Mustang Monthly

We had a great first week of school! It has been wonderful to see returning students, in addition to new faces in our hallways. There's a few new teachers greeting our students this school year, as well a couple of familiar faces:

• Tara Mitchell will teach 1st grade.
• Stephanie Casida will also teach 1st grade. She comes from Abilene, Texas and has previously taught in Wichita and Kentucky.
• Courtney Merseal will teach Kindergarten. She has previously taught Kindergarten for MCE, and we're happy to have her fulfilling that role once again.
• Brynn Wilson has returned as a permanent 2nd grade Teacher. Last year, she replaced a teacher whose family was a military transfer. We are glad to have her again this year!
• Graceyn Schoen (pronounced Shane) is one of our new 3rd grade teachers. She graduated from WSU and has student taught for Chisolm Trail Elementary USD 259 (Wichita).
• Stephanie Keiter will be a new 3rd grade teacher at MCE. Stephanie comes to us with 13 years of experience and taught 2nd grade in Mulvane.
  
• Carlie Kelley is our new 4th grade teacher. Also a WSU graduate, she has student taught at Washington Elementary USD 259 (Wichita).
• Julia Lawrence will join us as our new IS Teacher.
• Chandler Stoughton will is Physical Therapist that will join us beginning this year. She has previously worked in the Hutchinson school district.
• Kelcey Doshier will return as a Student Teacher with Mrs. Amanda Poynter (4th Grade). Kelsey was previously a para with MCE, so she already knows many of our students, staff, and families.
• Lindsey Philbrick will be returning as a permanent IS teacher. She came to us around the middle part of last school year.

We are also pleased to have some wonderful new paras joining our school:

• Citlah "Lali" Flores - ESOL Para
• Trinity Hare - FAA Para
• Jessica Sober-Gray - FAA Para
• Lisa Benefield - IS Para
• Sydney Born - IS Para
• Sienna Chavez - IS Para
• Tori Marler - IS Para (KDG)
• Laurel Payne - IS Para
• Gabriella Villegas - IS Para
• Nikki Myers - Lunch Para
• Kim Smith - Math Improvement Para
• Annette Hartzog - Media Center
• Alana Armbrister - Reading Improvement Para
• Rachel Cosloy - RR Para
• Amy Blincoe - RR Para

Just a quick reminder, some of our elementary school hours may vary from building-to-building.

For Maize Central Elementary, our Bell Schedule is as follows:

Beginning Bell - 8:30am classes start (doors open at 8:15am)

End of Day - 3:40pm, except Wednesdays.

Early Release Wednesday - 3:05pm

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I'd also like to invite families to join us for our Math & Reading Game Night this Tues., August 27th. See our info here. We will be hosting dinner from 5pm - 6pm, and games from 5:30pm to 7pm. You won't want to miss this night of family fun!

We are grateful to have such a wonderful community of families at MCE. Let's gear up for a fantastic school year, Mustangs!

Sincerely,

David Jennings

MCE Principal

Visit our website at www.usd266.com/mce.

Check out our Facebook Link: Maize Central Elementary School

Connect with Mr. Jennings at djennings@usd266.com or call 316-722-0427.

Maize Central Elementary School is located at 304 W. Academy Ave. in Maize.

If you utilize our MCE Parent Pick-Up/Drop-Off line, please see our instructions here. We'd like to remind families that it is helpful to get your child into the routine of being ready to exit to the right side by our labeled barriers. For safety (and to keep our line moving) families should remain in their vehicles.

Thank you for helping us make this process safe and quick!

Volunteers-

We are excited to welcome volunteers in the classroom. If you would like to help out around our school, please fill out our MCE S.T.A.N.G.S. volunteer form, then check with the classroom teacher to schedule a time. Additionally, please click here to submit a background check as required by the district. A new background check needs to be completed for each school year. Best of all, you can submit it now and be set for events all year long!

Raptor ID Scanning-

When visiting our school, you will be able to park in our East parking lot and sign in through our front office. Please bring a valid government issued ID so that our secretaries may scan it into our Raptor System. This helps us to verify our visitors and creates a badge so that our staff can identify those they may see in the hallways. This is used any time a visitor will enter the building (regardless of a completed background check). It only takes a few moments and your scanned ID is good for the entire school year, so there is no need to rescan for later visits!

If you plan to visit, please contact your child's teacher to set up a time so we can maximize instruction and support for everyone. There will be lots of opportunities for volunteering and celebrations. We look forward to a fun-filled year!

Please click here for the Health Check note from our school nurse, Jill Nitcher, RN. If your doctor needs to send medical information regarding your student, documents can be faxed to 316-722-8307, or emailed to jnitcher@usd266.com.

We have very exciting news! Our health rooms will now have over the counter Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Benadryl, Tums and Zyrtec. If you would like your child to receive these medications when needed, please login to your skyward account and fill out the consent form. We CANNOT administer these medications until these forms are completed.

If you would like your child to have their own bottle of medication at school, you still need to fill out our Medication Authorization form, as done in the past.

Even after consent is given, we will still call home before administering any medications to make sure none have already been administered that day.

If your child will be eating breakfast or lunch from school, please click here to access our Nutrislice Menu to see what is available each day. Simply click on Breakfast or Lunch to view. There's also the option to print a copy.

You may check a balance or add money to your student's lunch account by visiting the Skyward Family Access Portal, and clicking the Food Service tab. If you have questions about your child's food account, or need to speak to someone about reduced lunch eligibility, please contact our Food Service Department at 316-722-0900.

Next Meeting: Thurs. 9/12, 7pm @ El Agave (N. Maize Rd.)

Meet & Greet at 6:30pm, meeting at 7:00pm.

What does PTO do?

Staff appreciation, teacher grants for classroom supplies, whole school fundraisers, staff conference meals, school spirit nights, school spirit wear, school community events, and so much more! Scan or click the QR code to sign up for PTO communications, and check out our flyer!

Why join MCE PTO?

The Maize Central Elementary (MCE) PTO is an organization that partners with the school to support the students and teachers in our building. To be successful, we need parent support and volunteers. This can be as simple as donating needed snacks/supplies to attending meetings or joining the PTO Board. Meetings for those who can attend are held monthly.

Coming up:

• Mon. 8/26 - Spirit Night at Chick-fil-a, 3pm - 10pm
• Be sure to let them know you're there to support the event, or use code community (all lowercase) for mobile orders to make sure proceeds go to Maize Central Elementary.
  
• Tues. 9/17 - Carousel Skate Night, 5pm - 8pm
• Mon. 9/23 - Fri. 10/4 - Fall Pledge Drive Fundraiser
• Tues. 9/24 - Spirit Nigh at Auntie Anne's/Jamba Juice, 12pm - 9pm.

Click here for a comprehensive list of our Spirit Nights throughout 2024 - 2025.

Check out our Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/maizecentralPTO

Connect with us via email: mcepto1@gmail.com

This month:

Mon. 8/26 - Spirit Night at Chick-fil-a, 3pm - 10pm (use code: community for mobile orders)

Tues. 8/27 - Title I Math and Reading Night, 5pm - 7pm.

Coming up:

Mon. 9/2 - NO SCHOOL (Labor Day).

Tues. 9/17 - Carousel Skate Night, 5pm - 8pm
Mon. 9/23 - Fri. 10/4 - Fall Pledge Drive Fundraiser
Tues. 9/24 - Spirit Nigh at Auntie Anne's/Jamba Juice, 12pm - 9pm.