Good Evening Mustang Families,

March is Women's History Month where we honor the great women who have shaped history and contemporary society. Since 1987, the United States has formally recognized March as National Women’s History Month. This month, our classes are learning about important women throughout history like Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Sandra Day O'Connor, and so many more. We've been encouraging students to recognize, not only important women leaders throughout history, but in their personal lives, as well.

For me, I'd like to lift up an important leader in our field of education and someone who has had a huge impact on my professional journey, Dr. Delores Lindsay. Dr. Lindsay is a retired Associate Professor at California State University, San Marcos in the Educational Masters and Administrative Credential program. She is also the Co-Founder of the Center for Cultural Proficient Educational Practice which serves education systems across the globe by bringing an equity-based approach to teaching. Before her career as a professor, researcher, and author, Dr. Lindsay served as a middle and high school teacher and administrator. As a female educator during the years of school desegregation in the south, Dr. Lindsey has been a leader in many of the reforms that are making our school system more equitable and fair for all members of society. I had the opportunity to have Dr. Lindsey as an advisor during my master's program at CSUSM and later as a member of a team of educators who went through the Cultural Proficiency Certification Program. To this day, I still think of the question she would challenge me with any time I had rushed into finding a solution to a problem, "If [insert any solution here] is the answer, what is the actual question?"

I encourage you to have a conversation with your student about the influential women in your life. You can use these reflection questions that our teachers have shared with students during their classroom discussion on Women's History Month.

Have a great week!

Josh Way, Ed.D

On Monday, March 13th. MMS will be hosting Anti-Drug Presenter Rocky Herron. Mr. Herron recently retired from the DEA, now works for the San Diego County Office of Education, speaking to schools and the community about the dangerous impacts of drugs. Mr. Herron speaks directly about the rising fentanyl crisis and what students and parents can do to stay safe. Rocky, will be speaking to MMS students during the day, then will be having an evening, in-person presentation at 6pm for parents. Mark your calendars and be sure to join us.

Last month, the Marshall Middle School math team competed in the San Diego Chapter level MathCounts competition. The MMS team advanced to the state level of this nation-wide tournament. One team, made up of Wynn Marple, Annie Jin, Jim Yang and Dominic Wills finished fourth as a team, which was enough to send the team to the national competition. Jim Yang finished 4th in the Countdown Round where students go head-to-head answering complex problems within seconds. Wynn Marple placed first overall in the competition. Wynn had the highest score out of more than 200 middle school students. The team of 12 studied for weeks leading up to the Chapter competition. Now the MMS math team will try to reach Nationals by competing on March 18th.

Congrats to the MMS MathCounts team!

Wynn Marple, Annie Jin, Jim Yang, Dominic Willis, (Competing in national competition on March 18)

Chloe Jiang, Arush Sastry, Ekim Engin, Saisha Sharma, Brian Lee, Kamryn Liu, Manit Chauhan, Saanvi Iyer. Coached by Ryan Cai (former MMS student who is now a 9th grader and SRHS) and his dad, Raymond Cai.

Marshall placed 5th in the San Diego Regionals Competition held last weekend (March 4th) and has advanced to the State Tournament. We had 4 teams representing Marshall out of 22 schools and 75 teams in all. Overall, Marshall students won medals in 9 of the 23 events:
Crave the Wave:7th- Team Draco,

Crime Busters: 10th- Team Pegasus,

Dynamic Planet: 3rd- Team Draco,

Flight: 6th- Team Draco

Green Generation:10th- Team Pegasus

Roller Coaster: 4th- Team Lupus, 5th- Team Draco, 6th- Team Hydra, 10th Team Pegasus

Sounds of Music: 8th- Team Draco
Wheeled Vehicle: 4th- Team Draco
Write It Do It: 7th- Team Pegasus

The Marshall team will be competing at the state tournament on April 8th at Caltech. Good Luck Mustangs!

MMS school needs your feedback! Please take a few moments to complete an online survey so we can learn more about your opinions about our school. This survey is an opportunity to communicate your perceptions about MMS. This letter explains the survey and, at the bottom of the page, provides your URL and access instructions. This survey closes March 24th, 2023.

