MLK Day will be celebrated on Monday, January 15, and there will be no school.

MCAS TESTING is coming up April 4 -11, 2024 and May 13-24, 2024. Please avoid scheduling family appointments and vacations during these windows of time. Thank you!

I hope this email finds you well. First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your hard work and dedication in supporting our students and staff. As the excitement of the holiday season fades, the shortened days continue and the soggy winter weather dampens our spirits and make it even harder to motivate our kids to get up, out, and off to school. If your house is struggling with sleepy, and occasionally grumpy, teens and tweens, you are not alone and your commitment to their success is truly invaluable. Thank you for all you do!

As we approach Martin Luther King Jr Day, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the values that he stood and advocated. Honesty, trust, compassion, service, and humility were at the core of his beliefs, and it is important for us to uphold these values in our daily interactions with our students and colleagues. During today's assembly we heard the words of Dr. King and also examples of our community members' kindness, compassion, honesty and service.

Students did an excellent job with today's lockdown DRILL and we were very impressed with everyone's cooperation and participation. While these drills are a sign of the times, it's great to know that our community is quick and responsive when needed. Also, a quick reminder that only water should be brought to classes. We kindly ask that any special beverages such as juice, soda, or energy drinks be consumed before or after school. This helps to promote a healthy and focused learning environment for all students. Students are welcome to access our cafeteria for breakfast and consuming breakfast before the 8AM start to the school day.

Thank you again for your ongoing support and contributions to our school community. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend!

Warm regards,

Ana Hurley
Middle School Principal

Just a reminder that we need to be very careful with nuts and other allergens when sending snacks in with your student. Please do not send any snacks that are made with nuts or have nuts in them. We need to be careful and considerate of our friends with allergies. THANK YOU!

Mass Partnership for Youth (MPY) is an organization that supports schools and other youth programs in the state. They also have an extensive library of resources for parents. MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students' families thrive. Parents can watch or just listen to experts who get right to the point solving big and small challenges. Each Library includes 10-minute videos and handouts, The science behind child development and parenting is abundant. Peace At Home Parenting experts translate it into easy-to-use, strategies for long-lasting change. Tap into the power of the brain-body-behavior connection to gain clarity and confidence to help your family thrive.https://peaceathomeparenting.com/mpy-solution-libraries/

January

15 - (Monday) - Martin Luther King Jr Day - No School

26 - (Friday) - Early Release Day, dismissal @ 10:55

29 - (Monday) - Talent Show Auditions 2:20 p.m. - for Millis Middle School students only

February

15 - (Thursday) - Talent Show

19 - 23 - February School Break, no school

March

1 - (Friday) - Aeden Wetherbee Comedy Show Fundraiser - MHS Auditorium

11 - (Monday) - Professional Development Day - No School

29 - (Friday) - Early Release Day, dismissal @ 10:55

April

4 - 11 - MCAS Testing

MAY

13 - 21 - MCAS Testing

Aedan's Army is hosting a Comedy Show fundraiser on March 1. Doors open at 7, show starts at 8:00 pm. The show will be held at the MMS/MHS Auditorium. Please attend the event if you can or support the GoFundMe by scanning the code below.

THANK YOU!

Unfortunately one of our grade seven middle school students, Autumn S, and her mother were hurt in an awful car accident last weekend. They are both healing and resting, but they've been through a traumatic event. Please click here to support them as they recover from their injuries.

January - Reflection

We had our monthly All School Assembly on Friday morning. What an amazing group of students and staff we have here at Millis Middle School! This month we focused on Reflection. The students and staff recognized below were commended for their thoughtful and kind presence in our community.

Mrs. Hickey's science classes are testing their bridge projects that they have been working on. This was a tremendous engineering project including all sorts of real-life challenges including budgeting for supplies, testing capacity and making several iterations of their bridges. Great job, Grade Seven!!

In Math PLT, 7th graders practiced converting among fractions, decimals and percents while playing the game Capture the Square.

Eighth graders in Mrs. Shepardson's classes prepared homemade Play-doh today using all of their mathematical smarts!

As a crucial part of our commitment to fostering open communication and collaboration between parents, teachers, and the school community, we want to remind you about the existence and importance of our Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC).

Our SEPAC continues to be led by Mary Calo and Scott Humphries, who are both parents within the district. A SEPAC is an important part of any school district and town. A SEPAC provides direct input to school district leaders about policies, programs, practices, and services that have an impact on students with disabilities and their families. Its purpose is to advise, advocate, and offer guidance, not to decide policy. An effective SEPAC can increase the proactive, productive involvement of families by inviting their input in ways that can be used to shape local special education policy. Mary, Scott and I are dedicated to working together to create a solid bridge between the school district and families. In addition, each school has a parent liaison. If you have questions for the SEPAC members or are interested in attending meetings, please contact Mary and Scott at: millissepaccc1@gmail.com and millissepaccc2@gmail.com

Thank you,

Nealy

Nealy Koumanelis-Urquhart
Director of Student Support Services
Millis Public Schools

P: (508) 906- 3521 E: nurquhart@millischools.org

7 Park Road, Millis, MA 02054

Monday, January 29th @ 2:20pm

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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!

Please have your student check our LOST AND FOUND area. We are accumulating quite the collection of hats, water bottles and winter jackets. If these items go unclaimed we donate them at the end of the term.

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. Click on the link below for more information.

Please click on the link below for Middle School sports schedules

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

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