McKinley Elementary Newsletter
February 2022
IMPORTANT DATES
Jan 31- Feb 1 - NO SCHOOL, Parent Teacher Conferences
Feb 3 - PTC Meeting THURSDAY 6:30
Feb 10 - PTC Take Out Tuesday ON A THURSDAY- Papa Murphy's
Feb 16 - Immunization Exclusion Day
Feb 18 - NO SCHOOL, Staff Work Day
Feb 21 - NO SCHOOL, President's Day
Feb 28 - Mar 4 - McKinley Read-A-Thon
Mar 1 - PTC Meeting 6:30
Mar 11 - NO SCHOOL, Grading Day
Mar 14 - 18 Scholastic Book Fair, After School
Mar 21-25 - NO SCHOOL, Spring Break
*Every Wednesday is a 1 hour late start at 8:50 AM - the other days 7:50 AM
Note from Principal Nelson
This year we have been learning of some concerning technology use outside of school with our 4th and 5th grade students which has impacted school. Many students have smart phones which connect to the internet. We are hearing from students who watch a lot of Youtube and Tiktok as well as a few who are listening to explicit music and viewing pornography. As you can imagine, this can have a negative impact on those students as they hear and learn about things that are not developmentally appropriate. It has caused anxiety, behavior problems due to viewing “challenges” or copying things they see online and it has led to some conversations amongst peers which spread the word and expose other students to those things as well. Most parents we contact regarding their child’s technology use were unaware their child was viewing those things. I wanted to take time to bring this to your attention and offer a couple of resources for you on technology use for kids in hope that a little more awareness at home can help our kids stay kids while they are in elementary school and enjoy school.
Michelle Nelson, Principal
Article from Today’s Parent: https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/an-age-by-age-guide-to-kids-and-smartphones/
Blog from Love & Logic: https://www.loveandlogic.com/blogs/our-blog/help-technology-is-already-a-problem
Parent Conferences
Tuesday, February 1st - Conferences 7:30-3:00 no school
Please contact your child's teacher if you have not yet set up a conference time.
IMMUNIZATION EXCLUSION DAY FEBRUARY 16, 2022
Please stay current with your immunizations. If your child needs a shot, please schedule it ASAP. Don’t wait for Exclusion Day—Feb 16, 2022. It is difficult to schedule appointments when it gets closer to that day. For more information, read here.
Protect the health of your child. Make sure they have all their needed immunizations. With COVID-19, it’s now more important than ever. Students need to be current on their required immunizations before February 16, 2022 in order attend school after this date.
It’s Lice Time of Year
Lice: this is a popular time of year for lice to appear. Please check your children's hair regularly. If you do find live lice, children must be treated and free of live lice before returning to school. Check out the Lice Flyer at the end of this newsletter for more details.
TAKE OUT TUESDAY ON A THURSDAY @ Papa Murphy's
- Thursday, February 10th
- ALL DAY, 10 AM to 9PM
- 2755 Commercial St SE location ONLY
- Papa Murphy's will donate 20% of the price of any full price item to McKinley PTC
- Make sure to tell them you are there for McKinley to get the donation
- Order online mention McKinley please
NEWS FROM MCKINLEY'S PARENT TEACHER CLUB(ptc)
~ PTC Monthly General Meeting 2021 – 2022 ~
Thursday, February 3rd, 2022 / 6:30 – 7:30 pm (FEB Only, Thursday)
School Library, McKinley Elementary School, and virtually over Zoom
Childcare will be provided
Agenda includes
1) Principal Report,
2) Oregon Battle of the Books,
3) Restaurant Fundraiser,
4) Read-A-Thon,
5) New Business
Have questions? Reach out to us through the email below:
REMINDER! The Meeting in February is on Thursday
~ What’s Happening February 2022 ~
Read-A-Thon
Update on the event and explanation and brainstorm of how Read-A-Thon will be run. Volunteers may be requested.
OBOB
Battles are currently underway. Update on the event
Restaurant Fundraiser: Feb 10th
This month is Papa Murphy’s! Stop on in to help support Mckinley
PTC officers: Jason Tei, Lea Hinchcliff, Sarah Phillips, and Becky Tei
Questions? Visit www.ptcmckinley.org or contact the PTC exec team at ptcmckinley@gmail.com.
