Middle School Principal's Page

MRH MIDDLE SCHOOL UPDATES

(314)644-4406

Students at MRH Middle School are immersed both inside and outside the classroom in a variety of experiences through the metaphor, “School as Expedition.”

Learning expeditions are in-depth studies of a topic that engage students through authentic projects, real-life studies, fieldwork, and service. Expeditions occur within the school walls when the community is brought into the classroom through expert guest speakers and outside of the classroom, as a journey to conduct fieldwork.

 ‌  ‌

Calendar Events

FINALS - December 18 - Exams A1, A2 & A3 (full day)

FINALS - December 19 - Exams B1, B2 & B3 (early release at 1:28 pm)

FINALS - December 20 - Exams A4 & B4 (early release at 12:03 pm)

END OF 2ND QUARTER/1ST SEMESTER - December 20, 2019

WINTER BREAK - December 23 - January 3, 2020. School will resume on January 6, 2020

Teacher PD Work Day - January 3, 2020

MRH MS Yearbook - See the attached flyer. Yearbook Orders online through March 4, 2020.

Students of the Week - Recognized by our staff for upholding our cornerstones of Leadership, Scholarship, Citizenship, and Stewardship.

Jaxon Miller

Jaxon is a 7th-grade student of the Week. Jaxon is personable, an energetic learner and works well with her peers. She exhibits strong leadership skills when working in groups and demonstrates perseverance when challenges arise. We are so lucky to have such a hard-working and kindhearted student on our team!

Olivia Hayden

Olivia Hayden is an 8th-grade student of the week. Olivia demonstrates diligence, assuring she is on top of all tasks and assignments. Over the holiday break, she took great care in making sure that her assignments were completed. Olivia puts forth a great deal of effort and connects well with her peers. When facing challenges, she tries to persevere. Keep moving in the right direction, Olivia! We are thankful you are part of our 8th-grade family.

Alex Manipula

Alex is a 7th-grade student of the week. Alex is kind, patient and helpful to peers. He is diligent and precise in his work; Alex exhibits a sense of maturity and responsibility and brings positive energy to the school community. MRHMS is fortunate to have him as a part of our 7th-grade team.

Peter Pongruska

Peter Pongruska is an 8th-grade student of the week. Peter is always kind to others and encourages friends on a daily basis. He can usually be found providing positive peer pressure in order to demonstrate leadership in the halls and classrooms. Peter strives to put careful thought into making meaningful learning contributions. We salute you, Peter!

WEEKLY LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS

December 11, 2019

MRH Middle Schoolers Hear From Author of Bilingual Book About Pet Loss Connecticut author Daisy Torres visits MRH Middle School.Daisy Torres lost her best friend and loyal companion in the summer of 2018. Lily was her 14 year old dog.

For Torres, a former Spanish language teacher and school administrator from Meriden, Connecticut, the loss was so great that she was moved to fulfill her lifelong dream of authoring a book.

"I'll See You on the Bridge" debuted in November and Torres' first book-signing Connecticut author Daisy Torres visits MRH Middle School.took place in downtown St. Louis last week at the Learning Forward national conference. There, she ran into Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School principal Mike Dittrich, who has worked with Torres for 18 months via a mutual professional educational program. 

"I knew right away that I wanted her to come speak to our middle school students," said Dittrich. "I figured, I'll just ask her and the worst that can happen is, she'll say no."

"I was honored to be asked to come here," said Torres, who presented an hour-long talk in Eve Welge's foreign language class on Tuesday. She opened the discussion by asking each student to talk briefly about their pets.

Connecticut author Daisy Torres visits MRH Middle School."I'll See You on the Bridge" is written in both English and Spanish. Torres explains that the book's purpose is to help youngsters cope when a beloved pet passes.

"Pet loss is often not viewed the same as the loss of a human. However, for some, it can be even more devastating. The holidays are often a time of joy with family and friends. For others, this is one of the most difficult times of year, especially for those who have experienced a loss. The stages of grief are complicated and definitely not linear. Like grief for our friends and loved ones, grief for our animal companions can only be dealt with over time, but there are healthy ways to cope with the pain."

Torres outlines her coping mechanisms:

- Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel and don’t tell yourself how to feel either. Your grief is your own, and no one else can tell you when it’s time to “move on” or “get over it.” Let yourself feel whatever you feel without embarrassment or judgment. It’s okay to be angry, to cry or not to cry. It’s also okay to laugh, to find moments of joy, and to let go when you’re ready.

- Reach out to others who have lost pets. If your own friends and family members are not sympathetic about pet loss, find someone who is. Often, another person who has also experienced the loss of a beloved pet may better understand what you’re going through.

