Archived November 2022

November 2 and 3rd - Early Release Days, dismissal at 10:55 - Afternoon Conferences

November 9th - Evening Conferences

November 11th - Veteran's Day, No School

November 16th - Picture Retake Day

November 23rd - Early Release Day, dismissal at 10:55

November 24 and 25th - Thanksgiving Break

Dear Millis Middle School Families:

Under the true belief of “Small School, Big Family” I wanted to be in touch to provide you with some important information and bring some things to your attention. Recently, we have seen an increased focus on some social media personalities whose profiles and displayed beliefs are not in line with the values promoted at Millis Middle School. It has not been a significant increase, and many of our students are not aware of these names. However, given how students at this age can be influenced by certain types of social media, I wanted to bring it to your attention. Much of what we have seen is just the use of the names of these Social Influencers. As you know, the mention of these names can also promote a focus on their beliefs. Middle Schoolers are curious by nature and I just wanted to be sure that you had the opportunity to speak with your students about anything that we are seeing here in school.

The administration, teachers and staff of Millis Middle School work hard to support the values of kindness, respect and a safe school setting for all. We also work to support a level of respect among the student body which we do see on display regularly. I’d like to support that by working with our families and asking that you take some time to speak with your student about any social media influencers that they may be following or what they may be viewing or following on their own social media platforms.

Please know that I recognize that any family's decision to follow any social media platform or social influencer outside of our school is their own. However, I believe that my responsibility is to work with our families to focus on creating a safe school environment for all and encouraging respect and kindness in our students.

I sincerely thank you for your support and all that you do to support our work. Thank you for taking the time to talk with your student.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Paul Duprey

An email from PowerSchool Registration Support has been sent to each parent/guardian listed in PowerSchool. Please take a moment to update and verify your emergency contact information and submit as soon as possible. This is extremely important for each students' record to be verified and submitted.

If you have multiple children you must submit for each. The email address that you need to find in your inbox is PowerSchool Registration Support. The link provided in the email is generated exclusively for your student.

If you did not receive an email, please contact jdavies@millisschools.org for a new link.

MMS Grade 7 Families:

Message from the School Health Office

The Nurse is conducting mandated screenings for students in grade 7, which includes vision, hearing, height, weight and postural. These screenings are conducted together in the privacy of the school Health Office. The purpose of the postural (Scoliosis) screening is to find early signs of possible spinal problems in children grades 5th-9th. If the Nurse has any concerns she will notify you. If your child has already been screened by your doctor and you wish to opt out of this screening or any of the screenings please email Lynn Molinari at lmolinari@millisschools.org.

Stay well!

Lynn Molinari

November 2 and 3rd - Early Release Days, dismissal at 10:55 - Afternoon Conferences

November 9th - Evening Conferences

November 11th - Veteran's Day, No School

November 16th - Picture Retake Day

November 23rd - Early Release Day, dismissal at 10:55

November 24 and 25th - Thanksgiving Break

Dear Millis Middle School Families:

Under the true belief of “Small School, Big Family” I wanted to be in touch to provide you with some important information and bring some things to your attention. Recently, we have seen an increased focus on some social media personalities whose profiles and displayed beliefs are not in line with the values promoted at Millis Middle School. It has not been a significant increase, and many of our students are not aware of these names. However, given how students at this age can be influenced by certain types of social media, I wanted to bring it to your attention. Much of what we have seen is just the use of the names of these Social Influencers. As you know, the mention of these names can also promote a focus on their beliefs. Middle Schoolers are curious by nature and I just wanted to be sure that you had the opportunity to speak with your students about anything that we are seeing here in school.

The administration, teachers and staff of Millis Middle School work hard to support the values of kindness, respect and a safe school setting for all. We also work to support a level of respect among the student body which we do see on display regularly. I’d like to support that by working with our families and asking that you take some time to speak with your student about any social media influencers that they may be following or what they may be viewing or following on their own social media platforms.

Please know that I recognize that any family's decision to follow any social media platform or social influencer outside of our school is their own. However, I believe that my responsibility is to work with our families to focus on creating a safe school environment for all and encouraging respect and kindness in our students.

I sincerely thank you for your support and all that you do to support our work. Thank you for taking the time to talk with your student.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Paul Duprey

Next week our schedule is Monday and Tuesday, regular school hours. Wednesday is an early release day, dismissal will be at 10:55. Thursday and Friday there will be no school for Thanksgiving break.

