Hello MMS! Hope everyone’s enjoying this long holiday weekend. Don’t forget, no school tomorrow (Monday, January 16th) in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Please read thru to see everything going on this week. And please pay attention to Ms. Gronau’s Principal’s Letter, which includes important information on budget advocacy for MMS and Black History Month, among other things.
Here’s what else you need to know ...
MMS TRIVIA NIGHT: Ok! These tickets are going fast and the seating at The Woodland is limited. It will sell out, and we don’t want any disappointed would-be Trivia participants. So just do it, get your tickets today! You really won’t want to miss our largest fundraiser of the year. Food, trivia, prizes, mingling with MMS staff & fellow parents, and much much more! It’s Friday, February 3rd at 7pm at The Woodland.
Click HERE to buy tickets.
MLK SILENT PEACE MARCH: Last Friday all MMS students, faculty, and staff (over 800 people!) participated in the 17th annual MLK Silent Peace March. A huge thank you to Mr. Palmgren and all of the MMS faculty & staff for making this powerful, memorable experience possible for our children. Click HERE to see some beautiful images from the event taken by MMS parent Mary Mann of The Village Green.
THE LUMINARY PROJECT: The Community Coalition on Race invites you to participate in the Luminary Project tomorrow, Monday, January 16th, in honor of Dr. King’s light and legacy. Please click HERE for all the information on this meaningful tribute.
MMS MUSICAL TICKETS: Have you purchased your tickets yet for the MMS Musical? It’s sure to be spectacular! Performances are Friday, February 24th at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 25th at 7:30pm; and Sunday, February 26th at 2pm. Check out the Musical website HERE for all the info on the show, to purchase tickets via Pay Pal, or to print a paper order form. Additional paper order forms are available in the Main Office. Any questions? Please reach out to Ms. O’Sullivan at mosulliv@somsd.k12.nj.us.
PARENTS’ MEETING: Ms. Gronau is hosting a special meeting for parents on Saturday, January 21st from 2-3:30pm in the MMS Library. The topics will focus on the many ways MMS programming supports our students’ academic, emotional, and social needs. Light refreshments will be served. Look for a flyer going home this week about the meeting.
WINTER ORCHESTRA CONCERT: The MMS Winter Orchestra Concert is Tuesday, January 24th at 7pm. Ms. Chilimintris provided the following information: participating students should be at school by 6:30pm and 6th graders should be there by 6:20pm. Concert attire is as follows: black pants/skirt and white shirt/blouse. Black shoes/socks are preferred. Parents, if your daughter decides to wear a dress or skirt, please, an appropriate length is required. Expect a follow-up email with more details. Any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ms. Chilimintris at achilimi@somsd.k12.nj.us. Encourage our young musicians to practice! Preparedness helps to boost confidence, which helps us all play better in performances.
WINTER BAND CONCERT: The MMS Winter Band Concert is Wednesday, January 25th at 7pm in the MMS Gymnasium. Mr. Balas provided the following information: all participating students should arrive in the bandroom in concert attire no later than 6:30pm. Concert attire is white shirt or blouse, black pants or skirts, black shoes and socks (no jeans or sneakers!). Please contact Mr. Balas at cbalas@somsd.k12.nj.us with any questions. Click HERE for the flyer.
MMS YEARBOOKS: The MMS Yearbook is now on sale! The yearbook is organized by MMS teachers Ms. Hansen (mhansen@somsd.k12.nj.us) and Ms. Varney (rvarney@somsd.k12.nj.us), who can be contacted with any questions. The flyer outlining how to order online or in school can be found HERE. And information on purchasing a “Well Wisher” for an 8th grade student to include in the yearbook can be found HERE.
SPECIAL ED PTO MEETING: A correction from last week’s eblast, the Special Ed PTO Meeting focusing on Secondary Schools will be held on Tuesday, February 21st. All are welcome. Meetings start at 7:30pm at 525 Academy, second floor conference room. The first 45-60 minutes are devoted to the featured topic, followed by 30-45 minutes of sharing individual questions or concerns and community resources and making connections with other special education parents.
FUN FRIDAYS FOR MMS STUDENTS: Announcing "Fun Fridays" at Lickt Gelato, 411 Ridgewood Road in Maplewood. Every Friday from 3-8pm during January and February mention your school during checkout and they will donate 10% of the purchase back to our school's HSA! Lickt, owned by MMS parents, uses hormone-free milk, natural ingredients, contains half the fat of traditional ice creams, and uses around 25% less sugar. Dairy-free and vegan. See facebook.com/lickt for new flavors/updates.
