Were you surprised to see a little dusting of snow this week? Winter has been in the air these past few days. With the change of seasons, we have also just completed our first week of second trimester. I would be remiss if I didn't publicly thank Mrs. Cheri Mullally for all of her work on our middle school schedule and report cards. Mrs. Mullally has been working nonstop on all of the PLT, UA and schedule adjustments in addition to all of the needed updates for us to provide digital report cards for the past two weeks and we are so GRATEFUL! Thank you, Mrs. Mullally!

Wednesday was an early release day on which staff enjoyed a delicious potluck luncheon together, and valuable time with coworkers. After lunch, we all attended a great Professional Development presentation from Lisa Dieker. Teachers learned many strategies to make our classes and schools more inclusive and accessible to all students.

We look forward to our upcoming All School Assembly next Friday. Report Cards for Term 1 will be available via PowerSchool on Monday afternoon. There is guidance listed below in the newsletter about how to access these reports if you aren't familiar with that yet. You can also reach out to the office if you have any questions at any time at (508) 376-7014.

Students have been wonderful at adjusting to Middle School routines and student skills. Now that the first trimester has concluded we have determined that students need some support regarding executive function, organization and time management. We've provided each student with a planner and lessons in PLT to organize assignments, timing and prioritizing and also work completion. Students have been prompted and reminded to charge their devices and to arrive to school on time. Now after a full trimester, students have had their grace period and will have resulting actions for repeating offenses. We need your help to prompt them to charge their devices, wake up with enough time to arrive to school on time and to make sure to complete assignments. Raising middle schoolers definitely takes a village. Thank you all for being so supportive and involved with your students. We appreciate your partnership on this middle school journey with us!

December 2023

11- Report Cards Shared PM

13 - Millis Middle School Music Concert 7 PM

15 - All School Assembly 8 AM

19 - Grade 7 Field Trip to Mechanics Hall, Worcester

21 - Grade 8 Field Trip to "A Christmas Carol", Trinity Theater, Providence RI

22 - Early Release Day, dismissal @ 10:55

25 - 29 - Winter Break

January 2024

2 - Back to School - Classes resume

15 - Martin Luther King Day - No School

26 - Early Release Day, dismissal @ 10:55

Paige Zarnofsky, a senior at Millis High, is seeking donations for her senior project. She is fundraising for a service dog for the middle school. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a significant rise in students’ mental health issues at the middle school level. We’ve seen the benefits of having our beloved Harry, the service dog, at the high school level. We would love for our middle school students to be able to have the same opportunity. I’m hoping our community can come together and make this happen for our middle school students. Any donations or sharing this senior project is greatly appreciated. If interested in donating or have any questions you can reach Paige through email at paizar24@millisschools.org. Thank you!

In the coming weeks, in conjunction with the High School, and in partnership with the Millis Police and Fire Departments, we will be holding school safety drills. These drills include "Shelter-in-Place" and Lockdown scenarios, which our students and staff are versed on and practice each year. While we hope to never activate any of these protocols, trainings such as these help prepare our staff and students in the event we experience an emergency situation.

We are appreciative of our partnership with both the MPD and MFD, and understand that this training will go a long way in supporting a safe and secure school environment. As we continue to focus on building safety, and the safety of our students and school, we appreciate your help and support with these important safety drills.

Topic: Equitable Service Presentation

Time: Dec 14, 2023 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://millisschools-org.zoom.us/j/82113100349?pwd=UGtLdzNtRUJ1aytFNXhLbW00NUFNZz09

Meeting ID: 821 1310 0349

Passcode: 761153

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we enter our second trimester of the year, we wanted to share the following information and reminders with you.

Chromebooks: We will now be issuing lunch detentions to students who don’t come to school with fully charged Chromebooks. They will also be sending an email home to you explaining how they will work to not let it happen again. We will be more closely monitoring students’ in-class behaviors towards appropriate usage, and issuing lunch detentions for not following instructions for the use of Chromebooks during class. Lunch detention will entail the student eating lunch by themselves at an assigned table in the cafeteria.

Academic Planners: The Middle School has purchased paper academic planners for each student. We will be encouraging students to use them during each class, reinforcing the importance of writing down homework assignments, missing assignments, and creating plans for how to get it all done.

Report Cards: These will be available online through PowerSchool. If you have any questions, please contact the main office.

School Supplies: Please refresh your student’s supplies of pencils, head phones, etc.

Sincerely,

The Millis Middle School Teachers

PowerSchool is our Learning Management System that houses essential student information such as schedules, contact information and grading information. We are moving toward a paperless reporting system so you will access your child’s progress reports and report cards via the PowerSchool Portal. Detailed instructions for navigating PowerSchool are included below!

The parent portal screens have been customized to better communicate learning progress and show standards that are connected to assignments.

To view your child’s report card:

• Log in with parent account access information.

• In the upper left corner select your child to view

• Click Student Reports- this will take you to a printable report of all of your child’s teachers comments and feedback. Please be sure to click the blue button on the upper left to digitally sign off that you’ve seen this information.

To find the parent PowerSchool Portal, look for PowerSchool under the “Parents” tab.

If you need help using the portal, please call the Middle School office at 508-376-7014.

In grade 7 math, students created their own Blooket on circumference of circles. Here are Sam, Orlando, and Lincoln playing the Blooket that Harrison created.

For more information on the Millis Police & Fire Holiday Assistance Program please click on the link above. Thank you!

Mrs. Samantha Laney, our beloved Social Studies teacher was hurt in an accident earlier this fall. We are so happy to share that she has been discharged from the hospital and her rehabilitation facility. Now, moving back home she will still need a great deal of care and support. If possible, please consider a donation to help Sam and her family.

The library has new books thanks to the Scholastic book fair and an Amazon wish list to fulfill the needs that Scholastic could not. See link above for more information.

Dear Millis Parent/Guardian/Caregiver,

At Millis Public Schools, we’re committed to providing a learning experience that allows your child to grow and flourish with technology.

That’s why we’ve teamed up with a student safety and digital wellbeing platform that is protecting the devices your child uses at school, ensuring they stay safe and secure. During our "Navigating the Digital Jungle" presentation to families on 10/23/23 we briefly discussed this tool called Qustodio. You can find this discussion at the 50:34 mark in the recording.

I’m reaching out to let you know that in the next several days you will receive a series of emails from Qustodio inviting you to join us in this world of digital wellbeing and giving you access to the Qustodio Parents App. If you have already joined Qustodio you will not receive any emails.

The app will provide you with visibility on how your child is using their school devices and is provided at no cost to you.

Please accept the invitation by following the link that will be included in the Qustodio email and follow the steps to connect with your child’s account.

Let’s build a safe digital experience for our students together!

click on the link below for millis middle school sports and schedules

Please consider supporting the Millis HS/MS Boys Soccer Program by purchasing a Rustic Marlin "Mohawks" Block for $20. Thank you!

Thank you Millis families for making it out to the Middle/High School auditorium for the "Navigating the Digital Jungle: Things you should know because your child already does…" presentation. If you were unable to attend, the slides are linked above, as well as a video recording that can be found here. Please take some time to review the slides or watch the video to hear a little more about how you can work with your children/our students to create a safe online space for learning and living in this digital age.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.