October 5th - 19th

Menchaca Families,

October is here, and we have so many exciting things happening at Menchaca! As we move further into the school year, our Little Cardinals continue to grow, learn, and amaze us each day. Thank you for your continued partnership, support, and trust as we work together to make Menchaca a place where our littlest learners feel safe, loved, and excited to learn.

The next two weeks will be busy ones! Please take a few minutes to review the important dates and reminders below so you don't miss any of the fun.

We hope everyone enjoys a safe and restful Fall Break, and we look forward to welcoming our Little Cardinals back ready for another great week!

With love,
Mrs. Mares
Principal, Menchaca Early Childhood Center

Noah Urrabas is truly one of a kind, and we are so proud to celebrate him as our September Cardinal VIP!

Last year, Noah excelled academically and was a wonderful leader in his PK4 classroom. He is also an incredible storyteller, and we always love hearing the stories, ideas, and experiences he has to share!

Now in kindergarten, Noah is already standing out and shining bright! We know he is going to continue doing great things, and we cannot wait to watch him grow, learn, and lead along the way.

Keep shining, Noah! Your Menchaca family is so very proud of you!

Our Menchaca Boo Grams are here! Families can send a sweet Halloween surprise to their Little Cardinal’s teacher, bestie, or even the entire class! ❤️🤍

Boo Grams are $1 each, or you can purchase a Class Set for $20 to send one to everyone in your child’s class. Want to send more? Additional Boo Gram forms are available upon request!

🗓️ Orders are due October 22, 2026

👻 Boo Grams will be delivered October 29, 2026

Help us spread a little spooky kindness throughout Menchaca! Who will YOU Boo? 👻🧡

Parent-Teacher Conferences are right around the corner! This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with your child’s teacher, celebrate the progress your Little Cardinal has made, and discuss ways we can continue supporting their growth together. ❤️🤍

Please be on the lookout for conference information and scheduling updates from your child’s teacher through ClassDojo.

We look forward to partnering with you and celebrating all the wonderful learning happening at Menchaca! 🌟

🍂 October 8–12 — Fall Break

Enjoy the long weekend with your family! We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday, October 13.

🏈 October 12–16 — Homecoming Week

It's Homecoming Week! Be on the lookout for information about our special dress-up days and help your Little Cardinal show their Southside spirit!

📚 Wednesday, October 14 — Literacy Night & Family Book Fair Night
3:30–5:30 PM

Join us for an afternoon of family fun centered around reading and literacy! Families will also have an opportunity to visit our Book Fair. We can't wait to see our Little Cardinals and their families!

🚌 October 19–23 — National School Bus Safety Week

We are thankful for the drivers, monitors, and Transportation staff who help get our Little Cardinals safely to and from school each day. This is also a great opportunity to talk with your child about being safe while waiting for, riding, and getting off the school bus.

Families, we are asking for your help keeping our staff hydrated during afternoon parent pick-up. Our team spends time outside each day helping make dismissal as safe and smooth as possible, and those South Texas afternoons can still be HOT! ☀️

If you would like to support our staff, we would greatly appreciate donations of bottled water or sports drinks. Donations may be dropped off at the drop-off/pick-up line or in the front office and will be shared with staff working afternoon dismissal.

Thank you for always supporting the people who take care of our little Cardinals! ❤️🐦 Every donation is appreciated!

Did You Know?‎

Handwashing can help prevent diarrhea-related illnesses and respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu, making it especially important this time of year!

Building handwashing skills takes time. At first, your child will need regular reminders of how and when to wash hands. It is especially important to remind children to wash their hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after touching pets, after playing outside, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose. But once handwashing becomes a habit and a regular part of your child's day, they will practice it throughout their lives.

You can find ways to make it fun, like making up your own handwashing song or turning it into a game. Even using a song like the ABCs can make hand washing fun.

Every day your little one is at school means another day of learning, practicing routines, building friendships, developing independence, and growing academically.

Remember, our school day begins at 7:00 AM. The holding-area gates close at 7:10 AM. Students who are already inside the holding area when the gates close will not be considered tardy.

If you arrive after 7:10 AM, please park and walk your child to the front entrance to sign them in.

Be Here. Be On Time. Be Ready to Learn! ❤️

Lights, camera, ATTENDANCE! 🎥 Our little Cardinals are working together to spell SHOWTIME! Each day a class has 100% attendance, they earn another letter toward completing the word.