ACHIEVE GRANT DIRECT FUNDING: The Achieve Foundation has announced this year's Teacher Grants, and thanks to the generosity of our community, we are awarding a record amount! Teachers will receive more than $73,000 for 63 creative and cutting-edge programs benefitting schools across the South Orange/Maplewood School District. As you know, these grants are special because they allow teachers to implement innovative projects that make an impact on our students in the classroom and beyond.
MMS teachers awarded grants this year include: Michael Berezny, Karen Bonanno, Frank D'Elia, John Faherty, Suzanne Fein, Meredith Hansen, Diane Leick, Amy Pitucco, Maria Serpico, Debra Silva and Desiree Spriggs!
But, there's more….since the Achieve Foundation receives an extraordinary number of proposals from teachers, we were not able to fully fund each and every project.
That's where you come in...our master list of approved projects is now available for parents and other members of our wonderful community to view - and fund! Yes, that's right, it's now your turn to pick and choose your favorite projects.
Now, the fun begins...please consider supporting one or more projects of your choice TODAY through February 5th! Perhaps there is a project at your school that could benefit your child or a favorite teacher who proposed a great idea. Whatever your reason, it's fun to give DIRECTLY to programs that make a difference. All of the grants listed have met our criteria for making an impact, so you can give directly, knowing they have our stamp of approval. Also, all Direct Grant Funding donations are fully tax-deductible.
You can donate now to help fund the projects of MMS teachers Michael Berezny, Karen Bonanno, Frank D'Elia, Suzanne Fein, Jamie Felder, Nataly Granaturova-Riera, Meredith Hansen, Diane Leick, Miguel Pena & Carla Dos Santos, Debra Silva and Desiree Spriggs!
Please go to https://4elbows.formstack.com/forms/achieve_direct_funding for more information about each grant and to donate online now to the school and project of your choice.
To pay by mail, send your check with the teacher’s name and school in the memo line to Achieve Foundation, PO Box 1084, Maplewood, NJ, 07040
For any questions please contact Buena Chilstrom at buenabob@gmail.com<mailto:buenabob@gmail.com> or 973-762-8274.
For a list of ALL of the Achieve grants awarded this year, please visit http://achievefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Grants-list-for-website_12-9-16_awarded.pdf
****THE PRINCIPAL’S CORNER****
Please click HERE for this week’s message from Ms. Gronau.
Have a great week,
Kathleen Bailie & Alan Stephenson
your MMS HSA Co-Presidents
kbailie1@gmail.com
wunderdogny@aol.com
Please read thru to see everything going on this week. And please pay attention to Ms. Gronau’s Principal’s Letter, which includes important information on budget advocacy for MMS and Black History Month, among other things.
Here’s what else you need to know ...
MMS TRIVIA NIGHT: Ok! These tickets are going fast and the seating at The Woodland is limited. It will sell out, and we don’t want any disappointed would-be Trivia participants. So just do it, get your tickets today! You really won’t want to miss our largest fundraiser of the year. Food, trivia, prizes, mingling with MMS staff & fellow parents, and much much more! It’s Friday, February 3rd at 7pm at The Woodland.
Click HERE to buy tickets.
MLK SILENT PEACE MARCH: Last Friday all MMS students, faculty, and staff (over 800 people!) participated in the 17th annual MLK Silent Peace March. A huge thank you to Mr. Palmgren and all of the MMS faculty & staff for making this powerful, memorable experience possible for our children. Click HERE to see some beautiful images from the event taken by MMS parent Mary Mann of The Village Green.
THE LUMINARY PROJECT: The Community Coalition on Race invites you to participate in the Luminary Project tomorrow, Monday, January 16th, in honor of Dr. King’s light and legacy. Please click HERE for all the information on this meaningful tribute.
MMS MUSICAL TICKETS: Have you purchased your tickets yet for the MMS Musical? It’s sure to be spectacular! Performances are Friday, February 24th at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 25th at 7:30pm; and Sunday, February 26th at 2pm. Check out the Musical website HERE for all the info on the show, to purchase tickets via Pay Pal, or to print a paper order form. Additional paper order forms are available in the Main Office. Any questions? Please reach out to Ms. O’Sullivan at mosulliv@somsd.k12.nj.us.
PARENTS’ MEETING: Ms. Gronau is hosting a special meeting for parents on Saturday, January 21st from 2-3:30pm in the MMS Library. The topics will focus on the many ways MMS programming supports our students’ academic, emotional, and social needs. Light refreshments will be served. Look for a flyer going home this week about the meeting.
