MMS Principal Newsletter
May 28, 2019 @MMSCougarPride
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Follow us on Twitter to stay updated on all things happening in the MMS community @MMS CougarPride.
Spring Orchestra Concert 2019
8th Grade Medieval Times Trip
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
Greetings MMS Families,
I applied for an Achieve Administrator grant in April. In partnership with team leaders and counselors, we are so proud to announce that we received a $2000 check today to set up a "break room" for meditation, restorative sessions, and re-setting emotions at MMS for the 2019-2020.
The Spring Choral Concert is Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at 7pm. See you there!
The Garden State Equality Project returns on 5/28 and 5/29 to speak to our students in teams to educate our students on how to be an ally to our LGBTQ community. We appreciate Candice from the Hub for bringing this resource to us!
Reminder:
Scroll down for 8th grade info on the Dinner Dance and Moving Up Ceremony.
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!
NJ Social Emotional Learning Conference
I enjoyed an amazing conference sponsored by the NJDOE last week (agenda here). A great learning experience as we gear up for next year and our plans to continue to support social and emotional learning and trauma-informed educational practices at MMS.
55 positive things
Pop Up Shop 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-