Level UP @ Mitchell Elementary
Category: Message from Mitchell
This year has been filled with many surprises and challenges, but our Mitchell Bulldogs have weathered every storm and adjusted to every change with great success. I’m so proud of our students and staff…and thankful for our families for standing alongside us throughout this year.
ATTENDANCE: During the remainder of the school year, your child is cementing new learning they’ve been acquiring all year. As a result, it is so very important for students to be in school each day. Please make sure your child is here from 7:35-3:10 every day to ensure they have the opportunity to grow to their fullest potential.
AT HOME LEARNING: If your child is still learning online, please make sure that they are connecting with the teacher and completing all assignments for each class. While learning online is still an option, we encourage students to return to campus for the fullest educational experience. Contact Heaven Wells at 209-1400 if you are interested in sending your child back to campus. It’s never too late!
STAAR: Our 3rd and 4th grade students are gearing up for state testing this spring. All students will take the STAAR test on a computer rather than the traditional paper and pencil test, and we are working to prepare them for that experience. Feel free to send headphones for your child to use, although we will have ear buds available for all students. One benefit of online testing is that we will receive their scores much quicker. Please mark your calendar:
- STAAR Writing (4th grade) ~ Tuesday, April 6
- STAAR Math (3rd & 4th grades) ~ Tuesday, May 11
- STAAR Reading (3rd & 4th grades) ~ Wednesday, May 12
FENWAY AND HATTIE: I hope you are enjoying reading this book with your child! Each night, parents and children read 1-2 chapters, and during morning announcements, we challenge kids with trivia questions about the chapters read the night before. If you haven’t started, it’s not too late to join the reading craze!
This Friday, we will celebrate Valentine’s Day with our students.
Due to COVID restrictions, the party will not be open to outside visitors, but we will take pictures and share with our Bulldog families on Facebook.
If you are sending valentines or food items, please send them to school by Wednesday so they can sit for two days prior to the parties.
Leave a CommentIn honor of the 100th day of school, here are some of my favorite things:
- Pizza day in the cafeteria
- The peace during naptime in Pre-K
- Harvey Mitchell wearing his face mask every day
- Bulldog Bistro sign in the cafeteria (thanks Mr. Godfrey)
- Library counters displaying books, books, books
- The building is sparking clean every day
- Living out philanthropy by participating in Kids Heart Challenge
- Happy visit in the principal’s office
- Mindfulness practices in specials and the classroom
- Bulldog Blasts: shoutouts from one student to another
- Students being able to recite and live their Bulldog BEST
- Seeing students fun masks every day
- Volcanos that erupt at Mitchell every January
- Donations to create a collection of rhythm “instruments”
- Hands-on activities to help new learning sink in
- Christmas & Valentines parties during a pandemic
- Run club during specials
- Playground antics
- Sidewalk chalk for fun and learning
- Morning video announcements to celebrate our Bulldogs
- Financial Literacy project in 3rd grade
- Skippity walking feet in the hallway
- Smiling eyes from our masked Bulldogs
- Newline interactive TVs in most classrooms
- Flashlight reading for fun in 1st grade
- Pre-K students commit to the Safe Keeper’s Box
- Gratitude tree by the cafeteria
- PTO supports and encourages our teachers
- Watching new life as chicks hatch in 1st grade
- Chromebooks, iPads, and computers for student use
- Lots of grant opportunities…and lots of wins!
- Monthly teacher of the month recognitions
- Critter collection in 4th grade
- Pods that allow for collaboration
- New cafeteria tables
- Friday movie day for good behavior in the cafeteria
- Scholastic Book Fair (online this year)
- Friendly front office staff
- Donations of PPE from Texas A&M University
- Kona Ice fundraisers
- Baking a synthesis cake in 4th grade
- Woot Woot cart for teachers
- Fall Teacher Appreciation (new annual event?)
