October 17, 2022

A message from Principal Vinten

Good afternoon Manara STEM families,

We will be making a few changes to dismissal car line procedures, so please make sure to read the information within the newsletter below about the expectations. Safety is our number one priority! A form will be sent home on Monday with each family regarding who is allowed to pick up your scholar, so please fill that out and return it by Wednesday, October 19 so that we can make sure and make the number of car tags you will need to be able to distribute to you by Friday afternoon.

Red Ribbon Week is the last week of October, and our theme days are within this newsletter so that you can begin preparing for those days! A flyer will also come home later this week with the information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out! We are here to serve! Happy Sunday!

#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.

Car Line & Updated Pick-Up Information

This week we will have a few changes to dismissal. For safety and security of each scholar, we will be inforcing 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 need another one, or are a newly enrolled family, please email the PTO and they will make you one for your car. manarastempto@manaraacademy.org

If you do not have the yellow car tag displayed, starting on Monday, October 24 (we will provide reminders this week during arrival and dismissal time), 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.

This week we will also be sending home a paper for each family to fill out regarding who has permission to pick up your scholar(s). Please include the person's name, drivers license number, and phone number on the form for EACH person who has authorization to pick up your scholar(s). You will have the opportunity to put down up to 4 people who will have permission to pick up your scholar. Thank you for helping to keep our scholars safe and our car line swift! Please reach out to Mrs. Vinten if you have any questions.

Communication

Please reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions or need clarification regarding your scholar's report card. Teachers are happy to speak with you and are looking forward to our Student Led Conferences in November where student work will be showcased and scholars can show you all they have been learning. All teachers have a Manara email address, and most have a Class Dojo, so you can reach out to them in those ways. Thank you for the continued communication!

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week is the week of October 24-28. We look forward to seeing all of our scholars participate in the theme days listed below!

Arabic Spelling Bee

It's Arabic Spelling Bee time! Our school spelling bee will be held on January 6, 2023. Any scholar in grades 5-8 is eligible to participate. We will be providing the Spelling Bee study list to all scholars who wish to participate. Students must study over the Winter Break in order to be successful in the Bee. If you have any questions, please let Mrs. Vinten know!

Permission slip forms will be sent home on Monday, October 10. Signed slips are due back by Friday, October 28. Please return the signed permission slip forms to Ms. Gigi or Ms. Cabouni.

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

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.

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, October 20. 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!

Friday Dress Down Days

For $1.00, scholars can dress out of uniform on Friday's. Scholars will give their money to their classroom teacher. The money collected during this time is being saved up to help with field trip costs for this school year.

Dismissal Time

Dismissal time is from 3:30pm until 4:00pm Monday through Thursday and 1:15pm until 1:45pm each Friday. Please make sure to pick up your scholar(s) on time. If you foresee that you will be late picking up your scholar (after 4:00pm Monday-Thursday or 1:45pm on Friday), please call Ms. Smith to let us know you are running a few minutes late. Parents will start signing a sheet for late pick up times. Thank you for your attention to this matter!