This Is How We Do it, at MES!
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September was full of connection, celebration, and learning at MES! Our Grandparent/Grandfriend Day was a huge success, and we loved welcoming so many special people into our school to spend time with their Cubs. Our Book Fair was another highlight! Thank you to everyone who shopped and supported the event. Funds earned through the Book Fair help us put more books into the hands of our students and teachers, making your support even more meaningful.
We also kicked off our first Assembly, and it was a blast! We celebrated students who demonstrated our first Profile of a Cub attribute, Citizen: Leads with integrity, service, and advocacy for self and others. It was a great way to recognize students who are showing us what it means to do things the Monett Way!
As we continued through September, our focus shifted to Collaborator: Contributes to collective success and builds positive relationships. Students have been learning that we accomplish more when we work together, support one another, and build strong relationships.
Now, as we head into October, we are excited to focus on Communicator: Listens actively and communicates clearly with empathy. Throughout the month, we will encourage our Cubs to listen to understand, share their ideas clearly, and consider the feelings and perspectives of others.
We are proud of the way our students, staff, families, and community continue to make MES a place where our Cubs feel seen, valued, loved, and supported as they grow! 💜
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Every Day Matters at MES! 💜💛
Being at school consistently gives students the best opportunity to learn, grow, build relationships, and reach their goals. That’s why we celebrate attendance at the student, classroom, grade, and whole-school level!
For elementary students especially, attendance matters. Chronic absence is generally defined as missing 10% of the school year—about 18 days, or roughly 2 days per month. Research connects chronic absence in the early grades with lower reading and math achievement and a lower likelihood of reading proficiently by third grade.
Our goal isn't just perfect attendance—it's building strong attendance habits and celebrating improvement! We know illnesses and unavoidable circumstances happen. When students are healthy and able to attend, every day and every minute of learning matters. Together, we can help our Cubs show up, grow, and succeed! 💜💛
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🎪 THE CARNIVAL IS BACK AT MES! 🎪
We are SO excited to bring the MES Fall Carnival back to Monett Elementary School! 💜💛 Mark your calendars for October 17 from 4:00–7:00 PM and get ready for an evening of family fun, laughter, and memories together!
🎟️ Admission is FREE! Come enjoy bounce houses, a dunk tank, face painting, food vendors, and MORE!
And don’t forget to grab your activity tickets! Presale tickets are the best value:
25 tickets for $20 or 60 tickets for $45. On carnival day, tickets will be $1 each, 20 for $20, or 50 for $45. Activity tickets and food purchases are sold separately.
We have missed this MES tradition, and we cannot wait to see our students, families, staff, and community together again for the return of the Fall Carnival!
🎡 Step right up, Cubs—the MES Fall Carnival is BACK! 💜💛
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Students will complete their STAR Reading, STAR Math , and STAR Fluency assessments during the week of October 5–9.
Help your child be ready to show what they know and how much they’ve grown!
Families can help by:
- Making strong attendance a priority
- Helping students get a good night’s rest
- Talking with your child about their STAR goals and encouraging them to do their best
We can’t wait to celebrate their growth! 💜💛
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💜💛 G.O. MES Meeting — Join Us!
Our next G.O. MES meeting is Tuesday, October 6 at 5:30 PM!
Whether you are a returning volunteer, new volunteer, or simply interested in getting involved, we would love to have you join us! We’ll share upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and ways you can partner with us to support our students, staff, and school.
There are so many ways to be involved at MES, and every contribution makes a difference!
📅 Tuesday, October 6 (Cafeterai)
⏰ 5:30 PM
Together, we make a bigger impact at MES! 💜💛
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📸 Picture Day is Coming!
Picture Day at Monett Elementary School is Wednesday, October 7! Come ready to smile and show your Cub pride! 💜💛
Order Code: 0539GGF
Online ordering is available before and after Picture Day. Please contact your child's teacher for questions regarding ordering information.
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❤️ Red Ribbon Week is October 26–29! ❤️
This year’s theme is “Be Kind to Your Mind. Live Drug Free!” We’ll celebrate healthy choices with a fun dress-up theme each day:
Monday: Wear pajamas
Tuesday: Wear camo
Wednesday: Wear bright colors & sunglasses
Thursday: Wear a costume or orange for Fall Parties (no masks, weapons, or gory costumes)
We can’t wait for a fun week of encouraging our Cubs to make healthy, drug-free choices! ❤️
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💜💛 Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up!
We look forward to connecting with our MES families on Monday, October 26 and Tuesday, October 27! This is a great opportunity to celebrate your child’s success, discuss their progress, and set goals for continued growth.
Strong partnerships help our Cubs grow! 💜💛
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🎃 Fall Party Fun is Coming to MES! 💜💛
We are excited to celebrate our Fall Parties on Thursday, October 29! Students are welcome to wear their costumes to school for a fun morning together!
Our Costume Parade will begin at 9:45 AM in the gym, followed by classroom parties at 10:00 AM. Families are welcome to join us for both the parade and classroom parties!
Please remember that costumes should be school appropriate and comfortable enough to wear throughout the school day. No masks, weapons, or gory costumes, please.
⏰ Early dismissal is at 11:55 AM.
