McAULIFFE ELEMENTARY

Website: mcauliffe.hastings.k12.mn.us
Location: 1601 12th Street West, Hastings, MN, USA
Phone: 651-480-7390

Monthly newsletters are available to you online each month. Please check out our website as it is updated monthly with upcoming events and information.

OCTOBER

10 - Tech Levy Presentation, 6:30 pm - Kennedy Media Center

10 - McAuliffe PTC Meeting, following Tech Levy Presentation @ Kennedy Elementary

10 - Hastings Fire Station Open House, 7-9 pm

16 - Evening Conferences - Elementary Only

16 - Book Fair in Media Center, 3:30-4pm

17 - Evening Conferences - All grades

17 - Book Fair in Media Center, 3:30-4pm

18 - NO SCHOOL - Conferences - All grades

18 - Book Fair in Media Center from 8 am - 12 pm

19 & 20 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Association Days

25 - Picture Retakes

NOVEMBER

3 - Family Movie Night hosted by the McAuliffe PTC, 6pm (movie begins at 6:30pm)

5 - Daylight Savings Time, Fall Back

6-12 - PTC Hat & Mitten Drive

8 - McAuliffe PTC Meeting: 6:30pm @ McAuliffe Media Center

9 - Voting Day

23 & 24 - NO SCHOOL - Fall Break

25 - Holiday Hoopla, McAuliffe Eagle Choir performance

27 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Development

Elementary conferences are scheduled in the evening of Monday, October 16th and Tuesday, October 17th and during the morning of Wednesday, October 18th.

Monday, October 16th from 3:30pm - 7:30pm

Tuesday, October 17th from 3:30pm - 7:30pm

Wednesday, October 18th from 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

This year we are conducting routine vision and hearing screenings for Kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grade students. If you want to opt your child out of this health screening, contact the health office (651-480-7395 ehorn@isd200.org) by November 3. Screenings will be completed during the school day in early November. You will be notified (phone call and email) if your child has any concerns with vision or hearing after the screenings are completed.

All District 200 K-4 elementary students received school bus safety training on a school bus in late September. Hastings Bus Company drivers conducted the training. They have developed lesson plans that correlate with the bus safety curriculum classroom teachers cover each fall.

As the weather begins to cool, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for playing outside. Students spend twenty minutes outside for noon recess.

When the temperatures start to dip into the 40’s and 50’s, we do require students to wear a light jacket or sweatshirt outside. When winter arrives, winter clothing will be required.

2023-2024 Minnesota Free School Meals Program

What is the Minnesota Free School Meals Program?

The Minnesota Free School Meals Program provides state reimbursement to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program so that students can have one breakfast and one lunch at no cost at school.

Can the meals be picked up or brought home like we did during the pandemic?

No. Congregate meal service is required in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Meals may not be taken off campus, sent home, delivered, or picked up by parents or others.

Do I still need to complete the Application for Educational Benefits?

Families need to complete the Application for Educational Benefits. Applications for Educational Benefits determine how much funding your child’s school receives for educational programs and support. Additionally, eligible families can qualify for other benefits, such as:

• WIC Benefits
• Metro Transit Assistance Program
• FCC Affordable Connectivity Program/Reduced price internet programs
• Some summer camps, athletics programs, and child cares offer scholarships or discounts

What is included in the MN Free School Meals Program?

The student must choose at least three items to be counted as a reimbursable meal at breakfast. The student must choose a ½ cup serving of fruit or vegetable as part of their breakfast. At lunch, the student must choose at least three components to be counted as a reimbursable meal. The student must choose a ½ cup serving of fruit or vegetable as part of their lunch.

What is NOT included in the MN Free School Meals Program?

Single-item purchases and non-reimbursable meals are not free. Some examples include: a carton of milk, snack items, a second entrée, a second breakfast, or a second lunch, meals that do not meet the minimum requirements, and meals served to teachers, staff, and other adults.

The price for breakfast and lunch meals will be $0 for all sites.

Fill out the Form! The Application for Education Benefits helps determine how much education funding your school will receive. Complete an application for your student for the school year 2023-24.

• Students and families may qualify for other program fee reductions based on their eligibility for free or reduced-price meals. Parents should complete an Application for Education Benefits.
• Only meals that meet the requirements are reimbursed. Students that want additional or single items will be charged for those items.
• The 2023-24 Free and Reduced Meal Application will be available online this summer on the district website under Food Service, and a paper application has been mailed out to families.

For more information, please call Andrea Seleski 651-480-7050 or Brittney Hirschauer 651-480-7126

Just a reminder that if your child is having a birthday party and would like to invite their friends from school, we are not able to give out names, phone numbers or addresses of the students. While we know it is exciting for children to have a birthday party and invite their school friends, we ask that you do not send invitations to school as it can cause hurt feelings for those students who did not get invited to the party.

The district has adopted a wellness policy. We are still celebrating student birthdays; we are just not doing so with birthday treats. We ask that students not bring any treats in honor of their birthday.

Illness and Keeping your Child Home

A student should not come to school (and may be sent home from school) if they have or have had:

• a fever of 100 degrees F or more in the past 24 hours

• vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours

• an undiagnosed skin rash

Reporting Absences

If your student will not be at school, please call and report the reason for their absence at 651-480-7391. If your student is ill, please report their symptoms and/or any diagnosed communicable condition like chicken pox, strep throat, cough and fever, influenza, or pink eye. It is recommended that you follow the MDH and CDC exclusion guidelines for communicable diseases.

Immunizations
In order to attend school, students must show that they're in compliance with Minnesota School Immunization Requirements (see the Minnesota Department of Health Link below for more Information). Hastings School's immunization policy states that students who are not up to date on their immunizations will not be allowed to start school until they provide the school with documentation that they have received the required immunizations.
Parents/guardians may check their student's immunization status by logging on to the parent portal in Infinite Campus. To see the immunization records, click on the HEALTH tab. If your student's immunization status says "current for grade" in ALL immunizations required by law, then the student is up to date and ready for the start of school. If your student is not current, they will need to get the required immunizations to attend the first day of school. Yearly physicals with their healthcare provider are strongly encouraged for students to have optimal health.

Parents/guardians may choose to decline immunizations for their students by filing a legal exemption with the school. Student Immunization Form

If you have further questions, please reach out to your building nurse.

If during the school year your address or daycare changes and this requires a change in transportation, please contact the school, not the bus company. If you give us the information we will work with the bus company to make the changes. The only changes that can be made are those that are permanent or for an extended length of time. It is very difficult for the bus company to make brief or sudden changes in the routes. Thank you for your help in this

In order to minimize interruptions to the classroom, students should not be picked up early unless it is an emergency. On those occasions when it is necessary to pick your child up during the school day, please go to the school office to sign your child out. The office secretary will call the classroom and have the student sent to the office. Teachers will not release students unless the office gives prior approval. This practice has been established to help protect your child.

Your child's safety is of prime importance to us. There are a few procedure guidelines that help us maintain a secured building and limit the number of distractions to our classrooms. Our building is designed to have a single entry point during the school day. Please keep the following in mind:

• Always check in at the office whenever you are at school.
  
• We have a new secure entrance, please ring the doorbell and state your reason for visiting.
• When delivering things for your child (ex. snow gear), please drop them off at the office. We will deliver articles or call your child down to the office.
  
• When picking up your child early from school, please do so by signing them out at the office. The office personnel will contact your child’s teacher to dismiss them and meet you in the office.

Please bring your driver's license with you when you are checking out your student, volunteering, or visiting at lunch.

TO REGISTER: Call 651-480-7670 or register online at www.HastingsCommunityEd.com