MPES Connection
March 20, 2020
Message from Mrs. Mamon
Hello MPES families,
We miss seeing our students every day and hope that you are all doing well and staying healthy. This is certainly a new situation for all us! While I know that your focus this week has been on adjusting to new schedules and routines at home, I am hopeful that you have had the opportunity to enjoy time together as a family and take advantage of some of the learning opportunities that our teachers developed for students. These lessons, learning activities and assignments are for review and enrichment. The plans include a blend of activities that can be done either with or without access to technology. Our goal is to provide ideas to keep students engaged and learning until we return to school. No lesson, activity or assignment is required or will be used as grade. Please reach out to me or your child's teacher if you have questions about any of the learning activities or online programs (Achieve3000, Smarty Ants, Imagine Math or Canvas).
A new MPES Learning at Home newsletter will come out next Monday morning, March 23rd.
Please continue to send pictures of our students learning at home or spending time with their families! Snap a picture and send it to me at stacey.mamon@mpark.net. See below for pictures from this first week.
I hope that you are all staying healthy and safe during this time. I look forward to seeing everyone again soon!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Mamon
At Home Learning In Action
Family Market this Saturday, March 21st!
There is a Family Market at 11:00 am tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, in front of Manassas Park High School. Boxes of prepackaged food will be placed in the truck of cars as they pass through the distribution line. Car windows must be rolled up and trunks open when approaching our box handling volunteers. Cars must enter the parking lot of MPHS and follow the stated parking directions. Vehicles will be numbered to ensure fair distribution.
For the safety of our entire community, it is important to follow the guidance supplied by police and volunteers to maintain safe social distancing practices and vehicle passage.
As this distribution system is new, we appreciate the patience and cooperation demonstrated as we work to increase efficiency and maintain the safety of all participants.
TALKING TO CHILDREN ABOUT THE VIRUS
While we are all appropriately concerned and arming ourselves with information to help limit the spread of COVID-19, be aware of ways in which children watch us respond to the news around us.
Here are a few little things you can do to reduce anxiety in children. This is particularly important for children who may already feel stressed or in recovery from a stressful or traumatic event:
- Stay informed but limit information gathering to when children are outside earshot distance.
- Reassure children of their immunity more often than reminding them of the risk of illness.
- Limit conversation about the spread of this virus to a few minutes with an emphasis on “less is more” for children. They just need to know they and their parent(s) will be okay and are doing everything required to stay healthy and safe.
- Do most things the same (routine) so their homes remain a respite from external stress and a protected space from frightening world events.
- Be vigilant about cleaning but be mindful a hypervigilant parent can cause children to feel uncertain. Children have fewer resources than adults to cope with uncertainty and cannot exercise the kind of critical thinking that we can. They need our words to feel secure and our ‘wise brain’ to reassure their ‘feeling brain!’
- Reassure them with the facts of the flu and the low risk of serious illness this virus poses to children. Just like in the past, they may get sick and they will recover.
- Remind them that the hand washing, hand sanitizing, and other precautions are important to protect the community, but these efforts do not imply they will become seriously ill if they “forget.” That is, these precautions are a community effort to mitigate the risk of healthy individuals carrying the virus and exposing a vulnerable individual.
- Explain that community responsibility is the reason for these precautions versus a fear that they or their parent will become seriously ill.
- Children are watching and listening! Let them see grown-ups “got this” and will inform them if there is a reason to worry. Until then, keep up the play and maintain a relaxed and calm environment at home so they can bring their worries to you and not worry that you’re too worried to hear about it!
The health and wellness of our community continues to be of the utmost importance. If you would like more information about COVID-19, contact your health care provider or refer to the Virginia Department of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites.
Also, be sure to check the division website and social media channels for the most up-to-date information as this situation evolves.
We sincerely appreciate the support and feedback received from the community.
Yearbooks on Sale Now!
Click on the Link below for 2020 Census Information
School Board Meetings and Work Sessions Available on YouTube!
Mark Your Calendars for our Family Nights and Concerts!
February 6 - STEM Carnival
March 12 - Multicultural Night - Postponed
March 24 - 3rd Grade Music and Movement Concert - Postponed
April 28 - 4th Grade Music Concert
May 2 - Cougar Literacy Run
May 5 - 5th Grade Band and Choir Concert
May 7 - MPCS Division-Wide Art Show
Keep the Learning Going at Home!
Ways to Support the PTO and our schools
Amazon Smile
Start your shopping at smile.amazon.com! All it takes is a Smile to help raise money for our schools! If you are already an Amazon shopper, be sure to link your account to the Manassas Park Cougar Parent Teacher Organization and do your shopping directly on smile.amazon.com. A percentage of your order amount will be donated back to the schools!
Shoparoo Mobile App
Support our schools by downloading the Shoparoo Mobile App to your mobile device! After each of your grocery store shopping trips, open the app and snap a picture of your receipt! That's all it takes to earn money for our schools!
Harris Teeter VIC Card
Do you shop at Harris Teeter? Do you have a VIC Loyalty Card? Helping our schools to earn extra cash is as simple as visiting www.harristeeter.com and following the online steps to link your VIC card to both Cougar and Manassas Park Elementary!
MySchoolBucks
Manassas Park City Schools will continue to offer MySchoolBucks. This convenient online payment service provides a quick and easy way to pay for school-related purchases. You can pay for items such as meal payments, field trips, and more using your credit/debit card or electronic check. Register for your FREE account today at https://www.MySchoolBucks.com.
Stay Connected!
There will be many exciting things happening throughout the next school year. I encourage you to stay up-to-date with important information and follow highlights of our learning at MPES and in Manassas Park City Schools.
You can stay connected by:
- Checking your child's Monday Folder each week
- Reading the MPES weekly online newsletters emailed out each Friday afternoon
- Following MPES on Twitter @MPEScougars
- Following MPCS on Twitter @MPCSchools
- Liking and following the Manassas Park City Schools Facebook page
- Checking the MPCS website frequently at www.mpark.net
Be sure to also keep up to date with PTO happenings!
- Facebook - www.facebook.com/ManassasParkCougarPTO
- Twitter - www.twitter.com/ManassasParkPTO
- Email - mpc-pto@mpcschools.et
Upcoming Events
MPCS Family Market (stay tuned for more information)
Thursday, March 19
4:00 p.m.
MPHS
3rd Grade Music and Movement Concert - Postponed
Tuesday, March 24
MPHS
Manassas Park Elementary School
Principal
Email: stacey.mamon@mpark.net
Website: www.mpark.net
Location: 9298 Cougar Court, Manassas Park, VA, United States
Phone: (703) 368-2032
Twitter: @MPEScougars