The Pony Express Parent Newsletter

We are excited to welcome our new principal Mrs. Morales to the MacArthur family! Please join us on Monday for an opportunity to meet our new campus leader.

We will offer two Meet & Greet opportunities for your convenience, at 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM.

Families are welcome to stop by at whichever time works best for their schedule. We look forward to seeing you and beginning this exciting new chapter together!

This week, October 26–30, MacArthur is celebrating Red Ribbon Week, a nationwide campaign dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles, making positive choices, and encouraging students to live drug-free. Red Ribbon Week is an opportunity for our school community to come together and remind students that the decisions they make today help shape their future. This year's theme, “Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free!” encourages our Ponies to be leaders, stand up for what is right, and make choices that keep themselves and others safe. Throughout the week, students are encouraged to participate in our daily dress-up themes as we celebrate school spirit, kindness, and the importance of living a healthy, drug-free life.

Friday, October 30 – Halloween Costume Day!

Students may wear their favorite superhero or school-appropriate Halloween costume. As a reminder, face masks of any kind, pretend weapons, inflatable costumes, and costume accessories are not permitted. All costumes must follow the school dress code.

Thank you, Pony families, for supporting Red Ribbon Week and helping us create a safe, positive, and healthy learning environment for all our students!

Next week, our students will begin STAAR Interim Math Assessments on Tuesday and Wednesday!

These assessments help us better understand our students' academic strengths, identify learning gaps in specific standards, and determine how we can best support each child's continued growth and success.

We ask for your support in ensuring your child is present, well-rested, and ready to do their best! A good night's sleep, and arriving at school on time can make a big difference.

Thank you for partnering with us to help our MacArthur Ponies shine!

Join us for an evening celebrating the talents of our MacArthur Middle School students! Our Fall Fine Arts Showcase will feature special performances by our band and choir students.

We invite all families to join us on Tuesday, October 27, at 5:00 PM in the gym as we celebrate the hard work and creativity of our talented Ponies. We hope to see you there!

One of the things we are most thankful for is our wonderful MacArthur community! We are excited to welcome our families to campus for a special Thanksgiving luncheon filled with gratitude, togetherness, and sweet memories with your little Ponies!

We look forward to celebrating with you and making this season extra special for our students.

Please see the flyer below for all the details!

At MacArthur, every day counts! Regular attendance helps our Ponies learn, grow, and succeed.

This October, we're celebrating students who show up every day! Students with perfect attendance from October 12–28 will earn a special Ghost Pass to our attendance celebration Oct 29th, and 30th!

Let's work together to make every school day count!

On October 20, MacArthur surprised our Ponies with a fun Ghost Hunt Attendance Celebration! Ghosts were hidden throughout the campus, and students who found them were able to turn them in at the front office to claim a special prize!

This surprise was a fun way to celebrate the importance of coming to school every day. At MacArthur, we believe every school day is an opportunity to learn, grow, and make exciting memories!

The fun isn't over yet! We have one more surprise ghost hunt planned for next week, but we're keeping the date a secret! Make sure your Pony comes to school every day because you never know when a fun surprise might be waiting!

Absence Reporting QR code and email

We are excited to share that our neighboring school, Cielo Vista Elementary, has invited our MacArthur families to join their Fall Festival! Although we were unable to host our own Fall Festival this year, we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Cielo Vista and bring our school communities together for an evening of fall fun!

The festival will take place on Friday, October 30, from 4:30–6:30 PM. Families can enjoy games, activities, trunk-or-treat, and more! Cielo Vista is also welcoming volunteers, candy donations, cake donations, and decorated trunks to help make this event a success.

We appreciate Cielo Vista Elementary for extending this invitation to our Pony families and look forward to celebrating together. We hope to see you there!

This November, we are celebrating our amazing MacArthur teachers and staff with a special pie appreciation event! Our teachers give so much of themselves every day, and we want to show them just how thankful we are for all they do.

We are asking our wonderful Pony families to help us make this celebration extra sweet by donating a store-bought pie! Every donation will help us share a little gratitude with the incredible educators who make a difference in our students' lives.

If you would like to donate, please drop off a store-bought pie at the front office anytime from November 9–12. For everyone's safety, we kindly ask that all pies be store-bought rather than homemade.

Thank you for helping us show our teachers that they are an important piece of what makes MacArthur so special!