On Monday March 13th and Thursday March 16th the Family Engagement Department, in collaboration with the Tobacco Use Education Department (TUPE) and SAY San Diego, Family Engagement will have a presentation to empower families when discussing tobacco use with their child. Learn more here

The Title VI & Johnson O’Malley Indian Ed Programs are coordinating a Saturday Pow-Wow event on March 18. All educators, students, and families from SDUSD are invited to attend and learn more about local indigenous history from local tribal members and leaders. It will be held at the Ballard Center. Here's the link: Youth Social Pow-Wow Flyer.pdf

MMS is excited to host the San Diego School Police and San Diego Police Department emergency training on the Marshall campus during spring break, March 27-31st. All week, officers will be training and practicing how to respond to active threats on a school campus. We're excited that Marshall is hosting, so school police can learn the ins and outs of our site. Volunteers will be needed on Friday, March 31st from 8:30-12:30 to act as role players. To sign up, fill out this google form.

Also, please be aware there will be heightened police activity on campus during spring break.

Enrollment forms for Summer School are now available until April 14th. Fill out the paper enrollments forms and turn in the MMS front office. You can download the forms here: English; Spanish; Vietnamese; Tagalog

Enrollment forms are not necessary for students who are already enrolled in the ESY through their IEP. Marshall Middle School is not a Summer School host site this summer.

Did you know there are 39 languages spoken at MMS? Let’s celebrate all the many different countries and cultures represented at MMS at our first ever FESTIVAL OF CULTURES! It will be on Wednesday, May 10 at lunch. We are looking for students who would like to host a country table, perform a cultural dance or song, or make a video sharing their culture. If you’d like to participate, fill out this Google Form and more information will be sent to you!

Marshall Middle Parents!

Here is a quick reminder of our special events coming up:

• Tuesday, March 14, is Pi Day! Start memorizing those digits of pi for our Pi Day activity at the Marshall Market during lunch. The person who correctly recites the most digits will get to pie one of our ASB members in the face!
• On Wednesday, March 15, ASB will be hosting the Clubs Fair in the Vapa Quad (in between the Theater and Office)! Make sure to stop by in order to learn more about the interesting lunch clubs here at Marshall!
• The Marshall Market will be open during lunch every Wednesday in March! Visit our Student Store (vinyl stickers, mechanical Smencils, keychains, erasers, and more!), check out Games (Jenga, Connect 4, Uno, Corn Hole, cards) and make Suggestions for ASB.
• Friday, March 17th, is St. Patrick’s Day! ASB will be hosting a Scavenger Hunt on Friday at lunch, and anyone who finds a St. Patrick’s Day item hidden across B Court will be able to turn them into the market for a treat!
• Spring Spirit Week is from March 20 to March 24! Make sure to wear your spirit wear attire, with the days being International Sports Monday (Wear a jersey, baseball cap, or clothing of your favorite International Sports team).Tie-dye Tuesday, Wacky Sock Wednesday, Throwback Decades Thursday, and Friendly Tourist Friday! Find more information on the ASB website.
• Save the Date for the Spring Dance! The Red Carpet Gala Dance is Friday, April 28th from 5-8 pm. More information coming soon!
• ASB needs your song suggestions for our lunchtime music playlist! Please fill out this form if you want us to play your favorite song. Song Suggestions form: https://forms.gle/4tySJUEhfpPtNp99A

Be sure to check out our new logos to our ApparelNow shop, so there are more options for customizing your Marshall Spirit Wear! All proceeds help fund ASB activities on campus, so be sure to check it out! Show your school spirit all year!

Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/marshallmiddleasb/home

ApparelNow: https://apparelnow.com/marshall-middle-school-spiritwear

TikTok: @theactualmarshallasb

Instagram: @asb.marshall

Facebook: @Marshall ASB

New research on the dynamics of two-parent families shows the importance of father-child emotional connections. The research in this Wall Street Journal article found, "closeness with fathers was associated with fewer weight concerns, higher self-esteem, and fewer depression symptoms for both boys and girls." Parents in any family dynamic can find important takeaways from this study on the emotional bond between young people and their parents.