Mustangs Newsletter - January 16-31
On Tuesday, January 23 we will have virtual conferences from 3:30-7:00pm. You will sign up for these conferences in ParentVue. Sign up will be available the week of January 15. Please watch your email for more information.
Registration for classes next year is just around the corner. Here is a timeline for this process.
- Wednesday, January 17 - Current 6th & 7th grade students will receive registration materials and will be told to bring this information home to their parents and guardians.
- Monday, January 22 and Tuesday, January 23 - current 6th grade students will register for classes.
- Wednesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 25 - current 7th grade students will register for classes.
- Friday, January 26 - high school counselors will be in the building to register current 8th grade students for classes next year. This will be done in their global studies class. Students received the registration information on January 10.
Parents of 8th grade students, there are registration conferences/preview nights at each of the high schools (this is optional but highly recommended)
- January 17 - Osseo Senior High - 3-7pm
- January 18 - Maple Grove Senior High - 4-8pm
- January 18 - Park Center - you can come to another session if the time doesn't work
Student's Last Name:
A-D - Session time is 3:15 pm
E-L - Session time is 4:15 pm
M-S - Session time is 5:15 pm
T-Z - Session time is 6:15 pm
Submit a baby picture of yourself to be included in the 2023-2024 yearbook! Take a photo of your favorite baby picture and upload it to share with your peers.
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT BABY PICTURE
Submission deadline is Friday, January 19th, 2024.
Parents, please share with your student
The spring musical auditions will be happening in January. The audition sign up will be online and will open on Wednesday, January 3rd. Once you secure your spot using your full name and email address you will be sent the audition form to complete before auditions.
Here are all the audition materials.
The School Bus Safety Poster Contest is looking for submissions from students to design a poster based on the theme, Driving Safely Into The Future. This contest allows students to use their artistic abilities and knowledge of school bus safety to create a colorful and informational poster. All students should be encouraged to participate in this contest through their respective schools.
Winners will be selected in each of the following categories – PreK-K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9-12 and all special education students. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each grade level have the opportunity to win gift cards, art supplies, and other prizes. These students will also advance to the state competition where there are opportunities to win additional prizes, including tickets to a Minnesota Twins baseball game. State winners advance to a national competition with a grand prize of $500.
Poster Details: See attached documents above for all the specific details (Contest Flyer, Contest Rules, Contest Label). Posters must be on 11”x17” or 12”x18” tagboard and feature the theme “Driving Safely Into The Future” must be included in the poster design.
Please read the details carefully as not following directions could result in disqualifications.
Submissions: Please send all submissions to Debbie Schmoyer in the Transportation Department at the district office --11200 93rd Ave N in Maple Grove before Friday, February 9 before February 9.
Similar to elementary school PTOs, PACT (Parents and Community Together) works to build a strong, inclusive community at MGMS. Every MGMS parent, caregiver and staff is a member.
Primary ways to get involved and make an impact include donations, volunteering and advocacy.
Donations
Thank you for your donations towards the PBIS store, The Closet and the Card Game/Board Game drive.
Volunteer Opportunities
The three student leadership groups at MGMS (Student Council, Fuel Up Team and WEB Leaders) will help define and host social and service events for the school community throughout the year. Check out more info at this link, and email mgmspact@district279.org to get involved:
At MGMS we practice the Positive Behavior Intervention Systems (PBIS) to support the teaching and learning of positive school behavior. Students have the opportunity to earn Mustang Pride Tickets. We will have weekly drawings of these tickets where students can come and pick out a treat if their name is drawn. This is where we are asking for parent support by way of donation. If you feel so inclined to donate non-perishable items (think variety box of chips or candy bars, some cool pens, fidgets, etc.) or anything you can think of that a middle schooler would be excited about, we would appreciate your generosity. Donations can be brought to the front office and we will stock for our "store". Thank you so much for considering to support our efforts to reward our students for being amazing humans!
Best,
Jennifer Hinker, Assistant Principal
Maple Grove Middle School is fortunate to have the "Closet". We have received donations of clothing items, hygiene products, school supplies, shoes and more. We do have winter outerwear that families in need may have. If you are in need of this service, please reach out to your grade level counselor.
Hello from People Incorporated,
We are happy to announce that starting the 2023-24 school year, District 279 and People Incorporated has placed a licensed mental health therapist at our school, full-time. Michelle Rosenau, MA, LPCC will be on-site Monday-Friday, year round, to provide mental health therapy services to Maple Grove Middle School students.
Please click on the line below for more information.
ABSENCES
If your child is going to be late or absent from school, please call the school with the reason for the absence. The telephone call eliminates the need to send a note with your student when he/she returns to school. Excused absences consist of illness, medical appointments, and family emergency situations such as a funeral. Oversleeping, missing the bus, or skipping school are not excused and are considered truancy.
MGMS 24 Hour Attendance Line: 763-315-7603.
APPOINTMENTS/EARLY RELEASE - HERE IS WHAT YOU DO
1. Send a note with your student in the morning
2. When the student gets to school they go to Student Services to get a white pass
3. At the stated time on the pass, your student leaves class and comes to the office with the white pass and signs out in the main office
4. The person picking up can wait in the car (very helpful on cold winter days)
If you didn't send a note, you will need to come in with your driver's license and we will call your student down when you arrive. This procedure is in place to ensure student safety.
ATTENDANCE
If you received a call saying your child was absent one or more periods, please check your ParentVue account for the period your student was absent. Have your child talk to the teacher for the class that they were marked absent. The teacher will then communicate with our attendance person.
We have three accounts parents should have; ParentVue, Schoology and EduTrak. ParentVue allows you to see attendance, testing scores and report cards (we do not mail them out). Schoology allows you to see assignments and communicate with the teachers. EduTrak is how you add money to your student's lunch account, pay fees for sports, or other fines. Attached below is a document that will help you set up accounts and answer any questions you may have.