Midland Messenger

Email: midland@fpschools.org
Website: http://midland.fpschools.org/
Location: Midland Elementary School, 105th Street East, Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone: 253-298-4500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Midland-Elementary-Mustangs-112865059416899/?ref=settings

PLEASE LOOK FOR THIS NEWSLETTER IN YOUR EMAIL EVERY MONDAY MORNING FOR IMPORTANT MIDLAND INFORMATION!

This week is Bus Driver Appreciation Week! If your child(ren) is a bus rider, make sure you remind them to THANK THEIR BUS DRIVER! 🚌

Also, as the weather starts to get cooler, I want to remind you that we do go outside most days, unless it is absolutely pouring rain or if it is below freezing. Please be sure your child wears a coat and shoes that are appropriate for going out to recess. I also encourage you to put your child's name in their coat, in case they take it off outside. This is the time of year when we get lots of jackets in our lost and found, so please ask your child to check for their lost items.

Looking ahead, I wanted to inform families that we do not celebrate Halloween during the school day here at Midland. Students should not wear costumes, masks, face paint, or other Halloween items. However, we will be having a pajama day and encourage all students to wear their pj's on Friday, October 30th!

💜: Ms. Frederick

kfrederick@fpschools.org

253-298-4501

October 21 ~ Mustang PRIDE Assembly!

October 21 ~ 1:55 Dismissal

October 28 ~ 1:55 Dismissal

October 29 ~ PTO Trunk-or-Treat

October 30 ~ Spirit Day: PAJAMA DAY!

November 4 ~ Veteran's Day Assembly: Wear Red, White & Blue

November 4 ~ 1:55 Dismissal

November 10 ~ Picture Retake Day

November 11 ~ NO SCHOOL for Veteran's Day

November 18 ~ 1:55 Dismissal

November 19 ~ Health Screening Day

November 20 ~ Popcorn Friday!

November 25 ~ 11:55 Dismissal for Thanksgiving Break

November 26 & 27 ~ No School

**For additional future scheduled activities, please check out our Midland calendar at https://midland.fpschools.org/**

Trunk or Treat: October 29, 2026 5:30-7:00 pm

Candy Drive: Please drop off candy donations between October 21st-28th to help support our Trunk-or-Treat event!

Tuesday, October 27 | 6:00 p.m.
James Sales Elementary School Cafeteria
1301 113th St. S.

Join us to learn about recommendations from the FPS Safety Taskforce and share your thoughts on future school safety priorities.

Language interpretation services and childcare will be available. Email district staff by October 23 to request interpretation services or register for childcare.

Midland will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos from 10/26-11/6. We will be creating a school wide display to remember, celebrate and honor our loved ones who have passed away. We invite and encourage you to send a small photo of a loved one during this time for us to add to the display that will be located in the foyer. You may also send a small item that symbolizes your loved ones or a pet. May we always remember those we love and keep their memories close to our hearts.

Our bus drivers safely and faithfully transport hundreds of students to and from school each day. Imagine supervising over 50 students while driving a school bus! Please take a moment to let your child’s bus driver know how much you appreciate them for transporting our kids safely!

We also would like to thank the wonderful staff in FP’s Transportation Department who make sure students get to and from school in a safe and timely manner, and deal with any emergency with grace! Thank you!

Please remember: Our "off-and-away" policy states that if a student brings a cell phone, smart watch, tablet, ear buds, head phones, or any other electronic to school it must be turned off and be placed in their backpack. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or broken electronics.

Please make sure that you are calling or emailing our front office when your child will be absent from school. Many times families will inform the teacher and that doesn't always get to the office staff before calls are made to families. We encourage you to inform us of an absence in one of the following ways:

• Call our office at 253-298-4500 -you can call at any time, day or night, and leave a voicemail with the name of your child, date of the absence, and why they are absent.
• Email Mrs. Roberts, who oversees student attendance, as soon as you know your child will not be at school. Her email is krroberts@fpschools.org.
• You can also send an Attendance Note through ParentSquare

Thank you for helping us to keep your child's attendance record up-to-date and accurate!

