Week of September 1, 2025
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
As we arrive at Labor Day weekend, everyone gets to enjoy a brief pause and breath before we jump into what is always a very full month in September. One of the events on the calendar for next month is the Parent-Teacher Connection Day. This will take place on Wednesday, September 17 and will be a day off for students. The entire day (with hours altered to be 11a-6:30p to try to better facilitate meetings for parents whose schedules are not very flexible) is set aside for families to connect with our staff. General classroom teachers will be sending out sign-ups for conferences on this day through ParentSquare tomorrow morning at 10a. These will be filled on a first-come basis and the meetings can be held in person, by video, or by phone. Just be sure the teacher knows what your prefer. Our related arts teachers, special education teacher, and specialists will also be available if you would like to connect with them. They will not have sign-ups sent out, but free to reach out to them if you would like to schedule some as they will also have time between any other conferences that they may join.
One of the many fun things that our Kindergarten teachers arrange for our students is Community Helper Week. After thrilling visits from so many other great community partners on previous days, there is some serious excitement for 5 year olds when so of our kind police officer friends show up at once!
I hope everyone enjoys this "fall preview" kind of weather and has a wonderful holiday weekend!
“You can learn something every day if you pay attention.” — Ray LeBlond. |
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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. 1
House Color Spirit Day
Wednesday, Sept. 3
Dress in your house color
FES PTO Skate Party
Wednesday, Sept. 3 @ 6:00-8:30p
Roller Cave (see flyer)
Parent-Teacher Connection Day (NO STUDENTS)
Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 11a-6:30p
Sign-ups to meet with classroom teachers will be on ParentSquare at 10a on 8/30
School pictures are ready!
To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's student ID number.
All families can also log on and order a FREE Digital SmileSafe card.
More about the Smilesafe program here.
Happy Friday!
I had the privilege of eating lunch this week with 1st-4th-grade students who are new to FES this year. We had a blast! Below are reminders and information about various programs at FES.
- In Indiana, Child Abuse Prevention Education is mandated in all public schools. Zoey's Place Child Advocacy Center is providing the child abuse prevention education for Mt. Vernon Community Schools during the 2025-2026 school year. Zoey's Place Child Advocacy Center partners with the Monique Burr Foundation to implement their comprehensive, research-based prevention program called MBF Child/Teen Safety Matters®. Students will participate in an engaging and age and developmentally appropriate classroom lesson that educates and empowers them to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to body safety and digital dangers. A trained facilitator will be implementing the program at MVCSC schools. To learn more about the program visit https://mbfpreventioneducation.org/why-use-our-programs/mbf-child-safety-matters/.
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Here is a link to the virtual parent information meeting that occurred on 8/21/2025. Please keep in mind that they did discuss K-12 programming, so for FES, you will want to focus on listening to the K-4 programming.
- Zoey's Place Child Advocacy Center will be visiting Fortville Elementary to educate students on body safety on September 11th and September 12th, 2025. Each presentation will be given in individual/combined classrooms at the elementary level and will last approximately 45-60 minutes. Although not required, each child's attendance in the program is strongly recommended. By working together, we can all play a part in preventing child sexual abuse. Thank you for your partnership in our efforts to keep the children of our community safe. All students at FES participate in the Body Safety lesson. Please contact the school counselor, Caitlin Crecelius, if you do not want your child to participate in the Body Safety lesson to obtain an opt-out form and fill it out by September 9, 2025. Any child who is not participating will be provided with alternate learning activities. If you have questions, please reach out to Caitlin Crecelius, School Counselor, at caitlin.crecelius@mvcsc.k12.in.us or ParentSquare or 317-485-3180 ext. 4112.
- Any student has the ability to request to come talk/meet with me. This week I went into all classrooms to explain where my office is located and how students can get a hold of me.
Upcoming events:
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1st Quarter Classroom Lesson: Bullying Prevention
- 4th Grade Lessons: 9/4-9/10
- 3rd Grade Lessons: 9/15-9/19
- 2nd Grade Lessons: 9/22-9/26
- 1st Grade Lessons: 9/29-10/3
- Kindergarten Lessons: 10/6-10/10
- Week of September 8th: Body Safety Presentations
- September 11th: 1st and 2nd grade presentations
- September 12th: Kindergarten, 3rd and 4th grade presentations
House Points Update
These students were called to the Success Slide 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
The grassy area around the Learning Tree in the library, which I have affectionately named “The Yard,” is the most popular place students choose to sit and read after checking out books each week. It’s been so fun to watch students use this space! Enjoy these photos!
"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 leave coverage teachers.
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 our building (this is separate from any other MV buildings). FES Volunteer Background Check Form
At MV, we have all of our instructional staff trained on TBRI, and we now have a Parent Resource Hub available to our families to access at any time.
Webinars on support and advocacy for parents of High ability students. https://nagc.org/page/webinars
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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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