Morton Ranch Elementary
February 27, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians,
During their regular February meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved amending the 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar to provide students an additional day off, and staff members with a paid holiday on Monday, April 1, 2024.
With the approved change, students and staff will enjoy a four-day weekend, with schools and district offices reopening on Tuesday, April 2.
“The Board of Trustees approved an update to the 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar. The calendar update includes an additional staff and student holiday on April 1st,” said Victor Perez, Board President at Katy ISD. “Districts are required to provide at least 75,600 operational minutes per year, plus enough minutes to account for two bad weather days. Our district has met these criteria. Because of that, our Board was in the position to approve an additional and much deserved holiday for our students and staff,” he added.
Each academic year, Katy ISD carefully plans instructional minutes to allow for flexibility in the calendar. The district currently has a sufficient number of instructional minutes within the calendar to provide for an additional holiday for staff members.
Have a great week!
Lori Maurer
Principal
Dr. Ken Gregorski stops by the ranch!
A big thank you to the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ken Gregorski, for coming to visit our students and staff last Friday. We appreciate his dedication to Katy ISD! We hope that Dr.Gregorski will come back and visit us soon!
We have BIG NEWS! Have you heard?
Mrs.Maddox is the Katy ISD Library Media Specialist of the Year!
Mrs.Maddox has built a culture of literacy, inquiry, and creativity while empowering all Mavs to become life-long learners and discriminating users of information. We are so proud to have her at MRE. Please feel free to stop by the library to congratulate Mrs.Maddox!
Are you finished reading your library books? It's time to return your books!
Please take a look around and see if you have any library books at home, in the car, or in your backpack.
There are over 700 books that are currently overdue. Students may return books to their teacher or the library.
Welcome to the 2024 Space Cowboys Reading Program!
The Sugar Land Cowboys believe reading helps children prepare for the game of life, and we are thankful for your student's participation! Please view the parent letter below to learn more about how your child can participate in this program.
2024 Space Cowboys Reading Program (Parent Letter)
Students read four books of their own reading level. Upon completion, students will receive two free tickets to one of the Space Cowboys Reading Program games! Click to learn more about how your child can participate in the reading program.
Book Tracking Form
Reading Program Video Introduction
Programa de Lectura Space Cowboys 2024
All money will be due on March 8th!
Thank you to our students, staff, and teachers that have already sold a case of chocolates!
The proceeds will help our school purchase essential items for learning!
What do we do if we have sold all of the chocolate in the box?
Each box contains a white collection envelope. Once all the chocolate is sold, please include the money in the envelope and return to the front office or your child's teacher.
Parents or guardians may sign the bottom of the envelope IF they want their child to receive an additional box of chocolate. Please make sure to fill out as much information as possible to help our staff.
An example of the envelope is provided below.
February is Dental Health Month at MRE
We'd like to give a big shout out to KidsTown Dental for stopping by the Ranch! Our students learned facts about dental hygiene and received goodie bags to take home.
KidsTown Dental is located at:
27110 Cinco Ranch Blvd
Suite 900 Katy, TX 77494
Students learned fun facts about dental health!
SMILE! Brush your teeth 2-3 times daily!
Students received goodie bags filled with items to encourage healthy habits!
What is M&M (Mommies and Mavericks)?
Volunteers work in the LGI and help with cutting, laminating, sorting, and gluing projects for teachers. Teachers deliver their projects to the LGI with directions for volunteers to complete.
Helpers can stay the entire time, from 9:00-2:00, or come and go as needed. Visitors may not visit classrooms or disrupt the learning environment. We would love any time that you can provide!
*A form of ID is required in order to enter the building.
Thank you for helping our teachers with classroom projects!
MRE PTA NEEDS YOU! Why should you join the executive board?
The PTA supports teachers and administration with funding and events, creating a positive atmosphere in the school.
If you are interested in serving on the board please message info@mavspta.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please join us for a PTA General Membership Meeting next week!
Our next General Membership Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 7th at 4:30pm in the MRE gym. This will take place immediately before the 2nd grade play. It is very important that all PTA members attend as it’s our annual election for all of our board positions. Please enter through the gym doors.
Have you reached your Kids Heart challenge goal?
