Cubs Newsletter

Well...all the 7th graders are mad at me. All of them. That 7th grade boy that says hello to me every day and always ends our conversations with "have a great day!" - even him. In fact, he took the time to type an official letter - a very polite and respectful letter - that expresses his thoughts and points out a couple of errors in my judgement. My favorite part is the postscript, which reads, "this is not trying to be rude, it's just some feedback."

I rocked their world yesterday morning when I asked them to help me with something. I asked them to try using their lockers.

I'm calling it "The Great 7th Grade Locker Experiment of 2026." Here's the deal...

In the before times...before the Covid Pandemic...middle school students were not allowed to carry their backpacks, lunch bags, & jackets around with them. They were required to use their lockers. They did so successfully and managed just fine. They had the same bell schedule, with a 10-minute "settle into the day" period from 8:05 when the first bell rings, to the 8:15 tardy bell to drop their stuff off at their lockers, say hello to friends, and get to their first class. They had the same 4-minute passing periods between classes as we do now, and the same lunch periods. They carried a pencil, a binder, or a notebook with them to classes, but nothing else. They learned their locker combination and successfully locked and unlocked their lockers multiple times a day. (Or they learned how to jam them! 😁). All that was normal. Then, Covid hit.

When kids came back to school in the fall of 2020 social distancing policies required us to keep kids 6 feet apart - or at least try! We could no longer have kids gathered up together at each other's lockers, laughing and high-fiving, sharing lip gloss, and taking sips from each other's water bottles. We didn't assign kids lockers that year. They had to carry all their stuff around with them. That became the new normal, and now our students don't know any different. They hate using their lockers and prefer, instead, to schlep 62 pounds of school supplies, lunchtime tupperware containers, 3D printed dragons, cologne, hairspray, and their track shoes around on their backs all day. Except for when they drop all that in their classrooms, and pile it all outside on the sidewalks during lunch.

Covid also ushered in the era of "One to One" technology. All across the United States, and the world, schools were encouraged to buy Chromebooks. The government funded these purchases - and even mandated policies that required schools to provide students and families with personal devices and access to online digital learning platforms. The state of Idaho jumped on board too. When kids came back to school in the fall of 2020 their lockers were taken away, and they were handed their very own Chromebook. The use of Chromebooks has become part of the new normal. Kids carry them around all day and take them home at night. Some kids hate them, some kids love them, some kids can't get enough of them and guard them like Gollum and his ring. My PRECIOUS!

So here we are in 2026 and "normal" for our current 7th graders is an attachment to chromebooks and a burning hatred for lockers.

And now, here I come, asking 7th graders to use lockers again. Just try using them. As an experiment. Just for a few weeks. To see how it goes. The kids are not pleased with this idea.

The hardest thing about lockers is...well...that they lock. Working the combinations is hard and tricky. The lockers in this 67 year old building have been through a lot. They are not in great shape. The kids have a valid point - our lockers are kinda the worst. The lockers in the 7th grade hallway are the worst of the worst because kids have to work the combination twice every time the use it - once to get it open, and then again to close it. In an effort to lessen their burden and make using lockers easier, I removed the locks from the lockers in the 7th grade hallway. It wasn't actually that hard! The kids will simply open and close them - no combination necessary.

This brings me to the worry list - these are the things that the kids, and maybe some of you, are worried about:

