The Muraski Tribune: Issue 3

Good Morning Muraski Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying the nice, long holiday weekend. It has been a phenomenal start to the school year, with 2 full and exciting weeks of school. We've kicked off our PBIS program, PRIDE, with Mustang Money, enjoyed a Pep Rally, the Muraski Football Night and Tailgate, and started to really get into the routines of school.

This week, we have our Fall Field Day, where students will be working on being INCLUSIVE through collaboration and teamwork. If you are interested in helping out, please use the link below. We are off to a great start, and we are looking forward to a great school year with your families.

Sincerely,

Mike Griffen

On Thursday, September 26th, Muraski will be participating in the Strongsville High School homecoming parade! We are looking for students and parents who are interested in being a part of the Muraski Spirit Squad to help build our parade float. A planning meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 4th at 3:30pm at the Muraski Outdoor Pavillion. All parents and students who are interested in helping plan and build our parade float are invited to attend. (Please note: A parent must be present for your child to attend this meeting.) If you and your child are not able to attend the meeting, please know that more opportunities to help will be shared soon. If you have any questions, please email Elissa Ray at elissamray@gmail.com or Becky Littlejohn at wbl20775@gmail.com

Please update your annual forms by August 23rd, 2024. To update forms, log in to Powerschool, select Quick Links, then find "Information Update 22-23" under Custom Links. Please call the office with any questions.

Update to Parent Portal: Parents and guardians will sign in with their username (email address) and their password. When logging in for the first time this school year, please click "Forgot Username or Password" link to reset your password.

Incoming kindergarten families: You should have received an email from Linda Konopinski (after registering) containing directions on how to create and access your parent account in our online Powerschool Unified Classroom Parent Portal. If you need this information again, please contact Linda Konopinski at lkonopinski@scsmustangs.org or 440-846-4137. This will be important to set up to access important information.

Click HERE for the Welcome letter from our Food Services Department.

To determine eligibility for free / reduced lunch, as well as various additional state and federal program benefits inclusive of possible district student fees being waived, an application must be completed online at PaySchoolsCentral.com. HERE is a link with directions to apply.

It is important to note the following for those that qualify for Reduced Lunches in the 24-25 school year: The recently passed Ohio biennial budget includes a provision for the State to pay the meal charges for Reduced students ($0.30 for Breakfast and $0.40 for Lunch) effectively allowing them to eat for free. This will be in effect for 24-25 school years.

CLICK HERE for the Free & Reduced Lunch Application.

CLICK HERE TO GET TO LUNCH MENUS FOR THE YEAR

To download medication administration forms and action plans for the 24-25 school year, visit: https://www.strongnet.org/departments/student-services/health-services

Important: If you have a Medicine to Drop Off - Our building nurse will be there to accept it over the first few days of school. Please make sure that you fill out the forms necessary and follow the protocols established by our Nursing Department.

As the start of school is just over a week away, all transportation information has been uploaded to PowerSchool. To view this information, you will need to use a web browser like Chrome, Safari, or Edge. Do not use the PowerSchool app. CLICK HERE for a short video tutorial on how to find your student’s transportation information.

As a reminder, all school fees that have not been paid are now considered past due. To check the balance and pay outstanding school fees, go to Pay Schools Central by clicking HERE. In addition to Pay Schools Central, school fees can be paid by cash/check to your student’s building secretary or with the Treasurer's Office. If you have questions related to this, please contact the building secretary or Melissa LePage (mlepage@scsmustangs.org) within the Treasurer's Department. As we are approaching a new school year, as well as the start of fall sports, per Board of Education policy, the consequences for outstanding prior year school fees will prohibit students from participating in any school extracurricular activities (i.e., athletics, student council, school clubs, etc.), field trips, and school sanctioned dances / events that require a purchased ticket. For additional information on District Fee Collection Procedures and Consequences CLICK HERE.

Over the summer, the district expanded our partnership with Blocksi to include student content filtering and alerts. We no longer utilize SecURLy for these services. CLICK HERE to view an informational flier about joining the Blocksi Parent Portal to gain insights on your student’s online behavior with their scsmustangs account and set parental controls beyond the school school. If you have any questions, contact Dave Binkley, Director of Instructional Technology at dbinkley@scsmustangs.org.

In order to avoid disruption of the educational environment and protect students' right of privacy, student use of cell phones are prohibited, in school classrooms and on field trips, excluding use as approved by the classroom teacher or the Principal. Cell phones may be prohibited in any other areas within the school building as deemed necessary by the Principal. Possession of a cell phone by a student at school during school hours is a privilege that may be forfeited by any student who fails to abide by the terms of this policy, or otherwise abuses this privilege. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action and/or confiscation of the cell phone. The Principal will also refer the matter to law enforcement or child services if the violation involves an illegal activity (e.g., child pornography, sexting).

In practice, here is what this will mean for our students.

• PreK-5. Cell phones and airpods / earbuds are not permitted during any time of the school day. Students that have these devices should keep them stowed in their book bag and locker (if applicable).
• SMS. Cell phones and airpods / earbuds are not permitted during any class or in the hallways. During class, cell phones will be stored in the classroom caddy / storage system or kept in a locker. During class changes, cell phones should be in a student’s pocket or purse. SMS students may use their cell phone in an academic lab or at lunch.
• SHS. Cell phones and airpods / earbuds are not permitted during any class. During class, cell phones will be stored in the classroom caddy / storage system or kept in a book bag, purse, or locker. SHS students may use their cell phone at lunch, in study hall or in the hallways during class changes.

Smartwatches & Other Devices

Although there is not a global policy on Smartwatches at this time, we recognize that more and more students are wearing smartwatches that have the same functionality as cell phones (i.e. text message, apps, etc.) Currently, students are permitted to wear them, but while they are at school they need to be used as a watch and not a cell phone for the reasons listed above. Therefore, we will follow these guidelines for devices in the classroom:

It is recommended that you have your child place any smartwatch or device into Airplane or School mode while at school. This decreases the functionality and limits what is possible on the watch while at school.

If, for any reason, a staff member believes that your child is using their watch for reasons that align with the cell phone policy or their watch is becoming a distraction in the classroom to their learning, they will be asked to remove the watch and place it in their backpack.

If a cell phone, smartwatch, or other device needs to be addressed for any reason we will utilize this protocol:

1. First Offense - The staff member will ask your child to place the device in their backpack or a safe location. If they don't feel that their backpack or locker is safe, they can turn it into the teacher.

2. Second Offense - The staff member will ask that the device be turned into them, they will store it safely, and return it to your child at the end of class. You will receive communication from the staff member.

3. Third Offense - The staff member will ask the device be turned in, they will give it to the administrative team, who will address the issue with the student, including a phone call to parents, and return the device to the student at the end of the school day.

4. Any Additional Offense - We will follow the same protocol as above and require the parent/guardian pick up the device in order to hold a meeting.

It is important to note that you can always call our building to get immediate support if necessary.

Email: mgriffen@scsmustangs.org
Website: https://muraski.strongnet.org/
Location: Muraski Elementary School, Royalton Road, Strongsville, OH, USA
Phone: 440-572-7160
Twitter: @MuraskiPrin