Mosier Community School Newsletter

Dear Mosier Community School Parents and Community,

We have some exciting news to share as we kick off the 2026–2027 school year! At Mosier Community School, we know that showing up matters. Every day at school is an opportunity for students to learn something new, build friendships, develop confidence, and connect with their school community. That's why improving student attendance is one of our priorities this year!

During the 2024–2025 school year, 68% of our students were considered regular attenders, meaning they attended school at least 91% of the time. While we are still awaiting the release of our most recent state report card to better understand last year's attendance trends, we are excited to share that 80% of our students met the regular attendance benchmark in September! That's a 12-percentage-point improvement over our 2024–2025 average, and we're looking forward to building on that momentum!

A Little Friendly Competition!

Our goal is to have 91% or more of our students attending school regularly, and we're making the journey a little more fun! Each month, we'll recognize students who achieve an individual attendance rate of 91% or higher. We'll also have a friendly competition between classrooms to see which class can earn the highest average attendance rate. The winning classroom will celebrate with a "Thanks for Popping In!" Popcorn Party!

We also recognize that life happens. Students get sick, family emergencies arise, and sometimes absences are simply unavoidable. We never want families to feel pressured to send sick children to school. That's why our attendance competition will reset every month, giving every classroom a fresh start and another chance to earn the popcorn party!

How Can Families Help?

Families play an incredibly important role in helping students develop positive attendance habits. Establishing consistent morning and bedtime routines, scheduling appointments outside of school hours when possible, and communicating with the school when attendance challenges arise can all make a difference. If your family is experiencing barriers that make regular attendance difficult, please reach out. We want to work together to find solutions and support your child's success.

Every student matters. Every school day matters. And every day is a new opportunity to show up and shine!

Thank you to our families, students, and staff for helping us start the year on such a positive note. Let's keep the momentum going and make this our best attendance year yet!

Kristin Whitley

K-8 Principal

Mosier Community School

FLEX Friday Registration begins Monday, November 16 at 8am and closes on Monday, December 1 at 4pm and Parents will be asked to register for December 4 and/or December 11 during this registration period. Families need to register to attend through ParentSquare.

Individuals can also donate to help with the cost of FLEX Fridays so that everyone that wants to join us is able to. See the flyer below for more information.

Thank you so much to all the staff and volunteers who have helped out recently! We have some rockstar snack fairy volunteers and an amazing team of Jog-A-Thon volunteers! The Jog-A-Thon was so much fun! We are still taking pledges to be considered for prizes in the most money raised per class, and per student categories. The class that raises the most, gets a pizza party!

We are also preparing for our last two events of 2026. The Turkey Trot on November 25 (Thanksgiving Day) and The Mosier Holiday Fair on December 5 and 6. We'd love your help with either or both of these! We'll send out opportunities to join the work parties for these, and at home ways you can help too.

Below are some important dates to remember and links to our Snack Fairy Committee Sign Up. Thank you MCS for showing up for our school and our community!

11/4/2026- Tiger's Den Business Meeting 4:00 PM MCS Library

11/26/2026- Turkey Trot- Twin Tunnels

12/5-12/6/2026- Mosier Holiday Fair

PTO Snack Fairy Sign Up Genius - Use this link to sign up!

Tiger's Den President - Jess McGimsey

As we move into November and the winter season approaches, we want to make sure all Mosier Community School families know how to stay informed about weather-related delays and emergency school closures.

Should severe weather, unsafe road conditions, or unexpected emergencies force a schedule change or closure, we will notify families as quickly as possible through the following channels:

• Notifications will be sent directly to your phone and email via ParentSquare. Please take a moment to ensure your contact information and notification preferences are up to date in the app.

• Announcements will also be posted clearly on the front page of our website.

We encourage all families to review their emergency plan for delayed starts or unexpected early dismissals. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students safe and warm this season!

If you have any questions regarding transportation, please contact NWASCO Transportation at NWASCO Transportation Department.

2026 MCS Board Meeting Calendar

Regular Board Meeting, November 17 at 5:30pm in the MCS Library and online.

More information and links for online meetings can be found at www.mosier.k12.or.us.

Board Members 2026-27

• Chair Emily Stranz - emily.stranz@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Vice Chair Giulia Good-Stefani - goodg@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Secretary - Tiffany Stranz - tiffany.stranz@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Treasurer - Sheri Dorst - sheri.dorst@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Facilities - Dan Watson - watsond@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Community Relations - Jess McGimsey - jessica.mcgimsey@nwasco.k12.or.us
• Lexi Braaten - alexia.braaten@nwasco.k12.or.us

Meetings are held on Tuesdays at 5:30pm in the MCS Library

Volunteers are a very important part of running a successful charter school. There are several ways to help out at Mosier Community School! We need volunteers to help out in our classrooms, join our Tiger's Den PTO, join us at lunchtime to help with supervision, or sharing your skills on our FLEX Fridays!

Please make sure that your volunteer background check is turned in to the office the first month of school. Forms can be found below. We follow the NWCSD Volunteer Guidelines.

• Volunteer Application

• Criminal History Verification

• Proof of Vehicle Liability Insurance

Mosier Community School

1204 1st Ave. Mosier, OR 97040

Phone: 541-478-3321Fax: 541-478-2536

✉️ mosierschools@nwasco.k12.or.us

Executive Director: Michelle Dawkins

K-8 Principal: Kristin Whitley

Secretary: Daphne Flud

School Hours: 8:20 am - 3:50 pm

Office Hours: 7:30am - 4:15pm

Be sure to follow us on Instagram at mosier_community_school and Facebook.