Moorhead Junior High News
December 2023 Newsletter
Semester Exam Schedule
Students will take major exams the last week of the fall semester. It is very important that students be present for these important tests. To help your child do his or her best, plan vacations or health care appointments around test dates. Final exams count ten percent of the semester grade for junior high school courses and fifteen percent for high school classes.
Any missed exam must be made up with the specific instructor the week of January 3-5.
Final exam dates are listed below.
First Semester Exam Schedule:
12/13: 1st, 3rd, 5th Period Finals
12/14: 2nd, 4th and 6th Period Finals
12/15: 7th Period Final / Early Release Day at 1:00 pm
For planning purposes, second semester exams are from May 21, 2024 to May 23, 2024.
Early Release December 15
December Spirit Days
December 1: Rudolph/Reindeer Day (wear your antlers, reindeer t-shirt, or animal print)
December 5: Santa Hat Day
December 7: Twin day because Christmas trees have a TWIN-kle!
December 8: Elf Day (wear your elf ears or t-shirt)
December 11: Crazy Christmas Sweater Day
December 13: Candy Cane Day - Wear Red and White
December 14: Cowboy Christmas / Cowgirl Day
Winter Dance
Our next dance is on December 8th from 5:00 pm to 8pm in the Moorhead Cafeteria.
Dress Code: Casual/normal dress for the school day. Students attending can stay at school.
Cost: $10
Tickets will not be available online. Cash will be accepted at lunches or at the door.
Boys Basketball Schedule
Girls Basketball Schedule
Go Panthers!
Our collection bin is located right outside the front office. Thank you!
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Communities in Schools and the Moorhead Junior Honor Society would like to thank all of the parents and guardians for donating food for the Thanksgiving Food Drive. Your generosity helped make Thanksgiving a little brighter for families in our community.
PSAT Scores
PSAT 8/9 scores are now available for viewing through the College Board. Directions for students to set up their account are below.
Panther Press T-Shirts
Please support Panther Press, Moorhead's School Newspaper, by purchasing their 2023-2024 t-shirt. T-Shirt is heather gray with white and red lettering.
Please order by December 8th so you can start the New Year supporting our Awesome Panther Press Reporters. Please click on link below to order.
https://conroeisd.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/46574/195/False/True
Panther Band News
Our winter band concert is on Dec. 11 at 7:30pm (time is subject to change to 7pm) at Caney Creek High School.
Mr. Day and Mrs. Herrera.
Orchestra News
The Orchestra's Winter Concert is December 7 at 7:00 pm at Caney Creek High School, in the gym. This a combined feeder zone concert. Orchestra members must arrive at CCHS by 6:00 pm and the concert begins at 7:00 pm.
Choir News
First Day of School!
Washington DC Summer 2024 Trip
If you missed our parent meeting everything you want to know and need to register your child is below. If you have any questions or issues, you can email me at dasmith@conroeisd.net
Dawn Smith
D Angel Smith
PTO
Students of the Month
Congratulations to the following students for being selected by faculty and staff as Moorhead's November Students of the Month!
Jessica B.
Emma L.
Asa S.
Juan Q.
Each student received a cane box lunch from our sponsors at Raisin' Canes at 105 in Conroe.
Starlettes Pre-Drill Clinic
It's the most wonderful time of the year...Time for our Pre-Drill clinic! We are so excited to get to dance with your students on December 2! I have included our registration form in this message so you have all of the information, but I am happy to answer any other questions you may have. We treat this clinic as a practice experience for tryouts, teaching the dancers a mock tryout dance and working with them on their technique so they have a better chance of succeeding on the Dazzlers and eventually the Starlettes. Thank you so much for your support of our program!
Sincerely,
Heidi Kloes
Weekly Prize Winners!
More Prize Winners!
Thank you Moorhead PTO for donating prizes!
Does your child need help with homework or getting caught up?
Tutorials are held Monday through Thursday for all core subjects Student Success Center!
Electives tutorials are by appointment only.
- Students report to the cafeteria and wait to be picked up by their tutorial teacher.
· Car riders are dismissed at 5:05 pm and late bus riders are dismissed at 5:10 pm.
Protect your child!
Protect your child from the dangers of the Internet on their phones by following these simple steps:
IOS/Apple I-Phone Users go to:
SETTINGS
then scroll down to USE SCREEN TIME PASSCODE (it's in blue) Set a passcode only you know.
Then go back up to:
SCREEN TIME
CONTENT AND PRIVACY RESTRICTIONS (Set restrictions here)
CONTENT RESTRICTIONS (Set more restrictions here)
You are done!
or please invest in a monitoring app like one of the following:
Is Social Media playing a part in the increase of anxiety and depression in Teens?
Pew Research, 2018 states:
- 95% of teens have access to a smartphone
- 45% have non-stop access
- 10%+ cannot control online behavior
- If you can't control yourself is it an addiction?
- “Digital Heroin”
- the term created based on brain research showing the dopamine levels in the brain when using social media
- Gaming has also shown similar effects
Is Social Media Positive or Negative? - what do kids say?
- 31% say it is mostly POSITIVE
- 45% say it has no effect
- 24% say it is mostly NEGATIVE
Hashtag Trends to be aware of:
- #sue: suicide
- #deb: depression
- #ana: anorexia
- #thinsp: thinspiration (photos/messages that “inspire” an effort to become thin)
- #svv: self-harming behavior
How is it Affecting the Teen Brain? - (is it reversible?)
Physical Issues (not reversible):
- Vision: vision loss, at-risk for macular degeneration
- Increase: Teen migraines
- Finger/wrist pain
- “Text neck” (premature degeneration of neck and spine)
- “Phantom Vibration Syndrome”
- Decrease in self-confidence
- Peer Pressure increase
- Anxiety increase
- Depression increase
- Teens spending 5+ hours daily online (social media):
- 71% more likely to have at least one risk factor for suicide
- Risk decreases exponentially for teens spending 1 hour daily or less
Increase in Social Isolation (American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2017)
- Teens on social media more than 58 times per week:
- 3x’s more likely to feel socially isolated
- Less feelings of isolation if less than 9 times on social media per week
- Teens equate # of SM friends to reality
Brain Issues (may or may not be reversible):
Decrease in ability to multi-task and memory decline
Inability to regulate emotions
Reading "likes" and "shares" vs. gestures or facial expressions
Psychological addiction and impairment in hippocampus and amygdala
Social Media is constantly activating our Fight, Flight, or Freeze (survival) response:
High blood pressure
Hypertension/cardiovascular disease
Diabetes
Cancer
More frequent illnesses
Eating issues
Mental health issues
- Because a social media notification=“digital heroin”. Facebook creators admitted that they created the "LIKE" notifications because they are addictive. People begin to crave "LIKES" and post more content. Then the brain sends dopamine along a reward pathway which feels good. Before we know it the behavior becomes a habit.
So...What is the Effect of Social Media on Student Population?
- Source of distraction
Herd mentality
Degree of anger by teen victims of bullying associated w/increased exposure to media
Lack of EMPATHY/Sociopathology
Working memory and selective attention issues
Sensory information and response issues
Emotional reactivity
Lack of cognitive control over emotions
Increased anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation
Students today are always looking for an advantage to push them to the top.
I wonder how things would change if they knew the two easiest ways to get an advantage are:
- Getting 9 hours of sleep a night.
- Collect all household electronics before bedtime.
- Limiting Social Media