Midway Heights Family Newsletter
September 2020
From Mrs. Gerzen's desk...
Welcome back!
What a unique start to the 2020-2021 school year! As with the beginning of every new school year, we welcome several new families into our school community. Our student population currently sits at 219 students. I feel extremely fortunate to be the principal of a school with such wonderful children, a motivated and dedicated staff, and parents who want to work with us to help their child be successful. Your child’s education is our top priority! We look forward to working together with you to make your child’s educational experience a positive one.
We are blessed to live in a strong and caring community. Together we will not only face our challenges, we will overcome them. During this time of virtual learning, we want to make sure that you remain well-informed and that you understand our efforts to maintain learning for our children. Information from us will be shared through Class Dojo or through ParentLink. If you change your email address, please send us your new one – that’s the only method we will be using to send out information. We want to stay in touch with families and through Class Dojo you may text any of the specialist teachers, your child’s classroom teacher, myself, Nurse Jan and Mrs. Rentel (or Ms. R.) the new Ms. Cindy. You can also call the school between 7:15-3:15 Monday-Friday and we will be here. The number is 573-214-3540.
We appreciate the fact that you all are trying to make this virtual mode of learning successful. The teachers are hoping to move the children along academically just as if we were in the building. We want them all to be successful. If you have an issue or concern, please contact us. We want to work with you and help you make it successful. It will take all of us working together as a team to help our children.
We ask for your patience and continued support as we work through the logistics and technology issues during these first couple of weeks. Please remember to check out our webpage for up to date information about school events, which are on hold for right now. The Midway Family Handbook and District Elementary Handbook are also linked to our page.
I hope to see many of you at our PTA Meeting on September 15 at 6:00 on Zoom. Watch for the zoom link to come out.
The staff and I are looking forward to an exciting and productive school year! We wish you all good health and look forward to having the students back in the building in the future.
Sincerely,
Angie Gerzen
Dates to Know
- PTA Meeting – September 15, 6 pm - 7 pm
Join us on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/93852511358 - No School –Teacher Work Day – September 23
Picture Day
Technology During Virtual Learning
Technology Help
Do you need assistance with your student's iPad? Are you not sure how to login to Seesaw? No worries... our amazing Media Specialist is able to help. Contact Erin White on Class DoJo, email her at EWhite@cpsk12.org or contact the office at (573) 214-3540.Zoom Expectations for Students
How to access SeeSaw on your students iPad
Zoom Support For Parents
- Help your student to fully charge the device before entering the Zoom classroom.
- Often, a teacher has preset settings in place to ensure a successful learning experience.
This may include: chat feature, annotation, and sound (mute or unmute). If your student
is accessing Zoom from a device other than their iPad from school, these settings may
not apply. This could hinder a child’s participation, please use the school device as much
as possible.
Help your student to enter the meeting at the correct time. In some classrooms, an
additional adult is present to admit students from the waiting room after the learning
has started, but not always.
Help your student to display their first and last name on their video screen and ensure
that the volume is up. When a screen does not have the video on and does not have a
student name listed, it is difficult to ensure that all children are present and visitors are
not.
Help your child to have a meeting space with minimal disruptions. Remember, that
everyone in the Zoom classroom can hear and see what might be happening in the
background.
If your child needs to leave the meeting early, be sure to let your teacher know.
Please do not use photography or recording equipment during the Zoom learning.
Encourage your child to participate, take turns, and listen to others.
Once your child has some “Zoom proficiency”, encourage them to experience the
learning on their own, as they would in the classroom.
Students may struggle to engage for longer periods of time. We have been away from
school for a long period of time! Using a visual timer or visual schedule can help them to
gain stamina. (Set a timer for short segments of time and provide a short break. Increase the length of the segments gradually)
CPS Fall 2020 Information
CPS Learning Mode Tracker
Up-to-date information on our CPS Fall Learning Plan
Supporting our Families
Food & Family Support Resources
Grab-and-Go meal delivery for students: The stops and times are available here:
https://www.cpsk12.org/Page/18552
Our grab-and-go meal delivery for students began on September 8, 2020. Buses run multiple-stop routes Monday-Friday according to the school district calendar. Stops last a maximum of 15 minutes. Stops are not school-specific but rather designed regionally to include as many high-need areas as possible. Please find the stop closest to you and go there with your student at the designated time.
Students ages 2-18 can obtain a meal. Adults may pick up meals for students who are unable to do so. A student number is not required for each student meal set that is obtained. If a child is not enrolled at CPS, we will need to know the child’s name, and parent/guardian name and contact information. We ask that you practice social distancing while at the stop.
Both breakfast and lunch will be packed as a Grab-and-Go bag. Students may select a sack meal that includes breakfast and lunch, one milk and a fruit and/or vegetable. Meals contain some perishable and some non-perishable items.
Additional resources available to families:
Agencies providing food assistance: https://sharefoodbringhope.org/agencies/boone
City-County Assistance Resources: https://comohelps.org/
United Way Assistance: http://www.211helps.org/
PTA News & Information
It is with deep regret that we will be unable to hold our 60th Annual Fall Festival & Chili Supper due to Boone County's prohibition of large gatherings. Below are other ways we are working to raise money for our school.
Fall Festival Donation
If you are able, please consider donating the amount you normally spend at Fall Festival. Most families spend something on chili tickets, classroom games and silent auction items. Make sure to ask your friends and families that attend our event to donate too.
Raffle
We are planning to hold a raffle of a few donated items; similar to the large raffle items we have at Fall Festival. We will have more details about the raffle this fall.
Midway Nights
We are planning to partner with some of our local restaurants to have Midway Nights, where a portion of the proceeds is shared with the school. We feel that this is important not only to help raise the funds we need, but to drive business to the local restaurants that are so important to our community. Look for more details soon!
T-Shirts
Show your Midway pride by purchasing a Midway logo t-shirt or sweatshirt. Download the form below to order yours today!
Midway Heights PTA Facebook Page
Amazon Smile
We have an Amazon Smile account! You just need to go to smile.amazon.com and support "PTA Missouri Congress Midway Heights PTA". It is a long name but you can search it and it pops right up!
Box Tops
Box Tops no longer puts the coupons on the boxes. They now require you to scan in your receipt to their app. Go to your preferred App Store and download the Box Tops app and follow the directions in the app.
Follow Midway Heights Elementary on TWITTER @MidwayEagles
Also, don't forget to check Class Dojo for messages from your child's teacher and sometimes the school.
Learning Together To Achieve Success For All
Columbia Public School Vision:
To be the best school district in the state
Columbia Public School Mission:
To provide an excellent education for all students
Midway Heights Elementary School K-5
Email: agerzen@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Page/41
Location: 8130 U.S. 40, Columbia, MO, United States
Phone: 573-214-3540
Twitter: @MidwayEagles