Dear McGowen Families,

We had another great week at McGowen. I am very impressed by how our students have learned the expectations and are following how MAVs Live Kind in the various areas around our school.

We are excited to announce that McKinney ISD has transitioned to a new unified communications and website platform designed to keep families informed and encourage greater engagement with our schools and district. This new, more robust website and mobile application are part of our McKinney ISD strategic plan communications goal, “to provide professional, transparent, and consistent communication that is easily accessible to all stakeholders.”

INTRODUCING MCKINNEY ISD’S NEW WEBSITE

Our new website has many exciting features including:

• District & Campus buttons and menus have been thoughtfully updated and streamlined.
• The introduction of buttons guiding you to frequently used links for the district and campus sites.
• Live Feed and News - these areas continuously update as information is shared with the community through social media.
• Events - One source for all calendars! You can choose to view in list view or calendar view and even add upcoming events to your personal calendar.

MOBILE APPLICATION

The McKinney ISD mobile app is customized specifically for our district and can be found in both the Apple Store and Google Play. The app features:

• Social Media Live Feed
• Calendar Events
• Staff
• Documents
• Notifications
• Language translation services

IMPORTANT LAUNCH INFORMATION

Our district domain will remain www.mckinneyisd.net. Google searches may not function properly for a brief time, and return “broken links” temporarily. We recommend going directly to the McKinney ISD website rather than using google searches for the first week. Any saved bookmarks will need to be updated as links will be different. We will continue to add 2024-2025 school year information on both district and campus websites.

As with any transition, navigating the new website could be an adjustment, but we know you’ll find the enhanced resources beneficial. We appreciate your patience and support as we continue working to enhance communication and engagement within our district!

If you have not yet seen our new McKinney ISD webpage and McGowen website, please check out the link below. Our new McGowen webpage will also show the feed to our recent McGowen Facebook post. This is a great way to keep up with upcoming events and stay connected to our school.

Link to McGowen Webpage

We hope everyone has a restful and relaxing weekend. We will see everyone back on Monday!

Sincerely,

Kim Luyster, Principal & Sylvia Lloyd, Assistant Principal

McKinney ISD is thrilled to unveil our new mobile app, designed to keep you seamlessly connected and informed. With features like live feed, news updates, and event information, the app ensures you're always up-to-date with the latest district news and activities.

Rooms

A key highlight of the app is the new Rooms system, which aims to enhance communication between parents, students, and teachers by simplifying the digital classroom experience.

Rooms integrates class and enrollment information from the district’s student information system, and streamlines parent-teacher interactions by allowing guardians to chat with teachers directly within the app. Teachers can manage all their messages on a single platform, while students can reach out to their teachers with course-related questions. Rooms is a secure space for student-teacher communication and is monitored by administrators to ensure a safe and effective environment.

We realize that some of our buses have been arriving late to McGowen to pick up our students. I have communicated to Durham Bus Services and our MISD Transportation Department about this problem. I have asked them to communicate to parents when the bus is late.

I realize this problem is very frustrating as a parent. Please know that I am working closely with the MISD Transportation Department to try to determine why our students' buses are running late. I apologize for this inconvenience.

One way to track your child on their bus route is to utilize the Bus Zone Tracker App. Please click the link below to view the directions on how to download this free App. Hopefully this problem will resolve soon.

Link to Information on how to download the Bus Zone App

• Week of August 19th- Alpha Classes Begin
• 1st & 2nd Alpha-Wednesdays at 8:10 am-at McGowen
• 3rd Alpha-Mondays at Walker Elementary
• 4th/5th- Tuesdays & Wednesdays at Walker Elementary
• August 22nd- PTA Donuts & Discussions-8:00 am (copy training will follow if you would like to stay)
• Week of August 26th-parent volunteers can begin-don't forget to complete your MISD Volunteer Background Check
• August 26th-30th-McGowen Handel's Spirit Week
• August 28th- PTA Snack Day- Click Here to sign up on SUG
• September 2nd- Labor Day Holiday-no school for students or staff
• September 3rd-Student Holiday-no school for students-Professional Development Day for teachers
• September 9th-13th-Grandparents/Grand-friends Week-visit during your chid's lunch anytime that week.
• September 11th- Patriot Day- More Information coming soon
• September 12th- PTA General Meeting-6:00 PM
• September 16th-20th- College Week
• September 18th- Progress Reports go home
• September 20th-PTA Boosterthon Fundraiser Kick Off
• September 26th-PTA Room Parent Meeting-8:00 AM
• September 27th- MAV Fan Jam-8:15 am

Please use the link below to apply for Free & Reduced lunch benefits. https://www.myschoolapps.com

It is very important that our parents and students have knowledge of the McKinney ISD Student Code of Conduct and Student Handbook. Please make sure you and your student are aware of what is against our MISD Code of Conduct.

Thank You for partnering with us to ensure that all of our students have a safe place to learn

that is free from disruptions.

Sincerely,

Kim Luyster

If you have a question, concern, complaint, or compliment... We would love to know!

Please click the form below to give us your feedback.

McGowen Parent Feedback Google Form