Mr. Borland's Happenings

September 17, 2026

P/T Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences are approaching. We have added some additional times to better accomodate families as best as we can.
October 7 2:15-4:00
October 8 8:00 am-8:00 pm
October 9 8:00-12:00
If you are unable to attend, please please please contact the school or teacher ASAP to reschedule and to prevent the teacher from sitting and waiting.
This is a great time to sit down and chat with your child's teacher for the first time this year in a much more personal one on one environment. Please make sure to take the time to attend.

PTO News

Our first meeting took place on Tuesday of this week. Some highlights from the meeting include:

We have a very healthy budget and the leadership is looking to find ways to spend this money in a very effective and meaningful way so as many students can be affected as possible.
Mr. Borland has requested a purchase of a shade sail for the playground. This was approved, and asked that we explore more shade over equipement specifically.
Mrs. Dickes is pursuing a communication board for the playground as well.
Next Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 20th at 5:15pm in the main office conference room.

PTO Book Fair: will be open during conferences in the commons/lunchroom. A Signup Genius will be sent out in the coming days for volunteers. Volunteers will be provided a $10 voucher for purchase for working a 2 hour shift. We need help to make this work.

Technology/On-Line Safety while at school.

We have had a number of parents inquire about internet safety and what that looks like at our school. I just want to share some general information:

Acceptable websites are available to be reviewed on our McCook Elementary Webpage for each grade level if you wish to see.
Webpages that are used in the classroom must have an education purpose to them. Do some of them come with adds? Yes, but these are very limited used sites.
A majority of our sites are used with subscription that we purchase as a district. (XtraMath, TumbleBooks, Brainpop, Zearn, Wonders)
Individual concerns that parents have are encouraged to reach out to your child's homeroom teacher or Mr. Borland for additional information and clarification.
To find your grade level bookmarks go to www.mccookbison.org>schools>McCook Elementary>Students.

Parent Corner: Growing Independent Bison

Reading at Home — 10 Minutes Makes a Difference

At McCook Elementary, we believe learning at home should support family time, not take it over. One of the best things you can do is spend just 10–15 minutes reading together. Your child can read to you, you can take turns, or you can read to them,yes, that absolutely counts! Talk about the story, laugh at the funny parts, ask what they think will happen next, or simply enjoy a book together. These small moments help children see that reading is something we value and enjoy.

We also believe homework should be limited and manageable for elementary-age children. An evening routine can be simple: read for 10 minutes, practice a few basic math facts, review spelling words, and ask your child about their day. That's enough! If a large amount of unfinished classwork is regularly coming home, it may be a sign that your child is not using classroom work time wisely. Our goal isn't to fill evenings with schoolwork—we want our students to work hard at school and still have time at home to play, relax, spend time with family, and just be kids.

Dates to Remember

Mon. & Tue. Sept. 21 & 22: Health Screenings for all students
Wed-Fri Oct. 7-9 P/T Conferences
Thr & Fri Oct. 8 & 9 NO SCHOOL
Fri, Oct. 16 NO SCHOOL (End of Quarter)