Mustang Memo

Hello, Mustang Families!!!

We are so excited to welcome our students tomorrow, August 12! Doors open at 7:10, and students should be in their classrooms ready to learn by 7:40 AM. We can't wait!!!

Fayetteville Public Schools will be providing new Student ID Badges and a new lanyard for all of our students again this year. In middle school, students must again wear their ID with their school-issued lanyard all day, every day. The ID badges from last year will not work, so they can be destroyed or put away as a memento. :-)

An email was sent to all Guardians listed in the Guardian 1 slot on Wednesday, July 23rd. Take action once you receive that email on the online enrollment forms. You will need to follow the instructions in the Back to School Check-In section. Also, please complete the free & reduced lunch forms that have to be completed EACH YEAR (Next Section). These are tremendous saving for school breakfast and lunch. This online registration form closes on August 8th so please don't wait, complete it once you receive the email.

If you don't see the email, please check the spam and/or junk folder in your email. The email will NOT come from Fayetteville Public Schools but rather you should be looking for "PowerSchool Enrollment" in your email.

This year, EVERY student will receive one FREE breakfast everyday as a new law for the entire state of Arkansas! All they have to do is go through the cafe line and enter their lunch code and it is free!

For lunch to be free or reduced, each family MUST fill out the meal form. This is the link to apply for free/reduced meals: https://www.myschoolapps.com/

And lastly, to add money to your student's meals account: www.MySchoolBucks.com

Note: There is a change to how we serve milk in our cafeteria. We no longer have milk cartons. Students will get a cup and then get chocolate or white milk from dispenser.

This year we are making some changes regarding personal electronic devices which include cell phones, smart watches, and earbuds. We will continue implementing the new screen time guidelines from the district which limits the use of Chromebooks to 120 minutes each day. The Chromebook will NOT be used as a reward and we will focus the use of technology for enhancing the learning experience. The following will be implemented starting the first day of school:

• Student will be assigned Chromebooks that stay at school and charge in carts.
• **NEW** Per state law, cell phones, smart watches, and wireless earbuds are prohibited from bell to bell. These personal electronic devices will be placed in Yondr Pouches during advisory and placed in the student's locker all day...an exception will be for students who need it to monitor a health information device. That must be pre-approved prior to school starting. They will "unlock" the Yondr Pouch at the end of the day and the pouch will either be stored in their Advisory classroom.
• We will instruct the students on the use of the Yondr Pouch during our "RUN WEEK" when students begin school on August 12.

Again, per state law, there will be no access to personal electronics during the day. Thank you for your understanding and support as we remove these from use throughout the school day!

If you need to contact your child with important information, you can call the school office at (479)527-3660.

Reminders:

As we head into Tax-Free weekend next week August 2nd & 3rd, it is always great to remember the following items for dress here at middle school:

• No hats or hoodies are allowed to be worn over the head
• No earbuds are allowed at anytime...classroom sets of headphones are in place to use
• The bottom of all shirts must touch the top of the pants/shorts worn at all times

Students who walk out the front of the school will be dismissed at the 3:00 bell.

Students who walk to Vandergriff to meet siblings or who walk toward Township will be dismissed to meet Mrs. Anderson and walk with her to Vandergriff each afternoon.

Morning:

Morning carline is front(from Mission) and back (from Township) - single lane

The front line opens at 7:10 AM, and the back opens at 7:20 AM (after buses depart).

Afternoon:

Our afternoon carline system feature two cars side-by-side starting at our driveway off of Vandergriff Lane (after you’ve turned off of Mission Blvd.). Side-by-side carlines ease traffic on Mission Blvd. and ensure car pickup is safe and efficient by giving staff the ability to load more cars at a time.

Due to the two-lane carline, no student check-outs will be possible after 2:30. Thank you for your cooperation in helping keep our students safe! In the event of an appointment, please check-out your student before 2:30pm.

Carline System - Parents will receive barcode codes (the company has not sent them to us yet, but we will get them to you ASAP) that will be scanned to dismiss your child. The cards will come home in students’ Tuesday folders. These barcodes will enable us to ensure that all students are picked up by those on their check-out list, making dismissal more secure for all students.

PM Carline procedures:

• Beginning at 2:30, cars will begin lining up side-by side in the carline area. Note -The lane you get in will NOT impact the direction you have to go when exiting the parking lot.
• Scoot up as close to the car in front of you as safely can; you may be asked to scoot up if duty personnel sees gaps that can help get traffic off the road.
• Please make sure your car is in PARK.
• For efficiency, cars in the left lane (Lane 1) need to display their barcodes on the right side of the car (passenger side). Cars in the right lane (Lane 2) need to display their barcodes on the left side of the car (driver side).
• Once all cars are stopped and scanned, school personnel will load approximately 20 cars at a time - 10 cars in each lane.
• Staff members will double check each car with a thumbs up. If your child has not made it to your car by the time staff is giving the thumbs up, you will need to let the staff member know. We will call for your child again, and we may ask you to park if it will cause a delay to wait for your child.
• Once the 20 cars in both the outside and inside lanes are full, the staff member at the front of the line will let Lane 1 go (10 cars) and then Lane 2 (10 cars).
• The above process will be repeated until all car riders have been picked up.

Students riding buses AA-GG will meet Mrs. Anderson in the cafeteria and walk with her to Vandergriff. Students riding buses JJ-ZZ will load buses in the back parking loop at McNair. Students will need to use their ID badges daily to ride the bus.

Last May and June we asked everyone to let us know if your child needed bus transportation. Many of you filled that out (THANK YOU!) and we have created NEW and more efficient bus routes. We will be using the NEW Student ID Cards to "Badge ON and OFF" the buses.

If your child signed up to ride the bus, you will receive correspondence from the Transportation Department. If you have not previously signed up your child for transportation, contact your building’s administrative assistant to sign up. It will take up to two weeks from the time you enroll in transportation for you to receive an assignment.

5th Grade

Outriders

Rangers

Spurs

Trailblazers

6th Grade

Broncos

Chargers

Colts

Mavericks

Hi McNair Families,

I wanted to tell you a little about another great McNair Staff Member, our therapy dog, Gibson. Gibson is a black and silver miniature Schnauzer. Gibson was born March 17, 2022, St. Patrick's Day. Gibson weighs around 20 lbs and is 3 years old. He was born in a rural area, Waldron Arkansas, which is South of Ft. Smith. His mother’s name is Binka and his father’s name is Sully. Gibson had 5 other siblings, and he was the biggest (and sweetest) puppy in the litter.

Gibson came to live with Mr. & Mrs. Anderson when he was 12 weeks old. He has one older sister, and three older brothers (humans) that have all moved out of the house, so Gibson is technically an only child. His best friend is a Rag Doll Cat named Winston and a special friend and another schnauzer Luna. Mrs. Anderson, 6th grade assistant principal, is Gibson's mom.

Gibson loves his toys. He has many toys and although he adores every single one of them, his favorite may be a plastic water bottle. He loves to look for and chase squirrels and deer. When in the car driving he loves to put his head out the window and feel the breeze while his ears blow in the wind. He loves all the kids at McNair!

In May of 2023 when Gibson was a little over one year old, he was stung by a swarm of honey bees. We don’t know exactly how many but he became very ill within minutes of being stung. Gibson was rushed to the Animal Hospital in Springdale. The veterinarian immediately started to work with Gibson, but his organs were shutting down and they didn’t think Gibson would survive. He was bleeding internally and his blood wouldn’t clot. He was in the hospital for 5 days and while he was there was hooked up to 3 IV’s and had 4 plasma treatments to help his blood to clot. The Dr. allowed Mrs. Anderson to spend the night with Gibson so she slept on the floor with him each night to provide security and comfort. Gibson did survive the bee stings, but it took him over a month to fully recover and be able to eat, run, and play. We are SO thankful Gibson made it through this very difficult time.

Training: Gibson has graduated from Basic Obedience Class, Canine Smart Dog Obedience Class (Temperament), Advance Obedience Class, Canine Good Citizen Class and completed all requirements for Therapy Dog Status November 5, 2024. Each class was 8 weeks. So, Gibson had class and homework just like you. While at school he is also in training. Please remember when Gibson comes into the classroom we don’t want to interrupt learning. Ask to pet Gibson and any dogs you come in contact with. Always wash your hands when petting animals.

Thank you for letting me share Gibson’s story with you.

He enjoys being a MUSTANG and loves being with you.