Good Evening. My name is Todd Petersen, and I am proud to serve as the principal of Jack & Terry Mannion Middle School. It’s a pleasure to welcome you to our Open House this evening.
Tonight, you will have an opportunity to meet your child’s teachers, find out what your student will learn over the course of the year, and understand the teachers’ academic expectations so that we can work together help your child succeed. At Mannion, it is our mission to provide the best education possible for every student, and it is our philosophy that this only happens when there is cooperation and communication between the school and families at home.
Parents, we know that the success of our students is a result of many positive contributing factors. Your presence here tonight is a strong indication of your commitment to your child’s education. The bottom line – we are glad you are here, and we appreciate your support to make sure that your student attends school, completes his or her homework, and is prepared for all of those tests and quizzes. We encourage you to continue this commitment throughout the school year and to stay informed of your child’s academic progress.
Here are a few ways to foster effective and productive communication with us:
- Check Infinite Campus Parent Portal, the school district’s on-line parent communication system, to track your student’s academic progress and attendance. This information is available to all parents, at all times, via Infinite Campus.
- Each teacher is asked to maintain a classroom website, so that parents and students can see what the children are learning, when assignments are due, and what is expected. In addition, our new school website will always have important updates and information regarding policies and procedures.
- Keep your e-mail and contact information up to date, not only in Infinite Campus, but with teachers. This way, we can easily and quickly communicate with you when there are concerns and we can quickly address any questions you may have.
- Check your student’s agenda book. Each day students are asked to record homework assignments, due dates for projects, quizzes, and tests.
- Contact the grade level counselor to arrange for a parent conference if necessary.
Before you leave this evening, I would like to invite all parents to visit our Community Center, located in Room 212. This center will provide a variety of assistance to both students and families in our community. We are grateful to have this community center on our campus, and we appreciate the efforts of all those that are donating supplies as well as services. As you know, we recently completed a Miracle Minute to assist the American Red Cross. We raised over $1,800 and the generosity of you, as well as your children, is appreciated and admired. We hope to maintain this sense of community throughout the year, and invite all parents to join us at our monthly Parent/Family Community Partnership Meetings. Our next meeting is September 21 at 5:30 PM in the library.
Be sure to take a few minutes tonight and visit our school’s library. The library remains the heart of our school, and this week we are hosting a Book Fair so we can fuel our students’ fire for reading. The Book Fair and school library will remain open until 8:00 tonight.
As you know, the Clark County School District is facing some difficult decisions and challenges regarding school budgets. The impact of this budget deficit will be discussed at our school Organizational Team Meeting on September 19. The meeting will take place in the school library at 3:30 PM. While this will be a meeting for last year’s SOT to discuss and vote, the ramifications will be felt this year. In addition to attending the meeting on the 19th, I hope you also take a few minutes to vote for this year’s SOT parent representatives. Voting will remain open until 8:00 this evening in the Registration Office.
The 2017 SBAC results will also be distributed tonight by the sixth period teachers. By distributing the scores tonight, we will alleviate the cost of postage and ensure that parents receive the results. If your child did not take SBACs at Mannion, or at one of our primary feeder schools, you will not have scores to pick up this evening. We will work with you to locate your child’s scores, but chances are, they will be mailed to you by the school your child attended last year.
Finally, Mannion Middle School is committed to safety. Numerous decisions are made so that we are able to keep all children safe. From the installation of security gates to the implementation of one-way hallways, it is our mission to make sure that Mannion students are able to come to school and focus on our priority – learning. If your child does not feel safe at school, regardless of the reason, I ask you to contact our administration. Ms. Hargraves, Ms. Kelsey, Mr. Jerrel, and I are committed to a safe learning environment for all students. We encourage all students and parents to report bullying to any adult on campus or through the District website so that we can investigate.
I know you did not come here this evening to listen to me, so I leave you with final thoughts of appreciation. I appreciate all of the teachers for being here tonight. This is a remarkable team of teachers that are committed to student achievement. I hope you appreciate, as much as I do, all their work and efforts to help every student reach his or her potential.
I am grateful for the student council members that are here tonight assisting parents. These students are the tip of an iceberg of 1500 students that work hard each day to make not only their parents proud, but make me proud to be their principal. Finally, I thank you, the parents, for trusting us with your most prized possession – your children. I hope, over the course of the year, we continue to make you proud to call your child a Mannion Mustang.
At this time, we will begin first period. Enjoy your evening.
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