As with many other normal school routines, our Parent/Teacher Conferences will be different. Our teachers, paras, and principals have been in contact with parents and guardians in the first 9 weeks by phone, email, and messaging through social media. Our teachers have been logging their interactions with you as an ongoing parent/teacher conference.
Our regular conferences are scheduled for November 10th, 11th, and 12th, on our District Calendar. Our teachers will be in regular communication as the need arises but if you have not conferenced with your child(ren)’s teacher(s), please contact them and schedule a call or video conversation to take place on November 10th through 12th, from the hours of 3:30 to 7:30 pm.
This year WE will be selling FUDGE for our fall fundraiser. This fundraiser will still be through the Pop Pop Shoppe, but WE decided to try a new product this time around. :)
Your student will earn incentives throughout the sales period. Attached, you will find coupons that are redeemable for our mythical creature keychains! Please read carefully as to when the coupons can be turned in. They can be turned in after sales of 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15...items at a time. Just initial that your child has sold that amount and they earn a key chain & a lanyard!
FUDGE SALES will begin on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd and end on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th. All money must be collected at the time of the sale and any checks are to be made out to: THE POP POP SHOPPE. *ALL MONEY MUST BE TURNED IN TO YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER by November 16th.
This fudge will be great for the holidays! As always, we appreciate your support. Proceeds earned from this sale will go back to the students to provide incentives throughout the school year and added improvements to our school. If you have any questions, please contact our office at 394-3151.
Sincerely,
Tamara Smart, HHE Principal
Click the link for the meal order form for the week of November 9th-13th. PIck up is Friday from 1pm-2pm at Louise Durham & Mena High School.
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfzWskHVttYPx.../viewform
Blended & virtual student meals for November 2nd - November 6th may be picked up today at Louise Durham Elementary or Mena High School between 1 and 2 pm.
November menu's for HHE !
Holly Harshman Elementary, was selected for the 2020 Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Red Ribbon Week Grant in the amount of $1500.00.
Left to right-Randy Jewell, School Counselor Vicky Maye, Principal Tamara Smart, Sheriff Scott Sawyer, and Behavior Interventionist, Ashlyn Watts
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Our funding for next year is based on the number of meals that we serve this year and the number of free/reduced applications we receive. Which can be accessed on the Mena school website, under food service information.
In an effort to maintain our funding for school year 21-22, Mena Public Schools will be providing meals for students participating in Flex Fridays, blended learning, and PCVA. Blended and PCVA students can request a week's worth of meals by accessing the
link each week on the school website under food service information or there is a link shared on Facebook each week.
Flex Friday meals will be sent home with students on Thursday afternoon with students who will not be attending in-person classes on Friday. In order to meet USDA meal pattern requirements, some items may need to be refrigerated as soon
as your child arrives home. Please check their meal bags for these.
There will be a form posted on the Mena Schools website, and the school's Facebook pages. We would appreciate you filling this out if you plan for your child to learn from home on Fridays. If in the future you decide not to participate you may opt-out by contacting Susan Bodey, Aramark food service director @
479-234-1161, or Amy Bartow, Mena schools food service director @ 479-216-0060.
Thank You for your support during these trying times!
Susan Bodey
Follow the link to the Flex Friday Meal Order Form. https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSd4vRrLvAy.../viewform...
Students bringing lunch from home must take all three in order to be free.
All fourth graders in Mrs. Sterner’s and Mrs. Golden’s Social Studies classes, at Holly Harshman Elementary, exercised their right to vote. Their week began with the introduction of two parties, Fruity and Chocolate. A primary election was held, where they voted for the “Candy-Date” of their choice. Hershey’s Chocolate Bar was voted to represent the chocolate party, while Ring Pop was voted to represent the fruity party. Students learned about the election process, rules of voting, and all about the two current Presidential candidates. On Friday, October 23rd, each student entered the polling booth to cast their vote!
Friday, October 23, 2020
Dear Parents & Students
The Mena School Board recently approved a change to our Ready for Learning Plan that I want to inform you of. It is the implementation of a 4:1 school week with a Flex Friday option beginning on Friday, October 30th.
What does this mean?
School will operate just as it is now for four days per week. On Flex Friday, school will be open, lunch will be served, and assignments will be given but the day will be optional for all students to attend in person or not.
On Flex Friday, students who choose to flex will log into their classroom assignments given by their teachers and do their learning at home. Students who choose to attend school will also have virtual assignments for that day and will have an adjusted schedule to accommodate their online assignments and to give their teachers time to help blended students and plan for the upcoming week.
Students who choose to learn from home on the Flex-day will not be counted absent. Instruction will be 100% virtual. These are catch-up days for teachers and students: there will be no new content taught or major assessments given.
When will this start? Friday, October 30th
How long will this go on? Indefinitely, we will continue to monitor the needs and concerns of our students, teachers and parents and adjustments could continue to be made throughout the school year.
What if I don’t have internet access?
Your student will have the opportunity to complete the work when they return to school.They must complete the assignment the following week, or it will be incomplete. In addition, we have “hot spots” available for check-out. Just let us know ahead of time if you need to check out a device.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at 479-394-3151
Thanks for your understanding during these unprecedented times.
