September 18, 2025
from Paul Errickson, Middle School director
As we make our way through September, the routine of school has started to settle in. Students are learning how to manage their homework and take on assessments and projects in their classes. Habits such as writing assignments in our planners and checking in on Schoology for things that might be missing start to be developed and reinforced. And our faculty and our students are starting to get to know each other much, much better.
One of the best ways we do that in the Middle School is through our fall orientation trips. For our fifth, sixth, and eighth-grade students, three nights away at an environmental/outdoor education center is part of the fall routine. Just yesterday, I helped to load our fifth graders and all of their stuff, including their teachers, onto a bus as they headed out to Osprey Wilds. These trips are an essential way for us to get to know our students, and for them to get to know their peers and their teachers on a whole new level. Sharing meals and bunkrooms together helps to create bonds that are more challenging and take much longer to form here at school. Supporting a classmate (or teacher) as they navigate their own fears—be it up on a ropes course or getting really close to a porcupine—gives them even more to bond over and gives us invaluable examples of learning outside our comfort zones.
One of the ways in which our parents have gotten to know us better is through all of the events and programs that we offer in the fall. We loved welcoming you to campus for Back-to-School Night in August, and we were thrilled to have so many return to school during our Curriculum Night event the other week. With nearly 70% of our students represented by someone from their household, our faculty felt honored to share their classrooms with folks as they walked through their child’s schedule. We also greatly appreciate all the feedback and suggestions for next year.
In the weeks ahead, I look forward to seeing you at sporting matches and games, especially at our Homecoming on Saturday, September 27. I would also love to share some coffee and reflections with you at our Middle School Parents Association Coffee on Tuesday, September 30, at 8 AM in the gallery. And, all school fall conferences are right around the corner. They will take place from 3:30-8 PM on Thursday, October 9, and 8-5 PM on Friday, October 10. More information will be shared toward the end of the month regarding signing up for conferences, but for those new to the community, Middle School students participate in their conferences and are required to attend.
Mark Your Calendars
- Friday, September 19: MS G5 Osprey Wilds
- Friday, September 19: MS G5-8 MAP Testing
- Sunday, September 21: MPA at the Twins, 1:10-3:30 PM, Target Field
- Monday, September 22-Saturday, September 27: Homecoming Week
- Monday, September 22-Friday, September 26: MS G5-8 MAP Testing
- Thursday, September 25: PA Rainbow Club Meeting, 12-1 PM, Panther Center
- Thursday, September 25: ISACS Parent Series – School Skills: Setting Kids Up for Success, 6:30-7:30 PM, Virtual
- Friday, September 26: MPA Spirit Day
- Friday, September 26: G3-G12 Homecoming Assembly, 2:20-3 PM, Lansing Sports Center
- Friday, September 26: Hall of Fame Dinner, 6-8 PM, Family Commons
- Saturday, September 27: Homecoming Activities
- Tuesday, September 30: MPA PA MS Quarterly Coffee, 8-9:30 AM, Gallery
- Tuesday, September 30: MS G7 and New G8 SOS Depression + Suicide Screenings, 8 AM-3 PM
- Wednesday, October 1: School Photo Retake Day & Senior Sillies, 7:30-10:30 AM, McKeown Track
- Thursday, October 2: No Classes, Yom Kippur
- Friday, October 3: MS G8 Field Trip
- Thursday, October 9: All School Evening Conferences, 3:30-8 PM
