Week of February 24, 2025
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
It ended up as a short week that might not have felt like it. Thankfully we have seen lower rates of illness for students and staff, so thank you for helping us out by being sure to follow the guidelines for when to keep a student home. There will be a lot of activity in the next 3 weeks before spring break, so hopefully we can stay more free from sickness for that stretch. Please note that this Tuesday, 2/25 is our Spring Picture Day. We will be taking group photos for clubs/teams and only new students (since October) and any students whose parents have ordered pictures in advance will be getting pictures taken. Enjoy the weekend!
“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem." -- Thomas Szasz |
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District Science Resource Adoption
Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is considering the adoption of new science textbooks and resources for the upcoming school year. A science textbook adoption committee has come to a consensus on recommending the below resources for district science courses. Parents and community members may preview the resources in the administration building's main office between the hours of 8:30am-3:30pm until March 10th. The school corporation intends to seek board approval to purchase the resources at the March 10, 2025 school board meeting.
The committee is recommending Generation Genius an online supplemental resource for grades K-6. More information can be found at https://www.generationgenius.com/.
The committee is recommending McGraw-Hill’s Actively Learn Science an online supplemental resource for 7th grade science. More information can be found at https://www.activelylearn.com/
The committee is recommending McGraw-Hill’s Inspire Science textbooks for 8th grade science, HS Physics, HS Chemistry, HS ICP (Integrated Chemistry and Physics), and HS Earth/Space.
The committee is recommending Pearson’s College Physics: A Strategic Approach 4e for the HS AP Physics course and Pearson’s Biology in Focus 4e for the HS Biology 101 course.
The district MLL (multi-lingual learner) team is considering adopting English 3D® from HMH as an online resource for MS MLL. More information can be found at https://www.hmhco.com/programs/english-3d. The school corporation intends to seek board approval to purchase the resource at the March 10, 2025 school board meeting.
Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation's novel list committee is considering seeking school board approval for five (5) novels to be added novel list. The novels being requested are; The Wild Robot (3rd grade), The Homework Machine (5th grade), Chains (5th grade), And Then, Boom (6th grade), and Wink (6th grade). Parents and community members may preview the novels in the administration building's main office between the hours of 8:30am-3:30pm until March 10th. The school corporation intends to seek the school board's approval of the novel committee’s recommendation at the March 10, 2025 school board meeting.
Please direct any comments, questions, or concerns to Dr. Scott Shipley at scott.shipley@mvcsc.k12.in.us or 317-485-3100.
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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
Spring Picture Day
Tuesday, February 25th
(see flyer below -- NOTE: only for new students or those who have paid in advance)
School Smiles (Dental) On Site
Monday, March 3rd
(advance sign-up required)
IREAD-3 Testing
2nd Grade -- March 3, 4, and 6
3rd Grade -- March 10-11
(individual and small group testers will be scheduled at various days/times)
Spring Break -- No School
March 17-28
 
Happy Friday!
This week I went into some 1st-grade classes for their classroom lesson. For the lesson, we started with an activity where students stood up if they had ever experienced a situation that I said. For example, 'stand up if you have ever eaten pizza' and 'stand up if you have ever felt lonely'. Then we read a book called, "The Invisible Boy" by Trudy Ludwig. This book gives a visual story of what it looks like to be left out/not noticed. After reading the book, we talked about including others and how when we include others that doesn't mean we don't still have our other friendships.
Next week I will be going into the rest of the 1st-grade classes and into kindergarten classes for their classroom lesson.
Below are reminders from my office:
- MVCSC is now partnering with Indy Hygiene Hub. This organization provides hygiene packs to schools to hand out to students/families. The packs include soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, and deodorant. If you are in need of the items in these packs please reach out to me, Mrs. Crecelius through email or ParentSquare and I can get you connected with a pack.
- If you have gotten a pack and need a refill, please reach out!
- 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.
- As my husband and I look forward to welcoming our first child, I plan to be on maternity leave from Spring break/March 31st through the end of the school year.
Upcoming events:
- Q3: Classroom Lesson - Friendships
- 1st-Grade: 2/20-2/26
- KG: 2/24-2/28
- Q4: Mrs. Crecelius on Maternity Leave
FES Staff Favorite Vacation:- Mrs. Bell's (4th-grade Teacher, Red House) favorite vacation is in Italy!
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
“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” - Emilie Buchwald
There’s magic in reading books aloud to children, especially when you do the voices (you’ve got to do the voices) and they giggle at the pictures and you talk about the characters as if they’re your BFFs. Once kids learn how to read on their own, this parent-child ritual often ends, but it shouldn’t. There are great Benefits of Reading Aloud, even up to age 14.
"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 IA.
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
From 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 this ParentSquare post from earlier this year.
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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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