Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter

Dear Muskego Lakes Families,

At Muskego Lakes, we are dedicated to living our vision of "Connecting Hearts & Minds Through Acceptance, Empowerment, and Achievement" everyday. This vision guides our actions, decisions, and interactions as we work to connect with your child and help them thrive. Each part of this vision plays an important role in our daily work, and we wanted to share that with you.

• Connecting Hearts & Minds: While academic learning is a priority, who our students are as individuals matters just as much. When we connect with a child’s heart, their minds are open and ready to learn. This allows us to see and support the whole child.

• Acceptance: Students are encouraged to welcome others and appreciate each other’s unique strengths, interests, and abilities.

• Empowerment: We help students build the confidence to continue to advocate for what they need to be independent.

• Achievement: Our goal is to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need for success in high school and beyond.

We are committed to bringing this vision to life every day. If anything impacts your child's positive experience at Muskego Lakes, know that we are here to step in and support them, ensuring that our school feels like a home away from home for every student. We value our partnership with you, so please don't hesitate to reach out.

In partnership,

Rachel Rydzewski and Nancy Pasch

MLMS Principals

• 10/20: Pumpkin Spice Fair 9am-2pm

• 10/23: Fall Conferences 4-8pm

• 10/29: Photo Make-Up Day
  

• 11/5: End of First Quarter

Your child's Quarter 1 mid-quarter progress is available on Infinite Campus. These can be found by going under documents on the left hand side and choosing "Qt 1 Midterm Report". The directions below will guide you through the process depending on how you are accessing.

• Directions for accessing progress reports in infinite campus from desktop computer HERE. These are
• Directions for accessing progress reports in infinite campus from a mobile device HERE.

Should you have specific questions about a grade, please reach out to that teacher specifically.

We would like to remind you that bus behavior is an extension of the school day and riding on the bus is a privilege afforded to our students. Just as we expect respectful and responsible behavior in the classroom, we also expect the same standards to be upheld while traveling to and from school. It's crucial for the safety and well-being of all students that good behavior is maintained on the bus. We kindly request your support in reinforcing this message with your child, emphasizing the importance of respectful conduct during their bus rides. Together, we can ensure a positive and safe environment for all students. Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have any concerns regarding bus behavior, we ask that you reach out to Officer Sandretti at jared.sandretti@muskegonorway.org, as he is our lead on transportation safety.

This year, for our November 11th Community Day/Veterans Day experiences at MLMS, we are again sharing time with students to learn about Veterans Day. During this year's events, students will have the opportunity to recognize our community members who are or have served in our Military through our honor walk (alongside a traveling exhibit from the Madison Veterans Museum), a history and importance of Veterans Day video, and we hope to have speakers present to our student groups.

We are still in need of veterans who are willing to speak to our students as part of our upcoming Veteran's Day school activities from 10:15am-12:45 pm. If you would be willing to share with students your experiences with the Military, we would like you to present to 2 groups, ranging from grades 5-8, for 20-25 minutes each session. If you are able or have any contacts inclined to be speakers, please reach out to Jen Ruditys (jennifer.ruditys@muskegonorway.org).

For anyone interested, the Muskego - Norway Best Buddies has a fall apparel order open until November 3rd at 11:59 PM. Check out all they have to offer HERE.

We look forward to seeing students in costumes on Thursday, October 31st if they choose to do so. We are going over the following expectations with students in homeroom on Monday, but wanted to share with you this week to review.

• All costume preparations are to be completed at home. (No dressing or applying of makeup or colored/glitter hairspray once students arrive at school.)

• Any accessory that is used improperly, distracts the learning, or is considered inappropriate for school will be turned in and students will be able to collect it at the end of the day.

• Students wearing inappropriate costumes will be asked to call home (from in their classroom) to ask for a change of clothes.

• Students should reach out to their homeroom teacher if concerned about a costume being appropriate prior to Halloween.

• School rules regarding the dress code must be followed with the exception of hats. Hats may be worn.

• Foot attire must be worn at all times. No bare feet, stocking feet or slippers

• Students will need to change for PE still if you have it that day, so be mindful of how long it will take you to get in and out of your costume.

The following are items that will not be allowed:

• No inflatable costumes

• No fake weapons (i.e. swords, guns, nunchucks, knife, etc.)

