The Mata Memo
May 3, 2022
Principal's Message
Greetings Mata Family!
This week is the week that we are proud to honor our teachers! Almost every adult can say that at least one teacher positively impacted their life anywhere from PK to college. Teachers make the difference, and teachers are the true heroes of education. Of all positions, they've had to grow and be the most flexible.
When it comes to our Mata teachers and staff, we see the results of their hard work in classrooms every day! They continue to help your children reach their fullest potential. They water them so that they may grow! We can not thank them enough for knowing our children deserve to win after two tough years of instruction. They have risen above the challenges with grace, care, and resilience on behalf of our children. Their commitment to growing our students makes a positive impact. It is our time to celebrate them! Join us in celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week by thanking our Mata Montessori Staff!
I would also like you to please remind your child to bring their devices and chargers to school daily. This is very important. There will be various assessments administered in the month of May.
Check out the rest of the Mata Memo for important updates! If you are interested in summer camps and programs, pay special attention to the end of the newsletter. New camps are added every week!
Tomeka Middleton Williams
Principal
P.S. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @MontessoriMata
Calendar at A Glance
May 2nd-6th - Teacher Appreciation Week!
May 5th - Orchestra Concert - 6:00 PM in the auditorium
May 5th - CICC Meeting 5:00 PM - On Campus
May 5th-12th - Book Fair!
May 10th – STAAR Math (Gr. 3-8) & Algebra
May 11th – STAAR Science (Gr. 5, 7H, 8)
May 13th– Field Day 2022!
May 14th – Mata PTA Beach Bash under the Stars!
May 17th– STAAR Reading (Gr. 3-8)
May 18th– STAAR Social Studies (Gr. 8)
May 24th - TAG Fair, PTA General Meeting, and Talent Show!
May 27th – Last student day
School Lunch Hero Day!
Save the date! May 6th is School Lunch Hero Day! We want to invite you to celebrate with us the hard work of our school cafeteria staff. You can create thank you cards, drawings, or posters, to show appreciation.
Students may vote for their school lunch staff through an online survey. The School cafeteria staff with the most votes will receive an award. www.dallasisd.org/lunchhero
Site Based Decision Making Committee - Join Us!
The Site-Based Decision Making Committee is comprised of the campus principal, teachers, school staff, parents, business and community representatives. The SBDM's primary role is to collaboratively serve as an advisory council to the principal. To accomplish this, the committee meets and discusses school-related issues, activities, and initiatives. Recommendations and suggestions made by the committee should align with the campus improvement plan.
We are looking to fill parent member vacancies for the 2022-2023 school year. If you would like to express interest or nominate a parent to serve, email the SBDM Chair, Katrina Martinez at 4salmom@gmail.com. Induction of new members will happen the week of May 16, 2022.
Book Fair is May 5-12th!
MAY IS ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER MONTH!
2ND GRADE ATTENDS "THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE!"
MATA'S 1ST EVER RAINBOW RUN, WALK AND ROLL!
Mata Montessori showed UP and showed OUT for the Rainbow Run, Walk, & Roll! 121 students (maybe more?), including every grade pk-3 through eighth, ran 2 colorful loops around Lindsley Park (and some ran 3!). What a wonderful treat it was for our community to come together after all this time, sharing smiles, hugs, laughs and high fives!
WOW! Thank you to everyone in our community – kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, teachers, for coming together to show our love and pride for our gem of a school, Mata Montessori.
Special Thanks to the PTA for this spectacular event!
This was our first-ever color run and we hope to see more in our future - because there is a LOT of leftover powder! We value your feedback on how to make sure the next Rainbow Run is even better!
THREE DOORS TO DEATH PERFORMANCE
WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND MATA?
AFTER SCHOOL DISMISSAL SAFETY
If you pick your students up under the Santa Fe Bridge, please note that this is not Dallas ISD property, and there is NO adult supervision. There are strangers and bikers constantly along that trail. If you are not arriving by 3:15, I encourage you to have your child picked up at the campus where they are supervised and safe.
