MISD Developmental Center

Good evening Blackcats, Tonight the MISD Board of Trustees approved two recommendations for hire for the upcoming school year. First, I am pleased to share with you that LaKechia Johnson will be moving from the Principal of Sims Intermediate to become the new Executive Director of Human Resources. Also, the new CTE Director will be Mrs. Christine Walker who is joining us from Spring Branch ISD where she has been helping them build and expand their CTE programs from the ground up for nearly 20 years. It's a great day to be a Blackcat! -- Ryder Appleton Superintendent Mexia ISD

Good evening Blackcats, Tonight the MISD Board of Trustees approved the 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar (attached). We will continue working on details of the Accelerated Instruction Weeks and share when those are finalized. Also, I am pleased to announce that Shelli Killingsworth will be moving into the role of Executive Director of Student Programs for the 2023-2024 school year. Prior to being the Executive Director of Human Resources, Mrs. Killingsworth worked with Bilingual/ESL, Migrant, Homeless, and Foster Care programs. She also spent time working with RtI and Gifted and Talented programs. Mrs. Killingsworth is very excited to continue to serve the students and staff of Mexia ISD in this new role. Have a great night and let's make the next two days of this week count. -- Ryder Appleton Superintendent Mexia ISD

REMINDER: Early Release tomorrow, Friday, December 16th.

Summer 2022 P-EBT Benefits are now being distributed by HHC on Lone Star or P-EBT cards. MISD students born on or after Aug. 1, 2015, who received SNAP food benefits or who were enrolled in MISD grades K-12 during the last month of the 2021–2022 school year are eligible for Summer 2022 P-EBT Benefits. Please call P-EBT at 833-442-1255 for information regarding missing benefits.

Reminder: Early Release Friday, November 18th. Thanksgiving Break 11/21 - 11/25

Good evening Blackcats, This announcement is to inform you that MISD will be conducting practice campus evacuation drills tomorrow and Thursday. There has not been an event that has caused us to practice these drills, we are just being proactive in the event something does happen in the future. Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff and these drills are being conducted in the event we ever need to evacuate our campuses for purposes like a weather event (tornado) or some other type of emergency. These practice drills are being conducted in accordance to recommendations from the Texas State School Safety Center. Students will be 100% in the care of their teachers as well as campus and district administrators at all times. For practice purposes students will be transported from their campus on buses to an alternate location such as the football stadium. Students will then immediately be returned to campus so please make sure they wear their coats over the next couple of days as they will be outdoors for a few minutes during these practice drills. Also, you may notice some extra police & fire department vehicles around our campuses. There is no need to be alarmed as they will be assisting us and participating in these practice drills. We are appreciative of their partnership with Mexia ISD.

CONGRATS to our October DC Staff of the Month!

MISD principals play a vital role in maintaining our schools. Without their dedicated leadership, MISD would not be able to give our students a bright start to their futures. THANK YOU MISD PRINCIPALS!

Reminder: tomorrow, Monday, September 26th is a Staff Development day for Mexia ISD. No school for Students.

Good evening Blackcats, This Friday night, the Battle of the River returns when the Groesbeck Goats come to Mexia Blackcat field! A large crowd is expected, so here are some details that will help everyone have a great night. • Mexia ISD has multiple safety measures in place, including metal detectors and a clear bag policy (see sample bags below or bag information link): https://s3.amazonaws.com/scschoolfiles/546/blackcat_bag_policy.pdf ) • Gates will open at 5:30 pm; come early to ensure you’re there for all the festivities • Vapes and other forms of tobacco are prohibited • Knives, including pocketknives, are prohibited • No re-entry will be allowed • Tickets may be purchased online beginning at 8:00am Wednesday or with cash at the gate. Buying your ticket ahead of time will speed your entry into the game (ticket link: https://www.mexiaisd.net/o/mexia-independent-school-district/page/online-ticket-sales ) • No mixing of fans (home side is for home fans and visitor side is for visiting fans) • UIL spectator guidelines will be enforced

Mexia ISD will be participating in supporting Uvalde. We would like all students and staff to participate by wearing maroon on Tuesday, September 6th.

Reminder, No School on Monday, September 5th.

