Murphy Middle School ENews
August 15, 2019
MMS Safety- Standard Response Protocol & Emergency Drills
At Plano ISD, the safety and well-being of our students is always a top priority. Complementing our long-established safety and security measures, our district has adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), which your child learned about this week in school. Below is a summary of what students learned about the four specific actions that should be performed during an emergency.
STUDENT SAFETY
A critical ingredient in the safe school recipe is the classroom response to an incident at school. Weather events, fire, accidents, intruders and other threats to student safety are scenarios that are planned and trained for by students, teachers, staff and administration.
STANDARD RESPONSE PROTOCOL
Our school is expanding the safety program to include the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). The SRP is based on these four actions: 1) Lockout; 2) Lockdown; 3) Evacuate and 4) Shelter. In the event of an emergency, the action and appropriate direction will be announced or signaled at your child’s campus.
TRAINING
Please take a moment to review these actions. Students and staff will be trained and the school will drill these actions over the course of the school year. More information can be found at http://iloveuguys.org.
New Student PACE Testing
If your student is new to the district, Fall PACE testing will occur on Wednesday, August 28th. The deadline to complete the referral packet is Friday, August 23rd at 4 p.m. The packet and information about testing can be found at https://www.pisd.edu/Page/451.
Please note, new move-in or transfer students may only test once a year. Parents may choose between either the fall testing window or the spring. Students new to Plano who test in the fall and are not placed, may request a progress review. They will need to complete the Request for Review form (please contact me for this form at the end of this semester) and submit it by the deadline for spring referrals May 1st. At that time, the campus committee will consider recent MAP scores and classroom progress to determine if the fall decision should be reversed.
If you have any questions, please contact Craig Mims, Murphy’s PACE Specialist, at craig.mims@pisd.edu
PISD Parent Health Services
Student/Teacher Holiday- Monday, September 2nd
MMS Picture Day
MMS Band News
Attention Band Parents:
Please visit our website www.murphymsband.com and download our August Newsletter. It contains important information and instructions for our coming year. We’ve enjoyed meeting our new students and catching up with our returning members. Ms. Chappell, Ms. Barnhill, and I are excited for the school year!
MMS Environmental Club
The first MMS Environmental Club meeting will be Friday, Sept. 20th from 3:30-4:30 in Mrs. Pilgrim’s classroom. Nothing to sign up for, just come to the meeting and make sure you have transportation home at 4:30.
PE Clothes
PE uniforms can be ordered at www.murphymavsshop.combeginning July 1st. All PE students need to wear a grey shirt with their name on the back with blue shorts. For any questions about uniforms please email Coach Slaton at bo.slaton@pisd.edu
Orders placed before 7/14 will be delivered the first week of school. Online orders placed 7/17 thru 8/9 will be delivered to MMS the second week of school. Online orders placed 8/12-8/23 will be delivered to the school the week of 9/9-9/13.
PISD Child Find
PTA News and Updates
WELCOME FROM JOLENE LEASK, MMS PTA PRESIDENT
Hello and a warm welcome from the Murphy Middle School PTA!
On behalf of the MMS PTA I would like to welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year. My name is Jolene Leask, and I am excited and honored to serve as this year’s PTA President. My husband Matt and I have four children. We have been part of the MMS family since 2016 with our son Peyton graduating from MMS this past spring. Our twins, Kristian and Kiara joined the MMS family this year as incoming 6th graders. We are truly blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group of families.
The mission of the PTA is to partner with parents, teachers, staff and administrators to maintain Murphy Middle School’s tradition of excellence. We need you to help us continue this tradition through three easy steps:
2. Volunteer
3. Support our events and fundraisers throughout the school year.
Whether you are a new PTA member or a returning member, we thank you for your contributions, time and commitment to our organization, our staff and most importantly, our students! MMS PTA plans many exciting events for our students and staff during the school year. Our events could not happen without our parents. As you get involved or attend our events, you will get to enjoy interacting with your child(ren), become friends with other parents and accomplish things that truly make a difference.
Your PTA continues to focus on improved communications with parents. We hope you will visit our Facebook page and website for updates. On behalf of the MMS PTA board and all the volunteers who give their time so freely and enthusiastically, I thank you for your support. If at any time during the school year, you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at president@mmspta.org.
Again, welcome back and have a great year!
For the kids and Murphy Middle School,
Jolene Leask,
MMS PTA President
president@mmspta.org
Want to Volunteer?
WANT TO VOLUNTEER?
Want to volunteer on campus? PISD requires that every volunteer renews their background check each school year. If you've volunteered before, it's a 2 minute or less process. If you're new to volunteering, it's 5 minutes or less.
Sign up to Volunteer at MMS
Check out our volunteer opportunities and sign up!
MMS Spirit Wear
PURCHASE SPIRIT WEAR BY AUGUST 30TH
Every Tuesday & Friday is Spirit Day on campus. Show your school pride and wear a Murphy Maverick Middle School spirit shirt! Order at mmspta.org/spiritwear
Fall Order Deadline: Friday, August 30, 2019
BOOK FAIR, AUGUST 22ND-30TH
Our Scholastic Book Fair is a reading event that provides the books kids want to read. It's a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level. All proceeds from the Book Fair benefit the MMS library.
Check out the interactive book flyer.
We need your help to make the book fair a HUGE success! Please sign-up to work a shift during the school day or on the evening of Open House and help us put on a great Book Fair for our Murphy Mavericks! To volunteer, visit https://mmspta.membershiptoolkit.com/volunteer/44328 (login required)
All volunteers need to have a completed background check through PISD for the current year (July 2019 - July 2020) which can be done online at:
http://oea.pisd.edu/volunteer/EntryPointHomeAction.do
If you have any questions, please contact our Library Chairperson, Angelina Kenefick at library@mmspta.org.
PTA - Contact Us
MMS PTA is your partner in education to help raise awareness of education and child-related issues and support advocacy efforts and partner initiatives. If you ever have a question, please contact a member of our board at MMSPTA.org/pta_contacts.
PISD App
DOWNLOAD THE PISD MOBILE APP
Do you have the Plano ISD App on your phone or device?
The Plano ISD App is a great way to see information about the Plano calendar, news and alerts, the anonymous tip line, and much more.
• Personalize newsfeeds for your school
• View student grades and attendance
• Access school and staff info
• View news stories
• Receive important alerts
• View calendar info
Community Rewards Program- Kroger
If you shop at Kroger grocery stores, and you have a Kroger Plus Rewards card, you can benefit the families of Murphy Middle.
You must link your card every year, starting August 1st to support Murphy Middle School PTA.
Learn how at Kroger Community Rewards.