Murphy Middle School
October 14, 2016
Basketball Information Meetings & Feeder Night at Tonight's East Game
Parents,
Any 7th or 8th grade boy interested in trying out for basketball needs to be at the meeting on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. in the big gym.
This Friday night is feeder school night at the Plano East football game. Come out and support the East side as we play McKinney at Kimbrough Stadium at 7:30.
Physical Forms and Information about Rankone are linked below.
Unity Day
Nationally, 25% of students report being bullied in a school year. Here at Murphy, we will be participating in National Bullying Prevention Month with a lesson being delivered to students through history classes on Monday or Tuesday.
Clarify some common misconceptions about bullying here. Learn what parents can do about cyberbullying here. Wednesday, October 19, make it ORANGE, make it end!
Debate Workshop
On Wednesday, October 19th, Mrs. Norris will be holding a Debate workshop for any students interested in learning about Public Forum Debate. The workshop will be held in the DLR from 3:30-5:00 and hosted by Mrs. Norris and 2 Public Forum Debate competitors for Murphy MS. The student does not need to come with anything prepared, but needs to bring notebook paper and a pencil for notes. Please RSVP by signing up on the callboard outside of D106, the speech/theatre classroom.
NJHS News
NJHS is collecting bags of candy for our October Service Project. Please bring all donations to Mrs. Mullen in room N102.
We will need volunteers to make our "monsters" the week of October 24th. Mrs. Mullen's room will be open for our crafty members both before and after school. Please come help us stuff and make our monsters.
Environmental Club News
Thanks to all the students that volunteered to help sort items at the City of Murphy’s Clean & Green Event on Saturday.
Over 1,500 lbs of clothing, shoes, backpacks, pots/pans and accessories were collected. There were also several electronics dropped off as well. We are grateful for all the items that won’t go to the area landfill.
The next MMS Environmental Club meeting is Friday, October 21st . Plan on working outside to pick up trash, tend to the garden & other landscaping projects.
MMS Lonestar committee
Congratulations to the MMS Lonestar committee. As of our meeting on October 3rd, members and teacher sponsors have read over 200 books in just 4 weeks.
Over the next month, members will continue to read nominated titles culminating in our award voting on Nov. 7th. MMS top picks will be carried to Austin by state committee member, Audrey Hopkins. Our students voices will be heard at the final selection.
7th Grade Maverick Parents
Your 7th grade student will be taking the CogAT, or cognitive abilities test, on Wednesday, October 19th.
Please encourage your child to get a good night’s sleep, eat a good breakfast on Wednesday morning, and be present for the test.
Please click the link below to read more about the CogAT test. If you have further questions, please contact the 7th grade counselor, Mrs. Allcorn, at 469-752-7018.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-FLapKOzWw8c3A4eUJ2QlJKNEU/view?usp=sharing
MMS Athletics Announcements
Cost to attend middle school sports games is $4 for adults and $2 for students. Please bring small bills with you to help out the gate keeper. Ones are always appreciated. You can find our schedule on line on the school website for each sport under the athletic section. We will post the track and cross country schedule when the district releases it.
7th & 8th Grade Football Schedule:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18pacGMIJHDKFHDJ35tM2MHR51XimxIasm987Ltv3bQM/edit?usp=sharing
7th Grade Volleyball Schedule:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gH05klHW_kj_0pWYCYjWKz7PXua3yjOukMImkPvr67I/edit?usp=sharing
8th Grade Volleyball Schedule:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M69whSdTpMnQFOaNP4YewSKIHzQOgpvnRryxS9eMRHw/edit?usp=sharing
7th and 8th grade Murphy Middle School Science Fair and Engineering Fair
Mark your calendar! November 30th is the Annual Murphy Middle School 7th and 8th grade Science Fair and Engineering Fair in the MMS Library from 8:30-12:30pm (judges only).
If you have a science background, consider yourself a professional in your field of science, and would like to assist with judging, please visit https://goo.gl/forms/3DrmcIyd88YMYB4I2 with your preferred area of judging. Your time and expertise is essential in helping our students achieve greatness! Should you like to enlist your shopping or cooking skills, the Judge’s Corner will be needing refreshments such as bottled water, coke, diet coke, sprite, cookies, snack mixes, fruit, breakfast muffins, coffee, coffee cups, etc. Please visit https://goo.gl/forms/VyGDooIvR7QRspaG3 to donate items for the Judge’s Corner. Thank you!
