Marinette Middle School News
February 2018
Message from Mr. Whisler
Marinette Middle School: Anchored in the Journey of the Whole Student
Is it okay to fail? The short answer is Yes!
The story goes that Thomas Edison took 6000 attempts before he successfully made the light bulb. When asked, Edison said that he didn’t fail 5,999 times, he LEARNED HOW NOT TO MAKE a light bulb 5,999 times. Learning doesn’t happen through success, learning happens through failure.
If you ask your middle school student what the definition of F.A.I.L is, he/she should be able to tell you that it means First Attempt In Learning. This is a definition that we, at the middle school, have been stressing for the last three school years. Learning is about growth, and growth comes from failure. The trick to this all is how the adults assist students when they experience failure.
The middle school staff have been learning about the differences about how students deal with not meeting their goals...i.e., failure. Everyone falls in to one of two categories: those that don’t do well with failure and may sabotage themselves (failure avoidant) and those that do well with failure and will continue to work hard to succeed (success oriented). The difference between the two comes with how students process goal-setting and cope when they don’t meet their goals.
In looking at strategies that adults (parents/guardians and school staff) can use to help students cope when they don’t meet their goals, I turned to Beth Arky of the Child Mind Institute. In her article, Beth provides the following among her strategies to help students cope with failure:
Show empathy - make sure your student knows that you understand how they feel;
Make yourself a model - share your own stories of failure with your student;
Make the failure a teachable moment - talk to your student about the failure and what they can do differently next time;
Allow the student to fail - be sure to support your student, but let your student do the activity himself or herself ; and
In extreme cases...therapy is appropriate - if your student is experiencing extreme anxiety about failure, it is okay to seek professional help.
I don’t know about you, but I have failed many times in my life. Sometimes it has been a score on a test, sometimes it has been not getting a job, and sometimes it has been saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. None-the-less, I learned from each and every one of those failures. However, I had people around me that helped me when I did so. How do you help your student when they don’t reach their goals?
As always, if you would like to continue the discussion, please feel free to reach out at either (715)735-1505 or mwhisler@marinette.k12.wi.us.
Beth Arky’s article can be found at https://childmind.org/article/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-fail/
Message from Mr. Hanson
Attendance Update
MMS has not been immune to the cold and flu season this year. Our January daily attendance rate was approximately 91%, well short of our 95% goal. If your child is sick it is, of course, best to allow him/her to get some rest and avoid exposing others to illness. Please be sure to call the MMS office in the event that your child is out, and provide notes from physicians following an extended leave due to illness. I would like to share a few strategies for helping your child to stay healthy and in school consistently:
It is important to set a regular bedtime. Pre-adolescents and adolescents can benefit from as much as 10 hours of sleep nightly (and sometimes even more!). Gaming late and using electronics can be very tempting for middle learners. It may be best to collect electronics each night.
Physical activity can be very beneficial to our immune systems. Encourage your child to get exercise daily through structured activities or play.
We truly are what we eat. Healthy meals and snacks can boost our immune systems, especially when the alternative is processed foods.
Let’s work together to get back to a “healthy” attendance rate as the cold and flu seasons nears an end.
Behavior Update
86% of MMS students have had 0 or 1 documented minor referrals, while 92% of students have had 0 or 1 documented major referrals. Minor referrals are incidents that are typically managed by teaching staff and educational associates, while major referrals are managed by MMS administration. The vast majority of MMS students are exhibiting our expectations of Respect, Responsibility, and Safety on a daily basis.
MMS staff members and administration rely on a menu of responses when behavioral mistakes are made. Some responses are more punitive in nature, while others aim to provide specific supports. Consequences and interventions serve to uphold school standards, allow for processing and learning, and give students an opportunity to make amends for mistakes. See below for a list of possible interventions:
Minor Incident
Classroom Interventions
Reteaching and processing
Parent contact
Classroom restriction
Brief alternative learning location
Restorative process
Loss of all/part of recess
5-15 minutes after school
Other individualized responses
Chronic Incidents
Classroom and/or Office
Parent Meeting
Check in/Check-Out
Check & Connect
Student Support Plan
Behavior Contract
Minor Incident interventions
Major Incident interventions
Extended alternative learning setting
Restorative Process
1 hour after school
Alternative recess
Other individualized responses
Major Incident
Office Interventions
Parent contact/meeting
Formal restorative conference
Loss of all/part of recess(es)
School privilege restriction
Restorative process
1 hour after school detention(s)
2 hour after school detention(s)
Police involvement
In-School Suspension
Out of School Suspension
Extended alternative learning setting
Expulsion
Other individualized responses
It is important to set a regular bedtime. Pre-adolescents and adolescents can benefit from as much as 10 hours of sleep nightly (and sometimes even more!). Gaming late and using electronics can be a very tempting for middle learners. It may be best to collect electronics each night.
