All MMSD High School schedules will change on Monday, March 8th, 2021:

The MMSD 2020-2021 school year calendar has been revised for the third quarter and is available at mmsd.org/calendar. The only changes were the removal of high school early release on Mondays. As a reminder, there is no school for students on:

The MMSD 2021-2022 school year calendar will be made available by the end of March.

The Dane CORE Program has officially launched. The City of Madison and Dane County recently announced the availability of up to $16 million of emergency rental assistance from the federal government that will be used to support payment of rent arrears. In addition, President Biden recently extended the federal eviction moratorium through March 31st. These emergency funds are essential to our community and we recognize the need for them to be dispersed quickly to support struggling tenants and landlords. In order to meet the anticipated demand for these funds the City and County are working with Tenant Resource Center to open applications for emergency rental assistance the week of February 15th.

Project Recovery has a FREE, confidential, local support and education line to help people cope with COVID-19 and this stressful time. Learn more.

MMSD is working with the Madison Public Libraries to ensure all students have access to books during this pandemic. Learn more about how students can get library books.

East's Mobile Food Pantry at East is open on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30pm in the back parking lot near the field house entrance. Additionally, during Virtual Learning, MMSD Food & Nutrition is offering once per week pickup of Market Box meals at 40 school sites. The pick up days and times for East High School (Door #4 by the Field House in the big parking lot off Fourth Street) is Mondays, 10:00-11:45am and Thursdays, 3:30-5:30pm, but any student/family can go to any of the 40 sites throughout the district.

Join MMSD's Family, Youth & Community Engagement Department on Saturday, February 20th from 10:00-11:00am for their Facebook Live Family Information Session on Social Emotional Well-Being and Mental Health. We'll be having a conversation with a lineup of special guests who will be offering support and resources to you and your family. Join us at facebook.com/fycemmsd for the event.

"Winter is Alive! A Cooler World Carnival" is presented by the City of Madison, Garver Events, and Sustain Dane. This project is the collective endeavor of many individuals and organizations. Sara Meredith, one of the many artists participating in the art exhibit, chose to have her sculpture located on East High School's front lawn. Her piece is inspired by the deep-sea organism known as the siphonophore. Siphonophores are not actually singular organisms, but aggregate colonies of tiny "nectophores," who come together to create something truly majestic. The largest Siphonophore ever observed, was around 150ft long, meaning the equally impressive sculpture is roughly to scale! The most significant aspect of the piece is not its size, but rather its powerful message about climate change and incorporating pledges into the piece. The pledge idea was designed to inspire students and community members to imagine that they as a group can affect climate change by working together. The image of the Siphonophore is used to remind us that if many of us work together we can create something large and powerful. Along the siphonophores long wiry body, the students of East High school have attached their personal pledges to improve the environment. Much like the small nectophores, they can do very little on their own, but by banding together, by becoming a siphonophore, they can make vast improvements to the planet as a whole. The community is invited to write and attach their own pledges to the sculpture as well, making this a community project!

MSCR East High School’s Soulful Productions Academy students and staff, Mai Chee Thao, Kao Nou Thao, Jordan Xiong and Ms. Mayder, were recorded in the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich Botanical Gardens for an online Rainforest Rhythms program celebrating cultures from the world's rainforest regions. They performed a traditional Hmong dance, song and provided a papaya salad dish demonstration. The videos will be used to provide a "virtual field trip" for others to learn about about the Hmong and SouthEast Asian culture and plants. Check out the Wisconsin State Journal article about the program.

Seniors, please check your email for a February Senior Survey.

Don't forget to go online and enter your information to receive this year's complimentary cap/gown/tassel/stole at mwscholastic.com/mmsd.

Do you have questions on how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)? The FAFSA is the form a student needs to complete to apply for financial aid, such as grants and loans. "College Goal Wisconsin" will provide free assistance on completing the FAFSA. Register here and view the flyer for more information.

Many organizations in our community are committed to offering academic support and enrichment opportunities to East High School students. Mini High School courses are currently being offered at Goodman Community Center.

Here's what the program looks like at the Community Center:

Mini-courses include; Get It Off Your Chest!, Girls Who Grow, Sights and Sounds, Fitness on the Go, 2K League, and Mind, Body, Self.

Check the Goodman Community Center Lussier LOFT website or Instagram. The center also features in person homework assistance available every Wednesday from 12-3pm!* *will change to Mondays on March 8th in alignment with MMSD's phased reopening plans. All students complete a health screening before each visit to the center, must wear masks and physically distance while at the center.

East's chapter of March For Our Lives is having a virtual fundraiser on Wednesday, February 24th from 6:30-8:00pm. There will be games and trivia, and it will be a great way to learn a little bit more about MFOL and get involved. Sign-up online! Additionally, you can purchase a fundraiser event t- shirt or make a donation. All proceeds will go to March For Our Lives. Donation or purchase not required to attend the event.

Are you a menstruating student who attends school in MMSD? The local youth-led nonprofit, Bleed Shamelessly, wants your feedback about your experiences with menstrual product accessibility and health curricula in MMSD! Please fill out this short, anonymous survey to help inform Bleed Shamelessly's decisions about allocating resources and advocacy efforts in MMSD.