Midway Mustang Memo
end of March 2018
Dear Parents:
Our Academic Student Led Teams help learners become self-aware of strengths and areas of growth, teach them how to set personal and academic goals, and support them with strategies to develop these skills. The team members work together with the learner to ensure social, emotional, and academic success. We celebrated achievement towards goals and established new ones at our March meetings. We had over 50% attendance at the March 20th and 22nd meetings—thank you for your continued dedication and support of our learners.
Spring Break is around the corner! Although we do not expect your child to have homework over the break, it is a good idea to continue practicing foundational skills, such as reading and math. Websites such as MyON and DreamBox (available through Class Link) are engaging resources that your child may access for continued practice of skills. Good readers are able to create pictures in their minds about what they have read. Asking your child to describe a character, setting, or event from a story helps develop comprehension. In addition, have your child summarize the beginning, middle, and end of a fiction book. Ask your child to make connections to the story. You may even challenge your child to come up with an alternative ending. When reading nonfiction, have your child share the main idea and some key facts they learned about the topic. While you are traveling—either around town or on a trip—you may try some thinking games with the family. For example, “Would You Rather” gives two or more choices to ponder, like would you rather live in the city or in a rural area and why? Another thinking game gives a set of three objects and you have to tell which one does not fit and why. Which one does not belong—a dolphin, a cat, or a shark? One may answer a shark because it is not a mammal. Another may answer a cat since it lives out of water. That is the fun thing about this thinking game—there can be more than one answer!
During the month of April, our 3rd-5th graders will participate in the Georgia Milestones Assessment. This is an opportunity for students to show what they have learned. Please click on the link for additional information and specific dates for each grade level.
During the testing window, please ensure your child gets enough sleep the night before, has a nutritious breakfast in the morning, and arrives to school on time each day.
If you would like to share information about your child for classroom placement next year, please click the link.
Have a relaxing and restful spring break!
With kind regards,
Jan Munroe, Principal
Daphne Rogers, Assistant Principal
Ashley Starr, Administrative Assistant
Important Dates
April 2-6: No School -- Spring Break
April 12: Individual Spring Portrait & Class Picture Day (info will be sent home prior to event)
April 16: GA Milestone Assessment 3rd & 5th Grade ELA Section 1
April 17: GA Milestone Assessment 3rd & 5th Grade ELA Sections 2 & 3
April 18: GA Milestone Assessment 3rd & 5th Grade Math Section 1
April 19: GA Milestone Assessment 3rd & 5th Grade Math Section 2
April 20: GA Milestone Assessment 5th Grade Science
April 23: GA Milestone Assessment 5th Grade Social Studies
April 24: GA Milestone Assessment 4th Grade ELA Section 1
April 25: GA Milestone Assessment 4th Grade ELA Sections 2 & 3
April 26: GA Milestone Assessment 4th Grade Math Section 1
April 27: GA Milestone Assessment 4th Grade Math Section 2
April 30-May 4: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 4: Field Day
Midway PTO
Thank you to all the families that came out on Saturday evening to participate in our mother son event!
We are looking forward to helping celebrate our teachers and staff during the first week of May for Teacher Appreciation Week April 30- May 4. Watch for more information to come home highlighting our plan for this special week.
We are already gearing up for next year, if you would like to be more involved in PTO please reach out to us via email, MidwayschoolPTO@Gmail.com or find us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/midwayelepto/
As always, we appreciate your support.
Midway PTO
Counselor's Corner
You are hearing more and more about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). According to Edutopia, “[SEL] creates a self-aware, respectful child who knows how to manage his or her emotions, make responsible decisions, and resolve conflicts non-violently.” There are several ways to promote social emotional growth as parents.
· Be a good listener.
· Model the behavior you want your children to exhibit. Children learn through example and will act and speak the same way their caregivers and role models do.
· Resist the urge to compare your child to siblings or other children. Be excited about your child’s accomplished and provide opportunities for them to express their preferred activities and talents.
Social and emotional growth is important in raising contributing members of the community who are not only self-aware but also aware of the needs of others.
For more information, please do not hesitate to call or email me.
Dr. Jennifer Collins, School Counselor
News from Nurse Echols
We have already experienced some rather windy days; therefore, I have seen a few allergy symptoms in the clinic (i.e. itchy, red eyes, runny noses, chapped lips and cheeks). If your child suffers with seasonal allergies, and you wish them to have eye drops, etc. in the clinic, please bring in (or have another adult bring in) the medicine and fill out the correct form allowing the nurse to give medicine to your child.
Also, we will have our testing in April for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. Parents, please make sure these kids are getting a full night of sleep, and eating a nutritious breakfast each morning, and lots of water to drink.
News from the Science Lab
We are so excited to be gardening with our new tower garden in the cafeteria! We are growing different types of lettuce that we will be sharing with our cafeteria staff. They will be washing and preparing the lettuce for students and staff to eat in the salads that are served and the side salads that are a choice for students and staff to choose for their meals. This is a part of the USDA Grant that we received that encourages Garden to Table gardening. Our vertical aeroponics tower is a clean, speedy way to garden 24/7- 365 days of the year. We will also be growing kale and spinach so that our students can try kale chips and spinach salad, which are healthy and help us remain Strong 4 Life! Please check out our tower garden when you are having lunch with your students!
From the Midway Café
Happy Spring to all!!! Time is flying by with just a few weeks of school left in the year! We had a marvelous March which included National School Breakfast Week, our Strong 4 Life Team visit & a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. So much fun all month long! The S4L Team helped out in the kitchen and spent time with our students throughout the day. Check out our pictures below.
Our Harvest of the Month was cabbage, and we served a new roasted cabbage recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a new item on our Spring Menu containing cabbage, and creamy coleslaw is back as well. This crunchy green vegetable is a great source of vitamins C & K. Our Strong 4 Life Focus was being more active & we explored the benefits of having a healthy breakfast to start our day during NSBW.
April’s Harvests are broccoli and beets. Broccoli we serve regularly, and we are offering a side salad w/beets this menu cycle. Both veggies are good choices for all our bodies, whether still growing or maintaining our health. We will focus on drinking more water and eating right for testing, as we know those big tests are on the horizon!
Continuing to look forward, please keep in mind that the charge system will be turned off at the end of April. We will not have the ability to charge any meals during the month of May, so please plan accordingly to make sure your child’s account is funded. If you have any questions regarding our end of the year policy, please call or email me.
We hope you have a wonderful Spring Break with time for some fun & relaxation before we come back to finish up the year.
Always Here to Help!
Chris Pruitt
Midway Elementary Cafeteria Manager
(770)475-6670 Ext. 760146
Tech Tips: Student Access to Microsoft 365
What is ClassLink? ClassLink is a single-sign-on portal for students to access the same resources they have at school while away from campus. Click here to access student login to ClassLink.
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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: jemmert@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