Magnolia Middle School

Students/Parents: Please help us mitigate the spread of infectious disease by using the self-screening health questionnaire prior to coming to school each day. If a student shows unexplained symptoms (i.e. cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell) or has a fever of 100.4 or higher, they should not come to school. Completing this screening prior to coming to school is more effective and efficient than screening upon arrival to school and will allow our teachers and staff to focus time on instruction and provide a more normalized educational experience. It will take all of us doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19. This survey can easily be saved to your home screen on your phone and will take only a few seconds to complete each morning. We appreciate your willingness to help. The link for the screener is as follows: https://bit.ly/34iSqta

Attention all Magnolia Middle School Virtual Students and parents: For those that could not make today’s required laptop pick-up, tomorrow, August 20th, we will be handing out the rest at the Magnolia Middle School cafeteria from 8am to 12noon. If your Magnolia Middle School Virtual student has signed up for the virtual option, and did not pick up their laptop today, it must be picked up tomorrow between these times. Please Note: The student AND parent/guardian must both be present. Thank you!

Please. When dropping off students at MMS, do not let them out on McNeil St. at the back of the school. McNeil St. is for Bus Drop Off only. Thank you.

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

7th Grade students (boys/girls) wishing to play sports this year need to have physicals completed and turned in by Friday, August 7. Forms can be can be found in the filing cabinet on the front steps of MMS. There is also a drop-box where completed forms can be returned.

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!

Per Coach John Rich: Athletic physicals for 8th and 9th grade football are due by August 3 and should be turned in to the coaches. 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

Dear Athletic Parents & Guardians: The Arkansas Activities Association will begin using DragonFly MAX for all sports and activities. DragonFly makes sports and activities more organized with an easy-to-use platform for digital forms, health records, and team communication tools. Each athlete will be REQUIRED to have an account for sports participation. Please use the link below for step by step instructions on creating your account. Thanks! https://5il.co/i8ea

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/.

JR High Athletic Parents & Guardians: 8th and 9th grade boys and girls football and basketball workouts will begin next Monday, July 13th. The following schedule details the time frame and location for each sport. Please arrive at least 15-20 minutes before your scheduled start time in order for COVID questionnaire screening and temperature checks. All athletes will be responsible for their own water, so please plan accordingly. All athletes will report to the breezeway door in the parking lot beside the JR high cafeteria for check-in and pick-up after workouts. Monday July 13-Thursday July 16: 8th grade Football 9-10 AM 9th grade Football 10:30-11:30 AM Tuesday July 14-Thursday July 16: 8th grade Boys Basketball 10:30-11:30 AM 9th grade Boys Basketball 9-10 AM JR High Girls Basketball Monday, July 13th 12-1:30 PM @ Panther Arena Tuesday, July 14/Thursday, July 16 12-1:30 PM @ MHS Auxiliary Gym

Dear Athletic Parents & Guardians: Due to COVID 19, we will be unable to have our yearly mass physical exam on campus. Each athlete will need to schedule an appointment with their primary care physician, and turn in the physical paperwork directly to Coach Caston or their head coach. If you attended our mass physical in May 2019, your physical will expire on May 21, 2020. If you do not already have the updated physical form, it is available to print via the link below. Please schedule your appointment ASAP! Thank you! Click here for the the updated physical form: https://5il.co/i344

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!

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.

BAILEY COBURN RECOGNIZED AS DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR The Magnolia School Board recognized East Side Elementary School art 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.