Midway Mustang Memo
January 2019
Dear Parents,
We hope that 2019 is off to a great start for you and your families! January has been packed with activity and learning. Our ELM (Extraordinary Leadership Models) certificates were presented to students recognized for their “Think Win-Win” attitude on Thursday, January 17th (Stephen Covey’s Habit 4).
Thank you to Mr. Dillon for organizing Midway’s first Science Fair and to Ms. Smith and Ms. Asp for judging the entries. Parents, guests, and participants viewed the projects and enjoyed hands-on science activities provided by West Georgia College staff and students. Two students received the honors of representing Midway at the Forsyth County Science Fair in February. Congratulations to our two winners Ruchita Mohan and Adhip Sundar! We wish you the best of luck at the next level!
On Friday, January 25th, we gathered in the cafeteria for BINGO Night. It was an evening filled with fun and fabulous prizes. Thank you, PTO, for organizing this family event!
The Forsyth County Spelling Bee was held on Saturday, January 26th . Our Midway student representative, Aadhav Thaniga, took first place in his age group—4th through 8th grades! We are very proud of him and wish him well as he advances to the regional level competition on February 23rd.
Our rainy month of January ended with a cold blast and the possibility of inclement weather. Thank you for your support on January 29th, our district online learning day.
As a member of the Denmark Community (schools that feed into Denmark High School), we extend to you an invitation to our Parent Night on Monday, February 4th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Denmark High School. This is an extremely informational presentation about Technology Today: Empowering Parents. Please do not miss this opportunity to learn about safety and technology use.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4dO6xVFS2eFLBzUmz-FORBD-v5viABZjDQsa0B--9Iedhgg/viewform
As always, thank you for sharing your precious children with us.
Jan Munroe Daphne Rogers Ashley Starr
ELM Award Winners "Think Win Win"
Midway Science Fair
Bingo Night
Forsyth County Spelling Bee Winner
World Read Aloud Day
As we move into the month of February, we continue growing our classroom libraries along with the joy for reading. We are amazed at the number of books our kindergarten students are reading--thank you for supporting them with their reading logs! Friday, February 1st is the tenth annual World Read Aloud Day (WRAD). This day highlights the importance of reading and making personal connections with others. It is a global celebration focusing on literacy as a human right and the joy we create when we share stories. What better way to do that than through the power of reading a book together. With the rise of technology over the years, reading aloud at home has declined. Pam Allyn, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Development at Scholastic Education and founder of LitWorld shares, “Through my work with school districts and community partners, I've seen first-hand the profound power of reading aloud to engage children, inspire confidence and a sense of belonging, and build literacy skills, ultimately helping them become lifelong readers.”
We invite you to join us in celebrating reading aloud with your child. It may simply be the most precious and powerful time you spend connecting with your child each day. Share pictures of this special time reading with your child on Twitter @MidwayES using #MidwayReads and #WorldReadAloudDay. For more information, check out The Rise of Read-Aloud—Kids & Family Reading Report.
Important Dates
February 4: Technology Today-Denmark Parent Series #3
February 15: No School (Student & Staff Holiday)
February 18: No School (Presidents' Day)
February 19: No School (Professional Learning Day)
February 23: Father/Daughter Dance
March 4th-7th: Spring Book Fair
Parent Feedback Needed!!! Thank you!
You may have read on our webpage or social media about how all public schools in Georgia are evaluated on the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), which uses feedback from students, school personnel, and parents to calculate the School Climate Star Rating. It is our goal to maintain a high score. Would you please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us? The deadline for the survey is March 1st. Here is the link: http://gshs.gadoe.org/Lists/Parents/NewForm.aspx Thank you for your support!
Midway PTO
THANK YOU to all the Midway families that came out on Friday night to enjoy our BINGO night! We made a profit of over a thousand dollars!
Please save the date for 2 more upcoming events for families, Father Daughter Dance is February 23rd and Mother Son Night out is March 16th. Watch your Friday folder for more info coming home.
Check out this link for details on the first ever Mustang Trot 5k and Fun Run that will be at the end of April. Registration is now open! This can be a run or walk 5k and the fun run is open to our kids up to age 12. We will be joining our Denmark school family for this fundraising event, dont wait to the last min to get your number!!
https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Alpharetta/TheMustangTrott5K
We are also still looking for volunteers that want to become more involved in PTO. We will be holding a Round Table meeting in March open to anyone that wants to learn more about what PTO does. Stay tuned for dates and times.
Thanks for all the helping hands, check out our website for updated info as well as follow us on FB
~The PTO Team
Tech Tips: Online Learning Days
We've had one online learning day so far this year. I hope the information about Online Learning Days was clear. If you have any questions, you can refer to this website: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/site/default.aspx?PageID=46646 or feel free to email me (email at the bottom).
Students have three schools days upon returning to school to complete the assignments. If you have any issue accessing itslearning through ClassLink (http://classlink.forsyth.k12.ga.us) , please reach out to me.
Also, if you are in a situation where you don't have a device other than a smart phone or you don't have Internet at your home, please reach out to me and let me know. Through grants, we have a few Chromebooks and Kajeets (hotspots) we can lend to families in need. Please contact me!
Stay Warm,
Jennifer Lundstrum
Instructional Technology Specialist
Counselor's Corner
Over the past two months we have been talking to our Midway students about Body Safety using The Lures program. This program emphasizes listening to your instincts (uh-oh) feeling and how it’s important to tell a trusted adult when you do not feel safe or scared. Some great pointers for parents are:
- Keep communication open with your child. It might be hard sometimes but the more you talk to each other, the more they will come to you as they grow up.
- Have an emergency plan. Who can be an emergency contact for him if you’re not around? Who can pick them up? If there’s a fire, where will you meet up?
- Set up a code word. If there is an emergency or someone other than you are picking her up, have a code word your child can ask for to make sure your person is safe.
- When at stores reiterate with your child that if she gets lost to find someone who works there for help. Point out what employees are wearing and what badges to look for.
- Make sure your child has at least one trusted adult they feel comfortable going to for help other than parents.
For more information, please do not hesitate to call or email us.
Dr. Collins and Ms. Driscoll
News from the Nurse
The goal of the clinic is to keep students healthy so they are able to learn. Sickness is unavoidable sometimes but there is so much that can be done to prevent it.. Encourage your student to wash their hands, eat healthy foods and get a good night sleep so they can stay healthy in MIND, BODY and SPIRIT. Although it is never to late for the flu shot, please consider getting one as soon as possible.
Please remember to alert the school if your child has a doctor confirmed case of flu and other contagious illnesses like pink eye, strep throat or hand-foot and mouth. If your child has lice it is our policy that students show proof of treatment before returning to school.
Visit the Midway Elementary website and under Student Services click on School Nurse for lots of useful information about managing illness and school health policies.
From the Midway Café
February is the month of love. So, we want to work on heart health. Ways we’ll do that is by supporting Coach Samples in the Kids Heart Challenge, & with adding some healthy foods like our Harvests of the Month, cauliflower and carrots. Every time we add more veggies to our diet it’s an excellent way to care for our bodies, and our heart is most important!
We also want to show our love to others during this month. A simple smile or act of kindness goes a long way in spreading love throughout our world. We in the café LOVE the smiles we get each day as we serve the kids. The love and kindness they share, makes each day so enjoyable.
Have a fabulous February and we hope you can visit us soon! As always, please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance.
Mrs. Pruitt
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Forsyth County Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or gender in employment decisions or educational programs and activities.
Midway Elementary School
Email: jlundstrum@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Website: www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/midway
Location: 4805 Atlanta Highway, Alpharetta, GA, United States
Phone: 770-475-6670
Facebook: facebook.com/midwayes
Twitter: @MidwayES