alino's Pizzeria. Note: make sure you order & pay in person - online orders don't count towards our proceeds!
Next week is our PTSO sponsored Change Wars!!!. We are raising money to help support students. It is a friendly competition between 7th grade and 8th grade. Coins are positive points for your grade level and paper money will count against your points so put paper bills in the other grade level's container to make them lose! If we can raise $1,000+ the grade level with the most points will receive a treat. And don't forget the ever important bragging rights! We also have a super fun challenge for the students. If we can raise $1,000+ Mr. Kosal will shave his beard for the first time in over a decade!! Are you up to the challenge? Stay tuned to find out! We need parent volunteers to help us with the collections. If you can help us please sign up here. Change Wars Sign Up
We are Thankful for the wonderful staff at MMS. On Monday, November 21, the PTSO will be providing a Thanksgiving meal for our November staff appreciation. We are in need of beverages and paper products for this event. If you can donate anything please sign up here Nov Staff Appreciation and bring your items to the front office no later than Fri. Nov. 18. No time to shop but want to help? You can make a monetary donation towards the lunch and supplies Donate for Thanksgiving lunch .
We still have plenty of red imp items for sale. To purchase online visit our square online store. Items will be given to your student at school. Contact us via email redimpsptso@gmail.com to purchase with cash. Thank you for supporting and showing off your red imp spirit! PTSO store
Please join our PTSO facebook group. This online community is for parents/guardians of MMS students and MMS staff. We will share information from the PTSO, MMS and MGSD. It is also a place for you to connect with other parents/guardians and the PTSO. We hope you'll join us! Follow us on Facebook! Thank you for your support! Questions for the PTSO? E-mail us at redimpsptso@gmail.com
Order your Yearbook today!
If you have not ordered the 2022 - 2023 Red IMP yearbook for your child, we encourage you to visit Jostens Yearbooks and order your copy today. Yearbook price starts at $40.00 when you choose No Thanks to Personalization. Please contact Ms. Lindsey at jenniferlindsey@mgsd.k12.nc.us for questions.
Loss of Privilege List (LoP)
Effective today, Mooresville Middle School will be implementing a Loss of Privilege list. By being placed on the Loss of Privilege (LoP) List, students are identified as having forfeited the privilege to participate in any and all extracurricular activities involving Mooresville Middle School and Mooresville Graded School District. Assignment to the LoP list will last for 45 school days (One school quarter). Students are placed on the LoP List in one of two ways:
1) Being assigned Out of School Suspension in a school quarter
2) Being assigned In School Suspension three times in a school quarter.
3) Inappropriate behavior at any after-school activity.
At the end of the 45 days, students will automatically be removed from the LoP list and privileges will be restored.
This LoP list is very similar to the program at Mooresville High School - we believe this loss of privileges will be an incentive for students to act in a positive fashion at school AND will help them transition to the high school in a year or two. Any questions? Email or call Ms. Kim Brown (7th grade assistant principal).
Free Online Tutoring for Students
When they sign up, they will get an email from NCVPS with the link for their session, and a link to cancel or reschedule if needed. Please reinforce to students that they should be respectful of tutors' time and not be "no-shows" if they sign up for a time.
Students who do not have Internet access at home or need a quiet place to attend tutoring are welcome at the Selma Burke Community Center.
We hope your students will take advantage of this "EDvantage"!!
Next Week's Red Imp Sports:
- Monday, November 14th - home Wrestling vs. North Rowan
- Thursday, November 17th - home Varsity Basketball vs. China Grove
We hope to see the community coming out to support our MMS athletes!
Science Club Field Trip
Here is the information that was passed out to all science club members but the trip is open to anyone at MMS. Please email Mrs. McAllister (jaclynmcallister@mgsd.k12.nc.us) if you have any questions. We hope to see some new Red Imps at our next Science Club meeting!
How to alert MMS of a student absence:
The email address for parents to alert MMS about student absences is: MMSAttendance@MGSD.k12.nc.us
Parents can upload doctor's notes as well. We hope this process will be easier on everyone instead of always sending a note with the student that gets lost so easily!
Are you a Motivator??
The Motivators are ways for family / community members to volunteer time during the school day to monitor hallways and our campus grounds while also getting to know MMS students and staff. We love to have extra adult presence in the building to support our students and help out when needed. If you have at least one hour a week, we would love to have you volunteer.
Email Ms. Brown for more information. kbrown@mgsd.k12.nc.us
MMS Social Media Handles - follow us!
Facebook: @mooresvillems
Instagram: mooresvillems
Twitter: @mooresvillems
Website: https://mms.mgsd.k12.nc.us/
Thank you, veterans!
Thank you to all in the MMS community who have served and sacrificed for our country. Happy Veteran's Day to you and your families!
Have a great weekend, Red Imp families! Please feel free to contact the interim principal, Mr. Kosal if you have questions or concerns. We appreciate all of the community support of the hard work we do for students here at Mooresville Middle School!
Email: pkosal@mgsd.k12.nc.us
Website: https://mms.mgsd.k12.nc.us/
Location: 233 Kistler Farm Road, Mooresville, NC, USA
Phone: (704) 658-2720