Town Crier on Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

Happy Wednesday!
November 23, 2011
We are off to a wonderful start! Together this will be a prosperous 2011-2012 School Year!
Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!
Early Release – Today, Wednesday, November 23rd school will dismiss at 11:55 AM and there will be No School on Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. School will resume on Monday, November 28th!
Spirit Hoodie Sweatshirts – It’s that time of year again for sweatshirts. Pre-order a “Spirit Hooded Sweatshirt” for $25.00 right here in the office.
Just leave your name, size, and homeroom teacher. Go Minutemen!
PTO Meeting - Our next PTO Meeting will be Tuesday, December 13th @ 8:15 AM. We hope to see you here!
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!
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.
All members need to turn in the t-shirt money to Mrs. Lancaster by November 29. Glee will practice on Tuesday, November 29 until 4:30 in the media center. There are multiple practice dates, so be sure to check your Glee information letters. Try-outs for solos will be announced soon and take place the week of November 28 - December 2.
Boys Soccer – Next home game is next Wednesday, November 30th against Newport at 3:30. Make plans to be here.
There will be NO Soccer scrimmage today but there will be practice right after school in the gym.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the MCMS Boys soccer team!
Volleyball – Please turn in your clean volleyball uniforms before Thanksgiving break!
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!
Wow! Our school read 2, 074 books in 8 weeks! Steep competition occurred during our Fall into Fiction campaign. The Staff brought up the rear, but we busted 100 books with a total of 107. The Eighth grade teams came in next with a combined total of 374 books. Ospreys and Seahorses tied for third with 339 books for each team. The Starfish fought hard and came in second with 462 books. Their team won a $50 gift card to the Holiday BOGO Book Fair. Mrs. West will be in charge of picking out the books for the team. Our fall into fiction team winner goes to the Sea Turtles with 553 books. Ms. Boulia will receive a $100 gift card to the Holiday BOGO Book Fair. Congratulations. When we return from Thanksgiving break, the leaves will be raked away to prepare for a Blizzard of Books. Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! The Blizzard of Books will include snowmen, red, and green polka dots. When you finish a fiction or non-fiction book of 50 pages or more, you get a snowman or a dot. If you read a fiction or nonfiction book in your lexile range of 50 points above or below your SRI score, it counts triple the amount. During week 1 and week 2(Nov. 28-Dec 9), we will select a grade level winner. Each winner will earn bucks to spend at our BOGO Book Fair. This event will run through January 13. We will recognize team winners as well. Keep up the awesome reading! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break. I am thankful for each and everyone of you!
Remember, fall for an awesome book, and keep turning those pages!

Battle of the Books- Students interested in Battle of the Books need to return the signed portion of the BOB information letter to Mrs. Lancaster by December 2. Students need to read the books on the BOB 2012 list, know the titles and authors. There is an open practice on Friday, December 2 until 4 in the media center. The qualification quiz is on Monday, December 5 in Room 135 on the 8th grade hall (last classroom on the right).

Rachel’s Challenge – Rachel's Challenge will meet each Friday during AC and Lunch.

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.

Parents Invited!
Please join us for a Rachel's Challenge Presentation
Friday, December 2
8:00-9:15AM or
9:30-10:45AM

Please RSVS in the MCMS office if you plan to attend.

Check out www.rachelschallenge.org for more information

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!
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.
Box Tops for Education – Box Tops is all about the difference 1 can make. This year our goal is to raise money for materials and programs to benefit our students.
The next collection will be in February, so keep clipping those Box tops and Thank you!
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.

*Ms. Boulia’s 6th Grade Homeroom Class are the winners of bringing in the most Box Tops for Education. Today the homeroom class had a dessert breakfast for winning.
* Austin Morey, 7th grader was the student that brought in the most Box Tops. Austin won a gift card from Wal-Mart. Thank you Austin!

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Have a Wonderful Day!