Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
March 10th, 2023
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
It's hard to believe that the end of the third quarter is Friday, March 24th. With spring break happening right after the quarter end, now is an excellent time for students to check infinite campus, work to get caught up or plan to complete any missing work. The goal is for students to submit anything missing before the end of the quarter, and student report cards are sent out.
We wanted to share some ideas to help support your child if they are struggling with homework because often, students just need a confidence boost or help to get their thinking back on what resources they might already have to help them.
General Questions
What do your notes show for this type of problem?
What tools or resources do you have to help you? Let’s look together.
Have you asked your teacher or a friend in class?
If so, what did they say?
If not, let’s write an email together.
Are there any examples to look at it? If not, how about you email your teacher you’d like an example.
I think it might be best to take a short break from this assignment, and work on something else, do you have other work to complete? We can always revisit this in a little bit.
I noticed you are having trouble staying caught up, what’s up?
- What other ways can you use to solve the problem?
- Can you draw an image to represent the problem?
- What’s the learning target you focused on today?
- How does this concept relate to other topics you’ve studied?
- What is the topic of your assignment?
- What is the goal of the problem?
- How did you practice this in class?
- What is hard for you? The reading, the problem, the task?
- Why does that step work? Can you explain it?
- What does that step in the problem accomplish?
- How do you know if your answer is reasonable?
- Can you check your answer?
- Where might you use these skills in the real world?
- How is this assignment related to the homework you had yesterday? In what ways is it similar or different?
- Now that you can solve these problems, what do you think you might be able to do next
- What do these problems have in common?
We recommend if your child is struggling with their homework, class assignments, or getting work done, to reach out to the teachers to problem solve. Remember, we are here to support your child and love doing so.
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
March 13th- 15th: Musical Tech Week
March 17th-19th: Matilda Jr!
March 21st: 5th Grade Vision Screening
March 24: End of Third Quarter
March 27-31: Spring Break
April 7 & 10: No School
April 17-22: Forward Testing
- May 9-11: Literacy iReady Testing
- May 15-17: Math iReady Testing
Weekly Muskego Lakes Co-Curricular Meetings
If a change occurs from the date of this newsletter, we post on Infinite Campus in the announcement section. We commit to letting students/families know about changes and updating Infinite Campus announcements as soon as possible once we've been notified of a change.
Check out all MLMS events here which includes more detailed information!
Last Call For Matilda Jr Tickets!
You do NOT want to miss out on the Muskego Lakes Middle School production of Matilda Jr.! To order tickets click here.
Performance Dates:
Friday, March. 17 at 7 pm (Miracle Cast)
Saturday, March 18 at 2 pm (Miracle Cast)
Saturday, March 18 at 7 pm (Naughty Cast)
Sunday, March. 19 at 2 pm (Naughty Cast)
8th Grade Promotion Photos Wanted
Each year Muskego Lakes hosts a breakfast celebration for the 8th graders during the last week of school. During the breakfast, we plan to have a slideshow running with pictures from 5k to 8th grade of all the students. To make this slideshow a success we need your help, specifically your pictures (printed or digital). They can be single shots of your student, but group pictures are strongly encouraged. And don't forget to go WAY back in your photos - the students always get a kick out of seeing pictures of themselves and their classmates from years ago. The preference would be to get 5-15 pictures per family.
We are looking for the following kinds of photos:
- Pictures from 5K to 8th grade
- School field trips
- Sporting events / team photos
- Selfies with friends
Please send all your pictures by March 31st.
- Digital pictures – email MLMSClass2027@gmail.com
- Printed pictures – send in mail to Tina Marine, S97W13893 Stonebridge Way, Muskego
5th Grade Vision Screening
The Muskego Lions Club will be conducting vision screening for 5th grade students on Tuesday, March 21st from 12 - 130pm . If you do not want your student to participate please contact the health office to let us know. Parent and/or guardians of any student that does not pass this screening will be notified.
Are you missing anything? Check out the lost and found!
Request for Upcoming Forward and iReady Testing Dates
Request for Upcoming Forward and iReady Testing Dates
Muskego Lakes students will take the WI Forward Assessment and the spring diagnostic iReady Exam in a few short months. We ask that families check the dates of these assessments below and communicate with us if you know your child has a pre-planned reason/vacation to be out during those times, so we can plan accordingly to ensure testing can be completed.
