Martinsville City Public Schools

📚 "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go." -Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!" Last week, MCPS celebrated Read Across America Week! Teachers welcomed special guest readers from our community including school board members, school administrators, city council members, firefighters, police officers, high school student athletes, and many more, all of whom took time out of their busy schedules to come read to our students. Thank you to all those who came to share their love of reading with our students!

Yesterday, every single student at MMS received a free book thanks to Toys for Tots! 📖 What an amazing gift for our students during Read Across America Week! #keepcalmandreadon

MCPS celebrated Engineering Month this February with special projects, guest speakers, and more! The last week of the month-long celebration centered on flight and several schools held an epic paper airplane competition. Students designed and launched their own paper planes, giving even some of our youngest learners a chance to experiment with important STEM-related concepts such as aerodynamics, force, and resistance. Here's a look at some of our Albert Harris students celebrating Flight Day!

Our MMS 7th grade students visited the Virginia Museum of Natural History yesterday! During the field trip, which was focused on the predator/prey relationships they have been learning about in science class, students toured the museum's galleries to identify real-world examples of those relationships. They also utilized the museum's microscopy and student training lab to get an up-close look at an owl feather and mouse skull and identified features of an owl that helped make it a successful predator.

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and National Read Across America Day! Some of our schools celebrated the occasion with green eggs and ham for breakfast. 🟢🍳 Here are some of our AHES students enjoying their breakfast Seuss-style!

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and National Read Across America Day! Some of our schools celebrated the occasion with green eggs and ham for breakfast. 🟢🍳 Let's take a look at our PHES students enjoying their Seuss-inspired meal!

Our CELC students and staff were decked out in their Seussical best this morning for a special green eggs and ham breakfast in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday!

We're thrilled to announce the new app for MCPS! It's everything MCPS, in your pocket. Our MCPS app will allow you to access events, news, updates, and even emergency notifications right from your phone. To download, search "Martinsville City Schools, VA" in the App or Play store or just follow the appropriate link below! Download for Android: https://bit.ly/3RGotdb
 Download for iPhone: https://apple.co/3jETdyA

Congratulations to MHS sophomore Ava Grant who placed second in the Eastman Black History Month Oratorical Contest and won a $1,000 prize! To participate in the contest, students were asked to write an essay about a notable African American contributor to the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). Ava wrote about Alexa Irene Canady, the first African American woman in the US to become a neurosurgeon.

AHES students were absolutely enthralled by the storytelling of special guest Fred Motley today! What a great way to wrap up yet another week of learning. Thank you, Fred, for sharing your stories with us!

Today is Bus Driver Appreciation Day and our schools prepared some gifts and sweet treats to let our transportation team know we wheelie appreciate you! 🚌

Last week, some of our Clearview students got to experience the excitement of a dinosaur dig from the comfort of their classrooms thanks to the Virginia Museum of Natural History's "Dino Dig" program! 🦕 Thanks to VMNH for providing such a fun and interactive program for our students!

The doors at MMS are decked out for Black History Month!

During the PHES Book Fair, students donated items for the Martinsville-Henry County SPCA. Mrs. Earnest’s first grade class brought in 110 items and won a pizza party in the library with Ms. Smith, librarian!

Today, seventh graders at MMS were delighted to welcome Martinsville Mayor L.C. Jones! Jones spoke about his role in our local government, discussed how to become a member of city council, and answered questions for students as they prepare for the annual "If I Were Mayor" essay contest. Jones emphasized the importance of empathy, listening, and responsibility and asked students to think about the qualities they expect to see in a good leader. He told students to think about "How can I help? What would I do? How could this be different?" as they write their essays for the contest. Thank you, Mayor Jones, for taking the time to talk with our young learners! What a great opportunity for these students to connect what they are learning in the classroom back to their own community!

Congratulations to MMS Principal Ama Waller for being recognized by the Virginia Department of Education's Office of School Quality for her leadership in the field of chronic absenteeism! "Mrs. Waller and her team at MMS take a restorative approach to absenteeism," said Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Dr. Angilee Downing, who nominated Waller for the recognition. "They work with students and their families to determine the root causes of any absenteeism issues and connect them with school and community resources to help resolve the issues." Congratulations, Mrs. Waller!

⚙️ MCPS is celebrating Engineering Month! Students across our division are participating in a wide variety of projects and lessons that showcase the diverse world of engineering and technology. This week, some of our middle school students have been hard at work creating their own rockets 🚀 and building robots 🤖!

Our youngest learners dressed in their best today for Clearview's Valentine's Day Gala! 💕 Students celebrated both Valentine’s Day and Kindness Week with one epic, balloon-filled dance party! 🎈

Happy Valentine's Day from our Clearview students!

Kindergarten students at AHES have been having a BLAST 💥 celebrating Black History Month and Engineering Month! Students were inspired by Katherine Johnson, an aerospace technologist, and Mae C. Jemison, a doctor, engineer, and NASA astronaut. In this interactive lesson, Kindergarten students experienced first-hand how big pushes caused their juice pouch rockets to soar! 🚀 Engineers make the world a better place!