MMS HSA News - Week 8

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MMS HSA News - Week 8 MAPLEWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATION Dear MMS Families, This past week we found ourselves mourning the loss of Lily Rice Holtzman, a 6th grade student at MMS. We extend our sincere condolences to Lily's family and friends as we keep them in our thoughts at this difficult time.   The HSA is committed to supporting members of the MMS community throughout this time of intense grief. Some helpful resources are provided below: How to Help A Grieving Teen Strategies for Understanding and Assisting the Grieving Student American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Grief and Children In addition, and as a reminder, this Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., Arlene O’Connell, Traumatic Loss Coordinator for the Essex County, NJ Center for Traumatic Loss, will hold a session for MMS families in the MMS library. This is meant for parents and guardians. Your MMS HSA, Veronica and Kelly Traumatic Loss Session Arlene O'Connell, Traumatic Loss Coordinator for the Essex County NJ Center for Traumatic Loss, will hold a session in the MMS Library at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 22. This session is meant for parents and guardians. Socktober Collection A 7th-grade student is collecting throughout October for the Feed SoMany #socktober sock collection. #Socktober began in 2011. Collections happen all over the country and we want to make our SOMA a big one! Socks will be distributed to local food pantries. Please send your child in with a *new* pair of socks; the bin is right next to the security guard as they enter school.  School Store The MMS Student Council School Store is open for business! This year, there are two opportunities to shop:  The School Store at lunch sells non-food items and accepts Cougar Cash. The Snack Store runs after school and accepts cash. Proceeds from cash sales will help the Student Council run their annual events: MLK Silent Peace March, MMS Idol, and Battle of the Classes. Please help stock the Snack Store by shopping their Amazon Wish List.  Select the Maplewood Middle School's Gift Registry Address at checkout to send directly to the school. Make your gift (and ALL of your Amazon purchases) go twice as far! Shop through Amazon Smile and Amazon will donate a portion of proceeds to the HSA.  HSA Meeting The third HSA meeting of the school year will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the MMS Library. In case you hadn’t heard, this year the MMS musical is 13! Everyone is busy practicing their songs and monologues and auditions are under way.  But did you know that the MMS musical -- ALL the SOMSD musicals of which we are so proud! -- are self-sustaining? The costs are covered entirely by ticket and concession sales for the show. This year, we'd like to give our dedicated Musical Team a little extra safety net (and maybe some new tools for set building!) In keeping with the show’s title, we have decided to create special fundraising events on the 13th of each month between now and Opening Night at the end of February.  We're asking you to donate gift cards to Amazon or Home Depot so that the directors have funds to buy set construction materials, costume craft materials, accessories etc. There are two ways to contribute: Buy a physical card directly from Amazon and Home Depot gift cards (or at end-cap displays in many grocery stores!) and send to school in an envelope addressed to Ms. O'Sullivan, or Go to the musical page on the MMS HSA website and donate via PayPal. These funds will be dedicated to purchasing Amazon and Home Depot Gift cards for the production.  Our next fundraising initiative will take place on November 13 so save the date and stay tuned! Help Stock the Cougar Cub Closet The Hub, the HSA and Cougar Cares have come together to make sure all MMS kids have the essentials they need to get through the day. Here's an Amazon Gift List with snacks and toiletries and some other basics that will be available to kids who could use them. More ...  No Frills Fundraising The quickest and easiest way to support the HSA is through no-frills fundraising. One hundred percent of the donations go to things like cultural arts, social activities and scholarships. Click here to learn more.