Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter
January 26th, 2023
Dear Muskego Lakes Families,
For those of you who may not know, when our teachers are out of the building, we provide our guest teachers with information about how our school runs, detailed plans for them to continue instruction in the classroom, and seek out their feedback. We provide our guest teacher an MLMS Evaluation Form, in which we ask all guest teachers to rate us as a school any time they are at our school.
It is so fun getting to read what the guest teachers write on the MLMS Evaluation Form, so we wanted to share a few comments that have stood out in the last few weeks:
"I really enjoy subbing here! It's a great school with respectful students."
"Exceptional students every time I am here."
"Expectations are clear for students here, and makes stepping in a breeze because of the consistency. Overall fantastic!"
"All the students work so hard and help one another. I was impressed with how well they treat one another and how well they know expectations."
"I love Muskego Lakes - It's always a great experience when I come here."
"All the students are polite and well-mannered. I love that the signage in the building reminds students of expectations and shows how they are supported."
"MLMS is well managed and the office staff and teachers are so helpful, warm, and welcoming to guest teachers. Students show a lot of effort and concern for their learning"
"You can tell that the staff are all in for students, and students feel safe asking for help and support. Can't wait to be back here again."
"Hands down one of the best buildings I have ever subbed in."
"Everything is always very organized and the staff and students here are so friendly and helpful."
"Great school, helpful staff, and overall welcoming school environment."
"This building is run well from the office to the classroom. Staff are supportive and students know the routines and procedures to maximize their class time."
"MLMS is a productive, calm, innovative, and orderly school. I am very impressed."
"The students are exceptionally great every time I am here. Thank you for sharing your school!"
"This school is the best I have ever worked in!"
"Everyone was welcoming and helpful. There is superior school wide organization."
"I was really impressed with the students. You can tell they care about each other and take pride in their work."
"This school is a 10/10! Every time I am here, it's nothing but the best"
We love that our guest teachers see what we do on a daily basis! We couldn't be prouder of our students!
In partnership,
Rachel and Nancy
Muskego Lakes Principals
Important Dates Ahead
January 28- Bandorama
February 7- Rescheduled Group Photo Day
February 8 - High School Counselor’s coming to MLMS to meet with 8th grade students
- February 15: Family Conference Night 4-8pm
- February 23: 8th Grade Career Fair
February 26:No School Professional Day
March 25-29: Spring Break
May 30: 8th Grade Promotion
Reports Coming Home Soon & Accessing On Infinite Campus
We mailed out report cards and if you have not recieved it yet, you should within the next few days you should recieve them. However you can also access report cards on Infinite Campus. Directions for accessing your child's report card in Infinite Campus are linked below.
Directions for accessing report cards in infinite campus from desktop computer.
Directions for accessing report cards in infinite campus from a mobile device.
Conferences Options and Sign-Up Information
Our second semester conferences will be held on Thursday, February 15th, 2024. We will again be hosting both Virtual and In-Person options that day between 4-8pm. If the night of our upcoming conferences does not work for you please reach out to your child’s teacher. They will be happy to find an alternative time to connect with you about your child’s progress.
At fall conferences, the goal is to meet as many families as possible in order to build strong partnerships on behalf of students. However, the purpose of spring conferences is to connect with families whose students would benefit from an additional conference. These are students who we want to make sure are on track to have a successful semester ahead.
Just as we did in the fall, we will once again be using the platform "Meet the Teacher" to schedule these conferences, and each conference will be 10 minutes long with 2-minute transitions in between. As we communicated last week, the sign-up opened on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:00 am, and will be closed for booking on Wednesday, February 14th at 3:00 pm. If you have more than one child at MLMS, you will be able to book conferences for all with the same login.
Link to Sign Up: https://MLMSconferences.meettheteacher.com/
Directions for Scheduling Conferences: HERE
Important Notes When Scheduling Conferences
Please add a message for the teacher!
In order for the conference to meet your needs, please indicate outcomes that would make the conference a success. When booking your appointment with a teacher on the booking grid, you will have the option to “Add a message for (teacher name).”
For 5th and 6th grade students
The 5th and 6th grade teachers teach either science/social studies, math/science or literacy/social studies. You will be able to sign up for those teachers only once, but will be able to talk about both classes during your conference.
For 7th and 8th grade students
If your account shows that your child has the same teacher for more than one class, PLEASE ONLY SIGN UP WITH THAT TEACHER ONCE. You will be able to talk about both classes during your conference.
