Happy New Year MES Panther Family!

We are rolling right along after having a glorious two-week vacation over the Holidays. I hope that time was full of smiles, laughter, memory making and relationship building opportunities. Now it’s time to bring this year home as we work together to help our students experience success!

The second semester was kicked-off in grand fashion at the PTO’s annual new year Jammin’ In the Gym event. It was a great evening for our kids and families to have fun together. The games, music, staff challenges, and balloon drop were just a few of the highlights of the night. A HUGE thank you to our PTO for planning and facilitating this event. These volunteers are so impressive, but their focus is simply to give our MES families and students the best elementary school experience possible. It’s our pleasure to partner with these fine people. Thank you to all of you who brought your students that evening. You could’ve done a lot of other things, but I appreciate you making this a priority.

January is a very busy month at MES! We began the year with Jammin’ In the Gym and will end the month with our annual Snowed In family night January 30, from 5:30-7:15. This will be an evening for the whole family, with activities planned throughout the building from 5:30-7:00 focused on reading, math, art and science. The evening will come to an end in the gym as we gather in the gym to pick the winners of each of the raffle baskets! No show this year, just a quick wrap-up this time around. Speaking of that, thank you in advance for helping out with the raffle baskets if you’re able. All of the proceeds will go directly to the participating classrooms to be spent on instructional needs. We have raised an average of $3500 in past years, so thank you very much for your support! The kids benefit so greatly from your generosity!!

February will be here very soon, and there are two BIG events to keep on your calendar. The first event will be our Valentine’s Day parties on Friday, February 7. Morning Kindergarten will begin their party at 11:00 (parents can come to the classroom beginning at 10:40), and all other class parties will begin at 3:00 (parents can come to the classrooms beginning at 2:40). Thank you to all of you contributing to the fun that day!  The second MES event in February will be parent/teacher conferences February 12 and 13. You should hear from your students’ teachers in the near future regarding conference times. Thank you for making this important time a priority in your busy schedule. These conversations will set the course for the rest of the year, and we really do need to make this journey together in order to do what is best for our students.

 

It’s my pleasure to work with you for our students. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have. I can be reached at 722-8230 or kwhite@usd266.com. Have a fantastic rest of the month!

Kyle White, MES Principal

If you have an incoming Pre-K or Kindergarten student who will start school at Maize USD 266 in August 2020, please plan to attend our enrollment night, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 31 at  Maize High School , 11600 W. 45 St. N. in Maize.

 

For incoming Pre-K families:  Maize USD 266 is excited to offer Pre-K to all children who live within the Maize School District.

 

Our Pre-K sessions are at our  Maize Early Childhood Center  on Monday through Thursday and use Pre-K Reading and Literacy curriculum along with developmentally appropriate activities and are taught by licensed teachers. If your child meets at least one of our state's at-risk criteria, there is no fee for the program other than the curriculum fee. If you would like your child to attend and he/she does not meet a criteria, a monthly fee applies.

 

Spaces are limited! Enrollment is first come, first served.  Learn more by clicking here  or by calling 316-722-3105.

 

For incoming kindergarten families:  If you have an incoming Kindergarten student who will start school at Maize USD 266 in August 2020, please plan to attend the come-and-go enrollment night. Online pre-enrollment for Kindergarten will start Feb. 10 through March 30 and must be completed prior to arriving at the March 31 Kindergarten and Pre-K enrollment session. Please note that arriving early has no impact on your child's building assignment or class placement. 

 

For more information about kindergarten enrollment, please click here  or call the enrollment hotline at 316-350-2050

In the event of school being dismissed or canceled because of inclement weather, the district will send out an e-mail, phone notification, and -- for those who have opted to receive them -- a text message to the primary contact associated with both Family 1 and Family 2, if applicable, for each student. Those phone notifications will go out as early as 5:30 a.m. on the day of the closure. If a decision is made the night before to call off school, calls and texts will go out no later than 10:30 p.m.

It is wise to verify that we have your correct contact information on file. To do so,  please log on to Skyward Family Access  and click on "Student Info." If you are unsure how to log on to Skyward Family Access, please contact your child's school for assistance.

District officials will update the district's Web site ( www.usd266.com ),  official Twitter account (@maize266) , and  official Facebook page  as soon as the decision is made to call off school. We also will contact local media outlets about any closures. When in doubt, we encourage parents to verify school closings by consulting multiple official sources.



Similarly, in the event of an emergency in your child's school, the district will use the Blackboard Connect parent notification system to notify you of the situation and alert you to steps you need to take in order to reunite with your child. Communications would go to all contacts listed in Skyward Family Access "Family 1" and the main contact in "Family 2."

It’s Music Program time for our 4th and 5th Graders! The programs will be on January 28th at 6:00 pm and 7:15 pm at Maize South High School and will last about 30-45 minutes. The 4th and 5th grade students need to be at MSHS at 5:45 pm (for the 6 p.m. performance) and 7:00 pm (for the 7:15 p.m. performance) in the choir room to warm up with their class. 

Classes involved in the 6:00 pm Performance:

Winger, Wedman, Wilcoxson, Huntley

Classes involved in the 7:15 pm Performance:

Buchanan, Ramey, Harrison, Henderson

--We will not have these performances

professionally recorded for purchasing.---

**6:00 Performance Only - This performance has a special portion especially for the youngest members of the MES family! If you have an infant - 2 year old, there will be some audience participation for these little ones and, while supplies last, a small gift as well! The 4th and 5th graders are excited to share their music with them!

Thank you so much for your support, and we look forward to seeing you on January 28th!

Mark your calendars! This is a fun night full of lots of activities, and geared towards the whole family. If you signed up for the pizza dinner, that will begin at 5 p.m., and all other activities will begin at 5:30. Don't forget your raffle tickets!

From The Counselors…

Counselor lessons in January are about careers. Visit with your child about different jobs that you have had over the years. 

We are excited to see the kids back! Happy New Year! 

Becky Stephens and Andrea Nietfeld

MES Counselors

Our Yearbook volunteers are hard at work gathering pictures of events around Maize Elementary. If you have any pictures from events you've attended, that you'd like to submit for consideration, you can send them to anietfeld@usd266.com. Thank you!

Thank You and Please Keep Them Coming!

WatchDOG T-Shirts

We think we might be missing a few youth size WatchDOG shirts. If you have one that accidentally made it to your home, could you please return it back to the school as soon as possible. We know it's hard to remember sometimes at the end of the day!

Bus Riders

If there is a change in your bus transportation that involves riding a different bus with another child, a child riding home with your child, or getting off the bus at a different stop, we need a note from the parent of EACH child involved in the change. All parties must have a note. Have your child bring the note to the office, we'll get them signed by Mr. White or Mrs. Vincent and get them back to your kids to get to the bus driver. Thank you!

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