Millis Middle School
Weekly Community Newsletter
See you soon; Sergeant Forsythe!
Supporting a Millis Family
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.
February 7, 2025
Dear MMS Grade 7 Caregiver:
The teen years are marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions– often challenging for teens, their caregivers, and educators. It is easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression (among the most common forms of mental illnesses) appears to be occurring at a much earlier age, and the past decade has seen teen suicide rates double.
To proactively address this issue, Millis Middle School is offering depression screening and suicide prevention training as part of the SOS Suicide Prevention Program. This program has been used by thousands of schools over the past 10 years. It has proven successful at increasing help-seeking by students concerned about themselves or a friend, and is the only school-based suicide prevention program selected by SAMSHA for its National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices that addresses suicide risk and depression, while reducing suicide attempts. In a randomized control study, the SOS program showed a reduction of self-reported suicide attempts and ideation by 40% (BMC Public Health, JULY 2007).
Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:
To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness, and help them assess whether or not they may have symptoms consistent with depression,
To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression,
To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in a friend,
To impress upon teens that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns.
The program, which can be implemented in one class period, consists of a video followed by class discussion. The lesson will be presented by the counseling staff, during Mrs. Hickey’s Science classes on Friday, February 10, 2025. Students will attend Mrs. Hickey’s class as usual. At the end of the lesson, all students will be asked to complete the Brief Screen for Adolescent Depression as well as indicate whether or not they would like to speak with a school counselor about themselves or a friend. The depression screen may identify thoughts and feelings that parents may be unaware their child is having. It cannot provide a diagnosis of depression, but does give an indication of whether a young person should be referred for evaluation by a mental health professional. Students requiring follow-up or requesting appointments will be discreetly sought out after the lesson. The Caregivers of any student who is “screened-in” for any concerns are always notified.
If you DO NOT wish to have your child participate, please complete the form below and return it to the school. If you would prefer, you can opt your student out by emailing one of our School Adjustment Counselors, Mrs. Leman at aleman@millisschools.org or Danielle Charlot, dcharlot@millisschools.org as well. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that your child has your permission to participate. Please send along your opt out by Thursday, February 6, 2025.
Sincerely,
Ana B. Hurley
Principal
Please return this portion to the FRONT OFFICE of the middle school if you DO NOT wish to have your child participate.
I, __________________________________________, DO NOT give permission for
Caregiver Name
_____________________________________________ to be screened for depression
Student Name
and participate in the SOS Suicide Prevention Program.
__________________________________________ _______________________________
Caregiver Signature Date
Exciting news from our Athletic Director
Millis athletics is switching from NFHS to HUDL starting February 4th. Watch girls and boys basketball along with other sports in the fall and spring by installing the HUDL app on Apple or Android. In addition, the app can be found on SMART TVs like Roku, Amazon Fire Stick and more. No subscriptions needed for the rest of the 24-25 school year. Many schools have gone to HUDL (might require subscription for their home contests), but some might still use NFHS, so please check both.
Click on the link below for more information.
Go Mohawks!
A Message from our Superintendent, Mr. Mullaney
Just an FYI on some good news. OnTuesday, 1/28, KISS 108 visited Millis High School to inform paraprofessional Beth Morrill that she is going to be KISS 108's Local Legend this week. Beth does everything for us. She is an outstanding paraprofessional, does after school MCAS tutoring, and is the advisor to our Active Minds club dedicated to supporting student mental health and one of the largest clubs at the high school. They interviewed Beth and it will be broadcast on KISS 108 during the 9:00 hour on Friday morning. It will also be on their social media. Beth was nominated by one of our high school special education teachers.
Thanks,
Bob
