August 21, 2023

Dear MMS Students and Families,

Welcome to Massabesic Middle School and to the 2023-2024 school year! Whether you are returning to MMS or are starting middle school, we are excited to have you be a part of the MMS community. Our Custodial and Facilities staff have worked tirelessly to prepare the building; our School Counselors and office staff have returned to finalize schedules and enrollment; we welcomed our new staff today; and our full teaching staff returns this week. This will be a year of growth, learning, and connections and we can't wait to get started.

This is a special year, because although I have spent my career working at the middle level, I am a middle school parent for the very first time. My oldest is starting 6th grade and I know firsthand all of the nerves, anticipation, and excitement of this transition—for her and for me! As both a middle school parent and administrator, I feel tremendous gratitude for the talented adults who chose to work with young adolescents. I also feel tremendous gratitude to you, our families, for your support and trust. These years are a time of tremendous emotional and physical growth—and all the successes and challenges that come with it—and what a privilege it is to be a part of it all.

You can anticipate a monthly MMS Family Newsletter, plus email communication from our Main Office, and team communication throughout the year. You can also find important information in our MMS Family Handbook on our website. Please reach out if you ever have any questions or we can be of support. We look forward to a wonderful school year and thank you for being a part of the MMS community.

Best,

Mrs. Grantham, Principal

Mrs. Troiano, Assistant Principal

Important Upcoming Dates:

August 28 - Open House (for more information see below)

August 30 - First Day of School for Students

September 1 - No School

September 4 - No School (Labor Day)

September 20 - Early Release Day

September 28 - School Picture Day

Do you have the ParentVUE app? Please be sure to download the Parent VUE app or access the site online to view your student's gradebook, assignments, schedule and more. Student gradebooks are updated frequently and we ask that you regularly check your student's account. Please contact our main office for assistance if you have trouble activating or accessing your account.

Those returning to MMS may have noticed something different on your school schedules. We have replaced what was previously known as "Activity Block" with Exploratory courses in each subject area. These classes will run similarly to Activity Block, where students will have the opportunity to enrich their learning in a designated content area, but are different in frequency and content. Students had the chance to rank their preferences for these three trimester enrichment courses at the end of the school year last year and were scheduled according to their choices as best we could accommodate. Students will meet every day for a trimester in their Exp 2 to work on enrichment topics in that content area. It will be a graded class. Students who take either band or chorus will meet with their team exploratory classes every other day, opposite their music day. Those students are grouped together for the sake of consistency, so that they will not miss lessons on the days they attend their music class.

If you have any further questions regarding your exploratory courses you can reach out to your school counselor.

MUSTANG NATION!

My name is Daniel Lawrence and I have recently been appointed as the Athletic Director for the Middle School and High School. I am coming to you as a resident of Shapleigh and am excited to work in the district that both my family and my brother's family call home.

As an Athletic Director I look to establish competitive professional athletic programs that are able to repeat success through established policies and procedures. It is my belief that athletics serve as a conduit for character development, work ethic, discipline and humility to name a few. Our professional coaches will work to provide opportunities for all Massabesic athletes to learn and develop as young adults.

Although the learning curve will be steep and there is likely to be difficulties along the way, I will continue to improve myself, my coaches, our athletic programs and our facilities to provide the best possible experiences for the greater RSU #57 community.

We have just begun our High School sports season and will be looking to get out information regarding our Middle School Programs. I will also be working with a new Middle School Athletics Liaison, Anna Piirainen, during our seasons. Ms. Piirainen will communicate directly with coaches and be present for middle school games, so more information will be forthcoming. Registration for athletics can be done here and we hope to have huge numbers for our middle school sports! Get registered today.

Thank you for your support.

Daniel Lawrence

Athletic Director

ARRIVAL

Bus Students: RSU 57 buses will begin to release students at 7:10 a.m., or upon arrival, at the bus doors. Students will enter school and proceed directly to homeroom.

Family Drop Off: Most students are dropped off at the Main Entrance between 7:10- 7:25 a.m., although some students may need an earlier drop off. Early drop offs will wait in the Library. All students must be in homeroom by 7:30 or they are considered tardy.

DISMISSAL

The student instructional day ends at 1:40. At this time all students return to their homeroom to go to their lockers, to pack up and get any notices or announcements from their homeroom teachers. Dismissal process will begin at approximately 1:45 with first wave buses and pick ups by grade level beginning with grade 6.

We kindly ask that you refrain from dismissing your child prior to 1:40 unless absolutely necessary in order to avoid disruption to the end of the school day. Thank you for your patience and support with this.

Family Pick Ups:

We describe the pick up process in detail in the MMS Family Handbook, but it is a similar process to that at the District elementary schools. While the line and dismissal process do move quickly, we limited parking and ask that you stagger your arrival on campus by a few minutes:

• 6th grade: 1:35 arrival
• 7th grade: 1:40 arrival
• 8th grade: 1:45 arrival

If your student will be a regular pick up from school, please click on the button below to fill out the form and be added to the pick up list.

Please reach out to the main office if you have any questions regarding school pick up. For more information regarding school hours, arrivals and dismissals please refer to the MMS Family Handbook.

As we plan for the start of the school year, here are a couple of suggestions from our MMS School Nurse, Mrs. Dorr...

• Please come to school with a refillable water bottle. Hydration is important! Many visits to the school nurse can be prevented with proper hydration throughout the day.
• Students are not permitted to bring, transport, or self-administer any medication during the school day. Emergency medications are an exception with proper documentation filed with the School Nurse.
• Parents: Please be sure to have your physician signed emergency plans faxed over to this nurse prior to the start of school (asthma plans, life-threatening allergy plans, seizure plans).
• Per the medication policy, any medication orders for school must be signed by the parent and physician before they can be administered during the school day.
• Students also need to have medical clearance to return to sports/physical activity following any injury/surgery that occurred last year and was not resolved prior to the end of the school year, or if there has been a new development over the summer that impacts participation in physical activity during the school day.
• If you are unsure if any of this information pertains to your student, please don't hesitate to contact me.

~ Nurse Dorr

jenniferdorr@rsu57.org

Click here to access the RSU 57 Athletics and Activities page to find out about events happening within the district, get out there and show your Mustang Pride!

Please note that middle school students are encouraged to attend high school sporting events, but must be accompanied by a supervising adult.

Megan Wakefield

RSU #57 Outreach & Attendance Coordinator, PreK-6
86 West Road Waterboro, Maine 04087
Office: (207)247-3221 ext. 2309

Cell: (207)432-1180

meganwakefield@rsu57.org

Be sure to read the MMS Family Handbook.

Email: kellygrantham@rsu57.org
Website: https://middleschool.rsu57.org/
Location: Massabesic Middle School, Old Alfred Road, East Waterboro, ME, USA
Phone: (207) 247-6121