How to book conferences with your child’s high school world language or math teacher (if applicable)
If your child attends Muskego High School for a world language or math class, please look for separate communication from the high school regarding setting up a conference with their teacher
Need an interpreter?
Contact Mary Amaya with your request at mary.amaya@muskegonorway.org or 262-971-1860.
How to invite a 2nd parent/guardian to the conference
Once you have made your bookings (or when you later log in and go to My Bookings) click on the Invite Parent/Guardian link at the top of the list of your bookings. If you have already sent an invitation this link will show as Manage Invites instead. A maximum of two guests can attend the conference at the same time.
Need more time with a teacher?
Meet the Teacher holds firm to the start and end time of each scheduled 10 minute conference. The conference timer begins at the scheduled start time, not when the family joins the conference. When the 10 minutes are up, the conference ends automatically. This is a feature of Meet the Teacher that our teachers cannot manipulate. The benefit of this feature is that teachers will not get backed up causing conference start times to move back. Families can count on every scheduled conference starting on time. If your conference ends and you need more time, please reach out to your child's teacher to schedule another time.
If you weren’t able to sign up for a teacher you’d like to meet with.
If you’d like to schedule a conference after booking has closed, or if you cannot attend conferences during the designated dates and times, please contact the teacher directly to set up an appointment.
Group Photo Day Schedule
Group photos were rescheduled for February 7th. In order to accomodate all student groups during the day, we will be calling students throughout the day. This will result in students being out of class for the time of their photo.
Tickets On Sale Soon For Willy Wonka Jr.
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 will be available to the public for purchase starting Monday, January 29 by clicking HERE.
Executive Function Series: Planning and Prioritizing
Planning and prioritizing is the ability to break down a goal into smaller steps along the way and be able to continue to focus on what’s most important as you work through the steps. This can be an especially challenging skill for teens with balancing social time, sports, homework, clubs/activities, and family time.
As a parent, you may hear often, “I want… (a car, job, my own apartment, to go to the game”. When you hear, “I want,” ask them, “what do you need to get there.”
Set benchmarks along the way or check-in times to see how it’s going.
Be clear on any specifics that are non-negotiable upfront (ie. financial or safety considerations).
Involve them as much as possible. Try to ask them questions that help them come up with answers or next steps, rather than directly telling them what they need to do. If this is still difficult, give choices (ie., “would you do … or … next?”
Set aside time to plan/prioritize important tasks that are free from distractions. Phones/screens put away.
This is an important time to help foster independence. Their steps in planning may be different than what you would have done. Let them try it (within reason, of course). Even if it doesn’t work out, it’s likely that there was still learning in the experience.
Help Us Celebrate Our Staff, Give A Staff Shout-Out!
Is there a member of the Muskego Lakes staff who has been especially kind? helpful? Went out of their way to help you or their child? Help us celebrate and recognize them!
To do so, you can complete the form HERE. We will be taking nominations until February 16th, 2024. Thank you for helping us honor our staff here at Muskego Lakes!
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, please 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.
To inquire about financial assistance, please reach out to Stacy Pawlak, Social Worker.
Final Call to Support Student Council Hygiene Product Drive
The Muskego Lakes Student Council's hygeine product drive ends next week on January 31st for the Muskego Food Pantry. They are asking students to bring in items to their homeroom teachers. They are hoping they are able to help stock the shelves and give back to those in our community. On behalf of our student leaders, we thank you for considering in sending in these products.
Some items that they are looking to collect are:
- Tooth Brushes
- Floss
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash
- Face Wash
- Body Wash
- Deodorant
- Toilet paper
- Soap
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Lotions
*please do not send in any spray type items (i.e. Axe, Spray Deodrant, Body Spray, etc.)*
8th Grade Career & Community Fair Ahead at Muskego Lakes
As part of our comprehensive Academic and Career Planning at the middle level, we are hosting a Career & Community Fair for our 8th graders on the morning of February 23rd.
We are looking for a wide range of speakers in order to ensure we have representation across the U.S. Department of Education's 16 clusters:
- Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
- Architecture & Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications
- Business, Management & Administration
- Education & Training
- Finance
- Government & Public Administration
- Health Science
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing, Sales & Service
- Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
- Transportation, Distribution & Logistics
If you or someone you know might be interested, please reach out to Rachel Rydzewski, Principal, who can provide more information. Thank you for considering!
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