It is hard to believe we are entering the final week before winter break! Cohort A returns for in person learning this week and Martin will be closed from December 21 through January 1. Cohort B students will return on January 4. As a reminder, Wednesday, December 16, is an asynchronous learning day and students are expected to check in with each teacher for the instructional activity for the day.

 

Please congratulate the following students for going above and beyond by participating in an essay contest open to all seventh and eighth grade students at Martin. Three Martin students will be chosen in February to win cash prizes (up to $150) and join the Rotary Club of Downtown Raleigh members to read their essays aloud at one of the Rotary spring meetings. Virtual learning is hard enough, and these students went above what was required in order to participate!

Eighth grade: 

• Carmen Di Vincenzo
• Jonah Osburn

Seventh grade:

• Siri Joshi
• Neeva Shah
• Ahalyaa Sundar
• Sienna Urban
• Saanvi Joshi
• Lia Mastropaolo

 

Holiday Spirit Week: We will close out 2020 with a little school spirit. Please come to class dressed to each day’s theme. Send pictures to Ms. Thomas (jthomas5@wcpss.net) for the yearbook!

Ugly Sweater Monday - come dressed in your favorite “ugly” sweater

Winter Blues Tuesday - show off your best blue and white attire

Pajama Wednesday - stay in your comfy, school appropriate pj’s for remote learning

Plaid Thursday - wear your coziest plaid or flannel (no pj’s - that was yesterday)

Candy Cane Friday - come dressed in red and white (Martin attire encouraged)

 

Semester 2 Changes: Counselors are working on adjusting schedules for students moving to or from Plan A/B/C and the administrators are assigning cohorts to students moving to Plan A/B/C. While we will minimize the movement to the extent possible, students should anticipate some changes to their schedules. We will notify you when both are finalized.

 

All P.E. classes will be titled Sports Variety for Spring Semester. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions on physical education classes, we have had to adjust our offerings to include only classes that encompass a variety of sport skills, as well as some fitness/wellness aspects. This is to ensure every student receives the most comprehensive experience from their P.E. electives.  

To provide the best experience possible while maintaining safety protocols we will be unable to provide our typical “one-sport specific” classes, such as skating or archery, etc. for the 2020-21 school year. Instead we will be covering a wide variety of activities in all of the P.E. electives for the Spring Semester.

 

All visual arts courses will be titled Foundations of Art for Spring Semester. This class provides an opportunity for students to explore a variety of art-making experiences.  Students use the Elements of Art and Principles of Design to create meaningful, personal art.  They will examine the works of artists and the value of developing and understanding their own creative process.  They will have the opportunity to work with a variety of different materials, processes and tools.  A fresh take on learning the basics with all new projects each quarter.  A great foundation for any future art course! 

 

From CASS: Are you receiving weekly family communication from our CASS team? If you are not, please contact your student’s grade level counselor to be certain you are on their listserv. 

 

Supporting Students’ Social Emotional Wellbeing During Winter Break: We recognize that this time of year can be stressful and now more than ever the health and wellbeing of our students is at a forefront. While your student is in school (virtually or in person) the Student Services is here to support their social emotional needs.  During Winter Break if your student or anyone in your family needs additional community support and resources please use the Network of Care.  This is from Alliance Behavioral Health, this is a one-stop shop resource database. In case of a more emergent situation you can find immediate support contacts here. Please contact Local Law Enforcement Agency at their non-emergency telephone number (919)-856-6911 for additional support. 

 

School Pictures: We have additional opportunities for students to have their pictures taken for the yearbook. All students in Plan A/B/C will have their pictures taken while in school. All students in Virtual Academy will have their pictures taken on a Remote Learning Day. The schedule is as follows:

December 16th Virtual Academy Students 

To book your appointment, please visit  https://booknow.appointment-plus.com/cxhkghhs/

December 17th Cohort A/1

For questions, please contact Ms. Thomas, our yearbook advisor.

 

 

From the PTA:

New MMS Spirit Wear Available!

New spirit wear styles are available on our PTA Spirit Wear Site. Quantities will be limited, so act fast. Your order will be ready for pick up on Friday, December 18th (This is a date change) starting at 2pm. The pick up station will be on the Horton Street side of carpool and families can drive through to gather their spirit wear.

 

Choose MMS for Amazon Smile

 

When you choose to support Martin PTA through Amazon Smile, a portion of every purchase you make benefits our staff and students. So far this year, that total is over $240! Click here to make MMS PTA your beneficiary. 

 

Take a Stroll Through Our Poetry Trees

 

Have you noticed the beautiful forest shaping up outside Martin along Ridge Road? Our colorful poetry trees celebrate the works of our talented students. With the guidance of talented poet Mimi Herman, the students wrote poems exploring what home means to them. We would love for you to visit and wander through the trees. We are still in the process of adding more students' poetry, so you'll want to make repeat visits! In fact, we'd love for our trees to continue to grow. If you would like to add a poem of your own, please submit it to PoetryTrees@MartinPTA.com. All ages are welcome to participate! 

 

Have a wonderful Sunday evening!