Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter

Dear Muskego Lakes Families,

Your child's learning is a top priority here at Muskego Lakes. And we do our best to create the conditions here at school so that all of our students learn and grow every day. This starts in the classroom by following a predictable structure each day. Students experience a starter, direct instruction, guided practice, workshop and a reflection. The bulk of their class time is spent in "workshop", which allows them time to work independently on the specific tasks assigned while also recieving with feedback from the teacher.

That being said, we know that in order to learn and grow, some students need additional support. So, we are proud to offer two opportunities for students to receive additional support both during and after the school day.

Starting the week of September 30th, we will again launch Homework Center for students over lunches. Homework Center is a quiet space where students can work on homework and/or get help with academic tasks during their lunch hour.

Reasons our students might visit Homework Center:

• Seeking a quiet, focused space to work on homework and/or read.
• Stuck on homework problems and need help.
• Seeking additional support in studying for upcoming assessment.
• Difficulty finding time for homework after school due to extra-curricular activities.
• Homeroom each day isn't quite enough time to finish their homework.
• A teacher has asked the student to go to get caught up on missing work.

In addition to Homework Center over lunches, we have a weekly Homework Club that meets after school. Homework Club is available for all students at Muskego Lakes. Homework Club meets weekly on Wednesdays from 3:10pm to 4:05pm in Room 24 (Ms. Rodriguez's classroom in the 7th grade wing). Students can attend weekly or as needed. They must sign in when they arrive, and of course, they will need to have arranged transportation home. Homework Club is a chance for students to have a quiet and supportive time to complete homework and/or get assistance as needed.

We are proud to provide both of these opportunities for our students. We know that they have busy lives outside of school, and our goal is to support them the best we can so they can enjoy their time with friends, family, and interests/hobbies outside of school.

Should you have any questions, please reach out to either one of us!

In partnership,

Rachel and Nancy

Muskego Lakes Principals

• 10/11: School Photo Day

• 10/14: No School

• 10/17: Fall Conferences 4-8pm

• 10/20: Pumpkin Spice Fair 9am-2pm

• 10/23: Fall Conferences 4-8pm

• 10/29: Photo Make-Up Day
  

Our staff is looking forward to being able to connect with families at our upcoming fall conferences! Each night, conferences will be between 4pm-8pm. Please mark your calendar for the following dates:

• Thursday, October 17th, 2024
• Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024

Once again, we will be using the platform "Meet the Teacher" to schedule these conferences. Each conference will be 10 minutes long with 2-minute transitions in between.

We will once again offer flexibility based on feedback with both in person and virtual conferences. You will be able to choose from these options:

1. An entire virtual conference night

2. An entire in-person conference night

3. A combination of both in-person and virtual conferences, each on a different date. For example, you could sign up for October 17th for in-person, and sign up for October 23rd for virtual.

HOW TO SIGN UP:

The sign-up link and instructions will be sent out late next week via an IC message for all families to sign-up. If you have more than one child at MLMS, you will be able to book conferences for all with the same login.

As the Muskego Lakes Student Services Team, we are committed to help your child break down barriers that may impact their desire to attend school. Anxiety is a common barrier.

Definition of anxiety: feeling of fear and uneasiness about everyday situations.

If your child is suffering from anxiety, you are not alone. The good news is that in most situations, anxiety is normal and temporary. Anxiety becomes a concern if it persists — it can affect relationships with family, peers and teachers, contribute to academic challenges, and lead to school avoidance/refusal. Addressing anxiety is important for a child’s overall well-being, not just attendance. In addition, if your child starts to complain of symptoms like a headache or stomach ache, it is important to quickly determine whether this is related to anxiety or a physical illness that might require missing school. If the challenge is anxiety, staying home may worsen the situation. (From Attendance Works)

If you have questions or concerns please reach out to a member of your student services team:

Grades 5 & 6 School Counselor: Leigh Grall

Grades 7 & 8 School Counselor: Jim Brickweg

School Psychologist: Stacey Malek

School Social Worker: Stacy Pawlak

Families of 7th grade students

You may have received an email identifying your student as currently non-compliant with Wisconsin Immunization Requirements. If you have not received an email your student is currently compliant.

The District must report all non-compliant students to Waukesha County in October.

Wisconsin has made two recent changes that directly affect 7th grade students:

• Adding the meningococcal vaccine requirement for students entering 7th grade. (2024-2025 update)

• Requiring the Tdap “booster” at the start of 7th grade (previously required at the start of sixth grade. (2023-2024 update)

• What has NOT changed:

• Established list of required vaccinations

• Exemption options for personal or religious conviction, or health reasons (requires health provider signature)

If your student has been identified as non-compliant please do one of the following

• Submit a WAIVER - If you choose not to have your child immunized, or plan to in the future but need more time, please complete the waiver section (Step 4) of the Student Immunization Record, sign the form, and return the completed form to the Muskego Lakes Health Office at ml-health-office@muskegonorway.org.

• Submit IMMUNIZATIONS RECORDS (typically for students that have received immunizations outside of the State of Wisconsin) Please send official proof of immunization to the Muskego Lakes Health Office at ml-health-office@muskegonorway.org.

