Muskego Lakes Family Newsletter

Dear Muskego Lakes Families,

We can't wait for Parent-Teacher Conferences ahead on Thursday, March 2nd! We love any chance we can get to see you at Muskego Lakes to partner with you to support your child. However, we know that things come up or schedules don't always align, so if you can't make it, we wanted to share more about how you can engage with what students are learning and how your child is learning and making progress.

Ensuring that your child has support in their learning is important to us, so we are proud to share that we offer two different opportunities for students to get assistance!

Homework Center

What is the Homework Center?

A quiet space that students can access during their lunch hour to accomplish any task from a class. In addition, a staff member who can help answer students' questions about work they are stuck on will be present.

Reasons Students Might Visit the Homework Center:

• The student is struggling with an assignment or studying for an upcoming assessment and would like some extra help.

• The student wants a quiet, focused space to work or read.

• The student cannot stay after school to attend our afterschool Homework Club or have extra-curricular activities after school.

• Homeroom isn't quite enough time to finish your work.

• The student is looking for someone to guide them more on a specific task.

• A teacher has asked the student to go to get caught up on work.

Homework Club

If your child wants to stay after and get assistance, encourage them to stop by the homework club. Homework club meets weekly from 3:10 to 4:15 pm in Room 56 (Ms. Rodriguez) room every Tuesday. Students can attend weekly or as needed; they must sign in when they arrive and need a ride home. Homework club allows students to have a quiet and supportive time to complete homework or get assistance as needed.

In addition to these two opportunities for students to get support here at school, we want to share other opportunities for you to engage with what students are learning, and how your child is progressing. The ways listed below offer insight into the student experience and their outcomes:

• Grade Level and School Newsletters

• Infinite Campus

• Student Learner Profiles

• SOF Trackers

• Rubrics with Feedback

• Phone Calls or Emails

• Personalized Report Card Comments

Thank you for all you do to encourage your children as they continue to set goals, monitor their academic progress, and demonstrate achievement here at school. We hold our students to high academic expectations but we also are here to support them every step of the way, and we know you are too!

In partnership,

Rachel and Nancy

Muskego Lakes Principals

• March 2nd: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4-8pm

• March 13th- 15th: Musical Tech Week

• March 17th-19th: Matilda Jr!

• March 24: End of Third Quarter

Shown below are next week's co-curricular events at Muskego Lakes!

If a change occurs from the date of this newsletter, we post on Infinite Campus in the announcement section. We commit to letting students/families know about changes and updating Infinite Campus announcements as soon as possible once we've been notified of a change.

Check out all MLMS events here which includes more detailed information!

Should we face additional inclement weather this school year, we have a plan that prioritizes both student safety and student learning. For middle school students, any additional canceled days will be converted to remote learning. Teachers will communicate with both parents and students by 9:00 AM the remote learning expectations.

Parents of students who do not have internet access at home should contact the school office in advance. For those students, we will do our best to provide a wireless internet hotspot.

Our spring parent/teacher conferences will be held Thursday, March 2nd. Conferences will be held both virtually and in-person.

• In-Person 4-6pm
• Virtual 6-8pm

We will be using "Meet the Teacher'' to schedule these conferences, and each conference will be 10 minutes long with a 2 minute transition in between. This sign up as previously communicated opened on Monday, February 13, 2022 @ 7:00am.

When booking conferences, it's important to note that If you have more than one child at MLMS, you will be able to book conferences for all with the same log-in.

Steps Needed and Important Information When Scheduling

• Virtual Conferences

• In-Person Conferences

Link to Sign Up

https://MLMSconferences.meettheteacher.com/

Instructions to Help Sign Up HERE

Meet the Teacher holds firm to the start and end time of each scheduled 10 minute conference. The conference timer begins at the scheduled start time, not when the family joins the conference. When the 10 minutes is up, the conference ends automatically. This is a feature of Meet the Teacher that our teachers cannot manipulate. The benefit of this feature is that teachers will not get backed up causing conference start times to move back. Families can count on every scheduled conference starting on time.