MMS Grade 7 Families:

Message from the School Health Office

Starting next week, the Nurse will be conducting mandated screenings for students in grade 7, which includes vision, hearing, height, weight and postural. These screenings will be conducted together in the privacy of the school Health Office. The purpose of the postural (Scoliosis) screening is to find early signs of possible spinal problems in children grades 5th-9th. If the Nurse has any concerns she will notify you. If your child has already been screened by your doctor and you wish to opt out of this screening or any of the screenings please email Lynn Molinari at lmolinari@millisschools.org.

Stay well!

Lynn Molinari

Please keep in mind that the Middle School entrance for visitors and middle school students is at the far end of the MS/HS building, at the bus loop. Please try and use this entrance and not the HS entrance, which is on the side of the building, whenever possible.

Door #5 has a buzzer to alert the MS office when someone is there and you can always phone the office too, for entrance, at 508-376-7014.

If you have any questions or concerns, please give us a call in the office. Thank you!

Please refresh your sixth graders supply of pencils.

Thank you all for the food donations for the Thanksgiving Boxes! The Millis Food Pantry provides an invaluable service to community members who are struggling to make ends meet. For many years, Millis Middle School, led by Grade 8, has assisted the Millis Food Pantry by providing Thanksgiving dinners to families. Everyone's generosity was wonderful and the boxes were filled to capacity!

We are very excited to report that our Middle School Chorus will be singing God Bless America at the Providence Bruins game this Friday evening, 11/18, at 7:00. We know they will be fabulous! Great job to all!!

Good afternoon MMS Families!

Hope that this newsletter finds you well.

MMS continues to be busy with many different things happening in the classrooms, after school and in the community.

Grade 8 Thanksgiving Box Food Drive is going well. Donations started coming in, and if you would like to contribute, please send in any non-perishable items. It is greatly appreciated!

It was great to see parents during the evening conferences Wednesday night, both in-person and virtually. Glad that we had this opportunity for our parents to connect with our teachers.

Thank you, again, for all of your support. I hope that you are all able to enjoy the long weekend. Thank you to all our Veterans, past and present, for your devoted service to our country.

Be well,

Paul

MMS Grade 7 Families:

Message from the School Health Office

Starting next week, the Nurse will be conducting mandated screenings for students in grade 7, which includes vision, hearing, height, weight and postural. These screenings will be conducted together in the privacy of the school Health Office. The purpose of the postural (Scoliosis) screening is to find early signs of possible spinal problems in children grades 5th-9th. If the Nurse has any concerns she will notify you. If your child has already been screened by your doctor and you wish to opt out of this screening or any of the screenings please email Lynn Molinari at lmolinari@millisschools.org.

Stay well!

Lynn Molinari

The 6th Grade Teachers would like to say that it was nice to meet with our students' families over the past 2 weeks during parent/teacher conferences. We are happy to be part of the strong home-school connection felt here in Millis!

Students in grade 7 math have been constructing triangles using protractors. The struggle is real as they become expert measurers!

Anyone who would like to support the library can visit our Amazon Wish List by clicking on the link below.

Thank you very much!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2HQJ1Z1OKS03R?ref_=wl_share

Hello MMS Families!

Hope that this newsletter finds you well and enjoying this crazy weather. I think we need to enjoy it while we can!

MMS is busy with many different things happening in classrooms, after school and in the community. As you will see below each grade level is hard at work in the classrooms. We have many things going on for our students.

I would ask that you take a close look at the Grade 8 Thanksgiving Box Food Drive information further down in the newsletter. Students will be working with the Millis Food Pantry to support local families at Thanksgiving. Anything that you can do to support the drive in sending in non-perishable items would be greatly appreciated.

It was also great to see parents getting in for conferences both in-person and virtually. Glad that we had this opportunity for our parents to connect with teachers. We have one more conference time scheduled for next Wednesday, November 9th from 6:00 - 8:00pm.

Thanks again for all of your support. I hope that you are all able to enjoy the weather heading our way for this weekend. Have a wonderful weekend!

Be well,

Paul

As the Fall Sports Season comes to a close, I wanted to let you know that our teams had a great season! Football, Soccer, Volleyball and XCountry went well this season. We congratulate all our MMS athletes for a great season and look forward to Winter Sports Season coming up soon.

A special congratulations to Coach Kraby, Coach Barrett and Coach Caulfield and the MMS Football team for completing an undefeated season. This past Tuesday the team defeated Bellingham to cap off an 8 - 0 season. Congratulations to all the members of the team and their coaches for a very successful season!

Attention grade 7 students - An updated physical is required for all students in 7th grade. Please send in a copy of your most recent physical to the nurse.

Email Mrs. Molinari with any questions at lmolinari@millisschools.org

Picture Retake day will be Wednesday, November 16th. Students who would like a retake must return their original Portrait Package to the photographer on Retake Day.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your pictures, please contact the Customer Care Department at Coffee Pond directly.

• Phone: 800-632-2323 ext 0
• Email: lifeguards@coffeepond.com

7th and 8th graders began the yoga program last week. It was a huge success! Students are learning how to utilize a calming breath during stressful situations and how to release tension from their bodies through small movements.

These sessions have been very successful for our students in helping them to navigate some of the stressful situations that may come up during their day. It is a good relaxing time for our students as they learn some important strategies to settle their minds, and improve focus and brain function.

Last year many of you supported this program through generous donations. We sincerely appreciate your support. We are continuing to run the program this year. If you are interested in supporting the program please feel free to send along a contribution. We would appreciate any support you can give. If interested you may have your student drop-off the donation to the Middle School Office. Any checks should be made payable to Millis Middle School with the word "Yoga" in the memo line. Thank you again for your consideration.

The 7th Grade had their monthly huddle on November 1st. The following students were recognized for various accomplishments:

• ELA - Caroline Connors and Maddie Brynczka → empathy and kindness

• ELA - Brianna Hinkley, Samantha Solomon. → being supportive

• Math - Jayden Montero, Xander Hafford → helping another student in class

• Science - Aiden Ahl, Colleen Lynch → sincere effort & advocating for themselves

• Social Studies - Josh Ryerson, Gianna Tiberi → effort and supportiveness

• Spanish - Erynne Sawyer, Cassidy Cook → leadership skills and cooperation

The goal for November is responsibility. We had an eye opening conversation with the students about what it means to be responsible. From this conversation we developed the definition that responsibility is doing what is expected of you and taking ownership for your actions. The teachers will be recognizing students at next month's huddle who have exhibited being responsible. The poster above is hanging up in every 7th grade classroom:

Last week, Mrs. Hickey's Science classes kicked off the start of the 7th grade STEAM Fair project! Students were introduced to the project and began the process of developing a question. Please read this letter and fill out the form embedded if you have not already done so. Happy Experimenting!

You will see this same information below, but I wanted to spotlight this special cause and the work of our Grade 8 Students and Staff. Please support the best you can!

Grade 8 Thanksgiving Food Drive

The Millis Food Pantry provides an invaluable service to community members who are struggling to make ends meet. For many years, Millis Middle School led by Grade 8 has assisted the Millis Food Pantry by providing Thanksgiving dinners to families .

Grade 8 is seeking donations for the “fixings”: non perishable items like potatoes, stuffing, gravy, vegetables, desserts and cranberry sauce.

DONATIONS ARE NEEDED BY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16th to the Middle School Office

Please support our grade 8 students in their efforts to help out this Thanksgiving!

GR8 has sent home permission slips for our annual trip to Trinity Theater in Providence. We are so excited to be going back in person to see Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". The trip is set for Dec 21, and $25 per student is due by Oct 28. This is a culminating activity that the students will participate in after reading the play in ELA class.

Wednesday, November 23 - Early Release, dismissal at 10:55

Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25th - No School

Text-to-911 allows a person that is unable to speak or hear to communicate via text with a 9-1-1 dispatcher. The “Silent Call Procedure” allows a person that is unable to speak to call 9-1-1 and when the call is answered by the dispatcher to press the following digits on their phone - 1 for police, 2 for fire, 3 for an ambulance - so that the dispatcher can immediately send help. These two features of the 9-1-1 system are valuable and can provide the ability to save a life when used.

If your student needs to be absent from school, a parent/guardian should notify the office via the attendance line (508) 906-3711 or by emailing msattendance@millisschools.org prior to 8:00am, if possible. If we do not hear from a parent/guardian, the absence will be marked as "truant".

If your student is going to be late to school, a parent/guardian should contact the Middle School Office. The office should be notified via the attendance line (508) 906-3711, by emailing msattendance@millisschools.org or by sending a note in with your student. An excused tardy will require a note from the place of their appointment, (not a parental note). Upon arrival, the student should go directly to the Middle School Office and check in.

If your student needs to be dismissed, a parent/guardian should send their student in with a note listing the dismissal time and reason, or call the attendance line (508) 906-3711. Students are expected to check in with the Middle School Office to confirm their dismissal and to receive a pass. This policy is to prevent as much interruption of class time as possible.

*Activities Eligibility Dismissal: If students are involved in extracurricular activities and need to be dismissed during the school day, they will need to provide a note to the office from the place of their appointment, not a

parental note, so they remain eligible to play or practice.

*Medical Dismissal: Any student requiring to leave school for any kind of medical reason must receive approval from the School Nurse.

*Emergency Dismissal: In case of an emergency dismissal, a parent/guardian should contact the Main Office and every attempt will be made to expedite the dismissal.