MISD Laptop Deployment

If your student is still in need of technology, there will be another laptop deployment.
 Location:  MISD Stadium
Date:  Wednesday, April 1
Time:  10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

MISD Grab & Go Meals

MISD Digital Teaching and Learning Plan

Dear MISD Parents and Guardians, 
We are committed to ensuring that all MISD students have some continuity of instruction during this time that we are not physically in schools. Teachers are in the process of transitioning to digital teaching and learning. To provide consistency of experiences, we wanted you to know the expectations that we have set for this work. Please see below for important components of our digital teaching and learning plan. If you have technical difficulties during digital learning, please contact your student’s teacher.   
Learning Management Systems: 
  • Students in grade PK-2 will use SeeSaw as their learning platform.
  • Students in grades 3-12 will use Canvas as their learning platform.
  • Students will access both platforms through the McKinney ISD Single Sign-On (SSO) link, https://sso.mckinneyisd.net/.
  • A parent support site, MISD Parent e-Learning Resources, has also been created to assist families.
Grading and Attendance: 
  • Grades will not be taken for any work when digital learning begins on March 30th.
  • Grading for the 4th Quarter will be determined at a later date depending upon how long we are not physically in school.
  • Procedures for taking attendance are still to be determined.
Assignments and Teacher Support: 
  • Teachers will give students feedback through the Learning Management System as appropriate.
  • Teachers will keep these virtual office hours at a minimum - logged onto a Learning Management System and/or available by email during school days at the following times:
    • Mondays and Wednesdays - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
    • Tuesdays and Thursdays - 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
    • This time can be used for individual tutoring, RTI, parent communication, and other forms of student support.  
    • Fridays will be used for continued planning of instruction, collaborative team meetings or other professional duties. 
  • Teachers will connect with students by video or voice - webcasts, audio recorded PowerPoints, reading to students, etc. a minimum of twice a week.
  • Teachers can set up online sessions at a certain time, i.e. ZOOM meetings. However, they will not require students to participate at a specific time. The sessions will be recorded so that students can access them at any time.
Learning and Instructional Time: 
  • Teachers will follow the district curriculum scope and sequence. They will pick up where they were when we left for spring break on March 6th. 
  • 3rd-5th grade GT students will follow their normal ALPHA schedule so that they continue to receive instruction from the GT teachers.
  • The expected amount of time to spend is as follows:
    • PK-Elementary - 10-15 minutes per content per day plus activities from the MISD Enrichment@home website, which will be provided on March 23rd
    • Secondary - 25-30 minutes per class per day
Digital Learning: 
  • For video conferencing, follow these best practices:
    • Ensure that your background is as clear as possible;
    • Use earphones, if available;
    • Adhere to the District’s Acceptable Use Policy.

MISD Enrichment@Home is LIVE!

The MISD Enrichment@Home website now available online. Please go to https://www.mckinneyisd.net/ for more details!!
Dowell Digital Resources
**UPDATED to include information on student gmail and Brain Break resources!
Although students are currently on an extended Spring Break from March 16-20, please check out the Digital Resources available to our students. These are some great online resources that are available to our Lions during the school year, as well. And need a great new book to read? Look for the section "Online Book Resources" in the Dowell Library Catalog to find some great new reads and check them out through Sora, the MISD Digital Library. 

Yearbooks ~ 2019-2020: Order Online CLICK HERE Online Order ID #JM2U4A

Registration Information: 2020-2021

2020-2021 MISD Physical Exams ~ 16 - 22 April

Picture
Immunizations Information
The Care Van offers FREE vaccines to children who are uninsured, have Medicaid, are American Indian or Alaskan Native or who have private insurance that does not cover vaccines. Infants to 18 years of age. 

Vaccinations Needed for 7th Grade
  • Dtap (Tetanus/Diptheria/Pertussis? Booster
  • Meningococcal vaccination
These vaccinations are usually given at age 11 during your child’s well visit. Contact your healthcare provider to see if your child needs the required immunizations. Please send proof of the vaccinations to the school clinic.  You can send in a hard copy or email/fax the shot record to (469) 302-6701.  

School Report Card

Picture
Linked below you will find a copy of the State of Texas 2016–17 School Report Card for Ruth Dowell Middle School. This is a report required by the Texas Legislature and prepared by the Texas Education Agency. The report provides information concerning student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®), as well as information on student enrollment, class size averages, and financial expenditures.  A more complete report about Ruth Dowell Middle School, the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), is also available.
​School Report Card (SRC)  SRC Definitions
Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR)
http://www.mckinneyisd.net/about-misd/campus-directory/

Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures

  • Students not riding buses should be dropped off in the front of the building and doors open for the school at 8:15 a.m. The back parking lot is for MISD buses only from 8:00-8:30 am. 
  • There are 2 entry lanes at the front of the school next to each other. The right lane is for dropping students off.  Please be patient and read/respect the signs posted to help understand the procedures.  The left lane is for vehicles going to the south parking lot or exiting onto Ridge Road. For the safety of our students we ask that you never cut into the right lane from the left lane and that you never unload students from the left lane. 
  • After 8:30 am, parents are welcome to drop students off in the back. 
  • The procedure will be the same after school with 2 lanes and we ask that no cars enter the back parking lot until buses have left. Please see the above directions for maneuvering through the drop off/pick up lanes in the front.
  • Vehicles exiting from the front or back of the building will be directed to turn right only on to Ridge Road. 
  • Please be careful and watch for students walking in front of your car.
  • As it gets closer to 8:45 am the traffic increases, so please try to arrive earlier for more convenience and a shorter wait.
  • Be courteous to one another and help us keep our Dowell community safe!

Box Tops for Education 

​Clipping Box Tops is an easy way for you to help our school earn cash.  Our school receives two checks from the Box Tops for Education™ program each school year based on the box tops we submit.  Hurry, clip your Box Tops and turn them in to the office.  Thanks for your help!  

Tardy Policy

Our goal at Dowell Middle School is to maximize learning time. One of the ways we do this is by establishing a standard of students' arrival in the classroom. When a student arrives late to class, we call this "tardy”.
This year we are using a new communication tool, which will email a parent each time the student is tardy to a class. The tardy count resets each quarter.
Policy :
·         First Unexcused Tardy is a warning
·         Second Unexcused Tardy is a 30 minute after-school detention
·         Third Unexcused Tardy is a hour after-school detention
·         Fourth Unexcused Tardy is a two hour after-school detention
·         Five or more Unexcused Tardies per quarter, are a three hour after-school detention each occurrence
* All detentions are served on Thursday afternoons

Helpful Links
web counter
web counter
as of 02/09/2017
web counter
web counter