If your conference ends and you need more time, please reach out to your child's teacher to schedule another time.

If you have a virtual parent-teacher conference looking ahead to next week's virtual conferences, please make sure to check your technology before your first conference begins on Thursday, March 2nd.

Check that you’re using a compatible web browser

The following web browsers are supported for making video calls:

• iPhone/iPad: Safari

• Android: Chrome or Firefox

• Windows: Chrome, Firefox, or Edge (latest version only)

• Mac: Safari, Chrome, or Firefox

Check your firewall settings

Please run this test https://networktest.twilio.com/. You will need to allow access to your microphone and camera. This test checks to see if there will be any firewall issues. Firewall issues during conferences are exhibited by seeing "black screens" or "Error 53000."

Having difficulty logging in to Meet the Teacher?

When logging into the program on the parent login page, you must enter your details that match the information in our Infinite Campus system exactly.

• Use Samantha not Sam, if Infinite Campus uses your daughter's full name

• When entering an email address, ensure it is one associated with the Infinite Campus profile
  
  

Having difficulty accessing your conference?

If you are having difficulty accessing your conference via your computer, Meet the Teacher asks you to consider using a personal smartphone if you have access to one. Smartphones often have the microphone and camera enabled. Additionally, there are generally no firewall issues with these devices. However, if you test the program when accessing video calls for the first time, your web browser should ask you if you wish to allow access to the camera and microphone.

If your camera and/or microphone is not detected, Please follow these suggestions below and then press Try Again.

1. Try refreshing the page to see if the web browser prompts you for access to the camera and microphone. If you're prompted for access, choose Allow.
   Otherwise, continue to step 2.

2. Check if your web browser is blocking access to the camera and microphone and if so, unblock access. The steps to do so depend on which web browser you're using. Click on the link to view the guide:

• iPhone/iPad: Safari - open Settings from the Home screen, then choose Safari, and scroll to the Camera & Microphone Access option.

• Android: Chrome, Firefox

• Windows: Chrome, Firefox, Edge (latest version) - press the three dots in the upper right and choose Settings, press Site permissions on the left, followed by Camera and Microphone on the right. Ensure camera and microphone access isn't blocked for this website.

• Mac: Safari, Chrome, Firefox

Please be advised that the 7th & 8th graders who normal start at Muskego High School are not to report to MHS for their classes on Tuesday, March 7th, as they will be hosting ACT testing for the Juniors only.

7th & 8th graders should instead report to Muskego Lakes library for a study hall that morning unless they are dropped off just in time for their first middle school course that day.

Ticket sales for the Muskego Lakes Middle School production of Matilda Jr. are now live to purchase. To order tickets click here.

Performance Dates:

Friday, March. 17 at 7 pm (Miracle Cast)

Saturday, March 18 at 2 pm (Miracle Cast)

Saturday, March 18 at 7 pm (Naughty Cast)

Sunday, March. 19 at 2 pm (Naughty Cast)

Students from both Muskego Lakes and Lake Denoon are invited to a Trivia Night hosted at Muskego Lakes on Friday, March 10 from 4 - 6pm in the cafeteria. There is no cost for attending this event but concessions will be available for purchase. In order to attend Trivia Night, students must sign up in advance by completing this Google Form by Wednesday, March 8. Students will also need to sign a behavior contract, linked here or can be picked up in Student Services. If you have any questions about this event, you can contact Rebecca Heimerl (rebecca.heimerl@muskegonorway.org) or Jack Thompson (jack.thompson@muskegonorway.org).

Open gym until the end of March will be held at Mill Valley Elementary School. If attending, we ask that you enter at Door 12 (in the southwest corner of the building, by the gymnasium- NOT the main doors). Also please know there is no food and drink allowed in the gym! Looking forward to seeing you all there.

We asked Mrs. Roman to share a little about herself and her career in education, in addition to what what makes her proud to work at Muskego Lakes and she said:

"I’m incredibly proud to be a middle school teacher for all 15 years of my career. It's my passion."

