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Cell Phones and personal electronics are not to be used from 8:30-3:00 pm with the exception of lunch.   Here are our expectations:

1. Personal phones and electronics are not allowed to be used at Murray Middle School except during lunch.

2. They are to remain at home, locked in lockers, or secured and put away. This means they can’t be out in classrooms, hallways, bathrooms. Not on your desk or hanging out of your pocket.  If students choose to carry their phones, they  must be completely off--not even on vibrate from 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Except for lunch time.

3. If you have your phone in a classroom, your name will be placed on the front board. If you are asked a second time, your phone will be turned into the office until the end of the day. Your name will be put on a list, and if it happens again, your parent or guardian will have to pick up your phone.

4. This includes  Air Pods and earphones. These need to be out of your ears except for lunch.

Q: Why don’t we allow cell phones in class/bathrooms/halls during the school day?

1. We prioritize real human interaction.  We believe that learning the skills of in-person communication and collaboration are much more important.  This generation has grown up with computers and cell phones. Students are already good at using electronics -- they do not need social media practice or gaming practice at school.  One of the most important skills our students will learn at Murray Middle School is how to get along and work well, face-to-face, with a variety of people.

2. Electronics are disruptive.  Cell phones ringing and buzzing disrupt both the student and the class. We want students focused on the lesson, not who’s calling or texting them.

3. They cause drama.  Students tend to say things online that they would never say out loud.  We don’t need extra drama at school.

4. They get stolen.  Unfortunately, as wonderful as our Murray Middle School students are, phones are stolen.  They are attractive items. Leaving them in a locked locker is best if they can’t stay at home.  While we try to help students’ problem solve, the school is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

5. They are addicting.  This generation of students is struggling to learn to think and stay busy with just their own thoughts.  Managing boredom without tools or toys is an important life skill that we have little opportunity to practice when the phone is always present.  We want our students to be fully present and experience all that school has to offer.

6. Students don’t need them.  Every student at Murray Middle School is given an iPad for academic use.  

We are asking you to not only review these expectations but also to help out by not texting or contacting your student during the school day. Ideally, all necessary communication should occur before and after school.  In the event of an emergency, please call the main office, and we will get a message to your student as soon as possible. If a student needs to contact a parent, they can ask for a pass to use the phone in the office. 

Our goal at Murray is to support our students in dressing for success. We request that parents partner with the Murray staff by reviewing and reinforcing these guidelines with their students.

Rights/Opportunities

• Students have the right to choose their manner of dress and personal grooming unless it presents a clear danger to the student’s health or safety, causes interference with school work or creates classroom or school disorder.

Responsibilities

• Students are responsible for wearing clothes that are appropriate for school. To maintain a safe learning environment, student dress cannot be a health and/or safety hazard, obscene, sexually explicit or discriminatory. Clothing that displays words or images that communicate a message that is racist, sexist, or otherwise derogatory is not permitted. Clothing that displays references to alcohol, chemicals, tobacco or other products that are illegal for use by minors is not permitted.

• Students are responsible for abiding by the school principal’s mandated minimum standards of cleanliness and neatness. Students who attend schools that have adopted a school uniform requirement must follow the school’s uniform requirement. For more details, see Board Policy 501.03 and Board Policy 501.04 at spps.org/Domain/13187.

Murray Specific Expectations

Dress code: 

• Students must wear a top and a bottom

• No underwear/boxers visible

• The top must be a shirt, not just a bra 

• Secure shoes are required on lab days 

• When Masks are required, they must cover the mouth and nose

• Not hate speech or obscene words

• Hats and hoods are allowed

Shirt and bottoms

Students’ shirts and bottoms have to cover all private parts. Articles of clothing such as skirts, dresses, v-necks, t-shirts, tank tops and crop tops are all allowed within this rule. Also allowed are spaghetti straps and bra straps. 

Masks (When masks are required

-Students must wear a well-fitting Covid-19 mask over their nose and mouth at all times other than while eating or drinking. If the mouth or nose is showing, the mask is being worn incorrectly. The mask must stay on while sneezing or coughing. This rule will be enforced until the mask mandate is lifted. Well-fit means the sides aren’t open and the top has no difficulty sitting on the bridge of their nose.

Hate speech, obscenities 

-No hate speech, obscene images, or obscene words on clothing. Students cannot wear anything that promotes violence, drugs, alcohol, weapons or hatred towards someone. They have freedom of speech and you may wear clothing that represents their beliefs, as long as they don’t encourage conflict.

Science and shoes

-Students are required to wear secure, closed-toed shoes such as boots, tennis shoes and crocs for lab safety on lab days. If they are not doing a lab, students are free to wear sandals or other open-toed shoes. Science teachers should coordinate with students on days they need closed-toed shoes.

TIP: Truancy Intervention Program

How It Works:
TIP is a three-step process involving progressively intrusive interventions to compel students and their parents to address the truancy problem in a positive manner.

Step 1
Students with as few as three unexcused absences may be referred to TIP. The student's family is sent a letter informing them of the attendance problem and requiring them to attend a large-group meeting where an assistant county attorney discusses the legal, social and individual ramifications of continued poor attendance.

Step 2
If school attendance does not improve after the initial intervention, the student and parents are required to attend a School Attendance Review Team (SART) hearing. At this hearing, an assistant county attorney leads a team of school and other officials in negotiating a contract with the student and the parents.

Step 3
If attendance still fails to improve, a truancy petition is filed in Ramsey County Juvenile Court and an expedited hearing is scheduled. A student faces such penalties as the loss of his or her driver's license.