The MMS Wolf Call
August 19, 2024
In This Issue:
- Letter from our Principal
- Back to School Information
- Stay Connected to MMS
Principal Message
Letter from Amy Montgomery
Dear Families,
We hope all of our students and families have had an enjoyable summer. As the new school year approaches, we are thrilled to welcome back our returning students and extend a warm welcome to our new Wolves and their families. Whether your student is returning to familiar faces and routines or stepping into our school for the first time, we want to assure you that we are fully committed to providing a safe, welcoming environment where every student can grow and thrive both socially and academically.
As a school team, our primary focus is to create a secure and inclusive learning environment where every student feels a sense of belonging and reaches their full academic potential. To achieve this, we are dedicated to delivering high-quality instruction and offering the necessary support to help students develop essential skills for learning and personal growth. This summer, our staff participated in professional development sessions about new curriculum and effective teaching practices to address the diverse needs of all learners, in particular to strengthen math instruction.
Achieving our goals of high levels of learning and a strong sense of belonging for all students is not something we can do alone. We are deeply grateful for the continued partnership with our parents and community as we head into the 2024-25 school year. Last year, we were fortunate to have over 150 volunteers contribute to our school in various ways—whether assisting in classrooms, sharing their expertise as guest speakers, supporting our student recognition and ASB programs, or participating as “Watch D.O.G.S.” We firmly believe that the strength of our school community and our partnerships with parents are keys to creating positive experiences and a welcoming environment for every student.
There are many moving pieces to the start of a school year, I hope that this newsletter answers many of your questions. We will continue to communicate important details about the start of the school year through email, on social media, and on our website.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions; our offices are now open Monday-Friday 7:00-3:30.
Sincerely,
Amy Montgomery
Principal
Back to School Information
Welcome New Staff
We are excited to introduce our new assistant principals joining the Mountain View team this year.
Kyle Jones: Kyle most recently served as the Assistant Principal at Auburn Riverside High School. He has a variety of experience in teaching, behavior intervention, and athletics and school administration, with background in multiple facets of special education. A former Wildcat and Concordia University grad, after years of working in high school, Kyle is ready to take on middle school and excited to meet our Wolves and their families. In addition to supervising programs and working closely with our teaching staff, Kyle will be the administrator working with 8th grade students and families.
Shelley O’Dell: Shelley comes to Mountain View from Shelton High School where she was a member of the administrative team and served as the assessment coordinator. She comes to us with over 20 years of experience as an instructional coach, professional learning facilitator, assessment specialist and secondary ELA teacher. She attended Western Washington University, Cambridge College and St. Martin’s University. Throughout her time in education she has served in multiple roles that were centered around literacy, data, and assessment. Shelley is passionate about her role in supporting learning and belonging for all of our Wolves and can’t wait to start meeting students in a few weeks! In addition to supervising programs and working closely with our teaching staff, Shelley will be the administrator working with 7th grade students and families.
We would also like to welcome to our Pack -
Emily Anderson- 7th Grade Math and 7th Grade Leadership
Ashley Ellison- School Psychologist
Amy Graves- Behavior and Family Support Specialist
Jamie Harres- Administrative Assistant
Mia Hutter- 6th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies, 7th Grade Language Arts
Megan Meath- 7th Grade Language Arts and 6th Grade Reading Intervention
Jesse Reeh-Multilingual TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment)
Hilary Workman- 7th Grade Social Studies and 8th Grade Language Arts (returning to MMS)
Tiffany Vassey- 6th Grade Math and Science, 6th Grade Computer Discoveries I
Chanelle Yaralin- 6th Grade Math and Science, 8th Grade Science
Wolf PRIDE Nights
Our Wolf PRIDE events are time dedicated to making sure that students and families have everything they need to be ready to start the year. At various stations throughout the school you will have the opportunity to: pick up your schedule, meet staff, tour the school and turn in health-care/immunization forms (if not done previously) . While you’re here, you will definitely want to check out the new Wolf gear at our PTO store.
To help us keep lines short, we ask families to attend during your assigned hour window when possible.
Cashiers will be on hand during our Wolf PRIDE Nights for families to make payments. We encourage families to make purchases and payments related to the start of school online whenever possible. Our office team is also happy to help during these events or at any time our offices are open, Monday- Friday 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Instructions for online payments are as follows:
Log in to your Skyward Family Access account: Skyward Family Access.
In the upper right hand corner, click on the blue “District Links” icon and select Online Payments.
You will then need to re-enter your Family Access username and password.
Click on your Mountain View student’s name.
Under “Shop,” select “Items At Student’s School.”
Select the items under each category that you would like to purchase and click “Buy” to add to cart.
Forgot or need your login/password information: contact our Registrar, Dawn Bendon at (253) 891-5200.
School Pictures
School pictures will be taken on September 6th and retakes will be on October 23rd. Our photographer, Inter-State Studio provides online or check orders. Order forms will be available for pick up at Wolf PRIDE Night.
2024-2025 Costs:
Chromebooks & Digital Device Coverage (Chromebook Assurance)
New students & all 6th grade students will receive a new chromebook during the first week of school. Families are encouraged to purchase chromebook assurance by paying online prior to or on the day students receive their devices. Payments may be made online or in person.
