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Phone: 281-237-8000
Fax: 281-644-1660
02/18/19
The Paw Print McMeans Junior High 21000 Westheimer Parkway Katy, TX 77450
Monday, February 18
Student Holiday-No School
Tuesday, February 19
1st Day of the 5th Six Weeks
4:00-5:30 pm Girls Tennis Tryouts,
Tennis Courts, through Feb. 20
Wednesday, February 20
11:00 am-12:00 pm International
Festival Orientation Meeting, LGI
4:30-6:30 pm Boys Track Meet,
SLHS
6:30 –7:30 pm International Festi-
val Orientation Meeting, LGI
Thursday, February 21
4:30-6:30 pm Girls Track Meet,
MCHS
5:30-6:30 pm Cheer & Mascot
Tryouts Parents Meeting, Cafeteria
Friday, February 22
2:20-3:05 pm No Place for Hate
meeting, Cafeteria
4:00-7:00 pm Boys Night with the
Coaches, Both Gyms
Weekly deadline for the Paw Print is
Wednesdays at noon.
Email articles to:
Visit the MMJH web site at: http://
kisdwebs.katyisd.org/campuses/mmjh
Quote of the Week
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Character Trait for February: Service
Service: lending a hand to help someone else
Animal-Labrador retriever Color-Blue
NJHS Winter Induction
Twenty-eight 8th graders were
inducted into our school’s
chapter of the National Junior
Honor Society on February 5.
Congratulations to all!
Historian Allison Yang, Parlia-
mentarian Evy Huang, Vice
President Tessa Woods, and
President Amanda Scherpereel
helped preside the ceremony.
Not pictured is Secretary Mari-
am Elsharkawy.
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MATHCOUNTS Competition
The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is a national program that provides middle school students the op-
portunity to compete in live, in-person contests against and alongside their peers. Last weekend, the MMJH
team placed 11th out of 42 campuses in the competitive Houston region. We were the second highest Katy
ranking team! Team members include Ethan Choi, Brian Hu, Kyoshiro Kimura, Minkyu Lim, Ken Oishi, Sofia
Tymianski, Ashley Wang , Egan Wang, Emily Yao, and Cavin Zeng. Special recognition goes to Egan Wang
(#49) and Kyoshiro Kimura (#57) for the top 25% placing on individual scores. Congratulations!
Girls Soccer News
Attention parents of 7th and 8th grade girls. If they will be trying out for
girls soccer, please have them attend junior high night at Taylor High
School on Tuesday, February 26th. The Varsity Taylor Mustangs will take on
the Katy Tigers at 7:30 pm. The students can sign up with Coach Hall in
room 151.
All 7th and 8th grade girls wishing to try out for girls soccer need to have a
completed physical on file with Coach Langford no later than Wednesday,
March 6th. Tryouts will be held on March 22nd and March 25th. 7th
grade girls will need to attend both days in the morning starting at 7:00
am. 8th grade girls will need to attend both days immediately after school
until 5:30 pm. If there are any questions, please contact Coach Hall or Coach Krolczyk.
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7th Grade Boys Basketball
Congratulation to the 7th grade teams on
playing well this season!
7A-Coach Irvin
7B-Coach Cummings
7C-Coach Rowe
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8th Grade Boys Basketball
Congratulations to the 8th grade teams for a
great season!
8A-Coach Lee
8B-Coach Greenwood District Champs
8C—Coach Kemble
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PTA NEWS
NO PLACE FOR HATE has extended the t-shirt order through
March 1- and anyone can order! There are three different
options - sport tek short sleeve, long sleeve and cotton
short sleeve.
Parents can pay online, NP4H t-shirt delivery will be on
March 29 during the meeting in the cafeteria at 2: 20 pm.
Contact coordinator Heather Harbuck at
[email protected] for any questions
Student ID Flash Sale!
February 4-22, 2019—LAST WEEK TO SAVE!
