FES Newsletter 2.2.26

Posted Date: 01/30/26 (03:43 PM)

Week of February 2, 2026

Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards

This week was quite the experience. I am grateful for all the flexibility, perseverance, and creativity shown by our staff and families. I am hoping that we can get back to some more routine days moving forward, but who knows what this winter has left for us. While it was so cold this week as to limit the extent, I hope that many of our students were able to get out and enjoy playing in this snow which was the largest accumulation we have had a quite a while. I feel like that is something of a part of the fabric of growing up (at least in places like Indiana).

We had a number of students bravely participate in the school spelling bee today, and I want to recognize all of them for their efforts. Congratulations to our winner, Harmeet Kaur (3rd Grade and pictured on the right)! Our runner-up was Jasmine Haniah (3rd Grade). Harmeet will represent our school at the regional spelling bee.

Additional Participants: Yousef Haniah, Natali Radwan, Coriyon Williams, Jeremiah Ridlen, Violet Hill, Braylon Kimmel, Charlie Parker, Xavier Tolliver, Enzo Garcia Rasia Dani, Hudson Gray, Murphy Bullock, Isla Nevins, Clark Hensley, Sophia Rice

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." -- William Arthur Ward

CogAT Testing: Our district requires additional information on the academic needs and performance of individual children in order to ensure that the school corporation is providing instruction at the appropriate level for each child. All fourth grade students will be administered a universal screener for the CogAT High Abilities Assessment. This screener is a short 30-minute test and will be given in the week of February 9th.

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.

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

Important Dates

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

Schoolwide PTO Meeting
Monday, February 9 at 7:00pm in FES Cafe

Presidents' Day (No School)
Monday, February 16

Staff Professional Development Day (No School)
Tuesday, February 17

Cafeteria Menus and Information

FES Counseling Website

Happy Friday!

Amazing job to all students, staff, and parents for being flexible with all the changes this week! Due to all the different schedules, my classroom lessons were paused. I will pick them up next week! I will finish up my 3rd and 4th-grade classroom lessons as well as go into 2nd-grade classrooms for a lesson on growth mindset.

While 3rd and 4th-grade transition lunches were going to start this week, they were pushed back and will now start next week. During lunch, we will talk about things that they can continue and start doing this year to help them transition to their next grade level. These are 1-time lunches and do not repeat weekly.

Below are reminders and information about various programs at FES.

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!
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, finish: February 2nd-9th
- 3rd: January 20th-30th, finish: February 2nd-9th
- 2nd: February 2nd-9th
- 1st: February 10th-19th
- KG: February 20-27th

House Points Update

Student ShoutOuts

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!

MV Reads: News from the Library

Mrs. Jennifer Leavell, FES Teacher Librarian

BOOK FAIR NEXT WEEK!

Our 2026 FES Scholastic Book Fair starts Monday, February 2nd during normal school hours. Students will be able to browse AND shop during their fixed library time. Don't forget that sales tax will be collected at our fair. Here are some quick links to help your family get prepared for the Book Fair:

CLICK HERE for our FES Book Fair Flyer
CLICK HERE to volunteer at the Book Fair
CLICK HERE to visit our Book Fair website and set up an eWallet for your student to shop at the Book Fair. An eWallet is the easiest way for a student to shop without bringing money to school. Once set up, share the link with friends and family members to contribute to your student’s eWallet.

For more information or questions about the FES Book Fair, contact jennifer.leavell@mvcsc.k12.in.us.

"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 leave coverage resource teacher.

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