Cubs Newsletter

Quarter two starts Monday. You can expect report cards in the mail toward the end of the week.

On behalf of all the amazing folks here at MMS - thank you for the yummy lunch and snacks!! We are so grateful for your thoughtfulness...it might not seem like a huge deal to you, but all those snacks, sandwiches, and soup means a lot to us.

The state of Idaho requires public schools to keep track of students' immunization status. Once a year, on November 1st, we send the state our immunization and exemption data as mandated. That means that throughout September and October, our school nurses have been searching through data bases, calling doctor's offices, sending letters home, and basically begging parents to either get their student's vaccinations up to date or sign an exemption form, and entering all that into spreadsheets.

Right now, on the last day of October, we have 27 students at MMS who are out of compliance. The vast majority of students are missing the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines, and a couple are also missing the Polio vaccine. If you are on that list, I encourage you to either make an appointment with your doctor's office to get those done, or come into our office and fill out an Immunization Exemption Form.

Does anyone else remember getting all of this done in school? I'm old, so I just went to school one day and was told that we were all lining up in the hall because we were "getting our shots." All the way through High School, I got all my vaccines right after a girl named Marleece, and right before a boy named Vance...in alphabetical order. I distinctly remember us all going from class to class the rest of the day with a sore left arm, and our teachers explaining that it was the Tetanus vaccine that was making it stiff and achy and one teacher saying, "it will feel better when it stops hurting." We all just got to work after that...and made sure our bangs were adequately fluffy and sprayed with Aqua Net, our Levi 501's were pegged, and our T-shirt sleeves were rolled. We listened to MC Hammer and Garth Brooks in the cassette players in our pick-up trucks with full gun racks on the back window as we drove home, and then we watched an After-School Special on TV. It was a simpler time...but we were all fully vaccinated!

Last year, our library hosted a Chess Tournament. It was very popular! The kids have begged/insisted that we do it again, and Ms. Ruspakka has agreed to host a tournament every quarter this year!

Congratulations to the Quarter One winners!!

Our Girls Wrestling team has been practicing hard and they have their first two competitive events this week. On Tuesday, they are facing off in an intramural Cubs vs Cubs event here in the Bear Den from 4 - 6 PM. This is to get them ready for their dual meet with Sandpoint on Thursday. We have 48 girls on our team this year, and they are scrappy!! Come check them out.

Note to parents - Priest River moved their tournament date to December 4th - make sure you adjust that in your calendar.

We also have Boys Basketball games starting this week. Our 7th and 8th grade A-Teams will have their first game of the season at home on Thursday. We play Sacajawea in the High School gym starting at 4:30 with the 7th graders, followed by the 8th grade game at about 5:45 PM. Our 6th graders play each other on Friday, in the Bear Den, starting at 3:30 PM. I am excited to see the 8th graders play again, and see how the now 7th graders come together as a team. Watching the 6th graders play is just pure joy for me. It will be good to see you all there at the games.Go Cubs!

Note to B Team parents - Pullman has moved one of our games...we will play them in Pullman on November 30th instead of December 1st. I've attached an updated calendar for you below.

Coming soon...

I wrote a few paragraphs in last week's newsletter about our upcoming Home Room Birthday Cake Kit Competition. (I gotta work on a better name!) This is just a friendly reminder in case you are going to the grocery store or dollar store sometime in the next few days. Your middle school student is probably going to be asking you if they can donate some items...and they will probably ask you at 10:30 PM the night before the last day of the competition...after you put on your PJ pants and shiny night-time face cream. 🙃

I'll keep the video here below, case you didn't watch it last week. 😁

Don't forget that we have a great space for kids to do their Homework here at MMS after school Monday - Thursday. Parents need to sign their student up, and we do the rest. There is even a bus that will bring them home.

This is happening on Friday. We will have a full house - lots of kids have signed up to participate.

Attention middle school parents! Come take an opportunity to find holiday gifts for your kids, AND get rid of a few things unnecessarily hanging around your house. The MMS Parent Support Team is joining forces with a couple of rad middle school parents to put on a Holiday Gift Exchange. It will take place Sunday, November 15, 2026 in the middle school multi-purpose room. All parents are welcome - check out the details on Facebook, and invite your friends!

https://m.facebook.com/events/1887533609078411/

Next Week

Tuesday - Girl's Wrestling Intramural matches 4:00 @ Bear Den

Wednesday – Sports Photos for Girls Wrestling and Boys Basketball

Thursday - Girl's Wrestling HOME Dual Meet vs Sandpoint in Bear Den 4:00 start time

Thursday – A Team Boys Basketball HOME game vs Sacajawea @MHS gym 4:30 and 5:45

Friday – Spider Day in Homeroom

Friday - Grade Check Friday (for sports eligibility)

Friday - Boys Basketball 6th grade matches at 3:30 in the Bear Den

On the Calendar

11/9 - Girl's Wrestling "Queen of the Mat" HOME tournament in the Bear Den

11/9 – B Team Boys Basketball HOME games at MHS gym

11/9 – Communities for Youth Data Walk

11/10 - Boys Basketball A Team at HOME vs Clarkston

11/11 - Cub PRIDE lesson – Respect

11/11 – PST Meeting 5:30 in MMS library

11/12 - Boys Basketball A Team away vs Lapwai

11/12 – Boys Basketball B Team away games @ Pullman

11/13 - Boys Basketball 6th grade matches

11/16 – Boys Basketball B Teams away games @ Pullman

11/17 - Boys Basketball A Team HOME vs Jenifer

11/17 - Girl's Wrestling away at Sandpoint

11/19 - Fire Drill in the morning

11/19 - Boys Basketball A Team away vs Pullman

11/19 – Boys Basketball B Teams HOME @MHS gym

11/20 - Boys Basketball 6th grade matches

11/23 - Thanksgiving Break

11/30 – Boys Basketball B Team away vs Pullman **new date**

12/1 – A Team Boys Basketball away at Sacajawea

12/3 – B Team Boys Basketball HOME vs Pullman

12/3 – A Team Boys Basketball away at Clarkston

12/4 – Grade Check Friday (for sports eligibility)

12/4 - Girls Wrestling away at Priest River **new date**

12/4 – 6th grade Boys Basketball matches in Bear Den

12/7 – B Team Boys Basketball HOME vs Pullman

12/8 – A Team Boys Basketball HOME vs Lapwai

12/9 – Cub PRIDE Activity – Holiday Cards for Active Service Members and Veterans

12/10 – B Team Boys Basketball away at Pullman

12/10 – A Team Boys Basketball HOME vs Pullman

12/10 – UI Holiday Concert

12/11 – 6th grade Boys Basketball matches in Bear Den

12/14 – Fire Drill during 7th period approximately 2:20

12/15 – MMS Holiday Music Concert 7:00 MHS Auditorium

12/21 – Winter Break

Please see our MMS website for more information. A link to the most up-to-date sports information is below. Go Cubs!