Week of October 27, 2025
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
We had a good week back from fall break, and I hope you and your families adjusted back to our normal schedule easily despite the drastically chillier mornings. As the weather is changing and will continue to get less hospitable toward outdoor activities, I want to encourage all of our families again that you can always make time for a terrific indoor activity--reading with your child. Whether you enjoy time together by having them listen to you read aloud (and then interact about the story) or have them read to you or take turns reading together, making this a consistent part of the rhythm of your week is so powerful for connection, for language development, for attention stamina, etc.
All 3rd and 4th grade students will be bringing home a small piece of paper with a code on it that is attached to a full page that has an interpretation guide for the state ILEARN Checkpoint reports. The code is what you will need to create an account on the Parent Portal to view state testing results. We will be completing our first checkpoints in the next couple of weeks, and after your child takes completes the test, the results will be available online shortly thereafter. While these Checkpoint tests are only one of many data points, we do pay attention to how students perform on these throughout the year as they are a good indication of their level of proficiency on grade-level standards assessed in a format similar to the summative ILEARN assessments we take in April. Feel free to reach out to your student's teacher or to me if you have questions.
And finally, I want to share a new system we are trying for helping to cut down on the number of Lost and Found items that are never getting found. If your child has lost an item at school so far this year, please take a look at THIS LINK where we have pictures of individual items and a form you can submit if you see an item that you recognize. We will coordinate reuniting the the item with your student rather than waiting for it to be found. A big thanks to Natalie Johnson and Dee Haddix for helping us make this idea happen!
“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer" -- Unknown |
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Hearing Screenings: In accordance with state requirements, these will take place at FES on November 13 for all students in Kdg, 1st grade, and 4th grade as well as for any students who are new to MV. If you would desire to have your child opt-out for any reason or have specific questions related to the screenings, please contact Alicia Pierce (alicia.pierce@mvcsc.k12.in.us).
Parent Committee Members Wanted: MVCSC is forming a social studies curriculum resource adoption committee and is seeking up to three (3) parents to participate in the committee. Interested parents should contact Dr. Edwards (vince.edwards@mvcsc.k12.in.us) by November 3rd. Interested parents must be available to attend ALL committee meetings from 2:40-3:00pm on Nov. 11th, Dec. 9th, Jan. 8th, Jan. 15th, Jan. 27th, Jan. 29th, and Feb. 3rd. All meetings will be at the MVCSC Administrative Offices. Parents who are selected to participate will be notified by November 5th.
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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
Red Ribbon Week
October 27-31 (see flyer below)
Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL)
November 26-28
Happy Friday!
This week, I kicked off my quarter 2 lessons in 4th grade. During quarter 2, the lessons will be focused on career exploration. For 4th grade, students completed a career A-Z challenge worksheet. Students had to think of careers that started with each letter of the alphabet. Afterwards, students completed a form where they reported the top 3 careers they would like to learn more about. Within the next week, I will be sending out a parent square message asking for volunteers of certain careers to come talk to our 4th graders while they eat lunch. Again, more information about this is to come. Next week, I will be going into kindergarten classes for their career exploration lesson.
Below are reminders and information about various programs at FES.
- Next week, Monday 10/27 through Friday 10/31, we will be celebrating Red Ribbon Week. Please see the flyer attached for dress-up day information as well as information for a poster contest.
- If your immediate family needs help with providing a Thanksgiving meal this year, please submit the form attached to this post. ONLY families needing assistance need to fill out the form, and families with multiple children in MV schools should apply only at the school their youngest child attends. All requests must be submitted by the end of the school day on Wednesday, October 29, 2025 (1:20pm). Thanksgiving meals must be picked up at Fortville Elementary on Monday, November 24, 2024.
- Every year, local churches, community groups, and families support MV families during the holiday season. If your family needs help providing gifts this year, please submit the Google Form attached to this post. Due to the expansion of our community, MV may not able to match all families directly with donors. While we make our best effort to match each family to a donor group, we feel obligated to inform you that assistance is not guaranteed. Should you not be sponsored by the school district, the school will notify you and provide resources to outside agencies in the community that provide separate holiday assistance. ONLY families needing assistance need to complete the form. Families with multiple children in MV schools should only apply at the school their youngest child attends.
- All requests must be submitted by the end of the school day on Monday, November 3, 2025. Applications received after this date will not be processed.
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Holiday Assistance Application
- If you need language assistance when filling out this form, please contact Haley Frischkorn (haley.frischkorn@mvcsc.k12.in.us) and she will be able to help direct you to someone that can help based on your specific language needs.
- In addition, if you are interested in sponsoring a family for Christmas, please contact me, Caitlin Crecelius, by email at caitlin.crecelius@mvcsc.k12.in.us or parentsquare by November 3rd.
- Any student has the ability to request to come talk/meet with me. All the student has to do is to ask their teacher to come meet with me.
Upcoming events:
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2nd Quarter Classroom Lesson: Career Exploration
- 10/27-10/31: Kindergarten Career Exploration Lessons
- 11/3-11/7: 3rd Grade Career Exploration Lessons
- 11/10-11/14: 2nd Grade Career Exploration Lessons
- 11/17-11/25: 1st Grade Career Exploration Lessons
- 10/29: Thanksgiving Assistance Request Form Due
- 11/3: Holiday Assistance Application Due
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
We are continuing spooky season in the library! Students in kindergarten and grades 1-3 have been enjoying Halloween-themed books in the library this week. We will compare and contrast them with more Halloween books next week. Fourth grade students studied foreshadowing while listening to The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg. It’s the perfect season to curl up with a book at home!
Did you know that every MVCSC student has a library card through the Hancock County Public Library? To access a student’s library card for online resources, a parent/guardian can login to Skyward and then click Portfolio > Library Card Numbers. To use the library card in the Libby app (Libby is a free app that allows users to borrow digital content including ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines from their public library), use the pin 0000. If you have any questions about an HCPL library card, including how to obtain a library card for students to access physical materials at any HCPL branch, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
"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, a permanent building sub, and a Title I 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 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/webinarsDon't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures
ENJOY 10% OFF YOUR ORDER
CODE: F2510OFF
EXPIRES: July 31, 2026
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Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card! More about the Smilesafe program here.
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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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