The Mustang Round Up
October 23rd, 2022
This is It!
Hello Families,
I am so proud of all of our 6th graders who attended camp these past two weeks. Five days away from their family, homes, cell phones, Youtube, gaming console... can be tough. It felt like most of our students said this was the first time they were away from home for an extended period of time. Let me be the first to say they did a fantastic job. I was lucky to have all of the campers together for the first night at camp to introduce our Marshall team and to set our collective intention for the week. You could tell after a busy first day that involved travel, orientation, sorting out cabins, and learning the procedures of camp, the student were exhausted. It was around our first dinner together that the reality of being away from home set in. So right after dinner that night we gathered together for a quick conversation that I'd love to share with you now.
The first question I asked the group was, "Raise your hand if tonight feels 'easy"? Only a few hands went up. Then I asked, "How many of you plan to go off to college or live on your own when you're an adult?" Almost every hand went up. My next question was, "Well, how do we get from here to there? How do we move from how we feel tonight to that first night of going off to college? It doesn't happen by chance, it happens by growing and learning. We don't wake up one day and feel ready to be independent, it's something that we learn and develop over time and tonight's the first step for many of us."
I shared with the students how easy it is for us to go through each stage of life saying to ourselves, "This isn't it" and then look to the next stage and think, "THAT'S IT. Where I'm at now is not it, but out there in the future...that's definitely it" Just like with each grade level, so many students in 5th grade think 6th grade is so much better, then they get to 6th grade and think 6th grade isn't "it", but 7th will be...and so on. (Note- I also let them know that we adults fall into this same trap too). I invited them to flip their thinking at camp. Rather thank thinking "this isn't it", think to themselves "This Is It!" When they're on a hike with someone new and can't wait to get back to their cabin-mates, think themselves, "This is it! A chance to meet someone new!" By being present and finding the learning opportunities in front of us at each moment we grow into the dynamic, complex, and independent person we are destined to be.
So, I challenge all of us to remember that this is it. Today is where we want to be and need to be. Hopefully, this weekend you got to hug your 6th grader a little tighter. They may have come home playing it cool like they didn't miss you, but ...they did.
Josh Way, Ed.D
Principal
The Mustangs are the SDUSD Middle School Division 1 Champs!
LOTE Testing; 12/6/22
On December 6, 2022, students in 7th and 8th grade at Marshall Middle School will have the opportunity to take the LOTE Alternative Assessment in Amharic, Arabic, ASL, Burmese, Cambodian, Czech, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, or Vietnamese. Testing will begin at 8:15AM. Below you will find additional information about this assessment opportunity.
For more information, read the LOTE Parent Letter from Marshall Middle School
We need your help! Please fill out LCFF Survey
Only 19% of families left! Deadline is October 31st!
Each year the district is responsible for collecting information from our students’ families to
support the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) process. The LCFF is hallmark legislation that fundamentally changed how all local educational agencies (LEAs) in the state are funded, how they are measured for results, and the services and supports they receive to allow all students to succeed to their greatest potential. This year, the California Department of Education is allowing districts to collect information in May 2022 and it will be applied to the 2022 – 23 school year. By completing the survey, you will not only be supporting the district’s efforts, but increasing the chances of your child’s school receiving more of this valuable funding.
Sign in to PowerSchool Portal with your parent account (not your student account!)
On the navigation bar, select “LCFF Data Collection"
MMO Pledge Drive
Our annual pledge drive is in full swing and is the single largest fundraising event for our school. The MMO works closely with the school administration to provide vital funding. Your financial contribution supports the academic programs within each department, as well as programs to support citizenship, safety and wellness in our students. Donations can be made online at www.mmofoundation.com/donate. All levels of support are welcome and much appreciated!
Who's Who at Marshall...
MMS is excited to introduce you to Education Specialist Heather Thalman. Mrs. Thalman's energy and passion has made her a student favorite. Not only does she work in the special education department, but she was also an advisor at our New Student Orientation. Here's more about Mrs. Thalman
How many years in education? I've been working in education in a variety of roles since 2010, and I have been working within San Diego Unified for 8 years with the majority of that time being at Marshall.
Why middle school?- Middle school is so fun! They are a wonderful blend of children and adolescents. They still generally enjoy coming to school and have a love of learning, but since they are older, they can accomplish more on their own and need less direct guidance.
What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend? In my free time, I enjoy going to San Diego Wave FC games. I've also been getting back into roller skating, and I hope to ultimately do dance skating!
What impact do you hope to make at Marshall? My hope for students at Marshall is to see them grow and develop into young adults who feel empowered and able to take on the challenges and excitement of middle school and then use those experiences to be successful in high school.
6th Grade Overnight Camp
That's a wrap! 6th Grade camp has come and gone. What a fantastic experience for our students. On behalf of the Marshall staff, we want to thank everybody for their support and flexibility in making this happen. It was a huge undertaking and involved so much support from our MMS staff and our MMO. Special shout-out to our MMO committee: Kelly Melancon, Kelly Schmitz, Christina Riehl, and Vanessa Neville for all of their help in planning and coordinating the fundraising and parent meetings. Also, huge thank you to James Hardy for volunteering to drive our "luggage wagon" for both camps. Finally, thank you to our Marshall teachers who attended camp:
Camp1- Julie Rick, Janel McCarthy, Ryan Giertych, Alisa Custer, Jennifer Lacson (Fan-Ethridge), Dave Hodapp, Tim Wright, and Naomi Diem.
Camp 2- Julie Rick, Dave Hodapp, Jolynn Ingles, Tammy McDaniel, Wendy Karch, Sharon Carter, and Chris Hagstrom. We already can't wait to go back!
ASB Corner
Hello Marshall Middle parents!
Marshall has a lot of fun activities this month!
- The Book Drive will start on October 17 and end on the 24. During that time, remind your child to bring gently used books to their English teacher's classroom to donate.
On October 26 GSA is hosting a pride day in celebration in LGBTQIA Awareness Month. Remind your student to wear pride-supporting colors and bring pride flags to school. Your student does not have to be LGBTQ+ or in GSA to participate.
- Our first Spirit Week is from October 31 to November 4.
- Monday is Fall Festivities Day: wear your costumes or fall colors to school.
- Tuesday is Sports Day: wear anything sports related.
- Wednesday is Class Color Day: eighth grade wears red, seventh grade wears blue, and sixth wears green.
- Thursday is Twin Day: dress like your friends.
- Friday is Sunglasses Day: bring some shades to school.
Make Sure to check out our website and social media to get additional information!
Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/marshallmiddleasb/home
ApparelNow: https://apparelnow.com/marshall-middle-school-spiritwear
TikTok: @theactualmarshallasb
Instagram: @asb.marshall
Facebook: @Marshall ASB
Be responsible this Halloween
Monday, October 31st is Halloween. While we want to allow those students who celebrate Halloween to wear costumes to school, we want to remind everybody to be responsible with their choice of costumes. If your student chooses to wear a costume, please remember that school dress code still applies. Students may not bring weapons, real or fake, wear full face covering masks, or wear costumes that are culturally offensive.
Some Things to Consider...
"Will standards-based grading impact our student's college admission?" This has been a common question that parents and teachers have asked since SDUSD secondary schools switched over to standards-based grading. At first glance, most would think it shouldn't, since colleges have been accepting students from schools with alternative grading and environments for years. Yet, what do college admission officers say about it? In this article from 2018, admissions counselors from MIT, Pomona College, and USC weigh in on what they think about standards-based grading and how they believe it will impact college admissions.