MES Family Update

• If a student is gone due to a having a temperature or feeling unwell they should not return until they are fever free and symptom free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be a big deal this time around. We will have a Food Truck Rally and Family Fitness Night with planned activities and basket raffles. The food trucks will be donating a portion of their proceeds back to the MES Playground project and ALL proceeds from the basket raffle will go to the project!

The new District/School website is live but continues to be a work in progress. Please email Ms. Brauer if you find a broken link or misinformation so we can correct it.

February 17 - Professional Learning Day - No School for Students

February 19 - 4K Trip to Luv 2 Play

February 27 - 5th Grade CWES Field Trip

March 6-7 - No School

March 6 - P/T Conferences 1:00-7:00

March 24-28 - Spring Break

Skyward is a powerful tool that helps parents stay informed about their child’s academic progress. With Skyward, you can view grades, attendance, and even upcoming assignments—all in real time. To access your child’s grades, simply log in to your Skyward Family Access account via the school’s website or mobile app.

Set a routine to check grades weekly and use the information to encourage positive study habits and address challenges early.

1. Go to www.manawaschools.org and click the Skyward Family Access link.(upper right)
2. Enter your username and password provided by the school.
3. Click Sign In to access your child’s grades, attendance, and more.
4. Forgot your login? Use the Forgot Password option or contact the school.

The voting is in and ballots have been counted. There was a clear winner on Tuesday for MES Decision 2024. Climbers won 150 votes to Swings 30 votes. The student body has spoken.

Stay tuned to hear about fundraising for the new equipment.

I have fielded a few questions about attendance so I wanted to add a note in the update just in case others are wondering.

Students are "allowed" 10 excused absences each school year. These include sick days and other parentally excused days off such as a vacation. Absences can be medically excused by bringing a note from a medical professional (dentist, doctor, etc) stating that the student had an appointment during a school day or has an illness that prevents them from attending school until a certain day or symptoms subside. Medically excused absences do not count toward the 10 excused absences. At the 10th excused absences I will meet with the parents of the student to discuss a plan moving forward and the information below.

After the 10th excused absence all days the student misses are considered unexcused even if we get notification from a parent unless we receive a medical excuse. Students are "allowed" 5 unexcused days per semester before they are considered habitually truant. I will meet with parents again after the 3rd unexcused absence in a semester to revise the plan and discuss what could happen if the student misses more school. We may move toward truancy after the 5th unexcused absence in a semester.

Practicing school lunch at home is a critcial skill for school! Help your child succeed at school by teaching them how to open and each a lunch box meal.

Lunch time is 30 minutes for our students to open, eat, and clean-up from lunch. That is not a lot of time if your child is having to wait for an adult to help open their food. There are 2 adults assigned to lunch duty daily and approximately 100 students in each lunch peroid. It might be 15 minutes before your child could start eating if they are waiting for help.

In my opinion, that is way too long for them to wait, and then way too fast for them to have to eat before leaving the lunch room!

Be mindful when you pack something in your child's lunch that needs to be warmed up that it reduces the time your child has to eat.

Many students would rather eat something warm and parents may like to get rid of left overs by packing microwaveable foods in their child's lunch. While we do have 2 microwaves in the cafeteria, please remember that there are approximately 100 students and 2 adults. The line for each microwave can get long. Last year, we had students who had to wait 15 minutes for a microwave! This didn't leave them much time to heat, eat, and clean up.

We ask that students bring drinks that have no caffeine and as little sugar as possible to school.

Check labels! Many drinks that call themselves sparkling water are filled with caffeine and sugar. Bubbl'r can have twice as much caffeine than a can of coke.

Please reach out to MES if you need anything. We still have school supplies and the Food Pantry is available for anyone in need. We are here year round to support our families. Call the elementary office at 920-596-5700 if you need assistance.

Email: dbrauer@manawaschools.org

Website: www.manawaschools.org
Phone: 920-596-2238