Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
October 27th, 2023
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
At Muskego Lakes, we work hard daily to live out our vision of "Connecting Hearts & Minds Through Acceptance, Empowerment, and Achievement." It's what drives our staff's actions, thoughts, and plans as we work to connect with your child and help them succeed. Each part of this vision holds significance and importance to our daily work at Muskego Lakes and we wanted to share that with you.
- Connecting Hearts & Minds because while learning is a top priority for us, who our students are is just as important to us. When we connect with a child's heart, their minds are safe and open to learning. Connecting with a student's heart and mind allows us to see the whole child.
- Acceptance: Students welcome others and appreciate one another's unique strengths, interests, and abilities.
- Empowerment: Students building the strength and confidence needed to be independent.
- Achievement: Students having the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in high school and beyond.
We want you to know that we are focused on living out our vision as a school community. So, if anything interferes with your child's positive experience at Muskego Lakes, we want you to know that we will be here to intervene and support, so Muskego Lakes is a home away from home for all students! We are always here to partner with you, so please feel free to reach out.
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
- November 7: 8th Grade Pre-ACT
- November 8: MLMS PTO Meeting 6:30pm
- November 14: 5-6th Grade CoGat Testing
- November 22- 24: No School Thanksgiving Break
- November 29: Choralfest at MHS in Salentine Gym
- November 30: Band Concert 6th Grade: 6pm & 7/8th Grade: 7pm at PAC
- December 5-7: Literacy iReady Testing
- December 11-13: Math iReady Testing
- December 14: Choir Concert 7pm at PAC
- December 15: 6th Grade Science Fair
- December 22- Jan 1: No School Winter Break
Shown above are the upcoming co-curricular events at Muskego Lakes!
If a change occurs from the date of this newsletter, we post on Infinite Campus in the announcement section. We commit to letting students/families know about changes and updating Infinite Campus announcements as soon as possible once we've been notified of a change.
Check out all MLMS events here which includes more detailed information!
Halloween Costume Expectations for Tuesday, October 31st
All costume preparations are to be completed at home. (No dressing or applying of makeup or colored/glitter hairspray once students arrive at school.)
Any accessory that is used improperly, distracts the learning, or is considered inappropriate for school will be turned in and students will be able to collect it at the end of the day.
Students wearing inappropriate costumes will be asked to call home (from in their classroom) to ask for a change of clothes.
Students should reach out to their homeroom teacher if concerned about a costume being appropriate prior to Halloween.
School rules regarding the dress code must be followed with the exception of hats. Hats may be worn.
Foot attire must be worn at all times. No bare feet, stocking feet or slippers
Students will need to change for PE still if you have it that day, so be mindful of how long it will take you to get in and out of your costume.
The following are items that will not be allowed:
No inflatable costumes
No fake weapons (i.e. swords, guns, nunchucks, knife, etc.)
No costumes or accessories that are offensive and/or depict, represent, solicit or promote alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gangs, cults, sex, violence, or profanity.
No mask/headwear that covers your entire face can be worn.
Are You a Veteran? We Are Looking for Guest Speakers!
This year, for our November 10th Community Day/Veterans Day experiences at MLMS, we are again sharing time with students to learn about Veterans Day. During this year's events, students will have the opportunity to recognize our community members who are or have served in our Military through our honor walk (alongside a traveling exhibit from the Madison Veterans Museum), a history and importance of Veterans Day video, and we hope to have speakers present to our student groups.
We are still in need of 1-2 more veterans who are willing to speak to our students as part of our upcoming Veteran's Day school activities from 10:15am-12:45 pm. If you would be willing to share with students your experiences with the Military, we would like you to present to 2 groups, ranging from grades 5-8, for 20-25 minutes each session. If you are able or have any contacts inclined to be speakers, please reach out to Jen Ruditys (jennifer.ruditys@muskegonorway.org) or Nancy Pasch (nancy.pasch@muskegonorway.org).
Help Support Indoor Recess Cart
The Muskego Lakes PTO is looking to assemble a rainy-day activity cart for students to access for indoor recess. The hope is that when students have indoor recess, they will be able to choose from different options to occupy their time and make memories with one another. If you are willing and able to help, please check out our Muskego Lakes Amazon Wishlist HERE.