• No costumes or accessories that are offensive and/or depict, represent, solicit or promote alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gangs, cults, sex, violence, or profanity.

• No mask/headwear that covers your entire face can be worn.

We loved having so many of you join us last night for our first night of conferences. If you have conferences next week, we look forward to having you join us then. We love any chance we can get to see you at Muskego Lakes to partner with you to support your child.

Important to know for next week Wednesday, is that all teachers will be teaching until 3:05 pm. We want to ensure they are able to eat some dinner and that our custodial team can tidy things up before conferences start. With that in mind please know that doors will not open until 3:55 pm and conferences will start promptly at 4pm.

We are working to get as many families in to meet with teachers, so thank you for planning to be on time so our teachers can stay on schedule. If something comes up and you can’t make it, please email your child’s teacher(s) to let them know. If you are running late, teachers are not able to extend your time, so feel free to use the time you do have left to set-up/schedule another time to connect.

We will have staff in our main office should you arrive and need a printed schedule of your conferences for the evening. If you have little ones tagging along, we will have a G rated movie playing in our learning lounges . And as always, complimentary popcorn will be available for you to enjoy each night.

In addition, our National Junior Honor Society will be running a cash-only concession, offering a variety of treats such as soda, water, candy, chips, fruit snacks, and Rice Krispies for purchase.

A few helpful reminders for the evening if your:

• Conferences are in-person

• Conferences are virtual

• On the waitlist for conferences

Is there a member of the Muskego Lakes staff who has been especially kind? helpful? Is there someone at Muskego Lakes who goes above and beyond for you and/or your child?

If so, consider nominating any member of the Muskego Lakes staff for a Musky Award!!! To do so, you can complete the form here. We will be taking nominations until Friday, October 25th. Thank you for helping us honor our staff here at Muskego

Students can be excused by parents each year for up to 10 days. Any absence(part or whole day) after 10 days needs a doctor's excuse. With that being said, any day a student misses counts towards their total days of school missed for the year (doctor excused or not). Our goal is to have your student in school everyday but we know things come up. You can help keep students total days out of school low by:

• Scheduling appointments for after school hours or on breaks
• Bringing your child before/after an appointment to school during the day
• Scheduling vacations or trips when possible over school breaks
• Talk about the importance of showing up everyday with your child.
• Help your child maintain daily routines.

In order to keep you updated about your child's attendance, you can expect that we will send home a letter when your child reaches:

• 5 Days Out
• 7 Days Out
• 10 Days Out

The purpose of this letter is to serve as a reminder that we are here to support and partner with you. In addition, it is a reminder of the Compulsary Student Attendance requirements.

We know that unexpected situations sometimes arise and that you might need a partner in supporting your child being at school. So, If you are worried about your child's attendance, have a unique situation or want to partner together, reach out to Stacy Pawlak, School Social Worker.

We are here to help!

Our goal is to help you and your child reunite with items they have lost or misplaced. This means that our staff checks items turned into Lost and Found for names, and when possible call students down to reunite them with their belongings. One way that would help us do this, is to ensure that you label items as much as possible with first and last names.

Common items we find are:

• water bottles
• school supplies
• assignment notebooks
• lunch bags
• sweatshirts

Please encourage your child if they are missing sweatshirts, jackets, water bottles, pencil cases, hats, headbands, etc. to stop by student services to check for their missing items. We will continue to update our photos weekly, but any items remaining on October 25th will be donated. We will have tables up at conferences for you to stop and check for missing items as well.

This week in homeroom, we took time to check in with students about how their year is going, focusing on their sense of connection with peers and success at school. Our school’s vision is to connect hearts and minds through acceptance, empowerment, and achievement, so it’s important for us to stay in tune with the student experience. Our staff will use these insights to plan the best ways to support every student. We value each student’s journey and are committed to fostering an environment where they feel supported and empowered to thrive!

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.

On Tuesday 10/22 and Thursday 10/24, MLMS will be hosting a Girls Basketball tournament. The PTO will be selling concessions from 3:30pm to 7:00pm both days. Students from the Junior National Honor Society will also be there to help.

Any time you can volunteer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D45AAA92EA6FE3-52279216-girls#/

Interested in getting some new spirit wear and support the MLMS PTO? You can shop now HERE until Sunday, November 10th. Plenty of options for all.

Interested in the learning about all the vendors we will have? 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:

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

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.

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.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

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