Midland Messenger
September 7-10, 2021
Midland Elementary
Email: midland@fpschools.org
Website: http://midland.fpschools.org/
Location: Midland Elementary School, 105th Street East, Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone: 253-298-4500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Midland-Elementary-Mustangs-112865059416899/?ref=settings
Dear Midland Families,
Thank you for a great first week of school! While we did have a few transportation bobbles on the first day, everything smoothed out beautifully by day 2. My deep appreciation goes to those families who were affected.
As we go through the year, it will be important for you to know how to get information.
Communication...how do families know what is happening at Midland?
- The Midland Messenger is our newsletter that goes home weekly. This bulletin is designed to be a quick look at what's coming up, with some short articles of information. It goes home through SMORE to your email.
- The Sunday Night phone call from me. I hope you find it helpful about what's happening for the week each Sunday evening.
- Our school website can be accessed through midland.fpschools.org. Our website is updated regularly with important dates and information.
- Classroom emails and information come from your child's teacher. If you ever have a question about that, you are welcome to email the teacher directly!
- Like us on Facebook at Midland Elementary Mustangs for news and information almost daily!
I welcome your communication. Please call or email me to share your celebrations or concerns at (253)298-4501 or pdawson@fpschools.org
It's great to be a MUSTANG!
~Dr. Paula Dawson
Important Dates to Remember:
September 7 ~ 1st full day for Kindergarten
September 10 ~ TEAM dress up day!
September 15 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
September 22 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
September 29 ~ 1:55 Dismissal
**For additional future scheduled activities, please check out our Midland calendar at https://midland.fpschools.org/**
TEAM Dress Up Day!
Safety First!
The streets around Midland will be extremely busy at arrival and dismissal times. We have endeavored to create areas that are safe and efficient for these purposes. Please help keep our students safe by following these procedures.
Arrival Time: Students should not be dropped off prior to 8:40
• When dropping students off, enter the main gate at the front of the school.
Swing left and drop your children off in the designated crossed lines area. Do not block passage lanes in center of parking lot, or our crosswalk.
Exit through the second gate.
• Please do not travel on 24th Avenue or drop children off in the bus crescent. We are keeping cars and buses separate.
Dismissal Time: Children being picked up will be gathered at the east end of the pick-up area.
• Enter the parking lot and swing left into the designated lined area to pick up your child(ren). Do not block passage lanes in center of parking lot, or our crosswalk.
• Please keep the pick-up area at the crossed lines moving.
· Please do not pick up children in the bus crescent.
• Children who walk home will cross the street at the crosswalk.
Thank you for cooperating in our efforts to keep our students safe.
Bus Procedures
If you wish your child to ride a bus other than the one he/she regularly rides, or to get off at a different bus stop, you must send a note to inform us of the change. This same procedure must be followed if you want your child to walk home rather than ride the bus. Without a note we will not allow students to deviate from their normal mode of transportation home. Detailed bus information is now on line at http://www.fpschools.org/elinkrp/, guest as username and guest as your password.
Bike Riding
Students in grades 3 through 5 may ride their bikes to school if their parents permit it. Bike riding is a privilege that can be revoked if the following rules are not followed:
Parents need to write a note to the teacher/office allowing their student to ride a bike.
• Bike riders must wear a properly fitted helmet. (This rule meets the requirement of Pierce County law).
• Ride safely (ride on the right side of the road, ride single file only, only one child on a bike, etc…)
• Bikes must be walked on school property.
• Bikes must be locked in the designated area.
Once again, it is your decision to allow your child to ride his/her bike to school. Please discuss these rules at home.
Build the Habit of Good Attendance!
Attending school regularly helps students feel better about school- and themselves. Starting in kindergarten, missing too much school can cause students to fall behind. Students should not miss more than 9 days in a school year, and most Midland students meet this important goal. There are new district policies for school attendance, and we will be monitoring attendance closely. Regular attendance is critical for school success, but it is also the law! We want to partner with you to make sure your student is at school and benefiting from important instruction. Communication is key! Please let us know how we can help. We miss your child when they are gone!
We recognize in this time of the COVID pandemic that there may be times when your child should quarantine due to their illness or the illness of someone in their family. It is a delicate balance between having good attendance and not sending children to school when they are sick. We will work with families to provide schoolwork when children are absent due to COVID related illness or quarantine requirements.
