The Mane Event

Children's Grief Awareness Day

jennifer.souers@fayette.kyschools.us

See the QR Code for the GT newsletter.

The use of SORA extends our library!

https://soraapp.com/library/fayetteky

1. Our scholars (and honestly anyone who has a Fayette county google account!) have 24/7 access anywhere, any device, any time...so NTI days, fast finishers in class, athletes listening to an audiobook while they run, or teachers previewing a book on their commute...etc!

2. ALL subjects taught from History to STEM, to cooking (FCS) are all represented. With a search for "holocaust" there are over 400 ebooks and 200 audio books!

   There are pre-algebra books, science, art, world-civ, culture books, and even magazines!

3. The students were super-excited when I showed them the Gaming (Roblox/Fortnite) magazines, but there is everything from Time to Archaeology, Chinese Dynasties, etc. Here are the 33 magazines that came up when I searched "science"https://soraapp.com/library/fayetteky/generated-1272400/titles?format=magazine&subject=1178

4. I'm currently searching all of our represented languages and my Overdrive contact says she will add titles of what we still need!

   French-there are over 300 ebooks and 70 audiobooks

   Spanish-250 ebooks and 20 audiobooks

5. Lastly, there are read-along features with ebooks, and other in-text support to help our struggling readers.

Hope that helps at least one person today!

Morton Yearbooks

The deadline to order a 2023-24 Morton yearbook is Friday, February. 28, 2025.

Books can be ordered online at Jostens.com, or by using this link.

***Jostens offers a payment plan if needed.***

Our staff is committed to our district’s mission of creating a collaborative community that ensures all students achieve at high levels and graduate prepared to excel in a global society. Research has helped us understand the important role social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school and beyond.

As such, our school will participate in the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). The DESSA rating scale measures social and emotional skills that research has shown help students do well in school, at home, and in the community. This tool will be completed by your child to help them identify their own strengths and establish goals for improvement.

The purpose of the DESSA is to identify which life skills your student has already learned and what skills they might still need to develop. Once your child and their teachers have the information, it will be used to teach skills and/or provide opportunities to practice them in the school setting.

The DESSA isn’t about getting a score or a grade like many traditional assessments. Rather, it is about helping your student understand his or her social and emotional skills and providing teachers information to better support your student in the classroom.

If a student has areas for which they may need additional instruction or support in developing social-emotional skills, this will be provided by the school after communication with the parent. Examples of additional instructional support strategies include: social skills peer groups, coping skills education to help students manage strong emotions, etc.

For students in middle and high school, after completing the assessment they will have immediate access to their online Student Portal where they can view their results and continue skill building through gamified personal Challenges and setting SMART goals.

To view additional information about the DESSA, including the questions asked and how the information is used, visit the DESSA FAQs.

In order for your middle or high school student to participate in the DESSA to explore their strengths and set goals for improvement, you must provide your consent by completing a form. Please check you email for the consent form in your email/inbox from FCPS.

Morton Middle School Community Members:

To begin the 2024-2025 school year, our staff will be trained in using the Employability Operating System. The Employability Operating System, or eOS, is an online tool to track student behavior. Students are provided school-wide expectations that they are to meet during the course of the school day. There are daily measurables, positive and negative recognitions, and several other modules that allow effective three way communication between students, families, and staff.

The employability elements that we will be using are directly aligned with these school-wide behavior expectations. The expectations will be taught to students directly at the beginning of the school year during our Academic Leadership class, and reviewed after long breaks in instruction (fall break, Thanksgiving winter break, spring break, etc.), or anytime a reteach is necessary. We will center our expectations around the 3 Rs (Ready, Responsible, and Respectful)

• Ready

• Attend School Daily

• Be on time

• Responsible

• Make the right choices

• Respectful

• Listen

• Encourage

• Use appropriate language

• Use Manners

pec

The communication between parents, students and teachers is a valuable piece of ensuring the academic success of our students. You can login and monitor how well your student is meeting expectations each day. In order to access eOS:

1. Visit https://eos.fcps.net/register

2. Fill out the form and make sure the email matches what is on record in Infinite Campus

3. An email will be sent to complete the registration/verification process

4. Click on the link in the email and you will be directed to create a password

5. You may now login

Join the PTSA!

We need members so we can advocate for our students and the Morton community. Join here! Become a Member

_______________________________________________________________________________

Morton PTSA is hosting a 5K!

Lace up those running shoes, and get ready to Run Like a Mustang!! This event will take place on October 20, 2024 at Cold Stream Park in Lexington. Race will start at 4pm.

This is a family friendly event, feel free to Run, Jog, or Walk the race.

Event will take place rain or shine.

Sign up for the early bird to guarantee a free t-shirt with registration.

The event is timed, but not chipped.

If you are a FCPS student we want to make sure there is no financial barrier to you joining in on our fun. Please have your school FRC reach out to us by Email (mortonmiddleptsa@gmail.com) with your name so we are able to register you and your family for our event.

Register for the 5K

WANT TO BE A PART OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS

CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOUR CHILD?

ASK QUESTIONS AND GET FEEDBACK.

CLICK ON THE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION BUTTON ABOVE

Email: Twanjua.Jones@fayette.kyschools.us
Website: https://morton.fcps.net/

Location: 1225 Tates Creek Road, Lexington, Kentucky, 40502
Phone: (859) 422-3533
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MortonMiddleSchoolLexingtonKY/