Tamara Smart, Principal
Holly Harshman Elementary
Click the link for the meal order form for the week of November 2nd-6th. PIck up is Friday from 1pm-2pm at Louise Durham & Mena High School.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScOG-sWE3CuHP56xPONR7UNug5LM9iQoZmyepN4uAIovJCLUg/viewform
Blended & virtual student meals for October 26th-October 30th may be picked up today at Louise Durham Elementary or Mena High School between 1 and 2 pm.
Mr. Benny Weston announces the addition of "Flex Fridays" to the Mena Public School's Ready for Learning Plan! To watch the video click on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgKktdNJiGE&t=10s
If you would like to read the adjusted Ready for Learning Plan in it's entirety click on the link below.
https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/802963/Mena_Public_Schools_COVID_Plan_Ready_for_Learning.pdf
The Mena School Board met for their October meeting on Tuesday the 20th in the Mena High School Library. It was a brief meeting but included significant topics on the agenda.
The board began by approving the closing documents on a bond issue. The closing date is November 5th, 2020. This will reduce the current interest rate from 4% to a new rate of 2.55%. This change will save the district $250,000 per year for the first four years and $2.2 million over the life of the bond.
Superintendent Benny Weston reported that a part of the new facility near Holly Harshman Elementary will carry a Bearcat theme. The facility is owned by the Rich Mountain Nursing & Rehabilitation Center & they will be naming one of the homes Bearcat House & another the Ladycat House.
Next on the agenda was discussion on adding “Flex Friday” to the district’s Ready for Learning Plan. The addition was approved & the first Flex Friday will be October 30th. A video explaining this adjustment will be released on Mena Public School’s social media & website.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lee Smith reported to the board that this year’s Annual Report to the Public will be virtual & available to patrons of the district online.
The board was then made aware of upcoming training dates available to them & the meeting was adjourned.
Click the link for the meal order form for the week of October 26th-30th. PIck up is Friday from 1pm-2pm at Louise Durham & Mena High School.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmGfEKqUNExBm6xVWgERoOFam3F0NLUD7DYmHwz6BSjUPiyw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR2QKQBTf5xjq3dq8q7iuL3RWoGW_ZByMnuJn6UZPes8r3n2ywZLzgJ-qgA
Holly Harshman Elementary has been selected for the 2020 Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Red Ribbon Week Grant. Polk Co. Sheriff Scott Sawyer will be sent the check in the amount of $1500 that he will present to HHE on Monday, October 26 at 830 am.
Holly Harshman Elementary Red Ribbon Week Oct. 26-30, 2020.
Monday, Oct. 26- Follow Your Dreams & Stay Drug Free!
Say goodnight to drugs by wearing pajamas to school.
Tuesday, Oct. 27- Team Up Against Drugs
Dress up as twins with your friend or friends OR Dress up as your favorite team.
Wednesday, Oct. 28-We are wild about being Drug-Free!
Wear wild hair and wild/mismatched clothes.
Thursday, Oct. 29- Drug-Free and Proud to be a Bearcat!
Dress in Bearcat School Colors.
Friday. Oct. 30-I’m too bright for drugs!!!
Wear Bright/Neon Colors.
Red Ribbon Week is focused on educating students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and ways to say “NO!”. The dress up days are a fun way of reinforcing what is being taught.
To: All ESS Staff serving Mena School District
From: Benny Weston
Re: Your Safety
We want to assure our substitute teachers that Mena Public Schools is making sincere efforts to reduce everyone’s risk of exposure to COVID-19. Although we cannot guarantee that exposure will not happen, we are doing these things to maintain a safe environment:
1. Reducing the interactions between teachers and other students not in their classrooms through scheduling and student pods.
2. Requiring masks to be worn by all people in the buildings ages 10 and older.
3. Reducing exchange of materials such as food trays and books.
4. Disinfecting surfaces daily and providing hand sanitizing in every room throughout the district.
5. Maintaining social distancing protocols in classrooms and commons areas when possible and maintaining students pods when it is not.
6. Not allowing large assemblies.
7. Restricting outside guests from entering the buildings to maintain a controlled environment.
8. Quarantining infected individuals and their close contacts using Arkansas Department of Health standards, which are strictly adhered to.
We feel that our school buildings are as safe as any other facility which hosts large numbers of people and would invite all substitute teachers to return to the classrooms. Our cases at Mena Public Schools have been very few and we feel that our attention to the standards and protocols are why we have been successful at controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Please remember that Mena Public Schools will be closed on Friday 10/16. That means that Virtual & Blended meal pick up will be today from 1pm-2pm at Louise Durham Elementary & Mena High School. These are meals for 10/19 thru 10/23...
On October 9, USDA approved waivers for school districts to operate SSO (Covid-19 Response #59) until June 30, 2021. This will allow districts to serve all meals at the free rate.
All on-site students attending school on Thursday, October 15th will have a free breakfast and lunch (no refrigeration needed) sent home with them at the end of the day for our virtual day Monday, October 19th – NO NEED TO REGISTER
Blended and PCVA students – please continue filling out the online
meal form each week to receive your free breakfasts and lunches –
NOTE – this week’s online form closes Wednesday, October 14th and pick up is Thursday, October 15th between 1:00 – 2:00p.m.
