September 2021
In This Issue - Click on any topic to jump to that information
A Message From the Principal
Mickle Families,
It is my hope that the past three weeks have allowed a rhythm and routine for the school year to fall into place. Students appear more confident with their schedules and daily procedures, and the work of learning has really started taking place. This newsletter contains various information from building and district sources to help keep you informed of upcoming events and happenings. As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to us to collaborate on your student's education.
My best,
Jason Shanahan, Principal
Announcements
Arriving to School Safely - For information on student drop-off click HERE.
Nutrition Services Information for Parents/Guardians - Click HERE for more information for the 2021-2022 school year.
Mickle Apparel Store - Many families missed the window for orders and requested another opportunity to purchase Mickle apparel. This link will take you to a newly opened online store that will remain open through Friday, September 10.
Foundation For LPS - Mickle has partnered with The Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools to raise funds for a couple of worthy projects. To learn more or to donate visit the links below:
Come join the LPS family as a substitute teacher!
Did you know that if you currently hold a Bachelor’s degree you might be eligible to be a substitute teacher?
Meaningful impact on students - we rely on our substitute teachers to ensure that the well-being and education of our students continues when their permanent teacher is absent. This is a great way to invest in our youth.
Great pay – Subbing in Lincoln Public Schools equates to almost $150 per day. You can even choose to fill half day sub positions.
You can set your schedule and sub over 85 school days. This allows you the flexibility to take care of other responsibilities.
We even provide a half day orientation to prepare you to be a successful sub in our district.
Our next local sub training is September 9, 2021. Go to the following link for more information:
https://home.lps.org/hr/local-substitute-information/
Counseling Center
The Role of a School Counselor - School counselors are highly educated, professionally certified individuals who help students succeed in school and plan their careers. An integral part of the total education system, school counselors help students form healthy goals, mindsets, and behaviors. With the aid of a school counselor, students learn to develop effective collaboration and cooperation skills, to practice perseverance, to develop time management and study skills, and to learn self-motivation and self-direction habits.
All counselors have been teaching in classrooms the past couple weeks. We have been teaching and reminding students how they can request to meet with their counselor, where the counseling center is, and how we can support them at school and in life. Mrs. Hanseling also reviewed the ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell and Adult) Model that she introduced last year. All grade levels will receive this important information this quarter. By using the ACT model students can help their peers who might be struggling emotionally. Mrs. Hanseling also reviewed how students can best find success this year (take care of yourself by sleeping/eating/moving your body, be a good friend, join a club or activity, focus on friends who treat you kindly and avoid "drama", talk with adults you trust about how you're feeling). We all look forward to contributing to classroom lessons this school year in the area of social/emotional supports and skills.
Get in touch with us -
6th Grade - Madelyn Luxford - mluxford@lps.org
7th Grade - Nicki Hanseling - nhansel@lps.org
8th Grade - Ellie Marvin - emarvin@lps.org
District Office
Stay up-to-date with the most current happenings in our district by clicking HERE.
Health Office
From the Mickle Health Office -
All 7th-grade students require a tetanus booster vaccine (Tdap) and a 7th grade physical in the State of Nebraska. Please submit the completed physical form, including the date of Tdap, to the Mickle Main Office. Thank you for your help!
Intramurals
The fall sports schedules are posted and Mickle fall intramural apparel is available. Check it all out on our webpage here.
Food Bank
On Monday, Sept 13, the “Missile Market” will be open at the end of the school day from 2:50pm-3:30pm. Mickle will again be partnering with the Food Bank of Lincoln after school each month for free, on-site access to food offerings from the Food Bank. Any students are welcome to come and pull items as their family representative. If parents would prefer to represent the family, that is just fine.
To take advantage of the partnership, no sign up is needed and there is no cost to families. The only documentation that is recorded is "how many people will this offering go to support". The Food Bank will provide big bags to put the food in, as well as produce bags for available produce.
-At 2:50pm, an announcement will be made for a student representative of their family to come and begin the pick up process. Students will be asked to gather their locker belongings to leave for the day THEN come to the Market.
-Students will be directed to head home after stopping at the Market.
-Food items will not be allowed back into the building/classroom/locker areas. CLC or intramural students will have their items stored in a secure location until the end of activities.
-IF an adult would rather represent the family and take home the items, adults will be asked to enter through the main front entrance (Door #1), check in with the entrance adult, then proceed down to the Market in the west gym.
