The Miller Minute
We #cando & #willdo our personal best to inspire excellence!
March 21
Welcome Back (At-Home Learning) Letter
Welcome back!
We are excited to start teaching again! While our teaching and learning will look different, we are confident your child will receive quality instruction and learning opportunities while we are participating in at-home learning.
Teachers will be reaching out to you by Monday, March 23 with online classroom learning expectations as well as any necessary information you and your child may need to access lessons and online learning portals. At-home learning is flexible. Students may complete work at any time during the day / week and do not have to complete work during the normal school day. We understand that we are all adjusting to this new normal. The district has established a parent portal at www.misd.gs/at-home-learning which contains resources and information about virtual learning.
We want to assure you and your family that our focus at this time is creating a flexible online learning environment and reconnecting with students. We recognize our students are presented with several challenges including being isolated in their homes, from friends and more importantly from their teacher and classmates. With this focus, we want to help reduce stressors for our students and parents. During these next two weeks, showing learner growth is our priority rather than the grade itself. Therefore, we are making adjustments to our grade reporting timeline by extending the March 27th deadline for this grading period. The new deadline for the third elementary grading period will be decided during the week of April 3rd. We encourage you to continue checking, monitoring, tracking progress and evidence of learning for your child each school day.
All students who receive special education, dyslexia, ESL, 504 accommodations or any other additional support will continue to receive services from our special education teachers and paras as well as our dyslexia and ESL teachers. Services may look different during this time but they will still continue for these students.
As a reminder, school issued devices should only be used for instructional purposes. Because students will be online more frequently throughout this process, we are asking our parents to partner with us and closely monitor student’s online activity.
If you need technical or instructional assistance, call our parent support hotline at 469-300-4849. This will open a ticket in our support system and get you to an MISD support representative. Our support team is available 7:30 a.m-5 pm Monday through Friday. After 5 p.m. or during the weekend, you may leave a voice message and an MISD support representative will contact you the next workday.
If your child does not have access to the internet, we will provide a paper packet for continued learning. Please email your child’s teacher as soon as possible to let them know this is a need for your child.
If you are in need of support from the school counselor, please contact her via email at amy.boyd@misd.gs. Her office hours are from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. She will respond via email or set up a google hangout with you or your student. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your understanding as we navigate these unchartered waters. Please email me at shannon_west@misd.gs if you have any questions or need clarifying information.
Sincerely,
Shannon West
Principal
First Day of School Pics!
Tell a Joke Thursday
Now More Than Ever!
My number 1 priority is to make sure our LME families are okay. I know many of you are uncertain about your jobs. Grocery store shelves are bare, and you are adjusting to our new normal. Some of you have created spaces for your child(ren) to learn and are figuring out how you are going to manage it all. All week, I have told our teachers to do the best they can with what they can, and that is all we are asking of you. We do not expect your child(ren) to do school from 7:30 - 3:00 every day nor should you. Flexibility is going to be key in this transition. Provide learning opportunities for your students in a time that is convenient for your family. Teachers will be available to support your child(ren) throughout this process and will provide the learning tools needed. We will get through this together. Please reach out to me at shannon_west@misd.gs if you need anything.
If you aren't connected to Facebook, then I encourage you to get connected. Midlothian ISD is hosting Facebook Live Events with pertinent updates. Our Miller PTO page is awesome and providing challenges for families, and our school Facebook page will post things throughout the week to help us stay connected while we are at home. For example, Mrs. Wendel hosted a Would You Rather with Wendel on Wednesdays last week. I hear some story read alouds, instant challenges (family style), and more are headed your way! Connect with us!
We are keeping our Staff and Student Shout-Out Surveys open. I encourage you all to fill it out when your teacher or child does something incredible. Let's share our successes and proud moments!
Staff Shout-Outs
Student Shout-Outs
Events
Field trips scheduled past April 3 have not been cancelled. Obviously, this situation is fluid, so decisions will be made according to district recommendations. More information will be given, as applicable.
Miller PTO Spring Fundraiser - POSTPONED
Save the Date
Event Calendar (Tentative)
LaRue Miller Elementary
Website: www.misd.gs/Miller
Location: 2800 Sudith Lane, Midlothian, TX, USA
Phone: 469-865-6500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LMillerES/?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @LMiller_Elem