Medlock Bridge Mustang Message
We educate and inspire all students to be lifelong learners!
April 15, 2019
From the Principal's Desk
We are so fortunate to live and work in such a caring and generous community! We saw the generosity of staff, students, and parents at the first annual Live to Give Night on April 11th. Attendees enjoyed a pleasant evening of making journals, coloring pages, crayons, and blankets to support the patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The evening resulted in hundreds of items to donate the the cause. Special thanks to Ms. Birkmeyer and the committee of staff and parents she established to make the evening a success.
Our students also "gave change to make a change" as part of our Coins4Cure PTO event. Students raised over $1700 in support of Cure Childhood Cancer, an organization that funds scientific research and supports patients and their families.
Finally, we welcomed Anabelle, a Chattahoochee student working on her Girl Scout Gold Award. She contributed a Buddy Bench to our playground along with training for our students on how to use it to build self-esteem and widen friendship circles. Read more here.
These are just three examples that typify the character of the Medlock Bridge community. We are Concerned Citizens who Live to Give, because We Are Connected. The character you instill in your children at home along with the messages of our Mustangs ROCK and 7 Mindsets programs help build the caring communities of tomorrow. What important work we all do!
Have a great two weeks!
Matt Vance
Principal
Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones testing begins on Monday, April 15th for 3rd and 5th graders! Please make sure your child gets plenty of rest the night before testing and eats a healthy breakfast the morning of testing. Breakfast is available in the cafeteria from 7:10-7:40 a.m.
In order to provide a secure testing environment, we are not able to accommodate visitors to the school on testing days. This includes visitors for lunch. Thank you for your understanding.
3rd Grade Milestones: April 15-19
4th Grade Milestones: May 6-10
5th Grade Milestones: April 15-23
Georgia Department of Education provides Study Guides to help students prepare for Georgia Milestones. They are a resource for parents and students. They contain practice questions and learning activities for each content area. The standards identified in the Study/Resource Guides address a sampling of the state-mandated content standards. You can also visit their site to review the Assessment Guide for each test.
Some positive changes have been made to the Georgia Milestones Testing window. The schedule allows for a full week of instruction after students return from Spring Break and reduces daily testing time. The county is also required to use a new caching system this year, and the system's need for schools to limit device traffic necessitated these changes in schedule. The testing dates for each grade level are listed here:
Important Dates
April 15 - May 15
3rd Grade Milestones: April 15-19
4th Grade Milestones: May 6-10
5th Grade Milestones: April 15-23
4th Grade Make-Up Exams - May 13 - 15
April 16
Linda McCain Community Meeting @ Johns Creek High School 6:30pm
April 18
Make Our School Beautiful - 5:00 - 6:30
April 22
Last Day To Charge In The Cafeteria (see below for more detail)
April 26
All Pro Dads - 7:00 am - Cafeteria
PTO Board Meeting - 9am - room 131
Spring Carnival - 4:30 - 7:30
Bus Dismissal Notice
In emergencies or for childcare reasons only, permission to ride another bus or change stops may be granted by the Principal and/or North Fulton Transportation only. Upon approval, a letter of permission will be given to the bus driver by the student. Permission to ride another bus can only be granted if there is space available on the receiving bus. At this time, the following buses do not have any additional space available to accommodate these requests:
Blue Whale
Green Frog
Black Panda
Orange Tiger
For transportation changes involving more than one day, please call Transportation at 470-254-2287 for approval.
Carpool
In order to clarify carpool procedures for the safety of all students, I am reprinting our procedure below. Thank you for your cooperation!
1. Carpool is open from 7:10am until 7:40am. Parents who arrive before 7:10am should keep children in their cars until the 7:10am bell. At 7:40am, carpool must close to allow staff to return to duties with children inside building. You will notice that the "horseshoe" closes and parents are able to drive through to the top parking lot.
2. When dropping off, please pull all the way through the "horseshoe." Doing so will allow more cars to pull into the "horseshoe," maximizing the space we have available to accept drop-offs and avoid dangerous traffic back-ups.
3. For the safety of all children involved, please only drop your child off once your car is on the "horseshoe." This prevents students from walking dangerously close to traffic. There should also be a staff member close by to assist your children as they exit your car.
4. When making a left turn into the school, please wait until there is space to pull your car all the way on to campus. Doing so allows Medlock Bridge neighborhood cars to drive through the carpool line when necessary.
5. School begins at 7:40am. If you arrive after the 7:40am bell, please walk your child in to the front office to sign in.
For attendance purposes, a student is counted tardy if they enter the building after the 7:40am bell. Students entering the building after the 7:40am bell will be issued a blue pass from the front office. Students riding the bus in the morning are never counted tardy, so if you are concerned about tardies please consider having your student ride the bus.
Thank you for your assistance! Other procedural reminders are posted in the Parent Handbook available on the Medlock Bridge website.
7 Mindsets - Live to Give
"The Live to Give mindset teaches the importance of serving others while maximizing our own potential. It tells us that abundance in life is a cycle: that, in order receive love, respect, and financial security, we must first learn to give those things to others. This mindset also teaches us that the greatest gift we can ever give is to find and leverage our unique genius to maximize our positive impact on the world, knowing the good things will be returned to us in kind. In the lessons for this mindset, we guide students to think about the impact they want to make and the legacy they want to leave."
For more information on this mindset, please click here.
Medlock Bridge School Governance Council
Our next SGC Meeting is on May 14, 2019. Our meetings are open to the public. We welcome public comment at every meeting. You can also share your thoughts on our school virtually using our virtual comment box. Comments delivered to the virtual comment box are read out at the next SGC meeting.
For more information on elections and the Medlock Bridge School Governance Council, please visit our web page.
Curriculum Matters
Important Tips on Avoiding the "Summer Slide"
Given the length of summer vacation in the U.S., the Summer Slide (also known as summer learning loss) is real and it happens IF students don't continue to practice the skills they've recently acquired!
Read on to learn four excellent ways to avoid the Summer Slide ...
- Read! The number one way to avoid the Summer Slide is to read, read, read! Please make visits to our amazing public libraries a regular occurrence, create a special reading nook in your child's bedroom, take time each day for your child(ren) to "get lost in a great book" and read novels as a family where you explore new & rich vocabulary and adventures together!
- Write! Nothing is more exciting to a child than picking out a new journal and having quiet time to write ... ANYTHING THEY WANT! Students should be encouraged at an early age to keep a daily journal (yes, illustrations count, too!) that include summer happenings, your vacation, poems, stories, nonfiction finds, you name it! Again, finding (the same) time each day to unwind with some quiet music, a pencil & journal will allow their creative juices to flow and will help build writing stamina.
- Research Projects! Poster boards, dioramas and research papers don't have to just be for the classroom! Let your child(ren) explore their passions by teaching your family about what they learn themselves!
- iRead/iReady Reading and iReady Math! These are research-based programs with a purpose that go well beyond practice. Rather, they incorporate real learning at your child's instructional level and provide advancement through lessons, guided and independent practice!
5th Students Grade Human Growth & Development!
Parents of 5th Graders,
Please know that the annual 5th Grade Human Growth & Development will take place on Thursday, May 2nd. Please know that letter detailing the program will come home with your child in Tuesday folders (April 16th).
2019-2020 Class Placement Forms Now Available
Due to Patty Neumeister, CST, by Friday, May 3rd
Please use the link https://mbescurriculumsupport.weebly.com/forms.html from the MBES Curriculum Support website to access this form.
More information about what you see here? Please contact me!
Patty Neumeister, Curriculum Support Teacher
Email: neumeisterp@fultonschools.org
Website: http://mbescurriculumsupport.weebly.com
Follow Me on Twitter @mbescst
News From The Guidance Counselor
This month we are highlighting college and career awareness. Please have your child wear their favorite college T-Shirt on Wednesdays. We will highlight both careers that require a college education, as well as those that require trade school or on the job training. This week's careers were; School Counselor, Fortune Cookie Writer, Motorcycle Mechanic/Technician, Geographer, and Crane Operator.
If you come in, please make sure you visit our I Went to College You Can Too display outside of the cafeteria. Over 70 of our teachers and staff participated. Also, please consider wearing a college T-shirt if you come in to volunteer or for lunch.
Gearing Up for Kindergarten
Teachers from South Korea Visit MBES
MBES is hosting 6 teachers from South Korea as part of a partnership with ITTI Global and the Georgia Department of Education. All of the visitors are English teachers in elementary/middle schools in Korea. They will primarily observe our instructional practices for their own professional development, but they will also have opportunities to speak to classes and share about their culture. Our visiting teachers arrive April 8th and will remain with us until the end of school. For more information, please contact Martha Holladay at holladaym@fultonschools.org.
Cafeteria News
Meal Charges
Starting April 22, 2019, students will no longer be able to charge meals. Students must have cash on hand or enough funds in their cafeteria accounts to pay for all meals. An alternate meal of a cheese sandwich and milk will be provided for lunch, and cheese toast and milk for breakfast will be served if your child’s account has a negative balance. You may go online at www.MealPayPlus.com to pay off the balance. Any remaining funds in your child’s account will carry over to next year, including current 5th graders going to middle school. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our students’ meal time experience a pleasant one.
Parents of Rising 6th Grade Students! - Transition Events
Whether your rising 6th grader will be attending River Trail or Autrey Mill Middle School, both have important resources for you and your child.
Autrey Mill MS will host MBES students on 3/28/19 during the school day. Autrey Mill will host a parent night on 4/24/19 at 6pm. Please stay tuned to http://school.fultonschools.org/ms/autreymill/Pages/default.aspx for more transition event information.
River Trail Middle School's Parent Night was on 3/18/19 at 6 pm and MBES students who will be attending River Trail visited on 3/13/19 during the school day. Please stay tuned to http://school.fultonschools.org/ms/rivertrail/Pages/default.aspx for more transition event information.
6th Grade Parent Meeting At River Trail Middle School
Attention rising River Trail 6th grader families. RTMS PTO is now accepting volunteers/nominations for open board positions for the 2019-20 school year. For a list of open positions please consult their website at http://rivertrailpto.com. If you know of someone who would be willing and able to serve in an open RTMS PTO Board position for the 2019-20 school year, please let the nomination committee know by emailing info@rivertrailpto.com .
Become a Jr. Gladiator Cheerleader!
All Events Will Be Held At Stingrays
Location- 4680 W Morton Road, Johns Creek
Parent Informational Meeting: Thursday , April 25th @6:30pm
Tryout Clinic - Wednesday, May 8th @ 4:30 - 6:30pm
Tryouts - Thursday, May 9th @ 3:30 - 6:00pm
*** If you are interested in joining the competition team please stay after your tryout time.
Live To Give Night @ MBES
Medlock Bridge Elementary School
Email: vancem@fultonschools.org
Website: http://school.fultonschools.org/es/medlockbridge/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 10215 Medlock Bridge Parkway, Johns Creek, GA, United States
Phone: 4702542980
Twitter: @MBESPrincipal