Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
December 4, 2020
Muskego-Norway School District Covid-19 FAQs & Resources
Please complete the COVID form below if your child...
- Experienced the symptoms of COVID-19
- Diagnosed with or tested positive for COVID-19
- Had CLOSE CONTACT with a person that has been diagnosed with COVID-19
- If already in Quarantine and the quarantined person receives a positive test
- If already in Quarantine and the quarantined person experiences symptoms
- If a household member of someone in Quarantine or Isolation becomes symptomatic
- If a household member of someone in Quarantine or Isolation receives a positive test
Principals' Message: Kids Do Well If They Can
In our continued effort to make our school vision a reality, we have been hard at work the last couple years learning about how to best meet the needs of students at Muskego Lakes. An evidenced-based approach that we have studied and implemented was developed by Dr. Ross Greene. His philosophy is simply that, "Kids do well if they can." The theory is that doing well is always preferable. When students do not do well, the theory is that the expectations of the situation requires skills that are beyond the student's capacity.
As Dr. Greene explains in the video below, philosophy drives how we, as adults, respond to behaviors. So when situations arise when students are not meeting expectations here at school, we are committed to coming alongside students to solve problems with them- not for them. This not only gives students a critical voice, but it equips them with the skills necessary to solve problems- a life long skill.
So please consider checking out the brief, thought-provoking video below to learn more about the approach we are using here at Muskego Lakes to solve problems with students not for them. It may even challenge your thinking as it has challenged ours. Many members of staff have shared how our learning from Dr. Ross Greene has positively impacted their own relationships with not only their children but their spouses as well. In future newsletters, we will share more information about the collaborative and proactive problem solving approach we are using here at Muskego Lakes.
In addition, there will be a virtual book study ahead. Led my Stacey Malek, our School Psychologist, we will invite any interested families to participate (as well as provide any participating families with a copy of one of Dr. Ross Greene's books).
We truly mean it when we say that we are deeply committed to living out our vision of connecting hearts and minds in everything we do here at Muskego Lakes.
In partnership,
Rachel Rydzewski & Chad Krupar
Muskego Lakes Principals
To contact Rachel: rachel.rydzewski@muskegonorway.org or (608) 628-8546
To contact Chad: chad.krupar@muskegonorway.org or (262) 955-1274
Important Dates Ahead
12/4 - Community Day at Muskego Lakes
12/7 - 12/8 - Math iReady Winter Assessment *Please encourage your children to have headphones at school
12/15 - Muskego Lakes PTO Virtual Meeting 6:30 - 7:30pm
12/23 - 1/1 - No School
Looking to Switch from In-Person to Virtual or Virtual to In-Person at the Semester?
For the next semester at the secondary level, parents/guardians have the option of switching their child(ren)'s learning environment from virtual to in-person, or vice versa. (November 30th - December 10th) Only families interested in switching their child's learning environment need to complete this form. Please review the COVID-19 Reentry Planning documents and Learning Plans on the district website (https://www.muskegonorway.org/about/mns-learning-plans.cfm) and consult as a family regarding the intent to switch your child(ren)'s learning environment prior to completing this form. Once you fill out this form, your request will be officially recorded when you submit. The form and survey will need to be completed by NOON ON December 10, 2020. Again, there is no need to complete this form if parents are interested in having their middle/high school child(ren) remain in his/her current learning environment.
Survey: LINK
Headphones Needed for i-Ready Testing
Muskego Lakes - First Ever Community Day
Center For Disease Control (CDC) Optional Quarantine Strategies
The CDC released optional quarantine strategies on December 2, 2020 that allow for a reduction of quarantine time from 14 days to 7 or 10 days if criteria are met. With these strategies, the residual post-quarantine transmission risk is estimated to be about 5% with an upper limit of about 12%.
MNS is obligated to comply with all Waukesha County Department of Public Health (WCPH) COVID guidelines. MNS is in continuous dialogue with Wisconsin DHS, DPI and our partners at WCPH. In communication today, December 3rd, with WCPH we are instructed to await implementation of the CDC optional quarantine strategies until such time that WCPH, Wisconsin DPI and DHS have given the go-ahead.
In anticipation of the implementation of the optional quarantine strategies you may refer to the following resources: CDC OPTIONAL QUARANTINE STRATEGIES
Musky Award Nominations
We will once again be honoring members of staff nominated for Musky Awards on our upcoming Professional Development Day on January 22nd. Please consider nominating a teacher, instructional aide, custodian, interventionist, general aide, instructional coach, SRO, building guest teacher, athletic coach, club lead, student teacher, intern, or member of the office staff, student services staff, library and technology staff, nurse aide team, and/or Taher team.
Nominations are open through Tuesday, December 22nd.
If you wish to nominate someone on staff to be recognized on Friday, January 22nd, please complete the Google Form HERE. Thank you!
Student Feedback From Remote Learning Days
At the conclusion of the two days, our Student Services Team asked students to share one takeaway from their lessons/activities. Here are some responses:
- To be yourself and not care what others think about you.
- Something I think about differently is that I need to work on some things that I didn't even know needed working on whether it's for me personally or for stress relieving. Also that I should try out new methods that I might like to help me feel less stressed and more happy and motivated to get my work done.
- It is better to know information about someone first, then to judge them.
- Everything you say or do can have an effect on other people.
- I’m going to work on self care by getting more sleep and drinking more water. I am also going to love myself instead of picking myself apart.
- I learned what it means to belong. I thought it meant being like the others but you have to be yourself.
- Everyone is different, you just have to make your differences your special qualities.
- You can be whatever you want to be and others can't take that away from you.
- It is okay to be different and sometimes we just need to take away our pressure and look at the good things that are happening in life.
- I learned that empathy and sympathy are very different things but before I thought they were the same.
- Self awareness is where you understand your own knowledge.
- I should think about how other people feel differently in situations. Because I get mad a lot and I have to think about how others feel.
- Not everything that you do in life that is bad is actually bad. You can turn anything around and use second chances to become a better person. Also if you are going through a hard time you can take a minute to enjoy what you have and what is positive and take your mind off the negative or the hard stuff in life.
- That when you put yourself in someone else's shoes you will understand what they are going through.
Big THANK YOU goes out to our Student Services team for organizing these learning opportunities for our Muskies!
Physical Education During Winter Months
Internet Safety: Among Us
Destination Imagination 2020-21!
Destination Imagination sign-ups are due! Please sign up as soon as possible.
Destination Imagination Kick Off Announcement
Muskego Lakes Middle School
Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies