Mt. Peak Family,

As we kick off another exciting week at Mt. Peak, I want to share some wonderful news and important updates. We are proud to announce that Mt. Peak Elementary has been named one of the U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Elementary Schools, placing us among the top 40% of elementary campuses in Texas! This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, staff, and parents—congratulations to our entire Mt. Peak family!

In addition to this exciting achievement, we’ll begin STAAR Benchmark testing next week with ELAR and 5th-grade Science, followed by Math the following week. These assessments are key to tracking where our students stand and identifying focus areas as we prepare for the Spring STAAR. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to help every student succeed!

Adam Henke

Principal

adam.henke@midlothianisd.org

We’re excited to announce that the DOJO Store will be opening soon! This initiative is designed to promote and reward positive behavior throughout our school.

Students can earn DOJO points by demonstrating good behavior in their classrooms and around campus. Teachers assign points to students throughout the day, recognizing their efforts and contributions.

Thanks to the generous support of our PTO, students can use their earned points to "shop" at the DOJO Store. Teachers will provide students with an order form to select items they’d like to purchase, and PTO will fill the orders for delivery.

A big thank you to our PTO for helping make this program a success! We’re looking forward to celebrating our students’ great behavior with this fun and rewarding experience.

Today buddy pairs got to experience free center time with a rotation to see Buster and Mrs Nancy. They got to learn a song and watch Buster dance. We finished by coloring a picture of Buster himself.

We loved having Paris the Midlothian Panther mascot greet our students this morning.

Congratulations to Jonie Stoffels and Sharee Cobb for earning the Inspiring Excellence Award, We Are Family! These two incredible educators go above and beyond every day to create a supportive, inspiring, and loving environment for our students.

Their dedication and teamwork truly make our school feel like a family. Thank you, Jonie and Sharee, for everything you do to shape bright futures!

This week in Ms. McVey‘s fifth grade math class, students explored the concept of volume. Using snap cubes, they constructed two skyscraper, with the length and width of each building provided. Students engaged in hands-on experimentation to calculate and compare the volumes of the structures, working to determine when the volumes of the two skyscrapers would be similar.

In honor of School Board Appreciation Month Haven Vaughn presented Trustee Ed Harrison a portrait she created of him. Way to go Haven!

We continued on with our healthy living lessons this week in Ms. Stelter’s room. We discussed what dentists do to keep us healthy. Students got to use toothbrushes and white paint to make the yellow teeth white again.

Please take a moment to fill out the form below to provide feedback on the whole-class Holiday Parties we hosted this year. Your input is valuable and will help us improve future events.

Just a quick note: the setup for the End-of-Year parties will be different, as those will be hosted in individual classrooms.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and helping us make these events even better!

We are looking forward to celebrating kindness week at Peak January 27 - 31st. Please see the flyer below with the dress up days!

We are excited to share an opportunity to get involved with the school through our Father Figure volunteer group, DOGS. This group steps in to help whenever the need arises, whether it's assisting with the drop-off car line on Friday mornings or giving our staff a break during particularly cold or rainy weather. The commitment is flexible—you don't need to be there every Friday, but when you can participate, the kids and staff truly appreciate it.

We'll also have various opportunities throughout the school year to help out with setting up for school events. It's a great way to make a positive impact, and the kids love seeing the dads and father figures involved.

If you'd like to join, please click [this link] to sign up.

Background Checks

While completing a background check isn't mandatory, it's always a good idea to have one on file in case an event comes up that requires volunteer help inside the school. You can complete the Volunteer Background Check here.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email Mr. Henke at adam.henke@midlothianisd.org.

We would love to see a strong group of men involved at Mt. Peak, so please consider signing up!

We would love you to follow along during the week for updates of what is happening at Mt Peak. You can follow along on Facebook There is an imposter site. So, please follow the one with a picture of the school in the header.

The Mt Peak mission statement is the Mt Peak family will make a positive difference in the lives we touch by putting children first and challenging everyone to reach their full potential.

Our staff is working so hard for your kids! We would love for you to share the impact they are having on your child or any special information you would like to share. Please fill out this form for us.

Thank you!

Hello, well this week has given all of us a big taste of winter temperatures for sure! Next week, I will have the opportunity to meet with PreK, K, 1st, and 2nd graders as we begin taking about our CKH trait of Kindness! Each student will have the opportunity to create a paw of kindness that will be displayed on our kindness wall for the month of February! Please check the parent newsletter from Mr. Henke as we will have days of kindness next week where students can dress up and participate in various ways to show kindness. I am looking forward to a great week!

Wendy Waldroup

Counselor

• What is Respect?

• Respect is the willingness and ability to act professionally and thoughtfully with ourselves and others. Leaders can deal respectfully with opposition and provide space for both dignity and differences to coexist.

  
  

  
  

  Why focus on Respect?
  