Physical activity can be very beneficial to our immune systems. Encourage your child to get exercise daily through structured activities or play.
We truly are what we eat. Healthy meals and snacks can boost our immune systems, especially when the alternative is processed foods.
Let’s work together to get back to a “healthy” attendance rate as the cold and flu seasons nears an end.
Lastly, I’d like to remind you to ask your student who his/her Trusted Adult is at MMS. It is our mission that every student in our learning community can identify at least one adult in the building that he/she feels comfortable approaching with concerns and feels safe seeking support from.
I can be contacted at mhanson@marinette.k12.wi.us or (715) 735-1504 with any questions or concerns. I encourage and appreciate your communication.
Think Spring!
OUTDOOR EDUCATION CLASS
Tundra Tales Reading Program
We are currently enrolled in a Tundra Tales Reading Program sponsored by the Green Bay Packers.
The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is ready to kick off 2017 with the Seventh Annual Tundra Tales At-Home Reading Program for students 4K through eighth grade. The Tundra Tales Program is meant to develop lifelong reading habits by encouraging children to read at home. Students will be able to read their way to scoring admission to the Packers Hall of Fame!
Tundra Tales runs from Jan. 23, 2017 - March 26, 2017. During this time, 4K through fifth grade students must read or be read to for 60 minutes per week outside of the school day for eight weeks. Sixth through eighth grade students must read or be read to for 90 minutes per week outside of the school day for eight weeks. Children who complete the eight week Tundra Tales Program will receive one participant admission to the Packers Hall of Fame.
http://www.packers.com/lambeau-field/hall-of-fame/tundra-tales.html
MMS After School Clubs
In an effort to keep parents and guardians connected to all of the various opportunities that MMS students have available to them, various MMS Before School and After School offerings will be listed. Please look for information in the daily announcements as well as with your student as information about school clubs may be sent home.
Current MMS Club Offerings
Game Club
MinecraftEdu STEAM Club
Art Club
World Drumming
Forensics
SeaPerch
The MMS SeaPerch team travels to Green Bay on Saturday, February 17th to compete in the local SeaPerch competition. In this contest, the team will be required to navigate an underwater robot through a number of obstacles. Good luck to our SeaPerch team!
Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO) and Booster Club
The next MMS PTO/Booster Club meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. The meeting will be held in the MMS LMC. During this meeting we will continue to discuss planning for a parent/guardian “date night” in April 2018.
Social Emotional Learning
What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an evidence based process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. - Casel
Why is it important?
Socially and emotionally competent children and youth are skilled in five core areas: they are self-aware, they are able to regulate their emotions, they are socially aware, they have good relationship skills, and they demonstrate responsible decision-making at school, at home, and in the community.
How can I teach SEL at home?
One important skill each child should have is coping. One way children can cope is through their senses, specifically through touch and sight with the use of a stress ball. Create a DIY stress ball with your child at home. Some students recently created these in their SEL class and had a blast while doing it. Not only does it provide a coping mechanism for them but it is a great time to bond. For the stress ball recipe following this link: https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-make-a-stress-ball-1244219
Hanson Foods All School Cookie Dough Fundraiser
Click here to view Hanson Food Flyer and online order form
On February 13, your student will be given information about the All School Hansen Foods Cookie Dough Fundraiser.
Marinette MS is raising funds to be used for classroom purchases, assemblies, field trips, 8th grade recognition, school-wide PBIS acknowledgements, before and after school programming, and many other activities throughout the year!
Start Date: Tuesday, February 13
Turn in Money & Orders: Tuesday, February 27; payment must be turned in with orders.
