McMillan Monthly

Greetings McMillan Families:

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2nd semester! We had a great end to our 1st semester, and between October and December, increased the number of students passing all classes from 57% (364 students) to ending the term at 69% (437 students). We decreased the number of students with 1 F in classes from 115 students, to 77 students. We increased the number of students with all A's from 2 students to 9 students! This is amazing progress by our students, staff and families as we focus to keep our "main thing the main thing" - getting all students ready for High School and beyond! #1team1dream

Studies like this one, https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/track-indicator-predictor-high-school-graduation show that students who earn no more than 1 F their freshman year of High School, are "On-Track" to graduate! These students are more than 3.5 times likely to graduate from high school in four years than Off-Track students. Once in High School in OPS, students have 64 opportunities to earn 49 credits in OPS - so we're speaking that language now to ready our scholars, and working to keep academics at the focus of what we do at McMillan!

Now that colder temperatures have arrived, be sure to have a clear plan for dismissal each day. Students participating in an extracurricular activities, Lion's Pride, or Tutoring will report immediately after school. Otherwise, students are expected to exit the building at 3:05 to get on the bus, find their ride or walk home. Students will not be allowed to wait in the building after school as we do not have sufficient staff on duty to supervise. We appreciate your support with this matter.

Please review the rest of the newsletter for important updates, good news, and take advantage of the opportunity to provide feedback on the climate and culture of McMillan (see “Parent Climate Survey”). As always, we appreciate your continued support and involvement. If you have any questions, please call us 531-299-2440.

Very Respectfully,

Dr. Walters - Proud Principal at McMillan

Please see the flyer below with information about McMillan at Open House on Thursday, January 11th from 6 to 7:30 PM current 5th graders and perspective students. We think you'll be blown away as all staff have events and activities for your to see why McMillan Middle is the place for your child to be, where academics is our focus, students take ownership of their learning, and we're working as #1team1dream to help all scholars be ready for High School and beyond. We look forward to seeing your Thursday! Remember, the elementary classroom with the best attendance gets a Pizza Party!

This January, Omaha Public Schools families have an opportunity to visit middle and high school open houses before making 2024-25 school selection preferences. Open house events give students and families a chance to explore high school options, meet staff members and learn about the courses and extra-curricular activities each school offers.

McMillan encourages students and families to attend the open house for their neighborhood school as well as any other schools they are interested in attending.

School choice applications will be available the week of Jan. 8 at all schools and the Student Placement Office at TAC. Students at the transition grades will automatically receive an application at their school. Applications must be returned to the student's current school by Jan. 29 or TAC by Jan. 31.

See the School Selection Guide for more information on the selection process. More information about this process can also be found at http://tinyurl.com/3p954j22.

The Campus Portal for Parents allows parents and guardians to monitor their children's academic progress online. If you do not have a Parent Portal account, please click the Infinite Campus icon to access directions.