Communicating with Heatlh Room:

If you need to communicate student specific health concerns, we ask that you please call our health room or email ml-health-office@muskegonorway.org. Our health room assistants will be able to answer your questions or will be able to include and/escalate to our district nurse in a timely manner.

If you would like to join the MLMS Ski /Snowboard Club, please make sure the following information is turned in (with payment) during the week of October 7-11, 2024! Late registration is only accepted if space allows. We have 100 spots open for the Ski/Snowboard Club. After the 1st 100 spots fill up, your child will be placed on a waitlist. To ensure your registration, forms, and payment must be completed and will be processed in the order received. If you need the following forms printed, please pick up the forms at student services. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Buxengard, laurie.buxengard@muskegonorway.org, 262-971-1800 x 2110 or Barb Mattson, barbara.mattson@muskegonorway.org.

1. Complete Electronically - MLMS Ski Club Form- REQUIRED

2. The following forms need to be completed and turned into MLMS with payment, checks made payable to Muskego Lakes Middle School

• Alpine Valley Release of Liability - REQUIRED

• Concussion form - REQUIRED

• Co-curricular Code Card -REQUIRED

• Emergency Information Card - REQUIRED
  

The cost (listed below) includes six trips, one free lesson, a student ID card, coach bus transportation, and a club t-shirt. We will depart school by 2:40 PM each Tuesday afternoon and return to school promptly at 8:00 PM. Your student will be dismissed from class by 2:30 PM to arrive at the bus for departure at 2:40 PM. We will arrive back at school at 8:00 PM. Please be prompt! Late pickups may result in removal from the club.

All forms and fees are due the week of October 7-11. No early drop-off/registrations will be accepted before this week. Ski/Snowboard Club is limited to 50 kids per bus. Late registration is only accepted if space allows. You can drop off an envelope with all forms and fees completed. All papers and fees are due together.

All student clubs at MLMS must meet the academic eligibility requirements according to the co-curricular code (student handbook).

Students will be covered under their family insurance policy. Muskego Lakes Middle School and Muskego Norway School District are not liable for any injuries.

Cost(s): Make checks payable to Muskego Lakes Middle School

Non-rental: $325.00

Rental (helmet not included): $505.00

Rental (with Helmet): $595.00

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Helmet: See Rental with helmet cost above. It is strongly recommended that you purchase a helmet on your own, it is much more cost-effective. ** Due to the increasing number of ski and board injuries around the country, it is MANDATORY that ski/board helmets be worn at all times on the slopes.

Dates for trips: TUESDAY - December 3, December 10, December 17, January 7, January 14, and January 21, (Makeup) January 28

Student Photo Day is ahead on October 11th. All students are required to get their photo taken for the yearbook and for their school ID card. Students will be briefly called out of class in order to get their photo taken.

If you'd like to purchase a prints, you may do so on their website. You can find our school by simply typing in our school name.

Please know that any absent students will be photographed on Oct 29.

In an effort to ensure students can move through the lunch lines efficently, we ask that you remind your student to ensure that they bring their school ID card with them to lunch daily or ensure that you have gotten your finger scanned.

For you ease, we have linked the September menu below with other helpful resources. You can always find the link to updated lunch menus, at the end of this newsletter.

• October Lunch Menu
• Guide to Making a Complete Meal
• Top Ten Reasons For School Meals

2024-25 Lunch Prices:

• Elementary School $2.55
• MS Diner meal $2.95
• MS Pizza meal $3.50
• MS Grab n Go $3.50
• MS Creation meal $3.90
• Adult $4.65
• Milk Carton $0.50
  
  

Questions related to the food service program can be directed to Benny D’Epiro, Food Service Director at 262-971-1790 x4522.

We want to help reunite your child with their lost items. Please encourage your children to check out our lost and found if they are missing something.

The first layer of behavior intervention at Muskego Lakes is proactive prevention! Every Monday, students receive a PBIS behavior lesson. These schoolwide lessons are meant to be our consistent, schoolwide method of relaying expected behaviors, giving proactive tips to empower your child to meet them, and to address problem-behaviors that we are noticing so that the kids can strategize ways to overcome them. This past week the lesson we previewed homework center expectations and the process for students.

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.

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.

If you are interested in being a vendor click HERE.

The MLMS PTO is in need of volunteers to help run the event. Even an hour or two is a huge help to make this event successful. If you can sign up HERE.

The MLMS PTO is looking to continue the traditon to have snacks for staff each Wednesday. We need your help though by signing up to donate snacks each week. This greatly helps them make it through the week. 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 HERE for a date below if you can. Drop off will be in the front office by 8am on the Wednesday you sign up.

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!!

Our last meeting Dates for the 24-25 School Year are:

• October 7
• November 4
• January 6
• February 3
• March 3
• April 7
• April 28

Please make note of days off and important events on the 24-25 calendar. It is ideal to make dentist and doctor appointments on days we do not have school whenever possible.

Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies

To view current support staff job vacancies, click HERE