McNair MS Weekly Newsletter

Happy Sunday McNair Middle School Families!

Welcome back from Spring Break. I hope each of you had a restful and enjoyable break, whether you traveled, stayed home, caught up on rest, or did absolutely nothing at all, if that is what your heart desired.

We are now in the home stretch with just 1 week until Georgia Milestones and 29 days until the last day of school. This is an important time for us to stay focused, aligned, and intentional in our support for students.

On Monday during Connections, I will meet with students for a town hall to encourage strong habits for testing, review expectations for behavior, and reiterate information regarding promotion, the impact of not passing GMAS, and summer school requirements.

Please note that students will not be permitted to bring book bags during testing from April 20 through May 1, as well as during the last week of school from May 18 through May 21.

We also have a baseball game on Tuesday. A special shoutout to our co-ed girls and boys baseball team for remaining undefeated. They have scored more than 7 points in each game, and we are so proud of them.

As a reminder, Georgia Milestones testing will take place from April 20 through May 1. Make-up testing will occur daily as needed.

Summer school information for students who are required to attend will be shared shortly after Milestones and before we dismiss for summer break.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support as we work together to help our students finish the school year strong.

Keenan Cameron

Principal, McNair Middle School

Golden Futures Scholarships & Awards:

Attached is our Golden Futures Scholarship flyer for high school juniors and seniors. Students ages 13+ can participate in a personal finance education game, and juniors and seniors are eligible for $10,000 and $20,000 scholarships.

Parents or guardians will need to register first and once completed, they’ll receive an access code and instructions to help their child get started.

🔗 https://www.newyorklife.com/golden-futures/scholarships

The Golden Futures Awards (Ages 5-13) celebrate children by highlighting their passions, creativity, and character. Families can participate by submitting a photo or short video that showcases what makes their child unique, along with a brief description of interests and goals. Use the link below to apply.

🔗 https://www.newyorklife.com/golden-futures/awards#gallery

We encourage families to take advantage of these meaningful opportunities to celebrate student strengths and support future success.

Don’t miss your chance to capture all the memories from this incredible school year! Our McNair Middle School yearbook is now on sale, and we want every scholar to have the opportunity to look back on their milestones, friendships, and achievements.

We will also host a special MMS Yearbook Signing Event at the end of the year. Students must purchase a yearbook to attend the signing event. Event dates will be announced soon.

👉 Scan the QR code to order your yearbook today!

Secure your copy early before they sell out!

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Attention McNair Families!

We are excited to share two easy, effective strategies that can help strengthen your child’s reading skills at home. These small steps can make a big difference in your child’s confidence and comprehension.

Before your child begins reading, encourage them to:

• Circle the title
• Look at pictures and text features
• Number the paragraphs
• Make a prediction about the text

After reading, try guiding your child through the CER process:

• Make a claim: What do they think?
• Find evidence: What in the story supports their idea?
• Explain their reasoning: Why does the evidence fit?

🌟 These Strategies Matter!

Simple, consistent reading habits at home can make a powerful impact. Thank you for supporting your child’s growth, one strategy at a time!

As part of our ongoing efforts to support digital safety, we’re excited to share that Fulton County Schools will launch Qustodio, a free app that helps parents monitor and manage their child’s online activity. This tool gives families insight into how students use both district-issued and personal devices.

For district-issued devices:

• Parents can see how much time their child spends online, which apps are being used, and what searches are conducted during the school day.

• Families can also set time limits and restrictions outside of normal school hours to encourage healthy screen time habits.

For student personal devices (optional):

• Parents can choose to install Qustodio on personal devices to monitor usage and set limits at home.

• Fulton County Schools does not have any visibility or access to data from student or parent/guardian personal devices — that information is visible only to the parent or guardian who installs the app.

To access use this link: qustodio.com/my-school to begin Qustodio. Please use your Parent Portal email address during the sign-up process.

Thank you for helping us promote responsible digital habits and strengthen the partnership between home and school.

For any questions or support, please contact myschool@qustodio.com.

Families have Parent Observer accounts in Canvas, and we are making access even easier. A Canvas Parent icon has been added to the McNair website homepage. Families can find it just below the school photo, between the Menus and Campus Portal buttons. This new feature provides a direct and convenient way for families to log in and stay connected to their student’s learning.

Please use the flyer below for additional instructions.