Walker Pre-K

REMOTE LEARNING FRIDAY Beginning Friday, October 9, 2020, students in grades K-12 will pivot to a Remote Learning Day. Remote Learning Friday will continue through December 18, 2020. The purpose of Remote Learning Friday is to allow teachers time to work specifically with virtual students and to plan and prepare lessons for virtual and on-site students. This will benefit all students because it will improve the quality of instruction for both options. The District realizes this could cause an inconvenience for parents; therefore, students have the option to attend in person. However, buses will not run morning or evening routes. Breakfast and lunch will be served on each campus for students in attendance and for those who just come on campus for meals. Walker Pre-K will remain open on its regular schedule. As a reminder, buses will not run; therefore, parents will need to bring students to Walker Pre-K in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. For Remote Learning Plans for each school, please visit www.magnoliaschools.net. We appreciate your understanding and patience.

MAGNOLIA SCHOOL DISTRICT TO HOLD FLU CLINIC The Magnolia School District will hold its annual Flu Immunization Clinic on the following dates. Walker Campus: Tuesday, October 13 Middle School: Wednesday, October 14 Kindergarten/East Side: Tuesday, October 20 Central: Wednesday, October 21 9Th Grade Academy/High School: Thursday, October 22 Information packets with consent forms will be sent home with students next week. Completed forms should be returned campus offices no later than Tuesday, October 6. Only flu shots will be available this year. Flu mist will not be available. An online registration option is available through the Arkansas Department of Health website: https://adhschoolfluprereg.arkansas.gov/WebsiteContent/Show-WebsiteContent-HomePage.aspx Questions regarding the Flu Clinic should be directed to the nurse on the student’s campus.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! A special thanks goes out to Cathy McMahen and Chicken Express for delivering cookies and Teacher Reward cards to all employees of the Magnolia School District this morning. We appreciate the support you give to everyone involved in our District.

MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL HOMCOMING GAME CANCELED Due to COVID-19, the homecoming game between the Magnolia Panthers and the Arkansas High Razorbacks on September 25 has been canceled. The game has been ruled a “no contest.” All homecoming activities will be rescheduled at a date to be determined. The status of the game between the Panthers and Hot Springs Lakeside on October 2 will also be determined at a later date.

MAGNOLIA SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTINUES SEAMLESS SUMMER MEAL PROGRAM The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the extension of the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) through December 31, 2020. The SSO allows school districts to provide meals at no cost to children 18 and younger. The purpose of the extension is to assure that children have access to nutritious meals while the nation recovers from COVID-19. During the pandemic, USDA has continued to provide flexibilities for the purpose of assisting families and assuring that children are fed whether they attend school in a classroom environment or as virtual students. The Magnolia School District will continue this program starting Tuesday, September 8. This program allows the District to provide meals at no cost regardless of the student’s eligibility status and outside the typically-required group settings and meal times. Parents and guardians may pick up meals at the East Side Elementary cafeteria from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. starting September 8. Although students will receive meals at no charge through December 31, 2020, it is imperative that parents continue to work with the Magnolia Food Service Department in completing and submitting free and reduced meal applications. Families who have not completed a meal application are strongly encouraged to do so. Families are also encouraged to check their email regularly for updates and announcements from the food service department. For questions, please call 870-234-2677.

There have been some additions and updates to the re-entry plan added on the Magnolia School District website and Campus-specific sites. They include: ACDA Guidelines Added AAA Guidelines Added Face Coverings Guidelines Added MSD Blended Learning FAQs Removed/Replaced by Blended Learning Guidelines Virtual Option FAQs Added T-Chart Comparing Blended Learning/Virtual Option Added General FAQs Added MSD Health & Safety Guidelines Updated MSD Transportation Health & Safety Guidelines Updated Walker Pre-K Arrival-Dismissal Updated Walker Pre-K Breakfast-Lunch Updated Deleting browser history/cookies may be required if Updated documents won’t load. The magnolia schools website address can be easily viewed by clicking this link: www.magnoliaschools.net Thank you!

MJCL Sets "Cram the Bus" Date

School Supply List for 2020-21

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT Students and families, We appreciate the patience you have shown while waiting on our plan for returning to school. Our teachers, administrators, and numerous other stakeholders have worked countless hours to develop a plan for a safe environment for our students and staff. Their work and dedication to Magnolia Public Schools is sincerely appreciated. The documents are located on our district website, www.magnoliaschools.net, under the tab “Re-Entry Plan”. At the top of each school’s page, there will be a tab where more specific plans for that campus can be found. Please understand this document could change from day to day as we continue to receive guidance from DESE and ADH. Our initial plan is to begin school on a regular schedule, but that could change throughout the year as needed. We have developed plans for complete on-site instruction, a modified schedule, and remote learning. In addition, we realize that some parents may choose for their child to receive a complete virtual option for instructional delivery. That option is available, and the document for enrollment is located under the “Re-Entry” tab on the district website. We realize that this plan is not perfect; there is nothing perfect about this pandemic. We all want to return to normal. In order to effectively limit the spread of any communicable disease, we need your help in screening your child before sending him/her to school. We realize this is an inconvenience for many parents, but it is impractical and ineffective to screen students after they are at school or already on the bus. We will be providing an easily accessible screening document on our district app and ask that you screen your child daily before sending him/her to school. Most importantly, please do not send your child to school if they are sick. Again, we will continue to update this document. However, we hope this answers many of your questions about how we plan for a safe return to school for our students and staff. John Ward Superintendent Magnolia School District Website: www.magnoliaschools.net

Parents: if you have not already, please take a moment to fill out this quick survey to give your input on the upcoming 2020-2021 School Startup by clicking the link below: https://rb.gy/3jkhif Deadline to submit is today, and we’ve had over 750 entries so far. For all that have submitted, THANK YOU! It only takes a few minutes, and we appreciate each and every entry. Thank you so much! #PANTHERPROUD

Governor Hutchinson is live now providing COVID-19 Updates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rrzU1zVtuc Important information : the start date for the 2020-21 school year has been delayed and set as August 24th. Additional clarification and information will follow soon.

MJCL Receives King Foundation Grant to Support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Magnolia Junior Charity League has been awarded a $1,000 grant from Arkansas Imagination Library and the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation in Dallas, TX. Grant funds will be used to purchase Imagination Library books in Columbia County, which is one of 28 counties in east and south Arkansas where the King Foundation focuses its grant making. “We are very appreciative for the $1,000 grant from the King Foundation to the Magnolia Junior Charity League. Their support allows us to continue providing the children in our community the opportunity to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and receive books month after month. Currently, 437 children receive books and that would not be possible without supporters and donors like the King Foundation.” -Anna Smith, MJCL 2020-2021 President Every child enrolled in the Imagination Library program receives high quality, age-appropriate books in the mail – one book per month until a child’s fifth birthday – at no cost to families. Parents or guardians of children under age five in Columbia County can enroll their child in Imagination Library by going to https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/find-my-program/ Currently, almost 40,000 books are mailed to Arkansas children each month through independent Imagination Library affiliates operating in all 75 counties in Arkansas. Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the world’s preeminent early childhood book gifting program. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.5 million high quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has mailed well over 100 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The program’s impact has been widely researched, and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood metrics. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. For more information, visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/.

Dear Parents: Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this pandemic. We realize you have many questions, and we are trying to put together a plan for starting school back in August that is safe for our kids, follows guidance from Arkansas Department of Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and still provides our kids with some sense of normalcy. We have had over 60 teachers, parents, healthcare workers and other stakeholders developing this plan, and we are close to completing a document for release. There are a few questions we would like your input on prior to finalizing our plan and releasing the documents. We ask that you take a minute to complete the survey by Sunday, July 12, 2020. https://rb.gy/3jkhif Thank you!

Magnolia Junior Charity League Sponsors Summer Backpack Program

BAILEY COBURN RECOGNIZED AS DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR The Magnolia School Board recognized East Side Elementary School music teacher, Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year at their regular meeting on June 15. Superintendent, John Ward read Mrs. Coburn’s biography and then presented her with a plaque of recognition. Bailey will now represent the Magnolia School District in the Arkansas Teacher of the Year (ATOY) competition. Arkansas regional finalists will be announced the week of July 3-8. Regional finalists will also attend a reception ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock on July 31, where the four ATOY finalists will be announced. During the fall of 2020, the ATOY selection panel will visit the finalists’ schools for classroom observation and interviews. The 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year will then be announced sometime prior to December 20, 2020.

BAILEY COBURN RECOGNIZED AS DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR The Magnolia School Board recognized East Side Elementary School art teacher, Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year at their regular meeting on June 15. Superintendent, John Ward read Mrs. Coburn’s biography and then presented her with a plaque of recognition. Bailey will now represent the Magnolia School District in the Arkansas Teacher of the Year (ATOY) competition. Arkansas regional finalists will be announced the week of July 3-8. Regional finalists will also attend a reception ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock on July 31, where the four ATOY finalists will be announced. During the fall of 2020, the ATOY selection panel will visit the finalists’ schools for classroom observation and interviews. The 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year will then be announced sometime prior to December 20, 2020.

MAGNOLIA JUNIOR CHARITY LEAGUE SPONSORS SUMMER BACKPACK PROGRAM

BAILEY COBURN SELECTED MAGNOLIA SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR Magnolia School District personnel recently selected Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Coburn is the music teacher at East Side Elementary School where she instructs approximately six hundred students in grades 1-3. Bailey is a graduate of Ashdown High School and Henderson State University. She began her career in Magnolia when she did her student teaching in the fall of 2014. She assisted with the band program and with East Side’s music program. After earning her Bachelors of Music in Education, Bailey taught in the El Dorado and Spring Hill school districts. However, she was always drawn back to Magnolia, working as the high school receptionist and finally returning to East Side as the elementary music teacher. At East Side, Bailey teaches approximately 600 students per week. She incorporates music from many cultures and time periods. She leads five music programs each year, including last year’s first-ever East Side Veterans Day program. She also includes self-regulation exercises in music class and began a weekly yoga program for students with behavioral and/or sensory issues. Bailey is married to Russell Coburn, a former Magnolia band director. They have one son, Henry, who will be three in June. They also have their rescue dog, Molly. Bailey’s hobbies include playing piano and ukulele, learning new technology, and taking naps. She loves to uplift her coworkers and come up with innovative ideas for the classroom. She can often be found with a to-do list in one hand and a Dr. Pepper in the other. Bailey is also an advocate for mental health and pushes her students to do their best. Mrs. Bailey is now eligible for the 2020 Arkansas Teacher of the Year competition.

Magnolia School District has been approved to join forces with Baylor University to offer the Meals-To-You program. What does this mean? It means that meals for your student(s) will be delivered to your home! Each household, with children ages 1-18 who qualify for free or reduced school meals, will need to go to the website www.mealstoyou.org and sign up by Monday, May 11th. PLEASE help share this to get the word out. This program will be replacing the food service delivery we have been doing since mid-March. Magnolia School District will not deliver meals after this Friday, 05/08. This is a great opportunity for our community!

The 2020 Census is here…I count, you count.. Please respond