- Honor them. Preparing a memorial, compiling a photo album or scrapbook, or otherwise sharing the memories you enjoyed with your pet, can help celebrate the life of your bridge baby. 

- Practice self-care. The stress of losing a pet can quickly take a toll on your emotional state, especially around the holidays. Spend time face to face with people who care about you, rest and exercise regularly to release endorphins and help boost your mood.

For more information about Daisy Torres and her first book:

Website: www.bridgebabies.com 

Link to Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BridgeBabies/?modal=admin_todo_tour

For more information, contact MRH School District at (314) 644-4400.

Have Tools, Will Travel: MRH Middle School Student Excels at Woodworking

Calendar of Events/ Announcements

How can I help as a parent?

Lately, we have had parents ask how they can help our Middle School. One of the things we try to provide for the students are healthy snacks! Daily we have students who have missed breakfast or just need a little extra because they are hitting growth spurts. Next time you go grocery shopping, please feel free to pick up a box of granola bars or some other type of healthy snack for the office.

A special thanks to any parent that has donated snacks to the Middle School! Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

ATTENDANCE REMINDER

If a student is going to be absent, please remember to call or email Mrs. Jonas, our Middle School Administrative Assistant, by 9 a.m. She can be reached at (314) 644-4406 or tonya.jonas@mrhschools.net

Leaving School Early

If a student needs to be picked up early, parents should go to the Central Office to sign their child out. The Central Office will contact the Middle School Secretary. The Middle School will send your student to the Central Office for check out. In order to protect instructional time, students will not be called from class until the parent has arrived at school.

Morning Arrival and Morning Academic Support Information

A reminder that students should not be dropped off or allowed to walk to school and arrive prior to 7:45 am. We do not have official supervision until this time. 

Students may be dropped off or arrive at 7:45 if they are attending an academic lab prior to school. The schedule is pictured above. If your child is not attending an academic lab in the morning, then there is no need for them to arrive prior to 8:00 am. Last year, we purposely moved our start time back to 8:30. This decision was based on the research of teens and their sleep patterns.  

Please make sure you are having conversations with your children about their plans after school. Students are always welcome to use our office phones after school to notify you they are going to a friend's house, Maplewood Pool, The Heights, Learning Labs, etc. Undoubtedly, the middle school student will at some point forget to tell you where they are going. If this happens, please contact the school at (314) 644-4406 or (314) 446-3900.  

Permission Slips

We spend time away from school to learn through our metaphor - School as Expedition. Because of this, we would be sending home permission slips on a weekly basis. However, when your child enrolls at MRH, parents sign a permission slip for students to leave campus, making weekly permission slips unnecessary. The middle school operates under a “duty to inform” parents that we will be taking your child off-campus. Expect to see these via email. 

Lunch and Breakfast Menus

Check out Mealviewer or get the app for your Android or Apple. 

https://schools.mealviewer.com/results/mrh

December 6, 2019

MRH MIDDLE SCHOOL UPDATES

(314)644-4406

Students at MRH Middle School are immersed both inside and outside the classroom in a variety of experiences through the metaphor, “School as Expedition.”

Learning expeditions are in-depth studies of a topic that engage students through authentic projects, real-life studies, fieldwork, and service. Expeditions occur within the school walls when the community is brought into the classroom through expert guest speakers and outside of the classroom, as a journey to conduct fieldwork.

 ‌  ‌

MRH MIDDLE SCHOOL SPELLING BEE

Interested students are invited to participate in a written spelling bee on Monday, December 16th during Advisory. The top speller will then be invited to prepare for the regional Scripps Bee held in March 2020. Below is a list of the words students should study to prepare:

Spelling Bee Word List

WEEKLY LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS

Seed Saving & Garden Integration

As part of their Seeds Unit, stewards in Mrs. Tanner’s 8th grade Communication Arts class began researching various plants that were harvested from our MS garden in order to create their own seed packets. Working in collaboration with Mrs. Breed-Parks, students examined the importance of seed saving, and the implications for biodiversity if we allow different varieties of flowers and crops to die off. They then inspected exemplary commercial seed packets in order to determine the type of information that they will need to include in their own packets. They also cleaned the seeds that were harvested and created technical drawings of the plant they researched. As part of the process, students will be designing and assembling their seed packets using LucidPress, a web-based publishing application. Another component of this unit requires students to research GMOs in order to participate in a Socratic Debate where they will need to argue for or against the use of GMOs. Next week the 8th grade will take part in expeditions to Bayer’s Crop Science division and the Danforth Plant Science Center.

Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School Makes MetroLink a Part of Their History Lessons

Citizens for Modern Transit: Making Transit a Priority for the Region published an article about our middle schoolers going on an expedition to the MetroLink! You can read the article here. MRHMS History Lesson

MRHMS MORNING WORKOUT

Do you need to make up points in physical education class? Middle Schoolers can now come to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays to work out! You must show up and start your workout between 7:45 am and 8 am.

