Week of September 2, 2024
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
It was another good week to start the year, and I have seen a lot of signs this week that we are really hitting our stride. Thank you to our parents and students in the AM car rider line as this week ran much better. :) I want to take some extra time this week to provide some information and explanation for an important upcoming date.
We are excited to invite all of our parents into our building for the upcoming Parent/Teacher Connection Day on September 18. The school board approved this day as a no student day dedicated to connecting with parents. At the elementary level, we plan on using the entire work day (11a-6:30p) for conferences. Our staff values great collaboration and communication with parents, and this event will allow for some irreplaceable face-to-face time. However, with 782 students and 35 homeroom teachers, there is a lot to coordinate. In that vein, we will need to keep to a pretty tight schedule throughout the day in order to allow every family some time to meet with each teacher, so we ask for your assistance in that regard. Please plan ahead to be able to arrive at the building and walk a few minutes to the classroom to start on schedule, and if you have further questions or areas to discuss beyond the allotted time, I would encourage you to set up an additional time to chat on the phone, etc. with our teachers. We do apologize in advance, but we will not be able to guarantee that parents with multiple children in our building will be able to schedule time slots in close proximity. We understand that it could make for inefficient or difficult schedules for some parents, so I want to share the sign-up process with you so you will know what to expect.
At 10a on Saturday, August 31st, every homeroom teacher has a scheduled message to go out on ParentSquare that will have an Appointment Sign-up for conferences linked. You will need a ParentSquare account. Remember, every MV parent has an account assigned to the email address provided as Family 1 in the registration process, so you just need to sign-in and finish setting up the account if you haven't already. You will be able to see what spots are available and sign up. This will be done on a first-come basis; however, I would suggest that if you don't have multiple children to coordinate times for and/or you have a lot of flexibility in your schedule, you may want to wait a couple of days before signing up so that those who have more scheduling difficulties will have more slots available to them. To help with making this work for everyone, our teachers will offer to hold a video chat or phone call conference with any parents who are unable or prefer not to come to the building in person for the conference. Please communicate your specific preference directly with the teacher if you will not be coming in person or let them know if you are unable to sign-up online, and they can let you know what times slots remain. Also, our related arts teachers will be available during the day if you would like to meet with one of them, but they will not be conducting the same kind of appointment sign-up. Please contact them directly if you would like to set something up.
We will not have our normal building visitor sign-in process on that day. Rather, you will be able to enter through Doors 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, or 17 and can go directly to your student's classroom. We look forward to a great day of connecting parents and teachers over the start of the school year for our students and what lies ahead of us.
Happy Labor Day weekend!|
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe |
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Reporting Absences
Please assist us by being sure to call our office at 317-485-3180 or email elizabeth.thomas@mvcsc.k12.in.us if your student is going to be absent. With state reporting, we have to assign specific codes for every absence, and it saves our office staff a lot of time each day if we don’t have to call to follow-up on students that are marked absent by their teachers. And please be sure to provide the documentation required for qualifying absences to be marked as excused in a timely manner.
MV Absence Policy Infographic
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Important Dates
Labor Day (No school)
Monday, Sept. 2
FES PTO Skating Party
Sept. 4th @ 6-8:30p at The Roller Cave
FES PTO Pizza with Pals
Sept. 13th @ 5-6:00p on FES South Playground
Parent/Teacher Connection Day (No school)
Wednesday, Sept. 18
(see the PS message from homeroom teacher
sent at 10a on 8/31 to sign-up for a time slot)
Food Services is interested in gauging some student and parent ideas and interest in the menus via a Google Survey. The link can be found below.
Happy Long Weekend!
All classes participated in the Body Safety Program presentations this past Thursday/Friday. Thank you to all the students and staff who helped this program run smoothly! Below are some reminders from my office:
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Fortville Area Resource Mission (FARM) provides weekend food bags to families who are in financial need of getting more food. If you would like to sign up for this, please use this link.
- Please note that by signing up for this, you are agreeing that your student will bring these bags home weekly, in their backpacks.
- If you are in need of connecting with any financial assistance - including how to apply for Free and Reduced Lunches - please reach out and I can see what resources FES can share.
- Any student can request to talk/meet with me. All teachers have a "Let's Talk" form in their classrooms that students can fill out and put in the red mailbox outside my office. Once I get a paper, I meet with the student as soon as possible.
Upcoming events:
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1st Quarter Classroom Lesson: Bullying Prevention
- 8/26-9/6: Kindergarten Bullying Prevention Lesson
FES Staff Favorite Vacation:- Mrs. Montgomery's (Kindergarten Teacher, Yellow House) favorite vacation place is going out west to national parks to hike!
These students were called down to the cafeteria on Friday to be recognized for something from the week (being a great helper, working hard, demonstrating growth in a skill, etc.) Thanks for being valuable contributors to our Viking community!
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MV Reads: News from the Library
Mrs. Jennifer Leavell, FES Teacher Librarian
This week in the library, kindergarten students are talking about the main character of a book and identifying the parts of a library book. First grade students are discussing how to choose good-fit books while students in grades 2-5 are getting a preview of the 2024-2025 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees.
Families—Please make sure student water bottles are closed tightly in backpacks with library books. We are already seeing several water-damaged books being returned this school year, and more often than not, those books have too much damage to go back on the shelves. If library books can fit into a gallon-sized plastic bag, that might be a good way to ensure they stay dry in a backpack. Thank you for your help with this!
"Be a Substitute Teacher" and MV Employment
Fortville Elementary is a great place to work, and we would love to have you join our team. You can apply on the MV Employment website. We are currently looking for a High Intensity Instructional Assistant.
And we always need substitute teachers! Subs apply through Kelly Education Services (information below).
- To learn more or apply for substitute teacher positions at Mt. Vernon, please contact Kelly Education by completing this Inquiry Form and a recruiter will follow up with you. For questions, please call 800-991-5157, option 2.
- Kelly Services will guide the applicant how to obtain a substitute permit issued by the Indiana Department of Education (~$17) and a background check (~$28).
- Kelly Services will then share a short orientation video that will show you how to choose the jobs of your choice at Mt. Vernon and how to see the incentive offers.
Help Support FES Year-round
Help our school get a share of the money that many of America’s best companies are giving to K-12 education. SchoolStore.com is an online shopping mall where over 400 merchants have agreed to give a percentage of every sale to schools. This includes companies like Walmart, Best Buy, Old Navy, Kohl’s, etc. Just go to the website and then to the merchant websites you normally order from and help us earn rewards. The SchoolStore fundraiser is 100% online so there is NO face-to-face selling, handling money, or delivering products.
Go to https://www.schoolstore.net/sid.t?0000177219 to sign up. If you have questions about how to participate, reach out to our office. Once you are registered, invite family, friends and co-workers to support your child and our school.
Parent Resources
To be a chaperone on a field trip or to volunteer in the classroom regularly, you must have a clear background check from the current school year on file with the district. MVCSC Volunteer Background Check Form
Webinars on support and advocacy for parents of High ability students. https://nagc.org/page/webinarsFrom the Technology Department: We're excited to remind you about the valuable partnership between Mt. Vernon Schools and Qustodio! This collaboration provides you with insights into your child's online activities and allows you to manage certain aspects of their school-issued devices at home.
For more details, please check out the recent ParentSquare post from this week.
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Walkathon info coming soon!
The FES PTO spirit wear store is always open to help with your FES and MV apparel desires.
LINK for Fortville Elementary Designs LINK for MV Designs
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