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Unless otherwise noted, details for all of these events can be found in the MES Upcoming Events section below.
Monday, September 5
- Labor Day - School Closed
Wednesday, September 7
- Gifted Testing Informational Meeting For Interested Parents of Students NOT currently in GATE
- 3D: Dolphins Diving Into Differentiation info coming home with students - See the MES News and Reminders section for more info
Friday, September 9
- Parents Coffee and Clean Up
Monday, September 13
- Dolphins Do Good Committee Meeting
Friday, September 16
-
Principal's Coffee Talk - See Principal's Blog section for more info
Monday, September 19 - Friday, September 23
- 2022 MES@Inman In Person Book Fair
- BASC - BESS Window
Wednesday, September 21
- APS Midtown Cluster Elementary School Kick-Off Planning Meeting - See APS and Midtown Cluster Happenings section for more info
Wednesday, September 28
- Parent University - Orientation 2.0 - Save the Date
Open Now: the MES Foundation Annual Appeal! See all the details in the MES News and Reminders Section below!
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COVID-19 Data Update
SURVEILLANCE TESTING:
On Monday, 8/29/22, 258 students and 56 staff members were tested through surveillance testing with 2 students and 0 staff members testing positive.
SELF REPORTS:
On Wednesday, 8/31/22, 0 students and 50 staff members were tested through surveillance testing with 0 testing positive.
Additionally, between 8/26/22 and 9/1/22, we received 3 self-reported COVID cases through the self-report form.
If your child receives a positive test result, please fill out a self report form HERE.
SURVEILLANCE TESTING OPT IN CONSENT FORMS:
Student Consent Form ENGLISH SPANISH
OPT OUT OF SURVEILLANCE TESTING:
To opt out of surveillance testing, please send an email with your name, your student's name, and your student's date of birth to Viral Solutions - [email protected]. Please copy Nurse Petty on this email as well - [email protected].
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Wednesday, September 7th – Gifted Testing Informational Meeting For Parents Of Students NOT In GATE
The GATE team will hold a Gifted Testing Informational Session for Parents of students not currently in GATE. This meeting is for those interested in learning about the gifted testing process and will be held in the MES @ Inman Auditorium on Wednesday, Sept. 7th from 8:00-8:45am. If you are unable to attend and want more information, please view the Gifted Testing Informational Video on the APS Gifted Website. There is more information about the current window for parent referral for gifted testing in the MES News and Reminders section, below.
Please contact a member of the Gifted Team if you have any questions.
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Campus Clean Up Opportunities in September
There are several opportunities coming up this month to help with our ongoing campus beautification efforts!
- Friday, September 9th at 8am - Parents Coffee and Clean Up
- Friday, September 30th at 2:45pm - All Welcome Clean Up Day
For all clean up events, please meet at the walker pad. For events occurring during school hours, please check in at the office first. Gloves and bags will be provided. By working together, these events go quickly - we're usually done within an hour. If we work together, it will be a quick clean up and we will be finished by 8:45.
In addition to our Campus Clean Up Days, we are also launching our first annual MES @ Inman Trash Campaign to encourage our school community to remember to pick up trash and help us maintain our beautiful campus. To participate, simply come up with a slogan and/or picture to help kids remember to pick up trash on the playground and submit a sign with your slogan to the office. The collected signs will be laminated and hung up around the playground. Posters will be unveiled for our planned Campus Clean Day on Friday, September 30th, during which time we'll acknowledge all of the participants who submitted posters with a popsicle party
Signs can range in size from a sheet of paper to standard poster board - just enough to remind and inspire our kids to keep the playground looking its best. Please place all signs and slogans in the box in the main office by Friday, September 16th to allow time for lamination and hanging before the September 30th unveiling.
More details about our Campus Beautification efforts can be found on the MES website. Please send any questions to our Campus Beautification chair, Heather Low
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Tuesday, September 13 – Dolphins Do Good Committee Meeting
Are you looking for opportunities for your child to get involved in community service? Join the Dolphins Do Good committee!
We are having our first committee meeting September 13th (right after drop-off) from 7:45--8:15 AM, at the picnic tables next to the school on Virginia Avenue. If you are interested in the committee, but can't make the meeting, please contact Stephanie Hanley or Lorraine Hatch (emails linked below) and we will forward all of the important information over to you.
Any Questions, Contact Stephanie Hanley or Lorraine Hatch
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Monday, September 19 - Friday, September 23 –
Book Fair is Back in Person!
The 2022 MES@Inman In Person Book Fair will be September 19 - 23, 2022. Students will visit the book fair during their browse & buy days with their class (schedule coming soon). Families are welcome to join their students during their scheduled browse or buy days or shop anytime without their student. Check into the main office first before going to the library.
Vouchers are available for students who may need assistance purchasing books. The voucher distribution process will be coordinated through Mr. LaSalle, the school social worker. Students who are interested in receiving a voucher should contact Mr. LaSalle for more information about the voucher process. Teachers who would like to obtain vouchers on behalf of certain students should also reach out to Mr. LaSalle.
For more details, Please click HERE
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Monday, September 19 - Friday September 23 - BASC Bess Window
Atlanta Public Schools is committed to creating a culture of student support, and supporting the needs of the whole child. One way we are addressing the whole child is by identifying student strengths and areas for growth relative to social, emotional, and behavioral well-being.