On behalf of the Muskego Lakes PTO, they thank you for considering supporting this endeavor.
Consistency in Handling Behaviors at MLMS
At Muskego Lakes, we frequently teach the behaviors we expect in all spaces around the school. It’s important to us that our students have clarity about the conduct we expect of them while at school. And it’s critical to our student culture that our students can predict what will happen when they engage in conduct that does not align with Board policy.
Here at Muskego Lakes, we consistently implement P.B.I.S. (which stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). That means, we communicate, reinforce, and implement consistent systems school-wide. And as part of our P.B.I.S. system, we have a consistent protocol for responding when behavior expectations are not met. That way, students experience consistency no matter which classroom they are in.
We make clear to students when behaviors are teacher managed (i.e. missing an assignment, arriving late to class, passing a note in class) versus office managed (i.e. physical aggression, bullying, skipping class).
When teacher-managed behavior occurs, the classroom teacher uses our Remind, Check-In, Take a Break system to reinforce the expectation, check in to see what they need, and then redirect the student with the goal of keeping them in their learning environment. However, when an office-managed behavior occurs, the student receives an office referral so that the administration can learn more about what happened in order to determine disciplinary action (if warranted) and any additional next steps.
This coming week, our students will participate in a PBIS lesson during homerooms. They will get a refresher on teacher-managed versus office managed behaviors and review our consistent school wide response when problem behaviors occur.
If you have any questions about our P.B.I.S. systems school wide, as always, reach out to Rachel Rydzewski, Principal, or Nancy Pasch, Associate Principal, to learn more.
Wondering Who Do I Contact?
We want to make sure that you know who to reach out to when you have a question, so please click on image below or here to check out our Muskego Lakes one pager for who to contact.
Upcoming 8th Grade Pre-Act
We are excited to share that on November 7th, all 8th grade students at Muskego Lakes will be given the PreACT assessment. Eighth grade students who begin their day at Muskego High School should report to Muskego Lakes at 8:05am.
PreACT provides:
Early indication of progress and ideas for improvement—PreACT gives students an estimated ACT test score and can be used as an indicator of college and career readiness.
Fast, robust reporting—Reports are ready quickly, so teachers and students can get to work turning PreACT insights into action. Reports include a predicted score in all tested areas (Math, Science, STEM, English, and Reading), an overall composite score, and an item response analysis.
Career Map showing 26 career areas that are matched to students’ interests and predicted ACT score.
Please make sure that your child has the following on the testing day:
3 sharpened (No. 2) pencils with good erasers
A watch to pace yourself (no phones please)
Calculator for the math test (recommended, but not required); see ACT Approved Calculators.
Tips to share with your child:
Get a good night’s sleep the night before the test
Eat a good breakfast
Follow directions exactly and don’t be afraid to ask questions
Don’t spend too much time on a single question
Choose the answer you think is best and move on
If the test is completed before time is called, recheck work
Lost and Found at Muskego Lakes
Common items we find are:
- water bottles
- school supplies
- assignment notebooks
- lunch bags
- sweatshirts
Please encourage your child if they are missing sweatshirts, jackets, water bottles, pencil cases, hats, headbands, etc. to stop by student services to check for their missing items right away. We will resume weekly photos next week!
Mark The Calendar! Important Musical Information
We are less than a month out from information meetings, workshops and auditions for this years school musical. All will take place in the Choir room for students. Parents can pick up at Door 14 when finished.
Information Meeting:
Monday, November 6 3:10-3:45 pm (Open to any 5-8 grader interested in CAST or ARTISTIC OR BACKSTAGE CREW)
Workshop #1(CAST-highly recommended not required): Tuesday, November 7 3:10-4 pm
Workshop #2(CAST-highly recommended not required): Thursday, November 9 3:10-4 pm
(Bring Packets with you if you took one at workshop #1)
CAST AUDITIONS
Students should choose ONE DAY AND SIGN UP on the audition sign up doc. Students should plan to be there entire time.
