Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
February 9th, 2024
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
We can't wait for Spring Conferences ahead next week on Thursday, February 15th!! We love any chance we can get to see you at Muskego Lakes and to partner with you to support your child.
Important to know is that all teachers will be teaching until 3:05 pm. We want to ensure they are able to eat some dinner and that our custodial team can tidy things up before conferences start. With that in mind please know that doors will not open until 3:50 pm and conferences will start promptly at 4pm. We have a few things we want to share with you to ensure you are ready for conferences next week below based on the type of conference you have.
If your conferences are in-person:
Maps will be available to help you find teacher rooms. In addition, we will have members of our national junior honor society available to help you locate the rooms as well. We will have maps available for you upon entering the building.
If you’d like to preview the map to make note of where rooms are prior to coming, you can preview it by clicking HERE.
Tables will be set-up outside of student services and all our lost and found items. If your child is missing something, we highly recommend stopping to see if the item is there.
An administrative assistant will be available in the main office should you need assistance or have a question.
If your conferences are virtual:
You will want to ensure that your using a compatible web browser. The following web browser are supported to make virtual calls:
iPhone/iPad: Safari
Android: Chrome or Firefox
Windows: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (latest version only)
Mac: Safari, Chrome, or Firefox
Check your firewall settings. This test checks to see if there will be any firewall issues. Firewall issues during conferences are exhibited by seeing "black screens" or "Error 53000."
To test your firewall settings visit https://networktest.twilio.com/.
You will need to allow access to your microphone and camera.
If you are having difficulty accessing your conferences…
Consider using a personal smartphone if you have access to one. Smartphones often have the microphone and camera enabled. Additionally, there are generally no firewall issues with these devices.
When accessing video calls for the first time, your web browser should ask you if you wish to allow access to the camera and microphone. If your camera and/or microphone is not detected, you'll see an error message. Please follow these suggestions below and then press Try Again:
- Try refreshing the page to see if the web browser prompts you for access to the camera and microphone. If you're prompted for access, choose Allow. Otherwise, continue to step 2.
- Check if your web browser is blocking access to the camera and microphone and if so, unblock access. The steps to do so depend on which web browser you're using. Click on the link to view the guide:
- iPhone/iPad: Safari - open Settings from the Home screen, then choose Safari, and scroll to the Camera & Microphone Access option.
- Android: Chrome, Firefox
- Windows: Chrome, Firefox, Edge (latest version) - press the three dots in the upper right and choose Settings, press Site permissions on the left, followed by Camera and Microphone on the right. Ensure camera and microphone access isn't blocked for this website.
- Mac: Safari, Chrome, Firefox
If you are on a waitlist for conferences:
Teachers are working through their waitlists to contact you to set-up another time to meet and connect with you. Please be on the lookout for communication coming directly from those teachers within the next week.
If you are looking for other ways to engage with what your students are learning we want to share other opportunities for you to engage with what students are learning, and how your child is progressing. Listed below are various means to gain insight into the student experience and student outcomes:
Grade Level and School Newsletters
Infinite Campus
SOF Trackers
Rubrics with Feedback
Phone Calls or Emails
Personalized Report Card Comments
Again, we can’t thank you enough for all that you do to encourage your children as they continue to set goals, monitor their academic progress, and demonstrate achievement here at school. We hold our students to high academic expectations but we also are here to support them every step of the way, and we know you are too!
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
- February 14: MLMS PTO Meeting 6:30pm
- February 15: Family Conference Night 4-8pm
- February 23: 8th Grade Career Fair
February 26: No School Professional Day
March 25-29, April 1: Spring Break
May 30: 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony 6pm
Help Support Our Upcoming Community Day
As we shared last week at Muskego Lakes community days focus on investing in our vision and building the culture of respect we have at Muskego Lakes. We offer students various activities tailored to learning, passions, interests, and more! These activities are designed to help foster new friendships for students with similar interests, build on existing connections between students, and give back to the community.
Our students will be having an upcoming community day on February 23rd. This upcoming community day will have time for students to participate in culture-building activities, service learning opportunities, and academic and career planning.
To make our community day a success, we are again partnering with our PTO, but we are also looking for your support! Please consider helping us make this day happen by visiting our wishlist HERE or by sending in any fabric, old sheets (clean), or fleece for a project we are planning for students. If you have items, they can be dropped off in the main office. In addition, if you are interested in helping the day of our community day as a volunteer, please reach out to one of us; we would love to have you join!
Rachel Rydzewski: rachel.rydzewski@muskegonorway.org
Nancy Pasch: nancy.pasch@muskegonorway.org
What is the Homework Center?
A reminder that we offer homework center daily for students. It is a quiet space that students can access during their lunch hour to accomplish any task from a class. In addition, a staff member who can help answer students' questions about work they are stuck on will be present.
Reasons Students Might Visit the Homework Center:
The student is struggling with an assignment or studying for an upcoming assessment and would like some extra help.
