Volume 4 Issue 2 November 20, 2017

Principal’s Corner—From the Desk of Mr. BoxeyThings have been busy at MJHS since the October newsletter was published. The cross country and volleyball teams have recently ended their seasons, and the girls’ basketball teams have already played several games. The MJHS Robotics team has also completed their season, and you can read about how they did below. Twelve of our students went to the Sanford Senior Center this past Wednesday to serve a Thanksgiving Day Luncheon, and the community members thoroughly enjoyed having our students visit.

The first marking period of the 2017/2018 school year is in the books. The holidays are right around the corner, and many of us will take the time to step back to think about the things in our lives that we should be thankful for. I hope every parent, student, and staff member have a chance to relax and recharge during our vacations in the next few weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Mustang Corral �1

Important Dates

• Nov. 20—Girls’ Basketball Game @ HOME

• Nov. 23 - 24—No School—Thanksgiving Vacation

• November 29—Girls’ Basketball Game @ HOME

• Dec. 1—End of 1st Trimester for 5th Grade Specials

• Dec. 4—Girls’ Basketball Game @ HOME

• December 13—5th-12th Grade Holiday Band Concert in the HS Gym @ 7:00 p.m.

• December 15—Half Day of School—MJHS Students dismissed at 11:15 a.m.

• December 21—First Day of Vacation

• January 2—School Resumes

THE MUSTANG CORRAL Meridian Jr. High School

Mr. Boxey

Volume 4 Issue 2 November 20, 2017

MJHS RoboticsThis year marked the second season for the MJHS Robotics Team. Seventh and eighth grade First Tech Challenge teams are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge.

For several weeks the team designed, built, and programed a robot that could be driven to move and stack blocks. The team often had to problem solve as they ran across obstacles throughout the design and production process. On Saturday, November 4th, the MJHS Robotics Team competed in their regional qualifier event at Bullock Creek High School. Although the team only finished 25th out of 35 teams, a lot was learned throughout the season.

A special thanks goes out to Coach Kiel Henderson for doing a great job of leading the team this season. The team would also like to thank the high school team and their coach, J Cole for their help, and all of their sponsors that made it possible: Ford, GM, DTE Energy, Nexteer Automotive, McLaughlin Electric, Coldwell Banker, and Midland Cogeneration Venture.

The Mustang Corral �2

Report Cards

Report cards for the 1st Marking Period can be seen by logging into Skyward and clicking on the “Academic History” tab.

5th Grade Specials

Fifth graders will rotate to their new special on Monday, December 4th. Students currently in Art will rotate to Drama, students currently in Drama will rotate to PE, and students currently in PE will rotate to Art. Students enrolled in 5th Grade Band will remain in Band on the days they are currently attending.

Mustang Corral

The Mustang Corral is published four times per year and is emailed to those parents that have an email address on file in the MJHS office.

Volume 4 Issue 2 November 20, 2017

Change WarSixth hour classes are competing in a change war until Tuesday, November 21st to raise money for families in need as we head into the holidays. Classes receive “positive” points for change placed in their bucket, but classes can sabotage each other with paper money which is considered “negative” points. The class with the highest average score per student will win an ice cream party.

Science Exploratory: Product DesignSeventh and eighth graders in Mr. Henderson’s Science Exploratory class have been treated to a unique experience this semester thanks to the Delta College STEM Explorer mobile lab.  Delta College instructor Nathan Elder has visited the class each week since early October and taught students about Solidworks software and 3-dimensional modeling.  Small groups of students used laptops and Solidworks software on loan from Delta College to design a device to hold a smartphone up to a microscope in order to take pictures and videos of the subject or subjects on the microscope slide.  Mr. Elder and his student assistant spent their time over the last month in the classroom supporting and troubleshooting with students as their designs became more complex and closer to completion.  

While the students’ work is complete in terms of design, the project is not over yet.  Mr. Elder has taken the computers and student work back with him in order to use Delta College’s 3-D printers to print the student designs.  In two weeks when he returns to Meridian Junior High, the students can put their designs to the ultimate test as they use the devices that they designed to capture photographs and videos of actual living organisms through the lens of a microscope.  

The Mustang Corral �3