Town

Happy Wednesday!
November 9, 2011
We are off to a wonderful start! Together this will be a prosperous 2011-2012 School Year!
No School – There will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, November 11th due to the Veteran’s Day holiday.
PTO Meeting - Our next PTO Meeting will be Tuesday, December 6th @ 8:15AM.
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 begins 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!
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. Glee members will get a letter today, Tuesday, November 8th with more details of practice dates to give to parents.
Boys Basketball - The next OPEN GYM for any 7th or 8th grade boy interested in playing basketball will be on 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."
Boys Soccer – Today, Wednesday, November 9th the MCMS Boys Soccer Team will travel to Newport Middle. Game time will be at 3:30.
Volleyball Game – The lady minutemen volleyball team suffered a hard loss last night. Everyone on the team played their hearts out. There were many bright spots during this match! Natalie Chazal was on fire setting and tipping the ball over the net. Laney Healey lit the court up last night. She had great calls and awesome hits. Kelsey Russell was our ninja player of the evening with great plays, and backing up others around her and rockin her serves! Emily Sullivan and Megan Jones had several awesome serves in a row. Mackenzie Whittaker was all over the place helping and backing up everywhere she could! Great Effort Ladies!
Our next game is Tuesday, November 15th, Down East at 4:00.
Boys Golf Team – The boys golf team won the conference championship defeating Beaufort Middle and Broad Creek by 21 stokes. Jack Rixey led all golfers shooting a 49 for 9 holes. Sean Lewis was 2nd with 50. Jacob Ellingsworth was 3rd with a 52. Awesome performance boys! Please turn in your team golf bag and team shirt by Friday.
Quiz Bowl - Meetings will take place every Wednesday from 3:00 to 3:45 thru April 2nd.

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.

Our plan is to bring Rachel’s Challenge back to our school community the last week in October. Two assemblies will take place. The first will be presented to our sixth grade students. They will hear the message our entire school heard last year. The second assembly will be a follow up for both seventh and eighth grade students. The message will extend the students’ knowledge of kindness and compassion and tap into their ability to understand the concepts at a deeper level. The third component to our day will include training for our student leaders-those that have chosen to be members of the Chain Links Club. This support for student leadership will build on this group’s leadership capacity, reinforcing life-long skills.

We have about 50% of the $4,000 needed for this year’s program. If you are interested and able to contribute in any way, we are accepting all donations, regardless of the amount. Know that at least once per week, every student is participating in a classroom discussion that promotes the spark to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion in our school, community and world. Together, we can make a difference!

Once we finalize our dates and times, we will publish the information within our community, hoping you are able to join us for this awesome event.

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 sin 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!