Manitou Springs Middle School
Friday, April 22nd, 2022
Dear Families,
Students and families had a ton of fun at S.T.E.A.M night this week. A HUGE shout out to Cara Greene, MSMS paraprofessional, for planning and facilitating this event. Two hundred people attended and learned about careers in science, technology, education, art, and mathematics. Thank you to everyone who came for the fun.
We are looking forward to another great week of learning. A reminder that Wednesday is a late start. On Thursday afternoon, we will celebrate student success from 3rd quarter during our Honor Roll Celebration. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns, or celebrations.
Sincerely,
Dustin Cady
Principal
On The Horizon
- April 27th - Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
- May 4th - Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
- May 5th - World Language and Culture Night, 5:00-8:00PM
- May 11th - Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
- May 11th - Spring Band Concert at the District Auditorium, 6:00PM
- May 12th - Spring Orchestra Concert at the District Auditorium, 6:00PM
- May 13th - Spring Choir Concert, at the District Auditorium, 7:00PM
- May 18th - Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
- May 26th - Last Day of School, 12:30 release
- May 26th - 8th Grade Ceremony, 6:00 - 7:00 PM, (more information to come)
- May 26th - 8th grade dance, 7:30 - 8:30 PM (more information to come)
2022-2023 Returning Student Registration Process
Current 2021-2022 MSSD14 students who will be returning, both resident and non-resident, will be rolled over to the 2022-2023 school year and will receive an email notification to complete the registration/renewal process in early June.
Here is the first step for you to complete:
Please help us with this process by completing the 2022-2023 Intent to Return Survey using the link below. We ask that all parents and guardians complete this survey regardless of whether they will be attending MSSD14 in the fall for the 2021-2022 school year.
You do not need to complete this if your student is a graduating senior.
If you have already completed this survey, thank you for your time.
Intent to Return Survey:
Click HERE or scan the QR code below.
Timeline for Parents/Guardians
- March - Parents/Guardians complete Intent to Return Survey.
- June – Online Registration/Renewal Snapcodes and instructions will be sent to Parents/Guardians
- June, July, August – Information about the new school year is sent to Parents/Guardians from each school.
Yearbooks
In the Classroom
Ms. Stuart's Spanish Class:
Ms. Spengler stopped by Ms. Stuart's Spanish class to be interviewed in Spanish by the 7th graders! They loved interviewing her and showing off the Spanish they've learned this year!
S.T.E.A.M. Night
Writing Prompt: A School with No Teachers
Ms. McClure-Wright teaches 8th grade Geometry and Pre-Algebra. Her students have a writing prompt each week about either a mathematician or a math topic. One prompt recently was: Imagine a classroom where there is no teacher and everyone learns through a computer. Describe what you think your school day would be like. Would it be better or worse? Do you think you would learn more or less? This prompt was taken from a book of math prompts, written well before any thought of COVID. It was very interesting reading the paragraphs the students wrote since they have some experience with learning through a computer. Here are some thoughts taken from several students' work:
- “It's a VERY bad idea.”
- “I feel like without any teachers it would be absolute chaos.”
- “But we would definitely learn less if they were not there.”
- “. . .there should never be a day with no teachers!”
- “Plus, teachers are the ones who bring all the positive energy in the first place. We need you guys.”
- “I think having teachers is WAY better.”
- “Teachers are there to help a student understand the lesson so they can easily answer questions. Teachers also encourage students to go further into the curriculum to learn something new and exciting. Most importantly, teachers can support their students in their interests and hobbies.”
- “If teachers weren’t here then this world would fall apart.”
- “I feel even though we complain about teachers and schoolwork, it’s beneficial to us.”
- “I feel if I went to a school with no teachers it would be very boring.”
Activities and Athletics
Student Council Elections:
Now that CMAS is behind us, we are starting to look to next year. We will have elections for 7th and 8th grade student council. Any 6th or 7th grade student may run for President, Vice President, Treasurer or Secretary for the grade that they will be in next year. The 8th grade President will be the school student body president. A student need not be in student council to run for a position, however they must be in the student council enrichment next year. We will be providing more information this next week. This is an opportunity to grow leadership and have a strong student voice at our school. Below is our election schedule.
April 15-20:
- Information provided during morning announcements.
- Application email provided by Mr. Bethke and Mrs. Leskee (this email)
May 2:
- Nomination submissions are due. Package includes:
- Student narrative
- Parent/guardian signature
- Grade/behavior check
- Teacher reference (please send your teachers an email with the link below along with a request to submit a reference for your application)
May 6:
- Nominations announced, election rules distributed.
May 9-18:
- Campaign Season
May 20-23:
- Elections
May 26:
- Election results announced
The spring Band Concert will be May 11th at 6:00PM in the District Auditorium, and the Orchestra Concert will be the following day, May 12th at 6:00PM in the District Auditorium. Come support our talented band and orchestra students!
Community
Tech Corner
PowerSchool Parent Portal:
The PowerSchool Parent Portal allows parents to stay up to date with their student's grades, assignments, and attendance. It can be accessed at https://mssd14.powerschool.com/public/home.html or by going to the district website and clicking on the PowerSchool link (top right side of the page, next to the Canvas link).
Before you can access your student's information, you must first create an account.
After creating your account, you will be able to access your student's grades and attendance. You can access detailed grade and assignment information by clicking on the grade of each class. When you access your account, you will see grades and attendance for the current grading period, but you can also view grades and attendance from previous terms by clicking on the "grade history" or "attendance history" links on the left side of the screen. You can also sign up for email notifications to stay up to date with assignments, grades, and attendance. You can customize how often you receive these emails.
Contact Us
Email: dcady@mssd14.org
Website: https://msm.mssd14.org/
Location: 415 El Monte Place, Manitou Springs, CO, USA
Phone: (719) 685-2127
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manitouspringsmiddleschool