Wisconsin Forward Testing Dates: April 17-22, 2023
Spring iReady Dates:
- Literacy: May 9-11, 2023
- Math: May 15-17, 2023
If you do have a pre-planned absence during these dates, please reach out nancy.pasch@muskegonorway.org
Staff Member Spotlight- Mrs. Parks
We asked Mrs. Parks to share a little about herself and her career, in addition to what what makes her proud to work at Muskego Lakes and she said:
" I am a learning strategist at Muskego Lakes Middle School. I grew up in Elkhorn, WI and graduated from UW-Whitewater after doing my student teaching in Jamaica for six weeks and then finishing at East Troy Middle School. The last four years I served as a Learning Strategist at Butler Middle School in Waukesha working with students with intellectual disabilities and autism. I moved to Muskego two years ago with my husband and have fallen in love with the area and strong sense of community.
I am most proud of providing students with life skills opportunities within the classroom and increasing their ability to communicate in a variety of ways. I really enjoy thinking outside of the box to meet student needs across all parts of their day. I have also done a lot of work around community based learning and have seen amazing growth in kids from getting out in the community and learning in an authentic environment."
Here is a little more to help you get to know Mrs. Parks
Favorite coffee drink - Sweet chai tea latte with oat milk from Vintage Grounds.
Favorite subject when you were in middle school - Literacy
Fun fact about yourself that may surprise students and families - When I was in 4th grade I spent a month in Mexico with my dad visiting his family. My dad was the only one that spoke English so I picked up all the Spanish I know from my time there during that month.
My Dream vacation - My dream vacation would be a tour across the United States with my family.
Students & staff describe me as - Holding them to high standards, predictable, silly, happy, their biggest cheerleader, and part of their team
Staff Member Spotlight - Mr.Potts
We asked Mr. Potts to share a little about himself and his career, in addition to what what makes him proud to work at Muskego Lakes and he said:
"One of the things I’m most proud of in terms of my education is having the courage to change my career path and follow my passion. I was three years into studying biology and chemistry, with the plan of going to med school, when I realized how much I missed studying art and working with kids. After I changed my major to art education, everything seemed to click. During that time, I also submitted a portfolio and applied to a fairly prestigious photojournalism study abroad program in Paris, France. I was one of only two students from the US that was accepted, and one of only nine in the world. It was an incredible experience that helped reassure me that I was following the path I was meant to be on.
The experience of finding my career path has had a tremendous influence on my teaching. Michelangelo is often quoted as having said that inside every block of stone or marble dwells a beautiful statue; one need only remove the excess material to reveal the work of art within. Ever since starting as an educator, this concept has resonated with me and shapes the way I work with students to help them discover their own creativity and passions through art. Each day, I get the opportunity to see kids chip away at whatever is getting in the way of their skill development and self-expression. I get to see them establish their artistic voice, grow their sense of creativity, and find in themselves strength and confidence they didn’t know they had. Knowing I helped them achieve that success makes me incredibly proud. "
Here is a little more to help you get to know
Favorite coffee drink - iced latte or cold brew, both with almond milk
Favorite subject when you were in middle school - Art, PE, and Spanish
Fun fact about yourself that may surprise students and families - I played collegiate football and volleyball
My Dream vacation - Somewhere that has a good balance of beaches and historical sights like Spain, Greece, or Italy.
Students & staff describe me as - Kind, Patient, Creative, and Funny
Open Gym Schedule for Muskego Lakes
Did you know we have On-Site Mental Health Counseling at Muskego Lakes?
We are proud to continue to partner with Clinical Psychology Associates (CPA) to offer on-site counseling services at Bay Lane Elementary, Lakeview Elementary, Mill Valley Elementary, Muskego Lakes Middle School, Lake Denoon Middle School, and Muskego High School. For information about CPA’s services and therapists or to get started with an appointment, please visit our website.
Reporting of an Illness/ Reporting of COVID Reminders
A friendly reminder that when you notify school of your child/children being out ill/sick, it's important that we get the reason that they are out as we keep track of illness to monitor outbreaks.
Reporting of Illness
If your student is ill please keep them home and notify us at 262-971-1860 ext 5000. You may also use the Campus Parent App to report the illness.
Reporting of COVID
If your student has a positive COVID test please keep them home and Report your student's COVID ISOLATION using the COVID-19 SYMPTOM OR STATUS NOTIFICATION.
Please refer to the Health Services website for additional information.
Get Involved By Joining The Muskego Lakes PTO!
Please consider joining the Muskego Lakes PTO. We meet monthly in the MLMS library at 6:30pm. We always welcome new faces and would love to hear your ideas in how we can make this an amazing school year ahead!!
MLMS PTO Meeting Dates for 2022-2023
- March 15
- April 19
- May 17
PTO Mid-Week Munchies
Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin
Muskego Lakes Associate Principal
Muskego Lakes Principal
Muskego Lakes Middle School
Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies
Joining a VIRTUAL Parent-Teacher Conference
Click here to attend your conference! This link is the same that you used to book your conferences.