In This Issue
Important Dates

February 6 2nd Grade Music Program @ MHS, 6:30 pm

February 6 3rd Grade Music Program @ MHS, 7:30 pm

February 7 Breakfast With Dad (K-2), 7:45-8:30 am

February 8 Breakfast With Dad (3-5), 7:45-8:30 am

February 15 K-12 P/T Conferences
4-8 pm

February 16 No School K-12
P/T Conferences
12-8 pm

February 17 No School K-12
Conference Comp
Day

February 28 1st Grade Music Program @ MHS, 6:30 pm

March 10 End of 3rd Quarter

March 20-24 No School K-12
Spring Break

March 27 School Resumes
Please be aware that school district policy does not allow us to accept flowers or other deliveries to students at school.  Please contact your student's teacher to arrange a time to celebrate a special occasion with treats, etc. 

BOE policy does not allow party invitations to be distributed at school.  Please refer to the Skyward Family Access Student Directory or your classroom directory for student addresses. 

Lost items will be placed in the lost and found located outside the main office.


Feel free to join your student for lunch, all we ask of you is to notify the front office or your child's teacher of the day you are coming.  Lunches are $3.60 for adults; please bring exact change as adult lunches cannot be taken from your child's account.

 

Student lunch accounts can be paid online through Skyward Family Access. Daily lunches are $2.45 each and extra milk is .40 cents. Lunch menus can be found online at usd266.com.

Skyward now has a mobile app!  Users can obtain the free application in the Google Play Store or in the Apple App Store.


 

Maize Elementary News

February 6, 2017

Volume 34, Issue 6     

305 W. Jones

Maize, KS 67101

316-722-8230


A Note from the Principal...    

Hello all.  We had a fantastic January and are expecting big things for February as well.  I hope Snowed In was a positive experience for you and your family.  We don't have an official count, but it was extremely well-attended and I saw a lot of smiles that night.  Thank you for being part of such a fun night for our school family.  The raffle was an enormous success, raising nearly $2000 for classrooms that participated in putting baskets/items together.  We are so blessed by the generosity and kindness of our MES parents!!  You truly are amazing people who also happen to have amazing kids.

February is going to be a busy month at MES

Our second and third grade music programs are tonight (Monday) at Maize High School.  Luty, Gottschalk, McDowell and Wedman's classes are performing at 6:30.  We will then wrap the night up with O'Grady, Farrell, Williamson and Peters' classes at 7:45.  The kids have been putting a lot of practice time in to their programs, and I am absolutely confident you will enjoy the fruits of their labor tonight.   Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Straight have asked students to come 15 minutes early to make sure everyone is ready to perform.  I do apologize for the late start for the second performance, but we had very few options on the calendar for use of the MHS auditorium.  See you tonight!

We are excited to have Breakfast With Dads (as well as uncles, brothers, grandpas, family friends, etc.) this Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:45-8:35 on a come and go basis.  Due to limited space in our cafeteria, we have split the grade levels between the two days.  Tuesday is Kindergarten through second grade, and Wednesday is for third grade through fifth grade.  Although we have split the grade levels up we understand if you need to come on a different day than you're assigned to.  Parents and guests will need to pay as you go with either cash or check, but each student needs to scan their bar-code card to access their lunch account.  Students who finish prior to 8:35 will go to the gym to watch a movie.  We do ask that parents and students do not go to classrooms prior to 8:35 simply out of courtesy to our teachers who will be preparing for the day's activities.  Thank you.

Thursday night is our PTO sponsored MES Skate Night at Carousel Skate.  MES has the place to ourselves, so come on out and enjoy the fun.  Admission is $6 per person.  The PTO receives $1 each for the first 50 skaters, and then they receive $3 back for every skater after 50.  Thank you for making this part of your Thursday night plans.

Valentine's Day parties are THIS FRIDAY!  These are my favorite parties of the year because of all the positive feelings valentine cards generate in our students.   Morning Kindergarten parents can begin preparations at 10:30 and the party begins at 10:45.  All other parties begin at 3:00, so parents are welcome to head down to classrooms at 2:45.  THANK YOU for helping our students enjoy Valentine's Day celebrations.

Parent Teacher conferences are next Wednesday and Thursday, February 15-16.  Please contact your student's teacher if you are unsure of your scheduled time.  Parent and teacher communication is a vitally important part of your child's education, so thank you for partnering with us to make sure you stay informed and up to date on your student's progress at school.

As you can see, there are going to be a lot of opportunities to get involved at MES.  It is important to us that you always feel welcome here!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO REMEMBER
Our school day starts at 8:45 am every day.  Students who arrive after 8:50 am will be counted tardy.  Students are allowed to enter the building at 8:35 am.  If you need to drop your student off before this time, the YMCA has a latchkey program at MES.  For more information please call the YMCA at 316-264-1610. 

The district dismisses students 40 minutes early every Wednesday to accommodate the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).  The teachers participate in the PLC to discuss curriculum, instructional strategies, data review, technology training, etc.  School is dismissed at 3:20 pm every Wednesday.  Morning Kindergarten is dismissed at 11:35 am and afternoon Kindergarten begins at 12:40 pm every Wednesday.