We are looking for our wonderful Pony families to help us decorate and prepare for our upcoming Thanksgiving Luncheon! This is a special opportunity to come together as a school community and create a warm, festive atmosphere for our students and families to enjoy.

We will hold a brief volunteer meeting on November 2 at 3:15 PM in the school cafeteria to discuss decoration plans and preparations. We then invite our volunteers to return on November 9 to help decorate and bring our Thanksgiving vision to life!

If you would like to volunteer, please sign up using the link below.

Thank you for sharing your time and creativity to help make this celebration memorable for our Ponies and their families. We are thankful for our amazing MacArthur community!

MacArthur is proud to celebrate and honor the brave men and women who have served our country! Our Veterans Day celebration will begin with a special flag presentation by our Color Guard, followed by a performance of the National Anthem by our orchestra and choir. We will then host a special appreciation breakfast to recognize and thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice. Following breakfast, we will hold a Hero Walk to give our students and staff an opportunity to show their gratitude and appreciation.

We warmly invite all MacArthur families who have a veteran in their family to join us for this special celebration. If you have a veteran who would like to attend, please complete the registration form using the link below so we can plan accordingly.

All registrations must be submitted by November 6. Registered guests will receive an entry ticket for the celebration.

Please see the attached flyer for additional event details. We look forward to coming together as a school community to honor our heroes and thank them for their dedication and service to our country!

We invite all 8th grade families to attend our upcoming House Bill 5 (HB 5) parent meetings. These informational sessions will help families better understand high school graduation requirements, available endorsements, and the academic pathways students can explore as they prepare for high school.

In preparation for the official HB 5 Night, Families have two opportunities to learn more about what endorsements are offered at EPISD on November 2 at our Endorsement Prep meeting:

• 8:30 AM – MacArthur 401 (MS Counseling room)

• 5:00 PM – Virtual Meeting via Zoom

Additionally, our HB 5 Night will take place on November 4, from 5:30–7:00 PM in the MacArthur cafeteria. Attendance at this event is mandatory for all 8th grade families.

Please review the flyers below for additional information. We look forward to partnering with our families to help our students make informed decisions about their educational futures!

We are looking for three volunteers from our MacArthur community to help judge our Grade-Level Halloween Costume Contest! Each grade level will be showing off their creativity and teamwork with a group costume, and we need your help selecting the winning grade level!

If you would like to be one of our three special judges, please sign up using the link below.

Thank you for helping us make this a fun and memorable celebration for our Ponies!

MacArthur Families, get ready for an afternoon of fun, laughter, and Lotería!

Our Lotería Afternoon has been rescheduled to Friday, October 23, from 3:15–4:30 PM in the MacArthur Library!

We are excited to bring our Pony families together for a fun-filled afternoon of games and community. We hope to see you there!

Gifted and Talented referrals are open through October.

Come check out out bookfair.

MacArthur families, please be on the lookout for a paper copy of the Impact Aid Survey that will be sent home with your student. This survey is important because it helps our district secure federal funding to support educational programs, resources, and services for our students.

We kindly ask that all families complete the survey and return it to school as soon as possible. Your participation helps ensure our schools receive the funding needed to provide the best possible learning opportunities for our Ponies.

Thank you for your prompt attention and continued support!

It's game time at MacArthur! Our Pony football and Lady Pony volleyball teams are kicking off their seasons, and we couldn't be more excited! We encourage our families to come out, cheer on our student-athletes, and show their Pony spirit. Please review the schedules below for upcoming games, practices, and important dates. Let's fill the stands and support our Ponies as they represent MacArthur with teamwork, dedication, and sportsmanship!

We love having our Pony families involved in our school community! Whether it's helping with school events, decorating for celebrations, or supporting special activities, our volunteers play an important role in making MacArthur a wonderful place for our students.

If you are interested in volunteering, please scan the QR code on the flyer to complete your volunteer application. Please remember that all volunteers must reapply each school year.

For questions or additional information, please contact our Military-Family Liaison, Victoria Ramirez, at vvservin@episd.org or 915-236-0625.

Thank you for helping us make every student, every day, and every opportunity count!

EL PASO ISD STUDENT HANDBOOK

Ms. Blanchette Asst. Principal

Email: dmblanch@episd.org