The BULLetin
November 30, 2017
Principal's Message
As we make a push in to the final weeks of the semester there will likely be a notable uptick in the work load as projects, papers and exams come due. Be cognizant and help your student prioritize their time to make sure all things can get completed on time.
On another note, if you didn't follow the most recent Board meeting, I would encourage you to get up to speed. The district is looking at budget defect for this coming year and projects similar for the next few. As a result, the Board will be reviewing potential cuts at upcoming Board meetings to ensure that the district is financially healthy.
The presentation the Board received is available on Board Docs for the November 27 meeting.
I ask that you follow along with the discussions happening in the district and circle January 17 on your calendar. On the 17th we will be having a PTO meeting at 7pm. One or more of the Board members is expected to be in attendance to talk about the process and hear from parents about the deficit reduction process that they will be initiating.
Please make every attempt to come to the January 17th PTO meeting.
MAVS Kindness Project
Mavs Kindness Project
Mavs Kindness Project (MKP) is a club that focuses on kindness and positivity. If your student would like to participate, meetings are held Wednesdays before school at 7:45 in the ZAP room (across from the Multi-Purpose Room). We focus on ideas for spreading kindness here at Murphy as well as beyond our community. Please contact Mrs. Noll (snoll@sd308.org) or Mrs. Zawacki (bzawacki@sd308.org) if you have any questions or would like further information.
MKP Collecting Holiday Cards for Troops
Mavs Kindness Project is currently collecting holiday greeting cards to send to our troops who are deployed to help lift their morale and spirits during the holiday season. If you would like to contribute, students can drop off greeting cards with a message to our troops (store bought or home made) in a collection box located in Student Services by Mrs. Cooper. Thank you for your support!
Ms. Lester's Spanish
Hour of Code
This year, all Murphy students will have the chance to participate as part of their Science classes.
Murphy Mathletes
The Murphy Math team competed in the 15th annual Marmion Academy Junior High Mathematics Competition on November 18. Students all competed in a team competition and an individual competition by grade level.
Team #1: Rohan Cherukuri, Samay Inampudi, Vivek Parashar, Arjun Ramesh, and Rushil Sambangi.
Team #2: Deepesh Balwani, Katie Dunn, Lucas Kincaid, Walker Lebeck, and Joey Paras.
Walker Lebeck earned 3rd place for 7th grade,
Rohan Cherukuri earned 4th place for 7th grade and Team #1 placed 5th.
The math team will compete next in the Math Counts chapter competition in February
Toys for Tots
It's that time of year again! Beginning on November 6th and running through December 12th, Murphy Junior High School in conjunction with the Oswego Fire Protection District will be participating in the Annual Toys for Tots Program.
Murphy Junior High will be collecting toys to donate to families in the community who are currently having financial difficulties. Gifts should be NEW, unwrapped and can be for children of all ages. Students should bring all toys to their homeroom student council rep in exchange for a raffle ticket. A raffle will take place on December 13th, where 6 lucky winners will have the chance to serve as Murphy’s "elves for the day". They will leave school and eat breakfast at the Oswego Fire Department with a friend of choice. These students will also have their picture taken with the local fire department, which will then be submitted to the local newspaper. In addition, family members of the elves can also join in on the fun and enjoy breakfast at the firehouse. This special event will take place on Thursday, December 14th during the first half of the school day.
In addition, students can receive double raffles tickets and win the chance to attend Murphy's Toys for Tots pizza party! The pizza party will take place on Friday, December 15th during lunch periods. Students will need to donate a "themed toy” from each one the four toy categories (Boy, Girl, Game, and Sport toy). In order to attend the pizza party, students must donate at least 4 toys, one from each category. The last day for toy turn in is Tuesday, December 12th. The more you donate the better chance you have to participate in this special event.
Themed Weeks
Nov 27 - Dec 1 (Sports)
Dec 4 - Dec 8 (Games)
Dec 11 - Dec 12 (Toy of choice)- Shortened week
The Little Mermaid
All musical information will be made available Monday December 8. Please see the flyer for more information. There will be an informational meeting for students during homeroom on Monday December 4. Talk to Mrs. Tysiak (mtysiak@sd308.org) or Ms. Henaghan (khenaghan@sd308.org) if you have any questions!
There are two more drama club dates before winter break! We will meet Tuesday December 4 and Tuesday December 19. Meetings go from 3:00-4:30 with students having the option to leave at 4:15 to take the activity bus. If you have any questions about Drama Club, please talk to Mrs. Tysiak.