Being late for class: The kids are worried that they won't get to class on time. My experience is that kids actually have plenty of time to get to class. Pre-Covid kids did it all day long. Our kids just don't realize they have plenty of time because they have actually never tried it out.
Too many stops between classes: Many of the kids are worried about having to return to their lockers between every class. They don't have to...I am not asking them to return to their locker between every period, in fact I hope they don't! I was discussing this issue with a student yesterday, and he asked incredulously, "so you want me to be, like, in science class and then go all the way back upstairs to my locker by Ms. Scripter's room, and then ALL the way back downstairs to Ms. Shanti's room just because I have science and then art?!?" Nope! I explained that kids are not required to return to their lockers between every period, as if this is a game of tag. They probably won't need to! My hope is that they will leave their backpack, lunch, and after-school stuff in their locker during the day and just return to it when needed. For example, before lunch time, and after school.
Theft: Kids are worried about their stuff being stolen. This makes sense - I did remove the locking mechanisms after all. First, we don't actually have a big problem with theft here at Moscow Middle. It does happen from time to time, but 99% of the time when a student says their stuff was "stolen" it was actually lost. We find their belongings in classrooms, outside, and at the HIRC. We have lots of cameras in the hallways. LOTS. The kids know it. There has only been one time in my all my years here at MMS that a student stole something out of another kid's hall locker. It was reported, I looked at the camera footage, the item was recovered, and the thief punished. The new normal of having kids carry their backpacks around all day has actually INCREASED incidents of theft. Really. We don't have cameras in locker rooms for obvious reasons. So now kids pile up their backpacks in the locker rooms, with all their belongings inside, and yummy lunch snacks, and fancy basketball shoes, and then leave - they all go outside for P.E. That leaves their stuff vulnerable to sticky fingered peers, or even HS students, that simply go into the locker rooms to use the bathroom, or get something they forgot, and use that opportunity to take something out of a peer's backpack and put it in their own! Nobody else is there to see, they have a great hiding place for the stolen goods, and when they leave the locker room, the cameras in the gym just see a kid with a backpack and 60 other kids with backpacks. One sneaky and nimble kiddo managed to swipe stuff from a peer's backpack in a classroom, again, where we don't have cameras. Even without locks - the lockers in the hallways are a MUCH safer place for kids to store their belongings.
Forgetting stuff and Losing stuff: This is a legitimate worry. Many hundreds, if not thousands, of Moscow Middle students have forgotten and/or lost all kinds of things in their lockers over the years - mostly completed school assignments. One very sincere 7th grader spoke with me yesterday about needing his backpack with him at all times because his homework is in it, his assignments, his pencils. He said he is especially forgetful, and it is reassuring to him to know that everything he could ever possibly need is right there with him! In the days before Covid, teachers were often frustrated when students asked to return again and again to their lockers to look for missing assignments, retrieve their favorite pen, or grab that permission slip. Lockers were cluttered with half-finished work and unsigned forms. The 7th grade teachers might remember how much they too, hate lockers, and hate my stupid "experiment" as much as the kids, because kids will inevitably, forget and/or lose stuff in their lockers. It is a worry, but nothing we haven't seen before. And...

That is why this is an experiment. I just want to see what happens.

I am currently working with district leaders, and our district technology team, to create a different Chromebook policy for next year. Times are changing! We will do something different with Chromebooks next year. I can't say what that will be, exactly, yet, but one of the reasons I'm wanting to see if kids can cope with using lockers again is because there is a very good chance that they won't be carrying Chromebooks around with them anymore.

If they aren't carrying Chromebooks around, I want to see what it would feel like to them, to not be carrying backpacks around. They might actually like it! It might be fun to have a locker. Their backs most certainly will appreciate the lighter load! If the 7th graders can do it, and end up liking it, we could try it out with all the kids next year. I've asked them to please just give it a go...for a bit...starting on Monday.

No matter how it turns out, hopefully they will all forgive me. 💗

Parents of 7th and 8th grade Art students received an email from Ms. Shanti this week about animals in the classroom. I love that our students get the opportunity to enjoy these animals and learn to draw them! I enjoy the animals too, even though I don't draw them. I even tended a baby goat in my office last year, while he was waiting for Art class to start. My favorite art class animal was the baby alpaca though - he was adorable.

Ms. Shanti knows that some kids might have allergies to animals - especially to cats or dogs - and she needs to know right away if your child is sensitive to any animals in any way. Please respond to her email if you have any reservations about your child participating in these activities.

