August 21, 2023

A message from Principal Vinten

Good morning Manara STEM Families,

Thank you for taking the time to read all the information within our STEM Connect Family Newsletter. This Thursday afternoon will be our first Family Fun Event from 4:00pm-5:30pm on campus! Nachos and snacks will be sold by the PTO during this time, so bring cash to purchase some tasty treats! We are looking forward to our fun event after school with you and your scholar!

The planners for scholars in grades 3-8 are available for purchase ($5.00 cash) at the front office. Planners are required for the scholars in those grades, and we all are using the same one as a district. Each scholar in grades 3-8 is expected to have one purchased by Wednesday of next week. Money can be sent in with your scholar and they can purchase it at the designated time during the school day.

Please read inside the newsletter about the importance of school attendance, as well as carline safety. We value the time spent with your scholar and look forward to educating them each day!

Enjoy the weekend! See you all by 8:00am on Monday!

#MAWAY!

Principal Vinten

The mission of Manara Academy is to provide students with a creative, adaptive and ethical environment to become knowledgeable inquirers and future leaders in a diverse and evolving global society where we master languages, honor cultural heritages, and respect diversity.

Attendance Is Important!

Attendance matters, from starting the school day on time (8:00am) and staying until dismissal time (3:30pm).

After 3 unexcused absences within a 4-week period, you will receive a letter notifying you of the absences. After 5 unexcused absences, you will receive another letter indicating what we have in our school records. After 8 absences, you will receive a letter indicating that we will hold an Attendance Committee meeting and together will discuss the absences that your scholar has. If your scholar misses more than 10 days of unexcused absences, filing with truancy court would be the next step. Tardies (being late/picked up early) can also affect attendance, and if filing with truancy court, tardies will be taken into consideration within the court.

Excused absences include:

Observance of a religious holy day (Documentation to the School Required)
Attending a required court appearance (Documentation to the School Required)
To appear at a governmental office to complete paperwork required in connection with the student’s application for United States citizenship, to take part in a United States naturalization oath ceremony, for service as an election clerk, or for an activity that is either required by a service plan under Subchapter B, Chapter 263, Texas Family Code, or ordered by a court under Chapter 262 or 263, Texas Family Code, if the child is in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). (Documentation to the School Required)
Under §25.087(b)(2), a school district must excuse a temporary absence for the purpose of an appointment with a healthcare professional. (Documentation to the School Required)

A phone call to the school is not considered documentation. We need a paper copy of the absence request to place in your scholar's file. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Vinten (avinten@manaraacademy.org).

Dismissal - Important!!!

Dismissal begins promptly at 12:00pm for scholars in Pre-K 3. Please pull around to the front of the building by door #3 where staff members will be there to help bring your scholar to you. DO NOT park in the parking lot and walk your scholar to the door. If you do this, you will be asked to get back in the car and proceed to carline to drop off your scholar. This is for the safety and flow of the carline.

Please DO NOT get out of your car at any time to assist with your scholar, as this could back up carline. Staff members will be there to help load them in. If you need to help buckle your child in your car before leaving campus, please pull around to the side of the building by Sublett Rd. and buckle them in at that time.

For scholars in grades Pre-K 4 through 8th grade, dismissal will begin promptly at 3:30pm. The barcodes for the new scanner system (School Pass) will begin in the next few weeks. For now, if you still have your yellow tag from last year, please provide that for car line. If not, no worries! When you arrive around the car line, at the front of the building by the front door your will see a staff member. Roll down your window, tell her the scholar(s) you are here to pick up, and she will call for their dismissal. You can also write their names down on a sheet of paper with the grade level(s) they are in and put it on your dashboard to help our staff with calling as well. We will make sure to get your scholar out to you safely!

Please be patient, as we want all scholars to get into their cars and all exited off the property (onto Sublett Rd.) SAFELY! It might take a few minutes longer this week, but with patience and practice, the line will continue to be more and more smooth!

**The flow of carline is as follows:

Enter onto campus from Collins St. ONLY
Follow the arrows around to the first stop sign on campus (two lines can form here in the afternoon as the carline begins to form).
Merge safely (take turns) into one lane and follow the arrows around the parking spaces to the front of the building (PLEASE DO NOT CUT THROUGH THE PARKING SPACES).
If you are one of the first cars, please pull down to the last cone by the handicapped parking spot where scholars will begin to load.
The carline merges to one lane at the front of the building.
DO NOT PARK in a parking space to come get your scholar. You will be asked to get back in carline in order to pick up your scholar.

Thank you for helping to keep our scholars safe by following our traffic procedures! Kindness and patience is KEY! 😀

Early Dismissal

Per the 2023-2024 Manara Student & Family Handbook:

If your child needs to be released from school prior to dismissal time, please send a note with your child or call the school office indicating what time they need to leave. You will need to fill out the early dismissal log in the school office. Your child will then be sent to meet you in the office. We are unable to dismiss early during the time we are preparing for our scheduled school dismissals. Therefore requests to pick up a child during the last 30 minutes of the school day will be denied. Parent requested early dismissal needs to occur prior to 3:00 pm on Monday-Thursday and/or by 12:30 pm on Friday.

An early dismissal counts as a tardy, and tardies can add up and count against your child's attendance record, so please be mindful of the number of times of early pick-up. Scholars are still in class and teachers are still teaching until the very end of the school day, so missing even 30 minutes can hinder learning progression within the content that is being missed.

Uniforms - IMPORTANT!

