May 24th, 2024

a message from principal Jay Reutter

State Congratulations

The state Power of the Pen writing tournament was held at Ashland University on May 16th and 17th in Ashland, Ohio. Over 500 hundred students from 179 schools across Ohio participated in the event. Seva Radjabova ranked 10th and Addie Kemper ranked 11th in the seventh grade state competition.

Addie Kemper received a Platinum Pen Award for a piece she wrote at the Regional Tournament called “A True Cinderella Story”, and Akshaj Kulkarni received a Platinum Pen Award for his piece entitled “My Death Will Be Green”.  These writers will have their work published in Power of the Pen’s Book of Winners. 

Eighth-grader Michelle Zuo earned the Founder’s Award for her piece “Final Flames” in which she wrote about the struggle of making perfect dumplings with her mom. This piece was published in this year’s state program.  Additionally, Michelle earned a Platinum Pen Award for her piece “Shattered Childhood” which she wrote at the District Tournament earlier in the season.  This piece will appear in the Power of the Pen Book of Winners to be published later this fall.  Michelle’s impressive writing earned her a $1500 scholarship should she choose to attend Ashland University.  

Additional participants rounding out the team included seventh-grade participants, Kaho Asai, Claire Liu and eighth-grade participants Merrick McClure and Riley Chiu whose writing and participation throughout the season contributed to Mason Middle School’s team success.

Congratulations to our Media Maker Space students who submitted videos to The New York Times.  The 2024 New York Times Vocabulary Video Challenge received over 1200 submissions from all over the world and officially recognized only 30 of those submissions.  Mason Middle School proudly received 4 of those acknowledgments!  

The NYT stipulates that one of their "Word of Day" words must be used in order to enter the contest, requires that the word definition must be explained/demonstrated, and limits the video's duration to only 15 seconds.  

Abby Rojas Cermano received a Runner Up acknowledgment, and Caroline Chesar, Lyana Harrington, and Amelia Oehlander all received Honorable Mentions.  To see these students' videos created in the eighth-grade Media Maker 2.0 Filmmaking class, please click on their names above if you would like to view their videos. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

Go Comets!

The 8th Grade students of MMS are attending Kings Island for a year-end field trip.  We will be going on Wednesday, May 29th.  Buses will be leaving Mason Middle School at 9:30 am.  Unless, noted on the student permission slip, students must ride the provided school bus back to MMS at 1:45 pm. 

If there are any changes to riding arrangements they must be communicated to Mr. Lee at leeb@masonohioschools.com no later than Tuesday, May 28th @ 2:30 p.m.  No changes in ride arrangements will be made after this time.

Kings Island has gone cashless and is not allowing food to be brought into the park anymore.  There are cash-to-card kiosks at the entrance of the park that students will have access to in order to pay for food, drink, etc. while at Kings Island.

MMS Fall 2024 sports, please take time to review the Fall Sports Details & Information document now posted on our MMS Athletics website - linktr.ee/MMSathletics. 

The contact information for coaches is linked in the document & on our Coach Directory so feel free to reach out to coaches directly for sport-specific questions. 

Please pay special attention to page 1 of the 2024-25 Fall Sports & Information Details document to ensure your student has everything they need to participate. Additionally, please note that ALL fall sports begin before the school year starts.

Interested in Winter & Spring sports? Check out the Timeline document for future planning and/or the Directory to reach out to any coaches.  

Go Comets!

Helping our children have healthy bodies and minds is more important than ever. Parents can support their children’s physical and emotional well-being by giving them opportunities to:

• Handle stress well through physical activity and healthy thinking.

• Relate to others by encouraging social interactions and emotional awareness.

• Make healthy choices about how they eat and play.

You can help your kids prepare mentally, physically, and emotionally for the upcoming school year with healthy and fun summer activities. Check out these resources for ideas on fun & healthy activities to promote good physical and mental health. 

Give Your Kids a Healthy Body and Mind this Summer

45 Fun and Healthy Activities To Do with Your Kids This Summer

If you would like more information on mental health and wellness or would like to get connected to mental health resources, check out the Resources for Mason Families for Summer 2024 and reach out to Dawn McCorkle, Prevention & Wellness Designer, or your child’s school counselor.  Have a safe, healthy & enjoyable summer! We look forward to seeing our Comet students & families back in August!

Summer Chromebook Repair

Over the summer, our IT department will be busy refreshing our graduating seniors’ devices, so they can be issued to next year’s third graders. Therefore, we will pause Chromebook repairs until August 1. Starting August 1, if your child’s Chromebook needs to be repaired, you can email support@masonohioschools.com to coordinate a time to drop it off. Otherwise, when your child returns to school, we can provide a loaner device while we repair their Chromebook. 

MEMORIAL DAY

Monday, May 27, 2024

All schools and district offices will be closed.

STUDENTS LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Have a wonderful summer!

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