Students in Ms. Albrecht's Leadership class have identified a need for themselves and their peers to get more sleep. The data from the Idaho Youth Wellness Survey indicated that most of our Cubs are not getting the recommended 10 hours of sleep per night that they need. So, they have planned activities to help educate kids and parents about the importance of sleep and encourage their peers to try getting a full 10 hours every night.

They have asked our Parent Support Team for help funding some of their ideas. We need your help, too! Here is a link to sign up to contribute to this important project. Thanks so much!! MMS Leadership Class: MMS Sleep Campaign

MMS Sleep Campaign

The Leadership Class of Moscow Middle School is hosting a school-wide event in order to help students create healthy sleeping habits, improve students' emotional well-being, and raise awareness on the importance of sleep as a growing teen. This event will be taking place during the last two weeks of April, right before our State's ISAT testing in hope to make students feel more prepared and ready for the long testing season. Students will participate by filling out daily sleep trackers and will submit their trackers for raffle prizes. Our class is requesting parents for the items below to put inside these prizes. Thank you! Mrs. Albrecht's Leadership Class Students

signupgenius.com

I am happy to announce that we are offering an after-school tutoring and homework program here at MMS starting This coming week, on Monday, April 13th.

What: MMS after school "Homework Club"

When: Monday - Thursday at MMS in Ms. Bird's room #101

What time: Homework Club ends a bit before 4:30 PM

What about transportation? Students can walk, get picked up, OR ride the bus

How: Students must be referred by a parent and/or teacher and be officially signed up to attend Homework Club

Who: Ms. Bird is our Homework Club Leader. MHS senior, Taylor McLuen will be her assistant

If you are interested in having your student participate in Homework Club, please call our front office and let us know. That number is 208-882-3577. You can also email me at summerst@msd281.org.

The first annual MMS Arts Showcase and Fundraiser was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who came and participated! There were so many great moments - I'm so proud of our kids! It was wonderful being able to show off their talents together in one event and know that we are making sure, right now, that kids for years to come, will get to benefit from music, art, and drama classes at MMS.

If you couldn't make it to the Showcase, but still want to donate, you can do so by following the link below. 💓

Mayor Lewis had the highest bid for the old school desk "chair-ity" item designed and painted by our students.

The Deadline for submitting photos for the 8th grade goodbye slideshow is this Wednesday, April 15.

We like to celebrate our 8th graders at the end of the year. We know this is milestone in their lives - moving on to the High School and leaving those awkward middle school years behind is a big deal. Our Student Council students plan and pay for a special "Get-Away" activity just for 8th graders. This happens on the Tuesday before the last day of school. This year that is June 2nd. Also, the PST organizes an 8th grade trip to Silverwood the day after school gets out - which is June 4th. The PST also usually does something to contribute to the "Get-Away" day - they buy snacks, or pizza, or something so that parents can be a part of the celebration.

This year, the eighth graders will get to leave the younger kids behind and getaway to the WSU Rec Center for the entire morning. There will be lots of choices of fun things to do there, but WSU requires everyone attending to have two signed release forms. I've attached them below. Parents - please sign the forms and return them to school with your 8th grader to turn into their Home Room teacher.

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f21-urec-youth-risk-and-release-paper.pdf

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From the PST:

Attention MMS 8th-grade students, parents, and guardians!

Save the date for the 8th-grade end-of-year trip to Silverwood Theme Park sponsored by the MMS PST! The all-day trip is Thursday, June 4 with pickup and drop off at MMS. We will send out more information and a permission slip in a few weeks but be sure to mark your calendars now!

Note: We will need parent chaperones for all of these activities - if you want to get involved please know that you will have a lot of opportunities to help. More information will be coming soon!

8th Grade Science - UI Engineering EXPO

Parents - you received an email from Belinda Sell last week about the UI Engineering EXPO. We will be taking all 8th graders to this event to see how engineering is used to solve real-world problems in the morning on Friday, May 1st. If you'd like to help with this event from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, please email Ms. Sell directly at sellb@msd281.org