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A note from the principal . . .

th
quarter,
here we come! Once again, another year is flying by.
4
Eighth grade parents are getting ready to become high
th
school parents, and 7 grade parents are getting ready to
th
experience the joy of an 8 grader! What a great time for all
of us!
For this months column, I struggled finding something to write
about that would not simply repeat the other topics. I happened
upon a quote by John F; Kennedy that sparked my inspiration; Let
us think of education as the means of developing our
greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private
hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into
benefit for everyone and
greater strength for our nation; This quote, to me, epitomizes
middle school. I believe that our job as middle school
educators is to help students explore in order to begin to
develop those hopes and dreams. This age is fun because they
are often still tied to their childhood dreams of becoming a
professional athlete or award winning actor, while beginning to
realize that there is more out there and that some dreams
may not be as realistic as they once thought. That does not
mean that we squash those childhood dreams, however.
Instead we get to encourage them to dream big and hope
even bigger while exposing them to new learnings,
explorations, and contents.

continue on the next page

Mountain Ridge will join schools across Colorado on April 17 to

participate in College Friday; Its a day designed to raise awareness
about the importance of higher education for Colorados youth;
Students
and
staff will be
encouraged to wear their favorite college logo
apparel and show their college spirit on College Friday.
The Counseling Department and Student Council will hold drawings for
students and staff that wear college apparel; Its a fun day and great
opportunity for parents to talk with their kids about their own
college experience.
!nd its not just schools that support College Friday:
Visit any participating Qdoba on College Friday and receive free
chips and 2 oz. queso for wearing your college gear. For a
participating location near you, go to collegeincolorado.org and
click on the College Friday logo.
Visit any participating Cold Stone Creamery from 3:00 PM 7:00
PM on College Friday and receive a $1 ice cream scoop with one
mix-in for wearing your college gear. For a participating location
near you, go to collegeincolorado.org and click on the College
Friday logo.

General Announcements -TRAFFIC

Morning

Traffic??
Cars, Buses, and SUVs -oh my!
We need your HELP!

Anyone who has experienced morning traffic here at MRMS

knows it is far from being a picnic. In fact, the traffic issues seem
to have multiplied as the school year has gone on.
The combined efforts of MRMS and MVHS security have
resulted in a traffic loop and drop-off system that really does
work efficiently when everyone is following it. But even the
most efficient system cannot handle the immense volume of
traffic we have been experiencing.
As a result, our buses are getting caught in the loop and are held up
in the drop-off process. We are regularly experiencing waves of
students arriving late, sometimes up to a couple of hundred students
arriving up to 10 minutes late to the building.
continue on the next page

General Announcements -TRAFFIC

WE NEED HELP!!
Please consider the following suggestions to help make the
morning a little easier:
If your student can walk or ride the bus and is not, please
have him/her do that. We understand there are bad weather days or
special projects due that make a car ride easier, but in general,
cutting down on the sheer numbers of cars coming into the parking
lot will help.

Consider carpooling. Most of the cars coming into the

parking lot have just one rider. Carpooling is more efficient

and the added benefit is parents dont have to face the drive
every day!
Get in line earlier. Cars getting into the loop closer to 7 a.m.
seem to move through more quickly and smoothly. Anyone getting
into the line at 7:15 or later is almost guaranteed a long wait and a
late student!

Do you have a high school student driving to school with a

parking permit in the upper lot? Again, carpooling (if possible) can
help. Students with other permits should use the far west parking
entrance. And, again, getting into line closer to 7 a.m. than 7:30 is
strongly recommended. (Yes,

we DO realize we are talking about teenagers)

Avoid

the traffic loop altogether and drop your student off in a safe
neighborhood location so he/she can walk the rest of the way up to
the building. (Again, yes, we DO realize we
are talking about teenagers)
If

you are driving in and dropping off, thank you for driving as
FAR around the loop as you can before stopping to let students out.
Remind them to exit on the sidewalk side of the car and to be ready
to exit immediately when you are able to come to a safe stop.

continue on the next page

General Announcements -TRAFFIC

Over the years, there have been significant improvements to our

traffic flow and process. The double turn lane into our schools was
put in a few years ago and has been tremendously helpful. Our
security guards are well-versed in moving traffic efficiently. Thank
you for recognizing their effortsthey love your smiles, waves and
good humor in the morning!
We appreciate your efforts in helping us run a smooth traffic
pattern and in trying to reduce the volume of vehicles coming in
each morning. Our goal is to get students in safely and quickly and
to get our school started on time!

