Bennett Bear Business Newsletter
Week of April 27, 2020
Message from Dr. Rick McDaniel - McKinney ISD 4th Quarter Report Cards
Dear McKinney ISD Parents,
We know that the past few weeks have been challenging, both for teachers and for our parents and students. We are proud of the hard work of our staff and students to make the best of these unprecedented circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students are doing a great job completing assignments and working to continue learning in spite of these challenges.
The district has studied many options related to the McKinney ISD grading policy. Administering grades fairly and equitably is much more difficult with online learning due to the wide range of external factors that impact learning and may be outside of the student's control. After a significant amount of consideration McKinney ISD has determined that the most appropriate and fair approach is to freeze the 3rd quarter (nine-weeks) grades, carry these grades over to the 4th quarter (nine-weeks), and continue providing teacher feedback on assignments completed during the 4th quarter (nine-weeks).
The grades your child received in courses during the 3rd quarter will serve as the 2nd semester grade upon satisfactory completion of 4th quarter assignments. For high school credit courses, students will be permitted to make up assignments if they were failing, and they will be provided an opportunity for credit recovery.
Teachers will continue to expect students to complete assignments and will follow up with students not meeting these expectations. This will also require cooperation and partnership with parents, in order to hold students accountable for completion of assignments. The most important thing to consider is not the grade, but the learning that is taking place. We know families, students, and teachers are doing their best during this difficult time, and we look forward to finishing the year strong.
Some parents may be concerned about their kids falling behind or missing concepts and skills. Please rest assured that we will support student learning now and into the fall to ensure that they are caught up and that students learn all of the required subject matter and skills necessary to be successful at every level. Thanks for your ongoing support and let's have a great week of learning!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rick McDaniel
McKinney ISD Superintendent
No School Students/Staff - April 27th - Bad Weather Day
NEW MISD Grab & Go Meals - Still FREE - Locations Update
PTO Nominations are OPEN - Join our Amazing PTO Board
Pack Assorted Colors for Kids - Week 3 - April 27-May 1
Bennett's Best Recipients
Bennett's Best Award
This week, Tactic Team 5 is celebrating and recognize
two Bennett staff members for going above and beyond to serve our school and promoting a positive school culture at the BEST school in McKinney!
Bennett's Best Recipient Liz De Araujo
Bennett's Best Recipient Natalie Vera
PTO Sponsored Teacher Appreciation Week Overview - May 4-8 - Virtual Style
Teacher Appreciation Week - Monday, May 4th
Teacher Appreciation Week - Tuesday, May 5th
Teacher Appreciation Week - Wednesday, May 6th
Teacher Appreciation Week - Thursday, May 7th
Teacher Appreciation Week - Friday, May 8th
Virtual Field Day, Friday May 8th
Virtual Ideas & Suggestions to Celebrate our BEARS
Complete Your Child's Bennett Learning Styles Form for 2020-2021 School Year
In order to best meet your child's needs, we invite parents to complete the Bennett Learning Styles Form 2020-2021. We know parents have great insight into the needs of their child and appreciate you taking the time to respond, so we can make the best placement for your child next year.
While we value your input, requests for specific teachers will not be honored or accepted. This will be your only opportunity to provide input so we encourage you to please complete and submit the form below by Friday, May 1, 2020.
NEW to McKinney ISD Student Registration is OPEN
Hello, Parents of Future Bennett Bears!
Have you visited McKinney ISD’s School Locator to see if your home address is zoned for Bennett Elementary? If so, you are ready to enroll your new student(s) for the 2020-2021 school year through our McKinney ISD online registration process!
Registration forms for new students entering kindergarten through 5th grade are available. To access these registration forms:
- Go to the McKinney ISD website at www.mckinneyisd.net
- Click the "Enrollment" tab
- Click the “2020-2021 New Student Enrollment”
While completing your online enrollment, you will be asked to upload the following documents:
- Current Proof of Residency – Must be a utility bill, gas, water or electric, house contract with closing date and/or lease with signatures.
- Student’s Social Security Card (optional - if you choose to not provide your child's Social Security Card, the state will assign your child a unique ID #)
- Student’s Birth Certificate
- Updated Shot Records
If you do not have scanning capability, you may take a photo of your documents and upload the photos in the online enrollment site.