Calendar of Events/ Announcements

Calendar Events

END OF 2ND QUARTER/1ST SEMESTER - December 20, 2019

WINTER BREAK - December 23 - January 3, 2020. School will resume on January 6, 2020

MRH MS Yearbook - See the attached flyer. Yearbook Orders online through March 4, 2020.

How can I help as a parent?

Lately, we have had parents ask how they can help our Middle School. One of the things we try to provide for the students are healthy snacks! Daily we have students who have missed breakfast or just need a little extra because they are hitting growth spurts. Next time you go grocery shopping, please feel free to pick up a box of granola bars or some other type of healthy snack for the office.

A special thanks to any parent that has donated snacks to the Middle School! Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

ATTENDANCE REMINDER

If a student is going to be absent, please remember to call or email Mrs. Jonas, our Middle School Administrative Assistant, by 9 a.m. She can be reached at (314) 644-4406 or tonya.jonas@mrhschools.net

Leaving School Early

If a student needs to be picked up early, parents should go to the Central Office to sign their child out. The Central Office will contact the Middle School Secretary. The Middle School will send your student to the Central Office for check out. In order to protect instructional time, students will not be called from class until the parent has arrived at school.

Morning Arrival and Morning Academic Support Information

A reminder that students should not be dropped off or allowed to walk to school and arrive prior to 7:45 am. We do not have official supervision until this time. 

Students may be dropped off or arrive at 7:45 if they are attending an academic lab prior to school. The schedule is pictured above. If your child is not attending an academic lab in the morning, then there is no need for them to arrive prior to 8:00 am. Last year, we purposely moved our start time back to 8:30. This decision was based on the research of teens and their sleep patterns.  

Please make sure you are having conversations with your children about their plans after school. Students are always welcome to use our office phones after school to notify you they are going to a friend's house, Maplewood Pool, The Heights, Learning Labs, etc. Undoubtedly, the middle school student will at some point forget to tell you where they are going. If this happens, please contact the school at (314) 644-4406 or (314) 446-3900.  

Permission Slips

We spend time away from school to learn through our metaphor - School as Expedition. Because of this, we would be sending home permission slips on a weekly basis. However, when your child enrolls at MRH, parents sign a permission slip for students to leave campus, making weekly permission slips unnecessary. The middle school operates under a “duty to inform” parents that we will be taking your child off-campus. Expect to see these via email. 

Lunch and Breakfast Menus

Check out Mealviewer or get the app for your Android or Apple. 

https://schools.mealviewer.com/results/mrh

November 22, 2019

MRH MIDDLE SCHOOL UPDATES

(314)644-4406

Students at MRH Middle School are immersed both inside and outside the classroom in a variety of experiences through the metaphor, “School as Expedition.”

Learning expeditions are in-depth studies of a topic that engage students through authentic projects, real-life studies, fieldwork, and service. Expeditions occur within the school walls when the community is brought into the classroom through expert guest speakers and outside of the classroom, as a journey to conduct fieldwork.

 ‌  ‌

Students of the Week - Recognized by our staff for upholding our cornerstones of Leadership, Scholarship, Citizenship, and Stewardship.

Kionne Willis

Kionne Willis is our 7th-grade student of the week. Kionne is a hard worker. He is witty, but takes his learning seriously, and always puts forth his best effort. He advocates for himself, leads by example, and is a supportive friend to his classmates. We are lucky to have him at MRHMS!

Luke Goodman-DeLeonardis

Luke Goodman-DeLeonardis is our 8th grade student of the week. Luke always shows a genuine interest in learning and has a respectful attitude toward fellow students and teachers. He is conscientious to keep up with tasks and does a great job of demonstrating quiet yet solid leadership, leading by example. Thank you, Luke, for your contributions to our 8th grade family.

WEEKLY LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS

Drone Programming

Scholars in Mr. Noud’s Technology Literacy class are currently immersed in their Drone Unit. As part of this unit, students have been exploring safety procedures for operating drones and possible hazards for both operators and spectators. Working in cooperative learning groups, students created anchor charts to help their classmates remember important information surrounding safety practices, illustrations of a drone’s axes of movement (including yaw, pitch, and roll), and labeling of the parts and operations of a drone. They then worked together to create code that would instruct the drone to fly in a square pattern using pitch and roll controls in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. By connecting to their Chromebook’s bluetooth, they were then able to test the effectiveness of their coding and their understanding of safety procedures by actually flying the drone. As an extended challenge, obstacles were introduced, and students were asked to land their drone on another table.

Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School Makes MetroLink a Part of Their History Lessons

Citizens for Modern Transit: Making Transit a Priority for the Region published an article about our middle schoolers going on an expedition to the MetroLink! You can read the article here. MRHMS History Lesson

Calendar of Events/ Announcements

Calendar Events

GRATITUDE for MRH - 11/26/19 - To show our gratitude for MRH - November 26th wear your favorite MRH attire!

THANKSGIVING BREAK- 11/27/19 - 11/29/19!! Thanksgiving Break! Students will return to school on December 2, 2019.?

MRH MS Yearbook - See the attached flyer. Yearbook Orders online through March 4, 2020.

How can I help as a parent?

Lately, we have had parents ask how they can help our Middle School. One of the things we try to provide for the students are healthy snacks! Daily we have students who have missed breakfast or just need a little extra because they are hitting growth spurts. Next time you go grocery shopping, please feel free to pick up a box of granola bars or some other type of healthy snack for the office.

A special thanks to any parent that has donated snacks to the Middle School! Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

ATTENDANCE REMINDER

If a student is going to be absent, please remember to call or email Mrs. Jonas, our Middle School Administrative Assistant, by 9 a.m. She can be reached at (314) 644-4406 or tonya.jonas@mrhschools.net

Leaving School Early

If a student needs to be picked up early, parents should go to the Central Office to sign their child out. The Central Office will contact the Middle School Secretary. The Middle School will send your student to the Central Office for check out. In order to protect instructional time, students will not be called from class until the parent has arrived at school.

Morning Arrival and Morning Academic Support Information

A reminder that students should not be dropped off or allowed to walk to school and arrive prior to 7:45 am. We do not have official supervision until this time. 

Students may be dropped off or arrive at 7:45 if they are attending an academic lab prior to school. The schedule is pictured above. If your child is not attending an academic lab in the morning, then there is no need for them to arrive prior to 8:00 am. Last year, we purposely moved our start time back to 8:30. This decision was based on the research of teens and their sleep patterns.  

Please make sure you are having conversations with your children about their plans after school. Students are always welcome to use our office phones after school to notify you they are going to a friend's house, Maplewood Pool, The Heights, Learning Labs, etc. Undoubtedly, the middle school student will at some point forget to tell you where they are going. If this happens, please contact the school at (314) 644-4406 or (314) 446-3900.  

Permission Slips

We spend time away from school to learn through our metaphor - School as Expedition. Because of this, we would be sending home permission slips on a weekly basis. However, when your child enrolls at MRH, parents sign a permission slip for students to leave campus, making weekly permission slips unnecessary. The middle school operates under a “duty to inform” parents that we will be taking your child off-campus. Expect to see these via email. 

Lunch and Breakfast Menus

Check out Mealviewer or get the app for your Android or Apple. 

https://schools.mealviewer.com/results/mrh

November 19, 2019

MRH MIDDLE SCHOOL UPDATES

(314)644-4400

Students at MRH Middle School are immersed both inside and outside the classroom in a variety of experiences through the metaphor, “School as Expedition.”

Learning expeditions are in-depth studies of a topic that engage students through authentic projects, real-life studies, fieldwork, and service. Expeditions occur within the school walls when the community is brought into the classroom through expert guest speakers and outside of the classroom, as a journey to conduct fieldwork.

 ‌  ‌

Hello MRHMS Families,

Expedition chaperones play an integral part of our ability to deliver high quality learning opportunities during expeditions at MRHMS.

At MRH, we know that the support of our community and families is vital to our success. We believe that the diversity of our MRH family is an invaluable asset to our students’ educational environment. Student safety is also a priority. Individuals working directly with students undergo rigorous background checks. 

?Recently, House Bill 604 was passed, requiring all unpaid volunteers who may be alone with students to undergo a fingerprint background check and a family care registry check. The MRH Board and administrators have been working to understand and implement the new law in ways that are supportive of families. Individuals who may have had a prior background check which did not include fingerprints, will now have to pass the new checks in order to be considered an MRH volunteer. Forms are available from the building principals. Completed forms will be sent to the Human Resources department for processing. Human resources staff will provide an FBI release statement and a coupon code that will allow volunteers to complete all required background checks at the district’s expense.  

We hope that the new state law does not discourage our MRH volunteers. We appreciate that the process is now more cumbersome for individuals, however, the goal remains to keep students safe while providing multiple avenues for parent and family involvement.

If you have already volunteered for an upcoming expedition we will need you to fill out the following documents and return them to michael.dittrich@mrhschools.net. While these forms will be returned to me, I will not see any information on any background check at any time returned to the district. Only our human resources department staff that have handled our staff background checks will have access to volunteer background checks.

Sincerely,

Michael Dittrich

Principal

MRHMS Middle School

‌