Central Elementary

VIRTUAL MEET THE TEACHER We just wanted to remind our parents that Meet the Teacher will be done virtually tomorrow, August 14, 2020. Teacher videos will be posted before 8 o’clock in the morning, but you can watch them at your convenience. You should have received a letter with your child’s homeroom teacher’s name You can then go to www.magnoliaschools.net, choose Central Elementary from the sites tab, click on explore, then click on teacher pages, and locate your child’s homeroom teacher page. There will be a link on this page for you to click on. If you have not received your letter, please contact the school Friday morning and we can help you find the correct teacher page.

Today, we are going to address drop-off and pick-up!! Doors and gates are not opened until 7:30. For the safety of your children, please do not drop them off early. Central has two drop off and pick-up sites, the Parent Lane and Academy Street. The procedure is the same for both of these sites. Both are pull through only lanes, no parking, no double lines, simply pull over to the curb, have your child ready to exit (on the curb side) once you come to a complete stop. Students do not have to wait until you get to an awning to exit the car. In order for the line to flow smoothly, multiple students can exit at one time if the first car pulls up as far as possible before stopping. The parent lane is located at the front of the school, it is one way, entering from the end closest to Magnolia Middle School and exiting closest to Academy Street. There is No Left Turn out of the Parent Lane. Academy Street is located on the side of the school, but is not a one way street at this time. In an effort for students not to cross traffic, parents should enter Academy Street from the front of the school on East North Street. We ask that you do not drop students off in the back parking lot on Academy Street. This is the Bus Lane and faculty parking. How will you know the best place to drop off your child? If your child is a 3rd grader, the Academy Street site would be best. 5th graders use the Parent Lane. 4th graders will be a mixture of both sites, depending on homeroom placement. Please make sure your child knows before coming to school how they are getting home, walking, riding the bus, or a pick-up. We know emergencies come up, and we will work with you on those, but we need to cut down on the number of after school notes that go out. We know this is a lot of information to digest, but we will have teachers available to direct you on our first day back.

Let’s talk about safety next. How are we going to keep your children safe? 1. All Magnolia School District employees will be required to self-screen each morning before reporting to work by answering the following questions, whether or not they are experiencing any of the following: - unexplained cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, loss of taste or smell - or fever of 100.4 within the last 48 hours. We would like to ask parents to do the same with their children. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL SICK! 2. Mask will be required for ALL students and personnel when social distancing is not available. **The only exception will be while students are on the playground for recess, and during PE. (All grade level students will not be on the playground at one time for recess). 3. Touchless hand sanitizing stations will be available at each entrance to the building. 4. Students will go directly to homerooms when arriving at school. 5. Students will participate in activities (library, computers, music, art, and PE) but transitions will be staggered, students will be spaced out to travel, and travel in the hallways will be directional. 6. Rooms will be sanitized between classes. 7. Teachers will have sanitizing supplies in each classroom. 8. Maintenance personnel will sanitize all areas at the end of the day with a fogging type spray. We are so excited to be welcoming our students back to Central. We cannot wait until August 24th.

Before we go any further with frequently asked questions, we want to remind parents that Central will now be the home for 3rd - 5th grade. While we are sad to say goodbye to our 6th graders, we know they will be in great hands with the administrators and teachers at Magnolia Middle School. We are excited to welcome 3rd graders to Central, along with the 3rd grade teachers who are joining our fourth and fifth grade teachers, and the whole Central Team!!!

We know that our parents and students are anxiously awaiting information about the upcoming school year. Check back often, and hopefully we will be addressing some of your questions. First up: Who is my homeroom teacher, and how will I find out? Letters will be mailed to both on-site and virtual students next Tuesday. The letter will include information on how to "meet the teacher" virtually! For our virtual students only, a packet will also be mailed Tuesday that will include back to school forms that require parents to complete and sign. Virtual students who requested a school computer, will be contacted with a date and time to pick up their computer. The completed and signed forms must be turned in at this time.

Please see the link below for updated information regarding this year’s Magnolia Schools Virtual learning option. The enrollment deadline has been extended until August 9th at midnight. **Note** If you have already applied for the Magnolia Schools virtual option, please do not sign up again. We simply are extending the deadline after posting updates information. https://www.magnoliaschools.net/o/msd/page/district-re-entry-plan All items with updates are as follows: Virtual Options Revised and Updated 2020-2021 School Calendar Updated MMS Arrival-Dismissal/Breakfast-Lunch Updated Eastside Arrival-Dismissal/Breakfast-Lunch Updated

There have been some additions and updates to the re-entry plan added on the Magnolia School District website and Campus-specific sites. They include: ACDA Guidelines Added AAA Guidelines Added Face Coverings Guidelines Added MSD Blended Learning FAQs Removed/Replaced by Blended Learning Guidelines Virtual Option FAQs Added T-Chart Comparing Blended Learning/Virtual Option Added General FAQs Added MSD Health & Safety Guidelines Updated MSD Transportation Health & Safety Guidelines Updated Walker Pre-K Arrival-Dismissal Updated Walker Pre-K Breakfast-Lunch Updated Deleting browser history/cookies may be required if Updated documents won’t load. The magnolia schools website address can be easily viewed by clicking this link: www.magnoliaschools.net Thank you!

