Maize South Middle School
April 2023
MSMS Parents/Families:
Welcome to the 2023-24 school year!
We are excited to meet you and your student this upcoming school year. The relationship between the school and family plays a vital role in the success of each student. We look forward to partnering with you to help your child be the very best that they can be. Our collective focus this year is on 1) Accountability, High-Quality Instruction, and Student Engagement. #IWill
School begins at 7:30 a.m. this year. All students will experience Mav Time from 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. each morning. It is imperative that students attend during this time as we emphasize character, positive relationships, academics, and executive functioning.
Mondays: Highlight executive functioning skills. Students will access Skyward and record their grades and attendance.
Tuesdays and Thursdays: Allocated for academic purposes (enrichment & correction). Students are free to go and see teachers for assistance.
Wednesdays: Dedicated to Social Emotional Learning (SEL)/Character lessons which will be facilitated by a research-based Capturing Kids’ Hearts program.
Friday: “Mav Family Focus” meant to highlight time for each Mav Time to build rapport through activities, collaborate, and most importantly have fun together.
Officer Alex Agler will be back to serve as our Building Resource Officer to help keep us safe!
Dress Code – Please wear clothing that is appropriate for the learning environment.
Backpacks will be kept in lockers along with cell phones.
Students need their Chromebooks every day – FULLY charged.
Students failing one or more classes on Monday of each week are placed on the FOCUS List and are ineligible for practice/game participation until that grade is improved.
Traffic - Please DO NOT drop off or pick up your child on Silver Fox Road. Be patient and follow the arrows on our Traffic Flow Map. The parking lot should clear out by 2:50 pm.
AM and PM traffic may only enter the premises at the far east corner of our east parking lot, off Silver Fox Road; all other roads become EXIT ONLY at those times.
We are looking for a crossing guard to protect our students and regulate traffic flow, after school. Please contact the school if you are interested. A stipend is available.
Students may enter the building starting at 6:45 a.m. and should sit in the Commons.
Students not in class by the 7:30 bell are considered tardy; Parents may excuse up to three beginning-of-day (7:30 a.m.) tardies, each semester).
Students may bring a water bottle. We have refill stations located around the school.
If your child needs to leave school during the day, parents must come into the front office in order to sign them out of school. Students will ONLY be released to another adult listed in Skyward as Family or on their “Emergency Contact” list.
Please follow us on our social media pages on Facebook (Maize South Middle School) and Instagram (@msmsmavnews). We will communicate often with families and celebrate our Mavericks throughout the year. I hope your year is one of the very best!
Welcome to our new staff members!
Jessica Buchanan-Assistant Principal
Jessica Buchanan is a former Family and Consumer Science teacher of 19 years. She came to us from Maize South High School where she served as the Education pathway coordinator and Student Council sponsor. She is from Andale, Kansas where her husband Jeff, is the head basketball coach and Assistant Principal/business teacher. They have three children, Dustin (14), Natalie (12), and Kate (9). She graduated from Kansas State University and is a fan of all KSU athletics. In her free time, she is usually out in her garden, hanging out with her goldendoodles, or at her kids' sporting events.
Ashley Gross
Mrs. Gross is starting her 12th year teaching Physical Education. She has taught both secondary
and elementary physical education in a neighboring district as well as coached dance and cheer.
She has taught PE required classes, health, aerobics; fitness, lifetime activities, aquatics and
dance. This is her first year with Maize! At MSMS, she will be teaching 7th and 8th PE/Fitness
and Girls’ PE Elective. She is also one of the coaches for the inaugural dance team!
Gross holds a Bachelor's degree in PreK-12 Physical Education from Wichita State University
and a Master's degree in Education from Friends University. While at WSU, Gross danced and
competed on the Wichita State Dance Team. Gross has taught dance for 15 years at a local dance
studio. Gross is married and has two precious pups. She is a huge Chiefs fan!
Gross was awarded the 2018 KAHPERD Teacher of the Year (Kansas Association of Health,
Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance) for a dance program she started as a PE elective
course. In 2020, she was awarded Central District (Midwest) Dance Teacher of the Year for
SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators of America.) She had the amazing
opportunity to be a finalist for the national dance teacher of the year award where she placed top
4 in the country. This opportunity allowed her to meet and collaborate with some of the best PE
educators across the country! As a physical education teacher, she models and encourages every
one of her students to lead a healthy and active lifestyle! She is so excited to start her first year at
Maize South Middle School!
