Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
August 25th, 2023
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
These first two days of school have flown by, and it has been such a joy to welcome our Muskies back! It’s been fun to catch up with them and see their smiles back around Muskego Lakes.
Today, our students participated in our first Community Day of the school year. They engaged in various activities from grade level meet & greets, team discussions with peers around goal-setting, lessons about our positive behavior system, and more. They got to play team building games, show off their dance moves, and even watch their principals eat gross foods, get drenched with water, or take a pie in the face.
The day was designed to not only to help students build and strengthen relationships but also to reinforce the core principles of our school’s positive behavior motto: "Promoting integrity, respect, determination, and engagement."
While learning is our number one priority here at Muskego Lakes, we also recognize that we play a critical role in coming alongside our students as they learn to treat others and themselves with respect, to demonstrate integrity no matter who is around, to remain determined even when faced with challenges, and to engage in the many experiences they will encounter throughout their middle school years.
Thanks for partnering with us by talking to your child about integrity, respect, determination and engagement. Catch them showing integrity. Affirm them when you see them demonstrating respect. Model for them determination, even when things are hard. And acknowledge when they are engaged as learners.
It is especially powerful to witness our students as they develop as learners but also as members of our school community. They each come to us with their own unique strengths, passions, and personalities, and combined, that makes for one incredible school community.
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
- August 30-Sept 1: Literacy iReady Testing
- September 4: No School - Labor Day
- September 5-7: Math iReady Testing
- September 11-15: Spirit Week
- September 14: School Picture Day
- September 15: PTO Pastries with Parents
- September 25: No School
- October 3: Make-Up Picture Day
Literacy iReady Next Week
Next week, students will be taking the Literacy iReady test starting on August 30. The iReady Assessment is designed to provide a clear picture of students' current knowledge and areas they can focus on for improvement.
Please have a conversation with your child about giving their best effort and not becoming stressed by any incorrect answers. We ask that you please help students to ensure that their Chromebook is fully charged and that they have a pair of wired headphones ready. A good night's sleep and a nutritious breakfast on test days will also contribute to their success.
Thank you for your support in helping our students excel during this assessment period. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to reach out.
A/B Day Schedule
The 2023-2024 A/B Day schedule for students and families is now available. You can access this by clicking here or visiting the school website under the about tab. This is a great tool to help students plan for their encore classes to make sure they have the right supplies each day.
Drop-Off & Parent Pick-up Information
With the road closure (on North Cape) still in place, this is a reminder that we will continue with the temporary traffic pattern explained below for next week. All traffic will continue to enter from our main entrance with a change for exiting the school grounds. This change is for drop-off and dismissal times only (7:35-8:05 AM and 3:05-3:20 PM), the following arrangements will be in place:
- 5th & 6th grade students: Pick-up and drop-off will take place using the lane in front of the building, and exiting will also be through the main entrance.
- 7th & 8th grade students: Pick-up and drop-off will occur using the lane behind the building. Exiting will be via our service drive leading to Hi View Drive.
If you need to drop off or pick up your child anytime between 8:05 AM and 3:05 PM, please use the loop in front of the building. Access to the area behind the building will not be available until 3:05 PM. Thank you for helping make parent drop-off and pick-up safe.
Partnering with Families for Strong Attendance
Students can be excused by parents each year up to 10 days. Any absence(part or whole day) after 10 days needs a doctor's excuse. With that being said, any day a student misses counts towards their total days of school missed for the year (doctor excused or not).
Our goal is to have your student in school everyday! While we know that sometimes their absences can't be helped (i.e. sick, funeral leave,etc.), you can help keep students total days out of school low by:
- Scheduling appointments for after school hours or on breaks.
- Scheduling vacations or trips when possible over school breaks.
- Talk about the importance of showing up everyday with your child.
- Help your child maintain daily routines.
In order to keep you updated about your child's attendance, you can expect that we will send home a letter when your child reaches:
- 5 Days Out
- 7 Days Out
- 10 Days Out
The purpose of the letter is to serve as a reminder that we are here to support and partner with you. In addition, it is a reminder of the Compulsary Student Attendance requirements. We know that unexpected situations sometimes arise and that you might need a partner in supporting your child being at school. So, If you are worried about your child's attendance, have a unique situation or want to partner together, reach out to Stacy Pawlak, School Social Worker at stacy.pawlak@muskegonorway.org.
