Kasson-Mantorville Middle School
November 2019 Newsletter
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Friday, November 1, 2019
Hello Kasson-Mantorville Families,
I cannot believe that Quarter 1 is nearly in the books. I am continually impressed with our staff and students and their commitment to excellence in all that we do. Students continue to exhibit our four expectations daily (Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Engaged) and I am excited to see what we can accomplish before the school year is out. However, before we move into Quarter 2, I would like to highlight one of the most impactful moments that our KMMS students and I experienced in October.
On Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 712 middle school students participated in our annual Community Service Day. I was fortunate enough to speak to each individual Advisory class throughout the course of the day. I had one simple question for the students I connected with and spoke to, "Did you find value in your day?" The resounding answer was, "Yes!" One student shared with me a story about raking leaves for an elderly person and seeing the pure joy on her face as she watched her and her friends rake. These are the moments that she will remember for her lifetime. I am very thankful for the support of the school district and area businesses for allowing us to "give back" to the communities of Kasson and Mantorville. We are very fortunate to be blessed with amazing children.
The best part of my day is visiting and interacting with students during their lunch period. While I understand that not every student enjoys the no cell phone expectation, the positive interaction between students and staff has been tremendous. Thank you for your support as we encourage student engagement as well as teach students about appropriate technology use. Each and every day we strive to ensure all students maximize their potential. I am continually inspired by our commitment to build positive and meaningful relationships with students. Thank you for your continued partnership with Kasson-Mantorville Middle School.
Together in KoMet Pride,
Josh Larsen
Principal
LOOKING BACK
- On October 3rd, the 5th Grade class had the opportunity to attend the Rendezvous in Albert Lea.
- Knowledge Bowl had their first meet on October 4th. Team #6 took 1st overall with 87 points (this is the second highest point total ever from a single competition in K-M Junior High Knowledge Bowl history). Well Done Team! Team #5 took 2nd and Team #3 took 3rd. There were nine teams that competed and seven of them placed in the top ten. Way to go to all Knowledge Bowl participants!
- The 5th grade class also attended Quarry Hill: side A on October 8th and side B on October 14th.
- The 6th grade class got to experience a walking field trip around Kasson on November 8th. They went to the Kasson Public Library, Freedom Rock and had lunch at Kasson North Park.
RENDEZVOUS
QUARRY HILL
COMMUNITY SERVICE DAY
Messages from Advisors about Community Service Day
Mr. Ydstie-
My advisory worked in teams of three or four equipped with gloves, garbage bags, wipes and brooms. They swept the buses from back to front to get dirt and garbage off of the floor, wiped down seats and dusted the dash and console. They also emptied garbages and picked up litter around the bus garage. My advisory worked hard and was exhausted and hungry by the end of the morning. When we returned we had pizza and watched part of a movie and then went outside to play Frisbee and two square in the field behind my classroom.
Mr. Vossen-
Vossen VIPZ have started an annual event of walking to Prairie Meadows to visit with the residents and playing bingo. The first year started out slowly as the kids walked in and struggled with thinking of things to talk about. The residents did most of the talking and began most conversations. This year it was fun to see kids branch out and seek out conversations with friends from last year as well as making new contacts. As a teacher, it was a great joy to see the middle schoolers focus their attention on someone and work at getting to know the history of the people they met. We followed up our visiting with a wild round of bingo.
Bingo increases a student’s face-to-face contact with others and having an organized activity like this can pull even the shyest of middle schoolers into a fast-paced game. Players can chat with one another while numbers are being called. Even for the most introverted child or adult, striking up a conversation is much easier when sharing a common interest with a common goal...of yelling out Bingo!
Simple days of playing bingo and visiting the residents at Prairie Meadows is like a punch of energy and pure enjoyment. Our Prairie Meadows visit has turned into a yearly commitment. It engages the seniors and our KM middle schools and develops relationship and friendship during these games that can lead to other visits, outside of the Bingo game.
Mrs. Wix-
The Wildfire Advisory got together with two classes of first graders at at time to share some STEM activities. Some of the students used different types of building toys, magna tiles, marble runs and whirly-copters. The Wildfire students felt that the first graders had fun along with them. Reflecting back "It's fun and it feels good doing nice things for others."
LOOKING FORWARD
- Thursday, November 7th the 5th and 6th grade will go over to the PAC to watch the Shrek Musical.
- Starting Monday, November 11th through Friday, November 18th will be the middle school's annual book fair.
- Tuesday, November 12th the 5th grade has a Kindness Retreat and 7th grade attend STEAM Summit field trip. Open House Conferences are in the evening from 3:30 to 6:30 PM.
- Friday, November 15th is the 2nd Knowledge Bowl Meet. There will also be a 7/8 dance in the the middle school gym from 7-9 PM, cost is $5.
- Monday, November 18th is middle school open house conferences- 3:30 to 6:30 PM
- Tuesday, November 19th is the vision screening for grades 5 & 7 from 10 AM to 1 PM. The Care & Share Dinner and Auction is in the evening from 5-8 PM.
THINGS TO KNOW
Early Dismissal/No School
- Monday, November 4th- No School, Teacher work day
- Tuesday, November 5th- Late Start (10 AM), Morning PLC's
- Wednesday, November 27th- Early out, 12:50 PM
- Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th- NO School, Thanksgiving Break
Prices will go up after November 15th ($25).
Make sure to check out KMMS Things to Know on our middle school website under office tab> Daily Bulletin, for updates on events going on at the middle school.
TOP 20 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Who is someone you know that is responsible, who you can count on and depend on?