Arrival & Dismissal & Car Line Procedures

Friendly reminder of school times are below:

Monday - Thursday:

• Arrival is 7:35am until 8:00am (scholars are counted tardy after 8:00am).

• Dismissal begins promptly at 3:30pm.  

  • Please remember to have your yellow hang tag visible in your dashboard, as this helps in the swiftness of the dismissal process!

Friday:

• Arrival is 7:35am until 8:00am (scholars are counted tardy after 8:00am).

• Dismissal begins promptly at 1:15pm.  

Important: Please remember that all cars should enter off of Collins Street and exit off of Sublet Street.  Please DO NOT ENTER from Sublet, as cars are trying to exit.  Please also DO NOT EXIT from Collins, as cars are trying to enter that way.  Do not cut through the parking lot as you are filing into the car line or after you have dropped off/picked up your scholar(s).  We want all people to be safe, and not following the car line designated procedures is unsafe for all on campus.  

We appreciate your help and support with our arrival and dismissal processes!

Family Fun Night on Wednesday, February 8!

On Wednesday, February 8, we will have our next Family Fun Night!  From 4:00pm until 5:30pm, the campus will be open for families to participate in the following activities:

• Coding robots

• Art activities (Celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rabbit)

• Games

• Legos

• Book Fair Shopping

• Ordering Cookie Grams

Please come by and hang out with the teachers, shop at the book fair, and enjoy some family fun!  We look forward to seeing you all there!

Reenrollment Time!

A big thank you to all of the families who filled out your scholar's Intent to Return for the 2023-2024 school year!  Those scholars will receive a week's worth of free dress down the week before Spring Break (March 6-10)!  A notice will go home with those families as a reminder of the free dress down days.

Our spots are filling up very quickly!  If you need assistance in filling out reenrollment documentation, please reach out to Ms. Smith (asmith@manaraacademy.org) and she would be happy to sit with you to help.  The class with the most reenrollment/intent to return forms filled out by February 10th will receive an ice cream party!  We love referrals as well!  Bring in new families who are interested and we would be happy to give them a tour to learn more about our campus!  Reach out to us if you have any questions!

Hearing & Vision Screenings

Hearing and vision screenings will continue to take place this week.  Scholars in grades Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th, as well as newcomers to Texas, will be screened.  If your scholar wears glasses or contacts, please be sure to send them to school wearing them each school day, especially this week.  If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Smith (asmith@manaraacademy.org). 

Paper Tutoring App for Grades 4-8

Paper is a program our district has purchased to help assist scholars in their academic progression within grades 4-8.  Click on this link to learn more about Paper and how it can assist your scholar in their nightly homework.  Scholars will be utilizing this daily within their classroom as well.  Teachers and the adminstrator is also able to view the scholar/tutor interaction and dialogue so that we can support at school also.  Please reach out to your scholar's teacher if you have any questions regarding Paper!  All scholars in grades 4-8 should be using the Paper app on Clever at home with homework support. 

Testing Windows & Volunteers Needed!

Our district testing windows are open for Pre-K through 2nd grade.  Each scholar in those grade levels will be taking middle of the year (MOY) assessments throughout the next two weeks.  Your scholar's teacher will have the results to share with you after all assessments are complete.  

If any parent is available to come volunteer in the Pre-K through 2nd grade classrooms within the next two weeks to assist the teachers in watching scholars while the teachers are giving these exams, please reach out to Ms. Smith to let her know your availability.  Each one of these assessments are individually given and it would be a great help to have volunteers to help assist other students while the teachers are working with individual testers.

Scholars in grades 3-8 are continuing to prepare for the upcoming STAAR exams in the spring.  Scholars in grades 4-8 should be utilizing the Paper App at home to help assist with studying/homework each night.  This free online tutoring service is a fantastic way to get FREE TUTORING every day!  See the information above about the Paper App!

TELPAS Testing

Please read this link regarding the upcoming TELPAS testing.  The state testing calendar for TELPAS is February 20, 2023 through March 31, 2023.  We will be assessing students between February 27th and March 10. If a student is absent on the day of testing, a make-up test will be administered before March 24, 2023. 

The assessment components for grades K–1 and 2–12 differ in the following ways:

• Grades K–1: Holistically rated listening, speaking, reading, and writing assessments based on ongoing classroom observations and student interactions.

• Grades 2–12: Online reading, listening, speaking and writing tests. 

If you have any further questions, please reach out to our ESL teacher, Ms. Stoker (ahayesstoker@manaraacademy.org) or our Director of Special Populations, Ms. Chamri (cchamri@manaraacademy.org).  

ESL YouTube Channel & Newsletter

Below is our Manara ESL YouTube Channel link, as well as the ESL Newsletter link!  Please view the links below for great information pertaining to our ESL department.

Manara Academy ESL Department - YouTube 

https://www.manaraacademy.org/article/948697 

Autism Awareness Advocacy

Our district will be hosting an event to support Autism Awareness within the month of April.  National Autism Awareness day April 2.  To help celebrate the event we will be hosting, there is an opportunity to also purchase shirts for this event.  Please share this ordering link below with friends, family, and students who are interested in purchasing a shirt to support this event.  All ordered shirts will ship to the district office and will be distributed them once they arrive. Here is the link to order shirts if you are interested. The t-shirt order form closes on March 10.  More information on the event to come!

Middle of the Year STAAR Interim Testing Dates

Middle of the Year (MOY) STAAR Interim dates for scholars in grades 3-8 is upon us!  The dates are below.  

• Feb 6 Grades 3 & 4 Math STAAR Interim Testing

• Feb 7 Grades 5 & 6 Math STAAR Interim Testing

• Feb 8 Grades 3 & 4 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

• Feb 9 Grades 5 & 6 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

• Feb 13 Grades 7 & 8 Math STAAR Interim Testing

• Feb 14 Grades 7 & 8 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

The next two weeks all grade levels will also be taking a reading assessment online through mClass during their reading class block.   Students in grades Pre-K through 2nd grade will also be completing their middle of the year assessments in either CLI Engage, TX KEA or TPRI.  All assessment data will be shared in the upcoming Student Led Conference week (Feb 27-Mar 3). 

Thank you for helping to reinforce great sleeping habits at home, as well as making sure your scholar arrives to school on time each day!  Helping us with these items helps to continue to foster a great testing environment for each scholar!

Grade Level Newsletters

Below are links to grade level newsletters (continued from the week prior due to the snow days last week).  Please reach out to your child's teacher with any questions!  

Pre-K 

Kindergarten

1st grade

2nd grade 

3rd/4th ELAR/SS 

3rd/4th Math/Science 

5th/6th ELAR/SS/Math/Science 

7th & 8th Grade ELAR/SS

7th/8th Math/Science

Specials

Feb 3 - 14 Cookie Gram Sales (PTO will be sending home information to families regarding the sales)

Feb 6-10 Book Fair on campus

Feb 6 Grades 3 & 4 Math STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 7 Grades 5 & 6 Math STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 8 Grades 3 & 4 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 8 Family Fun Night from 4:00pm-5:30pm

Feb 8 Book Fair Open Until 5:30pm

Feb 9 Grades 5 & 6 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 9 NO SNACK CART (due to book fair)

Feb 13 Grades 7 & 8 Math STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 14 Grades 7 & 8 Reading STAAR Interim Testing

Feb 15 Cookie Gram Deliveries

Feb 20 TELPAS Testing Window Opens

Feb 20 No School for Staff & Scholars

Feb 21 No School for Scholars (Staff Development Day)

Feb 27-Mar 3 Student-Led Conference Week

Feb 28 Family Fun Night from 4pm - 5:30pm - Celebrating Black History Month

Mar 10 Autism T-Shirt Order Form Closes (see link within the newsletter to order)

Mar 13-17 Spring Break - No School for Staff & Scholars

Mar 29 Art Show (more information to come)

Mar 29 Family Fun Night (more information to come)