WINTER ORCHESTRA CONCERT: The MMS Winter Orchestra Concert is Tuesday, January 24th at 7pm. Ms. Chilimintris provided the following information: participating students should be at school by 6:30pm and 6th graders should be there by 6:20pm. Concert attire is as follows: black pants/skirt and white shirt/blouse. Black shoes/socks are preferred. Parents, if your daughter decides to wear a dress or skirt, please, an appropriate length is required. Expect a follow-up email with more details. Any questions or concerns, please reach out to Ms. Chilimintris at achilimi@somsd.k12.nj.us. Encourage our young musicians to practice! Preparedness helps to boost confidence, which helps us all play better in performances.
WINTER BAND CONCERT: The MMS Winter Band Concert is Wednesday, January 25th at 7pm in the MMS Gymnasium. Mr. Balas provided the following information: all participating students should arrive in the bandroom in concert attire no later than 6:30pm. Concert attire is white shirt or blouse, black pants or skirts, black shoes and socks (no jeans or sneakers!). Please contact Mr. Balas at cbalas@somsd.k12.nj.us with any questions. Click HERE for the flyer.
MMS YEARBOOKS: The MMS Yearbook is now on sale! The yearbook is organized by MMS teachers Ms. Hansen (mhansen@somsd.k12.nj.us) and Ms. Varney (rvarney@somsd.k12.nj.us), who can be contacted with any questions. The flyer outlining how to order online or in school can be found HERE. And information on purchasing a “Well Wisher” for an 8th grade student to include in the yearbook can be found HERE.
SPECIAL ED PTO MEETING: A correction from last week’s eblast, the Special Ed PTO Meeting focusing on Secondary Schools will be held on Tuesday, February 21st. All are welcome. Meetings start at 7:30pm at 525 Academy, second floor conference room. The first 45-60 minutes are devoted to the featured topic, followed by 30-45 minutes of sharing individual questions or concerns and community resources and making connections with other special education parents.
FUN FRIDAYS FOR MMS STUDENTS: Announcing "Fun Fridays" at Lickt Gelato, 411 Ridgewood Road in Maplewood. Every Friday from 3-8pm during January and February mention your school during checkout and they will donate 10% of the purchase back to our school's HSA! Lickt, owned by MMS parents, uses hormone-free milk, natural ingredients, contains half the fat of traditional ice creams, and uses around 25% less sugar. Dairy-free and vegan. See facebook.com/lickt for new flavors/updates.
ACHIEVE GRANT DIRECT FUNDING: The Achieve Foundation has announced this year's Teacher Grants, and thanks to the generosity of our community, we are awarding a record amount! Teachers will receive more than $73,000 for 63 creative and cutting-edge programs benefitting schools across the South Orange/Maplewood School District. As you know, these grants are special because they allow teachers to implement innovative projects that make an impact on our students in the classroom and beyond.
MMS teachers awarded grants this year include: Michael Berezny, Karen Bonanno, Frank D'Elia, John Faherty, Suzanne Fein, Meredith Hansen, Diane Leick, Amy Pitucco, Maria Serpico, Debra Silva and Desiree Spriggs!
But, there's more….since the Achieve Foundation receives an extraordinary number of proposals from teachers, we were not able to fully fund each and every project.
That's where you come in...our master list of approved projects is now available for parents and other members of our wonderful community to view - and fund! Yes, that's right, it's now your turn to pick and choose your favorite projects.
Now, the fun begins...please consider supporting one or more projects of your choice TODAY through February 5th! Perhaps there is a project at your school that could benefit your child or a favorite teacher who proposed a great idea. Whatever your reason, it's fun to give DIRECTLY to programs that make a difference. All of the grants listed have met our criteria for making an impact, so you can give directly, knowing they have our stamp of approval. Also, all Direct Grant Funding donations are fully tax-deductible.
You can donate now to help fund the projects of MMS teachers Michael Berezny, Karen Bonanno, Frank D'Elia, Suzanne Fein, Jamie Felder, Nataly Granaturova-Riera, Meredith Hansen, Diane Leick, Miguel Pena & Carla Dos Santos, Debra Silva and Desiree Spriggs!
Please go to https://4elbows.formstack.com/forms/achieve_direct_funding for more information about each grant and to donate online now to the school and project of your choice.
To pay by mail, send your check with the teacher’s name and school in the memo line to Achieve Foundation, PO Box 1084, Maplewood, NJ, 07040
For any questions please contact Buena Chilstrom at buenabob@gmail.com<mailto:buenabob@gmail.com> or 973-762-8274.
For a list of ALL of the Achieve grants awarded this year, please visit http://achievefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Grants-list-for-website_12-9-16_awarded.pdf
****THE PRINCIPAL’S CORNER****
Please click HERE for this week’s message from Ms. Gronau.
Have a great week,
Kathleen Bailie & Alan Stephenson
your MMS HSA Co-Presidents
kbailie1@gmail.com
wunderdogny@aol.com
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