Monday Matters
Thelma Jones Elementary Week of Jan. 10th-14th
Greetings Shark Family!
Happy New Year!
We are excited to kick off the 2nd semester of learning and growing. We have a few middle-of-the-year screeners coming up this month. Our screeners will help us in planning instruction to meet the needs of our students. It also informs us, and you, of students' progress. Please encourage your student to do their very best on their middle of the year screeners.
Thank you for making an effort to get your student to class on time. We have seen some improvements during morning drop-off. Please continue to leave a few minutes early to ensure your student is sitting in their seat by 8:00 a.m. It really helps them have a successful day when they are present and prepared at the start of the school day.
In partnership,
Mrs. Rhines
Important Dates
January
5th- 2nd Semester Begins
17th- MLK Holiday (No School)
27th- Spring Open House
TJE DOC Squad
You will need to fill out the volunteer form which can be found below.
Volunteer Background Check link
Covid Updates
COVID UPDATES
Sent from Communications 12/31/21:
We hope you all have enjoyed the Winter Break and have been staying safe while spending time with loved ones.
As Mansfield ISD prepares to welcome back students and staff next week, please know that the safety and well-being of students, staff and families will remain a priority. The district has been closely monitoring the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the spread of the omicron variant across North Texas.
We ask that you please review the several MISD health and safety protocols that have been in effect since the beginning of the school year to provide a safe learning environment. These health and safety protocols will remain in effect as staff return on Jan. 3 and students return on Jan. 5.
The COVID-19 advisory level system and COVID-19 dashboard page are other layers of mitigation that have been put into place for the health and safety of the community. There are also free COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites all across Tarrant County that can be utilized. (COVID-19 vaccinations are available for everyone who is age 5 or older. Booster doses are available to those who are age 16 and older.)
MISD administration is continuously monitoring and assessing the situation surrounding COVID-19 and will remain in talks with authorities and health experts. As the situation evolves, the district will continue to keep the community informed.
Thank you for your support as we work together for the safety of the Mansfield ISD community.
The following ongoing protocols will be adhered to for the safety of students, staff members and families to prevent and mitigate the spread of communicable diseases:
For a COVID-19 positive case that was diagnosed or lab confirmed, the student or staff member will:
- Isolate at home until:
- Ten days have passed since symptoms began or since positive test results
- Fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication
- Improvement in symptoms
- For a suspected COVID-19 case, the student or staff member will be required to exclude themselves for the following symptoms using the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) COVID-19 clinical criteria:
- At least two of the following symptoms: fever (measured or subjective), chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, congestion or runny nose; OR
- At least one of the following symptoms; cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell AND
- No alternative diagnosis is more likely
- Individual would isolate at home 10 days OR
- May provide negative test results OR
- May submit a healthcare professional’s note clearing the individual to return before 10 days have passed
- For more health information, visit https://www.mansfieldisd.org/departments/health-services/communicable-diseases
Reporting and Communication and Response
- Notification letters will be sent to all campus staff, students and parents for a confirmed COVID-19 case on campus.
- Additionally, class-level notification will be sent to the parents/guardians of students who share a class with the COVID-19 positive case.
- Required reporting of COVID-19 test positive individuals will be submitted to DSHS and the local health authority by Health Services staff.
- The district will maintain a COVID-19 Cases Dashboard with the number of active and recovered COVID-19 cases by school.
If you are sick, please stay home. Remember, masks are optional but encouraged.
Field Trips
If it is a school-planned field trip, parents are always welcome. When attending field trips, we ask that you adhere to the guidelines and timelines presented in the field trip letter.
- Chaperones must pay by the payment deadline.
- Your payment for your student needs to be paid by the payment deadline.
- All chaperones must have an MISD background check. No exceptions, as our students' safety is our # 1 priority. I have included the link for you to do your background check. You don't have to wait until field trip time so please fill it out at your earliest convenience.
- Background checks must be done in advance. There is typically a 10-day wait for background checks.
- Parents are not allowed to show up to the field trip site and join the group. We are very particular about how we set up groups to ensure the safety of our students.
- You must have a school badge when attending field trips.
Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures
In an effort to make sure our systems and procedures are running as smoothly as possible, I am including a few reminders about our dismissal process.
- Please make all transportation changes by 3:00 p.m.
- If you are making a transportation change, please email the teacher. If you do not receive a confirmation response by 3:15 p.m. you may call the office. Please do not call the office first. Oftentimes the office staff is very busy with phone calls and other duties. Likewise, everyone has different work schedules so we are not fully staffed at dismissal. We do not want to miss delivering a message about transportation changes so please make every effort to make those changes through the teacher.
- No dismissal changes will be made by word of mouth. We must hear it from the parent.
- Please limit walking into the office to pick up your students during dismissal. Again, we have limited staff and they are busy calling buses and answering phones.
- Once students have started moving to their dismissal location, we will not call them to the office until the office staff has fulfilled their required duties.
- Please be kind to the TJE staff!
- Write your child's teacher a note in their take home folder, if there is a change in how they get home.
- For same day changes, please email your child's teacher as soon as possible. If you do not receive a reply, then call the front office.
- No students dismissal schedule will be changed by word of mouth.
- Students need to be in class by 8:00 to be considered on time.
- Students must be picked up by 3:45.
- If your son/ daughter is in kindergarten or 1st grade, they must have an adult awaiting their arrival at the bus stop.
Free Breakfast and Lunch
- FREE MEALS for ALL students will continue for the 2021-22 school year!
Every MISD student is eligible for one free breakfast meal and one free lunch meal every school day.
A la carte and extra meal items will still be available for purchase.
It is very important that families still complete the Free & Reduced Meal Applications this year if they feel they might qualify. Why? Qualifying families approved on the program receive other valuable benefits and services for their children. It is also important for district funding opportunities, like Title 1 and comp ed, that are dependent on economically disadvantaged student data. Here is a short video that explains more about it:
https://www.facebook.com/GoodFoodRealFood/videos/176894754466314
We are hiring! The Student Nutrition Department has several positions to fill across the district. If you know of parents, community members, family, and/or friends looking for a job, please share! Thank you for spreading the word!
Apply for free & reduced meals: https://www.schoolcafe.com/mansfieldisd
Meal Payment System
SchoolCafé is a safe and secure way for parents to add funds to student(s) lunch accounts, monitor student(s) account balance, view purchases, and payments, and set up low balance email alerts. Register for a SchoolCafé account.
Questions about your child's cafeteria account?
If you have questions regarding a student's cafeteria account (application status, purchase history, obtaining ID or PIN, enrollment, etc.), please be ready to provide all names, schools, and IDs along with your questions to Student Nutrition at studentnutrition@misdmail.org or 817-299-6040.
Do you need to update your email address or phone numbers in Skyward? You can make those changes in Family Access.
Here's how:
- Log into Family Access
- Click on My Account (top right corner)
- When the Account Settings screen opens, there is place for your email address and up to three phone numbers.
- Please note – Each parent/guardian can enter one email address to receive communication via Skyward Message Center.
- Once changes are made, click Save.
If you, parent/guardian, is unable to log into Family Access, there are a couple options:
1 – Use the Forgot Your Password link from the Family Access login page
2 – Email misdregistration@misdmail.org
Bus Information
Bus Information
Mansfield ISD will provide bus transportation for all students meeting the eligibility requirements for transportation.
Find My Bus
http://edulog1.mansfieldisd.org/liveweb/webquery/
School Bus Rider’s Safety Handbook
https://www.mansfieldisd.org/departments/transportation/riders-handbook
For Bus Delays & Substitutions https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j_9bi_plWMqtBDp8AG8B31rb3KzTAOIhRWe8B0CwTnY/edit
Transportation Department
Covid Tiered System
Along with the list of health and safety protocols that have been in effect since the beginning of the school year, MISD has released a new COVID-19 advisory level system that provides guidance for implementing elevated mitigating strategies if percentages of active cases rise at a certain campus.
The advisory levels consist of green, yellow, and red tiers. Please view the COVID-19 advisory level system here. If the advisory level at a campus changes, the school principal will send out communication to parents and staff with further information.