Midway Mustang Memo
October 2018
Dear Parents,
September has come and gone! The month was filled with many activities and celebrations! We held our first Academic Student Led Team meetings on August 30th with 50% attendance for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, and September 6th had over 74% attendance for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades! Thank you for attending these important sessions! We also celebrated our first ELM (Extraordinary Leader Models) Awards for exhibiting leadership qualities of our Leader in Me Habit #1: Be Proactive. Our highest DreamBox participants were also recognized for practicing math skills during the month of August. We continue to recognize students as they spend time mastering math standards using this website.
We look forward to our Fall Festival coming up Saturday, October 27, 3:00-7:00 p.m. Please contact our fabulous PTO to volunteer!
Have you noticed our Little Lending Library near our front door entrance? Literacy and the joy of reading tie into our social/emotional learning focus. We are developing a love of reading for all learners which will impact academics across the curriculum. Many thanks to those of you who have sent in some of your own children’s used books to give to our Little Lending Library. If you have any children’s books that you would like to donate to our lending library or to some of our new classrooms to add to their class library bookshelves, please send them to Mr. Orr’s attention.
We have recently been notified by some of our neighboring shopping centers that parents are parking and walking their children to the building in the mornings. This is causing some challenges as the employees at these businesses are having difficulty parking and walking safely into their stores. This is also a safety concern for our students and families. Please follow the car line procedure when dropping your child off at school; thank you for your cooperation.
As parents, we are always looking for ways to help our children at home. How do you help your child build their curiosity and creativity? How do you help your children develp problem solving and decision making skills? How do you help your child learn to advocate for themselves and persevere? How do you help your child expand their communications skills and resolve conflicts? How do you encourage your child to discover their passions and interest? The answer is surprisingly simple….PLAY! Play is actually a gateway to learning and is an act of investigation. It is a critical part of Social Emotional development and directly relates to cognitive development. Play provides opportunities for choice and allows children to express themselves. For more information, please check out the short article, Things Every Parent Should Know about Play. Dr. Laurel Bongiorno states, “We must be sure to give our children time for play and see all they are capable of when given the opportunity.” Happy playing!
With kind regards,
Jan Munroe, Daphne Rogers, and Ashley Starr
Important Dates
October 5th-Picture Day
October 6th-IRun 5K
October 12-18th Book Fair
October 17th and 18th-Early Release/Parent Conferences
October 19th-Student Holiday
October 27th-Fall Festival
November 19-23rd-Thanksgiving Break
Technology Information
Here at Midway teachers are educating themselves and students on digital citizenship. We want students to use technology but in a safe responsible manner.
Our Digital Citizenship Plan: Every student at Midway ES will become a responsible digital citizen who knows how to harness the learning potential of digital media in a 24/7 connected world, safely, effectively, ethically, and respectfully. Students at this school will be educated about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyber bullying awareness and response. In order to accomplish this goal, each year students will be provided with direct instruction on how to be a responsible digital citizen.
You can do your part at home by talking to your kids about what sites are appropriate for their age and your family's preferences. The 3Is of Internet safety are a quick snapshot of what parents need to support and protect their children. They are applicable to students of every age and grade level:
- Informed: Parents need a balanced perspective of technology use, and it’s important to present the positives and negatives. Technology is critical to learning and to the future of our students.
- Interested: Become interested in your child’s learning and technology use. Look at their work, and have the child explain what they are doing, why they are doing it, and why it’s significant. Always have your child's user name and passwords for any websites/games.
- In View: Keep devices out of bedrooms and in public spaces. Keeping all devices in view, while sometimes difficult, will help keep young people safe.
Common Sense Media is a recommended site to learn more about how to keep your family safe online and other tips for digital citizenship.
BYOT iRun
BYOT iRun Information
Have you registered for the iRun? Visit www.runsignup.com/byot to register today. Remember to select our school on the emergency contact page to ensure we receive credit for your registration.
When you register, not only will you support a fantastic cause, you will have a blast at the event! This year’s race will be the best one yet! Check out all the exciting happenings:
· Fun DJ and professional photographer
· Professional face painters and 2 jumpy houses....free for everyone!
· Cash coffee and smoothie bar
· Every runner who crosses the finish line gets a medal....even the Fun Run kids!
· 5K runners will receive a clear stadium bag AND a runners' belt for their phone, keys, etc.
· Fun Run kids will receive a stadium cup and lollipops.
We want YOU in our annual iRun photo! Every year, this photo is posted in the gym for our students to see! They LOVE seeing pictures of our Midway Community being active for a great cause!
