The Effect of Positivity on Resilience
By Cheryl Bayo
School Counselor
“When a child is at their most unlovable is when they need the most love.”
It can be very hard to find the small positives in a world that is hectic for us and our students, especially with the rigorous academic challenges at a school like MMI. The pre-teen and teenage years are full of opportunities for children to express themselves in both positive and negative ways. The impact of a positive relationship between a child and parent (or other adult) has an effect on how they handle the choices they make. Rewarding students, even for the smallest positive, with the greatest reward of all-our time and attention – can have a big impact on how they think and react to many choices and obstacles.
Hi Everyone! ‘Tis the season for holiday food, joy, celebrating the end of the year and yes, the dreaded semester exams. This time of year is stressful enough, so it is important to try to reduce stress and any anxiety about taking those end of the year tests and exams. 
I love exploring local history with my freshman classes. We are fortunate to live in northeastern Pennsylvania, especially when it comes to learning about economic and labor history, because of local sites like Eckley Miners’ Village as well as people who have preserved the details of their lives for future generations.
On Thursday, March 7, 20 students and two parents from MMI embarked on a nine-day educational tour of China. Coordinated by Education First Tours, some of the major stops included Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. The tour was led by T.R. Laputka and chaperoned by MMI faculty members Christina Spencer, Michael Mele, and Christine Lizbinski.
The Pennsylvania School of Global Entrepreneurship (PSGE) has ignited my entrepreneurial spirit and helped me expand on business ventures I am involved in, as well as sparked creativity to develop other business ideas. I have been working on an idea to develop a free women’s self-defense organization to combat rising abuse rates against local women. Additionally, I am currently working with a team of four girls on an iDeX pitch, featuring an app that allows users to more effectively medically diagnose themselves at home. 
Technology has drastically changed our society in the last 20 years. The ease with which we can now access and distribute information is unprecedented and it has fundamentally impacted the way we live our lives and, more specifically, educate our children. The online resources available for students and teachers are astounding and the speed with which we can communicate is amazing. From learning management systems, to video tutorials and lessons, to online assessments, to virtual field trips, technology has given us the ability to engage students in new and exciting ways every day. 
Learning good study habits in middle school assists students well into their high school years and beyond. By understanding how to manage time, information, and materials, students gain the skills they need to be organized, efficient learners who have a toolkit of strategies for completing their homework on a nightly basis. This leads to them being better equipped to tackle assessments in the classroom and can reduce test anxiety while increasing confidence and competence.
Ah, it's finally summer. Time to kick back and enjoy the nice weather, finally. What better way to do that than to grab your tunes, a beverage, and for me, my sketchbook, paints, and canvas.
If you listen closely, kids everywhere are cheering as summer vacation is underway. After a long school year, it’s finally time to sleep in, lie on the couch, play video games, and watch television… right? While everyone needs to relax a little and catch their breath from all the hard work the school year brings, staying active and exercising should be part of everyone’s daily routine throughout the summer.
One of my favorite songs growing up when I was a kid was called Summertime. It’s summertime…summertime…sum…sum…summertime!
I have never been a new student. I went to the same school from kindergarten to eighth grade, and then I started at a high school in ninth grade, just like everyone else. I had new teachers and things like that, but all the other people in my grade did, too, so it wasn't really that scary.
It was a nice summer evening and I was in line to get an ice cream at a local shop. A family was in front of me with two young boys dressed in their baseball uniforms. They must have been about 8 years old. When they got to the front of the line, the woman taking orders greeted them and then asked them a question. It was not, “What would you like?” or “How are you today?” The first thing she asked them was, “Did you win your game?”
When I joined the MMI family as the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid in 2007, I was thrilled to be joining a team that stood for educational excellence. Despite not being from this area, I quickly learned the integral role that MMI had played in the lives of so many people. Those people were now bringing their children to MMI. My role was well defined and my job was clear-cut: recruit students to MMI and walk families through the admissions and financial aid processes.
As the school year winds down, many MMI students and families beginning or in the throes of the college planning process, start to plan out college visits. In fact, one of the most important parts of your college research is the campus visit, and it is highly beneficial to begin the visit process the summer after sophomore year. Visiting colleges on your list will give you a firsthand impression of the students, faculty, staff, facilities, and programs. On a visit you can learn what the admission office is looking for in its applicants, gain a feeling for the academic and social atmosphere, see the study/living/ recreation facilities, talk with students, and get a sense of the surrounding community.
I spent this school year teaching Introduction to Literary Analysis to MMI eighth-graders. After careful reading, we talked and wrote about novels, a play, short stories, and poetry. I was astonished by the breadth and depth of our discussions. Completely unprepared for the idea that I would be learning from them, I happily found myself telling my students, again and again, “I’ve never thought of it that way!”