Please call the office at 316-722-8230 if your child is going to be absent or if you have a transportation change.  For student safety, please let the office know of a transportation change before 3:30 pm and 3:00 pm on Wednesdays.

If your student is riding a different bus home with a friend, a note is required from both sets of parents.  These can be given to the office for Mr. White to sign and can then be given to the bus driver.  
DON'T FORGET LUNCH MONEY!
USD 266 uses the Skyward Food Service and RevTrak fee payment systems. Please check your email and phone numbers in Skyward, so you may be alerted when your child only has 2 lunches left. Parents receive an email when your child has $5.00 left in their account. Parents receive a 2nd email after your child has 1 lunch left. When your child doesn't have any money into the account-we have your child go to the office and call you. Please put money into the account that day. You will also receive a 3rd email when your child has a zero balance.

Please check with your child if they are eating breakfast at school or getting a 2nd milk-the charges add up quickly. If you have more than one child, please check both lunch accounts. We are not allowed to go into one child's account to pay for a sibling.

Parents may keep as large a balance as they wish in a child's account (for example: $5.00, $10.00, $15.00 or more). If the student doesn't have enough in his/her lunch account to cover a meal, the account will be charged for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk if the student chooses to take one. No meal charges will be allowed. 
If you have any questions regarding Skyward and the RevTrak system, please call our school office. We want every child to have a good lunch, every day!
LIBRARY NEWS

December Million Minutes added up to 120,930! We are now up to 538,867minutes! We are charting each grade and the second grade class took over lead with 103,505 total minutes! Keep recording outside-the-school day reading so we can make our goal of 1,500,000 minutes


Thank you for all your support of the Maize Elementary Library! We had a great turn out for the MES Library Fundraiser. Thanks to you! We hope to have our new books ordered as soon as possible!
BOOK FAIR
MES  Book Fair

Wed., Feb. 15th - 4:00 pm to 7:45 pm
Thurs., Feb. 16th - 12:00 pm to 7:45 pm


At the Book Fair you will:

* Find selections from Pre-school through adult.
* Be able to support your child's classroom by                                  purchasing teacher books.
* Enter your name in the Book Fair gift certificate drawing.
* Support MES - All the money raised from the Book Fair                goes back to MES!
HUDDLE UP
FROM THE NURSE

Children's Dental Health Month

February is Children's Dental Health Month. This is an ideal time to work toward a common goal: Stop Tooth Decay Before It Starts! Dental disease is the number one chronic health condition in children. The pain from dental disease interferes with talking, eating, and learning. Click here to have fun with your children learning about prevention of tooth decay.


FEBRUARY IS AMERICAN HEART MONTH REMINDING US THAT INFLUENZA VACCINE IS SAFE AND IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE WITH HEART DISEASE

People with heart disease are part of a group with chronic health conditions vulnerable to complications from seasonal influenza. Unfortunately some individuals both with and without health issues are more concerned about perceived vaccine safety issues. They do not need to be. The seasonal influenza vaccine is very safe. You can still get a vaccine and be protected for the rest of the influenza season. See vaccine safety resources for more information.


The Heart Truth®: A Program of the National Institute of Health

When you hear the term "heart disease," you may think, "That's a man's disease" or "Not my problem." But here is The Heart Truth®: one in 4 women in the United States dies of heart disease, while one in 30 dies of breast cancer. If you've got a heart, heart disease could be your problem. Learn more about Heart Disease.

 FROM THE COUNSELOR

From The Counselor...

The counselor lessons in February will be about honesty and dealing with stress. Honesty at school means doing your own work and asking your teacher for help if you need it.

State Assessment Dates!
April 3-6 - 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade English Language Arts (ELA)
April 10th & 11th - 5th Grade Science Assessment
April 17-20 - 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade Math Assessment

Please schedule appointments around these dates if at all possible, so your child can take the assessments with their class and teacher.  Your child's classroom teacher will also be giving you information regarding the assessment dates and times. 

Stop by during conferences and say hello! If you need to schedule a time with me, please feel free to email or call.

Becky Stephens
MES Counselor
 
 
BREAKFAST WITH DAD
Donuts

Breakfast With Dad

Tuesday, Feb. 7th - 7:45 am to 8:30 am (K-2nd)

Wednesday, Feb. 8th - 7:45 am to 8:30 am (3rd-5th)

Menu:
Chocolate or white powdered donuts,apple,milk,coffee

Cost is $1.80 per breakfast.  Students may charge to their account.  Adults and other guests please pay with cash.
BOX TOPS

Please bring your Box Tops to school!  Our 2nd semester deadline is February 24th.   
DILLONS COMMUNITY REWARDS


Dillons is committed to helping our communities grow and prosper. Year after year, local schools, churches and other nonprofit organizations will earn millions of dollars through Dillons Community Rewards. Now you can link your Dillons shopper card to Maize Elementary and help us earn funds!  Click here to learn more!  When registering be sure to use our organization number 12736.  Thank you for your support!

 

Maize WayThe Character Trait for February is:
Honesty
Speaking the truth...keeping your promises...being trustworthy and reliable...being sincere in both actions and words...doing what you know is right.