Midway Mustang Memo
August 2021
Mustang Families
Dear Parents,
Welcome back Midway Families! It has been an amazing first seven days of school. Our students and teachers have been reconnecting. Everyone is so happy to be back in the building together for this new school year. We want to extend a big thank you to our PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) for helping to celebrate our teachers as they returned in July. In addition, we want to thank PTO for sponsoring our Ice Cream Social and taking part in our Kindergarten Round up & Open House Days. If you have not joined Midway’s PTO, please consider doing so as they provide support and improvements for our entire Midway Elementary community. For more information about the PTO, please see their website linked here.
This year, we have made some adjustments to our carline and change of transportation procedures in an effort to improve these processes. As you know, we experience a high volume of traffic during arrival and dismissal. Safety is a top priority for our students and families. Your partnership is critical to ensure the success of our processes.
Please see the following new carline procedures below:
· We have added 12 coned stations to unload and load students using our entire front sidewalk.
· There is now a Right Turn only onto Hwy 9 out of our parking lot during arrival and dismissal in an effort to keep the flow of traffic moving.
· Students will enter and exit their cars from the right side.
· We ask all parents to remain in their cars during carline. Please do not park and walk across Hwy 9. This is for your safety and the safety of your child.
· We ask that cars delay arriving at school for dismissal until 2:40 p.m. each day. The traffic back up on Hwy 9 could create a safety concern for First Responders getting to emergencies in a timely manner.
Please see the following new transportation change request below:
When you need to make a change to your child's transportation for the day, we ask that you complete the Transportation Change form linked here. This form is also posted on the Midway webpage in the Quick Links section. The form closes each at 1:00 pm so teachers can update their Transportation Checklist. The form is reopened each evening at 4:00pm for you to make needed updates. For the safety of your child, we no longer accept handwritten notes, emails, and phones calls. Thank you for your understanding as we transition to this new format.
The health of our students is of the utmost importance. Regarding COVID-19, we follow the guidelines provided by our district and the Department of Public Health. For more information on district guidelines, please see the link. For additional CDC information, please click here. If you have any questions at all, you are welcome to reach out to our Admin Team at any time. Due to the August 9th mitigation strategy updates sent out by our district, Midway will be holding a virtual Curriculum Night. The teachers will be recording their information via our Microsoft Teams platform. The Curriculum Night recordings will be posted on our teachers’ itsLearning pages for parents to access beginning on Tuesday, August 31st. Our teachers will be sharing more information with you very soon.
We appreciate your partnership as we make these adjustments to better serve you and our Midway community.
Kind regards,
Daphne Rogers, Principal
Jennifer Brown, Assistant Principal
Tennille Walsh, Assistant Principal
Important Dates
August 30th: Picture Day
August 31-Curriculum Night (Virtual Recording Posted on Classroom Teacher itsLearning page)
September 3rd-Early Release
September 6th-No School
September 20-24-Fall Break/No School
USB Headphones
This type of headphones will break off in Chromebooks
USB Headphone adapter
USB Headphones
Parent Portal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Many parents/guardians have signed the beginning of year forms in Parent Portal, and we thank you! If you have not signed these forms, please log into your Parent Portal account, and sign the needed forms because the deadline is Sunday, August 15 . For instructions on how to electronically sign the forms, click here. If the forms are not signed on Parent Portal by Sunday, schools will have to send home paper forms to be completed. Only 1 parent needs to sign for each student. Should you have questions, please contact your base school.
Thank you!
FCS
Counselor's Corner
Counselor’s Corner
Welcome. We are so excited for this school year. Your school counselors this year are Dr. Jennifer Collins (3rd-5th) and Mrs. Stacy Hodges (Kdg.-2nd). We will also have a school counselor intern beginning the end of the month, Ms. Madison Narvil. Be sure to check out our school website and our itsLearning page for more information about who we are and what we do. More information will come home in the coming weeks telling you more about our program, services, and roles here at Midway as well. We are currently going into all of our classrooms to do our introductory lessons.
As our students start the new year, routine is key. Here are some tips to help your student adjust and prepare.
- Set a consistent routine at home.
- Children need 8-11 hours of sleep each night. This gives their brain a chance to recharge and grow.
- If mornings are rough, pick out clothes and pack bookbags the night before.
- Eat a healthy breakfast either at school or home. Remember breakfast and lunch are free this year.
- Take time to play or be together as a family.
Social and emotional well-being are also essential to learning. Children learn from others around them. Some easy ways to promote growth include:
- Help your child label their emotions.
