Millis Middle School

Happy New Year! We have so many wonderful new ideas and opportunities rolling in for 2025! A huge thank you to MERIT for their generous grants and for providing exciting opportunities to our students and community. Thank you for supporting this wonderful organization benefiting our schools!

One of our New Year's Resolutions is to bring back a culture of READERS here at MMS and we need your HELP! It's no surprise that reading has tremendous academic benefits for brains and learning gains; and yet sadly, we also know is that reading has been on the decline with the increased access and capabilities of smart phones. We are hoping to instill a PASSION and a HABIT of reading in our students. In the coming weeks we are going to help students to create their own TBR (To Be Read) list and encourage students to rate and review their reads with peers. We are hoping to provide students with ample delicious reading material and to weave reading into various parts of our school day.

Need to know:

• Progress reports have been shared, please be sure to check out your child's progress and feel welcome to reach out to teachers for additional information!
• Friday, January 31 is an early release day for students!

• Congratulations to Nat Cranmer, our Millis Middle School Band Student of the Week!
• Upcoming dates to note:
• Early Release Day: Friday, 1/31, dismissal @ 10:55 am
• All School Assembly: 2/7
• February Vacation: 2/16 - 2/24
• PD day for teachers 3/10 - no school for students

Our hearts go out to the Millis family who lost their home in a fire on Thursday afternoon. While thankfully everyone is safe, the loss of their home is undoubtedly devastating. The community has come together to offer support, and a GoFundMe page has been created to help the family begin the recovery process. We appreciate the outpouring of love and assistance from our community.

The Millis Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) wants to continue to provide resources for our community. Unfortunately, as circumstances have changed, this group may no longer be able to remain active in Millis.

A meeting will be held Tuesday, January 28th from 6pm-7pm in the Millis Public Library Roche Bros Room. This is an open call for support in continuing the Millis SEPAC. All district caregivers and interested parties are welcome.

The Millis SEPAC provides input to school district leaders about policies, programs, and services that directly impact students in need of or engaged in special education services. Free workshops and speakers on special interests are offered annually. SEPAC has been a valued resource over the course of many years for caregivers in navigating the path of supporting children with learning needs who may or may not receive services through an IEP or 504 plan.

Please, join us Tuesday, January 28th at 6pm and learn how you can become involved.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Take care,

Millis SEPAC

Join friends this Friday at 6PM at the Millis Public Library for another Teen Anime Night! We’ll be watching the first three episodes of This Art Club Has a Problem! No registration required and snacks will be provided! This program is recommended for those in grades 6th-8th.

As we've progressed through the past few months with the School Building Committee, we have gotten closer and closer to selecting a preferred design. There will be additional meetings in early February with the School Committee, Select Board and School Building Committees to officially determine the preferred building design. If you are curious about the project and the proposed designs, please check our the project website linked here. We are committed to selecting a plan that will enhance the educational experience for all our students, both now and in the years to come. The December School Committee meeting about this project can be viewed here.

Hello Millis Middle School community members,

Please check out our first edition of our MMS newspaper, Hermes Horizon

https://sites.google.com/millisschools.org/hermeshorizon/home

*** The link has been updated to be accessible to the public beyond our Millis Public Schools Domain, so please check it out!

Click on the picture below to view the slide show of Millis Athletics Fall 2024 All Stars, Honorable Mentions & More

All students and caregivers have been provided with PowerSchool logins and passwords. PowerSchool provides realtime access to your child's academic progress, grades and comments.

Here is information regarding PowerSchool and Standards based grading and how to access the Portal details.

From Riverside Community Behavioral Health Center:

As we welcome a new school year, we want to emphasize the importance of mental health and well-being. Returning to school can bring about a mix of emotions—excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and more. We know for some students the beginning of a new school year can come with difficulties, including depression, anxiety, school avoidance and complex emotional and behavioral issues. The team at Riverside Mobile Crisis Intervention would like to remind everyone that we are here for all students no matter the level of concern; we are available to see people 24 hours a day anywhere in the community: at home, school, or our office. Please share our information with caretakers who may need help navigating these complex situations at home, and we are available to come into the school for in-the-moment assessment to help partner with you in navigating challenging events. We’re just a phone call away at 781-769-8674 or toll-free at 800-529-5077. Thank you from the team at Mobile Crisis Intervention, a component of Riverside’s Community Behavioral Health Center.

On Sunday, January 26th, the Environmental Action Club at Millis High School will be picking up any redeemable bottles and cans from residents in the Town of Millis. This money will go towards the Woodwell Climate Research Center in order to promote climate action and education. Please put your name and address on this form if you would be willing to donate to us. You can leave the bottles and cans out the morning of January 26th by your front door, garage, or in the driveway. Environmental Action volunteers will come by and pick them up for you between 10AM-12PM! The link to sign up is: https://forms.gle/NYjAPD2UbdKZ6cR17

We are pleased to announce that registration for the Bridgewater State University Winter Science Academy is now open! The Winter Science Academy is for students currently in grades 6-8.

The program offers middle school students the opportunity to participate in an exciting hands-on class, the Forensics Institute of Bridgewater. Students will work as crime scene analysts and will learn how to collect and analyze fingerprints from a simulated crime scene, perform blood type analysis and conduct DNA fingerprinting.

The class takes place on the Bridgewater campus February 18-21, 2025, from 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM. The cost is $250. Need based scholarship opportunities are available for those with significant financial need.

Additional information about the program, including discounts and need-based scholarships, can be found on the Science Academy Website and Science Academy Registration.

Register before January 1, 2025 and save $25.

Hope to see you in February!