Mills Middle School Newsletter
October & November 2021
Dear Mustang Families:
Happy Fall! The weather has cooled off and our students are settled into the routines here at Mills. Quarter 1 ended on October 8th and report cards were mailed home with progress grades. Semester 1 ends on December 17th. Please remind your students that their prompt behavior is important! Many students are losing merits and missing out on fun opportunities on campus due to lates throughout the day. A few reminders: masks are required when indoors on campus. This also means masks are required in the GYM for student athletic events. Please assist us with following district guidelines. Lastly, supervision on campus begins a 8:00am (gates open and breakfast is available) and ends at 3:15pm. Parents/Guardians can check their student's grades and attendance using the PowerSchool application. Need information on how to create a PowerSchool Parent account? Click HERE.
Stay safe and healthy,
Mills Administration Team
Dana Carrigan, Principal
Molly Griffin, Assistant Principal
Keith Shields, Assistant Principal
From the Front Office
- Please send a note or call ahead for an early dismissal. This will help us have your student ready and waiting for you upon dismissal. We are not able to have students dismissed from PE due to staffing needs and access to the locker room.
- Please send your student with a water bottle, charged chromebook and a mask each day. We have a limited supply of chromebooks, chargers and masks for students who forget each day.
- It is important to call ahead or clear your student's absence. Please call us at (916) 294-9045 to clear your student's unexcused absence or to report them absent for the day.
- The office is open daily from 8:00am - 3:30pm.
October Review
- Flextime: Students have been actively participating in Advisory lessons from Second Step, our character education curriculum. Students have also been using Advisory time as FLEX. Flex is an opportunity for students to attend intervention lessons in all subject areas as well as amplification, enrichment and study halls.
- Red Ribbon Week: Red Ribbon Week was Monday, October 25th - Friday, October 29th. Students were able to make pledge cards, pledging to be drug, alcohol and tobacco free as well as participate in a poster contest. Thank you to Club LIVE for bringing us Red Ribbon Week!
- Mega Mills Raffle: Mega Mills is a raffle where students can enter with the Mills Bills they earn from teachers and staff. Mills Bills are given out when students demonstrate the 5 P's: Prompt, Polite, Productive, Positive and Prepared. In quarter 1 we had 2 Mega Mills Raffles for a total of 6 student winners. Congratulations to our winners!
- Student of the Quarter: Students nominated for Student of the Quarter by teachers and staff were recognized at a the Student of the Quarter celebration during Advisory on October 15th. Students were treated with donuts, hot chocolate, a certificate, Mills t-shirt and a the chance to win Mills swag! Congratulations to our Students of the Quarter!
Megal Mills Raffle Basket
Ms. Dowty Pulling Winners!
Winners Receiving Their Baskets
November
Coming up in November, students will continue to attend FLEX on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Ask your student what FLEX's they have attended. Students get to use this time for additional help or intervention, for amplification or extension of current lessons, or for study hall and merit recovery. Our PBIS school-wide incentives continue with students earning Mills Bills to use at the Student Store or for the Mega Mills raffles. Upcoming Fun Friday events for our students with 96 or more merits include fall themed treats: Carmel Apple Pops and Hot Cider To-Go.
Reminder No School For the Following Days:
- Veterans Day, Thursday, November 11th.
- Fall/Thanksgiving Break is Monday, November 22nd - Friday, November 26th.
The Merit System and Merit Recovery
Mills has a Merit System to recognize and reward positive student behavior. All students start the school year with 100 merits (see pg. 3 in the Student Handbook). Students must maintain 96 or more merits to participate in school activities. Students may lose merits for various reasons but always have the opportunity to earn merits back in the form of merit recovery. Merit recovery can happen in a variety of ways.
Every Monday in Advisory, students are shown their current merits (Using student ID numbers). Students who have less than 96 merits are encouraged to participate in Merit Recovery, which they can do before school, after school, lunch time, or during Flex time. Merit Recovery forms are available in the office and any classroom.
REASONS FOR LOSING A MERIT:
Lates (After 5 lates)
Cuts
Dress Code/Not dressing out for PE
Push In
Chromebook Loan (After 3)
Mask Loan (After 3)
Class Suspension
On Site Suspension
Off Site Suspension
Administrative Discretion
REWARDS/CONSEQUENCES:
96-100 Merits: Student is free to participate in merit rewards & school sponsored activities
95 and Below: Student will not participate in monthly merit rewards & school sponsored activities (Dances, Field Trips, Assemblies, Triple AAA/Mills Scholars, Fun Fridays, Athletic Events, Blacktop, End of Year Activities)
MERIT RECOVERY ACTIVITIES:
Campus Cleanup
Flex Merit Recovery
1 RC Lunch
1 RC Thursday
Restorative Conversation or Peer Mediation
Written Letter of Apology
1 After School Tutoring Session
Other (See Ms. Syl or a Teacher)
Parent Summit
families to build community, facilitate advocacy and give voice to what families need based on their collective experiences in FCUSD.
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Time: 5pm - 7:30pm
Location: Virtual. Please sign up HERE for directions to sign up.
California Healthy Kids Survey
Your child is being asked to be a part of our school’s California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) sponsored by the California Department of Education. This is a very important survey that will help promote better health and well-being among our youth, improve the school learning environment and combat problems such as drug abuse and violence. Your child does not have to take the survey. If you do not want your child to complete the survey, you must return the consent form that was given to your child in their History class.
Administration. The survey will be administered on Wednesday, November 3rd. It will take about one class period to complete (about 50 minutes) and will be administered in your child’s History class.
Parent Survey: Please take a few minutes to complete the Parent Survey. Your information is valuable in assessing the health of our school. Follow the link to complete the survey: https://wested.ugam-apps.com/wed/ts/qjPQ
Athletics
Up next is Girls Basketball and Wrestling. Girls Basketball tryouts are December 6th - December 8th. Wrestling is open to all students and practice begins December 6th. Athletic clearance and sports physical is required for both by December 6th to begin practice/tryouts.
If your student is interested in trying out or joining a sport, a sports physical is required. Additionally, you will need to complete the information for Athletic Clearance.
For more information or questions, please contact Athletic Directors:
Allison Renth arenth@fcusd.org
Julie Stump jstump@fcusd.org
Library News
If your student has lost a book, they can pay the fine for the book or they can bring in a copy of the same book (Amazon prices are often lower than the fine.)
Questions? Please contact Library Technician Elle Tanner at (916) 294-9045 ext 710173 or by email at etanner@fcusd.org.
FCUSD COVID-19 DASHBOARD
Mills Wellness Place
Counselor's Corner
Parents! Want 24/7 access to your student's class schedule, grades, attendance, and more?! Log onto https://powerschool.fcusd.org/public/. Need help accessing the parent portal? Contact the front office at (916) 294-9045.
Ms. Janice Shippy
Last Names A - L
Mr. Eric Mejia
Last Names M - Z
Mills Middle School
Email: dcarriga@fcusd.org
Website: https://www.fcusd.org/mills
Location: 10439 Coloma Road, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Phone: (916)294-9045
Facebook: facebook.com/millsmiddleschool
Twitter: @ourschool