MMS Principal Newsletter
March 26, 2018 @MMSCougarPride
Follow us on Twitter!
Keep up with us on Social Media! Follow us on Twitter
@MMSCougarPride
March Madness Reading Contest
At MMS we promote reading. For questions, contact our library media specialist Mr. Evyn Degnan (who has organized this fun activity) at edegnan@somsd.k12.nj.us.
Thank you to Maplewood Public Library Youth Librarian Emily Witowski for supporting our efforts! Thank you MMS HSA for sponsoring the prizes!
Women's History Month Essay Contest
Greetings and Updates from Ms. Gronau
MMS Families,
We are hard at work to turn our library media center into a 21st century learning space for students and staff. The Marks Family raised $2,500 last week to fund raise for this effort! Please keep reading our weekly newsletter for updates about how you can support this project for MMS. We plan to turn the outdated computer lab into an innovation lab and maker space for teachers to sign up to use. If all goes well and with your support it will be up and running for September 2018.
If you have ideas for how you can support this space with corporate connections that you have, please contact me at dgronau@somsd.k12.nj.us or our Library Media Specialist Evyn Degnan at edegnan@somsd.k12.nj.us.
Best,
Ms. Gronau
MMS Principal
Personnel Update: Welcome Ms. Feeney
March 27-Getting Ready for Middle School
April 2, 2018 is a 4-hour day
Monday, April 2, 2018 will be a 4-hour day for students. Lunch will not be served. I will send a reminder email closer to April 2.
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The 5 Keys to Middle School Child Resilience and Success
The MMS faculty and staff ask that you support our work with your child in the following ways:
1) Encourage a Growth Mindset-Having a growth mindset fosters resilience. Use the language of yet. I don’t understand this “yet.” Emphasize the importance of hard work as opposed to innate intelligence. “I did well because of my effort. I’ll do better next time.”
2) Encourage 1-2 Good Peer Relationships-Friends should be a source of support. Often our middle schoolers try to maintain large groups of close friends and that is challenging for anyone of any age! Encourage your child to have 1-2 solid and supportive peer friendships and keep it light and simple with the larger groups.
3) Ensure 9-11 Hours of Sleep Please! Sleep is the best way to foster resilience. Research shows that kiddos this age need 9-11 hours to be at their best. When your child is well-rested, everything is better. Technology is the #1 enemy of sleep! As a school community, we recommend that you keep technology out of your child’s bedroom at night to encourage healthy and consistent sleep.
4) Encourage Coping Strategies-Coping is personal. Everyone does it differently. Encourage your child to think about healthy ways to relax and give them permission to do it!
5) Facilitate Time/Connection with a non-familial adult-Good connections with non-familial adults are very important for your child. They hear things differently from non-familial adults. Encourage your child to participate in a club or activity. Children need our perspective. They are always changing and growing. As adults we can attach a growth mindset to their personality development and their peer interactions.
Maplewood Middle School Remind App Code @k92d29
The MMS Principal has added a school-wide "Remind App" as another way to communicate with families. Many of your child's teachers will share Remind class codes for you and your child to stay up to date about class events and assignments. As needed, the MMS Principal will periodically use the Remind App to share important info with our school community. Our Maplewood Middle School school-wide code Remind code is listed above (@k92d29). The link below explains how to begin getting notifications. It's a simple way to stay in touch. Join us!
https://help.remind.com/hc/en-us/articles/203179887-How-do-I-join-a-class-