Good Evening Mustang Families,

I hope you are all enjoying the sunshine this weekend. Just a reminder that the first 6-week grading period ends this coming Tuesday. This will be an important snapshot of student progress in this first part of the second semester.

In recent weeks, there have been a lot of questions and dialogue in our school community about a wide range of important topics. Many parents have reached out to me via email, phone calls, or drop-by conversations during drop-off/pick-up. These topics range from grading policy, student behavior, bullying, hate speech, and so many more. Being available for this dialogue and conversations is important to our staff and so I am grateful for the parents that come forward to seek out information. I wanted to remind all of our families that we also have regular opportunities in a place where these questions and concerns can be discussed and addressed with our team. This includes our monthly MMO meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 9 am, the School Site Council on the first Thursday of the month at 5:00 pm, and the Scripps Ranch Schools Committee on the third Wednesday of each month from 4:30-5:30 pm. All of these meetings are on Zoom so families can log in from home, work, or the practice fields. They are great opportunities to become more informed about what's happening on campus and have the chance to ask questions. We have a wonderful team of parent leaders who lead these different groups and work hard at building the school-to-home network. To learn more about how to participate in these meetings visit:

• Marshall Mustang Organization- Website
• School Site Council- MMS Website
• Scripps Ranch Schools Committee- Website

Have a great week!

Josh Way, Ed.D

MMS is excited to host the San Diego School Police and San Diego Police Department emergency training on the Marshall campus during spring break, March 27-31st. All week, officers will be training and practicing how to respond to active threats on a school campus. We're excited that Marshall is hosting, so school police can learn the ins and outs of our site. Volunteers will be needed on Friday, March 31st from 8:30-12:30 to act as role players. To sign up, fill out this google form.

Also, please be aware there will be heightened police activity on campus during spring break.

On Monday, March 13th. MMS will be hosting Anti-Drug Presenter Rocky Herron. Mr. Herron recently retired from the DEA, now works for the San Diego County Office of Education, speaking to schools and the community about the dangerous impacts of drugs. Mr. Herron speaks directly about the rising fentanyl crisis and what students and parents can do to stay safe. Rocky, will be speaking to MMS students during the day, then will be having an evening, in-person presentation at 6pm for parents. Mark your calendars and be sure to join us.

The Title VI & Johnson O’Malley Indian Ed Programs are coordinating a Saturday Pow-Wow event on March 18. All educators, students, and families from SDUSD are invited to attend and learn more about local indigenous history from local tribal members and leaders. It will be held at the Ballard Center. Here's the link: Youth Social Pow-Wow Flyer.pdf

Registration for Spring Flag Football is now open. If MMS has enough students sign up, we can have a boys and girls team. Be sure to sign up here by March 6th. For more information, be sure to check out the the Parent FAQ's or visit the Middle School Athletics webpage.

Enrollment forms for Summer School are now available until April 14th. Fill out the paper enrollments forms and turn in the MMS front office. You can download the forms here: English; Spanish; Vietnamese; Tagalog

Enrollment forms are not necessary for students who are already enrolled in the ESY through their IEP. Marshall Middle School is not a Summer School host site this summer.

Did you know there are 39 languages spoken at MMS? Let’s celebrate all the many different countries and cultures represented at MMS at our first ever FESTIVAL OF CULTURES! It will be on Wednesday, May 10 at lunch. We are looking for students who would like to host a country table, perform a cultural dance or song, or make a video sharing their culture. If you’d like to participate, fill out this Google Form and more information will be sent to you!

Marshall Middle Parents!

Here is a quick reminder of our special events coming up:

• The Marshall Market Student Store opens Wednesday, March 1st. Be sure to send your kids with money to buy some mechanical smencils, keychains, erasers, and vinyl stickers

• A spirit week is coming soon in March from 3/20-3/24. Make sure your kids are ready for International Sports Monday, Tie-dye Tuesday, Wacky Sock Wednesday, Throwback Decades Thursday, and Friendly Touris Friday

• The Red Carpet Gala Spring Dance date is finalized for April 28. It is from 5-8 pm and semi-formal attire is encouraged. More information to come…

Be sure to check out our new logos to our ApparelNow shop, so there are more options for customizing your Marshall Spirit Wear! All proceeds help fund ASB activities on campus, so be sure to check it out! Show your school spirit all year!

Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/marshallmiddleasb/home

ApparelNow: https://apparelnow.com/marshall-middle-school-spiritwear

TikTok: @theactualmarshallasb

Instagram: @asb.marshall

Facebook: @Marshall ASB

Recently the Centers for Disease Control conducted a nationwide survey of teenage girls that showed some alarming outcomes. Results showed that 1 in 3 high school girls had contemplated suicide and 6 in 10 felt so persistently sad and hopeless that they quit regular activities. Wow... The study is called, "The Youth Risk Behavior Survey and you can read six of the major outcomes in this article. Powerful proof of what many of us are seeing at school and home. With so many complexities to the problem, the authors in this article share one simple place to start. Listening. They ask us to stop dismissing their issues as "drama" and listen to what they are struggling with.