Principal's Message

Good afternoon,

Welcome to Maize Middle School! We have had a great first 3 weeks of school. Our enrollment is way up and we are over our capacity already with just being in the newly remodeled area for a few years. The growth has brought some challenges but we are making the most of it. We did not have enough lockers, as we realized the big jump in enrollment, so we ordered and had the lockers installed just before school started. We have also hired some additional staff to help with class size and have had to use every available space to use for classrooms. We do have one temporary classroom in the library and one other teacher is on a cart and uses a class when a teacher is on plan. We are excited for this growth but we are adjusting to the extra bodies and crowded spaces. Thanks to the awesome community support and passing of the bond, we will be addressing this space and overcrowding with two new 5 ^th/6 ^th grade buildings.

We are thankful for the opportunity to have a 1 to 1 Chromebook experience for all students. The Technology committee worked hard to come up with the plan of how to roll this out and think the deployment was a success. We did have a problem with the 6 ^th grade chromebooks not having the correct cases but the replacement cases have now been delivered and handed out to the students. The students are able to decorate their chromebook cases to make it their own and also take some pride in taking care of their electronic device. We are also making sure we educate all of our students on digital citizenship and the teachers are presenting lessons on various topics to help promote a positive digital environment for our students. We will continue these lessons through the school year and will address issues as we see the need on specific topics associated with digital citizenship.

At MMS we are committed to the process of Capturing Kids’ Hearts. I believe we have to “Reach them before we can Teach them” and this process helps all staff be intentional about building relationships with students. It also empowers our students to be self-managing. Our goal is for Maize Middle School to be a safe place where all students feel welcome. Capturing Kids’ Hearts helps us accomplish this goal. Our teachers are greeting students at the door, asking about “good things” in their lives, building social contracts, launching students with something meaningful, etc. Our hope is that these things will make MMS feel like a “home away from home.” We are looking forward to a wonderful 2019-2020 school year.

We have reviewed our Eagle Expectations and give those reminders throughout the year, and so far they are doing a nice job of stepping up and following our Eagle Expectations. The Eagle expectations are: Be Respectful, Be Responsible/Learner, Be Safe, Be Friendly. Even the students that fall short of our expectations we will take time to work with them to help them meet those expectations. Feel free to encourage your child to meet our expectations daily.

We have several new teachers this year and I want to take a moment to introduce the many new faces joining the MMS family.

·         Donna Alan-Science/Math

·         Darcy Baker-IR Math

·         Michelle Black-ELA

·         Abby Bonilla-Kitchen

·         Kelly Burkholder-6 ^th grade

·         Valerie Burns-OT

·         Garrett Gould-Social Studies/PE

·         Alison Hamner-Math

·         Amanda Hawkins-Math

·         Mariah McDowell-ELA

·         Christy Neice-IR ELA

·         Christy Quach-Psychologist Secretary

·         Kevin Roulhac-Assistant Principal/Athletic Director

·         Carrie Samek-Math

·         Alia Truex-Speech

·         Meghan Ugues-Counselor

·         Roni Worcester-IR Math/ELA

·         Nancy Thompson-Instructional Para       

If you ever have any questions or concerns, feel free to drop by my office, call me at school, or e-mail me.

Once again, we are looking forward to a wonderful 2019-2020 school year. GO EAGLES!!

Have a great day!

Brian

Make Today Matter

  

Brian Thompson

Principal

Maize Middle School

4600 N. Maize Rd.

Maize, KS 67101

316-729-2464



[email protected]



Attendance/Tardies

Attendance Counts: 

Regular attendance is necessary to fully realize the benefits of educational opportunities. Students with regular attendance benefit from in-class learning experiences and generally will be more successful in their classes. These experiences include class discussion, problem solving exercises, teamwork and social opportunities. Students are expected to be present and punctual for all classes throughout the year. The responsibility of school attendance is with the student and his/her parents. Parent Notification A student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) should notify the school by 10:00 a.m. in the event the student will be absent on that day. Verification of the reason for the absence should be stated. Parents are encouraged to provide the front office staff with any medical appointment cards, physicians’ notes, court documentation, etc. Each document should state the student’s name, the time and date of the appointment/illness, and the reason for the absence from school.  A letter will be mailed to parents when a student is absent five or more days during the nine weeks. The intent of the letter is to remind the parents of the number of absences that have occurred. On the sixth absence, an administrator may assign a student consequences for absences.

 ALL MIDDLE SCHOOL ABSENCE AND TARDY COUNTS START OVER EACH TERM. Middle School Tardies-Being in class, prepared and ready to learn when the bell rings is a necessity. ● Parents may excuse their student for being late to the start of school three times with no consequence. ● After 3 tardies, per class period, the following applies: ○ Warning by administration ○ Lunch detention ○ 1-hour after-school detention ○ 2-hour after-school detention ○ 2-hour Saturday detention ○ 4-hour Saturday detention ○ In-School Suspension ○ Conference with parents and possible suspension. Unexcused Tardies: Students who are late to school without a parent call will be considered unexcused. At administrative discretion, the student may be assigned consequences if the student is persistent in being late to school, regardless of the reasons for the tardiness.

Counselors Corner

Thank you to those families that were able to donate supplies to our annual 'Stuff the Bus' event! We are still in need of new or gently used trapper keepers, zipper binders and Texas Instrument calculators. If you would like to help with a donation, you may drop off at the Maize Middle School office.

Thanks so much!

Caitlin Hamilton A-L

Megan Ugues M-Z

Attendance Reminders

Regular attendance is necessary to fully realize the benefits of educational opportunities. Students are expected to be present and punctual for all classes throughout the year. The responsibility of school attendance is with the student and his/her parents. Parents/guardians should notify the school via our attendance line in the event the student will be absent. Excused absences include illness verified by a doctor, appointments with a doctors note, school sponsored activities, funerals or administrative approved absences.  Parents are encouraged to provide a doctors note for appointments and illnesses.  Attendance letters will be mailed to parents of students with 5 or more absences during the semester and disciplinary actions can be taken.

Reference student handbook pages 5-8.

From the Nurse’s Office

September Nurse’s Corner:

Hello! My name is Shelley Funk, I am the nurse at Maize Middle School! Jennifer Gonzales is our Nurse Para. We hope your student has had a great start to the school year! We are in full swing in the Health Office! Just a few reminders for everyone:

1) If your student carries an inhaler, PLEASE be sure it is labeled with his/her full name. We know they are expensive and if they are dropped, or lost, we want to be able to find the owner.

2) If your student carries an inhaler with him/her, we DO need a doctor’s order on file in the nurse’s office. Your student should not be carrying any medication that does not have an order in the Health Office.

3) If your student has health needs and you have not spoken with me, please call and let us know how we can help!

4) If you have not turned in immunizations this year, please do so ASAP. October 1 is the cutoff date for all immunizations to be updated and current. After October 1, if your student is not compliant, he/she may be excluded from school until they are up to date!

We often have need in the Health Office for some items that are not in our budget. If anyone would like to donate any of these items to help our students, we would appreciate it very much!

1)      XS, Small, Med and Large NEW girl’s underwear

2)      NEW girls socks

3)      Small, Med, Large and XL NEW boy’s underwear/boxers

4)      NEW boys socks

5)      Gently used Maize gear (small)

6)      Gently used girls small and XS shorts, leggings, sweats (please no jeans or jean shorts)

If there is anything we can do for your student, don’t hesitate to call!

Shelley Funk

RN, BSN

Phone: 350-2308

Email: [email protected]

MMS PTO

Hello Eagle Parents!

1. Spiritwear

Shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, hats!! There are soooo many ways to sport that Eagle pride! All items will ship to the school and be distributed through your MMS student. Head to  www.maizemiddlepto.com   and click on Spiritwear. Orders must be submitted by  September 3!

 2. Parent Input

PTO and this Eagle family work the best when parents are connected! Our first PTO General meeting will be September 10th at 7pm in the office conference room. Come share ideas and meet some other parents!

 

3. Connected

Part of staying connected is working together. We have a few volunteer opportunities including concessions during a couple of volleyball games(Sept 12 and 23), and serving our staff a meal during fall conferences (Sept 25). Please head to  www.maizemiddlepto.com/upcoming-events  to sign up for volunteer spots!

MMS PTO Board-

Vanessa, Rachel, Sara, Marcy, and Mrs. Kerbs

 

Connect with MMS PTO:   www.maizemiddlepto.com

Find us on Facebook @maizemiddlepto and Twitter @maizemiddlepto

Spring Break 2020

I am thrilled to share that world languages classes are taking our next educational tour through Scotland and Ireland in 2020! These lands were once home to ancient Celtic and Gaelic tribes. We will step into the Middle Ages on Edinburgh's Royal Mile and under the towering spire of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. We also will visit Belfast and more historical and beautiful cities. We want to invite our students and families to participate in this incredible opportunity.

We will have a meeting on Thursday September 12 in our World Languages classroom A 116 at Maize South Middle School at 6:00 pm. If you have any questions please email me [email protected].

Dillon's Community Rewards

We're giving away $2 MILLION to local organizations!

Where Shopping and Giving Come Together!

Use your Plus Shopper's Card & help us grow!

Supporting our organization has never been easier-just shop at

Dillons and scan your Plus Shopper's Card!

Here's how to enroll:

You'll start earning rewards for our organization right away on qualifying purchases made using your Plus Shopper's Card!

Everyone must enroll in the Reward Program. This is necessary in order for purchases throughout 2019 to credit Maize Middle School. Sign-in and make your contribution selection using this new 5 digit NPO number, NI311.