All students should be in uniform. Uniforms can be purchased through the French Toast website (link is here and also on the HOME page of this newsletter). Please remember each note listed below:

All uniform tops must have a Manara school logo
All aspects of uniform must be in the blue and grey colors but can be mixed and matched in any way such as navy blue pants or skirt with grey shirt or grey pants or skirt with blue top
Any jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts worn throughout the school day must also be school uniform
Cultural Wear must also be in the navy blue or grey colors, including hijab (school colors-navy blue or grey)

Once all students are in uniform, we will begin our Friday "dress down" days for $1.00 (hopefully can begin by August 25!).

Any scholars not in uniform will initially be given a warning and parents will be notified. After three uniform violations, a scholar will be given an in-school suspension. We will begin keeping track of this on Monday, August 21, so please have your scholar in the correct uniform pieces, or if waiting on the order, SOLID navy or SOLID gray polo shirts.

If you have ordered uniforms for your scholar, not to worry! Please send them in a solid gray or solid navy polo shirt without the Manara logo (can be purchased at Walmart or Target) and the correct navy or gray uniform bottoms until their logo shirt arrives. Reach out to Ms. Smith if you have any questions! (asmith@manaraacademy.org)

Planners for Scholars in grades 3rd-8th

This school year scholars in grades 3rd-8th will be utilizing planners within their classrooms. Each scholar in grades 3-8 will be required to have a planner in order to use for academic organization and nightly communication. Send in $5.00 cash with your scholar on Monday (grades 3-8 only) so they can begin using their planner. Please reach out to Mrs. Vinten with any questions at avinten@manaraacademy.org.

Birthday Thursday!

We enjoy celebrating all scholar's birthdays each month! At STEM, we have Birthday Thursday's once a month (the last Thursday of each month). Our first Birthday Thursday will be Thursday, August 31. Any scholar who celebrates their birthday in the months of June, July or August can bring in treats to share (can be sent in with your scholar or placed on the Forget-Me-Not table for delivery). Treats must be individually packaged with the nutrition label visible either on each package or on the main package. Trays of cupcakes or cake will not be allowed, as they are not individually packaged. Treats will be allowed to be consumed only at the end of the day (around 3:00pm), and those treats not consumed and individually packaged will be sent home with each scholar. Good birthday treat ideas: indivdually packaged goldfish crackers, indivdually packaged Cheese-its, individually packaged chips, individually packaged cupcakes (such as Hostess products), indivdually packaged gummies. You also do not have to bring food as birthday treats for your scholar to pass out! Great birthday treat ideas to share with the class could also be birthday pencils, erasers, small goodie bag items that would be given at a birthday party.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Vinten. In the calendar section at the end of the newsletter will be the upcoming dates for other Birthday Thursday's.

**Any treats delivered on days other than the designated Birthday Thursday will NOT be passed out and will be sent back home. Parents are also not allowed to attend during this time, as it is not a designated "party" time and teachers will still be teaching during this time. Thank you!

Forget-Me-Not Table

If your child has forgotten an item from home (backpack, lunch, homework, jacket, etc.), please leave it on the "Forget-Me-Not" table labeled with his/her name and grade level. Ms. Smith will check the "Forget-Me-Not" table throughout the day, but if you would also like to call our front office to let us know you dropped something off or will be dropping something off that is great as well. Having this available means families do not have to come inside of the building to drop something off and will hopefully save families some time getting back to work or home!

Lunches

All scholars have the opportunity to receive a free lunch through our cafeteria. Your scholar is also allowed to bring their lunch from home. Students will not be allowed to utilize the microwave we have on campus, as this is for staff only. If your student forgets their lunch from home, you can leave it on the "Forget-Me-Not" table at the entrance of the building. Thank you for your understanding!

Please also reiterate for your scholar not to "share" food with others. Where sharing is kind, the sharing of food spreads germs. Also, we don't always know what scholars are allergic to, so to avoid allergic reactions, sharing of food is prohibited.

Family Fun Events

Each month we will be hosting a "Family Fun Event" on our campus. Our first Family Fun Event will be this Thursday, August 24 after school from 4:00pm until 5:30pm. Nachos and snacks will be sold by the PTO at this time, so come hungry! We will be having fun playing games, enjoy STEM learning time, creating crafts and visit with friends!

Fall Photos!

Fall photographs of our staff & scholars will be taken on Monday, September 11. These will be IN UNIFORM photographs. Information will be sent home the last week of August regarding photo packages to purchase.

Contact Information

If you need anything or have any questions regarding your scholar, please email your scholar's teacher or connect with them on Class Dojo. We value the communication with our families!

Staff at Manara STEM:

Pre-K 3: Ms. Ensaf - iodeh@manaraacademy.org

Pre-K 4: Ms. Lynch & Ms. Noor - llynch@manaraacademy.org , nabdulkareem@manaraacademy.org

Kindergarten: Ms. Dormier - gdormier@manaraacademy.org

1st Grade: Ms. Johnson & Ms. Waseem - ajohnson@manaraacademy.org , swaseemwaheed@manaraacademy.org

2nd grade: Ms. Lina - lidelah@manaraacademy.org

3rd grade: Ms. April & Ms. Cavitt - aray@manaraacademy.org , vcavitt@manaraacademy.org

4th & 5th grade ELAR/SS: Ms. Brockman - fbrockman@manaraacademy.org

4th & 5th grade Math/Science: Mr. Cravey - pcravey@manaraacademy.org

6th - 8th grade Science: Ms. M - bmehrabi@manaraacademy.org

6th - 8th grade ELAR/SS: Mr. de Leon - rdeleon@manaraacademy.org

6th - 8th grade Math: Mr. Rabbani - trabbani@manaraacademy.org