We are here to help!
Join Robotics!
All parents and students interested in being a part of robotics at MLMS this year are invited to the information night Thursday August 31st. It will be held in the Muskego High School Library at 6:00pm. We will learn about the First Lego League that Muskego Lakes will be participating in for the first time! We will also learn about further partnerships with the high school team and events we will be participating in this fall.
If you are unable to attend but want to participate please reach out to Mr. Brick at james.brickweg@muskegonorway.org or call at (262) 971-1860 ext. 5417
Pastries with Parents
On Friday, September 15th we will be holding our annual Pastries with Parents. Please join us from 7am to 8am for delish pastries, coffee and milk. This is a great way to meet new families, the PTO Board and start off the new year.
The event will be held in the middle school cafe. This is the PTO's first fundraiser of the year. Everything will be sold for $1.00 and this is a cash only event. So please bring your dollar bills to the event.In order to make sure that we have enough goodies, we ask that you sign up for this event. Please include how many will be attending and what you will be buying.
When you arrive, please park in the parking lot to the right and make sure you do not park in any of the bus spots. Thank you for supporting your PTO and we hope to see you there.
If you are interested in signing up, do so by clicking HERE.
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 in how we can make this an amazing school year ahead!!
Meeting Dates for the 23-24 School Year:
- September 13
- October 11
- November 8
- January 10
- February 14
- March 13
- April 10
- May 8
Curriculum and Library Information
To learn more about our curriculum visit our Curriculum Hub. Please contact your classroom teacher if you have additional needs or questions regarding the classroom materials your student accesses. To learn more about the Library and the resources available, please visit the library website HERE.
You are able to see what your student has checked out from Destiny (physical collection) or Sora (ebooks and audiobooks). Linked are the directions for accessing the two accounts; you will need to be able to login as your student. It is the goal of the library to provide the right material for the right student; please use Novelist K-8 (provided by Badgerlink) to see professional and varied reviews. If you have additional needs or questions regarding the library materials your student accesses, please contact 4K-8th Grade School Librarian, Toni Heinowski.
Destiny Physical Collection Access - will need to utilize your student log-in
Sora eBook and Audiobook Access - will need to utilize your student log-in
Does Your Child Have Their Finger Scanned for Lunch?
At Muskego Lakes, we also provide students the option of scanning their finger when purchasing food. This form of identification is called Biometrics. It is important to know this is not fingerprinting. At no time will your child’s fingerprint be stored.This is no different than the process used to unlock many smartphones using a finger/thumb.
Finger scans allow students to spend more time eating, more time outside, and less time in line. The finger scanners will be able to read the scan and identify the student in less than a second.
In order for students to use the finger scanners at lunch, families will need to complete the consent form, bring back to school, and complete an initial finger scan to get them into the system.
Most of our students have already completed this process, but if you have not or are new to our school, we strongly suggest completing the agreement and having your child bring to school, so we can get them in the system. If students do not have their fingers scanned, they will need a school ID to purchase their lunch.
School Lunch Updates
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 your finger scanned.
For you ease, we have linked the August menu below with other 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.
Student Photo Day & Ordering Information
Students will get their photo taken for their ID cards and the yearbook on September 14th during the school day. Please be aware that students may leave classes for a short period of time on this date to have their photo taken.
If your child is sick that day, we will have a photo retake day later on in the school year.
Ordering Student Photos
If you'd like to order pictures, they can be ordered online using the following link:
https://orders.schoolandsportpics.com/ordering
When ordering, you will need to use the access key 5ZXRCJS2 or use the drop-down menu to type and search for Muskego Lakes Middle School to start your order.
Clinical Psychology Associates Services
We are proud to continue to partner with Clinical Psychology Associates (CPA) to offer on-site counseling services through the summer months 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. Therapeutic services will continue into the 2023-24 school year as well.
Muskego Lakes Middle School
Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies