Mary M. Knight
Weekly Family Update for the week of September 2, 2024
Mary M. Knight Mission
Our Mission is to ensure that all students have the knowledge, skills, motivation, and confidence to be successful citizens.
Vision (who we must become):
We are a community of learners and leaders united to enrich the lives of all our students.
Principal's Message - Mr. Stoney
Dear Mary M. Knight Families,
What an incredible first week we've had with our OWLS back on campus! The energy and enthusiasm our students have brought to their classrooms and activities have set a positive tone for the year ahead. We're excited to build on this momentum and continue moving forward together.
I'm pleased to announce that our updated September menu is now available. Be sure to check it out to see the nutritious and delicious options we're offering this month.
This week, we began recognizing students who demonstrated GRIT, our theme for the year. I'm incredibly proud of these young OWLS who have already shown such determination and perseverance. You can find more details about these outstanding students in this newsletter and on our website.
Our spring sports have kicked off with volleyball, football, and cheerleading practices in full swing. It's inspiring to see our athletes working hard and preparing to compete this year. Their dedication is truly commendable.
For our K-6 students, our Character Strong theme for September is Respect. We'll be exploring this important value throughout the month, helping our younger OWLS understand its significance in their daily lives.
I encourage all families to visit our new website at www.marymknight.com. It's a great resource to stay informed about events and happenings at MMK, and we're excited to share this improved platform with you.
Looking ahead to next week:
- Monday, September 2: No school in observance of Labor Day
- Tuesday, September 3: First day of kindergarten
- Wednesday, September 4: Our first PTO meeting at 3:30 pm in the elementary library
- Friday, September 6: High School Volleyball season opener at Oakville
Thank you for your continued support and engagement in our school community. Here's to another great week at Mary M. Knight!
Sincerely,
Mr. Stoney
Principal, Mary M. Knight School
Assistant Principal's Message - Ms. Bell
Hello OWL Families,
What an amazing first week of school! It’s been a blast watching our students stroll in with smiles, energy, and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Big shout out to our elementary GRIT go-getters! They tackled our new cafeteria procedures like pros—one try, and they nailed it. Talk about a smooth operation!
Plus, their teamwork in the lunchroom has been top-notch, from helping out as table washers to reminding friends to roll up their sleeves at the salad bar. On Friday I had the great honor of handing out GRIT nominations to our elementary students. A quick shout-out to our 5th graders that had three nominations in their class!
Our secondary students have been flexing their GRIT muscles too, navigating new schedules, bells, and morning routines like champs. As we head into week two, it’s time for some reflection: What do you want to achieve this year? How can you top last year? Remember, GRIT is about those tiny steps forward and never giving up.
Enjoy your well-deserved three-day weekend, stay safe, and we’ll see you bright and early on Tuesday!
Warm regards,
Ms. Sarah Bell
Assistant Principal
What's coming up this week at Mary M. Knight?
- No School
Tuesday 9/3
- 1st Day of Kinder
Wednesday 9/4
- PTO Meeting 3:30 PM
Thursday 9/5
Friday 9/6
- HSVB @ Oakville 4:15 pm
--- School Menu ---
New Online Menu
This year, the school menu is online at My School Menus. Click the link bellow to search for breakfast and lunch menu and nutritional information bellow.
--- Parent News and Reminders ---
First Week of School
Last week was a great first week of school! It was great seeing our OWLS get back into the routine of things. Here are just a few pictures from the first week of school.
Practicing The New Lunch Line Procedures
Secondary English Class
2nd Grade Classroom
New Elementary Music Class
Annotating in English
Building Timelines in History Class
Cheer Practice
Ms. Bell Recognizing 5th Grade GRIT Students
Weekly GRIT Students with Nominating Teachers
Harvest Dinner & Auction Fundraiser
Do not forget to mark your calendars for this years annual Harvest Dinner and Auction event. This is a great fundraiser put on by our family groups of the Sports Boosters and the MMK Parent Teacher Organization to help raise funds that support our OWLS. This even will be on Saturday, September 28 at 5:00 pm at Mary M. Knight.
--- Sports News ---
Spring Sports
For any questions, please contact Athletic Director, Tom Kerr at (360)426-6767 or tkerr@mmk.wednet.edu
--- Character Strong ---
Character Strong
This year, we will continue our journey of implementing Character Strong as our Social-Emotional curriculum at Mary M. Knight. Character Strong is a curriculum that provides universal instruction aligned to state and national social-emotional learning standards.
Over the past two years, we began at the elementary (grades PK-6) level, expanding to the middle (grades 7-8), and finally to the secondary level (grades 9-12) as a whole-district program. Future emails will share more specific focuses and information for each grade level as we begin.
----GRIT and Positive Referrals----
Weekly above the line students
Positive Referrals - These are referrals that any staff member can fill out on a student who they feel are consistently demonstrating actions or behaviors related to our OWLS behavior expectations of Ownership, Willingness, Leadership, and Success. When a student received a positive referral, they are give a certificate, contacted home on what they did to earn it, and are posted in the school.
GRIT Awards - In the 2024-25 academic year, we're all about embracing 'Nurturing Resilience, Inspiring Excellence' as our guiding principle. We believe that having GRIT – Growth, Resilience, Intensity, and Tenacity – is key to creating a culture where challenges are seen as stepping stones to greatness. We want to foster a growth mindset in our students and ourselves, understanding that hard work and dedication can help us develop our abilities and intelligence. Student will be nominated weekly if they are demonstrating characteristics of GRIT. Student will receive a certificate and shared out.
Staff Grit of the Week
This week we recognize Mr. Mallery as our staff member of the week for GRIT. Mr. Mallery demonstrate great GRIT in perseverance over the past several weeks in pushing through challenges to get school ready for our staff and kids. Not everything works as planned and his continuous effort in making sure things worked out was recognized.
GRIT Students of the Week
Weekly Grit Students for the Week of 8/27/24:
- Elementary: Xavier Lingnau, Emmett Jones, Ronan Jones, Koal Reed, Mason Haskins, Jadynn Smith, James Horn
- Secondary: Brielle Mirka, Bella Weber (not pictured), Josh Hudson
----- PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) ---
PTO updates and information will be posted on the district website at https://www.marymknight.com/domain/25
- Next Meeting: September 4 at 3:30 pm in the elementary library
Follow us on Facebook and the District Website
Mary M. Knight
Email: jstoney@mmk.wednet.edu
Website: https://www.marymknight.com/
Location: 2987 Matlock-Brady Road, Elma, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 426-6767
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMKOwls