Mott News

School Hours - 7:35 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.

Doors Open: 7:05 a.m. Instruction Begins: 7:20 a.m. Tardy Bell Rings: 7:35 a.m.

Picking up early? Please do so by 2:00 p.m.

Parents are doing a great job of letting us know if their child tests positive for COVID. Almost everyone is emailing Mr. Ray so that he knows how to code the absence in the system. Thank you!

To help us with contact tracing we ask that you do the following:

• When you email Mr. Ray - steven.ray@pfisd.net please copy Nurse Cat on the email. caitrina.drago@pfisd.net
• Include the date symptoms started. (Many parents think it is allergies at first, so allergy symptoms are also COVID symptoms.)
• Include the date the child took the test, not the date you received the results.
• Let us know how your child comes to school, and how they go home.
• Include the date of the last time they were at school.

Mott Owl Families,

I would like to re-emphasize the superintendent's message to families regarding the school closure. COVID has had a big impact on the district and on Mott. We had 13 staff members out, and were short 11 substitutes today. We were able to make sure students were taken care of and engaged in learning through herculean efforts from staff. That is not sustainable. We also had over 200 students absent today. We certainly want learning at Mott to go back to normal as soon as possible. Therefore, I will reiterate the superintendent's message:

"This closure aims to allow time for our teachers and staff to get healthy and return to teaching our students in the classroom. It is important to stress that this is not a break or holiday, and we encourage everyone to stay home as much as possible. Remember, the last extended break led to this current surge. Please do not use this time to plan a trip or spend extended periods of time with people outside of your usual circle. The closure is intended to help mitigate the spread in our community and allow our staff to return from quarantine."

As always, I appreciate the support of the Mott Community. I just want all of my Owls in the nest every day!

Stay safe, warm and well,

Tammy Rebecek

PfISD Food and Child Nutrition Services and Aramark will be serving curbside meals (weather permitting) on Friday, Jan. 21 and Monday, Jan. 24 when the schools are closed.

Curbside meals can be picked up on Friday, Jan. 21 and Monday, Jan. 24 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the following locations:

• Kelly Lane Middle School
• Dessau Middle School
• Westview Middle School
• Timmerman Elementary School

The meal packets will include breakfast, lunch and a snack.

The district has posted a lunch room monitor position for the elementary schools. I was thinking that this might be a great part time job for someone from the Mott community. The hours are 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. every school day. I am not sure yet what the pay will be. The job posting can be found here: Lunchroom Monitor If you are interested please apply for the Wolf Feeder Pattern job number 9953. If you know someone who might be interested, please share this information.

If you would like more information regarding what the position entails, please call our front office at 512-594-4700.

Since visitors aren't able to come to campus, we decided to bring a little bit of campus to you! Take a moment to view these videos of art displays in our hallway. You will be impressed with what Mrs. DeFreeze is able to help students produce.

Kinder Art #1

Kinder Art #2

1st Grade Art #1

1st Grade Art #2

2nd Grade Art

3rd Grade Art #1

3rd Grade Art #2

4th Grade Art

5th Grade Art #1

5th Grade Art #2

One of our favorite dress up days! One option is to dress as a 100 year old person. Another option is to wear clothing or an accessory with 100 things. Be creative! This will be fun! See ideas below.

Please see the PDF below for an explanation of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports system that we use at Mott.

It is so exciting to finally premiere the 2021 Mott Elementary 5th Grade Winter Program called "Let it Snow"! I am very impressed by our 5th graders acting ability and musicality. I think you will be as well!

YouTube: https://youtu.be/G6q2mnBOXes

A huge thank you to Ms. Curry for her efforts in creating, teaching, organizing, filming and editing in order to make this possible. A shout out goes to Mrs. DeFreeze for her help with the backdrop.

Being able to recall math facts quickly is an important skill for our students. This helps to form the building blocks for higher-level math concepts. Your child can practice from home using the Reflex program online. All students in 2nd – 5th grade practice often and know how to log in. This is a game based program that students enjoy! We encourage students to practice long enough to earn a “green light” in the program at least 3 times a week. Most students earn the green light in 15-20 minutes. We will have a GREEN LIGHT GLOW PARTY for students who have earned at least 50 green light days by May. Extra rewards will be given to students who earn 60 and 75 green lights!

If your child is going to be absent, we need a parent note or doctor's note for the absence to be excused. Please choose one of the following options to communicate an absence in writing:

• Email our registrar, Mr. Ray - steven.ray@pfisd.net
• Send the parent note or doctor's note to school when your child returns.

Please do not call the front office to report an absence.

Thanks for your help with this!

At Mott, we have students practice sight words. These are frequently used words in print, that often cannot be "sounded out". K and 1st grade sends home lists. 2nd and 3rd use words from the Fry Sight Word lists. Most students in 3rd grade should be able to read these lists in groups of 100 in under 2 minutes. When a student masters one list, they move on to the next until they master their grade level goal. When students meet their goal, they will receive an invitation to the French Fry party and the end of the year. Mrs. Rebecek even dresses up as a container of french fries!

I am finding through recent conversations that many parents are not aware of this law. The law is extensive, but here the two parts of the law that are most important at the elementary level.

• A student with 10 or more absences may also be subject to truancy prevention measures as decided by the court. Parents may be criminally charged or fined if their child continues to miss school.
• The 90 percent rule: Students must attend 90 percent of school days to receive credit for that grade level and be considered for promotion to the next grade. That would mean that a student many not have more than 17 absences, even excused absences, in a school year.

Here is information from the TEA website: Compulsory Attendance

This is a condensed version: My Texas Public School

More importantly, regular school attendance plays a vital role in student success!

Would you like to volunteer with PTO? One quick way to find out what volunteer opportunities are available is to text @mottpto3 to 81010.

Remind Text Messages - Mrs. Rebecek will send out reminders for things like early release, special events, and dress up days. To sign up, text @mottowls to the number 849841 or go to this link: https://www.remind.com/join/abeg66

Mott Elementary School

https://www.facebook.com/MottElementary/

Mott Elementary Families - (FYI: This page is run by Mott parents, not Mott staff.)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/113956712574930/

Principal: Tammy.Rebecek@pfisd.net

Assistant Principal: Sjoukje.Brown@pfisd.net

Counselor: Reagan.Portillo@pfisd.net