Returning 7th/8th grade students kept their chromebooks over the summer. All 7th and 8th grade students will have their chromebooks checked during the first week of school. We encourage all families to consider purchasing the chromebook assurance each year, which can be done online or in person. Please know that the assurance will not be active on chromebooks until it has been checked during the first week of school.
For more information see the SBLSD Digital Device Coverage.
Athletic Registration
Our fall season consists of Track, Baseball and Fastpitch. Athletic registration is open for these and all sports offered at Mountain View.
Clearance Checklist
All steps must be completed before a student is able to participate.
Turn in a current Sports Physical from your doctor.
Complete the online registration on the FinalForms Platform: https://sumner-wa.finalforms.com/. Follow the prompts to create your account and register.
All athletes who wish to participate in after-school athletics must be covered either by a Student Accident Insurance Program or a separate insurance program. Information on insurance can be obtained on the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District website (Student Insurance), your school’s athletic office, and/or the FinalForms registration platform.
Purchase ASB card ($20)*
Pay Athletic Participation Fee*
Be clear of all fines
*Alternative rates are available for students qualifying for Free/Reduced Lunch
For questions regarding Athletics contact: Dave Rumpza, MMS Athletic Director (dave_rumpza@sumnersd.org). Keep any eye out for additional information about athletics at middle school and details about our Fall Season coming to your inbox soon!
Mountain View Transition Webpage
Last Spring to support the transition of students from 5th to 6th grade we built a website that includes a variety of information about our school. This New Wolf Website is a great resource to get a glimpse into life at Mountain View.
Student Schedules & Contacting Counselors
Our Counseling staff returns to campus the week of August 19th. They will be finalizing student schedules which will be available for pick up at Wolf PRIDE Night or viewable via Skyward on August 28.
Counseling Staff:
6th Grade- Pamela Kacer (pamela_kacer@sumnersd.org)
7th Grade- Dyanne Jewett-Borst (dyanne_jewett-borst@sumnersd.org)
8th Grade- Wendy Lubash (wendy_lubash@sumnersd.org)
Registrar/Counseling Secretary (dawn_bendonw@sumnersd.org)
School Supplies
This is a basic list of school supplies to get the school year started. If students need additional supplies for specific classes, teachers will communicate this information in their syllabus during the first few weeks of school.
Required Supplies:
Writing Utensils: pens and pencils
Highlighters
Binder or Folder System for Organization
College Ruled Composition Books- 4 Recommended
Glue Stick
Colored Pencils
Ruler
Basic Calculator- 6th + 7th Graders
Scientific Calculator- 8th Grade Only
¼ Inch Graph Paper- 8th Grade Only
Earbuds/ Headphones
Optional Supplies:
Post-It Notes
Fine Tip Markers
Hand Held Pencil Sharpener
Back to School Resource Fair
Do you know a student in need of free school supplies? Families of Sumner-Bonney Lake students may pick up supplies, such as backpacks, pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, binders, and more at these events:
Tuesday, Aug. 20 | Noon to 2 p.m.
Liberty Ridge Elementary, 12202 209th Ave Ct. E., Bonney Lake
Thursday, Aug. 22 | 3 to 6 p.m.
Sumner-Bonney Lake Family Resource Center, 1508 Willow St., Sumner
For more information, call the Sumner-Bonney Lake Family Center at (253) 891-6150.
First Day of School & Weekly Schedule
Weekly Schedule
Monday- 9:05 a.m.-2:20 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday- 7:25 a.m.-2:20 p.m.
First Day of School is September 3rd. In order to dedicate time to orienting our 6th grade students to Middle School, 7th and 8th grades will have a delayed start.
Stay Connected to the MMS PTO
Connect with MMS Wolfpack PTO and learn how to support MMS students and staff - https://linktr.ee/MMSWolfpackPTO
Website - http://www.mmswolfpackpto.org
- Facebook – MMS Wolfpack PTO -https://www.facebook.com/groups/548465525220726/
- Instagram @mms_wolfpack_pto
- Amazon Smile – Link your account to benefit MMS Boosters
- Fred Meyer Community Rewards – link your card; search for us by name or by our non-profit #RA978. IMPORTANT: You still earn your Reward Points & Rebates!
Stay Connected to MMS Staff
Call or visit: Our offices are open Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during the school year and 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. through the final weeks of August. Our main office number is: 253-891-5200.
During the year, parents/guardians may schedule conferences with teachers/counselors at a mutually agreed upon time by contacting: Dawn Bendon (dawn_bendon@sumnersd.org)
Email: A majority of our communication to families will be via electronic newsletters/emails. Please check Skyward Family Access to make sure we have a valid email address for you.
As always, please contact us if you have any questions or need support/assistance. Thank you for partnering with us!
Amy Montgomery, Principal (amy_montgomery@sumnersd.org)
Kyle Jones, Assistant Principal (kyle_jones@sumnersd.org)
Shelley O’Dell, Assistant Principal (shelley_odell@sumnersd.org)
Wendy Lubash, 8th Grade Counselor (wendy_lubash@sumenrsd.org)
Dyanne Jewett-Borst, 7th Grade Counselor (dyanne_jewett-borst@sumnersd.org)
Pamela Kacer, 6th Grade Counselor (pamela_kacer@sumnersd.org)
Dave Rumpza, Athletic Coordinator (dave_rumpza@sumnersd.org)
Quicklinks