January 6 - Buena Vista High School Open House, 10 AM to Noon

January 8 - School resumes for all students

January 8 - P4K 7th Grade

January 8 - Girls Basketball and Boys/Girls Wrestling begins

January 9 - North High School Open House - 6-8 PM

January 10 - P4K for 6th grade

January 11 - P4K 8th grade

January 11 - McMillan Open House 6 to 7:30 PM

January 11 - Bryan High School Open House - 6 to 8 PM

January 14 - Westview High School Open House 2 to 4:00 PM

January 15 - MLK Day - No School for Staff or students

January 16 - Burke High School Open House - 6 to 8 PM

January 18 - P4K 8th Grade

January 18 - South High School Open House, 6 to 8 PM

January 20 - Central High School Open House, 10 AM to Noon

January 22 - Boys Swimming begins

January 22 - Northwest High School Open House - 6 to 8 PM

January 23 - Benson High School Open House - 6 to 8 PM

January 23 - Girls BB at Morton

January 24 - P4K 6th Grade

January 25 - Girls BB vs BMS

January 27 - Quiz Bowl Competition

January 29 - P4K 7th Grade

January 30 - Wrestling vs. Bluestem

January 30 - Girls BB at Monroe

January 30 - Omaha Virtual School Open House, 5:30 to 7 PM

January 30 - Career Center Open House, 5:30 to 7 PM

February 2 - Teacher Plan Day, No School for students

February 27 - High School Orientation from OPS High Schools

February 29 - Multi-School Math Competition in the Auditorium @ the MAC, All Day

March 1 - Cory Greenwood Speaks - Suicide Prevention Speakers

• 8 AM, 8th Grade
• 10 AM, 7th Grade
• 12:25, 6th Grade

TeamMates is a mentoring program which pairs students with caring adults who are screened through the mentor application process. Many employers will provide adults time off to be a mentor to a child in any school system, and at McMillan - we want to expand our program! The mission of TeamMates is to positively impact the world by inspiring students to reach their full potential through mentoring. Students interested in having mentor for a weekly or bi-weekly mentor/mentee match should contact the McMillan Social Worker, Ms. Naser, at samantha.naser@ops.org or call 531-299-9678. Ms. Naser will walk you through the process to join TeamMates this month.

Wrestling: Girls and Boys Wrestling starts this month. Coaches Mohrbutter, Riva, Jones, and Coach Eaves look forward to getting our athletes into full swing for this season. McMillan will once again host the Marisett Wrestling Invitational, which will be Saturday, February 3rd, an all-day event at McMillan. You won't want to miss out on this one! It looks to be bigger and better than ever!

Basketball: Girls basketball will start on Tuesday, January 9th, so please see Coach Oberg and Coach Wright for all information. Completed physicals will be required to try out! See all games listed below, or on our school website by clicking right here!

Swimming: Boys Swimming starts in January on the 22nd, so see Coach Huber or Coach Dewitt for all the details about Boys Swimming! Catch up with the most up to date schedule right here!

Science OIympiad: This activity has started after school with Mr. Huber, but you can still join. Please find Mr. Huber on 2nd floor, or email him at john.huber@ops.org for info about Science Olympiad.

A full list of coaches can be found here: https://www.ops.org/domain/1183

Mr. Curran - Athletic Director

Hello McMillan Middle School Families!

If your student needs clothing, school supplies, hygiene products, or anything else to aid their success please contact our School Social Worker, Samantha Naser through one of the avenues below.

Phone: 531-299-9678

Email: samantha.naser@ops.org

Social Work Support Link: https://forms.office.com/r/x96KB6P7rW

¡Hola Familias de McMillan Middle School!

Si su estudiante necesita ropa, útiles escolares, productos de higiene o cualquier otra cosa para ayudarlo a tener éxito, comuníquese con nuestra trabajadora social escolar, Samantha Naser, a través de una de las vías a continuación.

Teléfono: 531-299-9678

Correo electrónico : samantha.naser@ops.org

Enlace de apoyo al trabajo social: https://forms.office.com/r/x96KB6P7rW

Our district works proactively to make the best decision possible when winter weather or emergencies require us to adjust our regular learning routines.

Our toolkit of alternatives includes the following options:

• Remote Learning Day
• School Closure (no remote learning, schools are closed and district offices remain open)
• District Closure (no remote learning, schools and district offices are closed)
• Late Start (two-hour delay)
• Early Release (two-hour early dismissal)
  
  

On a Remote Learning Day, teachers will contact students through email or Teams with independent learning activities by 8:30 a.m. Teachers will have virtual office hours from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. if students and families have questions or wish to visit with the teacher about their academic progress. Attendance will not be taken on Inclement Weather Remote Learning Days.

Whenever possible, our district will announce changes to a daily routine the night before. However, we know weather conditions and other emergencies can develop rapidly and a decision the morning of a school day may be necessary. When that happens, we will communicate as early as possible in the morning.

We will follow our communication routines. If weather, power outages or other circumstances force a change to our normal day, we will communicate directly with all staff and families. That communication will be through email, text message and phone call. Families should ensure their contact information is current in Infinite Campus. We will also share the information on our website and through local media.

This information can be found at: Weather Procedures / Weather Procedures (ops.org)

Please also note - for those new to the area - the hill on Redick becomes very slick during winter events. Consider the map below, created with humor in mind, and note alternative routes that will give you success in navigating the area.

Email: andrew.walters@ops.org
Website: https://www.ops.org/mcmillan
Location: 3802 Redick Avenue, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 531-299-3923
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McMillanMagnetCenter/
Twitter: @OPS_MacPrncpl