Orchestra News! Updated 5/3/22
Our orchestra concert is this Thursday, May 5! It begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Mata auditorium. Students should arrive sometime between 5:00 and 5:15 and go straight to the orchestra room for tuning and final instructions. Parents and family may wait in the auditorium for the start of the performance. One section of seats will be reserved for orchestra students. Please stay to hear all of the groups. The concert will be over before 7:00.
After the performance, all instruments will be returned to the orchestra room and not be taken home for the remainder of the school year. Thank you for your cooperation!
Next week your child will be asked whether or not they wish to continue taking orchestra class next school year. Please note that as the difficulty increases, so does the amount of class time needed.
Please contact Ms. Powers if you have questions JPowers@dallasisd.org
Parents of 3rd-grade students:
Your child will be bringing home information soon on how to sign up for beginning orchestra for 4th grade.
Mata Field Day 2022
Mata Field Day 2022
We are headed back to Camp Wisdom for Mata’s field day. Camp Wisdom - Circle Ten Council is located at 6400 W. Red Bird Ln, Dallas. It will be a day of fun and excitement for all of our staff and students.
When: Friday, May 13, 2022
Buses will begin leaving Mata at 9:15 a.m.
Buses will leave camp around 1:15 to return to Mata
Who: All students in grades 1st - 8th
Things to consider bringing / wearing:
Cap, hat, or visor and sunglasses
Field day t-shirt, shorts or long pants
You must wear closed-toe tennis shoes
Sunscreen (put on before coming to school)
Insect repellent (put on before coming to school)
Refillable water bottle (please put your child’s name on the bottle)
Sack lunches will be provided by the cafeteria, however students may also bring their own lunch. Please bring in a disposable sack.
Volunteers:
Each homeroom class is allowed 3 volunteers to assist with running the activities and supporting their child’s class. If interested, please contact your child’s teacher.
Volunteers must complete the district’s VOLY clearance and return the chaperone form by Friday, May 6.
Transportation is not provided for volunteers. We encourage carpooling.
Non-Mata children (older or younger) may not attend.
Please return student permission slips to the classroom teacher by Monday, May 9, 2022.
Mata Middle School - Level UP!
If you’d like to volunteer to chaperone please contact Ana Menedez at:
anamenendez7@hotmail.com
Adopt an 8th Grader
SAVE The Date - Mata Beach Bash - Under the Stars!
May 14th doors and uniform swap @7pm Movie @ 8 pm
Concessions available or bring your own picnic
To volunteer please email ayala.lizzy@gmail.com
Volunteers Needed!
The shirts will be delivered to classes, no prior pick up will be available.
2022-2023 Returning Student Registration
All students must register for next school year. Registration is completely online and can be completed by going to www.choose.dallasisd.org. Please complete registration as soon as you can! If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Sosa or Mrs. Leija in the front office.
Detailed instructions can be found in the Registration Guides below.
STAAR Information
Dallas ISD Parent or Guardian:
An important part of the spring semester is measuring how well students have learned the skills and concepts taught during the year so we can ensure they are prepared for the following one. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, is an effective tool for measuring performance. The STAAR results will be used by teachers and schools to determine areas where additional instruction is needed so students are better prepared to master next year’s learning.
The bulk of the STAAR tests will take place May 10-20 for grades 3-8.
Dallas ISD began the transition to using the online version of STAAR in spring 2021, so our students will be ready when the Texas Education Agency switches to an online-only administration in 2023. The district has been working to ensure students are familiar with online testing platforms and are comfortable taking exams electronically. We are actively preparing students to be successful in this format through our current instructional models and all resources provided by the TEA.
The STAAR tutorials can be accessed at https://www.texasassessment.gov/practice-tests.html. We encourage all students to become familiar with the tools in the Cambium testing platform.
The TEA requires that all students complete STAAR exams on campus. By choosing to offer the STAAR online, Dallas ISD will also have a longer window during which schools can schedule each assessment.
Our school’s testing window for each of the 2022 STAAR exams is attached is above listed in the May Calendar.
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring our students’ success. If you have any questions about our school’s plans for STAAR testing, please don’t hesitate to call us at 972-749-7500.
Mata's STAAR Dates!
Interational Service Project for Middle School!
Greetings Parents!
