KMMS DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Kettle Moraine Middle School is a proud partner of a non-profit organization called Blessings in a Backpack. Through this partnership, your child is eligible to be a recipient of the Blessings in a Backpack program. This program is currently in all of the Kettle Moraine Elementary schools.  

The program is designed to provide non-perishable food every Friday to children that
would benefit from supplemental nourishment over the weekend. The program runs the
full school year and there is no cost to participate. If you choose to participate, your child
will receive a bag of non-perishable food every Friday which will be distributed in a discreet and caring manner. This will begin Friday October 6th.

If you want your child(ren) to participate, please complete this form. 

A shout out to the middle school runners from last night's meet in Pewaukee against 12 other schools with over 200 runners in the girls and boys divisions.  Congratulations to the 6th/7th grade girls team with top finishers from Kaitlin M, Lylah V and Alyssa N. Top finishers for the boys 6th/7th grade were Cason K, Austin H and Logan S.  Our top finishers from our 8th graders were Jack D, Anniston R,  Chase M, Makenna H, Zach H, and Brianna N.  

Tryouts will be held 10/16 and 10/18 from 4-5:30 at Dousman Elementary.  Once the team is chosen, practices twice per week, October 30- January 10.  The team will perform at two local competitions.  Fees for the season will be $145.00.  If a uniform is needed there will be an additional $100 dress rental fee.  Pre-Register for tryouts Here

The Patriot’s Pen scholarship is available to ALL students in grades 6-8 and is sponsored by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Genesee.  To apply for this scholarship, you must write a 300-400 word essay on the topic, “How are you inspired by America?”  You must also pick up an application in the front office.  Send your essay and your completed application to:

James Goodrich
PO Box 186
North Prairie, WI 53153

Many winners nationwide will be selected, with at least one winner from each state receiving a prize of $500 or more.  All materials must be RECEIVED by October 31, 2023.  With questions, please feel free to contact your school counselor, or you can call James Goodrich at 414-870-3301.

Did you know...

• There are 35 million amputees and disabled people worldwide who need prosthetic devices but do not have access to them?

• Traditional prosthetic legs cost between $10,000-$25,000 -- an unattainable price for someone making $3 per day

8th graders in Healthy & Active Lifestyles are participating in a Virtual 5K to raise awareness for Hope to Walk. Hope to Walk is a non-profit organization that helps the impoverished people of the world. Millions of amputees worldwide depend on wheelchairs and crutches. Some are even forced to crawl simply because they cannot afford prosthetics. Please consider donating. Go to https://hopetowalk.networkforgood.com/projects/203726-kelly-weske-s-fundraiser for more details and to make a donation.

Last year, students raised enough money to purchase a leg for Santos, a 61-year old man from Honduras. Our goal this year is to raise enough money to purchase TWO (or more) prosthetic legs. 

Attention... boys and girls interested in joining wrestling. Registration is now open for our Kettle Moraine Middle School wrestling team. Regular season practices begin Monday through Thursdays, starting November 13th, and will be held right after school in the east gym by the stage.  Check out www.kettlemorainewrestlingclub.com for more details.  

The Student Senate will meet again on Wednesday, October 11th after school. Our meeting will be in Mrs. McCaffery’s room, 609.

It’s a great day to be a Laser, when we are treating each other well. We have officially completed one month of the school year and 4 weeks today will mark the end of Term 1, or 25% done with the 2023-24 school year. 

KMMS students, we see you and want to give a shout-out to all of our students who are doing their best to limit disruptions in class, who are consistently treating other students well, and who are good citizens in our school community. When we compare our first month of school this year as compared to the first month of school last year, we have had less office referrals overall. Let’s keep this up - let’s stay in class, and out of the office. More freedoms and privileges become available to a student population that can be trusted, a student body that is more focused on doing the right thing, rather than what they can get away with. That is known as integrity.

This morning I want to talk about another school policy. Again, this Friday morning announcement is not to lecture you, but to empower you with information to make good decisions. To stay within the theme of this school year in expanding our vocabulary, I want to go over two vocabulary words that are important for students to understand, and hopefully will inform everyone to use good judgment and make good decisions in regards to how we are treating other people. They are aligned to the theme of October, National Bullying Prevention month.

Our two vocabulary words this morning are bullying and hazing. Here are the definitions that come right from our school board policy, KMORR 2301: Bullying Prohibited.

• Bullying is defined as the repeated intimidation of others by the real or threatened infliction of physical, verbal, written, electronically transmitted, or emotional abuse, or through attacks on the property of another.

• Hazing is defined as any intentional, knowing or reckless act meant to induce physical pain, embarrassment, humiliation, deprivation of rights, or that creates physical or mental discomfort, or that results in property damage or theft, and is directed against a student.

Let’s take a closer look at bullying, here are some examples outlined in the policy:

It may include, but is not limited to, action such as verbal taunts, spreading rumors, name-calling and put downs, extortion of money or possessions, and exclusion from peer groups within the school. 

An example of extortion at a middle school might be threatening, pressuring, or intimidating someone to buy you something from ala carte at lunch. By the way, students are not permitted to buy lunch items for other students. 

Bullying is often a term that is misunderstood. 

Bullying IS NOT:

- A simple disagreement or argument with a friend.

- Accidentally hurting someone's feelings.

- Teasing or joking around with friends in a friendly manner.

- A one-time conflict or disagreement.

Bullying IS:

- Repeated, intentional acts of hurting or intimidating someone.

- An abuse of power, like spreading rumors, physical harm, or cyberbullying.

- Actions that make someone feel scared, sad, or powerless.

- Something we should never ignore or tolerate.

Every KMMS student has the right to attend our school and be free of bullying or hazing behavior. Instead of making a joke about bullying, please take a real moment to reflect on your treatment of other students or how you are being treated. If you or someone you know is experiencing bullying, please speak up. Report it to a trusted adult, teacher, counselor, or principal. These expectations of how we treat each other do not just apply to when you are in middle school, they will be very similar expectations in your place of work one day. Middle school is the perfect time to build good habits on how we treat other people. 

It is a great day to be a Laser, when we do not bully or haze others, but instead, when we treat each other well. Have a great weekend, Lasers.

It’s a great day… to be a LASER!

KETTLE MORAINE MIDDLE SCHOOL
349 N. Oak Crest Drive | Wales, WI 53183 | 262-968-6200