Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
January 5th, 2023
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
Having students back in our building this week after winter break was so wonderful! Although we just returned from break, next week Thursday is the end of the second quarter already! With that in mind, we encourage looking at Infinite Campus with your child.
While looking at Infinite Campus, ask your child to look for missing assignments, upcoming assessments, and project deadlines. In addition, we recommend that your child check in with their teachers if there are any questions about their grades before the quarter ends.
In addition, at Muskego Lakes, all students have a Standards of Focus (SOF) trackers with a learner profile built into it. They are empowered to track their progress on key standards in both literacy and math on their SOF Tracker. Their learner profile information is student-created and a way of showcasing how they learn best, house things they are proud of, etc. If you haven't yet, check in with your child about their SOF Tracker to learn even more about how your child is progressing as a learner.
Thanks for all the ways you partner with us to support your child in his/her academic achievement!
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
- January 10: MLMS PTO Meeting 6:30pm
- January 12: No School Professional Day
- January 16: Co-Curricular Photo Day
- January 17: 5-7 Course Registration Due
- February 15: Family Conference Night 4-8pm
- February 23: 8th Grade Career Fair
February 26:No School Professional Day
March 25-29: Spring Break
Course Registration for 2024-2025 School Year
Course Registration for 5-7th Graders
Students in 5-7th grade did spend time this week or will be early next week to go through course options for the 2024-2025 school year with their school counselor. All course information can be found in the middle school academic guidebook HERE to reference and learn more about courses your child has to choose from.
All registrations forms are due on January 17th and should be entered on Infinite Campus. If your child lost their registration sheet and is need of another copy, please have them stop in student services, but we have also linked them below for you to review as well. These include the instructions for submitting on Infinite Campus.
- Current 5th Grade Registration Sheet
- Current 6th Grade Registration Sheet
- Current 7th Grade Registration Sheet
MHS Registration information for 8th Grade Students
As a reminder, your student received their course information sheet, please use this as a reference for the available courses for them in 9th grade. Only students can register for their high school classes on their IC account. Course descriptions are available here
Important upcoming dates for our 8th grade families:
January 24th - 9th Grade Orientation at Muskego High School
January 31st - Course Information Night at Muskego High School
February 8th - High School Counselor’s coming to meet with 8th grade students
February 9th - Registration deadline for fall classes (Note: There will be no honoring of course change requests made after February 9th)
February 7 - 14th MHS Summer School Registration Open (Summer School courses and descriptions available here)
Do you have questions about registration?
Please reach out should you have any questions related to your child's registration! We are here to answer questions and support you and your child through the process.
- 5-6th Grade School Counselor: Janine Hake (janine.hake@muskegonorway.org)
- 7-8th Grade School Counselor: Jim Brickweg (james.brickweg@muskegonorway.org)
Student Council Hygiene Product Drive
The Muskego Lakes Student Council is hosting a hygeine product drive from January 10th to January 24th for the Muskego Food Pantry. They are asking students to bring in items to their homeroom teachers. They are hoping they are able to help stock the shelves and give back to those in our community. On behalf of our student leaders, we thank you for considering in sending in these products.
Some items that they are looking to collect are:
- Tooth Brushes
- Floss
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash
- Face Wash
- Body Wash
- Deodorant
- Toilet paper
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Lotions
*please do not send in any spray type items (i.e. Axe, Spray Deodrant, Body Spray, etc.)*
Does your child start their day at Muskego High School?
If your child has a class at Muskego High School to start their day, we want to ensure that you know your child's semester exam at Muskego High School is scheduled for Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
Because class times are extended during exam days, please note the time change listed below:
- 1st Period 7:25-8:35
- 2nd Period 8:45-9:55
The bus company is aware of the schedule change and bus transportation is provided after each exam back to the respective middle schools.
In addition on Thursday, January 11, 2024, your student should report to their respective middle school.
Executive Function Series: Mental Flexibility
This week, we are sharing information about the executive function of flexibility. Mental flexibility is being able to adapt when a situation or expectation changes. Mental flexibility is important because life is often unpredictable. Some people are more easily able to ‘go with the flow,’ for others it takes more cognitive work.
Some examples of a teen struggling with mental flexibility would be:
difficulty with open-ended questions or assignments
usually has one solution to a problem and struggles to think of other options
becomes upset during changes of routine
needs a lot of preparation rather than ‘thinking on their feet’
If your teen seems to be more on the more inflexible side, here are some tips that can help:
Provide advance warning of changes in routine (ie. appointments coming up, different mode of transportation to/from school, vacations, etc).
Maintain an overall schedule, but also build in some flexibility. Instead of saying and activity will happen at a certain time, give a range (ie., rather than dinner at 5:00, dinner between 4:45-5:15).
Help your teen anticipate what might come up in various situations. The more information he or she has been prepped with in advance, they more comfort they will have going into it. For example, practice what it’s like to set up an appointment, go to an interview, go to a new friend’s house, etc.
In situations where your teen wants something from you, remember that your “maybe” becomes his/her “yes”. If you mean ‘maybe’, then give a specific time frame and/or conditions within which you’ll have a definitive answer to the question.
Use “no” only when you mean it. If your “no” actually means “not right now” then pause
Save the Date! 7-8th Grade Volleyball Tryouts!
Is your student interested in trying out for volleyball? 7-8th grade volleyball try-outs will be held after school on January 22nd until 4:30pm.
8th Grade Career & Community Fair Ahead at Muskego Lakes
As part of our comprehensive Academic and Career Planning at the middle level, we are hosting a Career & Community Fair for our 8th graders on the morning of February 23rd.
We are looking for a wide range of speakers in order to ensure we have representation across the U.S. Department of Education's 16 clusters:
- Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
- Architecture & Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications
- Business, Management & Administration
- Education & Training
- Finance
- Government & Public Administration
- Health Science
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing, Sales & Service
- Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
- Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
If you or someone you know might be interested, please reach out to Rachel Rydzewski, Principal, who can provide more information. Thank you for considering!
Shown below 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.
For more detailed information about MLMS events, click here.
Did your child misplace something? Check out the Muskego Lakes Lost & Found!
Anything left on Friday, January 12th will be donated, so we encourage ensuring your child stops by to look for any lost items!
You can check out the items that are currently in our lost and found this week:
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
- 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