Ms. Miller's Science
Murphy Yearbook
There's nothing like getting a yearbook. It is the limited edition collection of our school's stories for this year. Don't let your student miss out on sharing and reliving the big events that will make this year special.
Yearbooks are now on sale for the lowest price of the year. Order now for $25.00! Yearbook price will increase January 6th, 2018. Yearbook orders can be completed online at jostensyearbooks.com. Please contact Ms. Fell if you have any questions.
Ms. Henaghan's ELA
Weekly JAM (Just Another Maverick)
Enjoy this week's article about the school play, Bottom of the Lake.
Murphy PTO
If you haven’t already, please consider making your family’s annual donation to the PTO. Our focus this year will be on Student Events and Classroom Grants. Any contribution helps and is very much appreciated! Donation Form
New to the PTO this year! We are so happy to announce that the PTO will be running the Concession Stand for the Girl’s Basketball season and Boy’s Volleyball season (Winter/Spring sports). There will be volunteer opportunities available for this as well, so be on the lookout for details soon!
For more information on the Murphy PTO, upcoming PTO events or volunteer opportunities, please contact PTO President Missy Dziewiatkowski at missyd71@gmail.com. Please also follow us on Facebook for PTO events and updates (Murphy PTO-Home of the Mavericks).
Murphy PTO Spirtwear Sale - EXTENDED
Store Name: MURPHY
Password: MURPHY (all caps)
Orders due by 12/6; Delivered by 12/20
Student Services Spotlight
Maverick Teacher Shout Outs!
We think our entire MJHS staff is amazing and deserves to be acknowledged for the great work they do on a daily basis! Please use this form to recognize any member of our staff. Remember, staff includes teachers, secretaries, nurses, teaching assistants, and custodians!
Shout Out!
Mrs. Kunsch – “Mrs. Kunsch is an amazing art teacher. She is so fun in class and I am going to sincerely miss her when I go to High School next year. She even let me load the kiln!” –Snigdha Akula
8th Grade Course Selection
Reminder: Please input elective selections in Home Access by December 3rd!
Oswego East counselors and 3 senior AVID students (former Mavericks!) visited Murphy on Thursday, November 9th during Science classes. They presented on High School electives, 2-year course plans, and what to expect at Oswego East. Students received copies of available electives and 2-year plan worksheets. Home Access (HAC) will open on Monday, November 13th for our 8th graders to select electives. Please use the 2-Year Plan worksheets and HAC Directions for reference. If your student has questions, please have them see their counselor in Student Services for further assistance.
Important Dates:
November 13th – December 3rd
Course selection will open in Home Access Center (elective course selection is done through Home Access; if you do not know your login information, please contact Murphy’s front office at 630-608-5100.)
November 16th
Future Wolves Night @ Oswego East, 5-8pm
December 14th
OE Counselors will have 1:1 meetings with 8th graders at Murphy to review elective selections
Oswego East has an Incoming Freshman page on OE’s website that will include important dates and a link to the presentation that 8th grade students viewed with the OE counselors. To visit this page, please use the following link:
“The Maverick Way” Outside of School
Murphy Junior High students are doing amazing things in the classroom as well as demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school. If any student is demonstrating “The Maverick Way” outside of school we want to know about it! Please contact Karen Whited at kwhited@sd308.org or Brandi Zawacki at bzawacki@sd308.org.
*Don’t forget to include some pictures in your email.
Murphy Wrestler at Winter Nationals
Jackson Gillen attended Winter Nationals at Joliet Catholic on November 18. This wrestling tournament is a national ranked tournament with wrestlers from all over the US. Jackson finished in 4th place at a national level. Great job, Jackson!
Mavericks Attending Pop Warner Football Nationals
The Oswego Bears Pop Warner football team won the state championship a few weeks ago and recently won the regional championship. This win advanced them for a chance at a national title at ESPN Worldwide in Disney. Mavericks on the Bears include:
Kyle Dudiak, Austin Johnson, JT Stryszk and Mekhi Fikremariam.
The Naperville Patriots will also be playing in the Pop Warner nationals. Braeden Clark and Anthony Kuceba are Mavericks who will be competing for the Patriots. Best of luck! And way to go, MAVS!!!
ZAP-Zeros Aren't Permitted
ZAP is an intervention implemented to develop good homework habits. This program helps students self-correct without a penalty. Getting into the habit of doing homework and realizing that it counts is tough for many students. ZAP helps reinforce the importance of homework completion and provides an opportunity for intrinsic growth through self-correction.
What to do when your student is ZAPPED?
If a student does not complete a homework assignment he/she will receive a ZAP. Students have until 8:00am, the following morning, to turn the assignment into Student Services for full credit. If the student chooses not to complete or submit the assignment, then the student will be required to attend the ZAP classroom (D126) during his/her lunch to complete the homework, also for full credit. It is your student's responsibility to know what is missing and bring the necessary materials home. Students will be allowed 5 visits (every 9 weeks) to the ZAP classroom to complete their work. After 5 visits, students are no longer eligible for the ZAP intervention.
If you have questions, please contact your child’s teacher and/or counselor.
PBIS @ Murphy
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success.
One aspect of PBIS includes positive acknowledgement of student behavior. When students display the expected behaviors outlined in our MAVS Matrix, they may be acknowledged with verbal praise or tangible rewards (Bullseye Tickets) from their teachers. This makes the expected behaviors more likely to occur in the future and creates positive interactions, rapport, and relationships with students.
When students earn Bullseyes, they are able to collect them to enter weekly prize drawings and shop at the Maverick Mini Mall. This year, our Mini Mall will be on a cart, and students will have an opportunity to shop with their Bullseyes during homeroom each week. The Maverick Mini Mall will open for business next week!
There will be a monthly behavior focus, and teachers will be on the look out to catch students displaying these positive behaviors.
Next week’s Target is to Accept Responsibility by:
12/4 – 12/8 Making positive behavior decisions.
PBIS Maverick Movie Celebration
In addition to acknowledging students for displaying expected behaviors with Bullseyes, we are preparing for our First Semester PBIS Celebration. On Friday, December 15, students will be rewarded with tickets to the Maverick Movie Celebration, where they will be able to watch a movie at school. Between the dates of October 2 – December 8th, students will need to:
- M - make good decisions by receiving ZERO tardies to class,
- A - accept responsibility by receiving ZERO ZAPs,
- V - value and respect each other and our school and
- S - be safe by receiving ZERO disciplinary actions! This includes suspensions, detentions and office referrals through December 15th
Parent Article – 10 Reasons American Teenagers are More Anxious Than Ever
Psychology today offers some reasons why teen anxiety appears to be more prevalent than ever. While I won't spoil the 10 reasons I will spoil their suggestion: "helping kids build the mental muscle they need to stay healthy."
College Planning from myOWN.edu - December Edition
When was the last time your child came to your work? You may think they are getting too old but don't count out the impact that your work experience can have on their future! Continue reading...
8th Grade:
Thinking about high school classes? Having trouble understanding the many options? Learn how to help your student pick the right classes for their success! Continue reading...
Letters About Literature Writing Contest
The Library of Congress invited students to enter the 25th Annual Letters About Literature Writing Competition. Students are asked to use their reflective writing skills and write a letter to an author-living or dead-explaining how his or her work changed their view.
This year, five students from Murphy submitted entries for the 25th Annual Letters About Literature Writing Competition. Ella Hansel, Paris Hunt, Alina Hussain, Madison Ruth, and Omer Syed used their reflective writing skills to write a letter to an author explaining how his or her work changed their view. Good luck in the contest!
Boys' Basketball & Wrestling
7th Grade
The 7th grade basketball team traveled to Thompson on Monday, November 20 to play a tough Tiger team. The Mavericks held a slim 1st quarter 2 point lead. The Tigers then got hot from 3 point range to grab the lead. The Mavericks tried to keep pace with the hot shooting Tigers, but were unable to retake the lead in the 48 to 52 loss. Christian led the scoring with 16 points, while Robert added 13.
In the second game, the Mavericks moved the ball well to grab an early lead. The ball movement continued throughout the game allowing each player to contribute to the scoring. As the final buzzer sounded, the Mavericks came away with a 32 to 25 victory. Will led the scoring with 8 points, while Grant added 6 and Ronny was good for 5.
The 7th grade basketball team finished conference play by picking up a win against Jefferson on Tuesday night. The Mavericks successfully worked the ball inside early to build a lead. Unfortunately, the Maverick defense had trouble controlling Jefferson's leading scorer allowing them to keep the game close. The Mavericks were able do just enough to come away with the 42 to 34 victory. Caden led the scoring with 12 points, while Christian added 8 and Reif was good for 7.
In the second game, it was all Mavericks early. Tough defense held Jefferson scoreless allowing the Mavericks to build a 25 to 3 lead at halftime. The Mavericks played well to earn the 40 to 13 victory. Ryan led the scoring with 9 points, while Ronney and Will each added 7.
8th Grade
On November 16, the 8th grade boys took on Herget. At the start of the game Herget got some shots and went up 7 to nothing. But we hit some shots and took the lead going into half and held that lead the whole game and won 48 to 35. Leading scores where Chris with 17, Rehan had 15 and Matt had 10.
In the second game it went the same way but we extended or lead by 20 points in the 4th quarter and won 48 to 22. Jorge had 8 points and Austin, Joshua, Timmy, Tyler each had 6. Good game boys!
On November 20th the 8th grade boys took on Thompson. We started off very slow, but took a 10 point lead and basically held on to it all the way throughout the entire game and won by 17. 51 to 34 was the final and the leading scores where Chris with 12, Nate and Rehan had 11 and Jorge had 8.
The second game was a battle back and forth with us taking the lead by 6 at halftime. We held on to the lead and won 37 - 29. the leading scores where Tyler with 11, Ethan had 8 and Jorge had 5. Great job boys.
On Tuesday night the 8th grade boys took on Jefferson in our last conference game. We started off slow and trailed for most of the first quarter. Going into half time we picked up momentum and took the lead with Chris hitting a half court nothing but net shot. After that we held on to the lead and extended it to a 52 to 24 victory. Leading scores where Chris with 12, Rehan and Austin with 9, Nate had 8 and Kacey had 7.
In the second game we took an early lead and never looked back. We where knocking our shots down and playing great defense. We came away with a win 59 to 7. Leading scores where, Tyler with 14, Ashton had 10, Jorge had 8, Josh and Ethan had 6. Great job last night!
Wrestling
The Murphy wrestling team had a great meet against Jefferson on Monday, November 23. The following wrestlers recorded victories: Patrick Black won by pin, Dylan Crawford won by decision, Vasa won by tech fall, Anthony Kuceba won by decision, Fikremariam won by decision, Allen won by major decision, Mohammed Shams and Jason Gaston won in exhibition. Good job wrestlers.
Maverick Makers Club
Maverick Makers Club meeting dates from 3:00-4:00 Art Classroom
December 4, 11
January 22, 29
February 5, 12, 36
March 5, 12, 19
Any student who is wanting to explore the visual arts should join this club. Experimentation with glass, ceramics and fibers will be introduced.
Additional information and sign up sheet can be found here.
Community Events
PTAG Event
Taking Nanotechnology from Cleanroom to Classroom
Meet the Argonne Scientist and learn about
Nanotechnology, Its impact, Future Careers, and Explore the hands-on Nanotechnology Experiments!
When: Friday, Dec 8, 2017 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Oswego East High School, Community Room (Upstairs, Enter through Main Entrance)
Cost: FREE (RSVP is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED due to LIMITED SEATING)
Temple Grandin: Developing Individuals Who Different Kinds of Minds
This event is FREE and open to the general public.
Additional information can be found here.
Upcoming Events
December 4
- 7th Boys' Basketball @ Thompson - Conference Tournament
- 8th Boys' Basketball @ Plank - Conference Tournament
December 5
- 7th Boys' Basketball @ Thompson - Conference Tournament
- 8th Boys' Baksetball @ Plank - Conference Tournament
December 6
- City of Lights 7th Boys' Basketball Tournament
- City of Lights 8th Boys' Basketball Tournament
December 7
- City of Lights 7th Boys' Basketball Tournament
- City of Lights 8th Boys' Basketball Tournament
December 8
- Battle of 127th Street v. Heritage Grove (5:30 and 7:00pm)
December 9
- City of Lights Wrestling Tournament
If you are looking for directions to AWAY events, this link will provide directions to many area schools.
Use the "Murphy Building Calendar" link below to see all the things going on at Murphy Junior High.
Contact Us
Murphy Junior High School is an inclusive and supportive community that promotes student success by ensuring ALL students are college and career ready.
Email: banderson@sd308.org
Website: www.sd308.org/murphy
Location: 26923 Grande Park Boulevard, Plainfield, IL, United States
Phone: (630) 608-5100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/murphy308/
Twitter: @murphy308