September 2010

From the Principal’s Desk…

Well...we have made it through the first two weeks of school! The children are doing a wonderful job transitioning back to school  and falling back into our daily routines. We currently have a Pre-K through 4th enrollment of 319, which is about 25 fewer students than we began the school year with last year. This is in part due to a large fourth grade class that we sent to the middle school as fifth graders. I am happy to share, however, that we have three almost full sections of Pre-School, even though state funding for this program is almost non-existent. We are grateful our Board of Education continues to recognize the importance of early interventions and assistance for our youngest students, when many of our neighboring districts are eliminating their pre-kindergarten programs.

Our students and teachers are starting each morning again with our Morning Assembly, which you can also read more about in this month’s newsletter. This gives us an opportunity to come together each morning, celebrate the accomplishments of our teachers and students at Midland Elementary, recite our MES Pledge and start our day together!

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll also find information about our Open House/Back to School Night, which will be held on Thursday, September 9th, beginning at 6:30 pm in our gym. Our format will follow past year’s formats, so please be sure to read the newsletter article to learn more about how this night will be conducted. We hope to see many of our families at school that night! Also, be sure to familiarize yourself with our After School Pick Up procedures, which are outlined in this month’s newsletter.

I also would like to encourage you to read the page in the newsletter about our new initiative this year....Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS for short!). This section explains our new program and how it will impact your child here at school. Please take the time to read this important page in the newsletter.

The school year is off to a great start! I encourage each of you to become involved with what’s happening in our school. Participate in PTO meetings; attend school activities, such as our upcoming Open House; take an active role in your child’s learning by reading with him/her each night; communicate with your child’s teacher regularly...only by working together can we provide the best learning opportunities for our students!

Julie Albers, Principal

jalbers@midland-7.org