Marion County Schools

Closing out a busy second day with our new Marion County Schools teachers for 2023-24 at the New Teacher Induction as they met more support members from our P.O.W.E.R team.

Packed house and P.O.W.E.R-ful supports for Marion County Schools new teachers for 2023-24 at the 2-day academy, hosted at Pierpont. In addition to meeting our team, they learned of collaborations with Fairmont State and Pierpont as they embark on Year 1 in teaching in MCS.

Celebrating our students and their hard work on so many levels. Marion County Schools FFA and members of Marion County 4H livestock show were busy tonight. They put in endless hours raising, grooming, and showing livestock at the Mannington Fair this week.

Meet the Marion County Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year Gia Deasy, who was recognized with the award tonight. Congratulations for your honor and your lifetime impact on the students of Marion County Schools and our communities.

Excited to start this new journey for new teachers in Marion County Schools with P.O.W.E.R. at the 2023-2024 Marion County Schools New Teacher Induction Academy this Thursday and Friday at Pierpont Community and Technical Center.

Maximizing co-teaching model in with special educators working alongside regular educators to meet student needs. Dr. Flakes leads teams from MCS, including administrators and regular and special educators in best practices during the final day of the Special Education Academy.

MCS Families: Students entering 7th & 12th grades for 2023-24 are required to have the Tdap & meningitis vaccines to return on the first day of school or to participate in summer practices/activities. Students may not attend school without proper verification of vaccines. PreK, K, 2nd, 7th, and 12th grades are required to show proof of Health and Dental exams. Please send documents to your child’s school as soon as possible. ALSO, state law requires that any student who has Emergency Medications ordered must have the medication administration form AND the medication available at school or the student may not attend school. Ensure these are given to the school nurse.

The 3rd Annual Carl Hopkins Expo takes place August 11 and 12, 10 AM to 5 PM, at The Bridge Sports Complex. There will be hands-on learning experiences in free flight, control line, remote control model aviation, drones, rocketry, simulators and more.

Trevor Mersin, practicing special educator and Ready, Aim, Teach trainer, leads teachers, substitutes and CTRs through an exercise on breaking down standards, creating learning targets, and strategies to teach the skills at middle school level at MCS Special Education Academy.

Marion County Schools says thank you to brave current and former service members wounded or killed in action while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces on August 7, Purple Heaet Day. The Purple Heart is the oldest military medal, established by George Washington in 1782.

Dr. James Ball, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, opens Marion County Schools Special Education Academy with special educators and principals today. He has been in the field for over 35 years providing behavioral services to children and training to educators who work with them.

Reading Instruction: It's not just for elementary grades! Discussing high yield strategies for a literacy focus in Marion County Schools to drive student achievement in reading district-wide, Don Marlott presents Designing Literacy Focused Schools to principals for K through 12.

HEARING, SPEECH/LANGUAGE, & VISION SCREENING TO BE CONDUCTED IN SCHOOLS The Special Education Department of Marion County Schools will be conducting hearing, speech/language, and vision screening during the 2023-2024 school year. Students enrolled in Marion County Universal Pre-K and students enrolled in kindergarten will participate if previous screening results are not available. Referrals from teachers and parents, students entering West Virginia schools for the first time, and children failing previous screening will also be screened. The purpose of the screening is for early identification of possible hearing, speech/language, and/or vision problems that could adversely affect a child academic progress. Following screening, parents will be informed of the results as quickly as possible. If further assessment is necessary, testing results and recommendations will be sent to the parents within 30 days. Hearing screening will consist of pure tone testing (assessment of auditory acuity) and impedance testing (assessment of middle ear function). Procedures for the pure tone test will consist of a child listening to three frequencies in each ear and responding by raising his/her hand upon hearing the sound. Impedance tests require no response from the child because all measurements of middle ear function will be made by instruments. Speech/language screening will consist of naming pictures, following directions, and answering questions. Vision screening will consist of HOTV for distance acuity and PlusOptix digital screening machine. Parents who object to their child being screened for hearing, speech/language, or vision problems during the 2023-2024 school year should notify, in writing, Dr. Hare, Supervisor of Pupil Services, Marion County Schools, 1516 Mary Lou Retton Dr., Fairmont, WV 26554, within 10 days of the publication.

DOLLY DAY: The WVDE and the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) will celebrate Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) Day – Dolly Day – on August 9, 2023, as part of read-alouds around the state. The June Harless Center is helping coordinate and promote Dolly Day events which will feature a read-aloud of the book Find Fergus. This DPIL book is on the shelves of hundreds of thousands of children around the world. The Mannington Public Library is participating 10:00am and 1:00pm. More info at lcason@mcpls.org.

🚨 Student Schokarshios: Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia, Inc. (YCF) offers a variety of scholarships to help students acquire a post-secondary education. Some scholarships are designated for graduating seniors of certain schools or those who reside in certain counties. Others are awarded for specific fields of study such as music, veterinary practice or engineering. Currently, most scholarships are based in part on financial need, academic achievement, and leadership qualities. Visit https://ycfwv.org/scholarships/ to learn more and apply for student scholarships offered in Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston and Taylor Counties.

Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia (YCF) Educator Mini-Grants for Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor Counties: This mini-grant program will provide funding to enhance the learning experience for students. Mini-grants of up to $750 will be awarded to educators who need financial assistance with special projects, materials, or classroom resources that are not covered by school/central office sources or other means. Applications are due September 25, 2023, by 11:59 pm. Apply and learn more at https://ycfwv.org/ycf-educator-mini-grants/

🚨Scholarship opportunity: The Vivek Ramaswamy American Identity Scholarship is a $25,000 scholarship that will be given to 10 students who best answer the question “What does it mean to be an American?” in a two-minute video. The 10 winners will be selected by a panel of judges to each receive a $25,000 scholarship for post-secondary education (college or technical/vocational school), entrepreneurial endeavors, or their commitment to serve in the military or law enforcement. Students (9th - 12th) can submit their two-minutes video here: https://woobox.com/pgw4uc Deadline is Friday, August 18 at 9PM Eastern Winners will be announced in late-September 2023 (shortly after the start of the new school year).

Gearing up and executing our POWER as middle school special education teachers attend the Reading Horizons training at East Fairmont High School today and tomorrow to help students achieve their potential in reading.

What a P.O.W.E.R-ful last two days at the Marion County Schools Principals Academy where school leaders delved into their Professionalism, Optimism, Wonder, Engagement, Rigor in leadership style of Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. In this hero journey, they learned of updates, strategies to help students of trauma be resilient, financial accountability, forming school literacy teams, and unifying our district.

MCS Families: Students entering 7th & 12th grades for 2023-24 are required to have the Tdap & meningitis vaccines to return on the first day of school or to participate in summer practices/activities. Students may not attend school without proper verification of vaccines. PreK, K, 2nd, 7th, and 12th grades are required to show proof of Health and Dental exams. Please send documents to your child’s school as soon as possible. ALSO, state law requires that any student who has Emergency Medications ordered must have the medication administration form AND the medication available at school or the student may not attend school. Ensure these are given to the school nurse.