Midway Mustang Memo
March 2019
Dear Parents,
The month of February was full of activities and learning! Our Oratorical Contest took place on February 12th, and our participants were amazing! After composing an essay on “Is There a Fine Line Between Optimism and Reality?” our students demonstrated effective communication skills through the delivery of their speeches. Congratulations to Asentewah, our Midway representative for the Oratorical Competition. On February 14th, at our E.L.M. (Extraordinary Leadership Models) Awards ceremony, we celebrated Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Students received certificates and brag tags for their listening skills and their ability to show empathy. Later in the month, fathers were dressed in fine attire and daughters looked lovely at the “Night in Paris” Dance on February 23rd. Thank you to our P.T.O. for organizing, decorating, and serving at this special event. As we continue to recognize joyful readers, Kindergartners who meet their goals in reading steps (30 minutes a day) are recognized on the morning news show. We are excited for these readers as they are building lifelong habits and a love of reading! Everybody loves a good read aloud –here is an article to enjoy about “Time for a Story” from Reading Connection, Resources for Educators. It also includes some additional activities to support literacy skills such as word play, vocabulary building, and journal writing.
As we continue working with our students on two important Social Emotional Learning competencies, self-awareness and self-monitoring, students set goals and monitor the progress they have made toward achieving their goals. Our spring ASLT (Academic Student Led Team) meetings will be on March 14th (3rd, 4th, and 5th grades) and March 21st (Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades). We look forward to seeing you there!
With kind regards,
Jan Munroe, Principal
Daphne Rogers, Assistant Principal
Ashley Starr, Administrative Assistant
Important Dates
March 4-7th: Book Fair
March 8th: Early Release for Parent Conferences
March 11-22nd: Read-A-Thon
March 14th: ASLT (3rd-5th)
March 16th: Mother Son Event
March 21st: ASLT (K-2nd)
March 28th: PTO meeting
April 1-5: No School -- Spring Break
Coming soon...READ-A-THON
Our Read-a-thon will start March 11, 2019. On March 1st, we will send home paperwork with your reader explaining how you will activate their personal Read-a-thon page. You will know that we have distributed the take home sheet because we will also place a green Read-a-thon bracelet around your child’s wrist as a reminder.
We understand that, as parents, you have high expectations for the quality of your child’s education but also have limited time. That’s why we chose to hold a Read-a-thon. You will find this to be the easiest fundraiser possible. By simply activating your reader’s personal page and using the promotional tools found there, friends and family anywhere in the world can show their support for your reader by making a donation to our Read-a-thon. Your involvement in the Read-a-thon will help your child develop a lasting love of reading. We hope each one of you will activate your child’s personal page the day your child brings home their paperwork. Hopefully they will be wearing their green bracelet as well.
Art News
There will be a school wide art show in the gym on March 19th from 5:30-7pm, all students will have artwork on display and the art can be purchased in frames for $25. This is a fundraiser for the art program at Midway.
Fifth grade yearbook ads and all yearbook orders are due by April 1st. Orders can be made at www.yearbookordercenter.com
Our school code is 15043
Midway PTO
Here’s my part for the news letter:
We are looking forward to the Mother Son event on March 16th 5:00 for a fun evening with Ken Scott the magician. Make sure to RSVP for the event.
We also want to invite those of you interested in becoming a bigger part of the PTO to an informal open house on Thurs March 28th 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Come meet the current board and the nominees for next year. Learn the details of what it takes to make a successful and fun PTO!
Look for info coming home Fri for the up
coming Read A Thon... fun prizes for top readers!!
Lastly don’t forget to sign up for the 5k Mustang Trot!
https://runsignup.com/Race/GA/Alpharetta/TheMustangTrott5K
Thanks for all the support,
PTO
Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is BACK! The Book Fair will be open in the Media Center from Monday March 4th through Thursday March 7th! We are still in need of volunteers. If you can help, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48ABAD23ABF49-midway1 or email Mr. Orr at gborr@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Counselor's Corner
Homework can sometimes be a difficult time for a family. Here are some tips when working with your child.