- Set small goals as a family to help them learn to the process of attaining a goal for themselves.
- Teach your child how to give and receive compliments.
- Make lists of pros and cons with your child when planning.
- Model how to get the help you need.
- Discuss “the why” behind a decision with your child. This teaches then about morals and ethics within your family.
We look forward to working with you all this year. Please feel free to reach out to us with questions or concerns.
Dr. Collins and Mrs. Hodges
Leader in Me
Leader in Me unites student, staff, and families around a common goal to prepare students with college, career, and life readiness skills that are necessary to thrive in today's ever-changing, fast-paced environment, like. Critical Thinking; Creativity; Self Discipline; Vision; Initiative; Communication; Relationship Building; Goal Achievement; Public Speaking. Ask your student is they are learning about the 7 Habits to become strong in mind, body, and spirit.
News from Nurse Berry
It is so nice seeing the little faces in the hallways again. I wanted to go over a few reminders from the clinic. If your child is wearing a mask, please send extras since we have a very limited supply of mask.
Please make sure your phone number is up to date in parent portal in case I need to call home for illness or emergencies.
If your student has a health condition needing the school to be notified, please let your teacher / myself know. For County Health forms you can find them on my school web page.
We know it is difficult to make those early morning decisions. Please use this to help when you are making the decision to stay home or not.
The main reasons for keeping your child at home are as follows:
- If he/she is too sick to be comfortable at school
- If he/she will spread a contagious illness/disease to another child
A child should stay at home:
- If there has been any fever in the last 24 hours.
- If vomiting and /or diarrhea has occurred within the last 24 hours
- If a child has a frequent, persistent cough.
- If a child has persistent pain (stomach, ear, etc.)
- If an antibiotic was prescribed, the student must be on the antibiotic for 24 hours or longer if directed by a physician before returning to school.
- If COVID, influenza, staph infection, communicable childhood disease , illness or organism has been medically diagnosed by a physician, please alert your student's teacher.
Reminder: A student must be fever, vomit, diarrhea free for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of medication before returning to school.
Please remember things are always changing with the guidance with COVID 19. Please always reach out to me with all questions and concerns.
Keri Berry, LPN
News from Midway PTO
Greetings Midway Students and Families-
PTO is the Parent Teacher Organization made of families and the entire staff of Midway Elementary School. The goal of PTO is to create a sense of community within the walls of Midway Elementary School by working together to accomplish common goals.
Please consider joining your Midway PTO if you haven’t done so already, and a big THANK YOU to all those who have joined already! We are also seeking to grow our PTO Board and Committee Chairs. To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit midwaypto.org. If you are interested in learning more, please send us an email at MidwaySchoolPTO@gmail.com.
Our Membership Drive is in full swing to raise funds for things such as sun shade, teacher grants, outdoor picnic tables, bench seating, etc. Please consider donating, even if it is a small amount, there is power in numbers! You can also provide your support by purchasing Midway merchandise.
Spirit Wear - We have had new Midway shirts made so our children can show their Midway spirit! Please visit our website to order yours today!
Upcoming Events:
Read-a-Thon - October 11th - 22nd
Fall Festival - November 6th
Spirit Nights & other events- visit our Facebook page for upcoming dates
Thank you for your continued support!
From the Midway Café
Greetings from the cafe.
At this time parents can't bring treats for birthdays we will be glad to do ice cream and cookies for you to pre-order. Teachers will have the form to order. Orders have to be in a week in advance, also money will need to be added by MyPaymentPlus!
Julie Williams
Cafe Manager
Technology Information
Parents have an important role in online safely as well. At Forsyth County Schools, we value the rich learning experiences that technology brings to our classrooms. We believe that our students must be taught how to use online resources responsibly. With parents and guardians as our partners, we can help our students to gain skills, understanding, and mind-sets that will enable them to be responsible and safe in digital environments. Please follow this link for more information on how Forsyth County and parents can help their students stay safe in a digital world.
Use your students' user name and password information when logging on to Itslearning.
Please contact Jennifer Lundstrum if you have any other questions.
MyFCS CLASSLINK
MyOn
Dreambox
REMIND
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Midway Elementary
School Handbook
Midway Elementary School
Email: jlundstrum@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Website: www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/midway
Location: 4805 Atlanta Highway, Alpharetta, GA, United States
Phone: 770-475-6670
Facebook: facebook.com/midwayes
Twitter: @MidwayES
Forsyth County Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or gender in employment decisions or educational programs and activities.