Marion Math, Science, and Technology Magnet

9-4-20: Weekly COVID-19 Update Staff reported positive for COVID-19 this week: 0 Staff quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19 this week: 1 Students reported positive for COVID-19 this week: 5 Students quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19 this week: 4 Total staff positive for COVID-19 since 7/24/20: 12 Total staff quarantined due to exposure since 7/24/20: 16 Total students positive for COVID-19 since 7/15/20: 12 Total students quarantined due to exposure since 7/15/20: 19 For the privacy of all students and staff, Marion School District will not be sharing any personal information publicly. We remain firmly committed to providing a safe environment and will follow the guidance provided by the Arkansas Department of Health, CDC, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. -- Kelly Fogleman, BSN, RN, NCSN School Health Coordinator 870-739-5140 (office) kfogleman@msd3.org

Hello Patriots! COVID 19 has brought many changes to this school year. One such change is the way we host athletic events. The district must follow all guidelines and mandates set by the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Activities Association. Following these guidelines limits the total number of spectators allowed in each venue. The district has set the following standards for Home High School Varsity football games. Each student athlete, band member, and cheerleader will be allowed to purchase two tickets. All Tickets will be sold prior to the event. AAA passes will be allowed until event maximum capacity is reached. Patriot Passes will be allowed for admittance until event maximum capacity is reached. No school ID passes will be allowed for admittance. Seating is clearly marked by family groups, maintaining six feet of social distance. Volleyball / Junior High Football Game events Tickets will be sold at Patriot Arena / Patriot Stadium until the COVID 19 capacity is reached. The district may choose to pre-sell tickets for some game nights. AAA passes will be allowed until event maximum capacity is reached. School ID passes will be allowed for admittance until event capacity is reached. Patriot Passes will be allowed for admittance until event capacity is reached. Seating is clearly marked by family groups, maintaining six feet of social distance. Derek Harrell Athletic Director Marion School District Office 870-739-5100 Fax 870-739-5156 dharrell@msd3.org

Raelynn and Vivian Watson were amazing helpers in our office this morning!

9/1/20 Today, Marion School District received notification that 5 students have been confirmed as positive for COVID-19. None of the five have been on any MSD campus during their infectious period. As a result, no staff or students have been exposed or identified as a close contact. The campuses affected are VPA, HCGC, and MJHS, however, three of the five cases are virtual learners and the remaining two cases have not been on our campus since we began school on 8/24/20. For the privacy of all students and staff, Marion School District will not be sharing any personal information publicly. All of the cases have been reported to the Arkansas Department of Health. We remain firmly committed to providing a safe environment and will follow the guidance provided by the Arkansas Department of Health, CDC, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. -- Kelly Fogleman, BSN, RN, NCSN School Health Coordinator 870-739-5140 (office) kfogleman@msd3.org

Today was Breonna Cash’s first day back at MST and she was already leading our morning announcements. Awesome job!

Here you can see our morning announcers for the day! Our students are doing great things!

Today’s MST morning announcement leaders were Hudson and Avery from O’Quin’s class. Great job students!

Look at our MST readers GO!!! 😎. Our first week and we’ve already earned our first “badge” in EPIC!! MST offers SO many ways for our students to have access to books, so please continue to SHINE in your reading efforts!! 🤩 Please click below for more ways to access 1,000s of books! Our school code for EPIC is VPK4175! https://sites.google.com/msd3.org/mstlibrary/e-books #teamMST #creatingthefuture

Greetings Patriots! In response to a growing number of requests from parents- the Marion School District would like to clarify the process for students that initially signed up for the virtual learning option- who at anytime desire to transition to face-to-face, in-classroom instruction. This can be accomplished in 2 easy steps. Step 1 - Go to the main office at school where your child is registered. If you have a school provided device, bring that device and charger with you, turn it in and complete a Device Return Form. Step 2 - The school secretary will then add your student to the list of students returning to face-to-face instruction and a class schedule will be provided to you and your student can immediately return to in-class instruction As always thank you for your continued support of the Marion School District.

The 20-21 school year is officially underway at MST. Check out the video to see some of our first week fun!

MST Virtual Learner I.D. & Paper Packet Event is next week! Please select one night to attend. Please note: in order to be eligible for our meal program, you must come pick up your student's I.D. We hope to see you there!

Today, we had some wonderful superstar students help out with morning announcements. Sophie Sagaskey led the pledge of allegiance. Micah Sagaskey and Glendale Brown teamed up to lead our MST pledge. Way to go students!

I just wanted to pass on this guidance from Dr. Dillaha from the Arkansas Department of Health: Arkansas Department of Health State (ADH) Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha recommended that Arkansans wear face masks that fit pretty closely to the face and consist of a minimum of two layers of material in order to reduce the puffs of air that can go through or around the mask. Dr. Dillaha said masks with valves are not effective because the valve focuses a stream of air and does not prevent respiratory droplets from making it outside the mask. If individuals choose to wear neck gaiters or bandannas, they should double-them up because the second layer of material will offer added protection. MSD will not police types of masks worn by faculty/students, as long as the mouth and nose are covered, per MSD policy. However, please consider using a mask with at least two layers of material and with no expiration valve to best protect others! Lastly, remember masks should be treated like underwear... KEEP THEM CLEAN AND CHANGE THEM DAILY!! Kelly Fogleman, BSN, RN, NCSN Coordinated School Health Coordinator 870-739-5140 kfogleman@msd3.org

Julia McCracken was caught being a leader today! She led the pledge of allegiance and debuted our MST pledge for our new students and staff. Great job, Julia!

If you have not filled out the free/reduce lunch application for the 2020-21 school year, please do so now. It's now available at https://bit.ly/38joQnt Everyone should apply today. Even if you have chosen the MSD online learning option, your child is still a district student and your eligibility counts. If you've already applied for the 2020-21 school year you do not have to reapply. Thank you for your support of the MSD Child Nutrition Department.

Here are the PM car rider traffic flow maps. Please refer to these if you are picking up your child after school. Also, please check out the following link to get lots of important information from our principal, Ali Weimer. https://www.canva.com/design/DAEFD1hav1k/lIxxCmcT_YQCcGFIOXIaKw/view?utm_content=DAEFD1hav1k&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=homepage_design_menu

Hello Patriots! The Marion School District phone system is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Your phone calls may or may not make it through to our buildings today. Please be patient as our technicians are working diligently to correct this problem. Thank you for your continued support!

We appreciate your flexibility and understanding during these uncertain times. We are working to navigate the changing data and guidance on what our schools will look like for the 2020-21 school year. The health of our students, staff, and families is our number one priority. These pages will be updated regularly to keep everyone informed on what we’re doing as a district to combat the effects of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We continue to closely monitor reports and information shared by the Arkansas Department of Health and the CDC regarding COVID-19, and we are in contact regularly with health officials from the city and county. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has raised many questions regarding how the district will start for the coming school year. We have created these web pages to help provide context to our decisions as we prepare for the 2020-2021 school year. The information here will be updated to reflect changes as they are made. https://bit.ly/32iREcV

Looking for MST gear? Click this link --> https://stores.inksoft.com/marion_school_district/shop/home and it will take you to the MST shop for masks and t-shirts. Orders are bagged & distributed by your individual order. All orders will be sent to MST who will then distribute your order. Thank you!