Maize South Middle School
October 2022
A message from Principal Mr. Cort Haynes
Dear Maverick Families,
Time flies when you’re having fun! We have enjoyed a successful academic first term and fall sports season. This school year has felt a little bit more on the normal side. We celebrated the end of first term with an attendance party to highlight the importance of showing up and being on time. We only had 15 students who were unable to attend.
Our Mav Time classes continue to highlight executive functioning skills, grade checks, character education via Second Step, and the importance of family time on Friday to have fun and build community within each Mav Time. Please be sure to check out the recap of Mav Time activities in this newsletter, highlighted by our recent focus on Red Ribbon Week and living a drug free life, educating our students on the dangers associated with fentanyl and other drugs. If you missed the email with that video link, you may watch that video here.
Here are some important reminders:
1) Wrestling and Girls Basketball seasons are underway.
2) Our MSMS Broadcast team is top notch. To follow and stay up to date, watch us here.
3) Science Olympiad is about to begin. Please reach out to Raelynn Pfaff with any questions (rpfaff@usd266.com). Announcements have been on broadcast each morning.
4) Scholar’s Bowl tryouts are set to begin. Please contact Erica Mark with any questions (emark@usd266.com). Announcements have been on broadcast each morning.
5) Fall Break: No School November 21-25.
6) School Dance: Friday, December 16 from 6:30 -8:30 pm
7) For MSMS calendar information, please follow us at wichitasuburbanleague.org
We appreciate your support, input, and feedback. Please let us know how we can be at our best in partnership with you to help your child experience success at MSMS! #huddle
Cort Haynes
Stay Connected
Visit our school website at www.usd266.com/msms.
Connect with Mr. Haynes at chaynes@usd266.com or 316-722-0421.
Maize South Middle School is located at 3403 N. Tyler Rd. in Wichita.
Facebook: msmsmavnews
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Twitter: msms_news
Food Drive for Maslow's Pantry
We will be hosting a food drive December 5th-9th for Maslow's Pantry, located at Maize High School. We will have more info in next month's newsletter for food products we will need!
Click on picture to apply for Maize jobs!
Nurses Corner: Health Room reminders
- Flu season is upon us- please get your child their influenza vaccine.
- Continue doing a good job of washing hands.
- Do not go to gatherings if you are sick
- Please send a clean full water bottle to school with your child every day. This is very important! I see a lot of headaches and stomach aches that I do not think would occur if students drank more water.
- As the weather changes, try to make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather and send a jacket to school with them. We go outside after lunch unless it is snowing, raining or below freezing- otherwise we are going outside.
---Thank you for helping me keep your kids healthy and safe—
Nurse Lisa
Winter Sports Pictures
Wrestling and Girls Basketball Pictures will be taken on Friday, November 4th at 2:45pm. Please make sure that your student(s) bring their uniforms to school that day so they can dress out for pictures. You can order the pictures online at Inter-state.com/order and use code 73956BA.
Battle of the Books
Our school will be participating in Battle of the Books during the 2022-2023 school year!
This is a fun way to introduce students to new books, work on reading comprehension, and participate in a friendly competition game show style! Students will read a specific list of eight-grade appropriate novels by January 27th of 2023 then join a team with 3 peers to battle against other teams to show their knowledge of the novels. If your student is interested, have them pick up a permission slip from their ELA teacher! Please email Erica Mark (Reading Intervention Teacher) at emark@usd266.com or Kelly Blurton (Media Specialist) at kblurton@usd266.com if you have any questions!
Counselor's Corner
Mav Time
We are excited to add Second Step to our Mav Time Social/Emotional lessons this year. Each week, teachers focus on one lesson from Second Step, helping students organize their binders, and engaging in team building activities. We’ve also added in “WIN” (What I Need) time on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Students can use this time to complete homework, seek extra help from a teacher, or to read. If you’re curious about the Mav Time focus each day, please click here for more info! If you’re looking for resources as a teen parent, please check out ParenTeenConnect. ParenTeenConnect.org is a free resource for parents that provides expert advice and practical tools for dealing with real parent-teen issues.
Mentionable Mavs
As part of our whole-school SEL/Character Education program, MSMS focuses on one of our six character traits each month. Each month, staff members nominate students who exemplify the character trait of the month. At the end of the month, nominated students receive a Powerade and a certificate that is displayed in the hallway for that month.
During the months of August, September, and October, we focused on Community and Respect. In November, we will focus on Responsibility. In the upcoming months, students will focus on the remaining four character traits, which are Integrity, Optimism, and Grit. Click here to see the monthly traits.
Red Ribbon Week Recap
As an extension to the Red Ribbon Week campaign last week, we worked with the Youth Educational Empowerment Program to share the Fight Fentanyl campaign to raise awareness, as this has become a major concern in our community. Students viewed Dead on Arrival, a short documentary about fentanyl during Mav Time on Monday and had an opportunity for a Q&A session with Steve Filson and Jaime Puerta (from the documentary) this past Tuesday, and it was very impactful for our students.
The Youth Educational Empowerment Program will also be hosting an informational meeting about how students can join Teen View Magazine. If you’re interested, you may attend the Maize Open House on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, 6-8:30 pm at WSU West Campus 3801 N. Walker Ave 67101. See attached flyer for more information!
Library Notes
Battle of the Books is returning to MSMS! All students interested in participating will need to collect a permission slip from the library. Students will read a list of eight books, form a team of 4 students and play a game-show style trivia game based on the books they read. Teams will challenge each other until we find our 2023 BOTB champion!
MSMS PTO
If you need some Christmas ideas for your teachers/students, check out our online store at www.msmspto.com. Some new items are coming soon!
Support the PTO by selecting the Maize South Middle School PTO in AmazonSmile! To use AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone within the Settings or Programs & Features menu. On your web browser, you can add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping with AmazonSmile.
We want to connect with you. Like us on Facebook at Maize South Middle School PTO. Also, check out our website at www.msmspto.com, and if you need to get in touch with us, you can email us at maizesouthmspto@gmail.com.
Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 10, 6:00pm in the library at MSMS. Enter through the exterior library door, just to the west of the main entrance.. We welcome anyone to join us!! Come help us make a difference in our students and teachers academic time at MSMS!