Here is a little more to help you get to know Mrs. Roman

Favorite coffee drink - Iced Vanilla Latte
Favorite subject when you were in middle school - Social Studies
Fun fact about yourself that may surprise students and families - My husband and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary this August! We had our wedding reception at Miller Park, because that’s where we met!
My Dream vacation - Overwater Bungalow in the Maldives
My students describe me as - I’m nice and a good listener. I’m a teacher who they trust and can talk to about anything going on in their lives.

We asked Mrs. Hendrix to share a little about herself and her career in education, in addition to what what makes her proud to work at Muskego Lakes and she said:

"I’m proud of getting a job at my dream school right after graduating. I knew as soon as I student taught with Mrs. Reedy in 5th grade four years ago that Muskego Lakes was the school I wanted to ultimately end up at. Despite being unsure of stepping into an 8th grade position, I always thought I wanted to teach 2nd to 4th grade, I fell in love with my position, the kids, and my team."

Here is a little more to help you get to know Mrs. Hendrix

Favorite coffee drink - I don’t drink coffee (yet) but love a Strawberry Açaí Lemonade Refresher from Starbucks
Favorite subject when you were in middle school - Math!
Fun fact about yourself that may surprise students and families - I’ve ALWAYS known I wanted to be a teacher. I have a sister who is two years younger than me. When I was growing up, I had a separate room in the basement that became my “classroom.” I had a whiteboard, student desk, and eventually an overheard! I’ve always had a passion for it.
My Dream vacation - My dream vacation would be traveling back to Jamaica and staying at a resort on Seven Mile beach. I’ve never been a beach with softer sand and clearer water.
My students describe me as - My students would describe me as a teacher who cares about my students as math learners but also as people. They would describe me as a teacher who encourages students to make mistakes and work together to problem solve. They would describe me as a fair, patient, and helpful teacher.

We often have requests from families to communicate with outside providers and/or family members that are not biological parents (i.e. step-parent/grandparent). However, we are unable to do that without permission. To grant that permission, you will need to complete and submit to Student Services the Release of Information document.

Once this document is filled out, it allows us to learn or share information with those individuals. In addition, our student services team can work with your outside provider (pediatrician, counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, etc.) to ensure that strategies or plans can stay consistent between home and school. Teachers also need the release form emailed or sent to Student Services with the rating scale and teachers’ names to complete any assessment tools doctors give.

We are proud to continue to partner with Clinical Psychology Associates (CPA) to offer on-site counseling services at Bay Lane Elementary, Lakeview Elementary, Mill Valley Elementary, Muskego Lakes Middle School, Lake Denoon Middle School, and Muskego High School. For information about CPA’s services and therapists or to get started with an appointment, please visit our website.

A friendly reminder that when you notify school of your child/children being out ill/sick, it's important that we get the reason that they are out as we keep track of illness to monitor outbreaks.

Reporting of Illness

If your student is ill please keep them home and notify us at 262-971-1860 ext 5000. You may also use the Campus Parent App to report the illness.

Reporting of COVID

If your student has a positive COVID test please keep them home and Report your student's COVID ISOLATION using the COVID-19 SYMPTOM OR STATUS NOTIFICATION.

Please refer to the Health Services website for additional information.

Please consider joining the Muskego Lakes PTO. We meet monthly in the MLMS library at 6:30pm. We always welcome new faces and would love to hear your ideas in how we can make this an amazing school year ahead!!

MLMS PTO Meeting Dates for 2022-2023

• March 15
• April 19
• May 17

The MLMS PTO wants to thank the excellent staff for everything they do by providing midweek munchies. Every Wednesday, you have an opportunity to sign up to bring in munchies for the staff to help them make it through the week and brighten their day. If you are interested in supporting this, please sign up here.

You may make a report by visiting the website, using your smartphone by downloading the SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT app from the Apple Store and Google Play, or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1 to speak to a resource center analyst.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter or Facebook.

Website: https://www.muskegonorway.org/schools/muskegolakes/
Location: W124 S8009 North Cape Rd.
Phone: 262-971-1860
Twitter: @MLMSmuskies

Click here to attend your conference! This link is the same that you used to book your conferences.