Marked Tree School District

Parents, As an district, we are always looking to improve. Below are links to two surveys. We ask that you take these surveys this week. This will help us assess our strengths and weaknesses. Each survey will take about 10 minutes. This would be so helpful to us as a district! Thank you! Survey on safety- https://bit.ly/3tGVR9B Survey on teaching and instruction- https://bit.ly/3AjIXjq

Upcoming Events  Feb. 14 Elementary Valentine’s Parties/Be Pro, Be Proud Bus Tour (High School) Be Pro, Be Proud Bus on Camps Feb. 18 Teacher Professional Development Day - No School Feb. 21 President’s Day - No School Mar. 10 Kindergarten Graduation Pictures, HS Baseball and Softball Pictures Mar. 18 End of 3rd Quarter/Elementary Tribe Day Mar. 21-25 Spring Break

It was good to see everyone this morning! Here is what is happening this week at MTSD. Today- Basketball at home vs. Maynard. All 4 teams. Tipoff at 4:00. Tuesday- Jr. Class Civics Test (required for graduation) will be given. All basketball teams will play at Mammoth Springs. Tipoff at 4:00. Wednesday- Elementary Group Pictures, HS Basketball Team Pictures. Balfour will be here to take payments for Srs.  Thursday- Parent/Teacher Conferences from 1:30-6:00. School dismisses at 1:15 at elem. and 1:30 at high school. Friday- Elem. wear tribe colors! Make sure you have orders placed at a local flowers shops for Valentine’s delivery. They will deliver to school on Sunday, Feb. 13th. Sr. Boys play Armorel at home. Tipoff is at 5:30.

Parents, As an district, we are always looking to improve. Below are links to two surveys. We ask that you take these surveys this week. This will help us assess our strengths and weaknesses. Each survey will take about 10 minutes. This would be so helpful to us as a district! Thank you! Survey on safety- https://bit.ly/3tGVR9B Survey on teaching and instruction- https://bit.ly/3AjIXjq

Good afternoon! School will be in session on Monday, February 7th. There are a few important adjustments that we will make so that we can make sure everyone stays safe. If you live on a gravel road, please drive your student to the nearest road in the morning. Students will be picked up at the usual time. At the high school, there will be no parking or bus drop-offs on the gravel road at the back of the school. All students and staff should park at the front of the school. USE THE MAIN ENTRANCE, ONLY. At the elementary school, the car loop will be used for all drop-offs. Do not drop-off under the awning unless directed by staff to do so. District personnel will be working early in the morning to remove any ice. Drop-off could take a little longer than usual, so please be patient. We can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow!

Payneway families, we are opening the elementary storm shelter at 2:00 p.m. If you can make it to the elementary school and you need a place to stay warm, we can help.

MTSD will be taking an AMI day on Friday, February 4th. Please make sure students complete AMI packets before our return to school on Monday. Teachers are available by email during school hours, if needed. We continue to monitor the community's power situation. If areas of town lose power, we will open the storm shelters for you to stay warm! Be safe!

Due to the risk of significant weather, Marked Tree School District will take an AMI day on Thursday, February 3rd. We hope this gives our families ample to make needed adjustments for their families. Just a reminder that the storm shelters will be available if power is lost in our community. Please check our social media outlets for updates.

Families of MTSD, We will continue to monitor the weather throughout the day. We also know the need that parents/guardians have for timely information when school might be cancelled. If the forecast remains consistent, we will make a decision about canceling school tonight. Either way, we will update you between 6:30-7:00 p.m. This allows us to watch the weather one more time and make sure the forecast is holding up. By letting you know tonight, we hope to help you be better prepared.

Families of MTSD, Please know that we are closely monitoring the potential weather situation for the remainder of the week. Tomorrow, students of MTSD will bring home AMI packets for several days and all students will bring home food for Thursday and Friday. Should our community experience power outages and the school doesn't lose power, we will open our school to make sure our families have the opportunity to stay warm. Watch our social media for updates! We are here to serve. Conquer and Prevail.

Parents, This morning there was a threat made towards certain students in our school. While the threat wasn't specific to our school, the messages mentioned a time that it would be occurring and this was during school hours. Once we were notified, we contacted law enforcement and they started to investigate. During this investigation, we learned that these threats were being made to students at other school districts, also. We take every threat seriously. Whether or not this threat is credible, we will have law enforcement on campus this afternoon just to make sure our students are safe.

Seniors, have you completed your application for the Arkansas Academic Challenge (Lottery) Scholarship? The deadline is July 1! While there is time, this MUST be a focus of your graduation plan! Visit scholarships.adhe.edu/scholarships/detail/academic-challenge-scholarships

If you plan on having something sent to your student at school for Valentine's Day, please have your order placed with local flower shops by Friday, Feb. 11th at 5:00 p.m. Deliveries will be made on Sunday to reduce traffic in and out of the school.

Upcoming Important Dates Feb. 9 Elementary Group Pictures, HS Basketball Team Pictures  Feb. 10 Parent/Teacher Conferences Feb. 11th- Make sure you have orders placed at a local flowers shops for Valentine’s delivery. They will deliver to school on Sunday, Feb. 13th. Feb. 14 Elementary Valentine’s Parties/Be Pro, Be Proud Bus Tour (High School) Feb. 18 Teacher Professional Development Day - No School Feb. 21 President’s Day - No School

Hope everyone had a great week! Here is what is happening next week at MTSD… Mon.- 100th Day of School Celebration for Elem! Dress like old person or wear something with 100 items on it! Basketball (all teams) will play KIPP at 4:00 in MT. Tues.- Basketball (Jr. G/Sr. B/G) will play CRA in MT. Tipoff at 4:30 Thurs.- Basketball (all teams) will play Maynard. This is Senior Night! Tipoff at 4:00. Friday- Elementary will wear tribe colors.

Why did MTSD take AMI days? Learn more here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEcIw-fahKo

We will have school tomorrow to make sure kids have all their work they need and to provide food for Thursday and Friday. We hope this gives you the opportunity to make any needed arrangements. Thank you for your patience during this tough time.

Over the past few days, we have been paying close attention to our COVID numbers. There has been a significant increase in the students who are isolated and quarantined. The number of absences has increased dramatically, as well. Today, over 20% of our student body is absent. In an effort to reduce the potential spread of COVID and to give anyone experiencing symptoms time to be tested, MTSD will take AMI days on Thursday and Friday. On Monday, our school is out for the MLK holiday. School will be back in session on Tuesday, January 18th. We will have school tomorrow to make sure kids have all their work they need and to provide food for Thursday and Friday. We hope this gives you the opportunity to make any needed arrangements. Thank you for your patience during this tough time.

There will be no games on Tuesday, January 11th against CRA.

Girls of Promise Conference, an initiative of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, exposes girls to opportunities and mentors in STEAM fields. GoP has the goal of increasing the number of women in higher-level STEAM courses, careers and putting them on the path to achieving economic security as women. The Conference is geared toward 8th-grade girls interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math in Arkansas! The girls learn about various STEAM careers, enhancing their skills, and meeting women mentors excelling in their fields. Girls interested in registering need to see Bobbie Pharis. The deadline to register is Jan. 28th! Conquer and Prevail.