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CONNECTING.
LEARNING.
LEADING.
Maize Elementary School
November 2020
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Hello Maize Elementary Panther Families!
What a strange set of circumstances we find ourselves in. So strange, but our school community is working together to do everything we can to keep our kids moving forward in our remote learning activities. We would all prefer to conduct school as usual, but student and staff safety is our top priority. The circumstances surrounding high positive COVID-19 rates in our community have brought us to the point that we cannot sustain staffing needed to perform the many duties required to safely have students on-site. However, our love for MES students and our passion for their success continues to drive our efforts even online.
With remote Wednesdays and now in our remote learning program, you’ve probably experienced your student participating in a Zoom video conference with their teacher. I want to emphasize how critical it is that kids continue to connect with their classroom teacher and classmates throughout our time away from traditional learning. Research has shown there is a positive impact from students staying connected with their teacher and friends in the midst of such upheaval around them, so thank you for working with staff and making those meetings an absolute priority for our kids. Please reach out to your student’s classroom teacher if you have any questions or concerns because we want to partner with you to give your student the best chance to succeed and to continue developing their skills.
In this time of Thanksgiving, I want to step back and see what the MES family has to be thankful for. I’m so thankful for our fantastic staff at MES and all the efforts they are making to do all they can to give our students the best remote learning experience they can. They have spent countless hours preparing for this, and I want to personally thank them for their service to our students. I am also very thankful for our amazing parents at home who are working overtime to make sure their kids stay connected with remote learning. I know it is incredibly challenging to find a balance of any sort during this time, but I want to encourage you to keep grinding with us. This is all so new, and I am confident everything will begin to smooth out in the days to come. Lastly, I am so proud of and thankful for our students. They have all been through so much, and don’t often have the coping skills that adults have worked their entire lives to develop. I think we often lose site of the fact that there is a lot of fear and uncertainty our students feel without really showing it. Just remember to talk to them and encourage them to share their feelings with you. Also remember they look to the adults in their lives to see how they should react or feel, so do your best to remain positive for their sake.
The future is somewhat unsure and our district leaders are in a constant state of monitoring data in order to make the best decisions for our students. Our Board of Education will likely meet this Monday evening to discuss remote learning and what our district’s next steps will be. You can view the meeting live on our district’s BOE YouTube channel titled USD 266 Video at 7:00pm Monday, November 23. You can also view previous meetings on this YouTube channel if you would like.
Thank you again for all you’re doing for our kids. They need all of us in so many ways, so let’s continue to work together to do what is best for them.
Kyle White, Principal
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Important Dates and Information |
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NO SCHOOL - Fall Break
November 25-27
MES Spirit Night at Chick Fil-A
December 1, 3 - 10pm
NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
December 23 - January 1
School Resumes from Winter Break
January 4
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Update on Delivery of 2019-2020 Yearbooks:
We have received the yearbooks that were ordered through the school, but are waiting for the yearbooks that were ordered directly through Lifetouch. We do not have an exact delivery date on those yet, but will distribute them as soon as they arrive.
2020-2021 Yearbook:
Each year we have parent volunteers that take charge of and create the Yearbook. We have been blessed the last several years with wonderful volunteers. This year, we are in need of a parent that would be interested in taking on this task. Because this is a volunteer project, if we don't have anyone that is interested, we won't have a yearbook. If you are interested, please contact the school at 722-8230.
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Mrs. Charles, MES 1st grade teacher, was awarded the Golden Apple Award from KAKE-TV, Project Teacher, and Davis-Moore Auto Group. She received a large selection of school supplies for her class. Click here for the story on KAKE. Congratulations Mrs. Charles! |
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Ralph Naputi, MES Custodian, received a Celebrating Excellence in Education Support Staff Award for the end of the 2019-20 school year. Recipients of this award are nominated by other USD 266 staff members. Congratulations Ralph! |
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The MES Staff would like to send a huge Thank You to our TLC group and everyone that donated to provide the Jason's Deli sandwich boxes for our Virtual Conference Day. Your kindness is so appreciated! |
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Epic:
Attention MES families!
We are currently able to use the online reading resource called Epic at home! Mrs. Mayo, our librarian, is emailing out invites to all MES families to invite them to sign up for this FREE resource to use until June 2021. Students will have unlimited access during the weekdays from 7 am to 4 pm, and 2 hours of access a week during after school hours and weekends. The students should already have an account from school, but signing up with a parent email, for no charge, will allow them access at home.
Mrs. Mayo has made a short 5 minute informative video about the program and how to sign up. If anyone has questions about this, please email Mrs. Mayo at mmayo@usd266.com
Overdue Books:
Thank you to everyone who has returned library books from the 2019-2020 school year. We have received a majority of these books back to MES but are still hoping to collect the remainder of our missing copies. Students will be given notes to remind families about specific titles which are checked out in their name. Please return these books to the library ASAP. Thank you for your help with this.
Online Book Fair:
Thank you for your support of our Online Book Fair! We appreciate your support and we look forward to getting some new books for our library!
