Week of May 4, 2026
|
Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
May is here, bringing all the excitement—and at times, frantic pace—that comes with this point in the school year. We’ve completed ILEARN testing for our 3rd and 4th grade students and are now heading into the final four weeks before summer break. The beginning of May also marks National Teacher Appreciation Week. I think just about anyone I have ever talked to can readily point to a teacher (or many) who made a lasting impact on their life and shaped their understanding of the themselves, others, and world. We are fortunate to have many incredible staff members serving our students and community in our building each day. I encourage you to take a moment next week to share your appreciation in a way that feels meaningful to you. Our PTO has organized several opportunities this coming week, but please don’t feel any pressure to participate in all of them.
I also have a request for all parents and students. While we do allow the use of certain fidget tools at school, we’ve noticed some students bringing magnets of different kinds. If magnets are left on the playground, on a bus, or in other shared spaces and are accidentally swallowed, they can pose a serious health risk. There is also a small chance that magnets could damage certain technology devices. Please help us by ensuring that magnet-type items stay at home.
“Successful repetitions build competence. Failed repetitions build resilience." -- James Clear |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
Last Early Release Wednesday (Dismissal at 1:20p)
Wednesday, May 20
K-4 Field Day
Friday, May 22
Have students dress appropriately and wear sunscreen, etc.
Memorial Day -- No School
Monday, May 25
No Early Release (Dismissal at 2:05p)
Wednesday, May 27
Last Student Day
Thursday, May 28
Happy Friday!
This week, I went into 1st-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 kindergarten classrooms to complete a quarter 4 lesson on self-talk.
MVCSC has a partnership with a therapy company called Cartwheel. One part of the partnership is that we have access to webinars that they host. Recently, they hosted a webinar titled, "5 Keys to Helping Your Child with ADHD Thrive". If you would like access to watch the recording of the webinar, please reach out, and I can send it to you.
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:
- 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
FES students will continue to check out library books through Friday, May 8th. ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE FRIDAY, MAY 15th. 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. Exact change and/or a check made out to FES are also still accepted. Thank you for your support in returning overdue books and paying library fines before the end of the school year.
"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/webinars
|
|
What a great first Family Fun Fest in our new building! We are always looking for how we can do things better, so we would love to hear feedback from you! Please take a few minutes to complete THIS SURVEY for our planning for next year.
And as we get ready for Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-8), we want to shower our staff with love! We are planning a "Friends" themed week of ways to help make our appreciation evident (see flyers below for ways you and your students can get involved).
Also, for that week, we are looking for Recess Parent Volunteers to be able to provide a day of recess coverage for all our classroom teachers on Monday, May 4. Please SIGN UP HERE.
 
 
Second Semester All Pro Dad Meetings:
January 23rd - Optimism
February 20th - Responsibility
March 13th - Patience
April 17th - Determination
May 22nd - Compassion
|
|
|
