Happy Monday!
November 14, 2011
We are off to a wonderful start! Together this will be a prosperous 2011-2012 School Year!
PTO Meeting - Our next PTO Meeting will be Tuesday, December 6th @ 8:15 AM.
Hand-in-Hand Program – All Students that are in the Hand-in-Hand Program after school will meet Monday thru Thursday from 3:00 to 5:00 in room 14, Ms. Boulia room on the 6th grade hall
Winter Sports Pictures - On Friday, December 9th after school beginning at 3:15 in the gym the following teams will take their sports pictures:
Girls Soccer at 3:15, Boys Soccer at 3:30 and Volleyball Team pictures at 3:45. Mark your calendars!
Fundraiser Late Orders – The delivery date for late orders sent in on our fundraiser will be delivered on November 18th via UPS.
Turkey Day is Just Around the Corner – A Thanksgiving tradition at MCMS includes light-hearted voting for our staff member as our biggest turkey. For just $.50, students may cast their vote in the cafeteria for their favorite turkey. Expect the excitement to build as we watch for staff turkeys to move across the official board in our cafeteria.
Voting began on Tuesday, November 8 and will close on Thursday, November 17. Our biggest turkey will be sporting around school in the famous costume on Friday, November 18. This same day, we will be drawing names for our turkey bowl, which will take place during lunches. Yes that’s right, turkey bowling in the school cafeteria. Gobble! Gobble!
Today the 1st place runner up for the Biggest Turkey is Mr. Miller 6th grade, 2nd place is Mr. Tedder 6th grade and 3rd place is Mr. Bill Newman. Mrs. Melody in the cafeteria is getting ready to put you in her Turkey Pot!
MCMS Glee Club Holiday Tour – Get ready for the MCMS Glee Holiday Tour which kicks off with our Glee performance at the Festival of Trees on December 13th at 5:00. Glee will practice each Tuesday in the Media Center until 4:00.
If you are participating in Glee or would like to do so, please see Mrs. Lancaster in the media center for a Glee information letter. We have selected our holiday music, and it's going to be a blast.
Boys Basketball - The next OPEN GYM for any 7th or 8th grade boy interested in playing basketball will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15. It will begin at 4:30 pm and last until 6:00 pm. Students are not allowed to stay after school unless they are with a teacher. Please come dressed in basketball attire and have a ride pick you up promptly at 6:00 pm."
Football Players – We still have football equipment that has not been returned. We asked that you please return cleaned equipment to Mr. DeGiule or Mr. Woods as soon as possible.
Boys Soccer – Next home game is Wednesday, November 16th at 3:30 against Down East.
Volleyball Game –Our next game is tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15th at Down East at 4:00.
Boys Golf Team – Please turn in your team golf bag and team shirts.
Quiz Bowl - Meetings will take place every Wednesday from 3:00 to 3:45 thru April 2nd.
Media Mania News …. Don’t get caught without a BOOK!

Fall into Fiction Campaign:
Feels just like I'm falling in love with books, I keep turning the pages! Impeccable! Absolutely Impeccable! With 7 short school days remaining in our school Fall into Fiction Campaign, we have read 1,728 books! Amazing! Our top team, the Sea Turtles are 13 away from 500! the Starfish are knocking on their door with only 50 or so leaves to catch them. Talk about some leaf action, the Sea Horses, Ospreys, and Leather backs have kept on falling. Every team with the exception of the Staff has busted 100 leaves! 4 teams have busted 200 leaves. Staff, unfortunately, we are back into last place, so let's see if we can bust 100. We have 29 leaves to accomplish that goal. Will the Sea Turtles win it all? Will the Starfish surpass them? Will the Sea Horses or Ospreys trump them? Will the 8th grade blow by everyone in some surprise behind the scenes action? Who knows? 7 days remain? Next week, you can view daily totals on our media web page from the school web page. Our shout outs go to Mr. Newman, who read With the Old Breed at Pelelien and Okinawa and rated it a 10+ saying everyone should read it prior to Veteran's day. It is actually a non-fiction war account. He is so pumped about the military action in the book that we are working to add it to our collection. Stay tuned. Speaking of New Releases... we now have a digital list running on our media page with the newest titles added to our library. Other shout outs include Hunter Draughan for Tentacles, rated a 10 for being action packed, Katie Lee for Mockingbird, a BOB title, rated a 10 due to being an emotional roller-coaster, and Burke Lewis for Vampirates, rated a 10 because of the intense action. Don't miss out on the leaf extravaganza! Let us know if you would like to do a combo next time of digital and decorations or just digital. Remember, fall for an awesome book, and keep turning those pages!

Battle of the Books- If you are interested in Battle of the Books, please see Mrs. Lancaster for an information letter. We will have an open practice to all of those interested on Thursday, November 17 until 4:00. There will be another open practice on Friday, December 2 until 4:00. The qualification quiz is on Monday, December 5 in Room 135 on the 8th grade hall. There are a lot of exciting books this year. It is a wonderful opportunity to test your brain power. Those interested students already receiving the letter should return the signed portion to Mrs. Lancaster in the media center.