If the above documents are not received in the online enrollment site, the registration will be incomplete. Questions about the registration process or uploading your documents? Email Bennett Elementary Registrar, Susan Jakobsen, at sjakobsen@mckinneyisd.net.
We can’t wait to meet our new BEARS when we return to campus! Take care and stay safe!
April's Gratitude Calendar
April & May Student & Staff Birthdays
April:
27th - Jaxton, McCall, William, Carly, Mrs. Scheidhauer - Speech Teacher
28th - Mrs. Woods - Dyslexia Teacher
29th - Jase, Rylee, Adalynn, Kendrick
30th - Georgia, Connor, Jack, Rhyan
May:
1st - Abigail, Bennett, Mrs. Latson - 4th Grade Teacher, Mrs. Ray - Kindergarten Teacher
2nd - Easton
3rd - Melody, Mrs. Hill - 2nd Grade Teacher
4th - Xander
8th - Greyson
10th - Tristan, Ephraim
11th - Gavin, Harper, Mrs. Halpin - Assistant Principal
12th - Araceli
13th - Jun, Cameron
14th - Dexter, Ademide
15th - Desmon
16th - Mrs. Crates - K-2 Alpha Teacher
17th - Mercy
18th - Hadley, Wrenley, Mrs. Stump - Office Clerk
19th - Osarume, Benton, Nico
21st - Stanley, Abigail
22nd - Miah, Peyton
24th - Carlos
25th - Colsen, Ja'myrhia
26th - Kinsley, William
27th - Meghan, Aidan
28th - Jackson, Ainsley, Mabry
29th - Jack, Samantha, Joshua
30th - Scarlett
31st - Leighton, Scarlett, Hayden, Ms. Holderman - Principal
Bennett Elementary Virtual College & Career Fair
Our social distancing won’t keep our Bennett Bears from learning about some of the many career options available to them, so here’s the link to sign up for our VIRTUAL College and Career Fair!https://forms.gle/CXsDbED1ux7Rk9br6
Warm regards,
Christie N. Thompson
School Counselor
504 Campus Coordinator
469.302.5437
Connect with Bennett Counselor, Christie Thompson - Virtual Counseling Sessions
Dear Bennett Parents,
I am happy to share that I will be available to consult with parents and communicate with students during the COVID-19 school closure, and I’ll be providing daily tips on announcements and weekly guidance lessons.
Here is more information about my virtual school counseling services:
REMIND alerts https://www.remind.com/join/thompsl (See attached pdf for more detailed instructions.)
- I will use Remind to alert parents when I’ve added a new guidance lesson, video, or resource to my site.
- This is a one-way communication tool, so email me if you need to reach me.
ZOOM or WebEx video meetings – I can consult with parents (and visit with students for up to 20 minutes beginning March 30th).
- Complete and submit this form for videoconferences: https://forms.gle/rxiJLiNU4qUrp1Dk9
- Confidentiality: to mitigate the confidentiality limits we’ll face, I will not record or save any of our meetings, but remember that it is occurring over the Internet where 100% security is not guaranteed. Also, I will still be required by law to report any instances of suspected abuse/neglect, or if I believe a student is a danger to themselves or to others.
a. If you, your student, or anyone in your family needs additional support, there is a nationwide
Crisis Text Line that you can access 24-7 by texting home to the number 741-741. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds from a secure online platform.
b. Please call 911 in the case of mental health emergencies.
Videos & Resources – I’ll be reading and sharing some books about topics like worrying, accepting ‘no’ for an answer, technology usage, flexible thinking, gratitude, etc.
- When a new video or resource is ready, I’ll upload it to my site and send an alert through REMIND. I’ll also provide these to teachers to upload to See Saw.
- Here’s the first one! It’s about worrying and anxiousness > https://youtu.be/aQlMcNLWtwI
- Please see the attached COVID-19 Resources for students.
504 Meetings –I will contact parents and teachers who had/have meetings already scheduled for after spring break to reschedule them. You’ll hear from me soon!
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I will be maintaining virtual office hours Mondays-Fridays from 9-11 and 1-3.
Warm regards,
Christie N. Thompson
School Counselor
504 Campus Coordinator
469.302.5437