The Muraski Tribune: Issue 20

Good Morning Muraski Families,

I hope you have started your weeks off well and enjoyed the weekend. Last week I failed with my forecasting, but this week I think I am confident in the fact that we will have a full week of school. We are excited to have the students with us for that time and have a great deal coming up. A few things of note:

• Conference Nights: February 1st & February 7th - Communication for Signups from Teachers
• PBIS Volunteer Opportunity- Bingo Incentive on February 2nd
• Lots of PTA & Community Events
• Don't forget, February 16th is a Professional Development Day - No Students
• No students on February 19th for President's Day

Let's have a great week!

Mike Griffen

PS- It was great to see so many families on the Toboggans. Although there was a little bit of rain, it was an awesome night on the chutes!

On Friday and Monday, Mr. Lawrence led our students in a lesson on PERSPECTIVE. The goal during these lessons was to teach students about understanding that everyone has their own perspective in terms of the interactions they have throughout a day. When you are able to look at the perspectives of others, it promotes compassion, empathy, and a more positive environment within our school.

In simple terms we discussed, Perspective is what I see, how I see it, and how it makes me feel. Discussions were great and our students did a phenomenal job of engaging in this learning.

IMPORTANT: Attached are the updated food guidelines for parties. If you have specific questions regarding this new policy, feel free to reach out directly to Mr. Griffen. And, as a result of this new plan, we will not be inspecting food/snacks as we check you in before the party.

The overview of the revised policy is as follows:

• There is no longer a specific list of foods
• No homemade foods allowed
• Room parent must adhere to allergies in their classroom (you should have received allergy information for your class in your Room Parent folder at the beginning of the school year)
• Ingredient labels must be available for packaged foods
• Room parents are still the only people allowed to bring food in on party days
• The brands mentioned at the end of the updated policy are suggestions if someone has a large number of allergies in their class, they are not required to purchase those brands

Holiday Sale is Underway!

The official Muraski store has launched a Holiday Sale! Spirit wear makes for great holiday gifts for the entire family, including these customizable designs for Mom, Dad, Grandparents and more!

This sale features limited-time savings of 20% sitewide! Orders over $75 will receive free shipping, and those below that will ship for just $5! Shop Now!

To determine eligibility for free / reduced lunch, as well as various additional state and federal program benefits inclusive of possible district student fees being waived, an application must be completed online at PaySchoolsCentral.com. HERE is a link with directions to apply.

It is important to note the following for those that qualify for Reduced Lunches in the 23-24 school year: The recently passed Ohio biennial budget includes a provision for the State to pay the meal charges for Reduced students ($0.30 for Breakfast and $0.40 for Lunch) effectively allowing them to eat for free. This will be in effect for the 23-24 and the 24-25 school years.

As a reminder, all school fees that have not been paid are now considered past due. To check the balance and pay outstanding school fees, go to Pay Schools Central by clicking HERE. In addition to Pay Schools Central, school fees can be paid by cash/check to your student’s building secretary or with the Treasurer's Office. If you have questions related to this, please contact the building secretary or Dawn Evangelista (devangelista@scsmustangs.org) within the Treasurer's Department. As we are approaching a new school year, as well as the start of fall sports, per Board of Education policy, the consequences for outstanding prior year school fees will prohibit students from participating in any school extracurricular activities (i.e., athletics, student council, school clubs, etc.), field trips, and school sanctioned dances / events that require a purchased ticket. For additional information on District Fee Collection Procedures and Consequences CLICK HERE.

Over the summer, the district expanded our partnership with Blocksi to include student content filtering and alerts. We no longer utilize SecURLy for these services. CLICK HERE to view an informational flier about joining the Blocksi Parent Portal to gain insights on your student’s online behavior with their scsmustangs account and set parental controls beyond the school school. If you have any questions, contact Dave Binkley, Director of Instructional Technology at dbinkley@scsmustangs.org.

Email: mgriffen@scsmustangs.org
Website: https://muraski.strongnet.org/
Location: Muraski Elementary School, Royalton Road, Strongsville, OH, USA
Phone: 440-572-7160
Twitter: @MuraskiPrin