Marlin Messenger
ALL IN for ALL STUDENTS - August 10-14, 2020
Special Newsletter Communication
Weekly Newsletter
Parents and Guardians...Welcome!
We will continue to utilize this platform to communicate all of our Marshall happenings, especially over the the upcoming weeks as we navigate through the current Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
Message from Mr. Walker
Marshall Learning Community,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! These are very challenging times due to the pandemic but know, first and foremost, that you are always in our thoughts. As your campus leader, I am working to ensure that your child has the safest, most academically-enriching year they have ever experienced.
My philosophy is that ALL students can and will learn the required curriculum with the right conditions in place. Marshall takes great pride in creating an atmosphere where our staff is skilled, caring, and functions as a team. We are a team that loves to collaborate and implement the best learning experiences for ALL students. At Marshall, our staff loves what they do!
When I assumed the role of Marshall’s principal last year, I promptly reviewed all the data from the teacher and parent surveys in addition to the students’ achievements. One of my biggest concerns in the academic school year 2018-2019 was parents feeling that there were not enough extracurricular activities for the students. With this in mind, Marshall added more after school tutorials, Saturday tutorials, a computer club, and basketball teams (for boys and girls) just to name a few!
A few months ago, I was grateful to be part of the Marlin Spirit that was on display during the pandemic when school was closed from March through May. Our staff, students, and parents rallied during the At-Home Learning period to give Marshall Elementary the third highest engagement level of any campus in the district and the highest engaged campus in Zone 2.
My desire is for Marshall to be the best campus it can be. Our campus mission is to provide meaningful, engaging, and challenging educational experiences in an environmentally-friendly school setting. We must move Marshall to a minimum of a Texas Education Agency B-rated campus this year! (We could not be rated in 2019-2020 because the STAAR was cancelled). I am a firm believer in spending every single day moving toward any set goal until it is achieved!
Therefore, as we approach the 2020-2021 academic school year, with all of its challenges, please know that I am dedicated to the Marshall mission. As we commit to a student-centered learning environment, rest assured that I care about the success of each of your children just as much as my wife, Traci, and I care about the success of our thirteen-year-old son, Mike Jr., who is headed to the eighth grade.
As I enter my 25th year in public education, I strive daily to be a better leader and maintain my dedication towards achieving Marshall’s mission. So as we begin the new academic school year, I leave you with these words of encouragement as so eloquently stated by Jon Gordon in the book titled The Coffee Bean, “You will know that the power inside you is greater than the forces outside of you, and with this insight, you will transform your environment and world from the inside out.
The First Day of School is Monday, August 17
WE ARE MARSHALL! We are so excited to get this year started, even if it is remotely. Let's get ready for an exciting year of learning and growing. Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year and all of the opportunities it will give us!
Virtual Meet the Teacher!
Our virtual meet the teacher event is Friday, August 14. Teachers will be sending emails out soon to introduce themselves, invite you to the virtual meet, and greet and share about the start of the school year.
More details to come.
We can't wait to meet you!
Chromebook Distribution for Elementary School Students Scheduled for Week of Aug. 10-14
With students beginning the school year in remote learning, the district is working hard to make Chromebook computers available for checkout to all families who need them. Whether you select the Safety-First In-Person learning option or choose Empowered Learning At-Home for your child in the 2020-21 school year, these Chromebooks will help enable all students to manage their assignments and keep up with their schoolwork from home as needed.
Following distribution to high school students the week of Aug. 3, the district’s Technology department is coordinating distribution to our elementary and middle school families during the week of Aug. 10-14.
Chromebook distribution for the district’s elementary school students, meanwhile, will take place Thursday and Friday, Aug. 13 and 14. Elementary school parents will pick up Chromebooks for their students at designated middle school locations. The campus will communicate pickup location and times directly to families.
Pre-registration is highly encouraged, and will simplify the pickup process by allowing parents to enter their information online and to digitally sign all the necessary forms. Those who are unable to pre-register ahead of time will have the opportunity to do so on their smartphone while waiting in line in their vehicle at the pickup location. If needed, paper forms will also be available onsite for parents to fill out and sign.
After arriving at their designated Chromebook distribution site, parents should join the drive-thru line and remain in their cars with the windows rolled up until otherwise instructed by Spring ISD team members. Those who pre-registered should write their student’s ID number on a piece of paper and place it on the dashboard. Parents will show identification through the window when requested, after which the device will be placed in the vehicle’s trunk (if the trunk does not open, the Chromebook will be placed in the backseat).
To sign up online and register ahead of time, parents and guardians can visit the district’s Chromebook distribution pre-registration site.
Spring ISD Introduces a New Look for its mySpringISD Portal!
On Aug. 10, the mySpringISD portal will feature a new look for staff and families, where they can access all of their digital resources, including Schoology and the Home Access Center.
