Dear Families,
I hope you all had a nice break. I spent time with my family in Vermont and am feeling refreshed and
ready for the next 10 weeks of school! We have a lot of exciting events coming up, both in and out of school, so stay tuned for more important dates this spring!
In partnership,
Kelly Walter

Important Dates:
4/25 Lockdown Drill
4/26 Class Picture Day
4/27 PTA Family Game- 6:30-8:00 in the Gym/ Commons

Nuts & Bolts:

Mural by Alex Chu
Our new school mural was in the creative process since 2019 when our building opened. After a COVID delay, the creative process resumed last year, and over spring break our finished mural was installed in the stairwell we use every day! There is an import ant significance to every object, person or animal in the art. We shared with students a video of Alex Chiu, explaining the mural and will have an opening ceremony with students in May.

Playground Update
A Team of teachers and parents met with capital projects to plan for the installation of the play
structure. We chose a structure that will allow access for our student’s Pre-K- 5th. The installation for this will begin on 8/8/23 and will be ready for the start of school!

Upcoming Lockdown Drill
On Tuesday we will have our first lockdown drill. I like to inform parents so you can decide how you’d like to talk to your students about this. At school we teach students the protocol (close curtains, doors locked, huddled quietly in a protected space in the room). Teachers will review the drill protocol with students and share the rational for the drill in a developmentally appropriate way. For example, we are matter of fact, without introducing scary details about all of the possible dangers. We want to make sure they understand when they follow directions, line up, and stay silent, the teachers can do their jobs and make sure everyone is safe just in case there’s anything dangerous going on.

News from the PTA
MES PTA Game Night with Blue Highway Games
Thursday, April 27th 6:30-8:00pm @ MES Gym & Commons
Join the MES PTA and Blue Highway Games for a night of screen-free family fun with Board Games!
Support your MES community at this Pop-Up Shop Fundraiser. Games & other items will be for sale – proceeds will go to the MES PTA to help support everyone at MES.
We’re still in need of a few game leaders and cleanup crew! Also great for any teenagers in the family who love board gaming! Please sign up here to volunteer for MES PTA Game Night or email info@magnoliaschoolpta.org for more info.

School Drop-Off
The last few weeks we’ve been noticing cars left unattended in the school drop-off line – this
causes congestion and unsafe conditions for our walkers. As a reminder, here are the procedures for dropping off:

• Pull forward (North) on 28th as far as possible. Pull up, have kids exit quickly, and pull away to let the next car drop off.
• Under no circumstances should an unattended car be parked in the bus lane. If you find you need to walk your child into school, move your vehicle to one of the side streets (NOT Smith or McGraw).
• Most cars should be dropping off in front of the Bus area (buses drop off in the center of that block, right in front of the school doors). Yes, this causes a longer walk for kids who go back toward Smith but there is adult supervision available to assist.
• Ideally kids should be able to walk out of the vehicle on their own so that parents do not have to exit the vehicle into traffic.

On Monday morning 4 unattended cars meant that most of the drop-off line was unavailable.
Parents were therefore blocking intersections to drop their kids off in the crosswalk at Smith, or
other less-safe areas. I know we all want to keep kids safe, and a smooth drop-off line prevents
the kind of congestion that can lead to poor driver decisions.

MES Yearbook – Call for Photos and Volunteer
To make sure the kids have an awesome yearbook to commemorate this school year, we need
candid photos! If you have pictures from field trips (Islandwood, in particular), classroom events, PTA events, or anything else MES-related, please send them in.
You can either email photos to magnoliaesyearbook@gmail.com or upload your photos for the yearbook.
Parent volunteers are needed for Class Picture day on Wednesday, April 26th, 8AM – 12PM for one-two hours during this timeslot. Please email info@magnoliaschoolpta.org

The Lost and Found is overflowing!
If your child is missing any items, please come take a peek and see if their items are in the lost and found. All unclaimed goods will be donated or be put towards a fundraising garage sale.
MES PTA General Meeting, May 18th at 7pm
All MES community members are welcome to the PTA General Meeting May 18th. This
meeting will be conducted remotely and in person simultaneously.
The meeting will include a vote of the following:

• New Budget 2023-2024
• PTA Board Officers (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary) 2023-2024. Please note that only MES PTA members can vote.

If you are considering joining the PTA Board, nominations are accepted by May 10th.