-After selecting items, adults will be asked to leave through '7th grade doors' which is the closest exit by the gym (Door #7).
Testing
Students at Mickle will take the MAP Growth Reading and Math tests in the fall. These tests are part of assessments required by the Nebraska Department of Education to measure student readiness to learn and growth in reading and math prior to the state assessments. Teachers and administrators will work together to use the results to help plan instruction for students.
MAP Growth is an online, adaptive test. The difficulty adjusts to meet each student’s achievement level. If your student answers a question correctly, the next question is more difficult. If he/she answers incorrectly, the next question is easier. For this reason, it is not possible for students to go back and change previous answers. Students will be allowed sufficient time for each test. Because it is important to balance time spent testing with instructional time, students who take more than two hours on MAP Growth may not complete that test or receive a score. Students in grades 6-8 will also take the Nebraska State Assessment (NSCAS) in winter (December/January) and spring (March/April).
Fall MAP Growth testing dates for our school:
Reading: September 8, 9, and 10
Math: September 14, 15, and 17
During these testing periods, we encourage you to make sure your children are in school unless they are ill. The best preparation for these tests is to come to school well rested with a positive attitude toward taking the tests. It is important that your child do their best on these tests so that LPS teachers and administrators have accurate information about your child’s knowledge and skills for instructional planning.
If you have further questions, please contact your child’s teacher or the main office at 402-436-1216.
Sincerely,
Jason Brunott, Testing Coordinator
Mickle PTSO
Mark your calendars for September 14th at 6:00. That will be our first meeting of the year in the library. Come hear from Mr. Shanahan and meet all the new Mickle teachers.
Stay connected to PTSO and Mickle events by requesting to join the Mickle Middle School Families Facebook page or visit the Mickle Middle School website.
Technology
Digital Citizenship Tips
At the beginning of the school year all LPS students review Chromebook expectations and the Responsible Use Agreement (RUA) for Chromebook use. Click here to learn more about Chromebook use in LPS and to review the expectations outlined in the RUA. Here are some questions to start a conversation at home about Chromebook expectations:
*How do you take care of your Chromebook?
*When can you use your Chromebook?
*What settings can you change on your Chromebook?
Please have students charge their Chromebooks each night and bring their chargers to school with them each day.
ParentVue Tips
As we enter the third week of school, students will begin having more grades input into teacher's gradebooks. These are visible with ParentVue, the online grading portion of Synergy.
The LPS website has a dedicated section for helping families get familiar with the finer details of ParentVue grading and attendance tracking.
First time users of Synergy/ParentVUE: families will need to activate their Synergy/ParentVue account before being able to access student's information. If you are new to LPS or do not have that information, please contact the Mickle office to receive activation directions (402.436.1216).
To log into your Synergy/ParentVue Account: Go to the Mickle website at http://wp.lps.org/Mickle/ Near the top of the page, you'll see a blue "log in" button under the title ParentVue/StudentVUE.
SCIP
What is SCIP? SCIP stands for School, Community, Intervention & Prevention. SCIP provides prevention, education, and early intervention services. We recognize that a child's emotional and behavioral health needs must be addressed at early on-set, rather than waiting until they have progressed to a more critical level and are more difficult to address. SCIP is FREE for families. The process is always confidential. We provide a support system for students and parents to address problem areas both within and outside of school.
Here is a short and video explaining more about what SCIP is and how Mickle utilizes SCIP in our school : https://youtu.be/3xeTSrU7PMQ
Click Here to access the September SCIP Newsletter. Topics this month: Counterfeit medication pills, Understanding Self-Injury, New variant of Marijuana called Delta 8. SCIP puts out a newsletter each month with helpful information for parents and caregivers. We encourage you to take a look at trending topics your student might be learning about from their peers/the internet.
Contact Nicki Hanseling, Mickle SCIP Coordinator, at nhansel@lps,org for more info.
Upcoming Events
September 3 - School Picture Day
September 6 - Labor Day - No School
September 13 - Food Bank - 2:50 - 3:30pm
September 14 - 6:00 - 7:00pm - PTSO Meeting in Media Center
September 21 - P/T Conferences - 3:45-5:45pm In-Person, 5:45-6:45pm Zoom
September 23 - P/T Conferences - 3:45-4:45pm Zoom, 4:45-6:45 In-Person
-Stay Connected-