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Nurses Corner:
Please continue to communicate with Nurse Erin if there is any covid-related testing or sickness within your family, even while we are in remote learning. Thank you.
Health Screenings:
We will be starting our annual vision and hearing screenings over the next few months. These are required by state law. Results will ONLY be sent home if further testing is needed. Screenings are very basic and are not meant to take the place of professional evaluations. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this.
Skyward Health History:
It is the parent’s responsibility to update health conditions in Skyward and notify the school nurse as needed.
Immunizations and Health Assessments:
IMPORTANT: If I have contacted you regarding immunizations or a health assessment, please turn them in as soon as possible due to the deadline having been October 1, 2019. You may send them to school with your student, fax them, or email them to me.
SAY NO TO THE FLU!
Flu season is approaching. Get your flu vaccine now! Vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. Symptoms of the flu can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people with the flu will not have a fever.
What is the flu? Influenza (the flu) is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by the influenza virus. There are many different influenza viruses that are constantly changing. The flu is spread when an infected person coughs sneezes or speaks and sends the flu virus into the air. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his eyes, nose, or mouth. The best defense against the flu is washing your hands often!!
Please keep your student home if they are exhibiting any of the following symptoms: fever over 100 degrees, headache, general aches and pains, fatigue and weakness, continuous coughing, chest discomfort, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. Fever MUST be gone without the use of a fever reducing medication (i.e. Tylenol (Acetaminophen) or Motrin (Ibuprofen)) for a full 24 hours before student is to return to school. Please contact me if you have questions regarding COVID and your student for example:
- My child is exhibiting these symptoms, should my student stay home or go to school?
- What if my student may have been exposed to COVID, what do I do?
- What if someone around us, or my student, has been tested for COVID?
**You can also refer to the T4T plan on the district website.
Thanks, Nurse Erin
usd266.com
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From The Counselors, Mrs. Stephens and Mrs. Nietfeld
Let us know if you need support from a counselor! We’d be happy to meet with your child during the school hours. Let us know how to help!
Becky Stephens - bstephens@usd266.com
Andrea Nietfeld - anietfeld@usd266.com
We are once again getting ready to help our local Caring Hearts organization. Caring Hearts is an organization that assists USD 266 families that are experiencing various needs during the holiday season. This is Maize school families helping out other Maize school families. We will let you know how the donations will be handled. Thank you for your generosity! You make a difference for families every year!
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No More Clipping! Now Just Scan Your Receipt! |
Don't like to clip? There's a new way you can support our school with Box Tops for Education. Simply download the Box Tops for Education app, choose Maize Elementary School in the setup, and then just scan your receipt every time you grocery shop. It will pick up from your receipt whether or not there are box tops and credit them to the school. So easy! For more information, Click Here. |
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MES Spirit Wear Store Now Open!
We have a new online spirit wear store for MES! T-Shirts, Hats, Sweatshirts, Masks!
A portion of the proceeds go back to the PTO and to the school. Here is the link to shop! MES Spirit Wear Store
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!
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Preschool Screening Clinic |
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Attention Parents -- Count Your Kid In Preschool Screening Clinic |
The Kansas Department of Education invites you to attend a free Count Your Kid In screening on Friday, November 20. The purpose of the screening is to assess children, age birth through five, in the areas of walking, talking, seeing, hearing and learning. Call 794-8641 (Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4:30pm) to schedule a free appointment.
The screening will be held at Grace Connections Church, 300 N. Ash Ave., Valley Center, KS 67147. The screening is for children ages 0-5 that reside in the following districts: Maize, Burrton, Sedgwick, Renwick, Cheney, Conway Springs, Clearwater, Goddard, Valley Center. This is not a "Kindergarten Screening".
Future screenings will be held on December 11, 2020 at Clearwater Service Center, and on January 22, 2021 at Goddard Methodist Church. They will run once a month for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
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Start Times & Transportation
Our school day starts at 8:45 am every day. Student drop off begins at 8:30 am. It is important that students are not dropped off prior to that time. This is a matter of safety as there are no staff members supervising until 8:30 am. Thank you for your cooperation.
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.
Students who arrive after 8:50 am will be counted tardy. If a student is brought late to school, the parent must come in and sign them in on the clipboard in the vestibule.
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 3:00 pm.
If your student is riding a different bus home with a friend, a note is required from both sets of parents. These need to be given to the office for Mr. White to sign and can then be given to the bus driver.
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New Policies
Temperature checks will be conducted each day, and masks will be worn by all staff and students. At this time, no visitors are allowed into the building during the school day.
Deliveries & Invitations
Please be aware that school district policy does not allow us to accept flowers, lunch 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.
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Food Service
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. You will also receive a 3rd email when your child has a zero balance.
Parents may keep as large a balance as they wish in a child's account. 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 and we are not allowed to go into one child's account to pay for a sibling.
Daily lunches are $2.50 each and extra milk is .40 cents. Lunch menus can be found online at usd266.com.
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!
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