New photo student IDs and extra student IDs $1
With a lanyard-additional $1
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Author Visit-Tamara Ireland Stone
Blue Willow Bookshop will be bringing author Tamara
Ireland Stone to visit our school on Thursday, March 7,
during 3rd period in the LGI. See your reading teacher
or stop by the library if you’re interested in meeting this
author! If you would like to preorder these books, please
fill out the order form below and bring it to the library
with your payment by March 5. You can also place your
order online at
https://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/school-visits-
tamara-ireland-stone
To learn more about this author, visit her website at https://www.tamarairelandstone.com/
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Counselors Corner
Want to Motivate Your Child to Do Well in School? Science Says Teach Them This One Thing
By Scott Mautz, Keynote speaker and author, Find the Fire and Make It Matter
Of course, we want to do all that we can for our kids to help them succeed--keep an eye on them (even using technology if it
helps), keep them from being perfectionists, monitor their unproductive habits. But what's the best way to help them help
themselves when it comes to doing well in school? Science lends a hand.
Many would jump to the conclusion that academic excellence is bolstered by self-esteem, which can certainly help. But
there's a dark side to focusing solely on helping your child boost his or her self-esteem (as you'll see in a second). The better
way forward? Focus on teaching your child self-compassion. University of Texas psychology professor Kristin Neff, author
of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, told KQED that self-esteem is about value:
Self-esteem is a judgment about how valuable I am: very valuable, not so good, not valuable at all. In contrast, self-
compassion isn't about self-evaluation at all. It's about being kind to oneself. Self-compassion is a healthy source of self-
worth because it's not contingent and it's unconditional. It's much more stable over time because it's not dependent on exter-
nal markers of success such as grades. So am I saying we should teach children to not care about grades? Not at all. It's a
matter of whether your child sees grades as the ultimate end goal or a positive side effect of embracing the learning process.
Neff says most of us motivate ourselves through self-criticism. Your child is aware of the consequences of failing that test.
But the side effects of this approach are perfectionism, a fear of failure, and even procrastination because the fear of not
measuring up can be paralyzing.
Neff's research shows that focusing instead on self-compassion shifts how your child self-motivates. Since the direct end-
goal is not as much about achievement (grades, becoming class president), it encourages students to experiment, take risks,
try new approaches, and to keep going after making a mistake (rather than feeling defeated by it). In this way, behavior is
motivated by the pursuit of a passion (learning and growing), not avoidance of a negative (fear). In the end, a healthier
source of academic motivation can lead to better end goals on many fronts--yes, even grades.
The approach applies to entrepreneurs too, by the way. I've found that not worrying about failing (and the consequences of
failing) in my entrepreneurial ventures has freed me up to be more creative and take more risks. Thus, I'm producing better
output that's helping me outpace my business goals anyway. But back to us as parents. Here's how parents can help their
kids be self-compassionate:
1. Encourage them to support themselves as they would a friend. If a friend came to you after he blew a big meeting, would
you say, "I've listened to your story and considered the facts. I've concluded you are indeed a loser"? Of course not. So why
would you do that to yourself? Why would your child? Help them practice this, especially in the moments when their disem-
powering self-dialogue is kicking in. I've personally found this to be powerful guidance to share with children, co-workers, and
friends.
2. Watch your language. It's easy, and very natural, to bark at your children when they bring home a bad grade. I have to re-
sist this temptation myself. But Neff reminds us that doing so can be taken as judgment of their intelligence--and no good
can come from that. In such moments, it's important to help them see that bad grade as a learning moment and to help
them kick it into action-mode. What needs to change to achieve a better outcome? What have you learned from this?
3. When you mess up, fess up. This is your chance to role model discussion around the inevitability of mistakes. When you
make a mistake, share the experience with your children and talk about the simple truth that mistakes will happen. It's about
how you pick up and carry on. Show them that you can cut shame off at the knees.
4. Hand on heart, deep breaths. Neff also teaches that kids can quickly spiral downward immediately after experiencing a
setback. She encourages teaching children to place their hand on their heart and take deep breaths in stressful times to
trigger the power of touch and help release oxytocin, a hormone that makes us feel safe and connected.
Academic excellence is plenty reason to pursue all of this advice. But Neff says it's a gift that parents can give themselves as
well: "Self-compassion is a way of re-parenting yourself. If you grew up with really critical parents, it's a chance to treat your-
self like an unconditionally loving, supportive parent." So have compassion for self-compassion--there's something in it for
everybody.
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