Monday Memo
September 17, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
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Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Schools closed this Wed. 9/19/18
The South Orange Maplewood School District is closed on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 in observance of Yom Kippur.
PowerTeacher Pro training
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Greetings MMS Families,
On behalf of our leadership team, we welcome you again to the 2018-19 school year. A few notes for this week:
1. No school Wed. 9/19 in observance of Yom Kippur.
2. We are awaiting dates/deadlines from SOMSD regarding SGOs, PDPs, etc. We will share those when we get them.
3. As noted above, PowerTeacher Pro training will be available to all MMS faculty this Thursday 9/20 each period in the library.
4. Math and ELA teachers will conduct a pre and post assessment using Measuring Up. This assessment system includes instructional videos for students and workbooks all of which you can use during small group instruction. We are finalizing those dates and will share them with you by week's end.
5. 6th/7th grade advisory for this week is postponed. The first advisory for 6th and 7th grade will be the first Friday in October to coincide with the Week of Respect. More info is forthcoming re-8th grade Advisory.
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.
Maplewood Middle School Remind App Code @k92d29
This year, the MMS Principal has added a school-wide "Remind App" as another way to communicate with families. Many of your child's teachers will share Remind class codes for you and your child to stay up to date about class events and assignments. As needed, the MMS Principal will periodically use the Remind App to share important info with our school community. Our Maplewood Middle School school-wide code Remind code is listed above (@k92d29). The link below explains how to begin getting notifications. It's a simple way to stay in touch. Join us!
https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-class-
Alvin Ailey Dance Residency
A step team is coming to MMS!
Walkthrough Docs
Classroom walkthroughs provide formative feedback. We welcome your feedback to make these useful for you as we support instructional best practice and service to/intervention for our students.