Monday, November 13; 3:10-5:10 pm
Tuesday, November 14; 3:10-5:10 pm
Wednesday, November 15; 3:10-5:10 pm
CALL BACKS (by invitation only-emails will be sent on Wednesday evening)
Thursday, November 16; 3:10-5ish pm
Friday, November 17; 3:10-5ish pm
ARTISTIC & BACKSTAGE CREW APPLICATIONS-due Friday, November 17 by end of school day.
ON-GOING REHEARSAL DOC-all known dates and times are posted here and will be added as soon as the information becomes available.
If you have any questions regarding the musical, please reach out to Sarah Milton (Sarah.milton@muskegonorway.org).
Purchase a Yearbook Yet?
Help Support the MLMS PTO Kringle Sale
Help support the Muskego Lakes PTO by selling/ordering Kringles. This year we will sell from 10/16-11/03. Kringles are from O&H in Racine and will be $15 each. They freeze beautifully, so perfect for the holidays. All orders are due by 11/03 at 8pm.
How To Order:
- Please email your order to Jenn Colon at justicegirl180@hotmail.com.
- Please just type your order in the email, do not scan or send the order form. This makes it easier to count. HERE is a digital copy of the order form for you to use/reference.
- You will recieve an email that your order was received within 24 hours.
- If you do not receive an email within 24 hours, that means she did not get it. If this happens, contact Jenn ASAP. You can also leave your order at the front desk of ML.
- No late orders will be accepted, so please have them to Jenn no later than 11/03 at 8pm.
Delivery/Pick-up
Delivery/pick up will be Saturday, November 18th around noon. More information on the location of pick up to follow.
Payment
On the day of pick up, we will need one check made out to MLPTO. No cash will be accepted. We will hold your check for 1 week to give you time to collect.
If you have any questions, please contact Jenn Colon at justicegirl180@hotmail.com. Please give her 24 hours to respond.
SIgn Up Today for Mid-Week Munchies
Every Wednesday the Muskego Lakes PTO is looking for volunteers to donate snacks to our teachers and staff. This greatly helps them make it through the week and brighten their day. You can donate snacks or a group of families can donate. We have roughly 100 staff members. Snacks can be anything you'd like. Please sign up for a date HERE if you can. Drop off will be in the front office by 8am on the Wednesday you sign up.
Thank you in advanced for helping spoil our staff.
Get Involved By Joining The Muskego Lakes PTO!
Please consider joining the Muskego Lakes PTO. We meet monthly in the MLMS library at 6:30pm. We always welcome new faces and would love to hear your ideas on how we can make this an amazing school year ahead!!
Meeting Dates for the 23-24 School Year:
- November 8
- January 10
- February 14
- March 13
- April 10
- May 8
Reminders for the Lunchroom
In an effort to ensure students can move through the lunch lines efficiently, we ask that you remind your student to ensure that they bring their school ID card with them to lunch daily or ensure that they have gotten their finger scanned.
For your convenience, we have linked helpful resources. You can always find the link to updated lunch menus, at the end of this newsletter.
2023-24 Lunch Prices:
- Elementary Lunch: $2.55
- MS Lunch 1: $2.95
- MS Lunch 2: $3.50
- MS Creation Station: $3.90
- Milk Carton: $.50
- MHS Ala carte meal rates as noted on the monthly menu will apply.
Questions related to the food service program can be directed to Benny D’Epiro, Food Service Director at 262-971-1790 x4522.
Clinical Psychology Associates Services
We are proud to continue to partner with Clinical Psychology Associates (CPA) to offer on-site counseling services for students enrolled in Lakeview Elementary, Mill Valley Elementary, Bay Lane Elementary, Lake Denoon Middle, Muskego Lakes Middle, and Muskego High School. For information about CPA’s services and therapists or to get started with an appointment, please visit our website.
Muskego Norway School District Calendar
Please make note of days off and important events on the 23-24 calendar. It is ideal to make dentist and doctor appointments on days we do not have school whenever possible.
Thank you!
Muskego Lakes Middle School
Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies