Mineola Independent School District

Happy Friday everyone! Based on the recent data trends relating to COVID-19, face coverings will become optional for all students and staff beginning on Monday, March 29th for all operations within the school district. Temperature checks will no longer be required at the beginning and middle of the day. All COVID testing and positivity rates will continue to be monitored closely as we conclude the 2020-2021 school year. Staff, Students, Parents, and Community Members, we can't stay "Thank You" enough for your willingness to be cooperative and work with us throughout the school year. Let's finish strong! Our best always, Cody Mize Superintendent of Schools

Raising money for a good cause and having fun in the process. Big shout out to these Primary School students for all of their help with Jump Rope for Heart and Mrs. Coach Bowker for being a good sport!

We are proud of our UIL journalism team that won 1st in district UIL Academic competition on Monday, March 22! Left to right... Taylor Ihlenfleldt - Senior Feature Writing - 5th place Luz Tinajero - Junior Feature Writing - 3rd place News Writing - 2nd place Ali Jordan - Sophomore Feature Writing - 1st place Editorial Writing - 3rd place New Writing - 1st place Vanessa Veloz - Sophomore Editorial Writing - 2nd place News Writing - 4th place Headline - 2nd place They will compete at SFA Regionals April 18th.

It Is Back! Special thanks to the City of Mineola and all of the wonderful volunteers that make Mineola a great community to raise a family. #Mineola #UnionPacific #minitrain

We are thankful for the relationships we have built in our Health Science Program at Mineola High School. Two of our seniors who are pursuing careers in nursing, receive hands on practicum training with our friends at Grace Community Healthcare Ministry. #CTE #Healthcare

The Lady Jackets softball game has been rescheduled to tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 6:00 p.m.. The Varsity Baseball team will play the Quitman Bulldogs tonight at 7:00 p.m. at home in a key District matchup. Come out and enjoy!

Check out these great events sponsored by the Mineola FFA Chapter! Mark your calendar now and join us. #CTE #MineolaFFA

Mineola Elementary School and the Mineola Rotary Club are joining forces to bring the EarlyAct FirstKnight Program to students starting next school year. This revolutionary character and ethics educational program will share the Rotary tradition of “Service Above Self” through the visually captivating theme of knightly heroes. This program was grant funded through our friends at the Meredith Foundation. We are so excited to see the impact this will have on our kids as we build a culture of service to others and leadership development for our students at Mineola Elementary. (In the picture, Elementary Counselor, Carrie Gonzalez speaks to the Mineola Rotary Club at their recent meeting on Monday, March 22, 2021)

This is a great testimony of the efforts by our students and staff even in the midst of a global pandemic. Good luck to all of our students participating in UIL activities down the stretch. Let’s make a final push towards the top!

The following students will attend the FCCLA State Leadership conference on April 7-10. Sunni Ruffin- FCCLA State Vice President of Peer Involvement. Sydney VanCleave and Zoe Goodson- Promote and Publicize Mira Stamper- Career Investigation Presley Harris and Rebecca Hughes- Chapter Service Project Display

Mineola ISD Police Department’s K9 Thor has received donation of body armor Mineola ISD Police Department’s K9 Thor has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Thor’s vest was sponsored by Lisa Yagle of Quaker Hill, CT and embroidered with the sentiment “Honoring those who served and sacrificed”. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and NIJ certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 4,210 vests to K9s in all 50 states at a value of $6.9 million, made possible by both private and corporate donations. The program is open to U.S. dogs that are at least 20 months old and actively employed and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. accepts tax-deductible contributions in any amount, while a single donation of $960 will sponsor one vest. Each vest has a value of $1,744-$2,283, weighs an average of 4-5 lb., and comes with a five-year warranty. For more information, or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call 508-824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail your contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

Good afternoon everyone! Join us tonight for our District Opener for Yellowjacket Baseball vs. Winona. Tickets may be purchased online only at the following link. https://secure.payk12.com/school/Mineola-HS-/606/item/192830 In the promo code, enter Student or Adult for a discount. Let’s pack the stands and show our support. Thank y’all!

Good evening everyone, On Tuesday, Governor Abbott addressed the state in regards to a variety of issues impacting Texas citizens. As you know, the Governor has lifted the state mandate that face masks are to be worn and also allowed Texas businesses to be open at 100% capacity. However, if hospitalizations exceed 15% for 7 straight days in a Trauma Region and the County Judge of a county impacted by this hospitalization rate imposes COVID mitigation strategies, this would allow the Governor's order to be adjusted at the local level to meet the areas need. The big question for many of us became, "How will our school district handle this situation going forward?" First, let me acknowledge this. We all have a variety of opinions on what we believe to be the truth regarding face coverings. Despite how you personally feel about this issue, my hope is that even if this decision doesn't line up with your personal thoughts or "how you would do it", that you would continue to be supportive of the District as we move forward to finish out the school year. Let me brag on our kids and staff really quick. Since day one, we have had 98% of our kids on campus receiving face-to-face instruction. After the 1st 9 Weeks Grading Period, we moved to 99% of our kids on campus receiving face-to-face instruction. We continued to support and meet the needs of the 1% that was in need of Remote Instruction based on a Medical Exemption. Throughout this school year, we were blessed to never have been required to close the doors for instruction at any point due to the pandemic. This is due to great parent and community support, great kids, and a lot of fantastic Mineola ISD employees that delivered on the processes and procedures day in and day out. The Board of Trustees have been so supportive during this time for allocation of additional funds, support of our employees in regard to local policies, and their trust in District leadership to lead during a difficult time. Commissioner Morath and all of the folks at the Texas Education Agency have been extremely helpful as well and always just a phone call or email away. My recommendation to the Board of Trustees will be the following: Face masks and all COVID-19 protocols will be followed exactly as they have been done this school year for two weeks following Spring Break. On Monday, March 29th, if COVID case counts remain low and COVID testing remains low, the District will allow for face masks to become optional for both students and employees. Here are a few thoughts behind this recommendation. 1.) All surges in cases have come after a break in the academic schedule. Continuing to follow our COVID-19 protocols will allow us to practice mitigation against the trends we have seen with COVID. 2.) School employees have been approved for the COVID-19 vaccine. This allows us more time to get those wanting a vaccine that opportunity. We are currently working with a local health care provider to make sure that all employees that want a vaccine can get a vaccine. The vaccine is always optional for our employees and will never be mandatory. 3.) Governor Abbott's "Save Our Seniors" Initiative should allow for every senior in our community that wants a vaccine to be able to receive a vaccine by the end of the month of March according to his speech on Tuesday. 4.) COVID case counts and student testing have plummeted at Mineola ISD. Last week, the District tested 8 students with possible symptoms of COVID and all tests were Negative. This week, the District tested 3 students and all tests were Negative as well. 5.) No one is mandating that you have to stop wearing a mask. One of the great gifts that God gave us is the ability to use wisdom and make personal decisions impacting our health. We do this all of the time in local grocery stores, restaurants, other shopping areas, and family events. Let me say this in closing, we will continue to monitor this situation very closely. The last thing that we want is for our kids to miss classroom instruction, extracurricular events, or end of year activities due to quarantine or getting sick, but I believe this to be the best path to help move us to a "new" normal sooner. As always, I thank you for your continued support through challenging times. Please don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email if I can answer any questions for you. I hope that you and your family have a great Spring Break. Our best, Cody Mize Superintendent of Schools

This morning we had the privilege to host our 2nd Annual Appreciation Breakfast for the Meredith Foundation Board Members. Did you know that the Meredith Foundation has granted over $6.5 million dollars to Mineola ISD since 1966? Interesting Facts: - The first grant made in 1966 was for $575.00 to purchase a piano. - Since the year 2000, the Meredith Foundation has awarded close to $500,000 in scholarships for graduating seniors. We have a lot to be thankful for at Mineola ISD because of the generosity of Mr. Meredith and those that serve as stewards of the generous gift left behind for future generations. Thanks again!

We know that many of you have questions concerning Governor Abbott’s end to the mask mandate in Texas that will take effect next Wednesday, March 10th, 2021. I will be participating in a conference call Thursday afternoon with the Texas Education Agency to get more information concerning how this impacts school districts across the state. The District will release a statement on Friday, March 5th with any updated COVID protocols. Thanks again for all of your support throughout this school year. Cody Mize Superintendent of Schools

We are so proud of this group of young men and coaches. Congratulations on a great season.

Let’s put a timer on that Saturday afternoon nap and come out and support these guys as they head out to Hallsville. Line up and down Patten Street at 3:10 p.m.. Let’s go Jackets!

How about some really positive news to start your weekend? This week at Mineola ISD, we only tested eight individuals for COVID-19 and ALL were negative. We currently have 100% of our staff and students that have experienced COVID back at school. We also have zero active cases currently in the District. For the latest information, continue to visit our COVID Dashboard on the Mineola ISD Website. Have a great weekend everyone!

We would like to thank our partners at Wood County Electric for taking the time to come explain the fundamentals of electricity and safety to our HVAC and welding students!

Our Mineola Primary students had a great time visiting the petting zoo sponsored by our amazing MISD At students today!