Michael Gillott-Computers and Careers
Hi! I am Mr. Michael Gillott and I will be teaching 7th & 8th grade Careers and Computers. This will be my 22nd year teaching. I have taught high school business and computer courses over the past 21 years before moving to Maize South Middle School this year. I was raised in Kansas and moved to Wichita two years ago from Dodge City. I received my Undergraduate and Graduate degrees from Fort Hays State University. I am very passionate about teaching and helping students become successful lifelong learners. I am looking forward to this year and meeting all the new faces!
Trevor Schaffer-7th Grade Science
Hi, I'm Trevor Schaffer. I am from Dodge City, Kansas and am the youngest of 5. From Newman University I received my Bachelors and for the past 9.5 years I've been teaching in Andale Kansas High school and Middle school. Throughout my teaching career, I have taught Biology, Chemistry, Health Science 1 and 2, and middle school Science (6-8). In May I got married and now I have two stellar cats, Nimue and Kylo. In my free time I love getting together with family and friends to play board games and laugh at my terrible jokes. I look forward to teaching science at Maize South Middle with some awesome staff and students.
Emily Stefan-Choir MSHS and MSMS
Hi! I'm Emily Stefan, and I am excited to begin my 12th year teaching! I have been teaching 7-12th grade choir in Goodland and am looking forward to the opportunity to be at Maize South! I grew up in Derby and received my Undergrad and Masters from The University of Kansas in Music Education.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our two kids.
Amy Uloho-7th Grade Math
Hello there! I'm Amy Uloho, and I couldn't be more excited to join the MSMS Family as a teacher. Math is my absolute favorite subject, and I'll have the pleasure of teaching it to 7th graders!
My husband, Gift, and I have three amazing kids: Roman (11), Reeve (9), and Isla (7). Completing our lively family is our Scottie named Jacks, who is just one year old. As a family, we love spending time outdoors, especially when we're all together. Watching sports is another one of my passions, and I particularly enjoy cheering for my little ones as they play soccer, basketball, and take part in gymnastics. Some of my other favorites include ranch dressing, tropical plants, mystery novels and podcasts, black coffee, and the Colorado mountains.
A fun fact about me: My brother and I share the same birthday, even though we are not twins!
Nurse's Notes
-My name is Lisa Turner, this is my 3rd year at MSMS and I am now the Nurse Coordinator for the District. I hope you all had an amazing summer!! I am so excited to see my returning students, as
well as the new 7th graders coming in!
A couple reminders:
-Make sure your student is up to date on their vaccines! If you are not sure if they are up to date, please call or e-mail me to check.
-The deadline for vaccines is October 1st! If your student is not up to date on these vaccines by this date, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND SCHOOL UNTIL THEY ARE UP TO DATE.
We obviously don’t want this. So please do this ASAP.
-If there is something medically going on with your child that affects them at school, please keep me in the loop so I can keep an eye on them.
-Please send your kid to school everyday with a clean full water bottle! The number one cause of
headaches and stomach aches is dehydration.
Medications- If you’re student has an inhaler, epi-pen or any other emergency medication that they
need here at school. I need an updated medication authorization form from your doctor and an up to
date Asthma action plan, or anaphylaxis plan (if they have one) for this year.
- Even if they self-carry this medication. I have to have an updated order!
- Students CAN NOT self-carry any other medications other than emergency meds. If they
need over the counter medications at school, they have to be in my office with a
medication authorization form filled out by the parent.
Fall Picture Day
Our fall picture day will be Tuesday, August 22nd, your student will be given an order packet on Friday, August 18th. Please fill that out and send it back on the 22nd, your student will need to give that to the photographer when their photo is taken. You may also order online at INTER-STATE.COM/ORDER, use code 79088TB.
We also have our Fall Sports Picture Day on Friday, August 25th, starting at 2:30pm. Coaches will give students order packets, you may also order on line at INTERSTATE.COM/ORDER, use code 78039JA
