Manitou Springs Middle School
Friday, March 10th, 2023
Dear Middle School Families,
We had a great week at MSMS! The weather is beautiful and we are spending a lot of time outside. We are going to review our school dress code with students next week. The dress code is below for your reference.
8th grade families: our students met with high school counselors during advisory this week. Your child was sent home with a course request sheet for their Freshman year. Please review this with your child and help them select classes. Students can turn their course request form into the front office.
Sincerely,
Mr. Cady
Principal, MSMS
Student Dress And Appearance
Clothing should be worn as designed and should cover private parts of the body. Clothing that inappropriately bares or exposes private parts of a body, including but not limited to the stomach, areas above the mid-thigh, buttocks, back and breast is unacceptable school attire.
Clothing, accessories, appearance may not:
a. cause a distraction to the learning environment
b. create a safety hazard to the student or others
c. depict or advertise alcohol, tobacco, or drug products,
d. depict pornography, nudity or sexual acts or be of a sexual nature, use or depict hate speech targeting groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation or any other protected groups.
2. Hats and other headwear must allow the face to be visible and not interfere with the line of sight to any student or staff. Hoodies must allow the student face and ears to be visible to staff.
3. If a student's dress is found to be distracting or unsafe to the educational environment and/or not meeting the criteria above, an opportunity to fix the dress or appearance will be given to the student.
4. This policy may not address all of the potential problems. School administration will have final decisions on all dress code matters. These decisions are made so that Manitou Springs Middle School is able to keep a safe and non-disruptive learning environment.
Dates for your Calendar
March 10th: Matchwitz Competition at MSMS
March 11th: Wrestling League Tournament @ Ellicott
March 13th: Spring Sports Begin (Track, Girls Soccer, Girls Golf)
March 15th: Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
March 22nd: Late Start Wednesday, 10:05 school start
March 23rd: 3rd Quarter Honor Roll Celebration
March 23rd: Spring Dance, 3:30 to 5:00 PM
March 27th - 31st: Spring Break
In the school
Matchwits:
Practice before their big event!
STEM Enrichment
The STEM enrichment class had a visit from the FTC#11561 Robotics team to drive a competition robot made by their peers!
Creativity Matters:
Creativity Matters students have been exploring India for the past three weeks. They have created Mandalas, traditional foods, and even celebrated Holi with their own color festival. Welcome spring!
Student Council:
Student Council volunteers lead a Google Meet every Wednesday and Friday to share the morning announcements with our school. They talk about upcoming meetings and events, share a joke or riddle, and have an opportunity to refine their public speaking skills. Hats off to these brave student leaders in our school!
7th Grade Art:
7th graders in art class are connecting their learning in Mr. Johnson's social studies class to a hands-on project. This week students are finishing up a mosaic featuring an image from Ancient Rome. Star, a 7th grader said "The thing I liked most about the mosaic project is how creative and simple it is. All you have to do is add some squares and it comes out beautiful."
Music Jam!
but we have 4 guitars, two keyboards, drums, percussion, and multiple amps available. At jam, we go around in a circle taking turns suggesting
songs, and Mr. J helps the group arrange the song and is prepared to give students resources to help them practice their instrument at home.
You are not required to sign up or stay for the entire jam-hope to see you there :)
A Virtual Tour:
Want to tour Manitou Springs Middle School? Check it out below!
Upcoming Events
Scholarships for Middle School Students
Did you know that scholarships are available for all grade levels? There are scholarships that you can apply for in middle school. Check out this website: Scholarships for Middle School Students
6th Grade Snack Sign-up:
6th graders eat lunch early, at 10:05am, so they tend to be hungry towards the end of the day. PAC is helping organize snacks for the 6th graders so they can focus on their afternoon classes. The big boxes of snacks they sell at Costco or Sam's are perfect. Please consider signing up HERE.
Employment Opportunities
Community
Mustang Tech Tips!
ONLINE GAMING TIPS FORKIDS, TEENS AND TWEENS
Online gaming is fun and interactive. You can play with friends or with people across the globe. Make sure you know how to protect yourself and your personal information while playing online. Following these simple guidelines can prevent problems later.
It’s your game. Take control.
- If another player is making you feel uncomfortable, tell a trusted adult. Remember that you can always kick a player out of the game if they are making you uncomfortable.
- Learn how to block and/or report another player if they are making you uncomfortable. Keep a record of what the other player said, but do not engage them.
- Playing with people you don’t know or who aren’t your good friends? Time to use a disguise. Use a safe Game Name: something cool like SecretNinja99 or LeTigreVerde
- Use an avatar instead of the webcam. Sure, the webcam is cool, but strangers don’t need to know what you look like. Embrace an air of mystery.
- Use the voice altering features if you have them. Otherwise, avoid voice chat to protect your anonymity.
Keep a Clean Machine
- Talk to your parents or guardians about how they can make sure your computer is protected against computer viruses, spyware and other bugs.
- Keep security software current: Having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats.
- Protect all devices that connect to the Internet: Computers, smart phones, gaming systems, and other web enabled devices all need protection from viruses and malware
Protect Your Personal Information
- Personal information is any information that can be used to identify you or your accounts. Examples include your name, address, phone number, user names and passwords, pictures, birthday and social security number.
- Secure your accounts: Ask for protection beyond passwords. Many account providers now offer additional ways for you verify who you are before you conduct business on that site.
- Make passwords long and strong: Combine capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols to create a more secure password. (Remember, passwords are the keys to your accounts. The only people who need to know them are YOU and your parents. Not your brother, sister, best friend, or teacher – just you.)
- Own your online presence: When available, set the privacy and security settings on websites to your comfort level for information sharing. It’s ok to limit how and with whom you share information.