Stay in Touch With MES
MES Communicates with families and community through a variety of platforms
Digital Dolphin Weekly Newsletter
The Digital Dolphin is our email newsletter sent on Thursdays when school is in session to parents and staff at Morningside Elementary School. All families' emails are included in the distribution weekly using the email address provided at registration. The Digital Dolphin is edited and distributed by the PTA. For submissions to the Digital Dolphin, please fill out the MES Communications Submission Request form.
MES Dolphin Community Private Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MESDolphinCommunity
This is a private Facebook group for MES parents that is run by the MES PTA. PTA Executive Board members and Committee Chairs regularly use the group to share reminders and highlight upcoming events and opportunities for volunteers. This group is also great for getting answers to any questions you have directly from your fellow MES parents. Please note that everyone in the group must have active accounts in our PTA Directory on Membership Toolkit. Rising K parents are invited to join each year in late July!
Morningside Elementary School Public Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/MorningsideElementary
MES also has a public-facing Facebook page where we will be sharing more frequently about
upcoming events for the 2023-2024 school year. No need to join anything - just click follow!
https://www.facebook.com/MorningsideElementary
MES Leadership Blog
Brian Baron
SCARECROWS IN THE GARDEN
The 3rd annual MES STEAM and Spanish collaboration with 4th grade students
“Scarecrows Inthe Garden” @ Atlanta Botanical Gardens - on display for the month of October. See if you can find “Bea” - the STEAM scarecrow bee keeper
Each 4th grader designed and made a bee and the art on a hexagon. The grade level worked together to design and build each part, as well as the whole assembly of the beekeeper, beehive, bee smoker, and the bees. Thank you Mrs. Roetger and Mrs. Connolly for your leadership!
FALL BREAK
Quick reminder that Fall Break is approaching from Monday 10/12 through Friday 10/16. As best as we can, please send our Dolphins to school Friday the 9th and Monday the 15th! Thanks!
FLU SEASON IS HERE!
Please help us keep our school community healthy by following the APS guidelines for when students should stay home. If your child has a fever or flu symptoms, please keep them home until they are feeling better and have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication. Thank you for helping us keep our students, teachers, and staff healthy! You can see the APS Guidelines HERE. We appreciate your partnership.
BOOK CHARACTER and INSPIRING FIGURES DAY - October 30th
We are continuing our Book Character and Inspiring Figures Day this year on Friday, October 30th. Think book characters or historical figures or motivational leaders, and the plethora of professions that inspire us all!
Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Brian Baron
Short and sweet reminders for today's blog!
PICTURE DAY - TOMORROW!
A quick reminder that picture day is tomorrow (Friday, 9/25)! Visit the Announcement section of our website near the bottom for a duplicate order form.
INTERNATIONAL FEST
Join us this weekend for our annual International Fest. All details are listed in the Digital Dolphin.
PARENT UNVERSITY
Our annual Parent University on literacy will take place Monday. All details are listed in the Digital Dolphin. Instructional Coach/OG Associate Laurie Luckmann and 3rd grade teacher/OG Fellow Amelia Morel will present with support from Mr. Rawls from our library.
Brian Baron
A few reminders for today's blog!
Early Release Day
In our 2026-2027 school calendar, APS has named Monday 9/21 an early release day.
Note regarding after school care:
- Morningside After School will not be operating on the 21st (nor at any other location due to staffing availability).
- JKG will not be operating on the 21st due to Yom Kippur.
- Haygood Hut will communicate with their families regarding operations.
All students must be listed for dismissal as either Walker, Car Line, or Bus for dismissal on the 21st. Please note that students must ride the bus they are assigned to by the APS Transportation Department.
Dismissal will take place as follows:
11:05 AM - Pre-K - 1st grade walker pad dismissal
11:10 AM - 2nd walker pad dismissal
11:15 AM - 3rd-5th walker pad dismissal and Bus dismissal followed by Car Line.
Due to the district professional learning afternoon beginning at 11:30, all students will need to be off campus by 11:30AM on this date.
Please make arrangements now for the 21st and go ahead and change PikMyKid to reflect the day's dismissal model. Thank you!!!
Communication Channels
Digital Dolphin - All families are subscribed to the Digital Dolphin newsletter based on the emails that are in our Parent Portal system. The Digital Dolphin that is THE source of being in the know at MES! Please do take a few moments each week to peruse it. It's amazing information!
Membership Toolkit - Please register for the Membership Toolkit Directory today! It is the primary way for room parents to share important updates regarding field trips, class parties, teacher gifts, and mystery reader sign-ups. It also helps parents connect for playdates and birthday parties. Signing up ensures you will not miss out on these opportunities and helps our school community stay connected throughout the year. Thank you for your support!
Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Brian Baron
EARLY RELEASE DAY - September 21st
In our 2026-2027 school calendar, APS has named Monday 9/21 an early release day.
NOTE REGARDING AFTER CARE:
- Morningside After School will NOT be operating on the 21st (nor at any other location due to staffing availability).
- JKG will NOT be operating on the 21st due to Yom Kippur.
- Haygood Hut will communicate with their families regarding operations.
ALL students must be listed for dismissal as either Walker, Car Line, or Bus for dismissal on the 21st. Please note that students must ride the bus they are assigned to by the APS Transportation Department.
Dismissal will take place as follows:
11:05 AM - Pre-K - 1st grade walker pad dismissal
11:10 AM - 2nd walker pad dismissal
11:15 AM - 3rd-5th walker pad dismissal AND Bus dismissal followed by Car Line.
Due to the district professional learning afternoon beginning at 11:30, all students will need to be off campus by 11:30AM on this date.
Please make arrangements now for the 21st and go ahead and change PikMyKid to reflect the day's dismissal model. Thank you!!!
ANNUAL FAMILY SAFETY AND SECURITY MEETING
In an effort to continually improve our processes, please take 30 seconds to complete this 2 question survey regarding the Annual Family Safety and Security Meeting from 9/2/26. https://forms.gle/a6Fn8tUDUFj9tfq49
2026 GEORGIA MILESTONES MATH AND SCIENCE RESULTS
It is with an enormous sense of pride to share our 2026 GMAS Math and Science results with our community. These results are a testimony to the incredibly hard work our 3rd through 5th grade students put into their learning this past school year. However, our Dolphins aren't the only ones to be recognized here. The plethora of instructional skills put forth toward masterful teaching practices that every teacher in this building provided our Dolphins in their MES journey has directly resulted in gains in proficiency across EVERY student group in our building. This is an incredible point of celebration for our MES community! The state of Georgia scores each school on not only overall proficiency levels, but also on closing gaps in achievement across our student groups. More of the Closing Gaps score to follow later in the fall when our CCRPI (College and Career Readiness Performance Index) is available. See our infographic HERE
Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron
Brian Baron
Stay tuned for next Tuesday's blog which will include our Spring 2026 Math Milestones results! Wishing all a safe upcoming Labor Day Weekend.
PRINCIPAL POWER HOUR - TOMORROW, SEPTEMBER 2
The first Baron Power Hour will take place Wednesday, September 2nd at San Francisco Coffee from 8am - 9am on the back patio. In an effort to mix up connection times this year, the Baron Power Hour will be a non agenda focused time to pop by San Francisco Coffee's back patio to connect with any topics you would like to discuss! Traditional Caffeine Connections this year will be held quarterly vs. monthly with Power Hours to fill in the gaps in between! The first traditional Caffeine Connection at MES will be Tuesday, October 6th.
LUNCH VISITS
Lunch visits are now underway! A reminder that sign up is required. The link to sign up for lunch visits is found in the weekly Digital Dolphin. NOTE: Because the mornings become very busy in the front office, we are putting in place an 8AM deadline to pre-register on each day. Thank you so much for your support in this!
PARENT PORTAL ACCESS
If you do not have access to Parent Portal in order to view your Dolphin's grades and attendance, please contact Mrs. Owens in the front office for assistance. Hard to believe that are already at our 4.5 week progress report time this week!
EARLY CHECKOUT REMINDER
A quick reminder that early checkouts end at 1:30pm. If you have scheduled an appointment close to the end of the day or near dismissal, please make sure you check out your Dolphin PRIOR to 1:30pm.
LIBRARY FEE ON SCHOOL CASH ONLINE
The Missing/Damaged Library Book payment option in School Cash Online is simply available as a convenient way for families to pay for a lost or damaged library book if needed. Some families may receive an automatic notification when this option is added to School Cash Online. Receiving this notification does not mean that your child has a missing or damaged library book or that you owe a fee. Please only use this payment option if you have received a paper notice directly from the MES Library regarding a specific missing or damaged book. If you have not received a notice from the library, no action is needed. Thank you!
MORNINGSIDE MATH LEAGUE INTEREST SESSION
The Morningside Math League (MML) is back for the 2026-2027 school year and we're excited to begin our second season! MML is an enrichment program for students who enjoy puzzles, patterns, problem solving, strategy, and mathematical challenges. Our goal isn't simply to help students get faster at math - it is to help them become creative, confident mathematical thinkers. Join the interest session Zoom call this Thursday (9/3) at 6:30 PM. Link for the meeting will be shared in the Digital Dolphin Thursday.
Until Next Time...
Warmly,
Brian Baron