We can’t wait to celebrate with our Cubs and families!
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🔔 Essential Skill Gong Celebration! 💜💛
We are excited to celebrate our students’ hard work and learning at our Essential Skill Gong Celebration on Friday, November 6!
Students who have mastered an Essential Skill will be recognized during lunchtime, have the opportunity to ring the gong, and receive a certificate and recognition to celebrate their achievement!
If your child will be recognized at this celebration, their teacher will reach out to you on or before October 29. We would love for you to come celebrate with your child!
We are so proud of our Cubs and can’t wait to celebrate their success! 💜💛
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📚 Weekly Fluency Practice Begins October 5! 💜💛
Beginning October 5, be on the lookout for a fluency passage coming home with your child every Monday!
On Monday, students will read the passage for the first time and will be timed for one minute. This gives us a starting point and helps us track fluency growth throughout the week.
Monday–Thursday: Please have your child read the same passage aloud each night at home. Just a few minutes of repeated reading can help build accuracy, automaticity, confidence, and fluency!
Friday: Students will read the passage again at school for one minute. With practice throughout the week, we hope to see students reading more words correctly per minute while becoming smoother and more confident readers.
Thank you for partnering with us! A few minutes of practice each night can make a BIG difference! 💜💛
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What Are Essential Skills?
Essential Skills are the most important skills students need to learn at each grade level. Our teachers have identified these skills so we can focus instruction, provide extra support when needed, and make sure students build a strong foundation for future learning.
We organize our Essential Skills into three levels:
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100% Skills – These are the most critical skills. Our goal is for 100% of students to master these skills because they are essential for success in their current grade and future learning.
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70% Skills – These are important grade-level skills. Our goal is for at least 70% of students to master these skills during the school year.
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40% Skills – These are additional grade-level skills that help students continue to grow and deepen their learning. Our goal is for at least 40% of students to master these skills.
Each grade level has its own 100%, 70%, and 40% Essential Skills based on what students are expected to learn that year.
The percentages describe our goal for how many students will master each skill—not how well an individual student needs to perform.
Please see ways you can help with learning at home in the following section!
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As part of our continued commitment to partnering with families and supporting the success of every student, we are sharing our Title I Building-Level Plan with you.
Title I funding provides additional resources and support to help us meet the academic needs of our students. Our building-level plan outlines how MES uses these resources to support student learning, academic growth, family engagement, and our schoolwide goals.
We value transparency and believe our families are important partners in the work we do each day. We encourage you to review the plan and learn more about how Title I funding supports students and families at MES.
Thank you for your continued partnership and support of our students! 💜💛
Here is a link to the plan. Student Focused…Future Driven.
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Coming in November: CUB Commitment! 💜💛
Following Parent-Teacher Conferences, we are excited to begin CUB Commitment in November! This will be our approach to meaningful practice at home—short, purposeful activities that reinforce the skills students are learning at school. Cub Commitment
CUB stands for: Commit • Understand • Become
Each Monday–Thursday, students will have opportunities to practice:
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Fluency – 1 minute
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Reading – 15 minutes
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High-Frequency Words – 1 minute
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Essential Skills – 2–4 minutes of targeted reading or math practice
Our goal is not hours of homework! A few minutes of purposeful practice each day can make a big difference. CUB Commitment gives families a simple way to partner with us as students practice important skills, build confidence, and become stronger readers, mathematicians, and lifelong learners.
Commit today. Understand tomorrow. Become your best. This is how we do it at MES! 💜💛
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🏠 Ways to Practice Essential Skills at Home — 1st Grade
Hearing Sounds in Words
- Say a word and have your child say each sound: cat → /c/ /a/ /t/
- Count the sounds on fingers or with small objects.
- Play “Robot Talk” by stretching out sounds and blending them together.
Reading Words
- Practice CVC words: cat, sit, hop
- Practice CVCe words: cake, bike, home
- Practice High-Frequency Words for 1–2 minutes.
- Read together and encourage your child to sound out, blend, and reread.
💜 A few minutes of practice each day makes a big difference!
🏠 Ways to Practice Essential Skills at Home — 2nd Grade
Reading Two-Syllable Words
- Break longer words into parts: sun/set, pic/nic, rab/bit
- Read each syllable, then blend them together to read the whole word.
- Look for two-syllable words while reading together.
High-Frequency Words
- Practice grade-level High-Frequency Words for 1–2 minutes each day.
- Look for these words in books and everyday print.
- Practice until your child can read them quickly and accurately.
💜 A few minutes of practice each day makes a big difference!
🏠 Ways to Practice Essential Skills at Home — 3rd Grade
Reading Multisyllabic Words
- Break longer words into smaller parts: fantastic → fan/tas/tic
- Read each part, then blend the whole word.
- Use the sentence and word parts to help figure out what the word means.
High-Frequency Words
- Practice grade-level High-Frequency Words for 1–2 minutes each day.
- Look for them while reading and practice reading them quickly and accurately.
💜 A few minutes of practice each day makes a big difference!
If you do not have high frequency words coming home for your student please reach out to your child's teacher! They may have gotten the 100% Essential Skill mastered or they will be sending them home in November!
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