November 14, 2022

A message from Principal Vinten

Good afternoon Manara STEM families,

Happy Friday! We are super excited to announce our first field study experience for each grade level will happen in the month of December! Each scholar was given the field study permission slip form to take home today. Please see more details in the newsletter, as well as within the packet of information coming home today!

The weather is beginning to get much cooler, so please make sure your scholar has a jacket or coat to bring to school. Classes will continue to go outside even in the cooler weather, unless it is raining. If a scholar would like to wear their jacket/coat inside their classroom, please make sure it is uniform approved (solid navy or solid gray in color).

We are also focusing on 100% attendance with zero tardies each day! Currently we have an average of 96% for the month of October! Thank you for helping to get your scholar here before 8:00am so that they can be in class after getting breakfast by 8:00am each day. The class that spells out the word "ATTENDANCE" for having zero tardies/absences will get a popsicle party!

Enjoy the weekend! One more week until our week break! Stay warm!

#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.

Cultures "Around the World" Festival Event

We are very excited to host a Cultures "Around the World" Festival at our campus on Wednesday, November 30 from 4:00pm until 6:30pm. That afternoon families will be able to view classroom cultural presentations, taste foods from around the world, create a cultural craft, get a henna tattoo, view performances from scholars, participate in a cultural fashion show, and get a passport stamped! Please see the information below for ways your family can get involved!

Here is the link for the permission slip if your scholar is interested in peforming in the cultural fashion show and/or perform a cultural dance, song, or skit. Tryouts for the dance, song or skit will take place on Tuesday, November 15. Permission slips and festival handouts, as well as the google links for signing up to bring food and/or volunteer were sent home with scholars on Monday, November 7. Please reach out to Mrs. Vinten or the PTO if you have any questions!

Cultures Around the World

Field Study Opportunities!

We are very excited to announce the opportunity for each class, along with our Irving campuses (IE & MLA) to be able to go on a field study in the month of December!

Pre-K through 2nd grade will be going to the Crayola Experience in Plano on Wednesday, December 14.
Grades 3 through 6 will be going to Kidzania in Frisco on Tuesday, December 6.
Grades 7 and 8 (along with MLA's campus of grades 7-12) will be going to AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Wednesday, December 7.

All scholars will be sent home further information regarding the excursion details, permission slips, and cost. If you are interested in chaperoning, information on completing the district background check, as well as chaperone information is also included in the information coming home with scholars. All permission slips and money for the trips for scholars are due back to the teachers by December 2.

Note: Chaperoning will be a "first come, first serve" basis if we receive multiple parents interested in chaperoning. For the trips for Pre-K through 6th grade, if you are not chosen to chaperone, you can still meet the group at the event location, pay for the entry there, and then join your scholar's group at that time.

If you have any questions, needs, or concerns, please contact your scholar's teacher or Mrs. Vinten at avinten@manaraacademy.org. We are excited for these learning hands-on opportunities for each scholar!

Manara Website Feedback Form

Please fill out this Website Feedback Survey to let us know about your thoughts regarding our district's website. Your feedback always helps us to make changes to better our district!

STAAR Interim

Our scholars in grades 3 through 8 will be participating in the STAAR Interim within the first two weeks of December. The goal of the STAAR Interim is two-fold.

First, it provides an opportunity for scholars to practice the online format (all tests are online this year) with utilizing all of the online tools, as well as being able to practice the STAAR question types. This year 25% of the STAAR test has new question types which require scholars to provide multiple answers and/or written responses.

Second, this practice provides great data points for teachers to be able to utilize to see what areas students may need extra assistance in within their content areas.

How you can assist at home is by helping to make sure that your scholar is brought to school on time (by 8:00am) during those weeks, make sure they get a good night's rest after each school day, and make sure they know to grab breakfast (or eat at home) to start their day.

It takes a team to make sure all our scholars are ready and prepared! We appreciate your help and support!

Arabic Exam for Grades 7 & 8

Our scholars in grades 7th & 8th will be taking Arabic Exams on Monday, December 5th & Tuesday, December 6. They have been preparing for this exam during class times, but please ask your 7th or 8th grade student about what they have been studying to prepare!

Car Line & Updated Pick-Up Information

Thank you all so much for your cooperation in helping to ensure safety for all of our scholars during dismissal. We will continue to enforce that the yellow car tag is displayed during the entire dismissal time, from the call time until pick up. A scholar will not be called to come out to dismissal unless the car tag is displayed for the staff member calling to see AND for the staff member loading the car to see. This is necessary for all families to have, as it aids with safety and swiftness within the car line. If you are a newly enrolled family or need another tag for an authorized pick up person, please email the PTO and they will make you one for your car. manarastempto@manaraacademy.org

As a reminder, if you do not have the yellow tag, you will be asked to drive around the car line and come in to the front office to check your authorization for pick up. You will then be given a temporary car tag and be able to go back into car line and pick up your scholar. Safety of our scholars is our number one priority, so thank you for following the procedures so that we can keep our campus safe. Please reach out to Mrs. Vinten if you have any questions.

Paper Tutoring App for Grades 5-8

Paper is a program our district has purchased to help assist scholars in their academic progression within grades 5-8. 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!

School Arrival Times/Breakfast/Attendance

Scholars should arrive on campus by 8:00am. If it is past 8:00am, please walk your child into the front office area and sign them in for the day. Scholars are counted as tardy after 8:00am.

Breakfast is served from 7:35am until 8:00am. If a scholar arrives after 8:10am, breakfast will not be available, as the cafeteria staff have to begin preparing for lunch time. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Mrs. Vinten.

The classrooms who have all scholars present at school and on time (in the classroom by 8:00am) will receive a letter in the word "attendance" to display near their classroom. The classrooms that spell the word "ATTENDANCE" in its completion will receive a popsicle party! Attendance is extremely important, even arriving to school on time. Thank you for helping to partner with us to make sure your scholar is at school each day on time!

Uniforms

All scholars should be in uniform. Please see the HOME page (upper right hand corner of the newsletter) for the link to the school uniform website (French Toast) if you need to order anything with our logo on it. All polo shirts (navy or gray) should have the Manara Academy logo, and all bottoms should be either navy or gray in color. Sweatpants and jeans are not uniform approved. Jeans can be worn on "Dress Down" designated days, but not during the week. Jackets/coats/sweatshirts should also be solid navy or solid gray in color. There should be no logos on the outerwear other than a Manara Logo (example, it should not read "Nike"). Some rooms are very cold, so please make sure your child has the appropriate outerwear available.

Scholars will call home for parents to bring them the correct uniform/colors. It is part of our Student Code of Conduct (Level 1 Offense) to be out of uniform. After three times of not being in uniform, a scholar will earn a detention on Friday afternoon. Please reach our to Mrs. Vinten (avinten@manaraacademy.org) if you have any questions or concerns.

Snack Cart this week

Snack Cart will take place this Thursday, November 17. Scholars have assigned times to attend the snack cart with their class, so if he/she forgets their money, please make sure it is dropped off to Ms. Smith in the front office no later than 1:30pm. Please reach out to the PTO if you have any questions!