General Announcements -SCHOOL TARDIES

Its incredibly important that your child arrives at
school on time. If a student is late in the
morning he/she MUST REPORT TO THE
ATTENDANCE OFFICE. At that time the
student will be given a pass to class. All
tardies to school are unexcused unless the
student brings a doctors note. Adhering to
this policy will prepare your child for high school
as well. Mountain Vista has the same policy.

Activities -ICode

WE NEED YOU! Come and learn from your

fellow students how to create an app for
your phone or ipod. Yes, you too can learn
these simple steps through xcode, starlab
and other programs.
Please sign up on the MRMS website to
th
register for 4 quarter. The cost is $30
just like all other clubs. We meet
Monday through Thursday in the Tech
Lab from
6:50 7:25 a.m.
So, dont delay! Come
join iCode and bring
a friend or two! (or
50)
If you have any
questions please
see Ms. Personett
in the Tech Ed Lab.

Team 7-2

4th quarter, here we

come!

Believe it or not, your child is getting close to being an 8th grader.

Can you believe that so much of the year has passed already?
Testing for PARCC went well and we were so lucky to have most of
the school test prior to our team, so most of the kinks were already
worked out. Our students worked very hard during testing and the
team is so proud to be able to say that. We had a successful PARCC
breakfast every morning of bagels, cream cheese, breakfast bars,
casseroles from parents. Jill Jenkins was an incredibly helpful
parent who made breakfast possible.

Pi

Team 8-1

This month Team 81 teachers were interviewed to get their

perspective on how things are going on their team.

What is the best thing about being a teacher on your

team?
The team-We are 81!
Interpretation: Just like the students said last month. The team is
united and there for each other.

What have your students done that makes you the most proud of
them?
Applying things they have learned in one class to another. Our
students have shown great resiliency. They are risk takers and
consistently think outside of the box.

What can parents do to help their student finish the year

strong?
Please get them to school. We want them here as much as possible.
Help us hold students accountable for working hard and being a
positive student. Stress the point to finish strong and how much that
says about a
persons character;

What else would you like to say to the students and

parents on your team?
This is not the end of your academic career. Good habits now, will
create a successful high school student later. Continue to think
outside
the box,
Understand
that this is not the end of the students academic career;
Keep calm and finish strong.

Team 8-3
Can you believe that we are already so close to the end of the
year? The fourth quarter is always so busy around here. Students
will be working hard until the very end of the year, while having
fun, of course! Many of
team 83s traditions happen during the last quarter, including our field
trip to Cherokee Ranch, Pi Day, another interdisciplinary unit, and
finals for all classes. As we get closer to each of these, we will
include additional information during the weekly email. Cherokee
Ranch will take place during the week of May 11 and the following
week will most likely be the interdisciplinary unit, which brings us to
the last week of school. Crazy!
This month was incredible for our team. We are so proud of the
amazing efforts of all of our students during PARCC testing. The
best part about middle school is how much the students begin to
questions why we do the things that we do. Even with so many
questions and fear of something new, they took on the challenge
and worked diligently and purposefully during PARCC. Also, we
would like to thank our parents for sending in treats for testing. It
was amazing how much food we received, and the students truly
appreciated having a snack ready to feed their brains.

Dont forget our next PIN meeting on Tuesday, April 14. We

will be sharing information for Pi Day, Cherokee, and the final
interdisciplinary unit. When we return from spring break, many of
the classes will begin new units of study. Continue to ask your
child what is going on in all of their classes.

Team 83 Pi Day Pics

Team 8-4 News

All The News Thats Swagworthy!

This month Team 84 teachers were interviewed to get their
perspective on how things are going on their team.

What is the best thing about being a teacher on your

team?
We are all flexible and willing to work together to do cool things for kids.

What have your students done that makes you the

most proud of them?
They have really stepped up to the plate on some difficult
challenges in every class and have learned to approach situations
that do not have immediate solutions with optimism, enthusiasm
and creativity. They are resilient and are not discouraged by initial
setbacks.

What can parents do to help their student finish the year

strong?
Allow children to take responsibility for their own work, time
management, grades, etc. Hold the expectations high, and
continue to provide rewards or consequences as needed, but try
to let them make their own daily choices. They need a chance to
practice independent study skills, but still need just a little bit of
guidance.

What else would you like to say to the students and

parents on your team?
Thank you for all your support and making this an amazing year so far!