Mason County Intermediate School

With state testing approaching, we wanted to send some reminders to families. Next week, on Monday, we will have our KSA Kick Off, and students are invited to Dress in their Derby Best! Students in grades 3 and 5 will begin testing on Tuesday, May 5, with 4th grade beginning on Friday, May 8 and carrying into the following week. During testing, students are not permitted to access their personal electronic devices, including smartwatches.

The end-of-year awards ceremonies will continue to be held on the last day of school, by grade level. Specific times will be shared as the date approaches, but if you plan to attend, those will be in the morning on 5/22.

As the year winds down, many minds turn toward the next year. Straub and MCIS teachers do a great job of sharing placement notes with admin to help us make the best choices for how to group students the upcoming year, based on data, peer interactions, personalities, and many factors. Please note that we welcome helpful context about special needs and other concerns, but we will not be accepting parent requests for teacher placement.

All grades are planning a variety of fun activities, from field trips to field days and everything in between. While these are fun events for all students, participation in some of them is related to behavior. Please join us in reminding students about basic behavioral expectations. As structures and routines shift at the end of the year, we are seeing an uptick in behaviors. Specific reminders include keeping hands to self (even with friends, no horseplay) using respectful language with teachers, as well as each other, and bathroom manners. We appreciate your partnership in helping students behave their best!

Teacher appreciation week is May 4-8. Thank you to the businesses and families that have made donations toward our celebration. You would be hard-pressed to find another group of professionals as caring, determined, patient, and loving, along with their teaching expertise. I am incredibly proud of our staff and appreciate getting to work with them every day. I know many of you share my sentiment. Teacher Appreciation Week doesn't have to be all about the big gifts and grand gestures; you may be surprised how far a note of appreciation will go! Please join me as a parent in being intentional next week in telling our teachers about the impact they make on our kids every day.