Magnolia School District

Dear Parents: Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this pandemic. We realize you have many questions, and we are trying to put together a plan for starting school back in August that is safe for our kids, follows guidance from Arkansas Department of Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and still provides our kids with some sense of normalcy. We have had over 60 teachers, parents, healthcare workers and other stakeholders developing this plan, and we are close to completing a document for release. There are a few questions we would like your input on prior to finalizing our plan and releasing the documents. We ask that you take a minute to complete the survey by Sunday, July 12, 2020. https://rb.gy/3jkhif Thank you!

MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL SETS GRADUATION DATE AND PLANS Magnolia High School announced that graduation exercises for the 2020 senior class would be held on Thursday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m. in Panther Arena. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony will follow guidelines from Governor Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Department of Education, and the Arkansas Department of Health. Guidelines require six-feet of social distancing in all areas in and around Panther Arena. The maximum occupancy of the arena will also be reduced. Each senior will receive three tickets to be used by family, friends, or other guests. Tickets must be presented at the door prior to entry. Facemasks will also be required by everyone attending or participating in the graduation exercises. Family and guests will be required to bring their own facemask. The Magnolia School District will not provide facemasks to those attending the ceremony. Hand sanitizing stations will be set up in the arena. Arena doors will open at 6:15 p.m. and attendees are encouraged to remain in their cars until school officials direct them to enter. For those unable to attend the 2020 graduation, Magnolia High School will provide live-streaming of the event on the Magnolia High School Facebook page.

Magnolia Junior Charity League Sponsors Summer Backpack Program

BAILEY COBURN RECOGNIZED AS DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR The Magnolia School Board recognized East Side Elementary School music teacher, Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year at their regular meeting on June 15. Superintendent, John Ward read Mrs. Coburn’s biography and then presented her with a plaque of recognition. Bailey will now represent the Magnolia School District in the Arkansas Teacher of the Year (ATOY) competition. Arkansas regional finalists will be announced the week of July 3-8. Regional finalists will also attend a reception ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock on July 31, where the four ATOY finalists will be announced. During the fall of 2020, the ATOY selection panel will visit the finalists’ schools for classroom observation and interviews. The 2021 Arkansas Teacher of the Year will then be announced sometime prior to December 20, 2020.

Congratulations Kathleen Dingman!!! Arkansas Activities Association 2020 Girls Swimming Coach-of-the-Year

MAGNOLIA JUNIOR CHARITY LEAGUE SPONSORS SUMMER BACKPACK PROGRAM

BAILEY COBURN SELECTED MAGNOLIA SCHOOL DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR Magnolia School District personnel recently selected Bailey Coburn as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Coburn is the music teacher at East Side Elementary School where she instructs approximately six hundred students in grades 1-3. Bailey is a graduate of Ashdown High School and Henderson State University. She began her career in Magnolia when she did her student teaching in the fall of 2014. She assisted with the band program and with East Side’s music program. After earning her Bachelors of Music in Education, Bailey taught in the El Dorado and Spring Hill school districts. However, she was always drawn back to Magnolia, working as the high school receptionist and finally returning to East Side as the elementary music teacher. At East Side, Bailey teaches approximately 600 students per week. She incorporates music from many cultures and time periods. She leads five music programs each year, including last year’s first-ever East Side Veterans Day program. She also includes self-regulation exercises in music class and began a weekly yoga program for students with behavioral and/or sensory issues. Bailey is married to Russell Coburn, a former Magnolia band director. They have one son, Henry, who will be three in June. They also have their rescue dog, Molly. Bailey’s hobbies include playing piano and ukulele, learning new technology, and taking naps. She loves to uplift her coworkers and come up with innovative ideas for the classroom. She can often be found with a to-do list in one hand and a Dr. Pepper in the other. Bailey is also an advocate for mental health and pushes her students to do their best. Mrs. Bailey is now eligible for the 2020 Arkansas Teacher of the Year competition.

Magnolia Junior Charity League Sponsors Summer Backpack Program

MAGNOLIA HIGH SCHOOL ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE GRADUATION DATE Magnolia High School has announced a revised graduation date for the 2020 senior class. The tentative date will be Thursday, July 9 at 7:00 pm in Panther Arena. This preliminary date is pending Governor Asa Hutchinson’s announcement that will allow high schools to resume regular graduation exercises. The Governor’s announcement is expected to be middle to late June. Though the commencement ceremony may occur on this date, certain restrictions may be administered for the safety of the students and the public. Restrictions may include a limited occupancy number in the arena and/or a limited number of tickets available for family members and guests. Other restrictions may also apply.

