Week of January 12, 2026
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
We had an excellent first week back, and I hope everyone enjoyed whatever the winter break looked like for you and your family. Report cards were posted in Skyward today, and please reach out to our staff if you have any questions.
This stretch of the year is always a good time for a renewed focus on literacy. We will be sending additional information about IREAD and the related state requirements to our 2nd and 3rd grade families in the near future. We will have our 1st Grade Literacy Event and the Library Book Fair during the first week in February. And I want to encourage all of our families to make reading a central part of your daily rhythms. Reading is such a cognitively complex activity, and it takes a lot of practice to become fluent and to engage texts as a thinker. Whether having your child read to you, you read to them, talking about details of what was read, or engaging in discussions about our reactions to a text, consistent practice and focus makes a big difference. There aren't many New Year's Resolutions (if you go in for that) which can make a more positive impact.
“The wise does at once what the fool does at last." - Unknown |
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Lost and Found: If your student is missing something since the start of the 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.
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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
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (NO SCHOOL)
Monday, January 19
All Pro Dad Meeting
Friday, January 23 at 6:30a in FES Treehouse
FES PTO Mother/Son Game Night
Saturday, January 24
Registration Required by January 16
First Grade Family Literacy Event
Tuesday, February 3 at 4:00-5:30pm
Family Night at FES Library Book Fair
Wednesday, February 4 at 2:00-7:00pm
Happy Friday and Welcome to the new year!
As we have transitioned into the new semester, I have taken time to review the data from all of my minute meetings. A big theme, especially for 3rd and 4th graders, is that they have goals to get their grades up and get better at their academics by the end of the semester. With this knowledge, my next round of classroom lessons will be around goals. How to set them, what day-to-day looks like with goals, mini benchmarks, etc. All classrooms will have a Q3 classroom lesson that will be scheduled throughout the quarter.
Hancock County is looking for all community members 14 years and older to fill out their 2026 Hancock County Community Health Needs Assessment by April 30th. Please see the attached flyer to access the survey.
TBRI stands for Trust-Based Rational Intervention. We use this framework in our schools. If you are interested in attended TBRI Caregiver Training please fill out the interest survey!
Below are reminders and information about various programs at FES.
- 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.
- 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:-
Q3 Classroom Lessons
- 4th: January 20th-30th
- 3rd: January 20th-30th
- 2nd: February 2nd-9th
- 1st: February 10th-19th
- KG: February 20-27th
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
It’s the beginning of book award season! Not only will the American Library Association award the 2026 Youth Media Awards at the end of this month, including the announcement of the latest Newbery and Caldecott winners, but students will spend a lot of time reading and learning about the 25-26 Young Hoosier Book Award nominees this quarter before we cast our votes for our favorites in late March/early April to submit to the state. Students in grades 1-4 have already read a few of the YHBA picture book award nominees while kindergarten students learned about author/illustrator Corey R. Tabor this week and what it means to win the Caldecott medal.
SAVE THE DATE! Our FES Book Fair will be February 2-6, 2026.
"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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 Second Semester All Pro Dad Meetings:
January 23rd - Optimism
February 20th - Responsibility
March 13th - Patience
April 17th - Determination
May 22nd - Compassion
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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Vernon Township Fire Department Blood Drive
Below is the QR code for details and how to reserve a spot!
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 from 1:00pm-6:00pm
Vernon Township Fire Department Headquarters
602 Vitality Drive, Fortville, IN, 46040
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