Year at a Glance
- 1st Tuesday of most months - PTC Meeting 6:30 PM-7:40 PM
- 2nd Tuesday of most months - Take Out Tuesday - fundraisers at local resturants
- November thru February OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books)
- February 28-March 4 - Read-A-Thon
- June 3 - School Carnival
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY - STORIES FROM OREGON
Salem-Keizer Public Schools is partnering with members in the community to provide a series of learning sessions throughout the 2021-22 school year. These sessions are currently held online and are open to the public.
The second Community Learning Session is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, January 31 and will be hosted by Salem-Keizer School Board Chair Osvaldo Avila and SKPS Director of Student Equity, Access and Advancement, Cynthia Richardson.
SALEM-KEIZER CHARTER SCHOOLS
Salem-Keizer Public Schools currently sponsors four local charter schools:
- Optimum Learning Environments: Grades K-5
- Valley Inquiry Charter School: Grades K-5
- Howard Street Charter School: Grades 6-8
- Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School: Grades 6-8
Charter Schools are independently operated, publicly funded schools. The charter school establishes a contract (a charter) with a sponsor, often a school district (such as SKPS), university, or public educational institution depending on the state, to which they are academically and financially accountable.
Click Here for more information.
IN-DISTRICT TRANSFER (IDT) APPLICATION WINDOW
MARCH 1-31, 2022
IDT applications received after March 31, 2022 will not be considered.
This includes EDGE, incoming Kindergarteners and next years 6th Graders
Transfer requests for the 2022-2023 school year are due to your home school between March 1 and 31. Please note, students attending school on an IDT are not eligible for bus transportation. Please talk to school office staff if you have any questions.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR PARENTS OF 5TH GRADE STUDENTS
Current fifth grade students (entering sixth grade in September) who want to attend a school other than their assigned school next fall (2022-2023 school year) must apply for in-district transfer (IDT) between March 1 and March 31, 2022. Pick up the IDT's from your neighborhood middle school.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION OPENS IN MARCH
Students must be five years old on or before September 10
Register online at the Salem Keizer Website .
What you need to have available:
- Proof of age (birth certificate)
- Proof of residence (utility bill, lease agreement)
- Immunization records
ALL STUDENTS PREPARED TO GRADUATE
MENTAL HEALTH AND SELF-CARE
STAY HOME IF......... & COVID HOTLINE
If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home and call the office. With added procedures for COVID, here is the district’s current policy for sick students. If a child has any of these symptoms listed below, please contact the school office and your child will need to stay home and quarantine for 5 days if not tested. If a student comes to school with any of these symptoms or other signs of feeling unwell, students are brought to the office and parents are called to pick students up. If your child does test positive for COVID, please notify the school and send a copy or picture of the positive test results.
- temp of 100.4 or higher
- new cough
- difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- loss of taste or smell
SAFEOREGON. FEEL SAFE. BE SAFE.
SafeOregon – Report confidential safety concerns
Salem-Keizer Public Schools partners with SafeOregon, a confidential tip line that gives students, parents, schools and communities a confidential way to report safety threats or potential acts of violence.
MONTHLY MEAL MENU
Thanks to the USDA’s Seamless Summer Option, we will be able to feed all students breakfast and lunch at school for free this year.
Lunch Menus Food Services will not be printing lunch menus to send to the schools. They will post on each schools website, as well on the District website. They are having a hard time getting anything on a consistent basis and cannot depend on suppliers to have what is needed. The food chain/Supply and Demand is ever flexing.
Click on the menu below to go to the district food service page for a close up of the montly menu.
2021-22 updated DISTRICT CALENDAR - click the calendar to go to the website for details
HOW DO I STAY CONNECTED?
Read our newest format of the school Newsletter via email, remind or on the school website!
Follow us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/mckinML
Follow us on our school website. https://mckinley.salkeiz.k12.or.us/
Download the free ParentSquare App on your phone. https://parentsquare.com
Check your email inbox. Update your email in Parent Vue if it's not accurate.
School hours: 7:50AM - 2:20PM (M,T,Th,F) 8:50AM - 2:20PM (Weds Only)
Doors open at 7:35AM
Office 7:30AM-3:50PM
Address: 466 McGilchrist St SE Salem OR 97302
Phone: 503-399-3167