Back to School Newsletter 2026-2027
- Jul 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 15
A message from your Principal:
Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year at Madison Avenue Elementary! As your new MAE principal, I promise to intentionally cultivate growth through meaningful learning experiences, collaborative relationships, and maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for all students. We have been busy planning instruction and events that will cultivate a year to Sprout, Grow, and Bloom. Just as every garden begins with small seeds full of potential, each of our students arrives with unique talents, dreams, and abilities ready to develop and shine. We will encourage our students to sprout by using their natural curiosity to build strong academic foundations and develop new friendships. Our students will be encouraged to grow through hard work, collaboration and perseverance. Finally, we will celebrate progress and achievements as our students bloom into confident and productive learners.
Please join us on Sunday, July 26th, for a Prayer Walk and Popsicles with Principals. This come and go event will be from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. I look forward to visiting with new and familiar friends and families. You will have an opportunity to leave encouraging notes for teachers and staff members. This is also an opportunity to meet our new Assistant Principal, Mr. Cody Logan. Thank you for being an important part of our school family. We cannot wait to see how our students will Sprout, Grow, and Bloom at MAE!
Growing together,
Brande Winstead
Classroom Placements will be available in ActiveParent on July 21st at 3pm.
Meet the Teacher is Tuesday, July 28th from 4:30-6:30:
Please plan to drop off your school supplies and meet your teacher. The school supply lists can be found on our school website. If you preordered an EPI KIT for your school supplies, they will be delivered to your child's classroom.
Soft Start Information for Kindergarten Students:
Madison County Schools will do a soft start for kindergarten students only. This means only kindergarten students with last names that begin with the letters A-L will attend on Thursday, July 30th. Only kindergarten students with last names that begin with the letters M-Z will attend school on Friday, July 31st. All MAE kindergarten students will attend for the first time together on Monday, August 3rd.
All 1st & 2nd graders will begin on Thursday, July 30th.
Parents Walking in their Child for the First Day of School:
Parents may park in the front lot and walk their child in on July 30th and/or July 31st for their first day of school. If you would like to walk your child in, please do so between 7:30 and 7:45. This prevents parents and students from walking between our cars dropping off in our front loop from 7:00-7:30.
Morning Arrival:
All students may begin entering our building at 7:00 a.m. Our tardy bell rings each morning at 7:30 a.m. Please arrive in
plenty of time for your student to enter our building before that bell rings. Students who are tardy even by a few minutes miss out on important classroom rituals and routines that set the stage for a great day of learning. Students who are tardy will need an adult to escort them into the front
office and sign them in.
Car Rider Procedures:
We have 2 car rider lines. The front of our building is for all students who do not have siblings at Madison Avenue Upper Elementary (MAUE). The MAUE car rider line is ONLY for those families with siblings at both schools. Please use the inside right lane of the MAUE car rider line when dropping off or picking up children at both schools. If you do not have siblings at both schools, please do not enter through the MAUE carpool line. Extra cars in that line cause traffic issues for both schools.
Dismissal:
Dismissal begins at 2:25. We begin dismissal procedures 10 minutes early each day for the first 2 weeks of school to give us plenty of time to practice procedures and ensure that each student is in the correct line.
Car Rider ID cards:
MAE students will be issued new car rider ID numbers this year. Each family is assigned a number and provided with 2 ID cards at our Meet the Teacher Event. These cards should be displayed in the front right car windshield and serve as identification for pick up. If a child is to be picked up by someone without an ID card, they must park and report to the front office and show proper identification. Please help your child learn their ID number so that our car rider lines can run as quickly as possible.
Transportation Changes:
Check-outs from the front office must be made prior to 2:00 each afternoon or before 11:00 on early dismissal days. If you have any last-minute transportation changes for afternoon pickup, please call the front office at 601-856-2951 before 1:30. You may also send a note in your child’s folder. Please do not depend on Remind messages or email for last-minute transportation changes.
Summer Work Packets:
Summer Work Packets are due on Friday, August 7th. All students that complete their entire work packet (including any reading logs) will receive a special treat from their teacher. Extra copies of the work packet are available in our front office.
Medication:
Students are not allowed to transport any medication to and from school. Please contact Nurse Lizzie Brown with any information or questions regarding medications at school, specific health issues and/or allergies.
Fees:
The Activity Fee is $45.00 per student and can be paid on MySchoolBucks.com at the Meet the Teacher event or after. The Activity Fee covers workbooks and other consumables, Raz-Kids, Scholastic News, and supplies for holiday & grade-level events. This fee also covers field trip expenses.
The Device Fee is $10.00 per student. Device Fees can also be paid on MySchoolBucks.com. The Device Fee covers the iPad for K and 1st grade students and the Chromebook for 2nd graders.
Lunch Money:
Students may bring lunch from home or eat in the cafeteria. More information will be sent at the beginning of school. Funds can be added to student accounts at myschoolbucks.com in July. Parents will need their child’s MSIS number, which will be given out at Meet the Teacher.
T-Shirts for Sale!!
Click the link to pre-order this back-to-school shirt! All orders received by July 17th will be available for pick-up at Meet the Teacher night!! https://mae.shopbandwagon.com/.
YARD SIGNS FOR SALE:
Share your school spirit! JAG yard signs are available on the PTO website. Order with a PTO Membership or separately and pick up at Meet the Teacher!
PARTNERS-IN-EDUCATION
Do you own a business or work for a company that desires to plug in to the local schools? Your business could be featured on signs, banners, and newsletters! Visit the PTO website or email Amanda Gann to learn more!
Thank you for supporting our schools!
PTO MEMBERSHIP:
Have you joined the PTO yet?
Benefits vary at each level. Top tier membership includes recognition in the JagBlast,
JAG yard sign, MAE decal, and 5 raffle tickets for the Spring Fundraiser!
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO JOIN, VISIT https://www.maepto.com/join-pto
Upcoming PTO Meeting
Want to get involved with MAE PTO but don’t know where to start?!?
Join us for our first PTO meeting of the year on August 5th at 7:45 a.m. in the MAE Cafeteria.
Madison Avenue Elementary
1199 Madison Avenue
Madison, MS 39110
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