MISD Bag Policy for all Events Update

Afternoon parents and guardians of Mexia ISD students. We are asking you to complete this survey, which should take no more than five minutes, to help us identify the needs of our students. MISD has ESSER III funding to support 5 specific areas, from COVID learning loss to other health and safety concerns. Your input helps us to determine where our efforts are best spent. We appreciate your input and value your voice in this process. Thank you for being actively involved in helping Mexia ISD to shine our light on a better opportunity for all students. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HkkmooTkEe3f1tSKvHrAc5Zgs9mgJ2PkDxXeqEdKWcA/edit Buenas tardes padres y tutores de estudiantes de Mexia ISD. Le pedimos que porfavor complete esta encuesta, que no debería tomar más de cinco minutos, para ayudarnos a identificar las necesidades de nuestros estudiantes. Mexia ISD tiene fondos de ESSER III para apoyar 5 áreas específicas desde la pérdida de aprendizaje de COVID hasta otras preocupaciones de salud y seguridad. Su opinión nos ayuda a determinar dónde se gastan mejor nuestros esfuerzos. Agradecemos su aporte y valoramos su voz en este proceso. Gracias por participar activamente en ayudar a Mexia ISD a iluminar una mejor oportunidad para todos los estudiantes. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_oOhoRzUnqEErdU77W7sjMp0A0oB7XuCpJnpmdl26Mk/edit

Good Afternoon Mexia Blackcats, This morning a major water line broke between the JH and HS, which resulted in a 2-hour delayed start. This delay was necessary, because without running water, facilities would not be able to operate and function properly: i.e. bathrooms, hand washing, water fountains, and cafeteria operations shut down. As soon as district staff was notified, we initiated our established communication protocols to immediately notify stakeholders via social media and our integrated messaging system. The system pushed out text notifications to parents, guardians, and staff via their cell phone as well as posting to social media. It was soon discovered that some parents/guardians did not receive the message. It was determined that one of the data files linking the contacts to the messenger system failed to connect. This issue has since been resolved through the vendor. In times of need, we will continue to communicate with all stakeholders through our social media platforms, our district website, and through the use of integrated messaging systems. We will send out a message today at 6:00pm via text, email and phone call to test our communications.. If you do not receive this message in one or more of these ways, please report to your child’s campus tomorrow and they will help you in updating your contact information. Likewise, we encourage you to follow Mexia ISD on our Facebook page and Twitter.

Good Evening Blackcats, We are so excited to see our students tomorrow morning! Please remember that extra safety measures are in place so entrance to each campus will take longer than usual. Please help us serve you better by not bringing the prohibited items listed below: * bags of any kind (with the exception of diaper bags) * knives of any kind, vapes/lighters/tobacco * weapons of any kind. We hope everyone has a fantastic evening and we can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

Texas Department of Agriculture Media Release July 28, 2022 Dear parent or guardian: We are pleased to inform you that Mexia ISD will continue implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for School Year 2022-2023. In CEP districts, applications for free/reduced meals are no longer required. Healthy breakfasts and lunches will be offered at no charge for ALL students enrolled at Mexia ISD during the 2022-2023 School Year. If you need more information, please contact us at Jonathan Lankford, Food Service Director 616 N. Red River Mexia, TX 76667 254-562-4000 ext. 1509 Sincerely, Jonathan Lankford Food Service Director​Mexia ISD

Texas Department of Agriculture | Media Release July 28, 2022 Dear parent or guardian: We are pleased to inform you that Mexia ISD will continue implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs for School Year 2022-2023. In CEP districts, applications for free/reduced meals are no longer required. Healthy breakfasts and lunches will be offered at no charge for ALL students enrolled at Mexia ISD during the 2022-2023 School Year. If you need more information, please contact us at Jonathan Lankford, Food Service Director 616 N. Red River Mexia, TX 76667 254-562-4000 ext. 1509 Sincerely, Jonathan Lankford Food Service Director ​ Mexia ISD ha anunciado que seguira en su política para servir comidas a los niños atendidos bajo el Programa Nacional de Almuerzos Escolares y el Programa de Desayunos Escolares para el año escolar 2022-2023. Las escuelas que califiquen para operar la Provisión de Elegibilidad Comunitaria (CEP, por sus siglas en inglés) ofrecen desayuno y almuerzo a todos los niños sin cargo y eliminan la recolección de aplicación para comidas gratuitas, a precio reducido y pagadas por estudiantes. Este enfoque reduce las cargas para las familias y los administradores escolares y ayuda a garantizar que los estudiantes reciban comidas nutritivas. Para obtener información adicional, póngase en contacto con la siguiente persona: Jlankford@mexiaisd.net Jonathan Lankford Food Service Director

At this time, Mexia ISD will allow regular backpacks. The district is taking additional steps for safety and security. Thanks for your continued support!

SAVE THE DATE: Meet The Teacher is Monday, August 8, 2022 McBay: 5:00-6:00 Sims: 5:30-6:30 MJH and MHS: 6:00-7:00 We can't wait to see all our Blackcats back!