E-Grades - Many of you have asked about E-grades. This system of communication regarding your students’ grades has been and continues to be important to us.
"Egrades are up and working! Teachers gained access this Thursday and have been helping students log in and view their grades.
Parents should visit the school website to learn how to access their student's grades.
* Please view the Parent Tools page for directions on how to access student grades."
Absences and Tardies - We’d also like to remind you of the importance of clearing absences and tardies when they occur. Students should bring notes to Ms. Becton in first class within a couple of days of the tardiness or absence. We thank you in advance for keeping our attendance records up to date.
Lost and Found Items – Parents, there is now a link on the MCMS web page that allows you to check “Lost and Found” items that have collected for a few weeks now. We encourage you to collect your valuable items before we must donate to charity organizations. The lost and found list is updated each Friday.
Rachel’s Challenge – Rachel's Challenge will meet each Friday during AC and Lunch.
*6th Grade will be in Room 134 (Kathleen Miller's Room)
*7th Grade will be in Room Number 10 (The old First Class Room)
*8th Grade will be in Room Number 7 (The Health Room)
*Rachel's Challenge Sign up with your homeroom teacher
* Rachel's Challenge Chain Links Club is a group that seeks to start chain reactions of kindness and compassion throughout MCMS
* Meets every week during lunch (Friday)
* Meets Every Other week during AC/Lunch (Friday)
* All year committment: Need to attend all meetings

The 2010 presentation of Rachel’s Challenge is still actively at work in our school!
As you may be aware, Rachel Joy Scott leaves a legacy across all continents. Her message of treating others with compassion and kindness sounds simple. Yet, the message Rachel continues to send is so complex. Adolescents are living in a world very different than many of us experienced during our teenage years.

Whether we think it is or is not the role of schools to teach respectful behaviors, the reality is that we do this in some capacity, every day, at MCMS. We have found the common message in Rachel’s Challenge to be an extremely valuable tool to teach and re-teach the characteristics of kindness and compassion. Rachel’s message has much more impact than any anti-bullying message around. It just makes sense to our kids.
Rachel’s Challenge is coming to MCMS!
Mark your calendars for Friday, December 2nd. The events will take place in our gym at the following times:
• Sixth Grade: 8:00-9:15
• Seventh and Eighth Grade: 9:30-10:45
• Parents are encouraged to join us for one of the above sessions. Please RSVP by calling our office staff at 726-1126. We encourage you to check out the organization’s web page at www.rachelschallenge.org
The site includes some amazing videos that will give you a preview of this life-changing presentation.
Make-up Day – Our next Make-up day for the school day we missed due to hurricane Irene is Monday, December 19th. Monday, December 19th will be an early release day also. Students will be dismissed from school at 12:00 noon. Mark your calendars!
Media Mania News …. Don’t get caught without a BOOK!

Box Tops for Education – Box Tops is all about the difference 1 can make. This year our goal is to raise $334.00 for materials and programs to benefit our students. Here are three easy, ways to help:
1. Clip – Clip the Box Tops from hundreds of participation products and send them to school. Each one is worth 10 cents when our school redeems them from Box Tops for Education
Shop Online – Shop at your favorite stores through the Box Tops Marketplace (boxtops4education.com/marketplace). Up to 15 eBoxTops per $10 spent on qualifying purchases is automatically donated to our school, at no additional cost to you. Plus you’ll get exclusive Box Tops deal and discounts!
2. Read – Buy books online through Reading Room, a partnership between Box Tops and Barnes and Noble. Our school receives up to 6 eBox Tops per $10 spent on qualifying purchases.
3. Sign up – It’s easy and free. Sign up to support our school at boxtops4education.com
• See how much our school is earning with Box Tops
• Enter online promotions for chances to win Bonus Box Tops and other prizes
• Print money-saving coupons for your favorite Box Tops brands
• Make mealtime easier with family-pleasing recipes
You can also sign up for Box Tops email newsletters that will keep you updated on the program, and for Marketplace newsletter with Box Tops members-only deals and discounts.
*WOW! You guys are awesome! Today we have raised over $440.00 by bringing in Box Tops for Education. Our goal for the year was $334.00 and we still have half the year to go. We are setting a new goal of $700.00!!
The next collection will be in February so keep clipping those Box tops and Thank you!
Follow our Blog – We encourage you to become a Follower of our blog to receive our Town Crier News through your email. To do this, please click on the Town Crier Blog on the left side of Morehead Middle’s Blog page. The Town Crier School News will pop up. Click on the Follower button located at the bottom of our school calendar. It will take you to a screen where you sign into an account listed or you can create a Google account to automatically receive daily updates. Fill out the necessary information. Join us! Keep in touch with what is happening daily at MCMS!
Have a Wonderful Day!