We are back! I want to begin by saying "Thank you" to our families for the incredible flexibility, excitement, and feedback that has helped us ensure that as our students arrive on Monday, August 31, they will feel safe and certainly loved.

Your support in practicing the safe and healthy return to school protocols will provide the needed strength we need to ensure our students feel confident as they walk in our doors on Monday.

Monday morning, rest assured that the Mustang Staffulty will be waiting for kids as they arrive at school, whether by bus or car, students will have greeters and escorts to make sure students know that we are waiting for them to arrive. We will receive our new students from the buses and drop off lines and walk them to class.

A HUGE shout out to Mrs. Ottosen and her dismissal system that we will begin using on Monday. As we planned forward and knew our dismissal system would pose challenges, she got to work developing a system that would allow students to remain in their classrooms until called. She has communicated with most families over the weekend that listed PPU as the mode of transportation to make Monday as smooth as possible. Although we know there will be a few glitches, we are excited about the new system and how it will keep dismissal safe for all.

Finally, although most of our efforts, time, and planning have been focused on preparing our facilities and our staffulty with our safe and healthy return to school plan, we never forget that learning remains our fundamental purpose. What I truly believe more than ever before and what our current times have taught me, is that although we have read the research and we know that unless a student or person has their basic(physiological and safety) needs met, they cannot attend to needs higher up, such as learning.

We need our students to arrive on Monday knowing that their needs will be met, they will have safe spaces in the classrooms, they will not get in trouble if they forget to put on their mask, they will not be embarrassed or called out, but a simple non-verbal reminder, as even the adults forget to put on their mask and have to be reminded. They will still get to sit by a friend in the CAFE, they will get to play at recess and PE without their mask, AND we will teach, model and practice anything that might be new.

Make sure tonight as they close their eyes, they know that MCA has prepared for August 31 for a long time now and we couldn't be more ready to greet our Mighty Mustang learners Monday morning.

Welcome back Mustang Family, it will be so nice to have us all back together!

It is great to be a Mighty Mustang!

Teachers shared the MCA Information Guide during Meet and Greet on Friday. As a reminder, this information is MCA specific and is located in each student's Schoology page. This is a great document to reference with questions.

On Monday we will begin teaching, modeling, and practicing our protocols together. We have developed a common language and agreed upon practices that will allow our students, from littles to middles, to feel safe and secure during the school day.

We realize there will be areas that still may need additional attention, but our hope more than anything is that our students arrive home on Monday afternoon with smiles on their faces and can't wait to return on Tuesday!

Thank you for taking time to review this important information and reviewing it with students! I have attached for your convenience. Also, don't forget to pack a watter bottle!