Mill Creek SOAR'n Updates

Welcome back to school! I wanted to send a message today to relay some important information to you about our orientation, the first day of school and some exciting events. Our Staffulty will return to work on Monday. Many have spent unpaid hours this summer participating in optional professional development, working in classrooms and making plans so that they can be the best educators for our students! Our custodians have worked tirelessly getting the building ready and our secretaries have worked to process all of our registrations. A lot of sweat goes into opening each school year.

We are welcoming an additional 125 students to Mill Creek this year with the addition of Bunker Hill's 3rd grade. Having all of our students for 3 full years will allow for consistency long-term. While the make-up of the school may look a little different, our same core values and high expectations continue to push us to excellence.

This will be my 10th year as the principal at Mill Creek Intermediate and my 26th year with Berkeley County Schools. I have been a proud resident of South Berkeley my entire life. I am a graduate of Musselman High, Shepherd College, and WVU. My husband and I are raising 2 amazing daughters here. This growing community has a special place in my heart.

Mrs. Butler is beginning 4th year as the assistant principal at Mill Creek. This will be her 22nd year with Berkeley County Schools. She has also dedicated her educational career to the children of South Berkeley. She has spent 19 years teaching at Back Creek Valley. Mrs. Butler and her husband also have 2 sons in the school system and are invested in the success of Berkeley County Schools.

Collectively, it is our mission to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all students. We ask that you please reach out to us if you ever have any concerns. We are here to help you with problems that we know about. We are looking forward to an amazing school year!

Sincerely -

Beth McCoy, Principal

emccoy@k12.wv.us

Erin Butler, Assistant Principal

ebutler@k12.wv.us

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you update your emergency information annually with the school, even if you have not had any changes. Please complete this before your child starts school on August 19. If we would have an emergency, we need to know how to get in touch with you. Please click the link below to get started.

PLEASE NOTE: WE MUST HAVE THIS INFORMATION UPDATED. IF YOUR CHILD'S INFORMATION IS NOT UPDATED, THEY WILL NOT GET TO PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS, INCLUDING THE WALKING TRIP TO MMS ON AUG. 22 FOR OUR FIRST PEP RALLY. WE MUST KNOW HOW TO CONTACT YOU IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

We will have orientation on Aug. 13, 2025 from 5-7pm. We have assigned times to help with traffic control. If you have multiple children that also have orientation, please pick the time that best fits for your family. We look forward to filling our halls with the smiles of our students!

You will enter at the Music Room/ Parent Pick Up Door and exit through the main office. You will receive a map when you enter and proceed straight to your child's classroom. If you do not receive your child's postcard before orientation, staff will have student's lists when you enter.

STUDENTS IN MRS. STONE'S 3RD GRADE CLASS - Mrs. Stone will be present from 6-7. You are welcome to come by before then, but please plan to arrive between 6-7 if you would like to visit with her.

We mailed cards to each student with their teacher's name. If you did not receive your postcard, please be sure to update your annual emergency information to make sure we have the correct address on file. If you do not know your child's teacher, do not worry! We will have plenty of staff in the hallways at orientation that will have lists. You can stop to ask one of them when you arrive.

Schoology will be our main platform for daily communication. We will not be using Class Dojo this school year. Please note that you should not send time sensitive information through online platforms or email. Teachers may not get these notes while they are teaching. If you have information that is an emergency, please call the front office or send in a written note to your child's teacher.

It is vital that you set up your parent account. All parents will receive an individualized code to set up your student's account if you aren't already connected.

Schoology is also where you can stay involved with your child's academics. You will be able to see your child's grades, missing assignments and assignments that are due.

If you are new to Schoology, this google handbook can help you with everything you need to know. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1w9BxtwoxTJRVXrEj1Tme5SWEkEN5Uq2SyrfW0ya7xZQ/preview?slide=id.g8e952e3ece_0_3

We are thankful to welcome Nurse Melissa Shirley to our staffulty as the school nurse. She will be available at orientation to accept all medication forms, dietary forms, medication and immunization updates, if needed.

Students MUST be up to date with immunization requirements PRIOR to coming to school Tuesday, August 19th. This means that any new enrolling or current students must have proof of all required vaccines for school including DTAP, Polio, Hep B, MMR, Varicella. Your student may NOT attend school without proof of any required vaccines.

Also, please keep in mind that any medications at school, including over-the-counter medications and cough drops, require a current medication administration order form to be completed by a medical provider before they can be given at school. A new form is required for each school year. You may NOT send these medications in your student's backpack, and they must be in the original prescription bottle/box (inhaler/Epi pen). The school nurse will be available during orientation to drop off medications, pending you have the completed order form.