Magnolia School District has been approved to join forces with Baylor University to offer the Meals-To-You program. What does this mean? It means that meals for your student(s) will be delivered to your home! Each household, with children ages 1-18 who qualify for free or reduced school meals, will need to go to the website www.mealstoyou.org and sign up by Monday, May 11th. PLEASE help share this to get the word out. This program will be replacing the food service delivery we have been doing since mid-March. Magnolia School District will not deliver meals after this Friday, 05/08. This is a great opportunity for our community!

ACT Test Online at Home Coming Fall/Winter In response to uncertainty and school cancellations due to COVID-19, ACT announced it will offer a flexible schedule for summer 2020 test dates and test-at-home options for fall/winter 2020. As CDC and local guidelines for safety allow, ACT will offer its June and July national test dates as scheduled and will additionally provide makeup test dates for June and July. The makeup test date for the June 13 national test date will be June 20, and the makeup test date for the July 18 test date will be July 25. ACT will work with individual national test centers should they need to reschedule to the makeup test date and students will be notified in advance. Students may also make free test date changes from the June to the July national test date. In addition to the three previously planned fall test dates on September 12, October 24 and December 12, ACT will also offer a remote proctoring option for the ACT® test in late fall/early winter 2020, allowing students to take the test at their home on a computer. ACT will launch the test-at-home option as part of its national testing program. The fee waivers ACT provides to students from low-income homes will apply to the at-home testing option, and ACT is considering other ways to address access and equity issues.

Last call for Basketball State Final ticket refund. Friday, May 8, is the last day to refund tickets.

Congratulations to our own Mrs. Rose Biley for being featured in HER Magazine!

We hope our students are enjoying the Arkansas PBS AMI activities! The week 5 schedule can be found at https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/ArkansasAMI.

Shape our future…complete the 2020 Census… It is so important for all of us to complete the 2020 census. We need to make sure everyone is counted. We need an accurate count to make sure we get our share of the billions of dollars that are turned back to our community. Visit 2020census.gov to count you and your family.

The Week 4 schedule for Arkansas PBS AMI can be found at https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/arkansasami.

The 2020 Census is here…I count, you count.. Please respond

We have great news to share! Arkansas PBS announced they will continue to support at-home learning, in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE), by providing Arkansas AMI until May 22. Learn more from the Arkansas PBS press release at https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/engage/pressroom/arkansas_pbs_to_continue_ami_broadcasts_for_remainder_of_school_year.

The new Arkansas PBS AMI activities and resources are ready! Week 3 can be found on the following websites: https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/ArkansasAMI- AND http://www.dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/learning-services/alternative-methods-of-instruction-.

KINDERGARTEN PRE-REGISTRATION Due to the circumstances surrounding the effects of the Corona virus, the annual Kindergarten Pre-Registration Clinic has been canceled. However, parents are encouraged to get a head start and begin the pre-registration process using PowerSchool Online Registration. Parents with the resources to upload all the required forms electronically can complete the entire registration process in PowerSchool. If parents are unable to get any/all of the forms into an electronic format, then paper versions will be available once the school district has reopened. To access the PowerSchool, parents should go to the Magnolia School District website at www.magnoliaschools.net. >>> Click EXPLORE at the top of the page >>> Click the REGISTRATION down arrow >>> Click PowerSchool Online Registration Parents will start a PowerSchool account and then proceed to the registration process. Parents using this PowerSchool account will also be able to update information for any of their other children who attend the Magnolia School District. If a student is pre-registered prior to June 25, 2020, the following documents should be uploaded through the PowerSchool Registration process. Paper copies may also be brought to the District Registrar’s office or the Kindergarten Center once the District reopens. 1. One (1) Proof of Residence 2. Proof of Age (Birth certificate or other state approved document) 3. Social Security Number 4. Immunization Record 5. Proof of Physical Examination **PRE-K & KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS ONLY** 6. Home Language Survey 7. Health History Form Students currently enrolled at Walker Pre-Kindergarten Center during the 2019-2020 school year will not pre-register through PowerSchool. Parents will be asked to update registration information at a later date.