Mooresville MS Family Newsletter
September 28, 2018
A Message from Mrs. Robinson
Greeting Mooresville Middle School Families,
We are off to a strong start at MMS! Our seventh graders are settling in and our eighth graders have stepped up as the “seniors”of our school. This month I would like to take the time to bring the MMS Attendance policy to your attention.
Attendance
Regular attendance is important throughout the year. Frequent absences interfere with your child’s progress toward meeting minimum standards for promotion. A student must be present until 11:00am in order to be recorded present for that day. Notification of absences by report card will be given at the end of each grading period.
Unexcused Absences
In accordance with the NC Compulsory Attendance Law, students who accumulate 10 unexcused absences are considered truant. These students and/or their parents or guardians may be referred to the district attorney.
For absences in violation of the Compulsory Attendance Law, notification will be sent by letter for the 3rd, 6th, and 10th unexcused violation.
Excused Absences
Students who are absent must submit a note signed by the parent within three days of the absence. If the note is received within three days and meets state-identified criteria, the student’s absence will be coded as excused.
**The following reasons have been identified by the state of the North Carolina as Excused Absences:
a.) Illness or injury (physically unable to attend school)
b.) Quarantine ordered by board of health
c.) Death in immediate family (grandparent, parent, brother, sister)
d.) Medical or dental appointment (note from physician/dentist)
e.) Court or administrative proceedings
f.) Religious observance
g.) Educational opportunity (prior approval from principal required)
Absences not meeting on the state-identified criteria will be coded as Unexcused Absences.
Absences and Course Credit
Students who miss more than 12 days in a course for the year will not receive a passing grade in that course. All absences (excused and unexcused) count towards this 12-day limit. Violation of the attendance policy may result in a student failing to meet local promotion standards. Opportunities to make-up excessive absences will only be offered during summer school. Making-up excessive absences does not guarantee a passing grade in a course.
Absences and Summer School
Students who miss more than 12 days during the school year and who do not qualify for or are denied a waiver of the attendance requirement must make up each excessive absence in order to receive a passing grade. In order to make up excessive absences students must attend summer school. Students choosing to complete make-up time in summer school must serve the entire term of summer school regardless of the amount of time to be made up.
Appeal Process for Excessive Absences
Students who do not receive a passing grade due to excessive absences have the right to appeal their case to the school-based Attendance Committee. In documented cases of extreme hardship (extended hospitalization, serious extended illness) the principal or Attendance Committee may decide to award a passing grade. Students seeking an appeal must submit a formal request for an appeal to the committee by the published deadline date in May in order to have their request reviewed by the Attendance Committee. Supporting documentation must also be included with the request for a waiver.
If you are interested in seeing a day in the life of a MMS student please sign up for our next parent tour on October 16, 2018 from 8am to 9am. You can reserve your spot by calling the front office. Our Instructional Coach and I will give you a tour of our school and you will have an opportunity to visit classrooms to see what goes on everyday at MMS from 7:30am-2:30pm!
If you ever have any questions or concerns please feel free to give me a call.
Sincerely,
Ayana Robinson, Principal
Mooresville Middle School
From the Counseling Department
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASSES AT MMS
8 ELA
8 MATH
Students are in the full swing of things by now having to remember the order of operations and other various items from previous years. We are using our base knowledge to continue to build on our ability to solve equation and inequality word problems. We will soon begin to work with linear and nonlinear functions which will allow them to begin using their TI-83 or TI-84 calculators.
8th Grade Math (Pre-Algebra):
Students have started learning Geometry goals in 8th Grade. Students are working with Transformation rules - translations, reflections, rotations, and dilations. Students are demonstrating their understanding by completing a Transformations Project. We will also use transformations to describe congruent and similar figures. Once we complete Transformations, 8th Grade students will start learning about functions, specifically linear functions.
8 SCIENCE
8 SOCIAL STUDIES
We have finished Unit 1 on Geography & Colonization. This unit focused on the 3 regions of NC and the original 13 colonies.
We are currently studying the causes of the American Revolution. And will be finished with Unit 2, Road to Revolution within the nest week.
Our last unit for quarter 1 is Revolution. We will focus on the Declaration of Independence, the battles, and the Articles of Confederation.
7 SCIENCE
7th Science has been working on Scientific Inquiry, with the vocabulary that students need to understand science. This has also given us a few weeks to get to know our students and to teach them our procedures and expectations. So far, so good!
We are moving into our weather unit- we will begin with the layers of the atmosphere, moving to the water cycle, air masses, forecasting, global winds and being a good steward of the atmosphere/air quality. We use many teaching activities to allow the students the choices to learn and master the material. We might be using QR codes, matching task cards, cut and paste activities, foldables, classroom games, online simulations just to name a few. We do keep the students interested and involved in their learning- and accountable!
In the picture below, students are using Atmosphere QR code notes.
7 ELA
7 MATH
READING ENHANCEMENT
CHORUS & THEATER ARTS
VISUAL ARTS
http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/flying-machine.aspx and they can connect with the Wright brothers.
I hope this piece of art can help students connect with the school and our community!
LIFE SKILLS
WORLD LANGUAGES
Students in Mrs. Sarver's World Cultures homeroom are working on creating displays to promote Hispanic-Heritage Month. The class has already been sharing facts relating to Hispanic-Heritage Month on the IMPTV news.
8th grade Spanish students are in the middle of their second unit of study. At this point, students should be able to give their name, age, birthday, phone number and talk about how they are feeling in Spanish. They can also recite the Spanish alphabet.
7th grade Exploring Language students are in the middle of studying Latin. They are able to say their name and how they are feeling as well as greet and say goodbye to people. They have also been learning about what life was like in Ancient Rome.
Mooresville Middle School
Vision:
Mooresville Middle School is committed to creating the conditions that bring each student to full academic potential as engaged, life-long learners and citizens by developing critical thinkers and problem solvers.
Mission:
Mooresville Middle School will instill an appreciation and love for learning in our students as we help them develop the skills needed to become goal oriented, independent thinkers and leaders in an ever-changing global society. We challenge every student, every day to discover and develop a positive sense of self, as well as to respect themselves and others through meaningful collaboration with peers, teachers, and parents.
Website: http://www.mgsd.k12.nc.us/page.cfm?p=2494
Location: 233 Kistler Farm Road, Mooresville, NC, United States
Phone: 704-658-2720
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mooresville-Middle-School-Red-Imps-106456262721779/
Twitter: @mooresvillems