After signing up, please look for and email as time gets closer. Thank you!!! Should you have additional questions, please email Elizabeth.Jones@pisd.edu
Homework Hot Spot
The Homework Hot Spot was created because we want students to have a teacher supervised area where they have teacher assistance, peer assistance provided by Murphy NJHS students, or simply a quiet place to finish up homework before their day begins.
The Homework Hot Spot (HHS) is available every Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 7:50 – 8:20 in Mrs. Feil’s room - D111. We will be limiting the number of students coming in for assistance, so come early. See you there!
Substance Abuse Prevention
Did you know…PISD is committed to providing parents and students with very important information about drug and alcohol prevention? Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists provide students support and guidance in making healthy decisions to be successful in all aspects of their lives. Please contact your campus specialist if you have questions or concerns. The specialists also connect parents and students to resources within our community. Here is the contact information for our Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists.
Drug and Alcohol Prevention Information: “Did You Know” Cigarettes/E Cigs
Did you know…In 2015, approximately 24% of students under age 18 reported using electronic cigarettes or e cigs? These devices are made to look like real cigarettes and use flavored liquids that can produce little to no smoke. Students may refer to using an ecig as “vaping.”
See what the American Lung Association has to say concerning e-cigarettes.
http://www.lung.org/about-us/media/press-releases/e-cigarette-use-triples-in-nonsmokinr-youth.html
The specialist for our campus is:
Greg Thomas - gregory.thomas@pisd.edu | 469-752-9226
Important Dates
October 14th MMS night at Plano East Volleyball
October 14th Box Tops Deadline
October 18th Fire House Subs Spirit Night
October 21st Last day to contribute to the Hygiene Kit Drive
October 21st Fall Social
October 31st Spirit Wear Sales Deadline
November 8th Reflections Deadline
Volunteers Needed
The social will be at Murphy Middle School on Friday Oct 21st from 6:30-9:00 pm and the theme will be iSchool#MMS. There will be concessions, a DJ, dancing, bubble soccer, basketball & more so we need a lot of volunteers to make it a safe & fun event for all.
Volunteers are needed for set up (4-6pm), to supervise each station (6-9pm) and for clean up. Please go to http://mmspta.org/. Log in, click "Forms" on the left side, then select "MMS Fall Social (Oct 21, 2016)" to sign up.
The only adults allowed in the building during the social are those who have an approved PISD volunteer application AND who have signed up to volunteer. No visitors will be allowed in the building. So if you want to come check out the social make sure you sign up to volunteer!!
**In order to volunteer for the MMS Fall social on Oct 21st, you must sign up & have completed the PISD online volunteer application by Monday, Oct 17th. **
The PISD volunteer application needs to be done every year. If you have not completed it for this school year yet, please go to: http://www.pisd.edu/about.us/partners.volunteers/volunteer.application.shtml
Scroll under the picture & click on "online volunteer application". Log in & fill out the form. Make sure you select Murphy Middle School on the form so that you will be approved to volunteer at Murphy Middle School activities. If you have already completed an application for this year, a screen will appear stating that your application is complete.
If you have a high school student who would also like to volunteer, please send an email to volunteers@mmspta.org.
Spirit Wear
Order your SpiritWear thru October 31st.
NEW MMS Mom Shirt NOW Available! Sizes AS-A2XL $17. Graphite V-neck and just as soft and comfy as our current PTA shirt. GET YOURS NOW!!
Check out the new awesome decals. General decals are $10 and personalized are $12
A percentage of all sales goes straight to Murphy Middle School PTA on Spirit Nights!
Firehouse Subs - October 18th from 4 pm - 9 pm
Extra Money for MMS
Announcing Box Tops for Education turn in date: October 14, 2016
Helping MMS is easy with Box Tops for Education! Clip box tops from any General Mills product you buy. Put clipped box tops in the MMS Front Office in the Box Top container (near PTA box) by the date above.
Install the Box Tops Bonus App (for Apple and Android) so we can raise even more for MMS. Thank you!
Reflections
It's never too early to start working on your entry to the PTA Reflections Contest!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzBoEGyChxyrejk1bG1WSFVRTUk/view?usp=sharing
To download the student entry form:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzBoEGyChxyrSnJpR0tubDczVEU/view?usp=sharing