Weekly Update - MP Families

Katie Chiaverini joined our MP staff this year as a 1st grade Spanish Immersion teacher. Ms. Chiaverini has already become a valued member of our staff by contributing to several building initiatives.

Some Highlights About Ms. Chiaverini:

Pass along hyper focus to my students.

2 - If your classroom had a theme song, what would it be?

Un Poco Loco (from the movie Coco).

3 - What is a fun or surprising fact about you that your students might not know?

I have visited over 40 countries and taught in 6 different countries.

Great thanks to all MP families who gathered "leaves" from our Thankful Trees in the main hallway over PT Conferences! Our specialists and support staff bring tremendous benefits to all Timberwolves, and the gratitude you shared with them goes a long way in providing the little extras that make MP such a great place!!

Last week we had about 15 elementary principals and district administrators from across the midwest visit Manchester Park. Our district works with a group of several schools throughout the midwest to collaborate on best practices, topics in education, etc. During this visit Olathe wanted to highlight some schools, so of course they included MP!!

During the visit, all were so impressed by our students, staff, and the general feel in our building. I am continually very grateful to be a part of this Manchester Park community!!!

MP will be celebrating Halloween on Friday, October 30.

Please make note of specifics below.

9:15 AM, Costume Parade
- Students are to wear costumes to school that day.
- Parents should send in a bag for costume storage if student prefers.
- Parade will take place outside, so parents may see our little goblins by standing in front and side parking lots.
- If weather does not cooperate, the parade will take place indoors with students only.

3:15 PM, Classroom Parties
- PTO will communicate with those coming in to facilitate games.
- Students may bring in a sweet treat for themselves to be enjoyed during regular snack time.
- Due to food sensitivities, no additional snacks will be distributed.

Costume Guidance
Please avoid the following:
- Full costume face masks. We must see student and adult faces.
- Extra accessories that may become distractions during the school day.
- Face painting, as that is tough for a student to wear all day.
- Anything scary or gruesome. That includes cartoon characters that send a negative or violent message.
- Play weapons or sharp objects.

Costumes should be easy enough for a student to manipulate independently and allow them to sit at student desks for learning activities.

You are invited! Join us at Fall District Site Council on Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 7-8 p.m. at Santa Fe Trail Middle School (1100 N Ridgeview Rd, Olathe) for a special presentation of Think Before You Post.

Chet Kuplen, founder of Think Before You Post and Sports in Kansas, will share practical insights on social media, digital citizenship, cyberbullying, artificial intelligence and the challenges students face in today’s digital world.

Parents, educators and community members are invited to learn how to help young people navigate technology responsibly and make positive choices online.

🎃👻 Fall Parties Are Almost Here, Timberwolves! 🐺🍂

Our fall parties are coming up on Friday, October 30, from 3:15–3:45 PM! We’re excited for a fun, festive afternoon for our Timberwolves! Before the spooky fun begins, here are a few friendly reminders to help everything run smoothly.

🧡 Who Can Attend?
Only room coordinators, party planners, and parents who signed up to volunteer for the party may attend. If you need to make a change to your volunteer status, please email us at manchesterparkpto@yahoo.com.

🍎 A Food-Free Classroom
Party planners, please remember that no food of any kind may be brought into the classrooms. This important guideline helps protect our students with food allergies. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe!

🕒 Set-Up & Clean-Up
Parents may head to classrooms at 3:05 PM to set up. Please plan to help clean up after the party so we can leave our classrooms looking spook-tacular!

🏫 Where the Fun Happens
All class activities must remain inside the classroom. Pods and hallways are not available for party activities. 5th grade is the only grade permitted to combine classes or use the gym, flex room, and 200 pod.

Thank you for helping us make these parties fun, safe, and memorable for our students! We appreciate all the time and effort our volunteers put into making these special moments happen.

We can’t wait to have a boo-tiful time with our Timberwolves! 🎃🐺🖤💜

As you know, state and district regulations do not allow any student personal electronic communication devices available during the school day. We are starting to see a few out, so want to send a friendly reminder of the policy sent to all families at the beginning of the year. This communication is repeated below. Please reiterate expectations to your students.

All Olathe families received communication from our district regarding the new Personal Device Policy.

What does this mean for your student?

- Personal electronic communcation devices will not be allowed out during any portion of the school day.

- If brought to school, they MUST remain in student lockers from 8:55 AM - 3:55 PM.

- This includes: Cell phones, smart watches, wireless headphones or earbuds, smart glasses, tablets not issued by the school, and similar devices.

- Medical exemptions can be obtained with collaboration between district health staff and your medical provider.

Full communication from our district can be found at the link below:

Elementary_Personal_Device_Policy_Expectations.pdf

Final day to purchase yearbooks @ 10% off is 10/31. www.treering.com/validate Code: 101709226633892.

We have a position open for an instructional aide in our Spanish Immersion program. If you know of someone who is fluent in both Spanish and English, and has the skills to work with young learners, this may be for them.

Anyone interested in this position, should apply on the district website and then contact Jenny Steele at jlsteele@olatheschools.org

We are happy to welcome families in to join their Timberwolves for lunch! Due to the size of our cafeteria, we do need to limit the number of guests each day. Lunch visits start after Labor Day, and some days are not listed due to special events.

Guidelines:

- Prior sign-up is required.

- Each slot covers two guests.

- Upon arrival, office staff will check for your sign-up.

- If you did not sign up online for that day, plan to reschedule for a different day.

- Lunch will take place in the cafeteria, as we don't have other available spaces.

- You may bring lunch in for your student, but may NOT share food with other students, even if you have prior approval from a parent.

- If you'd like to purchase a school lunch, contact our front office by 9:15 AM to order.

- Payment is not accepted on site, so be sure to have enough $$ on your child's meal account to cover.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4CA4AE28A5FFC52-65478073-lunchwith