MTMS Wolf Wire
December 12, 2025
MT's purpose is to educate and empower students to become responsible citizens.
A Few Words From the Principal
As we prepare for this last week of school for the 2025 year, please talk with your students about ending on a good note. Breaks are challenging for students. Some students look forward to the break to spend time with family and friends and there are other students that do not look forward to the break because they will not be able to see friends or other situations. Next week we will be having class as we usually do with some fun activities on our 1/2 day - including locker clean out. Please encourage your student to give their best, finish strong, and to make good choices.
We will be wrapping up our hat, gloves and sock drive on Monday. I would love to have a good amount to donate to students who do not have these things during this cold time of the year. Please go through your closets and any hats or gloves that your kids have out grown or that you have extra of have your student bring to school with them on Monday. Thank you for supporting the community and helping our students to understand the season of giving.
Important Dates
December 17 - Choir Concert
December 19 - Early Dismissal for K-12 (11:12 dismissal at MT)
December 22 thru January 5 - Winter Break - School Resumes January 6
Friday, December 19th - Early Dismissal at 11:12 - We will also hold an all-school Pep Assembly the last 30-45 minutes of the day. Please plan any early student checkouts as necessary.
WIN Priority Days - December 8-12
Each week students are given the opportunity to receive extra help during WIN in different prioritized areas. Students will receive a pass from their teacher in order to travel to that classroom during WIN. Encourage your student to take advantage of this time.
6th grade - North
Monday - Math - Wallace
Tuesday - Math - Wallace
Wednesday - Social Studies - Corbett
6th grade - South
Tuesday - Math - Munrain
Wednesday - Social Studies- Goetting
8th grade - Contenders
Tuesday - Math - Marney
8th grade - Explorers
Tuesday - Math - Wadsworth
Thursday - Math - Wadsworth
December to Remember
December 15 - Team Santa or Team Grinch (Wear Red for Santa or Green for the Grinch)
December 16 - "Mad About Plaid" - Wear plaid or flannel
December 17 - Mele Kalikimaka - Tropical apparel
December 18 - National Twin Day (Dress like a twin or triplet)
December 19 - Polar Express Day - wear your favorite pajamas
Yearbook Orders
The deadline to purchase yearbooks is fast approaching at the end of the semester! The yearbook fee is automatically included in the student fees that were posted to Skyward in August. If you paid all fees owed, you likely have already paid for a yearbook. If you haven't paid fees, or haven't paid the yearbook fee, now is the time to do so. You can verify what fees you have paid by logging into your parent Skyward account, clicking on the "Fees & Fee Payments" tile and confirming payment of the yearbook fee in the amount of $32.00. You may pay fees online or by cash/check to the MTMS office.
If your student wants a yearbook, don't miss out! We will not have extras available to purchase at the end of the school year.
Internet Safety Pointers
During school breaks, many students spend more time on their phones and other devices, which can increase their exposure to online risks. We encourage parents to have regular conversations with their children about how they use technology and to check in on their online activities. Open communication helps kids make safer choices, know what to do if something feels uncomfortable, and build healthy digital habits that will help them throughout the year. See the resources below for additional information.
Protect Young Eyes:
Overview of popular teen apps and step-by-step parental control settings. https://www.protectyoungeyes.com/apps
Protecting Your Kids Online 2.0
Securly
Monitor your child's school device in real time.
https://www.usd232.org/departments/technology/securly-home-app
8th Grade: Looking Ahead to High School
Inclement Weather Reminders
Weather Reminders: https://www.usd232.org/family-resources/alerts/weather-alerts
Text Alert Sign up: https://www.usd232.org/family-resources/alerts/text-message-alerts
Don't forget that First Student busing has a website and app (First View) where you can monitor your student's bus and receive notifications related to busing: https://firststudentinc.com/innovation/firstview/
Good Things at MTMS
Flight & Space
Students in Flight and Space recently applied their understanding of the four forces of flight to design and build their own Mars Lander.
To test their designs, students used eggs to simulate an astronaut passenger and evaluated whether their lander could deliver it safely to the surface
Students focused on creating a lander that was lightweight, had a slow, controlled descent with increased drag, included effective shock absorption, and securely supported the egg to prevent cracks on impact.
From the PTA
Staff Holiday Gifts - Deadline Monday to be included in Card
Want an easy way to handle teacher gifts this holiday season? Donate at the link below! All contributions (through Dec 15th) will be pooled and given to MTMS teachers & staff as cash gifts, along with a card listing all donors. Please note how you would like your family identified in the Name/Student section of the form so we can include it correctly. It’s a simple, thoughtful way to give and a present they’ll truly appreciate.
From Nurse K
Don’t Let The Flu “Bug” You!
According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu season can start as early as October and last until May. Fighting the flu starts with 2 simple steps.
1. Vaccinate – The flu vaccination is recommended for anyone 6 months of age and older. Those considered high risk, including pregnant women, young children and adults over the age of 65 should have a vaccine. Although not available for children under the age of 6 months, those who care for infants should be vaccinated to prevent spreading the flu to those too young for the vaccination.
2. The second step is prevention with healthy habits. Prevention is key to stopping the spread of germs. Healthy habits include hand washing, covering your cough/sneeze, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, and social distancing.
Hand washing– Always wash hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, alcohol based sanitizer can be used.
Social distancing– This means staying away from others when you are sick and avoiding contact with those who are ill. If you experience flu like symptoms, the CDC recommends limiting contact with others until you have been fever free for 24 hours. Someone is considered fever free when there is an absence of fever without the aid of fever reducing medications.
For more information on these steps, as well as information on how to protect your family this flu season, please visit: www.cdc.gov/flu
To help control the spread of illness in our school please follow these illness guidelines:
Fever-Keep student home until fever free for 24 hours without the use of medication
Vomiting, Diarrhea, GI upset-keep home until symptom free for 24 hours without the use of medication.
Respiratory Virus Illness (Covid, Influenza, RSV): Stay home until both are true, fever free for 24 hours without medication and symptoms are getting better.
When reporting your student absent due to illness please give a brief description of the illness such as sore throat, fever, vomiting, flu, strep throat. This will help with illness tracking and reporting to the health department. If reporting Influenza (Flu) please indicate the type of Flu such as Influenza A or Influenza B or tested with home test.
Hearing and Vision Screening 7th Grade
If your 7th grade student has PE 1st Semester they completed Hearing and Vision Screenings last week. Your student will be bringing home a letter with results.
Attendance Reminder
Please remember to report absences and late arrivals to the school by 8:30 a.m. You may call the school attendance line at 913-422-5854 or use the online absence reporting form. The school will call to follow-up with unreported absences after 8:30. Students arriving tardy after 7:55 must enter through the front office doors (you are not required to escort late students inside, but if your student is late due to an appointment, please report it to the office in advance so their attendance is appropriately marked).
CONTACT MTMS
Attendance: (913) 422-5854/Online Report an Absence
Website: http://mtms.usd232.org/
Location: 6100 Monticello Road, Shawnee, KS, United States
Phone: (913) 422-1100
Fax Line: (913) 422-4990
Instagram: @mtmswolves
MTMS Parent Resources
Quick link to our Parent Resources webpage with lots of great school info all in one place!