MUSTANG PARENT ALERT
T. L. Marsalis Elementary STEAM Academy
September 2023 Monthly Parent Newsletter
A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Hello Mustang Families!
Thank you all for a great August opening at Marsalis! We appreciate your support and are ready to provide high-quality STEAM instruction to all of our students. We appreciate everyone who was able to attend our annual grade level parent meetings this month. It is our goal to ensure that you learn about your child's teachers and what each grade level has in store for you and your child this year.
We are excited to begin September and we have several events happening this month. Not only is it the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, we will also be recognizing Education Go Get It Week and our amazing Marsalis grandparents. Check out all of our activities in the September calendar in this newsletter. We will also begin sign ups for our campus clubs and organizations for this year. All district and campus clubs have various grade levels who can participate due to age requirements. You can find a list of this year's clubs on our campus website (www.dallasisd.org/marsalis).
WOODS' WORDS OF WISDOM
Mustang Parents:
September is Attendance Awareness Month and our focus is to make sure that our Marsalis community learns about the effects attendance can have on academic performance and success. School attendance is essential to academic success and frequent absences, excused or unexcused, can add up to academic trouble. Please help us ensure that our scholars have every opportunity to be successful by making sure they are at school everyday. In the event that your child has to be absent, please contact the teacher for missed assignments.
I want to remind everyone again of the following:
- Please follow the school zone speed limits when traveling Marsalis Avenue in front of our campus.
- Please follow our crossing guard's directions and allow her to escort your child safety across our main streets.
- Please refrain from turning around in the middle of the street to ensure that no child is injured when they are getting dropped off or picked up.
Lastly, Scottsboro Drive is our bus zone area and is also a ONE-WAY street during school hours. We are requesting that you do not double-park in our loading zone areas or obstruct our buses ability to exit the campus safely in the afternoons.
MARSALIS ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL REMINDERS
- Our school opens at 7:30 a.m. Only bus riders and PK3 students need to enter at the Scottsboro (bus lane) door. All other students must enter at the front entrance.
- School begins at 8:00 a.m. and a student is tardy at 8:15 a.m. Recording of tardies will begin this week and can affect your child's overall attendance.
- Students begin picking up breakfast from the cafeteria with their teachers at 7:45 a.m. and eat in their classrooms. Breakfast concludes at 8:15 a.m. All students who arrive after this time will miss the breakfast period.
Dismissal Reminders
- Dismissal begins at 3:20 p.m. If you would like to pick your child up early, they will need to be picked up prior to 2:45 p.m. Please understand that your child will be missing valuable instruction and parent conferences will be held for students who have frequent early releases.
- If your child is a bus rider or is being picked up by a daycare facility, please be sure to notify your child's teacher.
PARENT PICKUP PROCEDURES
- All persons picking up students will need to have photo ID ready to show. Our scholars will only be released to the persons listed on their enrollment history. If you need to update this information, please contact the main office at 972-749-3500.
Meet our counselor, Ms. Telisa Ingram. Visit her counseling website at
https://sites.google.com/dallasisd.org/thecounselorscorner
One of our STEAM Academy commitments is to the social and emotional learning of our students. Each morning our students participate in a "SEL MEET UP" with their homeroom teachers and fellow classmates. This daily activity is the building block for our classroom communities. Our SEL focus for September will continue to reinforce our August focus:
1) Demonstrating an awareness of one's emotions, thoughts, and values
2) Considering the well-being and safety of self and others when making decisions
EDUCATION GO GET IT! WEEK
We will observe "Education Go Get It! Week" during September 18-22, 2023. Our students in grades 3-5 will participate in required career exploration and college research projects this month. All students have received their project information sheets and one will posted in on my "Counselor's Corner" page on our website. Higher Education Week projects for grades 3-5 will be due Wednesday, September 27, 2023.
Parent Workshops will be available throughout the school year, great information for student support. Flyers will be sent home with session title, date and time of each workshop. Parents that attend the most workshops will be recognized at the end of the year awards programs.
Complete your volunteer application if you plan to assist our school in any way. Go to dallasisd.voly.org to create a volunteer account. Make sure you select Marsalis as your school.
STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER(S)
- Check out our school website (www.dallasisd.org/marsalis) for our teachers' Google sites. These sites will provide you with specific information and resources for your child's specific grade level. Click on our "Academics" tab and select "Grade Level Classes" to locate the teachers' pages.
BUS SAFETY REMINDERS
Please share with your child(ren) the importance of bus safety. Students are to wear seatbelts, if applicable, obey the bus drivers' directives, keep their hands and belongings to themselves and most importantly, stay seated while on the bus. Parents, also remember to be at the appropriate bus pickup locations on time. Our bus drivers routes do not service Marsalis only and must stay on schedule.
WE PROVIDE AN ON-CAMPUS AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM
Thomas L. Marsalis Elementary STEAM Academy
Email: KR2404@dallasisd.org
Website: dallasisd.org/marsalis
Location: 5640 South Marsalis Avenue, Dallas, TX, USA
Phone: 972-749-3500
Twitter: @marsalis_l