District Newsletter

October, 2022

Dear Families,

Thank you for trusting Mora Public Schools with your student(s). Our mission is to prepare self-directed learners in an ever changing global economy. As educators, parents, and community members, we should all feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in working together to help all of our students succeed in school and life beyond school.

Public education is the cornerstone of our country and promotes healthy and educated citizens. Public schools provide each and every student with a strong foundation in academic skills, along with numerous opportunities in the fine arts, activities, and athletics. Together we are building the future one student at a time. Our community, state, and country continue to thrive because of public education and our partnerships with families and community.

Mora Public Schools has had a successful start of the school year and we continue to be leaders in East Central Minnesota in many areas. Our students continue to perform at or near the top in academic achievement for the entire state and our learning recovery plans have supported our students through these challenging times.

Thank you for your continued support of Mora Public Schools, our students and staff. We are better when we work together and we are Mora Mustang Strong! Have a wonderful 2022-23 school year.

Sincerely,

Daniel Voce

Superintendent

Mora Public Schools

WALL CALENDAR CORRECTIONS:

It has been noted that the district wall calendar that is handed out at the beginning of the year has a few incorrect dates in it. The corrected event dates are listed below. When in doubt please reference the board approved District Calendar on the school website.

• Elementary School Conferences- November 16th & November 21st, 2022- 3:30pm-7:00pm
• Last Student Day- June 1st, 2023

OCTOBER CALENDAR EVENTS:

• Thursday, October 27th, 2022- Regular School Board Meeting, 6:30pm- MES Common Area
• Monday, October 31st, 2022- Halloween- Regular School Day

• Monday, November 7th, 2022- Teacher Inservice Day- DISTRICT WIDE- NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, November 8th, 2022- Election Day- Vote for school board members
• Wednesday, November 9th, 2022- MES & MHS Picture Retake Day
• Friday, November 11th, 2022- MES Veteran's Day Program- 9:00am- MES North Gym
• Wednesday, November 16th, 2022- MES Conferences- 3:30pm-7:00pm
• Monday, November 21st, 2022- MES Conferences- 3:30pm-7:00pm
• Thursday, November 24th, 2022- Thanksgiving Day- DISTRICT WIDE- NO SCHOOL
• Friday, November 25th, 2022- Thanksgiving Day Break- DISTRICT WIDE- NO SCHOOL

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) released the statewide Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) and the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) results that students took in the spring of 2022. The MCA tests are accountability tests students take each year in reading, math and science. The tests are designed to give students, parents, educators, and administration feedback on how well students are mastering academic standards. MCA tests are given each year to students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (reading and math), 10 (reading), 11 (math), 5,8,and10 (Science).

Overall, statewide MCA test scores have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Mora Public Schools, however, saw an increase in achievement levels in reading and math, and a small decline in science scores. Mora students have shown improvement and recovery in many areas of academic achievement.

Below are the 2022 MCA scores for Mora Public Schools and the Minnesota statewide average:

• In reading, 61% of Mora Public School students met or exceeded grade level standards. Statewide, 51% of Minnesota students met or exceeded grade level standards.

• In math, 52% of Mora Public School students met or exceeded grade level standards. Statewide, 45% of Minnesota students met or exceeded grade level standards.

• In science, 49% of Mora Public School students met or exceeded grade level standards. Statewide, 41% of Minnesota students met or exceeded grade level standards.

• If you would like to review building specific data please click here.

Mora Schools will use the MCA and MTAS assessment results to identify gaps in student learning and assess the effectiveness of our learning recovery plans. Implementing a three-year recovery plan has helped our students make significant progress and a return to pre-pandemic achievement levels. Mora Public Schools continues to be a leader in academic achievement within East Central Minnesota. We are incredibly proud of our students, staff, and families for their continued efforts to help all students achieve and reach their potential.

The start of the school year has been busy, but great! We finished our

hearing and vision screenings at the end of September for grades 1, 3, 5 and 7.

We are will slowly be working on re-screens for those students who need it.

You may be seeing referral letters sent home on your student if they did not pass

the second time around.

Our COVID numbers are still quite low, thank goodness! Thank you to

everyone in the community for doing your part in helping to reduce the spread! Just

as a friendly reminder, if you are sick- please stay home and contact our

attendance line. The best way to help reduce the spread of illnesses is by good

handwashing!

Another friendly reminder since we are still in the beginning of the school

year; if you are wanting your student to have any medication at school (whether

it’s prescription or over the counter), please sign the correct form. This does have

to be completed every new school year. This information can be found on our

school website; please contact your child’s school health office for any questions

and we can help you.

The best way to reach me is via email: shaunacronk@moraschools.org or

connect with the MES health office 320-679-6200 x4007 or MHS health office

x5032. My direct line is 320-679-6232. Thank you again everyone, and I hope we

have a great 2022-2023 school year!

Shauna Cronk, BSN, RN, PHN

License School Nurse for Mora

320-679-6200 Ext. 5030

Fax 320-679-6249

shaunacronk@moraschools.org

Dear Family,

The Mora School’s Nutrition Department welcomes your child for the 2022-2023 school year. We are turning on the ovens and creating the menus in excited anticipation of students filling our cafeterias again. School meals are a vital piece of a student's health and education, and we're prepared to feed them all so they can succeed!

Receiving a meal is very easy. Every student is assigned a student PIN number that is tied to their meal account (one meal account per family). This account is similar to a checking account, where purchases are deducted from funds applied to the account. Funds can be applied by cash or check paid to kitchen staff, school office, or online using a credit/debit card after logging into your family WordWare account.

Child Nutrition Program COVID waivers issued by the federal government have expired.

• Lunches will not be no-cost for all students in the 22-23 school year

• Households need to complete an application for educational benefits to receive no-cost lunches.

• All students will need to enter their PIN each time they take a school meal

When you submit the application, your child(ren) may qualify for additional benefits such as reduced fees or the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) which is a federal temporary emergency nutrition benefit that is loaded onto electronic cards for families to purchase food. At public schools, your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and discounts.

How to fill out the application…

You can complete and submit Applications for Educational Benefits ONLINE. The process is quick, easy, and FREE. No more paper applications are lost in the bottom of a backpack. Look for the BLUE button on your home page after logging into your WordWare account to start the application process.

You must create and register an account with www.family.wordwareinc.com to begin if you haven’t already. A WordWare Inc account will allow you to view all transactions your student(s) make here at school, deposit money into your family's Meal Account, and submit the Application for Educational Benefits. If you need the information to register a new WordWare Account, please nutrition@moraschools.org

Paper applications are still acceptable please click this link. Complete the application and return to the District Office.

If you have any questions about the Nutrition Services Department, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Cally Hanson

Mora Nutrition Services Director

320-679-6226

moranutrition@moraschools.org

• Physical Education Teacher (LTS)- High School
• Nutrition Professional- Elementary School
• Junior High ALC Paraprofessional- High School
• Special Education Paraprofessional- High School
• Regular Route Bus Drivers & Substitute Bus Drivers
• English Teacher- Long Term Sub- High School
• Bus Aid Substitute
• Building Custodian Substitute- District Wide
• Substitute Food Service Worker- District Wide
• Substitute Teacher- District Wide
• Substitute Paraprofessional- District Wide

For the most up-to-date information, please visit our website by clicking the link below.

Email: mustangexpress@moraschools.org
Website: moraschools.org
Location: Mora Public Schools
Phone: (320) 679-6200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoraPublicSchools