The Warrior Weekly

Monday September 11

• First Note Night

Friday, September 15 OR Monday, September 18, 2022

• Strong Connections

And just like that . . . our first week is in the books!

We have had a great start as our MMS family has reassembled this week. It is always so neat to watch friends reconnecting, students and teachers rekindling relationships, and parents and staff reuniting as well. The return to school is a week of energy like none other in the year, and we as a school staff will be working hard to support and maintain that positive energy for learning throughout the school year.

We look forward to welcoming our community into the school regularly throughout the year. Research shows that students feel a better sense of belonging and connection when their parents and families are welcomed and present in the school building. And when they feel like they belong in their class and school, student achievement improves! MMS values the partnership we have with our families and community and looks forward to seeing you here often!

To keep up to date on daily happenings at MMS you can visit our school website. In addition, you can access our Twitter, Instagram and Warrior Weekly publications.

To read about our Home to School Communication Flowchart you can check this page out on our homepage. Be sure to check our school blog often as it is continually updated.

Have a great weekend!

A.J. Neufeld

Principal

aneufeld@hsd.ca

John Terrick

Vice Principal

jterrick@hsd.ca

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new staff members!

Ms. Alana Donohoe (5D homeroom teacher)

Mr. Kris Peters (7P homeroom teacher)

Ms. Amanda Liska (Educational Assistant)

Ms. Emma Penner (Educational Assistant)

A reminder that work on our 4 - classroom addition continues at MMS. For their safety, students are reminded to:

• avoid entering or exiting the school grounds from Neufeld Drive
• stay out of the parking lot
• stay well away from any area where construction work is happening

With the start of another school year, it is always important to review the safety practices for coming and going from school.

1. Remember to use the sidewalks when they are available.
2. The crosswalks are to provide safe crossing for all walkers. In addition, the crossing guard is on duty before and after school on Highway 52 to assist students in crossing safely.
3. Drivers, please watch for the crosswalks, school zone speed limits, stop signs, busses and walking students.
4. Always watch for and follow stop signs. Remember when the lights are on and the stop sign is out on busses to please stop to ensure the safe pick up and drop off of bus students.

In addition, we would like to remind parents that the drop off zone immediately in front of the school should not be used as a parking area. This area becomes very congested and it is safer if we keep these areas clear. Thanks for your help in this endeavour to keep our kids safe. Parking is now permitted on the east side of Willow street from Stanway Ave N to Morley.

Parents, please remember to check the Parent Portal for any updated permissions that may need to be provided. These permissions include

• Responsible Use of Technology Agreement
• Permission to walk to events
• others

These forms can be located in the parent portal and can be approved digitally on that site.

If you need help accessing the Parent Portal, our secretaries would be happy to help you. Please contact them at the school office.

Parents please take note of Mitchell Middle Schools Cell Phone Use policy.

Grade 5/6 students

• cell phones and devices are not needed during the school day
• all Grade 5/6 students are asked to keep their devices at home
• if they do bring a device to school, it should be kept in their locker all day. Please be advised that there are no locks on our lockers so items are there at your own risk.

Grade 7/8 students

• cell phones and devices may be used with permission for educational purposes
• devices should be kept away (pocket/bag/locker) at all other times

All grades

• cell phones and devices are not permitted to be used in the hallways or on school grounds
• cell phones and devices are not permitted to be used in classrooms during breaks and at lunch time
• if cell phone and device use becomes a problem, teachers will confiscate the device for a period or for the rest of the school day. Should the problem continue, the device will be confiscated by school principals and returned to the parents of the student.

At MMS we take our responsibility to supervise student online activity seriously and this policy allows us to ensure that students are interacting with the internet safely during school hours.

As in previous years, we will be holding our Strong Connections days on Friday, September 15th and Monday, September 18th.

Your child will attend ONE of these days to have a day of connection, thinking, and camaraderie with their homeroom teacher.

Your Strong Connection Day can be found in your HSD Parent Portal Account.

School volunteers play a valuable role in the life of our school and we appreciate your gifts of time and energy very much. To ensure the safety of our students, all volunteers must have the following documents approved and on file before working with our students:

• Criminal Record Check
• Child Abuse Registry Check
• Pledge of Confidentiality
• Respect in Sport (if coaching)

Please contact us at the school office for more information

The MMS canteen will reopen on Thursday Sept 14. The canteen sells drinks and snacks each day of the week. Pizza from Santa Lucia will be sold on certain days again this year as well. A gluten free pizza option will be available for those who need it.

More canteen information will be available next week.

Please be reminded of the following policies for our students at lunch time

• students who go home for lunch each day are dismissed at 12:20. They are expected to remain home for the lunch break, and return for 1:10 pm to rejoin their classes.
• please be reminded that afternoon classes start at 1:15 pm
• students who wish to go to the CO-OP at lunch require a note or email from their parents that is given to the homeroom teacher in the morning. MMS requires new permission each time a student wishes to leave at lunch time. When they leave, they should sign out at the office, and sign in when they return.
• parents please be reminded to send a note or email to your child's homeroom teacher to communicate whether your child will eat lunch at school or at home. This helps us account for our students in the event of a lunch time emergency.

Good information on the school website

To stay on top of everything MMS please follow these sites.

• School Calendar (find school wide events, schedule of practices and games)
• Bell Schedule

A 5-8 middle school located in Mitchell, Manitoba. Part of the Hanover School Division #hsdlearns #warriorshsd

Email: mms@hsd.ca
Website: http://mms.hsd.ca
Location: 203 Third Street, Mitchell, Manitoba R5G 1H7
Phone: 204-320-9488
Twitter: @mmshanover