Once a class spells SHOWTIME, they earn a special Movie & Popcorn Celebration! 🍿🎬 The celebration will be held on November 6, 2026.

Families, help your child’s class reach their goal by making every school day count. When our littles are here, they are learning, growing, and helping their whole class get one step closer to SHOWTIME! ❤️🐦

Our teachers have been working hard to get to know each child as a learner. Now that our Beginning-of-Year assessments are behind us, our focus shifts to the most important part — using what we learned from the data to help every child grow.

Teachers will continue providing targeted instruction, small-group learning opportunities, and hands-on experiences based on student needs.

Families can help at home by keeping learning simple and fun! Read together, practice counting everyday objects, identify letters and numbers while you're out and about, and ask your child to tell you about what they learned at school.

Every little bit of practice makes a difference!

We LOVE having our families be part of the Menchaca experience! ❤️ Throughout the year, there will be opportunities for families to join us for special events, celebrations, meetings, and other campus activities.

Because we serve some of our district's youngest Cardinals, maintaining a safe and secure campus is always our top priority. We ask all visitors to help us by following our campus safety procedures.

🪪 Please Bring Your Photo ID

All visitors entering the building must check in through the front office and present a valid photo ID. Visitors will be screened through our campus visitor management system before being allowed into student areas.

Once checked in, please wear your visitor badge where it is clearly visible for the duration of your visit and remain in the area designated for the event or purpose of your visit.

🎒 What Can I Bring?

When attending a campus event or visiting during the school day, please remember that all items brought onto campus are subject to our campus and district safety procedures. Please bring only the items you need for your visit and follow any additional instructions provided for specific events.

If you are ever unsure whether an item is permitted, please contact our front office before bringing it to campus. We're happy to help!

❤️ Safety Is Everyone's Responsibility

We know these procedures may add an extra few minutes to your visit, especially during larger family events, so we appreciate your patience and cooperation.

These procedures aren't meant to make our families feel less welcome—they help us know who is in our building and why they are here so that we can protect every little Cardinal entrusted to our care.

We love having our families at Menchaca, and we appreciate your partnership in keeping our littles safe! ❤️🐦

Safety continues to be our top priority during arrival and dismissal. Please remain patient, follow staff directions, and stay alert while moving through our campus traffic areas.

🚘 New Parent Pick-Up Car Signs

Families, please begin using the new Parent Pick-Up car signs that were sent home in your child's backpack. During afternoon dismissal, please make sure your car sign is clearly visible and hanging from your rearview mirror so our staff can easily see your child's information as you enter the pick-up line.

The cardstock pick-up cards provided at the beginning of the school year should now be discarded and replaced with the new hanging car signs.

If your family needs an additional Parent Pick-Up car sign for another vehicle or authorized pick-up person, additional signs may be purchased from the front office for $5 each.

Using the new signs will help our team identify vehicles more quickly and keep our dismissal process safe, organized, and moving efficiently.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us safely reunite our Little Cardinals with their families each afternoon! ❤️🤍

Did you know you can track your little Cardinal's school bus? 🚌📍 Families can use SAMSARA GPS Bus Links to view their child's bus route and follow the location of the bus during transportation times.

📱 Track Your Little One's Bus

Use the SAMSARA GPS Bus Links provided by the district to:

• 🚌 View your child's bus route

• 📍 Track the bus location

• ⏰ Have a better idea of when the bus will arrive at your stop

We highly encourage our bus families to use this helpful tool, especially during the first few weeks of school as routes and routines become more familiar.

☎️ Interested in Bus Transportation?

If your little one is not currently assigned to a bus route and you are interested in district transportation, please contact the Transportation Department at 210-882-1624.

Transportation can assist you with determining your child's route and getting your little Cardinal routed for bus service.

❤️ Please Be at the Bus Stop!

Because our Menchaca Cardinals are so young, someone must be present at the bus stop to receive your little one when the bus arrives.

Please plan to arrive at the bus stop before the expected drop-off time and make sure anyone who may be receiving your child understands this important safety expectation.

Our goal is simple: every little Cardinal gets to school safely and back home safely! 🚌❤️

ClassDojo is one of the best ways to stay connected with your little Cardinal's school experience! ❤️

We encourage all Menchaca families to connect to ClassDojo and check the app regularly. It is an important communication tool that allows you to stay connected with both your child's teacher and our campus throughout the school year.