The student wants a quiet, focused space to work or read.
The student cannot stay after school to attend our afterschool Homework Club or have extra-curricular activities after school.
Homeroom isn't quite enough time to finish your work.
The student is looking for someone to guide them more on a specific task.
A teacher has asked the student to go to get caught up on work they are behind on
Executive Function Series: Time Management
Time management is a skill that comes easier to some people than others. Previous week’s have explained that especially for the teen brain, estimating the amount of time a task will take can often be skewed. They tend to think that tasks they don’t want to do or don’t have interest in will take longer than they actually do, and that things they enjoy will be quicker. Like many skills, the best way to improve is by intentional practice.
Ask them how long they believe a task will take, then time them and reflect. Why did it take longer? What was the hardest part - getting started, sticking with it or ending? Then, you can build in more specific supports (see task initiation and sustained attention from previous weeks for more tips).
Have a visual routine for the day. Build in “getting ready time”. Keep it somewhere easily visible (on a wall vs. in a drawer).
Let your teen choose a timing device that will help him/her wake up and start a routine every morning (alarm clock, smart phone, verbal prompt, etc).
If your teen has their own phone, help them set reminders.
Check their planner. All students have planners at MLMS. Encourage them to use it daily and check for consistency.
This might be the hardest one…be a role model yourself. Talk through your own time management. For example, “my appointment is at 3:00, I know it takes 15 minutes to get there. There might be traffic so I’ll leave myself 25 minutes…”
For more ideas or talk through your family’s unique needs, please reach out to student services. We are happy to collaborate with you!
Educators Rising Book Drive
The MHS Educators Rising group is sponsoring a book drive, and we are particpating here at Muskego Lakes! Students can drop off books in the tub in the rotunda each day!
Interested in Volunteering?
Did you know that your volunteer applications expire every 2 years? If you have registered with us before 60 days before your registered volunteer status expires, you will receive an email to re-apply.
We highly recommend that you please renew your application if you are want to be able to volunteer in the classrooms or with a potential field trip. If you haven't completed the Volunteer Application, CLICK HERE to do so.
Conferences Sign-Up Closing Soon
At fall conferences, the goal is to meet as many families as possible in order to build strong partnerships on behalf of students. However, the purpose of spring conferences is to connect with families whose students would benefit from an additional conference. These are students who we want to make sure are on track to have a successful semester ahead.
We will once again be using the platform "Meet the Teacher" to schedule these conferences, and each conference will be 10 minutes long with 2-minute transitions in between. As we communicated, the sign-up will be closed for booking on Wednesday, February 14th at 3:00 pm.
Link to Sign Up: https://MLMSconferences.meettheteacher.com/
Directions for Scheduling Conferences: HERE
Willy Wonka Jr. Tickets On Sale Now!
Muskego Lakes Middle School production of Willy Wonka Jr. will have four fantastic performances for you to come and see all our talented middle schoolers! Mark your calendars for the following show performances:
- Saturday, April 6th at 1pm (Flavor Shifters Cast)
- Saturday, April 6th at 5pm (Mallows Cast)
- Sunday, April 7th at 1pm (Mallows Cast)
- Sunday, April 7th at 5pm (Flavor Shifters Cast)
Tickets are available for purchase by clicking HERE.
Last Call! Help Us Celebrate Our Staff, Give A Staff Shout-Out!
Is there a member of the Muskego Lakes staff who has been especially kind? helpful? Went out of their way to help you or their child? Help us celebrate and recognize them!
To do so, you can complete the form HERE. We will be taking nominations until February 16th, 2024. Thank you for helping us honor our staff here at Muskego Lakes!
Don't Forget To Buy A Yearbook!
You may order a middle school yearbook through Jostens, as yearbook sales are not handled through the school. In order to order a year book please visit: http://jostensyearbooks.com?ref=A09369100 . The deadline to place an order is March 1st, 2024. Additional copies of yearbooks will not be available at school for purchase.
If you're not certain if you've already ordered a yearbook, please search your email for "Jostens" and look for a confirmation of sale. Or, if you created an account when ordering, you may login to Jostens.com, and view your purchase history.
To inquire about financial assistance, please reach out to Stacy Pawlak, Social Worker.
Lost & Found
Is your child missing something? We have quite the collection of lost and found here at school. Encourage your child to stop outside student services and check for their item.
We will have things out on tables for you the night of conferences and highly suggest stopping if your child is missing something.
Your Input Matters: Consider Taking Taher Food Service Survey
Our goal is to have a food service partnership that provides an opportunity for you to give input and insight into your experience. Please consider taking their survey.
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.
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
- 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!
Lake Denoon Presents Wizard of Oz Jr.
Friday, March 1st at 7 pm and Saturday, March 2nd at 2 pm at the MHS PAC.
- Tickets are $6 for students and $8 for adults
- CLICK HERE for Friday Tickets
- CLICK HERE for Saturday Tickets
Muskego Lakes Middle School
Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies