November 2021 "Moving in the Right Direction" Jag Blast

Message from Principal:

Hello, Families!

We are so excited about all the things this month will hold for us at MAE! The holiday season can get very busy at home with homework, activities, and family life in general, but I want to ask that we all make a special effort to read to and with our children each night.

Research is clear. Students that spend time reading each day outperform their peers. Research also proves that reading at home is a key factor in student success. Reading at home also provides opportunities for fun and meaningful family time. I encourage us all to make it a priority this holiday season.

The reading can be school related like online stories from Raz-Kids, Book-in-a-Bag leveled readers, library books, or AR books. It can also be a favorite chapter book read aloud, a children’s picture book, or the Bible. The main focus is to bring these stories to life through your voice and discussions and to allow your child to practice good reading skills such as sounding out words and using sight words. Some of your reading time may be spent with students showing off their decoding and practicing the reading skills they are learning in school. Some of the reading time may be you reading aloud to the student while they enjoy the story. You may even decide to buddy read and take turns after each sentence or each page with your child. All of these types of experiences are very valuable and set the stage for a love of reading.

Reading is one of my very favorite things to do. My hope is that all our children are able to experience joy from a book. If you have any questions about reading with your child or how you can help them develop a love for reading, please reach out to us. Reading is a very complex task. Learning to read can be overwhelming at times. If you are unsure of how to help your child succeed in this area, we would love to collaborate with you.

Thank you for your continued support of our school. We know you are working hard with your students at home. We also appreciate your efforts in our Cheese Straw Fundraiser which supports our STEAM lab. We rocked that fundraiser! What a blessing it is to know that we will be able to fund our STEAM Lab for the 2022-2023 school year.

Thank you again for all you do. As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Melissa Philley, Principal

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WELCOME TO MAE GRAND CENTRAL STATION

Before we begin all of our stops, we'd like to THANK YOU for voting for us in the city Scarecrow contest. WE WON 3rd PLACE! We have so much to be thankful for. Now, on to our journey! ALL ABOARD!

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OUR 1ST STOP: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS & REMINDERS

CHEESE STRAWS, HEIRLOOMS, & LUNCH

I. FUNDRAISER RESULTS - CHEESE STRAWS!

Congratulations MAE for an AWESOME Fall Fundraiser! All the students did a fantastic job of selling Mississippi Cheese Straw Products and helping our school. We are excited to announce that we raised $45,000 for our school, meeting both our initial goal of $35,000 and our target goal of $40,000, winning all students at MAE a “stinky feet” day and free electronics time on December 10th!!

BIG CHEESE WINNERS who sold the most cheese straws get to RIDE IN DR. PHILLEY'S CHAIR:

Kindergarten- Brayden McDougal (82 items) in Mrs. Harris’ class (12/8)
1st Grade - Katherine Lewis (42 items) in Mrs. Holland’s class (12/9)
2nd Grade - Fitz Fletcher (121 items) in Mrs. Davis’ class. (12/10) Fitz also gets to PIE Mr. B in the FACE! (12/3)

TOP SELLING CLASSES who get EXTRA RECESS and a

DONUT or ICE CREAM SUNDAY PARTY (12/10):

Kindergarten - WE HAVE A TIE! Mrs. Gray and Mrs. Upton with 257 items each. Both classes win!
1st Grade - Mrs. Holland with 287 items
2nd Grade - Mrs. Henry with 286 items

TOP SELLING CLASS in WHOLE school that gets EXTRA RECESS and a

PIZZA & COOKIE PARTY (12/10): Mrs. J Davis with 310 items!!!

WAIT! There's more!

94 students sold at least 20 items and are eligible for the Nintendo Switch drawing.
148 students sold at least 15 items and will be invited to a Kona Ice Party at school.
189 students sold at least 10 items and will receive a fidget popper.
282 students sold at least 5 items and will receive a Jags drawstring backpack.
350 students sold at least 1 item and will receive a swirly sucker.

Lastly, the whole MAE STAFF will get a catered breakfast for meeting our goal! CONGRATS!

THANKS AGAIN FOR A GREAT FUNDRAISER!

II. FUNDRAISER RESULTS: HOLIDAY HEIRLOOMS!

Thanks to your support, the "Holiday Heirloom Ornament" Fundraiser raised almost $5,000 to go toward purchasing supplies for the MAE Art Room!

Your children and Mrs. Ramsey have already begun their work! Your special heirlooms will be sent home with your child by Thanksgiving break. Enjoy!

III. REMINDERS: LUNCH VISITORS

It's great to be able to lunch with our kiddos. And to see the smiles on their faces....is priceless.

However, In order to keep this great tradition up, we need to follow a few rules:

1) Fast food can NOT be brought in.

2) Visitors must pay for lunch via cash or bring their own. No charging to the student's account.

3) Please bring your ID when checking in at front office.

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NEXT STOP: MAE LIBRARY - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - NOVEMBER 8TH - 29TH!

A BIG THANK YOU to all the folks who helped Ms. Bracy shelve books last month!!! But, our library STILL needs your help shelving books!

Thankfully, our children are reading loads of books every day. However, we can't get them back on the shelves fast enough! What a great problem to have, right?

Can you spare 20 minutes after drop-off or pick-up to help shelve books?

Your help is greatly appreciated. Click here to sign up for spots in November.

Questions? Contact: Sarah Nasif: sarah.nasif@gmail.com or 601-218-1773

Remember, this is an ongoing need throughout the year and will be especially important towards the end of each 9 weeks as our children scramble to meet their AR goals.

So, let's keep those books on the shelves, so we can keep our children reading!

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NEXT STOP: STEAM LAB! NATIONAL S•T•E•A•M DAY

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH ALL ABOARD!

National STEAM Day falls on November 8. STEAM stands for S-science, T-technology, E-engineering, A-art, and M-mathematics. Most of the fastest-growing occupations involve STEAM, and an early interest in it can help young people later in life. It’s undebatable that these subjects push society forward. Because of this, STEAM education programs are very important. THANK YOU, PARENTS, for ensuring that our students are able to experience STEAM activities in our very own STEAM Lab!

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MOVING RIGHT ALONG...NEXT STOP: VETERAN'S PROGRAM

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH!

Madison Avenue Elementary (MAE) and Madison Avenue Upper Elementary will observe Veteran's Day together outdoors at MAUE. The program will include 45 minutes of musical performances and a guest speaker to close the event. All students are invited to wear red, white and blue that day. The event is not open to the public and is limited to any Veteran parent, grandparent, relative or friend of our students that has already pre-registered for the program. For questions, please contact: Julia Baik at (601) 856-2951 or Valerie Seal at (601) 856-6609.

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NEXT STOP: MAE THANKSGIVING TEACHER GIFT CARDS

BY MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH!

Each year at Thanksgiving we like to show our wonderful staff how thankful we are for them by giving everyone a Kroger gift card. Please sign up HERE for donations for the gift cards. Cash can be sent to the office in an envelope marked "PTO THANKSGIVING" or sent via PayPal.

Contact Ashlee Britt with questions at (601) 455-0657.

PayPal to: madisonavenuek2pto@gmail.com.

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NEXT STOP: FALL FUNDRAISER SORTING & DISTRIBUTION

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

SORTING: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH and SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH

DISTRIBUTION: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH & TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH

We will have an 18-wheeler delivering cheese straws to MAE and we need your help!!! PLEASE sign up for as much time as you can. It will take an army to get it all ready for pick up by Monday and Tuesday. CLICK HERE to volunteer! We need LOTS OF HELP!!**

HOLD THE BREAKS! DON'T FORGET - CHEESE STRAW PICKUP:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH & TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH!

Pickup will be 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm – Drive thru pick-up will be at MAE's front car rider area.

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NEXT STOP: KINDERGARTEN THANKSGIVING FEAST

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH! GOBBLE! GOBBLE!

We are thrilled to announce that Kindergarten classes will enjoy a feast outdoors with their class at 11:00 on Thursday, November 18, 2021. Each student can have 2 guests attend the feast. Students are invited to dress up as a Native American or a Pilgrim. Homeroom parents will be sending out an email to ask for parents to donate food and other items needed for the feast.

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NEXT STOP: SEARCHING FOR A CPA

The MAE PTO is looking for a CPA to file taxes for the PTO for the upcoming year. Reach out to Elizabeth Ring, Treasurer, with any recommendations of someone experienced with non-profit tax filings.

Contact Elizabeth at maeptotreasurer@gmail.com.

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NEXT STOP - THE NORTH POLE: BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11TH! HO! HO! HO!

Why wait for the 25th? On Saturday, December 11th from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, your child will have the opportunity to have breakfast with SANTA! So keep your eyes peeled for more information on the event and a picture pre-order form to be sent home with your child later this month.

Email Meghan Robinson at mchristine147@gmail.com, if you are interested in volunteering for this fun event.

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OTHER IMPORTANT DATES