The Warrior Weekly

Dec 25 - Christmas Day/First Day of Christmas Break

Dec 31 - New Years Eve

Jan 1 - New Years Day

Jan 5 - Last Day of Christmas Break

Jan 8 - First Day Back to School After Christmas Break

Looking for Basketball Practice and Game Schedules?

Check our school calendar by clicking here

Christmas is here! As we enter the holiday season, we extend greetings from all members of our school staff to our students, their families, and the Mitchell community. We wish you a safe, peaceful, and Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, as you celebrate this season together.

We look forward to seeing our students again on Monday, January 8!

Over the Christmas Break, we will be saying goodbye and farewell to Mr. Paul Neufeld, the head custodian at Mitchell Middle for the last 18 years. Mr. P. Neufeld has accepted a similar position at Elmdale School. Mr. P. Neufeld, we wish you all the best in your new role and thank you for your service at MMS!

At the same time, we are happy to welcome our new Head Custodian, Mr. Cory Wiebe. Mr. Wiebe is coming to us from Landmark Collegiate, and is very familiar with MMS, having spent a number of years here previously as well. Welcome to Mr. Wiebe who starts at MMS on January 8.

Make no mistake, winter is here! Regular recess breaks outside are beneficial for student growth and development, and our students go outside for 3 recess breaks each day. They also have a scheduled Outdoor Education Phys Ed class once a cycle. It is important that all students come dressed to be comfortably outside each day. This means making sure they bring:

• a toque
• a scarf or neck warmer
• winter jacket
• winter pants
• winter boots

Families, please remind your child to come to school fully prepared for the winter weather every day.

Indoor Recesses may be considered in certain circumstances. Please click here to review HSD's Cold and Hazardous Weather Guidelines.

Parents, please be reminded that, for the safety of all students, if you would like to volunteer with our students you need to complete a Child Abuse Registry Check, and a Criminal Record Check, along with some other related forms. These checks need to be approved and on file with Hanover School Division before you begin to volunteer with us. The time frame for these checks to be processed can be lengthy (weeks or months of wait time) and so we encourage you to complete these forms well in advance. Our secretaries are available to help you with this process.

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.

Students will continue to make their weekly pizza orders with Mrs. Enns in the office during their lunch recess.

School fees at MMS are used to support the different programs, learning experiences, and learning trips that are students benefit from while they are here. A reminder that school fees can be paid online on the Parent Portal, or by cash or cheque at the school office. Our school office is open between 8:00 and 4:00 pm daily.

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.
5. Parents, for those of you whose children use bicycles, please remind your child to follow the rules of the road when cycling. Here is a link to MPI's Cycling 101 to help you have this conversation.

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.

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

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.

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

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 Willow Street, Mitchell, Manitoba R5G 1H7
Phone: 204-320-9488
Twitter: @mmshanover