MMS Principal Newsletter
October 21, 2019 @MMSCougarPride
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MMS Principal Office Hours 10/23/19
Supporting our Students with Traumatic Loss
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Greetings MMS Families,
Last week our faculty and staff participated in restorative practices training. They spent part of the session learning about language to promote reconciliation between members of the MMS community, connections among students, and nurturing relationships in the classroom. Pictured here is one of the handouts from the session.
Please scroll down for the MMS Student Handbook that was sent out last week. Please review the form with your child and respond with confirmation in the PowerSchool parent portal. Directions to confirm receipt and review in Power School e-collect forms are below.
Please review the handbook with your child and acknowledge receipt using the PowerSchool parent/guardian portal.
This link will take you directly to PowerSchool. https://powerschool.somsd.k12.nj.us/
Please review the instructions below if you have any questions regarding your parent portal access.
Regards,
Dara Crocker Gronau, Maplewood Middle School Principal
Step 1: Set Up Your Parent Portal Account
(If you’ve already created your account, skip to Step 2)
- Have your Parent Portal Access ID and Access Password handy. You can get your child’s unique ID and password from the Parent Portal letter that the Technology Department mailed to you on August 30, or by emailing the help desk at parentportalhelp@somsd.k12.nj.us.
- Go to the district home page, https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us
- Select Quick Links > Parents > PowerSchool.
- Click the “Create Account” tab, then the button “Create Account.”
- Fill in “Parent Account Details,” creating your preferred username and a case-sensitive password of at least 8 characters. (Remember the username and password you create – you’ll need them every time you log in!)
- Under “Link Students to Account,” enter your Parent Portal Access ID and Access Password.
Step 2: Fill Out the Online Forms
- Go to the district home page, https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us
- Select Quick Links > Parents > PowerSchool.
- Log in using the username and password you created when you were setting up your account.
- In the navigation menu on the left, click on “eCollect Forms.”
- Click on the form named "Student Handbook - Parent / Student Form".
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CHIK PEA in Maplewood has chosen to support Maplewood Middle School! This means that you can select MMS when you purchase at Chik Pea and some of the proceeds will fund MMS Donors Choose grants! Thank you Ms. Colleen Miller for making this happen for MMS!
The school district has partnered with the Hetrick Martin Institute to support LGBTQ students and their families. HMI staff will be at DeHart community center. Scroll down for the October calendar.
The Hub/Family Connections is a wonderful resource we are fortunate to have at MMS through a Maplewood Municipal grant. If you would like your child to participate in individual and group sessions during the school day or in the social support through recreation after school programming, please contact Ms. Candice at cebbesen@familyconnectionsnj.org.
IMPORTANT NOTES
-Reminder to please send Ms. Gronau your good news/recognition worthy events of your child's academic, social, social activism, community service, and artistic achievements. We would like our MMS kiddos to be recognized at upcoming board meetings! Email at dgronau@somsd.k12.nj.us!
-The HMI Institute supporting LGBTQ students and families October 2019 programming calendar is linked below. Scroll down!
Morning Parking
Therapy dogs at MMS
YMCA at MMS!
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-