Mooresville Middle School
Community Newsletter -- August 5, 2022
A Message from Mr. Kosal...
Together we make a family!
Please review the following school and district information found below. If you have questions about upcoming events / requirements, always feel free to call the school or email the admin team members listed below.
In this newsletter, you'll read about:
- MMS Open House (Monday, August 8)
- Moe's dinner night / MMS fundraiser @ Open House
- Student schedule information
- Student ID badges (*new*)
- How to be a parent volunteer for MMS / MGSD
- Car-rider procedures @ MMS
- MMS Tardy Policies
- MMS School Picture Day
- PowerSchool Infosnap requirement
- School Nutrition notice
- MGSD Transportation information (buses)
Thanks for reading, and have an amazing first week of school, Red Imp families!
Mr. Kosal, interim principal (pkosal@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Brown, 7th grade assistant principal (kbrown@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Richardson, 8th grade assistant principal (tabitharichardson@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Mr. Akelman, Assistant Principal of Instruction (dakelman@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
Ms. Clark, MMS Athletic Director (annclark@mgsd.k12.nc.us)
** MMS Open House - Monday, August 8th **
7th Grade - 5:00-6:30
8th Grade - 7:00-8:00
The purpose of our August 8th Open House is for students and parents to get familiar with our campus and to meet our teachers. Here are some important points to keep in mind:
Please bring a copy of your student's class schedule, which was emailed home on Thursday, August 4th.
Open House will begin by families entering by the gym doors in front of MMS. The gym doors are to the left of the covered walkway.
Crowds will be large and our hallways will be crowded. We have different times for each grade level to ease congestion in our hallways and parking lot. Parking will be tight; carpooling is a very good option.
If possible, Parents/Guardians and their student should be the only visitors in the classrooms to meet the teachers. If you bring additional family members, please consider having them wait for you on the front lawn of the school or in the main hallways while you meet your teachers.
This is an opportunity to get info from the teacher -- there will not be enough time for a parent/teacher conference. If you need to have a longer conversation with the teacher, please schedule a conference with that teacher via phone or email.
We are excited to meet our 2022-2023 Red Imps! If you have any questions about Open House, call the MMS front office at (704) 658-2720.
Moe's Taco Kits to go! (after Open House)
Orders must be placed by Sunday, August 7. Families can pick up their preordered Taco Kits at MMS any time after 5:00pm on Monday, August 8th once they've concluded their Open House experience.
Help support MMS by not cooking and instead taking home a Taco Kit!
Student Class Schedules
- Check parent / student email today - MMS emailed each family their student's schedule on Thursday afternoon.
- Attend the MMS Open House on August 8th (details below) and have a schedule printed by the gym. Having a digital copy of the schedule that was emailed home will help you skip the line!
- Students will receive an updated paper copy on the first day of school, August 10th, during their 1st period Imp Time / homeroom.
MMS Bell Schedule for 2022-23
Notes on the MMS Bell Schedule:
Students may enter MMS at 7:00am. The bell for 1st period rings at 7:20am.
Upon entering the building, students may purchase breakfast at one of the two breakfast carts in the main hallway.
Students will report directly to Imp Time (homeroom) / 1st period. If they need to leave (bathroom, see another teacher, go to main office, etc.), following the MMS policy (i.e. using E-Hall Pass) will be required.
Students on late buses will be excused from tardies.
Students arriving via car between 7:20-7:30am will receive a tardy ticket and proceed to class.
If a student arrives after 7:30am, they will be required to sign in at the main office and log their tardy to school.
2022-23 Tardy Policies:
Late to Imp Time / 1st period (after 7:20am):
3 tardies -> student meets with counselor
6 tardies -> counselor-parent conference;
8 tardies -> phone admin-counselor-parent conference;
10+ tardies -> face-to-face admin-counselor-parent
Late to Class (periods 2-7):
1st & 2nd tardy = verbal warning from teacher ( document in EdHandbook)
3rd tardy = teacher-student conference w/ teacher call to parent;
4th tardy = lunch detention with teacher call to parent;
5th tardy & beyond = Office referral
** MMS will be using PBIS / positive reinforcement of “No Tardy Parties” once each quarter during the school day. Only students that have not been marked tardy that quarter will be able to attend.
** Please help us maximize our instructional time with kids by getting your student to school before 7:20am each day. We greatly appreciate your help!
Parent Volunteers Wanted!
Parents of Red Imp students: We need Parent Volunteers this year for a number of school- and district-based groups! Use the QR code shown at right OR click here to fill out an interest form for:
- PTSO for MMS
- Mooresville Motivators (mentors)
- School Improvement Team
- MGSD Parent Advisory Committee
- MGSD Calendar Committee
We appreciate your support of MMS and MGSD for this coming year!
News from our MMS PTSO:
There will be a PTSO information table at the MMS open house on 8/8/22. Please make plans to stop by to see what is planned for this year and to purchase your red imp spirit wear! New to the line up this year is long sleeve t-shirts and hoodies.
