Weekly Update

Due to the generosity of our MP parents and PTO fundraising efforts we have been able to purchase the following to start off this school year.

- $75 to each certified teacher to go toward their personal yearly classroom start-up costs.

- Ordered new furniture for our entry and partial purchase for our front office. We will be sure to send out photos once delivery and install have occurred.

- Guarenteed field trips for every grade level for the 2024-25 school year.

We are all very grateful for the resources our MP community shares with our school!

As we all work together to create safe arrival and dismissal times for 600+ students, we need to remember to be good neighbors too.

Please remember the following for arrival and dismissal times:

- Students must all cross at crosswalks, even if you're waiting for them across the street.

- Be alert for any pedestrians walking.

- Follow directives from crossing guards.

- Display current car tags clearly and daily.

- Help your child learn their car tag numbers for faster loading at dismissal.

- Middle school students will be walking home from buses during dismissal.

- Do not block neighborhood driveways when waiting for drop off and dismissal.

Together we can make the area around MP safe!

Students are welcome to bring birthday treats in for classmates!

To keep all students safe and avoid any conflicts with dietary needs, please adhere to the guidelines below:

- Store bought

- Inidvidually wrapped

- Does not require utensils and or clean up

- Contact classroom teacher for any dietary restrictions within the classroom

Improving student attendance will be a focus for the Olathe District and Manchester Park this year.

Importance of Good School Attendance

Consistent school attendance is fundamental to student achievement. Regular attendance ensures that students:

• Engage Continuously: Regular participation in class helps students grasp and retain knowledge, improving their academic performance.
• Build Skills: Consistent attendance supports the development of critical skills such as discipline, responsibility, and time management.
• Foster Social Growth: Attending school regularly allows students to build and maintain relationships with peers and teachers, which is vital for their social and emotional development.

As you know, our Olathe District has adopted a new smart watch/personal device policy for all grade levels. The K-8 policy includes the following.

- Students may wear smart watches during the school day (8:55 AM - 3:55 PM), but they may not be visible. This means students may keep their smart watches in lockers, pockets or pencil bags during school hours. This includes any smart watch that has been placed on school/silence/etc. mode.

- They may not be used during breaks, recess, or lunch periods.

- A regular watch that only tells time may be worn.

The full district policy can be found on our school website.

Please understand that the purpose of this policy is to create a productive learning environment for all students. As always, if you need to get communication to your student, please contact the MP front office and we will get the message to your child.

We are pleased to offer the Manchester Park Elementary School Community Service Club for 1st - 5th graders. The purpose of the club is to instill in our children a sense of responsibility, compassion, and understanding for people in need. We will have 8 official club meetings in the Flex Room, typically lasting from school dismissal until 4:45 pm (unless otherwise noted). Meeting dates are listed on the sign-up page. Click the link to sign up your child. Note: Parents of first-grade club members are required to attend the monthly meetings with their child.

https://forms.gle/J5NXDMoT2RL6dYNPA

1. Please click on the link below for all Manchester Park PTO updates. You can access the calendar, sign-ups, and event details all in one spot. It is going to be a great year at the Park, Go Timberwolves!

manchesterparkpto.org/intheknow

2.Want to get involved in your child’s classroom for class parties? Please look for a text message from Ms. Steele on Monday, August 26 at 6pm. At this time, only 1 person per family will be allowed to sign up for either Room Coordinator or Party Planner. There will be 4 parents allowed in each classroom per party, with 1 being the Room Coordinator and the other 3 parents will change with each party, but consist of 1 Party Planner and 2 helpers. Parents may email their teacher if they would like to be an alternate in case someone can’t make it that has signed up. After August 29 at 6pm, any approved family member may sign up to participate in the class parties. This is an attempt to make the signups fair and allow multiple families to participate. Thank you for volunteering in the classroom to make the parties a success, your kids love seeing you there!

3. The Manchester Park yearbook committee is hard at work, creating a yearbook full of memories. If you haven’t heard yet, we are partnering with Treering this year and are so excited to get started. With Treering, you are able to share photos with us for all the events throughout the school year. Please make sure all kiddos in the photos attend MP; however, the kiddos do not need to be in the same grade/class. Please refer to the flier below on how to create an account and share photos. Already have an account? Click the link below to share FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL photos. This link will also be posted on the MP PTO page. https://web.treering.com/school/252446/2024/school-content/school-photos/364667281

*Disclaimer: The photos you share using the link or app will be visible to all MP families that have a Treering account.*

4. Manchester Park PTO is looking for community business partners to help sponsor our school FUN RUN! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year. All proceeds go directly to the school to fund field trips, teacher supplies, special events, and much more.We are looking for either monetary donations to help fund the event, or the donation of items to be used as prizes. Manchester Park PTO is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

For more information or to make a donation visit ManchesterparkPTO.org/funrun

If you have any questions please email Stephanie Pankau at stephanie.pankau@gmail.com.

We have new car tags this year with NEW numbers. Each family received two car tags to distribute how you feel best. Old car tag numbers NO LONGER apply. Please use the new car tag numbers when picking up your student.

It is our goal to get cars in and out in an efficient and safe manner.

Please follow the guidelines below:

Arrival

- Have students ready to exit the car before it's their turn to exit the car.

- ALL students should exit on the sidewalk side of the car and not into the parking lot.

- Once you make it to the sidewalk area, please have students exit the car and not wait for an adult to assist unless necessary.

Dismissal

- Teach your child their car tag number so they know to come to your car once their number is called.

- All students are to enter the car from the sidewalk side.

For most of our Timberwolves, hearing screenings will occur at MP on Monday, August 26. Please click on the link below for additional information regarding these screenings from Nurse Bev.

As a reminder, if somebody is experiencing a mental health emergency, please call the Johnson County Mental Health crisis line at 913-268-0156 (24/7 access), 988 for the national suicide crisis lifeline, or 911 for other emergencies. School staff members are not available to support a mental health crisis after school hours, during weekends, or any time students are not in school.

It is important for all Olathe students and staff to feel that they belong within our schools and buildings. The OPS Equity Hotline allows all students, staff and parents to report incidents and events where they feel inequity exists. This Equity Hotline brings awareness so that district personnel can follow up on any incidents of harassment, racism or discrimination. Students, staff and parents may call the Equity Hotline number at (913) 780-7995 or email diversity@olatheschools.org. All communication will be routed to the Department of Culture & Belonging for assistance.

We are happy to welcome families in to share lunch with their Timberwolves after Labor Day.

We're a big school, so need to implement a few guidelines in order to make this happen.

Guidelines:

- Prior sign-up is required.

- Each slot covers two guests.

- Upon arrival, office staff will check for your sign-up.

- If you did not sign up online for that day, plan to reschedule for a different day.

- Lunch will take place in the cafeteria, as we don't have other available spaces.

- You may bring lunch in for your student, but may NOT share food with other students.

- If you'd like to purchase a school lunch, contact our front office by 9:15 AM to order.

- Payment is not accepted on site, so be sure to have enough $$ on your child's meal account to cover.

Link to sign-up is below.

With the new start time for all Olathe elementary schools, we've had to change our beginning-of-the-day routines. Please be aware of the times below.

8:35 AM - Cars may unload and students may enter the building.

8:35 - 8:45 AM - Students will report to areas in the building for their grade level.

8:45 AM - Students go into classrooms.

8:55 AM - School day starts.

Olathe has adopted a new student attendance policy for all elementary schools, and it is below.