Delivery Date and Time: March 22, 2018 2:30-5:30 at MMS small gym
Please Make Checks Payable To: Marinette Middle School.
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IMPORTANT DATES
February 12, 2018
No School
February 13, 2018
PTO Meeting
LMC 6:30-7:30pm
February 13, 2018
Hanson Foods Cookie Dough fundraiser kickoff
February 26-March 2, 2018
Red Ribbon Week
February 26, 2018
Presentation at MS on Human Trafficking awareness presentation by MS students
LMC 6:00-7:30pm
February 27, 2018
Order form and money from fundraiser due back to homebase teacher
March 5-9, 2018
Spring Break
No School
March 22, 2018
Hanson Food Cookie Dough Fundraiser pick up
MMS Small Gym 2:30-5:30pm
Printable calendar for February 2018
UW-Green Bay Summer Camps!
Greetings From UW-Green Bay Summer Camps!
As summer is quickly approaching, we are excited and planning for this year’s summer camps here at UW-Green Bay!
UW-Green Bay offers camps for middle and high school students including Studio Arts Camps; Band, Choir, Orchestra, Piano, and Rock Camps; Robotics Camps; Video Game Programming Camps; Entrepreneurial Camp; Medical Camp; Diversity Leadership Camp; Grief Camp; and Aviation Camp.
UW-Green Bay has both overnight and day camper options available. Most of the camps are held on UW-Green Bay’s campus and overnight campers get to experience staying in the dorms and eating in the main campus cafeteria.
Scholarship funds are available for qualifying campers for most of the 2018 camps and information on how to apply can be found on our website.
Information is available on the UW-Green Bay website www.uwgbsummercamps.com. Contact information is 920-465-2775 or summercamps@uwgb.edu.
2nd Quarter Marine Salute winners
Any 7th grader who received a Marine salute 2nd Quarter were entered into a drawing for several different prizes. Pictured below are 2nd Quarter winners.
Treasure Against Trafficking!
Treasure Against Trafficking
Monday, February 26, 2018
Marinette Middle School LMC
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Donations will be accepted to support local agencies working with young people rescued from trafficking.
If you have questions, please contact Marinette Middle School at (715)735-1505.
Chart your Course Summer School
February 5th began the registration for the School District of Marinette Summer Learning program. Registration information is available online at http://www.marinette.k12.wi.us/summer-learning-program-fa38….
Lots of opportunities for enrichment learning and continuing with the academic growth! Free breakfast and lunch! No registration fees either!
5/6 Student Council Update
February 21, Wednesday *Meet 7:30-7:45 A.M.
March 14, Wednesday LUNCH/RECESS
March 28, Wednesday *Meet 7:30-7:45 A.M.
April 4, Wednesday LUNCH/RECESS
April 18, Wednesday *Meet 7:30-7:45 A.M.
May 2, Wednesday LUNCH/RECESS
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week is almost here. This is one specific week out of the year that we take to hone in on alcohol and other drug education activities. This week is a perfect opportunity for middle school students to show that they are proud to be drug-free. The week includes specific dress-up days, activities, and an all school assembly. This year our guest speaker will be EJ Carrion. EJ Carrion is a "top youth speaker, best-selling author, successful entrepreneur, and preeminent thought-leader on student success." All parents are welcome to come to the assembly which will take place on Thursday, March 1 at 1:45 at the Marinette Middle School. If a parent/guardian would like to attend the assembly, we ask that you call to notify the MMS main office. This will assist us in ensure appropriate seating accommodations.
Dress up days for that week are as follows:
Monday: Team Day - "Team Up Against Drugs"
Tuesday: Camo/Crocs Day - "The Fight Against Drugs" or "Drugs Are A Croc"
Wednesday: Red Day - "Red Ribbon Week Celebration Day"
Thursday: Purple Day - "Our School Is Drug-Free"
Friday: Hawaiian Day - "Lei Off Drugs"
Please support your student(s) in showing their drug-free spirit during Red Ribbon Week this year!
DASH FOR CASH
Check for Learning
Answer the following questions to be entered to win a $10.00 gift card to a local gas station.
Middle Years
Check out this month’s edition of Middle Years. Topics covered include: collaboration, setting rules for your tweenager, plagarism, and chores.
Middle Years - February 2018