  
  

  • Respect contributes to a positive culture. People feel safe, supported, and engaged in the context of thoughtful social, emotional, civic, and intellectual interactions.
  • Respect decreases conflict. Respect helps us, and others, to be able to express ourselves without fear of being judged, humiliated, or discriminated against.
  • Respect encourages empathy. Respect helps us to understand each other and put ourselves in someone else shoes.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Respect in Action:
  

  
  

  • Teach students words have power. How we talk to others and ourselves can motivate or discourage, connect or destroy, hurt or heal. We should choose our words with care.
  • Create opportunities for group decision-making. Open dialogue engages students in a process where compromise is crucial to making decisions.
  • Vary protocols for classroom sharing. Frequently use open-ended questions, partner sharing, and small group activities to connect and promote understanding between students.

  
  

  
  

Mark your calendars! Check back regularly for updates and new events added

Feb 11: PTO Meeting

Mar 6: PTO Meeting

Apr 1: 6:00 PM 1st Grade Performance & PTO Meeting

Apr 17: PTO Auction

May 15: PTO meeting voting for new board members

The YMCA utilizes Mt Peak for after school care on school days! For more information and the weekly newsletter click the button below.

Per MISD Athletics,

• Families should enter through Gate A.
• Free admission is available only for campus students. Parents are required to purchase a ticket.
• Students can either show their student ID or wear a campus spirit shirt for entry.

• MISD enforces a Clear Bag Policy.

• Please note that outside drinks (including tumblers) and food are not permitted.

A campus administrator will be on duty at Gate A to welcome families and answer any questions that may come up. Thank you! It is going to be a fun season, and I cannot wait to see the kids at the big game!

Mt Peak has a great director and would love to serve you. Register here for after-school childcare.

If you believe you have opted into the text alert feature and are not receiving text messages, go to your Skyward Family Access account and click on “Skylert” to verify your contact information. Update information if needed and allow 24 hours for our systems to recognize your changes. You should begin receiving text alerts and emails.

If you unsubscribed to receiving email notification please complete this form (https://forms.gle/3sUmoWnjT7S7cpx27) to re-activate your email notifications.

All Texas school districts are required by law to distribute information to parents and guardians about the safe storage of firearms. House Bill 3, Section 19 added Section 37.222 to the Texas Education Code, which requires the Texas School Safety Center, in collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety, to provide information and resources to school districts for the purpose of disseminating the information to parents. The Texas DPS launched a Keep ‘Em Safe Texas website that provides safety resources, materials, and tips for practicing safe gun storage to prevent accidents and keep children safe. Remember, a gun should be stored unloaded in a safe or locked container, with ammunition stored elsewhere. You can learn more and find additional resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety at https://safegunstoragetexas.com.

Below are resources that have been previously shared with parents/students with accessing and logging in to district resources. As we approach mid year we wanted to share them again.

UPDATE this

• 24-25 Quickstart Guide for MISD Students [Grades 4-12]
  
• 24-25 Quickstart Guide for MISD Students [Grade 3]
• 24-25 Quickstart Guide for MISD Students [Grades K-2]
• 24-25 Quickstart Guide for Skyward Family Access
• How to Set Up Parent Canvas Observer Account
  
• 24-25 Student Guide to Canvas in the Classroom

Does your student need MISD school bus transportation? All students must have a current Bus Rider Contract on file for each year. All contracts received by the July 12 deadline will secure route information and transportation for the first week of school. Contracts received after July 12 are being processed on a first come, first served basis and transportation is not guaranteed for the first week of school.

If you have not submitted a contract for your student, please fill one out and return to the Transportation Department by emailing to bus_contracts@midlothianisd.org or by delivering to 601 E. Avenue E, Midlothian. Please remember that your student cannot ride the bus until their contract is processed.

Dear MISD Families,

You may have received this information directly from your campus, but we want to ensure all MISD families know about an update and opportunity from our Child Nutrition Department. Please disregard this message if you have already applied for free/reduced-price school meals for the 2023-24 school year.

Students who participated in the free/reduced-price meals program during the previous school year in Midlothian ISD could continue receiving free/reduced-price meals for the first 30 days of school. This 30-day grace period has now ended, and a new application must be submitted. Students will no longer receive free/reduced-price meals without application approval for the 2023-24 school year.

Please click here to visit the MISD Child Nutrition Department website for more information on school meals and to apply for the free/reduced-price meals program.

If you have any questions or need assistance, you can reach our Child Nutrition Department by emailing mandie.tucker@midlothianisd.org or calling (469) 856-5390.

MISD Communications

Midlothian ISD uses Skyward Family Access for enrollment and to give parents real-time data about their student's grades, attendance, assignments, and more. Alerts can be set to individual preferences and information.

Skyward Family Access: 23-24 Quickstart Guide for Skyward Family Access

September 6th, 13th, 19th, 28th

October 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, 31st

November 8th, 15th, 21st,

December 6th, 13th, 19th

January 17th, 24th, 31st

5201 FM 663

Midlothian, Texas 76065

469-856-6300

https://mtpeak.midlothianisd.org/