Please note: If your child needs life saving medication such as an inhaler, epipen, insulin, or seizure medication, they must have that medication and medication form in the school nurse's office before they can attend school.

For the safety of our students, we ask that you follow these procedures:

• Buses Arrive: 8:20
• Parent Drop Off: South End Lot 8:20 -8:35. Please do not drop students off until a staff member is on duty. You will drive the loop and drop students off at the sidewalk. Please be cautious and look for staff directing you. There will also be buses in this loop.
• Students Tardy: 8:46 (***Students arriving after 8:35 must be signed in by an adult in the office)
• Dismissal Begins: 3:25 -- If you need to change the way your student normally goes home, please send in a note to your child ’s teacher. We discourage you from calling the office to change information at the last minute. If your child is riding home on a bus with another student, BOTH students must have notes.
• Parent Pick Up: PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR CAR UNTIL 3:25 or when door 14 is open. For the safety of our students, we need to have the sidewalk clear. Please park in a parking spot and not in the fire lane. We ask that families who pick up on a regular basis to please fill out the pick -up form below. Parents will park in the south end lot and come to the music room door to sign student out. Please be prepared to show ID every day.
• Students Leaving Early: To prevent congestion in the office at dismissal time, students will not be allowed to be signed out between 3-3:25. If you have an appointment, please sign your student out before 3pm. When arriving to pick up your student, please report to the front office and be prepared to show your ID. You will need an electronic device to scan a QR code for sign-out.

We would like to invite you to take an active role in your child’s education. At Mill Creek Intermediate, we believe that education is a shared responsibility, and achievement requires the commitment and participation of students, staff, family and the community. Below are a list of items that we feel are important for all families.

• REQUIRED - Update your student's Annual Emergency Information - This is very important to do before Monday. If we have an emergency with your student, we must know how to get in touch with you. Link: https://www.berkeleycountyschools.org/article/1709449
• Schoology - Schoology is the platform that we will use for communication, lesson platforms, and grades. Please make sure you and your child know how to use this platform.

The Jostens Renaissance Program is a framework of culture where teachers love their job and students thrive in school. It is built on common core values and expectations. At Mill Creek, our Renaissance program is built around the core values of Safety, Ownership, Achievement and Respect. Students and staffulty will receive recognition and rewards when following these core values. Each day, our students will have the opportunity to earn a SOAR point based on these values. You can find the guidelines on the back of their daily folders.

We will participate in our first SOAR Pep Rally on Friday, Aug. 22. Students and staffulty will walk to Musselman Middle School on Thursday morning at 9:15. We will kick off the year by discussing our core values and recognizing students and staffulty. MMS is also our evacuation site, so we will also discuss our emergency procedures while we are there. (This event will be for MCI staffulty and students only.)

You are invited to the 1st Annual Parent Pep Rally. Come and experience the excitement that your child will experience on Friday. You are invited to Musselman Middle School on Aug. 25 from 6-7:30. You will get to earn points for your child's team to go toward our School Spirit Stick. We will share with you opportunities on how you can be more involved with your child's education and school events. You will be the first to see dates of events for the entire year and have an opportunity to sign up to help. Be ready for some loud and good fun, just like your high school pep rallies!! Don't forget to bring your school spirit!

We have partnered with YE Creations again for our school spirit wear. You order online and she will deliver to the school free of charge. Just mark 'pick up' when you check out. Click here to see the newest creations: Mill Creek Intermediate Spirit Wear 2025

The LSIC is a committee that is meant to assist the school and school system in ensuring that parent, family, business, and community involvement is embedded in all aspects of the school and county strategic improvement plans. It will help to develop and promote the school and school system vision for excellence by being catalysts for innovation and it will represent the voice of the community’s education stakeholders.

At Mill Creek, the LSIC will be working collaboratively with the SOAR'n Supporters (PTO) to plan and implement family involvement activities. We invite all caregivers who would like to help with these activities to attend our quarterly LSIC meetings.

All LSIC meetings are open to the public and will start at 4pm, unless otherwise noted. Dates are subject to change. Please follow Mill Creek's NTouch Messaging and Schoology for updates. All meetings will be held in the Mill Creek Library.

Meeting Dates:

• Sept. 12, 2025 - Election of officers meeting

• Sept. 24, 2025 - Organizational Meeting

• Oct. 22, 2025 - Organizational Meeting to review WV Balanced Scorecard Data

• Nov. 19, 2025

• Jan. 28, 2025

• Apr. 15, 2025