Maize Middle School

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! We are so excited to welcome our new and returning Maize Middle School students and families. My name is Marney Hay and I am the principal at Maize Middle School. This is my 13th year in the Maize school district. My daughter, Madison, is a recent graduate from Maize High School and is currently attending college to be a teacher. My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year. I am also a grandma! My step son and his wife have two children and my step-daughter and her husband have 3 children, and another one due in the early Spring. Maize Middle School is working hard this year to help students be the best they can be, in and out of the classroom. One way we are recognizing students for making good choices is with Soaring Eagle’s cards. These cards can be given to any student that is showing character traits such as respect, responsibility and self-discipline. Students turn these cards in at lunch and, each week, we draw a few cards and recognize those students. We are looking for parents that want to be involved so please reach out to me or the school office and let us know if you would like to be a part of PTO or the Site Council.

Marney Hay

MMS Principal

Visit our website at www.usd266.com/mms.

Connect with Mrs. Hay at mhay@usd266.com or call 316-729-2464.

Maize Middle School is located at 4600 N. Maize Rd. in Maize.

It feels fantastic to have our students back in the building ready to learn! The building is full of energy and eager minds. This is my third year as an assistant principal at Maize Middle School. Before joining the Maize Middle School family, I taught 1st grade for 7 years; three years were spent at McLouth Elementary School in McLouth, KS and the other four years were here in the Maize district at Vermillion and Pray-Woodman. I then transitioned to 5th grade where I spent the next 3 years. I am blessed with strong family support including my remarkable parents who both served as public school administrators (prior to their retirement) helping to guide me along my journey from teaching to administration. In addition to my parents, my #1 fan and supporter is my husband, Drew Hill, alongside our two daughters. My family and I are truly blessed to be part of the Maize district and community. As an administrator, I strive for each and every student to feel accepted and appreciated. I feel that effective leaders have a firm understanding of the different hats that must be worn in order to help our students be successful whether that is supporting a student in a classroom or helping serve food in the cafeteria. Above all else, I strive to always do what is best for our students.

Mrs. Paige Hill

Assistant Principal

Maize Middle School

Connect with Mrs. Hill at phill@usd266.com

I come to MMS with 8 years of middle school admin experience and 15 years of experience in education overall, all at the middle level. My wife and I live in the Maize district and our 2 boys attend Maize schools. We are excited to become fully invested in the community through this opportunity to work at Maize Middle. I hope to make a positive impact on every single student at MMS through helping provide a foundation for success through my leadership!

Go Eagles!

Ty Hamilton

Athletic Director/Assistant Principal

Connect with Ty Hamilton at tdhamilton@usd266.com

National Suicide Prevention Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Suicide is a leading cause of death for youth but can be prevented. Suicide can be a difficult topic to discuss but is important to address in order to remove the stigma surrounding mental health.

Knowledge is power! Please review the following links that include additional information, tips, and resources. Talking about suicide provides an opportunity for others to share and does not encourage additional suicidal ideation.

1. The district utilizes this link as a platform to submit anonymous tips if you are concerned about someone in the district.

2. This is a tip sheet provided by KDHE.

3. This features some additional information about suicide including facts and figures.

4. The Kansas Suicide Prevention Headquarters includes a list of warning signs and steps to take if you fear someone you know is considering suicide.

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
“In 2020, Congress designated the new 988 dialing code to operate through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” This last summer, 988 went live and offers an easy to remember number for those experiencing a crisis. You can read more here. You can also use the free, 24/7 Crisis Text Line.

If you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to the school counseling office.

Maize Middle School Counselors:

Monica Heide (Student Last Names A-K) | mheide@usd266.com

Meghan Ugues (Student Last Names L-Z) | mugues@usd266.com

We are excited to share that by extending our Eagles Landing time this year to 30 minutes 4 days a week, we are able to offer a more intentional approach to social-emotional learning, academics, executive functioning, relationship-building, etc. You can read more about our soft start here! Additionally, due to a KDHE grant, we are now able to align with our elementary and intermediate schools through the use of Second Step; you can learn more here.

We will begin using the Second Step Program on September 13th. Below are conversation starters for your family to use in order to reinforce social-emotional skills and concepts at home.

7th Grade:

• Week of Sept. 13th:

• Lesson 1a: Starting Middle School

• Summary: This week’s lesson will introduce your child to Second Step® Middle School. Your child will identify challenges they might face when starting middle school and identify resources in their school where they can get help.

• Question: Tell your child about something that made you nervous when you started middle school. Ask what makes them nervous and who they can go to for help at school.

• Week of Sept. 27th

• Lesson 2: Creating New Pathways in Your Brain

• Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn that intelligence is not fixed; their brain actually makes new connections and their skills and abilities develop when they practice difficult things.

• Question: Tell your child about a time you had to learn something challenging and explain how you persisted in learning it. Ask your child if there’s anything they would like to learn to do this year.

8th Grade:

• Week of Sept. 13th:

• Lesson 1: Welcome!

• Summary: This week’s lesson will show your child how Second Step® Middle School can help them navigate physical, social, and emotional changes in adolescence.

• Question: Have a conversation with your child about what you felt was the most difficult part of being an adolescent. Ask your child about any changes they’ve noticed in friends and what they think about these changes.

• Week of Sept. 27th

• Lesson 2: Who Am I? My Identity

• Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn that their identity is complex. They will create an identity map that names unique and important aspects of their identity.

• Question: Share your response to the following questions with your child. Then have your child and any additional family members share their responses.

• Who am I?

• What are the most important aspects of my identity and why?

Beginning this Friday, September 2nd, we will begin weekly grade checks for all student-athletes. If any student-athlete has an F when grade checks are conducted on Fridays, they will be given an "Opportunity to Improve" sheet that lists the class and teacher of the class(es) they are failing. Students will have the opportunity to stay eligible for the following week and work to get all their grades to passing. If on Friday the following week they are still failing a class, student-athletes will be ineligible for the following week and will not be allowed to participate in competitions for the week.

Please contact Mr. Hamilton with any questions regarding this policy.

Hello Maize Families!

We have been busy in the Health Office working to update health histories and now have started to work on being sure all of our students are compliant with their immunizations!

• If your student has a health need that you feel we need to be aware of PLEASE reach out to me! We try hard to be as proactive as possible, but need your help!
• We have been given the cut off date of October 3, 2022 to have all students compliant on immunizations. This date is district wide. Students that are not compliant by this date, could be excluded from school until they can provide documentation of immunizations needed. If you have missed a call from us or we have sent you an email, or you just aren't sure if your student is up to date, please give me a call!! We are trying to get everyone up to date so we don't even have to worry about the October 3 deadline! Thank you, in advance, for your help on this!!
• One last reminder... if your student has medication- it needs to go through the Health Office. This applies to ALL medications. If you have questions, I am happy to help!
• We will start vision and hearing screenings for all 7th graders and all new students to MMS in October.

We are excited for a great year- please feel free to contact us at any time.

Shelley Funk BSN,RN

School Nurse

Maize Middle School

Phone: 316-350-2308

Fax: 729-2479

Email: sfunk@usd266.com

Twitter: @MMS_Eagles

Facebook: @MaizeMiddleSchool (look for the gray background with an Eagle!)