- Have a scheduled time that your child will work on homework. If they become frustrated or overwhelmed let them take a break for 5-10 minutes and then return to their work. Use a timer for students who have trouble focusing or take too long on certain items when working.
- Set up an area for homework or reading that is quiet and has few distractions. A couple of ideas are the kitchen table or bedroom. Make sure there aren’t any distractions like the TV, computer, or radio and that they have the materials they need readily available.
- Use travel time or grocery shopping as sneaky learning times. When at the grocery store put your child in charge of adding up how much two items will cost or have your child pick out 5 oranges or pick out a new food to try. Discuss the outside, inside, and taste using adjectives. Don’t forget to compare and contrast what new food to another food they’ve had before. When you are riding around in the car, point out billboards and sound out words, play name the color of the car, or count the number of flowering bushes. These are fun ways that students can do “school work” without knowing it!
For more information, please do not hesitate to call or email us.
Dr. Collins and Ms. Driscoll
School Counselors
News from Nurse Monahan
Move Over Flu and Strep, Here Comes Lice and Allergies!
Warmer months increase the frequency of head lice!! Visit Midway Elementary and under Student Services, click on School Nurse and then click Lice to learn more about Forsyth County's lice policy that was established in 2017 by The Lice Task Force. Lice has many misconceptions but be reassured that open communication with the clinic can help avoid further transmission between students and assist you in the most efficient way to manage the condition. I am here to help!
It is also the time of year when allergy related symptoms can become bothersome in the school day. There are great resources that can send you daily pollen counts to help you identify and manage your allergies. Although spring allergy season usually starts in March, it can come as early as February. The clinic does not stock medications for students so if your child benefits from saline spray, eye drops or prescription allergy or asthma medication please have a parent bring it to the clinic so we can avoid phone calls home and keep your student comfortable in school. Allergy symptoms are unique to the student but sneezing, runny nose, watery, red or itchy eyes, ear "fullness" and congestion, headache and throat irritation are some of the more common symptoms.!
From the Midway Café
Welcome Spring!! We hope…soon!
I hope this finds you well. We’ve had quite an eventful February. Lots of rain, lots of sickness around, but lots of fun here in the Mustang Café as well. We had a tailgate party for Super Bowl weekend & celebrated Valentine’s Day sprinkling love & kindness everywhere, along with important heart-healthy nutrition education facts. I believe it truly was a fabulous February. We also focused on nutrition about carrots & cauliflower as they were our Harvests of the Month.
As we look ahead into March, we’ll be celebrating National School Breakfast Week March 4th – 8th. We serve up nice warm breakfasts each morning with several choices. We have yummy chocolate muffin tops w/yogurt & and egg & cheese croissant or biscuit on Mondays & Thursdays-these are the kiddos favorites! Other days we have fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, honey buns, maple-mini pancakes, dutch waffles, scrambled eggs, and everyday we have a chicken croissant or biscuit and cereal meals. It only costs $1.50 which includes the entrée and 2 sides (choices of fruits & juices) and a milk. We serve breakfast each morning from 7:50 – 8:20am. Also, during that week, we’ll have gift card drawings each day, just to celebrate. Students are entered into the drawing just for having breakfast with us. We’d love to see you there! (Adult meals are $2.10)
Harvests of the Month for March are bibb lettuce, corn and green beans. All of these are part of our menus and served on a regular basis. Each are packed with vitamins & nutrients we need. Good sources of vitamin A, lettuce is high in vitamin K & folate, and corn is actually a whole grain, it does have a higher carb content but is a still a good part of a healthy diet if tolerated.
We hope to see you soon, and as always please contact me if I can be of any assistance. Your student’s smiling faces truly are the best part of our day!
Have a Marvelous March,
Chris Pruitt
Manager, Mustang Café
Fun things to look for in March:
NSBW – Theme “Start Your Engines with School Breakfast” - March 4th – 8th
Dr. Seuss Birthday Part – March 1st
St. Patrick’s Day – March 15th
REMIND
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#MidwayReads
School Handbook
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
#MidwayReads
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