Mustang Memo - 9/2/22

Happy Friday Mustangs~

What a wonderful first week of school for grades 1-5. It was great to see everyone and we can’t wait to see our kindergarten students this coming week. As it is the start of school, we have a few reminders again this week:

KINDERGARTEN:
Our Kindergarten students will be joining us this coming week.

September 6: First day of school for Kindergarten Last Name A-L
September 7: First day of school for Kindergarten Last name M-Z
September 8: All Kindergarten students attend school

GATES:
Our gates now have locks and we are locking them. Please be aware the gates will be locked at 9:15am for the start of school. If your family is arriving late, please arrive on campus through the main office gate as it will be the only gate unlocked during the day.

EMERGENCY CONTACTS:
Please go to ParentVue and make sure you have updated your contact information as well as your emergency contact information. Note that through ParentVue you are only able to add three emergency contacts, if you would like to add more please contact the Moorlands Office at moorlandsoffice@nsd.org

MUSTANG MEMO ON THE WEBSITE:
In order to help families find information that was sent in a Mustang Memo and also to provide another way for families to access the weekly newsletter, we will be putting the Mustang Memo on our school website this year. Since the website is searchable, this will give families the ability to look for things you remembered reading but can't remember where to find (e.g., scenarios like "I know I read this in a mustang memo but can't remember if it was last week's or last month's...").

You can find it here:: https://moorlands.nsd.org/our-school/mustang-memo

Until next week,
Meghan Griffin, Principal (mgriffin@nsd.org)
LaTisha Joseph, Assistant Principal (ljoseph@nsd.org)

COVID Update
10 positive cases (3 on campus) 8/31-9/2

Dates to Remember

September 6: First day of school for Kindergarten Last Name A-L
September 7: First day of school for Kindergarten Last name M-Z
September 20: Curriculum Night, K-2 (meeting in the gym for the first 15 minutes)
- K/1 at 6:00pm
- 2 at 6:45pm
September 27: Curriculum Night, 3-5 (meeting in the gym for the first 15 minutes)
- 3/4 at 6:00pm
- 5 at 6:45pm

2022-23 School Calendar and Hours

You can view the 2022-23 one page calendar here
Moorlands Elementary school hours for 2022-2023 are 9:15am-3:45pm
Early dismissal Wednesdays 9:15am-2:15pm

Tech News

We are still working through the process of getting students set up with their district devices for this school year. Just like last year, our K-1 students will have an iPad assigned to them that will stay at the school. 2nd-5th grade students will all receive a Chromebook, charger and laptop bag. They are expected to bring these to school each day, charged and ready to go! Please remind them to bring their district tech devices and equipment to school next week.

Tanja Fournier
School Tech Specialist
Moorlands Elementary

Notes from the Nurse
COVID Updates: We have adjusted our COVID-19 protocols to align with current Washington State Department of Health and CDC recommendations, and we continue to prioritize the health of our students and staff. Please continue to isolate and test for symptoms of illness and notify the office and nurse of positive test results.

Counselor’s Corner
Hello! Welcome to the start of a new year. My name is Estela Gerlinger, and this is my second year at Moorlands as your school counselor. Many of you may wonder what my role is here at school. I like to tell students that my job is to help them be the very best version of themselves that they can be. As an Elementary School Counselor, my role is to partner with staff and families to help students develop socially, emotionally, and academically.

School counselors are educators who improve student success for ALL students by implementing a comprehensive school counseling program. Comprehensive school counseling programs include providing:

school counseling classroom lessons based on student success standards
short-term individual counseling and goal setting
small group counseling
referrals for long-term support
collaboration with families/teachers/administrators/community for student success
advocacy for students at individualized education plan meetings and other student-focused meetings
data analysis to identify student issues, needs, and challenges
acting as a systems change-agent to improve equity and access, achievement, and opportunities for all students

Uplifting students is my passion, and I am excited to work with your children.

Looking forward to a fantastic school year together!
Ms. Gerlinger

September Educational and Health Awareness Dates:
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Children’s Good Manners Month
Deaf Awareness Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15)
Library Card Sign-up Month
National Childhood Obesity Awareness
Month National Preparedness Month
National Recovery Month
Self-Improvement Month
Sexual Health Awareness Month
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

This week:
September 4-10 National Suicide Prevention Week
September 8 International Literacy Day
September 10 World Suicide Prevention Day

Library News
Checkout has begun! Please have a safe, dry place for library books at home and make note of your Mustang's library day so books that are read can be returned for new ones.

Celebrate your child's birthday and support the Moorlands Library! We will be continuing the online model through an Amazon Wish list Ms. Schroeder has put together. (You are more than welcome to purchase the hardcover copy at your favorite bookstore as well.) By donating to the Birthday Book Club, you will endow our school library with a book chosen by your child. Once purchased, the book will be processed and cataloged. During the month of your child’s birthday (or summer half birthday), a Birthday Book Club bookplate will be placed inside stating that it was donated to the Moorlands Library. Your child will be the first student to read the new book before it is returned to the library for all to enjoy.

Welcome Back to School from the Mustang Choir!
Last June, the Mustang Choir prepared "Pamoja" for the start of the school year. "Pamoja" is a Swahili word meaning "Together" or "Inclusive." The artwork came from students to inspire us all to work as a team to create something wonderful this year! We hope you enjoy our performance. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q79ulxToPs2e5n7TgttHDt0JsoQmcYg_/view?usp=sharing

Students in Grades 3 - 5 are eligible to sign up for choir and sign-up forms will be coming out soon. Grade 3, "Moorlands Colts" will rehearse on Monday mornings from 8:25 AM - 9:10 AM, starting October 10 - April 3. Grades 4 -5, "Mustang Choir" will rehearse Wednesday mornings 8:25 AM - 9:10 AM, starting October 12 - April 5. Stay tuned for more information!

School Meals
Families can pay by cash or check here at school. Checks should be made payable to Northshore School District and indicate "school meals" on the memo line. Families can also manage their student's meal account online with TITAN School Solutions. The TITAN Family Portal allows parents to:

Make online payments to your student's account (Accepts Visa and MasterCard)
Add money to multiple students during the same session and only pay one convenience fee of $2.60.
Remotely monitor your children’s cafeteria meal accounts
Set up automatic and recurring payments
Set up low account balance email and text alerts
Transfer money between students
Submit an online application for free and reduced meals

School Meal Accounts - Register on Titan

NSD moved from PayPams to Titan in 2020 but many families have not registered in Titan yet due to meals being free for the last two years. All account balances were transferred automatically from PayPams to Titan, but families need to register in order to view or add money to student accounts.

Apply for Free & Reduced Price Meals

Families will need to reapply for benefits by the end of September.