The new portal features a cleaner, more modern look and allows users to customize their folders and add their most frequently used sites to their profile. In addition, the single sign-on option gives parents, students and staff instant access to all their online resources from any device and any location. So parents, students and educators will have everything they need to learn from home.
“We’re excited about this change and creating a better experience for our families and staff,” said Technology Officer Jeffry Kohrmann. “It also gives us better tools and data to make sure we’re optimizing the portal for all of our users.”
To get started, log on to my.springisd.org, and sign in by using your current Spring ISD network login username and password.
If you forgot your log-in/username, please contact your campus or call the district’s help line at 281-891-6337.
Here are links to user guides:
Links to the Marshall Elementary Virtual Town Hall Meetings
On Tuesday, August 6, Marshall Elementary conducted a town hall meeting to discuss our reopening plans and protocol. Please click on the appropriate link below to view.
Spring ISD is committed to providing a quality education, as well as access to PVA, athletics, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) experiences, amid a COVID-19 environment for the 2020-21 school year.
Our goal is to be as prepared as possible to respond to the changing public health conditions that may impact our community during the 2020-21 school year. Specifically, we’ve been making plans based on scenarios, recognizing the need to be ready for different levels of contagion that might be present in the Houston area and in our community at any given time during the calendar year.
We also understand that every family has unique concerns, because of health or other circumstances, about returning to daily routines while coexisting with COVID-19. We are committed to supporting our Spring ISD families in making decisions that best fit their needs.
Pandemic Food Benefits Deadline Extended to August 21
The online application for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) has been extended to ensure eligible families have time to apply.
Families who may qualify for a one-time benefit of up to $285 issued on an EBT card will now have until Aug. 21, 2020 to complete and submit the application, available by clicking here. Once approved, a P-EBT card will be mailed to your household and families will have one year to use the benefits, which are non-transferrable.
The P-EBT benefit was approved by the United States Department of Agriculture to help eligible families buy food for their students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The EBT card can be used like a debit card to buy food from any retailer that accepts the Texas Lone Star Card.
To date, close to $700 million in P-EBT has been issued to Texas families, benefiting over 2.5 million children.
If any of the following circumstances apply to your children, they may be eligible:
Children who received SNAP food stamp benefits for March 2020.
Children who are approved for free or reduced-price meals during the 2019-20 school year.
Children who attend a school that offers free meals to all students.
If your family meets one of the above requirements, here are next steps:
Families who received SNAP benefits in the month of March 2020 for children ages 5 - 18 will automatically receive the P-EBT benefit on their EBT card. You do not need to apply.
Qualifying families that must apply online:
If you have children under the age of 5 or children between the ages of 19 and 21, who received SNAP benefits in March, you must apply online for P-EBT.
If you have children up to 21 years old who received free or reduced meals at school based on the approval of a free/reduced meal application, you must apply online for P-EBT.
A P-EBT call center can be reached at 833-613-6220 to assist families in completing their application. For more information, please visit hhs.texas.gov/PEBT.
Deadline to Complete Annual Student Update Extended to August 31
Parents and guardians of returning students now have more time to complete the Annual Student Update.
In recognition that many families have had difficulties logging into the mySpringISD portal and Home Access Center, the district has extended the deadline to complete that process until Aug. 31. Please know that returning students will receive their schedules as well as any other important updates and information to start the school year on Aug. 17, even if the online update is not completed yet. However, it is vital to complete the updates so that we can communicate important information throughout the school year. We also use the information provided to ensure our campus has the resources needed to provide quality instruction.
The goal is to continue to add more staff to assist parents and guardians who need assistance. Questions can be directed to the district’s helpline at 281-891-6337.
Happy Birthday to the following Marlins!
Daniel Carranza
Jimmy Chano
Henry Quintero
August 2
Akyah Holmes
Khloe Lamford
Djoser Lowery
Ashley Reyes
Leah Rodriguez
August 3
Karen Garcia
Izzac Izaguirre
Jairo Hechavarria
August 4
Brayden De Chiro
August 5
Adonijah Brown
Jayda Gonzalez
Baltazar Nunez
August 6
Noe Garcia
Kendall Scales
August 8
Isabella Paredes
Zayden Tavenier
August 9
Arya Krivosik
Lathan Sweatt
August 10
Eden Rodriguez
Gabriel Tchokouaha Ngako
August 11
Joshua Coward
Jamauri Sessum Hayes
August 12
Aylin Becerra
Rehan Stevenson
August 14
Valentina Diaz
Kim Vu
August 15
Elijah Ayala
Jaylin Casey
Staff Birthdays
Anitra Jenkins (August 5)
Carol Schraw (August 5)
Ashley Jackson (August 9)
Gloria Marshall Elementary School
Email: mwalke5@springisd.org
Website: https://www.springisd.org/marshall2
Location: 24505 Birnamwood Drive, Spring, TX, USA
Phone: (281) 891-4900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gloria-Marshall-Elementary-School/189737724404937
Twitter: @MarshallES_SISD