- Maintenance and custodial staff are top notch
- Box Tops for Education
- Homemade plexiglass dividers to keep students safe
- Students being greeted every morning by staff members
- Teachers opening their classrooms for morning breakfast
- Fine arts instruction that develops high skills
- Restorative discipline practices
- Student work displayed in the hallway
- Mitchell Motto: Work Hard, Be Kind, That’s All!
- Mobile carts for Art and Music
- Dance break during morning attendance
- Ordering lunch with a 1, 2, 3, or 4
- Token charts
- Bulldog Paws for extra recess
- Chicken Wing, Chicken Wing, Hot Dog and Baloney
- Birthday books for Bulldog birthday friends
- Pete giving a thumbs up
- Safe spaces in every classroom
- Morning cartoons during breakfast
- Fence surrounding the back playground area
- Campus artwork that JUMPS off the wall
- Dream Big t-shirts from PTO
- Car rider tags
- Disinfection Wednesdays and Fridays
- Amazing Students of Character
- Social contracts for treatment agreements in every room
- The Kennel (but missing the face-to-face)
- Fun snacks in the cafeteria
- Paraprofessionals that do WHATEVER is needed
- Breathing apps and strategies
- Small group and individual counseling
- Texas Reads One Book
- Birthday hats in Kindergarten
- KBTX Daily Pledge
- Facebook posts
- New Science equipment in 3rd grade
- Winter Break Bingo
- Water bottles in the classroom
- Bulldog Bulletin
- Early Release Wednesdays
- Book Character Day
- Essential 8 lessons and activities
- Small group Guided Reading lessons
- Instructional Coaches that are amazing
- Ice Cream on Fridays in the cafeteria
- 4th graders in the hallway ~ quiet as a mouse
- Online Zoom meetings with students, parents, and staff
- Bus drivers and bus monitors
- Alpha Best in the afternoons
- PE on the outdoor basketball court
- Parents who are flexible and accepting of safety protocols
- Social skills lessons to support academics
- Lysol spray and Clorox wipes
- Paw prints and hearts
- Making friends and holding hands
- Playing hard at recess
- Teachers who give and give and give!
We could all agree that 2020 was a year for the record books and history books. While we all wish some of the restrictions of the past semester were not part of our lives, our safety protocols will stay in place for the spring semester:
Safety Protocols
Mitchell is committed to the safety of your child. We are still NOT allowing guests, nor are we meeting in large groups. We continue to use dividers in the classroom and maintain distance (if sitting or standing for an extended period of time). Face masks are worn at all times (except at lunch and masks breaks). In the cafeteria, we have only 4 or 5 students per table (instead of 12). Hand sanitizer is available in all classrooms, the cafeteria, and at all major entrances.
Face Masks
Students are required to wear face masks to school each day. If your child has their own, please make sure it fits properly and is cleaned on a regular basis. If your child does not have a mask, we will provide one.
Help us by talking to your child about wearing it properly so that it completely covers their face and nose. Most students have adjusted completely, but others are still struggling.
covid.mitchell@bryanisd.org
If your child develops symptoms, tests positive, or comes into close contact with an individual with COVID, please communicate through the Mitchell Covid email account. Please call the school if you have any questions or concerns (979-209-1400).
Leave a Comment
This year has certainly been a different type of year, but we have made incredible strides in creating a safe and effective learning environment for our Mitchell Bulldogs. I want to take a moment to thank you for embracing the changes we have made during the year. While we have missed having parent on campus, we know that the choices we have made have increased the safety of all our students and staff. As we edge toward Christmas, I want to remind you of a few things:
Christmas parties will be Friday, December 18. Unfortunately, we will not allow visitors in the building during our Christmas celebrations. Each grade level is making plans regarding food, but please know that all outside food will need to be store-bought, individually served, and delivered the day before the party.
COVID guidelines for BISD have changed in response to the adjusted Brazos County Health Department and CDC guidelines. Please review those changes in the blog post. If your child tests positive at any time, please email that information to mitchell.covid@bryanisd.org.
This week, we DO NOT have early release at all.
Next week, we will have early release on FRIDAY, December 18 at 2:10.
Christmas Break is December 19-January 4. Classes resume on Tuesday, January 5.