Report Student Absences
It is important that we hear from you when your student is absent. Please make sure you contact Midland to let us know the reason for the absence. You may report your child’s absence online at our district’s website. Go to www.fpschools.org, click on Schools, click on Midland, click on Report Students Absences and click on the icon. It will bring up an email window. You may also call our office at 253 298-4500.
Medication at School
The health room is staffed daily with a LPN to provide first aid to students who become ill or injured at school, and to give medications prescribed by state approved medical providers. Our goal is to keep healthy children learning in the classroom, and to get ill children home.
State law allows for students to be administered oral medications at school (including inhalers), ear drops, eye drops, and/or to apply ointments with doctor’s order only. All medications, even over-the-counter products such as pain relievers and cough drops, require an appropriate order from an approved medical provider. We must have a new medication order each school year. Please do not send medication with your child, as it is illegal for them to carry it on school grounds. Do not hesitate to contact our school nurse, Patti Thomas, at 298-4508 if you have questions or desire further information.
Kids at Hope at Midland!
At Midland, we utilize the Kids at Hope framework! We believe:
· Children succeed when they are surrounded by adults who believe they can succeed.
· Children succeed when they have meaningful, sustainable relationships with caring adults.
· Children succeed when they can articulate their future.
We say the Kids at Hope pledge daily, so ask your child to say it for you!
School Dress Code
School Board Policy 5200 (Section 11.9- Student Dress & Appearance) requires students “to observe modesty, appropriateness, and neatness in clothing and personal appearance.” Students are not appropriately dressed if their appearance causes a disruptive influence either to themselves or to others. Students are not allowed to wear clothing or other items that are lewd, profane, or that advertise alcohol, tobacco and/or illegal drugs.
· Hats and caps will be worn outside ONLY. While shorts are OK to wear (hem must extend beyond fingertips when arms hanging at their side) and may be practical on hot days, “short-shorts”, shirts exposing bare stomachs, halter tops, tank tops with spaghetti straps, sagging pants, disconnected straps on overalls, bandannas, and scarves are examples of clothing that are not appropriate.
· If clothing is not consistent with school dress, the student will be sent to the health room for change of clothes or a call home.
Family Access: Find your teacher and update your information
In Family Access, you can also see who your child's teacher will be for the 2021-22 school year.
We ask that a primary guardian log into Family Access and complete the Annual Student Information Update for your student. Please use this link to log into Skyward Family Access:
https://www2.franklinpierce.wa-k12.net/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wfrankls71/seplog01.w
If you need help gaining access to a computer, try the Pierce County Library, visit your school, or come to the district office.
2021-22 Midland Daily Schedule
8:50 First bell, students are in class
8:55 Tardy bell, school begins
11:30-12:20 Kindergarten Lunch/Recess
11:30-12:20 1st Grade Lunch/Recess
11:55-12:45 2nd Grade Lunch/Recess
12:20-1:10 3rd Grade Lunch/Recess
12:20-1:10 4th Grade Lunch/Recess
11:55-12:45 5th Grade Lunch/Recess
3:25 Dismissal
*MOST Wednesdays will be a 1:55 dismissal*
(PLEASE check the calendar for specific dates)
Healthy and Safe practices at Midland
Just a reminder of the things that we'd like you to consider before sending your child to school each day:
- A temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above?
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Chills
- Repeated shaking with chills
- Muscle pain
- Headache
- Sore throat
- New loss of taste or smell
These are some safety precautions we will be practicing at Midland:
- Students will be required to wear a mask on the bus, in the halls, in class, and at recess.
- Students will wash hands and use hand sanitizer throughout the day.
- Students will sit 3 feet apart in the classroom, and 6 feet apart during breakfast & lunch.
If your child has been exposed to COVID, or if they are showing symptoms of illness, you may not send them to school until they have been quarantined and symptom free for 14 days. Teachers will provide work for students during this time. We are counting on everyone to keep Midland safe for all students and staff. Thank you!
Franklin Pierce Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.
Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to James Hester, Compliance Coordinator for State and Civil Rights Laws; Wendy Malich, Title IX Officer; or John Sander, 504/ADA Coordinator at 315 129th ST S, Tacoma, WA 98444-5099 or at (253)298-3000.