Eagle Updates

Meadow Wood News:

• From Mrs. Barry
• Online Registration is OPEN!
• CIT - Community Member Needed!

• MWE Calendar

PTA News:

• MWE Art Show - Orders
• PTA Survey qw
• Odyssey of the Mind Information Session
• Sparties Spring Show

Since I talked about the positions we had open last week, I thought you might like to know the process one must go through to become a teacher in Texas. First, Texas Administrative Code requires that anyone completing a teaching program must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university. Next, you must complete an educator preparation program. There are basically two routes for this - through a university or through an alternative certification program (ACP). When you hear of someone majoring in education and/or doing their student teaching, this is the university route. When someone already has a degree in another area but wants to pursue education as a career, they can go through an ACP rather than having to start over. Within both of these options, fieldwork is required, though in the university route, this is usually done before graduation and through ACP can often be done concurrent with completing certification requirements. For example, my undergrad degree is a BBA in Marketing. After working in the business world, I did an alternative certification program through A&M-Corpus Christi. This allowed me to continue to work while earning my certification, and I only had to take the education courses that my undergrad degree did not require.

The next step in becoming a Texas educator is passing the certification exams. In addition to a general professional exam, you must pass your content test. The content tests are in every subject you can imagine. Some are specific, and some are generalized. For example, if you want to be an elementary teacher, where most classrooms are self-contained, you would need to pass the EC-6 general test. This means you would have questions in all subjects for grades PK-6. Once passed, you could teach any of these subjects in any of these grades. There are also more specific certifications (I have Secondary English 6-12). You can only teach the subjects/grades for which you are certified. You can add any certification you wish, once you are certified - you just need to pay for the test and then pay to add it to your certificate. For example, my husband has Secondary Life-Earth Science 6-12 and Vocational Agricultural Production 6-12. SBISD also requires that all teachers have their English as a Second Language certification. Passing the test isn't enough - you must submit an application to the state for your certificate (or for your new certification to be added to your certificate). Unless you received your certification prior to September 1, 1999, it must be renewed every 5 years. The requirements for renewal include documented completion of 150 professional development hours during those 5 years and, of course, a fee. Only classroom certifications can be taken at will. Others such as principal and counselor require coursework and approval prior to taking.

The final step in being eligible to becoming a Texas teacher is completing fingerprinting. This is part of a national criminal background check. Well, I guess the final step is really nailing an interview and being hired! We have been very busy with interviews this past week and are whittling down our list of folks to hire. Once they are approved and finalized by HR, I will share with everyone!

If you have any questions about teaching in Texas, please reach out! We need great people to help guide our Eagles into the future!

Online Registration for the 2025-2026 school year for both new and returning students is now OPEN!

To complete this process, go to the following link:

https://www.springbranchisd.com/studentsfamilies/enroll/enroll/registration

For returning students:

• Families are asked annually to confirm/update information for each child attending.
• Returning families can update online most information collected in a school’s First Day Packet through Skyward Family Access. If you do not have a Skyward Family Access account, please contact your school to set up an account.
• Parents are not required to print forms. Forms can be signed and submitted electronically.
• If you would like to print out the forms for your records, please ensure that Adobe Reader is installed on your device. This process can be completed on a PC, Tablet or smartphone browser.
• Please be sure to complete forms by clicking the submit button at the end of each form.

If you have any questions about the registration process, please reach out to Mrs. Snelling at susan.snelling@springbranchisd.com or 713-251-6204.

We are still in need of a community member to serve on our Campus Improvement Team. This person can be anyone who lives in our zone who does not have a child at MWE. It can be a former parent or someone who never had a child attend. The CIT meets approximately once a month during the school year.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Barry. The application is below and can be returned to Ms. Olvera.

Reminder: Every week we have T-2-4 Tuesday - students are encouraged to wear their favorite college or military shirt. Fridays are MWE Spirit Day! Wear your Eagle attire!

April 9

School Store

April 10

PreK/Kinder Field Trip (Children's Museum)

April 11

1st Grade Hands on Science

April 15

STAAR Reading

No visitors today, please!

April 16

2nd Grade Hands on Science

April 17

4th Grade Hands on Science

5th Grade Hands on Science

No lunch visitors, please!

April 18

HOLIDAY

April 21

HOLIDAY

April 23

STAAR Science

No visitors today, please!

April 29

3rd grade Hands on Science

April 30

STAAR Math

No visitors today, please!

May 2

Field Day

Missed the MWE Art Show? Don't stress ... you can still order your child's framed art and even a reproduction for the grandparents through April 9th at https://artomestore.com/collections/meadowwoodelementary77079. After April 9th, all unpurchased art will be taken out of the frames and returned to MWE for distribution. Please make sure to thank our art teacher, Natalie Waggenspack, and VP-Programs, Jennifer Nixon, for the countless hours they put into this special event.

The MWE PTA thanks you for trusting us to serve our school and community! To help us plan, please take a few minutes to help us set priorities for next school year. The MWE budget from the district is only approximately $45,000, so PTA funds are critical to enhance the school we love! We raised a record $395,000 at the Spring Auction and would love your input on how to allocate these funds!

Fill out the survey here - https://forms.gle/7TFSdHAwx3dJeiQ46

Our incredible 5th Grade Odyssey of the Mind team came in 6th place at state. We are excited they have been so successful, but because they will be moving on to middle school, we need new participants and parent volunteers next year. If you're interested, you can find out more information this week.

The Stratford High School Spartanaires are excited to announce their highly anticipated Annual Spring Show. This year’s show, entitled “Sparties Tonight,” is set to take place at 7 pm on April 10th and 11th, and 5pm on April 12th at the Stratford High School Theatre. Don’t miss this show! Get your tickets now at https://www.stratfordspartanaires.org/

For additional information, go to our website: www.mwepta.com.

Follow us on Facebook (Meadow Wood Elementary PTA) and Instagram (#MWEPTA).