🍎 Stay Connected with Your Child's Teacher

Your child's teacher will use ClassDojo to share classroom updates, reminders, special activities, and other information specific to your little one's class. Families can also use the messaging feature to communicate directly with their child's teacher.

🏫 Stay Connected with Menchaca

Be sure you are also connected to our Menchaca Early Childhood Center ClassDojo! We use our campus page to share important announcements, upcoming events, reminders, dress-up days, schedule changes, and other information our families need to know.

❤️ Don't Miss an Update!

We know family life is busy! ClassDojo helps us keep important school information right at your fingertips.

Check Dojo often, keep your notifications on, and stay connected with us! Together, we can make sure you don't miss all the wonderful things happening at Menchaca. ❤️🐦

At Menchaca, we LOVE showing our Cardinal Pride! Each week, our littles are invited to participate in our weekly theme days as a fun way to build school spirit, create a sense of belonging, and make school just a little more exciting! 🎉

Families, be sure to check our campus calendar and ClassDojo for each week's themes and special dress-up days.

Participation is always meant to be FUN—please don't feel like you need to go out and purchase anything special. Get creative with what you already have at home and let your little Cardinal join in however they can! ❤️

We can't wait to see our hallways filled with school spirit, big smiles, and lots of Cardinal pride!

Little Cardinals. BIG Spirit. ❤️🐦

October gives us an opportunity to help our little Cardinals learn an important personal skill: how to recognize and respond to problems with others.

In PK and Kindergarten, children are still learning how to share, take turns, use kind words, manage big feelings, solve disagreements, and keep their hands and bodies safe. As they learn these skills, conflict will happen—and conflict is not the same thing as bullying.

💬Conflict or Bullying?

Conflict is a disagreement or problem between children. A child may grab a toy, say something unkind, refuse to share, become upset during a game, or argue with a friend. These behaviors still need to be addressed, but they do not automatically mean a child is being bullied.

Bullying involves behavior that is intentional, repeated, and involves an imbalance of power that makes it difficult for the other child to stop what is happening or protect themselves.

For example, two children arguing over who gets the red truck is a conflict. A child repeatedly targeting another child to hurt, frighten, exclude, or control them may be bullying.

Understanding the difference helps us respond to children in the way they need. Conflict gives us opportunities to teach problem-solving and social skills, while suspected bullying requires adults to step in, investigate, protect the child being targeted, and address the behavior.

🏠What Can Families Teach at Home?

Help your little Cardinal practice simple phrases such as “Stop, I don’t like that,” “Can I have a turn?” “Please give me space,” and “I need help.” Most importantly, teach them that when they feel unsafe, someone keeps hurting or frightening them, or a problem continues after they have tried to solve it, they should always tell a trusted adult.

We can also remind children that telling an adult to help keep themselves or someone else safe is not tattling.

At Menchaca, we want our little Cardinals to know that everyone deserves to feel safe, included, and cared for at school. By teaching kindness, empathy, assertiveness, problem-solving, and when to seek adult help, we are giving our youngest learners skills they can carry with them as they grow.

💓Kind Cardinals help take care of themselves—and each other.

From Your Menchaca School Counselors, Dr. Morgan & Mrs. Hernandez
Helping little Cardinals grow big hearts, strong skills, and confidence in who they are.

Calling all crafters, creators, small businesses, families, and community members! Menchaca Early Childhood Center is excited to host our Fall Market Day on Saturday, November 14, from 10:00 AM–2:00 PM! ❤️🤍

Whether you make shirts, tumblers, bows, signs, plants, handmade goodies, or simply have gently used treasures you'd like to sell, we'd love to have you join us!

🍁 Vendor spaces are $25 per parking space

🚗 Vendor set-up begins at 8:00 AM

🛍️ Market Day: 10:00 AM–2:00 PM

❤️ Proceeds from vendor fees will support student, teacher, and staff incentives at Menchaca!

Scan the QR code to reserve your vendor spot! Spaces are limited, so help us spread the word to your family, friends, and favorite local vendors.

Shop. Sell. Support MECC. ❤️🤍

• Front Office: (210) 882-1610

• Website: https://southsideisd.org/mecc/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SISDMenchaca

• ClassDojo: Check messages and announcements daily

Thank you for sharing your little Cardinals with us. We’re honored to partner with you for a year full of growth, joy, and learning. Rockin’ the Nest—together! 🐦🎸