Week of April 20, 2026
|
Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
We had quite a week! On Saturday, our Teacher of the Year (Courtney Munsell - Kdg) and our Staff of the Year (Natalie Johnson - Tech) were recognized at the MVEF Gala. We are blessed to have both of these ladies and so many other terrific teachers and staff at our school!
On Tuesday evening, our Math Bowl team did a great job representing FES at the regional competition earning 2nd place. This was our first year competing with just 4th graders, and we were at least as pleased with how they went about handling themselves as we were with their finish. The proctor from their table made a point of letting our coaches know that our students worked very well together, listening to each other and being supportive and respectful. Way to go Vikings!
We also had a large turnout for our Kindergarten Roundup event on Wednesday evening. Thank you to all our current families for helping us plan the best we can for next year. We look forward to having a whole new crop of Vikings join us in August!
Finally, we are looking forward to a great Family Fun Fest this evening--the first in our new building. Parking will be interesting, and the only entrance for this event is Door 1. The parking area right in front of our building will be closed off for the event, but you can park in any of our surrounding lots, including our bus lot and the Middle School bus lot just south of our building.
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” – Peter Pan by JM Barrie |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
FES PTO Family Fun Fest
Friday, April 17 6:00-8:30p
ILEARN Testing
3rd Grade: April 21, 24, 28
4th Grade: April 20, 23, 27, 30
Happy Friday!
This week, I went into 4th-grade classrooms to complete their quarter 4 lesson. For this lesson, we talked about positive self-talk. I read a book called "A Little Spot Needs Positive Thinking" by Diane Alber. After reading the book, we talked about how our brains get so many thoughts a day, and we have to figure out which thoughts are true and which are false. We also talked about how sometimes we need to 'trick' our brains into believing positive true things about us - how we need to override the false thoughts. Students then wrote down four "I am..." statements and completed a self-portrait.
Next week, I will be going into 2nd-grade classrooms to complete a quarter 4 lesson on self-talk.
Hancock Community Information:
-
Love, INC – Will sponsor a FREE financial education series at Park Chapel
Church on Tuesday evenings, 6-7:30pm, from May 5-June 16. Dinner and
childcare will be provided. Sign-up is required and will be accepted through
April 27th. To sign up – call 317-468-6300, text 317-747-0302, or email
cristy@loveinc-ghc.org
-
Free Legal Help – Lawyers in the Library” – Talk to a lawyer and get free
legal advice and help with court forms. *CIVIL MATTERS ONLY*
Individuals should bring any paperwork connected to their case, matter, or
question. April 28, 5-7pm @ the Hancock County Public Library, 900 W.
McKenzie, Greenfield. Remote consultations are also available. To learn
more or register for a meeting with a lawyer at hcplibrary.org This
program is in collaboration with the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle &
Reath, Indiana Legal Services, and Pro Bono Indiana
Below are reminders and information from previous newsletters:
- 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.
- Any student has the ability to request to come talk/meet with me. All the student has to do is ask their teacher to come meet with me.
Upcoming events:- Quarter 4 classroom lessons:
- 2nd-grade: Week of 4/20
- 1st-grade: Week of 4/27
- Kindergarten: Week of 5/4
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!
|
|
|
|
MV Reads: News from the Library
Mrs. Jennifer Leavell, FES Teacher Librarian
We continued our 25-26 Battle of the Books tournament this week! Students have been excited to vote in round two and see who our winner is in a couple of weeks. Students in kindergarten, 3rd, and 4th grades enjoyed talking about the elements of poetry this week as I shared some poems by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky with them to celebrate National Poetry Month. I also enjoyed reading the picture book version of The Wizard of Oz (adapted by JaNay Brown-Wood and illustrated by Pablo Pino) with 1st and 2nd grade students since they saw a preview of the MV Theatre production of that show earlier this week. It was fun to talk about their favorite parts and tell them how the story ends!
PLEASE PAY LIBRARY FINES BEFORE THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
Please return overdue books as soon as possible. Parents can pay for lost/damaged library books via MVCSC’s eFunds link. Click on PAY for Optional Fees, then choose Lost/Damaged Library Books. Thank you for your support in returning overdue books and paying library fines before the end of the school year.
LAST CHECKOUT DATE: FRIDAY, MAY 8th; ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, MAY 15th
"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 do not currently have any openings.
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: S2610OFF
EXPIRES: July 31, 2026
Redeem Now
|
|
|
Second Semester All Pro Dad Meetings:
January 23rd - Optimism
February 20th - Responsibility
March 13th - Patience
April 17th - Determination
May 22nd - Compassion
|
|
|