I would like to share with you a wonderful opportunity for our Middle School students to participate in an international service-learning project. Ms. Z. Williams' Middle School students are participating in an International Service Learning Project and would like for you to join them!
One of her sisters, Mrs. Carmalie Sims, is a music teacher at a school in South Dallas. During the month of February, they began to study the countries of Zambia and Kenya.
This study led them to a video, “A Child’s Life in Africa,” by Alan Riser. It was an eye opener. The students were able to learn about life in an African village in the country of Zambia. They were deeply touched by the experiences of everyday life and began to appreciate the things they personally had. One of the students suggested to Mrs. Sims that the class help the students that they saw. From this encounter, they began to communicate with the Coordinator and Lead Missionary in both countries, through Mr. Riser’s foundation, “Charitable Ingenuity.”
Ms. Z. Williams was asked by her sister to help and th organization “O’Levia’s Dream,” began. We know that NOT all of Africa is in dire need, as there are cities as large as Houston and Dallas all over the continent. But, for many in the outlying areas away from the major cities, the needs are great. We realize times are hard for us all during this pandemic, but O’Levia’s Dream is taking a lead in reaching out across the sea to help our children.
There are other organizations that are joining in with us to help in this endeavor. The plan is to partner with other schools and organizations to help these beautiful children overseas. Currently, we are serving Zambia. We will begin sending items to Kenya later when they return to school. Our long-term goal is to help with establishing a well in the village in Zambia so that students will not have to travel to the river and drink water that has not been purified.
We have a box at the front of the school, and we plan to send a shipment soon. The goal is to send a shipment every month. Feel free to begin to send the items listed below to school with your child.
The immediate needs are:
Flip-flops (All Sizes)
Soap
Toothpaste-Small Travel Size
Toothbrushes
T-Shirts
Pencils
Paper
Soccer Balls
(Everything must be in its original package. The flip flops will be bagged).
Gallon Zip lock Bags
THANK YOU!
Steps to Volunteer at Mata
Mata's PTA Walking Group!
Summer Activities! - Updated Weekly!
Dallas ISD Summer Cool - For Remediation and Enrichment
Summer Cool is designed to meet the needs of the whole child. Students will experience a full day of activities ranging from reading and math content support to exposure to various extracurricular and enrichment activities. Transportation, breakfast, lunch, and participation incentives will be provided to students utilizing the face-to-face learning model.
Links:
Registration (K-8)
Dallas ISD Summer Breeze! and Summer Learning Guide
Please Click the Links below to Access the Summer Learning Guide for parents. It includes detailed descriptions of Dalla's Summer Offerings!
Enjoy!
Career Explorations Camp for Rising 7th and 8th Graders
Dallas ISD's Career Institute East is excited to inform you of two summer camp opportunities for your students. They are hosting a summer exploration camp for students during two different time frames. Students will get an opportunity to get a hands-on experience in:
- construction
- interior design
- cybersecurity
- health science
- team building
- industry partner engagement
Join PTA
Check out their webpage at https://matamontessori.com/
Sign up for the PTA newsletter: Click Here
Dallas ISD School Safety Protocols
Core 4
Parents, students, and community members can shout out a teacher, staff member, or Dallas ISD employee by visiting https://www.dallasisd.org/shoutout
Some of the top shoutouts will be spotlighted on social media, the Core 4 webpage, and in a monthly e-newsletter!
Action for Happiness Calendars
Mata Montessori School's Vision and Mission
Vision Statement: To provide an academic foundation which allows our students to be successful life-long learners.
Mission Statement: To provide an authentic Montessori education by focusing on educating the whole child academically, socially, and emotionally for all children.
Mata Montessori School's Key Actions
- Maintain a climate and culture that fosters academic excellence.
- Improve quality of instruction and student achievement through an aligned Montessori curriculum.
- Actively engage parents in education in meaningful and relevant ways.
The Mata Memo
Eduardo Mata Montessori School
Email: matamontessori@dallasisd.org
Website: http://www.dallasisd.org/Page/2376
Location: 7420 La Vista Drive, Dallas, TX, United States
Phone: (972)749-7500
Twitter: @MontessoriMata