Midway PTO
We are getting really excited about this year's Fall Festival at Midway. We hope that everyone has it on their calendar to attend! The one thing we need are a few extra hands to help for short time slots during the festival! If you can volunteer your time please click on the link and choose a fun spot to lend us a helping hand!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4DABAF2CAA8-midway
Huge THANK YOU to our PTO Annual Sponsors this year
Kumon, Alpharetta-Milton
Mathnasium- North Alpharetta
RISPA
Sassy Ink Design Studio
The Fringe at Area 51
Keller Williams Realtor, Wanessa Moore
Counselor's Corner
We have been busy teaching our students so far this year. Your School Counselors go into classrooms every 3 weeks. Our lessons are based on Forsyth County’s Learner Profile, Georgia Department of Education Requirements, and the American School Counseling Association’s Mindsets and Behaviors. For each round of lessons we update our itsLearning page to show what we are teaching your students.
Here is a list of what our students have been learning with us so far in addition to introductions to their school counselors:
Kindergarten: Students received a lesson on listening skills and 4 rules for listening (stop, look, listen, think). Next lesson they will learning the importance of following directions.
1st Grade: We just finished learning about the DeBug System, how to handle someone “bugging” them and role played using it with a partner. Now they have moved on to the differences between a disagreement, rude moment, mean moment, and bullying.
2nd Grade: Students learned about the difference between small problems and big problems with conflict management strategies. The next lessen is about diversity and being the same as others yet different in our individuality.
3rd Grade: In September, students developed a list of problem solving strategies to help them solve problems with friends. Students are currently learning about the importance of following directions.
4th Grade: Students learned about different learning styles and took a brief questionnaire to see whether they are a kinesthetic, visual, or auditory learner. Their next lesson will focus on study skills and strategies.
5th Grade: Last round students learned about test-taking skills as they tried to “escape the room” while using critical thinking, analytical skills, and teamwork. We are currently expand on that lesson with more study skills strategies and techniques.
Don’t forget to check out our itsLearning page to find out more about the lessons and activities we do with our students.
Dr. Jennifer Collins & Ms. Kim Driscoll
School Counselors
News from Nurse Monahan
With autumn approaching, we start to see some runny/stuffy noses, red throats, and coughs. Please remember to keep your children home if they have any of the following symptoms: fever (this means before giving fever reducing medicine), nausea/vomiting, uncontrollable cough/sneezes, and diarrhea.
As always, we encourage a spare set of clothing for children in ALL grades. As the weather gets cooler, remember to switch out clothes to be appropriate for the season.
Please remember that children cannot carry ANY medications to or from school. parents must bring medication to the clinic and fill out a form giving us permission to administer. This includes things like cough drops and nasal spray too!! The clinic would be glad to keep any medications that will alleviate nuisance symptoms and allow the child to remain in the classroom comfortably. Please contact me if you have any questions about our medication policy.
The school nurses of Forsyth County, in conjunction with the Forsyth County Health Dept., will have a flu clinic on Wednesday, Oct. 17th. See flyer below for more information and location.
The possibility of lice also happens this time of year! I suggest that kids with long hair wear it up in a ponytail, braid, or bun. A small spray of hairspray can also help create a barrier. Please advise your children not to share what they wear. If your child has lice they must bring in proof of treatment and be seen by the nurse before returning to the classroom.
Kelly Monahan RN
770-475-6670 ext 760121
From the Midway Café
What a great September! We’ve served up fresh watermelon several times as part of our Harvest of the Month and learned about benefits of zucchini squash. Both excellent sources of vitamins and minerals for our bodies.
We also created a Wall of Gratitude in the Café and it looks awesome! Students and staff all posted things that we are grateful for. We believe having a heart and “attitude of gratitude” is the best way to get through each day. Even when circumstances are not pleasant, it helps just to take a moment and think about at least one thing we are grateful for. We in the café are grateful for many things, and that includes each and every one of you! We thank you for your support and kind words to us always! Come in and check it out if you can.
Coming up in October we’ll celebrate National School Lunch Week on 15th – 19th, and Red Ribbon Week the 22nd – 26th. We’ll also highlight the October Harvests of the Month which are apples, butternut squash and cabbage.
Come visit any time!
Book Fair is Coming!
The Book Fair is coming!
Our Midway Scholastic Book Fair will run from October 11th thru the 18th!
We will have extended hours during Parent Conference week!
This year we will have E-wallet available for parents and students to use for Book Fair purchases. Visit the link below to learn more about the fair and to sign up for E-wallet.
General Reminders
We already have a growing collection of items in the lost and found. Please write your child's name inside their jackets, sweaters, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc!
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: jlundstrum@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