Did you know that your everyday ordinary purchases can earn $$$ for our school? The following partners will donate a percentage of your purchases to our school:
Amazon smile https://smile.amazon.com/ch/88-1876711
Box tops for education https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/how-to-earn
Publix Partners https://corporate.publix.com/community/corporate-campaigns/publix-partners/schools
Harris Teeter together in education https://tie.harristeeter.com/together-in-education
Sign up or link your accounts to start supporting MMS today!
Student ID Badges
For the 2022-23 School Year, MGSD will be issuing each student an ID badge. Students at MMS will receive ID badges on their first day of school. These badges will have the student’s picture, name, and bar code. Embedded in the bar code is the student ID number and it will be used for the following:
School Cafeteria Meal Purchases (we will no longer use the 4-digit lunch number).
School Library Book Checkout
Various other school transactions that may use a student’s ID
7-12th grade students are encouraged to use their cell phones to take a picture of their bar code for convenience's sake.
What if a student's picture is missing? Visit the school data manager to have your badge reprinted.
What if I don't want my child’s picture on the badge? Visit the school data manager to have your badge reprinted.
What if my child loses their badge? K-3 badges will stay at school. 4th - 12th students will get one reprint per year, if second or more reprints will be required, there will be a $1.00 charge.
Car-rider procedures at MMS:
- When entering from Kistler Farm Rd, there will be TWO lines for cars to form. The staff member with the reflective vest will signal when it's your line's turn to pull up.
- Do not stop to drop your student off by the awning -- we need cars to pull ALL THE WAY UP. Please follow the directions of the staff members on duty.
- Students waiting in the afternoon for their ride must remain behind the yellow safety line on the sidewalk and should wait until their car comes to a stop before approaching.
- It is great for students to socialize with friends, but they must stay alert and watch for their ride. When one car is excessively waiting, the whole line is impacted.
- Please remind students that the front lawn of the school is still school property and therefore our MGSD Student Code of Conduct and MMS school rules still apply.
Thanks for helping us make a safe and efficient car rider line this year at MMS!
Coffee with Mr. Kosal
MMS Social Media Handles - follow us!
Facebook: @mooresvillems
Instagram: mooresvillems
Twitter: @mooresvillems
Website: https://mms.mgsd.k12.nc.us/
School Picture Days
Mark your calendars: MMS school picture days are planned for September 13th (7th grade) & 14th (8th grade).
Further information and order forms will be provided for families closer to these dates.
Make-up picture day is scheduled for September 28th.
School Lunch / Nutrition update from MGSD:
We understand that meal costs may create a financial burden for some of our families, and our district has worked diligently to contain school meal prices as much as possible for our families. We are fortunate and pleased to announce that we will be able to go into the 2022 - 2023 school year holding our school meal prices at the same price they have been since 2013.
Full Price MealFree & Reduced Price Meal, 7th - 12th grades:
Breakfast = $1.00
Lunch = $2.40
Premium Meal Price = $3.15
Breakfast = $0.00 (For both Free & Reduced)
Premium Meal Price = $0.40 (Reduced)
Families and MGSD Staff can pre-pay online for purchases in the school cafeterias. Go to www.k12paymentcenter.com to set up an account now!
We are honored that we were able to serve all of our community's children meals at no cost since March 2020. We look forward to continuing to serve our students during the 2022 - 2023 school year by keeping our meal prices low and providing quality, nutritious meals.
If you have any questions about these upcoming changes to our program or the Free and Reduced Meals Application, please don't hesitate to contact the School Nutrition Director, Kim McCall at kmccall@mgsd.k12.nc.us
Bus information from the MGSD Transportation Department:
Bus routes have been emailed out to the parent email address on file with the school. If you are expecting a bus assignment and did not receive an email yet, please contact Ms. Whittenburg at MMS. She can verify your physical address and email address.
It takes approximately three business days to make new assignments, verify bus capacity, and adjust route times for all riders when new students are added. In order to ensure a bus stop on the first day of school, requests had to have been made no later than Thursday, August 4, 2022.
If you have not done so already, you and your child can download and use the app Here Comes the Bus. Here Comes the Bus allows you to view the real-time location of your child’s school bus on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. With this app, you will have the information you need to send your children to the bus stop at just the right time, helping to protect them from inclement weather and other roadside dangers. Specific directions for MGSD may be found here.
We are creating routes based on the number of dedicated drivers we have while keeping several substitute drivers available should those individuals need to be out. This may result in fewer overall buses with a few more students on each bus, but it will hopefully make routes more consistent and on time.
We are consolidating bus stops. We will have community stops and very few individual stops. Individual stops will only be in cases where students live in a remote location. NC General Statute states that a school bus shall be routed so that the bus passes within one mile of the residence of each pupil assigned to that bus.
Thank you for your continued patience as we start the 2022-2023 School Year!
MGSD Transportation Department
704.658.2634
Mark your calendars!
Have questions or concerns?
Email: pkosal@mgsd.k12.nc.us
Website: https://mms.mgsd.k12.nc.us/
Location: 233 Kistler Farm Road, Mooresville, NC, USA
Phone: (704) 658-2720