Tomorrow marks the official start of the Winter Break. We hope each of you takes time to rest and rejuvenate over the next two weeks. Instruction resumes January 4th, 2021. As a reminder, based on the WCPSS Board Meeting last Tuesday, all Martin students will learn remotely from January 4th though January 15th, the end of the second quarter. Classes will follow our current bell schedule and all students are expected to attend the live instruction and complete the instructional activities.

In preparation for 3rd quarter, we have tentatively scheduled supply pick up for Wednesday, January 6th for all students. More information will come in our first Mustang News of 2021.

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. 

From the PTA:

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. 

Have a wonderful Sunday evening and a restful winter break. We will see you in 2021!