Moran Prairie Messenger
Weekly Moran Prairie Family and Community Newsletter
Friday August 18th:
- So many staff have been in starting to set up their classrooms to welcome students back!
- Many staff attended Summer Institute last week! Summer Institute is a learning opportunity for all staff in the district to attend trainings of their choice on a variety of topics from curriculum, specific content areas, instructional practices, equity, and more!
- Our incredible office staff returned this week and immediately jumped to work getting supplies out to staff, responding to family questions and needs, and taking training on all our new things for this year!
- Our custodians have been waxing the floors, wiping down everything they can get to, cleaning windows, moving furniture and boxes, disposing of any accumulated trash over the summer, constantly coming up with new ideas to keep our building beautiful and safe. We are so lucky!
- Ms. Hatch attended an incredible educator conference in Boise this month: Edufest! She learned about new best practices and ways to engage gifted and talented students. There were countless sessions for her to choose from including learning and teaching strategies for implementing the core subjects and the essential skills, including assessment, curriculum and instruction, professional development and learning environments for gifted and advanced students.
Welcome Back!
We've got just over a week until staff return to the building and just over two weeks until students return! The start of a new academic year brings with it a sense of excitement and anticipation (as well as possibly some nervousness about what's to come). Our office staff have returned and now begins the fast-paced time in which we prepare to welcome everyone else back. There are many moving pieces we work to solidify in order to provide all our students with an enriching and safe learning experience this year.
In the coming weeks, you will receive information regarding class assignments, supply lists, school schedules, launch conferences and open house, upcoming events to start the school year, and more. Most if not all information will be included in our family newsletters (which will be weekly starting the week of August 28th).
We know that students find the greatest amounts of authentic and sustained success when home and school partner together. Open lines of communication are key to this partnership, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns!
Find our new Moran Prairie instagram and follow us for regular updates of the amazing things we're doing this year!
Ongoing Reminders
- Register your kindergartner for next year! We are accepting registration and beginning to work on numbers for next year's kindergarten classes. Know someone who needs to register a kinder? Pass the info along to get your registration in ASAP!
- Class lists were posted August 17th at 3 pm. They will remain posted until the start of the school year. You may also call the main office to ask after that point. If you have any questions or concerns or wonderings about your student's class assignment, please reach out to Ms. Hellenthal or Mr. Heinen to discuss!
- Kindergarten Orientation will be August 24th from 10 - 12 pm. This will be a time to meet your child's teacher, see your classroom, and learn about all things Moran Prairie (bussing, arrival/dismissal, meals, daily schedule, and so much more). Please plan to attend if you can!
Staff Updates
After a last look at staffing, we will not have any possible combination classes at this point. Debby Smith will be teaching a straight kindergarten class and Katie Wood will be teaching a straight 1st grade class.
We have a few new traveling specialists joining us this year:
- John Martin (F&H, Thursday mornings)
- Kaytlin Hoyem (Music, Wednesday and Friday late afternoons)
- Dawn Valley (Art, Friday late morning through the rest of the day)
- Kimberly Cree (K-2 Science, Wednesday and Thursday)
We have a part-time shared SLP who will be working with us and Scott ES. Her name is Meghan Bird, and she'll be working closely with Marci Dunavan.
The Office is Back!
The week of August 21st the office is open 7 - 3. Starting the week of August 28th and through the remainder of the year, office hours are 7:30 - 4 pm.
Launch Conferences for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade families
Please know that while students are not in class on these days, they are considered part of our 180 school days. We do count your conference for your child's attendance on those two days, and we want our students to attend their own conference and meet their teacher. What better way to start the year strong, ask questions, and get to know your teacher prior to starting!
Kindergartners have different conferences, see below!
Conferences for Kindergartners, Start Dates
For the first four days of the school year, kindergartners are split into an A group and a B group in each classroom. The students rotate attendance the first four days of school to provide smaller groups for learning routines, school and classroom expectations. All of this will be discussed at kinder orientation on the 24th, and the schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday September 6th, A groups attend
- Thursday September 7th, B groups attend
- Friday September 8th, A groups attend
- Monday September 11th, B groups attend
- Tuesday September 12th, all kindergarten students attend
Once the A/B rotation ends (on September 12th), all kindergartners attend school every day Monday through Friday from 8:30 - 3.
Chase Middle School's CCTV
Will return next year!
Upcoming Dates
- Thursday August 17th: Class lists posted
- Thursday August 24th: Kindergarten orientation 10 - 12 pm
- Monday August 28th: Staff returns
- Thursday August 31st: Launch conferences & Open House 8 - 6:30 pm
- Friday September 1st: Launch conferences & Open House 8 - 3 pm
- Tuesday September 5th: First day for students 1st thru 5th grade
- Wednesday September 6th: First day for kindergarten, only group A
- Thursday September 7th: First day for kindergarten, only group A
- Friday September 8th: Kindergarten group A
- Monday September 11th: Student late start at 9:30 for staff collaboration, Kindergarten group B
- Tuesday September 12th: All kindergartners come to school!
You can find the calendar for the 2023-24 school year here. This may help with planning for next year!
Last year, our PTG purchased 6 Integrated Flat Panel Screens for use around the building. These high tech items are used by teachers to build more student agency/engagement in their classrooms, integrate more technology into their lessons, and promote 21st century skills for students! Thank you to all who support our PTG; it is with your donations that we were able to start purchasing some of these incredible instructional supports!
Stay Connected
- Email us: mrnprairie.ptg@gmail.com
- Moran Prairie PTG Website: www.moranprairieptg.org
- Like us: www.facebook.com/MoranPrairiePTG/