Hi parents and guardians,

With the weather soon turning wetter and greyer, we’re asking parents to please send students to school with an extra change of clothes and shoes (especially if their shoes aren’t waterproof).

If your child gets wet at recess, they may have to stay in damp clothing unless you are unable to drop off dry clothes.

Thank you so much for helping us keep everyone dry and comfortable during rainy days!

Alyissa Martin, LPN

School nurse, Health room

Our main doors open at 8:40am for students to enter the building. Any students who arrive before this time MUST have an adult with them as we do not have staff supervising before 8:40am.

Also, if you would like to walk your child to class, you must drop-off before the 8:55am tardy bell. Once this bell rings, all visitors on campus must have a completed volunteer application on file AND a scheduled volunteer opportunity setup with a Midland teacher/staff member.

Thank you for helping us keep our students and staff as safe as possible!

Hello Parents,

Your child should have brought home a Book Buddy Lanyard letting you know about a safe and easy way for our school to raise funds for essential tools our students and teachers need to succeed.

The SchoolStore Program is 100% online so there is NO face-to-face selling, handling money, or delivering products. Your participation will take less than 12 minutes, and there are exciting prizes to make it fun for the students.

Here is all you need to do to participate:

1. Go to https://www.schoolstore.net/sid.t?0000371254 to sign up.

2. Send form emails inviting family, friends, and co-workers to support your child.

3. Return the Book Buddy Lanyard with the Student Prize Code to school for your child to get their fun participation prize.

Be sure to ask your child for the Book Buddy Lanyard, if you haven't already. Your participation will make a difference for our school and teachers!

Our Free and Reduced-Price Application is now available in the Family Access portal. To access the application click on the “Food Service Applications” tile and then click “Start New Application.”

If a student is already free or reduced as of 7/1/2026 or later, you won’t be able to start an application.

We ask that all families fill out the application. This helps with our reimbursements that come back to the district for our schools that provide free breakfast and lunches to students.

Eligibility letters are also available in the Portfolio section of Family Access for students who are qualified for this school year. Students that have qualified or re--qualified already will receive SUN Bucks (Summer-EBT) in the summer of 2027 🙂

If you have a child who will be five years old by August 31, please enroll now. The 2026-2027 school year is just around the corner! Starting kindergarten is a big deal for kids and their families. It's not just about learning ABCs and 123s - it's about making new friends, discovering new things, and taking a step into a new school community. Visit www.fpschools.org/enroll.

• Find your School!
• Gather your Documents!
• Enroll online!

Now is a great time to check the contact information that we have for your child. If you have had any changes, you can always log on to your Family Access Account at fpschools.org and update your address, email, and phone numbers. If you need help, please don't hesitate to call the Midland Office at 253-298-4500.

If you are interested in volunteering as a chaperone for field trips or in any other capacity that may come up, please complete the volunteer application as soon as possible. It may take up to two weeks to process an application and we don't want you to be left out of a volunteer opportunity because you are not approved yet! Click here to begin your volunteer application. If you were cleared as a volunteer last year, please complete a new application. Volunteer applications must be completed every year.

Stay in the know with the PTO! You can catch what's happening in the weekly newsletter.

If you'd like to know more about what the PTO does you can send an email to midlandspto@gmail.com

Franklin Pierce Schools has a resource center for our families. You will find information and help for many situations and needs - food, diapers, formula, community referrals, and more.

Click here to access the Family Resource Center website

Franklin Pierce Schools does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.

Questions and complaints of alleged discrimination should be directed to Brandy Marshall, Compliance Coordinator for State and Civil Rights Laws; Marie Laban, Title IX Officer; or John Sander, 504/ADA Coordinator at 315 129th ST S, Tacoma, WA 98444-5099 or at (253)298-3000.