Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
February 22nd, 2024
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
Muskego Lakes was full of energy today as our students participated in another Community Day! Our day's focus was on building connections and respect between one another, giving back to the community, and academic and career planning! The goal for today was simple yet profound – to encourage students to connect with others they might not know well yet. In addition, we wanted students to step out of their comfort zones, discover new interests, find others with common interests, explore options for their future, and create lasting memories!
Our day could not have been a success without all the support our families and PTO provided! A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to our activities. Also, we were lucky to have several Muskego High School students with us today! It was an excellent opportunity for our students to learn from their older peers and further strengthen the sense of community within our school and beyond. We are grateful that these students could share their strengths, experiences, and insights with our students today.
We know that for some students, these days that are out of their routine can be challenging. So, we do our best before the day to preview their schedules, pair students up with someone they are comfortable with, and check in throughout the day. This way, we ensure that all students feel comfortable and connected.
As C. Taulbert wisely said, "Taking the time to build community, to get to know your people, will have long-lasting benefits. It benefits all our collective futures and fosters trust and cooperation."
Today, every school community member played a crucial role in making it a day to remember! Also, as a reminder there is no school Monday, February 26th for our students. We look forward to seeing them on Tuesday, February 27th!
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
February 26: No School Professional Day
March 13: PTO Meeting 6:30pm
March 25-29, April 1: Spring Break
April 6-7: Willy Wonka, Jr. @ MHS PAC
April 10: PTO Meeting 6:30pm
May 8: PTO Meeting 6:30pm
May 30: 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony 6pm
Executive Function Series: Metacognition
Metacognition is the ability to think about your thinking - it teaches us about ourselves. It’s the ability to stand back and observe yourself from the outside. To think about multiple perspectives and factors within a situation, choose a course of action and then monitor your own progress within that action. It’s important for decision-making, problem-solving, and goal-setting.
Sometimes people who struggle with this skill have difficulty reflecting on the “why”. For example, a teen who lacks metacognitive skills may think, ‘I failed that test because I’m bad at science.’ A more metacognitive approach would be something like, ‘I failed that test because I didn’t study enough. I glazed over the notes in class and wasn’t really listening when the teacher went over it. Next time, I’ll listen to the explanation closer and take better notes.’
Tips to help bolster metacognition in your teen:
Ask open ended questions, “can you tell me why you think that?”
Help them make the transition from “I can’t” to “How can I?” If you hear negative self-talk, challenge them. Add the word “yet”...”you can’t yet…what’s making it hard…?” or “what helped last time?”
Praise hard work along the way, rather than just the end product.
Encourage reflection on their own performance related to a task or social situation.
If you have a negative interaction, avoid blaming. Give it time and when you are both calm talk about what happened together. Rather than saying, “your tone of voice was disrespectful,” try, “why do you think I got upset?”
Stay solution focused, “how can we handle this differently next time?”
Here’s a breakdown of guiding questions for the “inner voice” during tasks:
Planning:
What’s the goal of the task?
Have I done this before? How did it go?
Where is the best place to start?
Do I need anything to help me (timer, reminder, note sheet, etc)
Monitoring
How am I doing?
Is there anything I could change to help me reach the goal?
What has gone well so far?
How do I feel about it?
Do I need a break? If so, when will I get back to it?
Evaluating
How did it go?
How would I do this different next time?
Did I reach the goal set at the start?
Did I start at the right place?
We hope that you’ve been able to glean some helpful information about executive function during this 14-week series. Much of the information shared came from “Smart but Scattered Teens” by Richard Guare, Peg Dawson & Colin Guare. We all have strengths and weaknesses within these skills and they can even vary by task. The important thing is to give grace and patience, to your teen and to yourself. Learning is a lifelong process for all of us. Please know that your student services team at MLMS is here to support you and your teen along the way.
Visioneer Design Challenge
Does your student love art and design? Then the Visioneers Design Challenge is for them! The Visioneer Design Challenge is a statewide learning program and competition for high school and middle school students interested in design arts and learning about design-related careers alongside professional designers in various fields of design. A variety of challenges have been created by professional designers for students to compete in. These challenges cover the design of everyday objects, the design of spaces and places, the design of communication and information systems, and design for human interaction.
How it works:
Students choose one of the categories listed below to compete in and sign up for the event through Mr. Potts. They can sign up to compete as an individual or with a partner. From now until the competition date(4/26/24), students begin designing and creating their long-term challenge project. On the day of the competition, students bring their projects as we head to the UWM Peck School of the Arts. Once there, students work alongside professional designers in that particular design field and with students from around the state. Also, during the day they will be given a short-term project to complete. This on-site challenge will be related to the long-term challenge. While working on this, students are able to collaborate with and learn from fellow students and the design professionals. At the end of the day, awards will be given for long and short term project designs.
Event categories:
- Architecture
- Audio Engineering
- Digital Photography
- Exhibit Design
- Fashion Design
- Game Design
- Graphic Design
- Art Lesson Design
- Toy Design
- Urban Planning
- Video Production.
When: Friday April 26th, 2024
Where: UWM Peck School of the Arts
More Information & Project Prompts: 2024 Visioneers Design Challenge Info Packet
Reach out to Mr. Potts with any questions, to sign up, or if you are interested in chaperoning!
Email: nick.potts@muskegonorway.org
Phone: 262-971-1860 x5101
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.
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!
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.
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, you have two options to check:
- Have your child stop in student services or the main office to check their status
- 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.
- Call Jostens at 1-877-767-5217 and they will be able to assist you in looking up if you ordered.
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.
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