In our continuing efforts to support the well-being of all students, we will administer a universal screener of social, emotional & behavioral health. The universal screener that was chosen by the District to help identify student strengths and areas for growth is the BASC-3 Behavior and Emotional Screening Scale (BASC-3 BESS).
For more information about the BESS Screener, please click HERE
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Wednesday, September 28 - Parent University - Orientation 2.0
Save the Date! Our first Parent University of the year will focus on answering your questions about all things MES. This event will be held in person at the MES @ Inman Auditorium. Additional details to follow soon!
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MES Foundation launches Annual Appeal!
At back-to-school night you likely heard about the Morningside Elementary School Foundation in your classroom. The Foundation is in its 12th year and supports teacher training; curriculum & instructional supports; technology; and facilities enhancements. The money raised by the Foundation through parent donations is spent during the school year to directly support students and teachers at MES and to ensure that the school is able to focus its budget on hiring needed teachers and staff. Over the next few weeks, we will highlight the work of the Foundation.
Please make a donation to support the MES Foundation and our school!
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Remembering Amy Snowden-Mather
As Principal Sofianos shared a few weeks back, beloved 33-year veteran Morningside teacher Amy Mather passed away on August 10, 2022. A community memorial honoring Amy will be held at Midtown High School on Sunday, September 18th at 3:00 PM.
A full obituary may be viewed here.
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Intervention and Enrichment plus MAP Testing Information
Next week, we will start our “3D, Dolphins Diving into Differentiation” intervention and enrichment time.
As a reminder, last year, this year and next year, our school is operating on a +30 minute school schedule. This extra time (which we call "3D Time") has been designated by APS as intervention or enrichment in reading and math for our students, due to the weeks that our school was closed for in-person learning in 2020 and 2021. We also have offered two expanded summer school programs, with our third expanded summer school being planned for June 2023.
Our teachers have been planning for how each grade will implement the intervention and enrichment +30 minutes of extra time. We use the MAP data as our main qualifier for intervention, with 7.5% of our student qualifying for reading intervention and 4.8% of our students qualifying for math intervention. Next Wednesday, September 7th, you will receive your child’s information on his or her participation in intervention or enrichment, plus the score we used to make that determination. We also will send home a MAP report which includes more details from that latest reading and math MAP assessment. Be looking for that information in the September 7th Wednesday folder.
If you have any questions, just contact Principal Sofianos at [email protected]
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Parent Referral for GATE Testing
The window to request a parent referral for Gifted Eligibility Testing this school year is open from September 1 through September 30.
Please visit these links for:
1) Parent Referral Informational Video
2) Frequently Asked Questions with Answers (in English)
3) Frequently Asked Questions with Answers (en Espanol)
3) Online “Request for Parent Referral” Form
If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Duncan at [email protected]
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Lost and Found Sign-Up!
Has something gone missing that you're pretty sure your child brought to school? Please be sure to check the Lost and Found, which is located inside the gym!
Keeping the Lost and Found organized takes a village, and we'd love your help! If you'd like to help, please sign up to sort items via this signup genius. It only takes a few minutes!
If you have questions about Lost and Found, please email Tiffany Torbert
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Join the Reading Bowl Team
We are looking for fourth and fifth grade students who are interested in joining the MES reading bowl team. To compete for 1 of 10 spots on the team, you must express interest by September 16, 2022.
Students can pop by the library to get a printed list of required reading or you can see the covers of the books in the image seen here.
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From the Principal's Desk!
One of the best ways to hear about everything going on at the school and to ask questions of the administration is by attending Principal Coffee Talks!
In a recent blog post, Principal Sofianos announced the schedule for this year's coffee talks, all of which will be hosted in person at MES @ Inman. There will be two coffee talks this fall, right after carpool drop off in the morning. The dates and times for these coffee talks are:
- Friday, September 16th at 8am
- Friday, October 21st at 8am
To see the full schedule for the year and to read about recent events at the school, please click HERE to view Principal Sofianos' blog posts!
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APS and Midtown Cluster Happenings | |
New Midtown Cluster Elementary School Kick-Off Meeting
You are invited to the kick-off planning meeting for the new Midtown Cluster Elementary School on Wednesday, September 21 at 6 p.m. at the Inman Building!
Please click here to learn about the two streams of work that will support this effort: the Community Launch Team and the APS Project Support Team. This temporary website for the school will also have updates and information as it becomes available.
You can also view the new attendance zones that will go into effect for the 2023-24 school year here.
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Stay Up to Date with the APS Midtown Cluster
Click HERE for resources directly related to our cluster.
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Stay Up to Date with the 2022-2023 APS Calendar
Click HERE to view and start planning for all the breaks
Click HERE to view the Atlanta BOE 2022 Meeting Schedule
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Thank you to our 2022-23 Dolphin Donors!
The work of the MES PTA is made possible in part by the generous contributions of our Dolphin Donors. Through their donations, we are able to provide programming and support to our school community, including annual favorites like Monster Bash, Family Science Night, the MES Talent Showcase, and more!
To thank our Dolphin Donors directly, simply look for the window cling below.
For more information about Dolphin Donors, Please Click HERE
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The Digital Dolphin is a weekly newsletter managed by the Morningside Elementary PTA - Contact Editor
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