MIDDLE MATTERS
Everything in the Middle School that matters
Volume 1
Greetings MMS parents and guardians!
With so many unknown situations in our world at this time, this message is sent to provide a few resources and offer encouragement and support to caregivers and students. While we continue to care for our health the best we can to avoid the spread of Coronavirus, we also have the seriousness of everything in the news following the killing of George Floyd so close to home.
School was on the last days of our Distance Learning the week he died, so teachers and staff did not have time to process with students who may have been affected. In the last month so much more has developed with ongoing protests, continued violence, and unrest. The destruction, divisions, and emotional turmoil is overwhelming for us as adults and can affect our young people with additional stress as well.
Rather than staying silent, now is a time to talk with your children/teens about what’s important to you and how you are trying to cope with these stressors. It can also provide opportunities to learn more together about how racism impacts everyone. There are many resources available to address this topic at various ages.
Resources for parents:
Check out these books for children and young adults from the list of Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners
Listen to the Parenting Forward podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt’
Listen to the Fare of the Free Child podcast
Read PBS’s Teaching Your Child About Black History Month
Follow The Conscious Kid on Instagram
A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota
Another free opportunity available through August is the next book in the "One Book, One Minnesota" series is: A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, edited by Sun Yung Shin. This book would be an excellent one to read together as a family, plus there are many options to join virtual discussion sessions, some with the authors.
"A Good Time for the Truth, published in 2016 by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, is a series of essays in which sixteen of Minnesota’s best writers provide a range of perspectives on what it is like to live as a Native person or a person of color in Minnesota. With unflinching generosity, these authors take readers into their lives, sharing experiences that we all must understand if we are to come together in real relationships."
It's a free E-book, available to everyone (no waitlist). Find more information on how to download it here:
https://griver.org/library-news/one-book-one-minnesota-announces-second-title
Additional Support
If your middle school child is struggling with everything going on, many support people are available to help. If your student just needs to talk with someone to sort through stressors, you can contact our MMS counselor at therese.olson@monticello.k12.mn.us or leave a voicemail at (763)272-2105. If anyone in your family is in need of therapeutic support, we have a list of area counselors available on our Student Center webpage as well. https://www.monticello.k12.mn.us/domain/174
Mandatory for all Parents/Guardians!
If you haven't done it yet please take time to complete the Annual Update to make and changes to your child's information. (Emergency Record)
The parent portal account can be accessed by logging into our Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account and choosing "More", then choose "Online Registration". The annual update must be completed by the parent/guardian of the primary household.
If you do not currently have a Parent Portal account please contact parentportal@monticello.k12.mn.us to obtain information to create new account
If you have forgotten your username or password for your portal account please login to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal Account link above and choose Campus Parent, Forgot Password.
District COVID Hotline Number is: 763-272-2097
Email is: hotline@monticello.k12.mn.us
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Monticello Middle School
Website: https://www.monticello.k12.mn.us/Domain/9
Location: 800 Broadway Street East, Monticello, MN, USA
Phone: 763-272-2000
Twitter: @MMS_Leader