Kids Heart Challenge at Morton Ranch Elementary is nearing its end, but there's still time to reach our goal! We've raised $1,712 donations towards our $5,000 goal, and we hope all students will join the team! So far, 47 students have already joined, and 3 students have completed Finn’s Mission, entering them into the NFL Sweepstakes for Super Bowl 2025 tickets!
One last week to sign up, donate, or get a donation and complete Finn’s Mission. It’s a great time to send one final reminder to friends and family who will want to support you.
Download the app for iPhone or Android, or register online: http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=9733&pg=company&company_id=439035.
One more way to be a lifesaver:
Stroke is a major cause of death and disability. Acting quickly is critical. Protect your family by learning to spot a stroke as part of Finn’s Mission. Log into your Kids Heart Challenge page and click on the Stroke Quiz then click “share” to send the video.
Don’t forget: You can double your gift by checking to see if your employer will match your donation. Follow the steps and forward the confirmation to matchinggifts@heart.org to have this added to the student’s fundraising page.
(https://www2.heart.org/site/SPageNavigator/aha_matchpro_landing.html)
When you sign up for Choose to Give, Reliant Energy will make a $100 contribution to the American Heart Association. Additionally, an ongoing contribution equal to 5% of your annual energy charges will be donated to American Heart Association. It’s a power plan with a powerful impact.
Don’t forget: Double your Gift! Many employers will match the donations their employees make to non-profits! It will be added to your fundraising page!
Attention Parents/Guardians of current 4th-12th grade students:
Senate Bill 2050, passed during the 87th legislative session, requires school districts to collect information annually through student surveys on bullying/cyberbullying and use the survey results to develop action plans to address student concerns. All Katy ISD students in 4th-12th grade are invited to participate in an online survey administered by K12 Insight. K12 Insight manages online surveys for school districts nationwide, safeguarding the confidentiality of participants’ responses. Students will be prompted to enter their student ID numbers solely to verify student participation by campus and grade level in an effort to maintain data integrity. K12 Insight will not provide Katy ISD or any outside party with data that connects a participant to his or her survey responses.
MRE will administer the survey (to the appropriate grade levels) between February 20th and March 8th. Participation in the survey is voluntary. Parents and guardians may opt their child out of participation by logging in to MyKaty and selecting the KISD Option Portal icon. The opt-out deadline was February 9, 2024. The opt-out window for the Student Safety Survey has closed.
Parents with questions about the student survey or who wish to provide feedback are encouraged to email studentsurvey@katyisd.org.
YEARBOOKS FOR SALE- WILL BE DELIVERED TO MRE LATER IN THE SPRING
There's nothing else like your school yearbook. Get your hands on the limited edition collection of our stories from the year. Share it with your friends today and hang on to it for years to come!
Attention Lunch Visitors
Lunch visitors are asked to remain in the cafeteria during the scheduled times below. Please enter/exit the cafeteria at the time (and day of the week) that applies to your child's grade level.
We ask that visitors allow students to transition in and out of the cafeteria without disrupting the lines. This allows our students and teachers to follow their school schedule accordingly. Visitors are not able to join students during recess or conference with teachers during these transitions.
Thank you for your help with this!
Online registration for the Katy Independent School District Prekindergarten program for the 2024-2025 school year will open April 1, 2024.
Parents must complete the online registration process through Katy ISD’s PowerSchool Registration website in order for their child to be screened for program eligibility. The Katy ISD Prekindergarten program follows the state Pre-K guidelines which focus on oral language development, reading and math readiness, as well as science and social studies knowledge and skills. Click the Katy ISD Prekindergarten program link for a list of eligibility requirements or call the Office of Interventions, at 281-237-7062.
Katy ISD is sharing information about the state, district, and your child’s campus as part of our obligations under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). The Federal Report Cards are available for your review in the front office of our school or online at: https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/frc/frc_srch.html?year=2023
Katy ISD comparte información sobre el estado, distrito y escuela de su hijo(a) como
parte de nuestras obligaciones bajo la ley federal ''Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015
(ESSA)''. Están disponibles dos boletas de calificación (federal) para su revisión en la
oficina principal de nuestra escuela o en línea:
Las boletas de calificaciones federales 2022-2023 pueden obtenerse en
línea: https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/frc/frc_srch.html?year=2023
Morton Ranch Elementary
Website: https://www.katyisd.org/campus/MRE/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 2502 North Mason Road, Katy, TX, USA
Phone: 281-234-0330
Twitter (X): @MREMavs