MJCL Sets "Cram the Bus" Date

School Supply List for 2020-21

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT Students and families, We appreciate the patience you have shown while waiting on our plan for returning to school. Our teachers, administrators, and numerous other stakeholders have worked countless hours to develop a plan for a safe environment for our students and staff. Their work and dedication to Magnolia Public Schools is sincerely appreciated. The documents are located on our district website, www.magnoliaschools.net, under the tab “Re-Entry Plan”. At the top of each school’s page, there will be a tab where more specific plans for that campus can be found. Please understand this document could change from day to day as we continue to receive guidance from DESE and ADH. Our initial plan is to begin school on a regular schedule, but that could change throughout the year as needed. We have developed plans for complete on-site instruction, a modified schedule, and remote learning. In addition, we realize that some parents may choose for their child to receive a complete virtual option for instructional delivery. That option is available, and the document for enrollment is located under the “Re-Entry” tab on the district website. We realize that this plan is not perfect; there is nothing perfect about this pandemic. We all want to return to normal. In order to effectively limit the spread of any communicable disease, we need your help in screening your child before sending him/her to school. We realize this is an inconvenience for many parents, but it is impractical and ineffective to screen students after they are at school or already on the bus. We will be providing an easily accessible screening document on our district app and ask that you screen your child daily before sending him/her to school. Most importantly, please do not send your child to school if they are sick. Again, we will continue to update this document. However, we hope this answers many of your questions about how we plan for a safe return to school for our students and staff. John Ward Superintendent Magnolia School District Website: www.magnoliaschools.net

Parents: if you have not already, please take a moment to fill out this quick survey to give your input on the upcoming 2020-2021 School Startup by clicking the link below: https://rb.gy/3jkhif Deadline to submit is today, and we’ve had over 750 entries so far. For all that have submitted, THANK YOU! It only takes a few minutes, and we appreciate each and every entry. Thank you so much! #PANTHERPROUD

Governor Hutchinson is live now providing COVID-19 Updates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rrzU1zVtuc Important information : the start date for the 2020-21 school year has been delayed and set as August 24th. Additional clarification and information will follow soon.

MJCL Receives King Foundation Grant to Support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Magnolia Junior Charity League has been awarded a $1,000 grant from Arkansas Imagination Library and the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation in Dallas, TX. Grant funds will be used to purchase Imagination Library books in Columbia County, which is one of 28 counties in east and south Arkansas where the King Foundation focuses its grant making. “We are very appreciative for the $1,000 grant from the King Foundation to the Magnolia Junior Charity League. Their support allows us to continue providing the children in our community the opportunity to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and receive books month after month. Currently, 437 children receive books and that would not be possible without supporters and donors like the King Foundation.” -Anna Smith, MJCL 2020-2021 President Every child enrolled in the Imagination Library program receives high quality, age-appropriate books in the mail – one book per month until a child’s fifth birthday – at no cost to families. Parents or guardians of children under age five in Columbia County can enroll their child in Imagination Library by going to https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/find-my-program/ Currently, almost 40,000 books are mailed to Arkansas children each month through independent Imagination Library affiliates operating in all 75 counties in Arkansas. Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the world’s preeminent early childhood book gifting program. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.5 million high quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has mailed well over 100 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The program’s impact has been widely researched, and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/.

Dear Parents: Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this pandemic. We realize you have many questions, and we are trying to put together a plan for starting school back in August that is safe for our kids, follows guidance from Arkansas Department of Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and still provides our kids with some sense of normalcy. We have had over 60 teachers, parents, healthcare workers and other stakeholders developing this plan, and we are close to completing a document for release. There are a few questions we would like your input on prior to finalizing our plan and releasing the documents. We ask that you take a minute to complete the survey by Sunday, July 12, 2020. https://rb.gy/3jkhif Thank you!

Weather postpones backpack delivery today.

Mrs. Snider will be available from 12 -2 on Thursday, June 25, 2020, for you to pickup your pre-ordered yearbook, or purchase one for $20, cash.

Don't forget to come by today between 12:30 - 4:00 to pick up or purchase your Central yearbook. You will need $20 cash if you are purchasing a yearbook.

You still have time today to stop by Central to pick up or purchase a yearbook. The cost is $20, cash only.

Magnolia Junior Charity League Sponsors Summer Backpack Program

BAILEY COBURN RECOGNIZED AS DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR The Magnolia School Board recognized East Side Elementary School music teacher, Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year at their regular meeting on June 15. Superintendent, John Ward read Mrs. Coburn’s biography and then presented her with a plaque of recognition. Bailey will now represent the Magnolia School District in the Arkansas Teacher of the Year (ATOY) competition. Arkansas regional finalists will be announced the week of July 3-8. Regional finalists will also attend a reception ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock on July 31, where the four ATOY finalists will be announced. During the fall of 2020, the ATOY selection panel will visit the finalists’ schools for classroom observation and interviews. The 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year will then be announced sometime prior to December 20, 2020.