Week of September 7, 2026
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Principal's Message from Dr. Edwards
We often focus our social-emotional lessons at the beginning of the year on expectations and felt safety. This helps to lay the foundation for the kind of school we all want to be a part of for the rest of the year. The rest of the month of August was focused on acting "with respect" and "with permission." We want to always use respectful words, actions, and body language. We also teach our students to ask for permission before touching, taking something, or entering someone's space. It also means that we ask permission and show respect to those who are in charge (like teachers at school or parents at home). If you want to build on this at home, try asking your child to redo something “with respect” or "with permission" to help them practice the right way.
This week also kicks off our Walkathon fundraiser. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and it largely funds all the activities of our PTO (teacher mini-grants, student rewards, etc.). We encourage you to participate as you are able and to reach out to family and friends as well.
And finally, please note the shifts that will take place in our Related Arts class days with the 3 special days coming up in September. As you may recall, we changed our approach for those classes this year to avoid having students miss out on a particular subject area due to the day of the week that their class happens to fall on. So with the SHINE structure, the order of the RA classes will not change for students, but the day of the week will as they miss RA classes (with no school on holidays, P/T Connection day, or Walkathon schedules). The September calendar is listed below in the Important Dates section for reference.
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“Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.” ― Wendell Berry |
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Viking Vegetation
This summer we began a project to add an outdoor botanical classroom to our campus – a garden space where students and teachers can enjoy interacting with and learning from nature. The area, which adjoins the playground, is a work in progress with a focus on native Indiana plants and perennials that will help teach us sustainability and best ecological practices. We want to keep this a practical project and learning experience beyond any aesthetic value.
As autumn approaches, we are asking for help from our FES family. As you prepare your yards for fall and winter, we would appreciate the donation of any of the following materials you might be removing from your landscape:
- raised-bed frames (solid wood or metal)
- bricks or stepping stones
- landscaping rocks (fist-sized or larger)
- any other natural garden items (no plastic, please).
Please do not purchase these items. While we have lots of ideas we plan to incorporate, one of the goals is to keep this project very low budget. We prefer the donated items to be surplus to your needs so that we can recycle them into our garden. If you have questions about the garden, want to arrange a drop-off time, or have items to donate not listed above, please contact Mrs. Goben (our amazing building sub) at jeanette.goben@mtvernonschools.org
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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. We are working together to meet the state accountability expectation and school goal of at least 95% attendance rate for every student.
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Important Dates
Labor Day -- No School
Monday, September 7
Immunizations Due to Avoid School Exclusion
Wednesday, September 9
Contact Shanda Jouppi in our office if you have any questions
Walkathon Spirit Week
September 21-25
See flyer below
Parent/Teacher Connection Day (No School for Students)
Wednesday, September 23
Sign-ups sent in ParentSquare on 8/29
School Picture Retake Day
Thursday, September 24
Only for students new since the first picture day or whose parents signed up for retakes
Walkathon Event Day
Friday, September 25
Wear House Color Shirt
Related Arts Rotation Days
Happy Friday!
I hope everyone is able to enjoy the long weekend!  This week, I started our bullying prevention classroom lessons by going into 4 out of the 6 4th -grade classrooms for their lesson. The other two classes will have their lesson on Tuesday. During the lesson, I read a book called "My Secret Bully" by Trudy Ludwig. Then we have a discussion about different kinds of conflicts and end the lesson by doing a four-corners activity. In addition to these lessons, FES received our yearly Body Safety presentations on Monday and Tuesday. Parent information was sent out on ParentSquare about these presentations.
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We have a local church, Park Chapel, that will be donating new and gently used coats to our school. If your child does NOT have a winter coat and is needing one this season, please fill out the following form by the end of the school day on Friday, September 18th (2:00pm). Please reference the sizing photo prior to putting in what size of coat your student needs, the church will be going off of this chart due to different brands having different sizes. This is ONLY for student(s) attending Fortville Elementary. The goal is for them to be distributed at the end of October.
- All requests must be submitted by the end of the school day on Friday, September 18th (2:00pm).
- Coat Assistance Form
- Any student has the ability to request to come talk/meet with me. Next week I will be going into every classroom to (re)introduce myself and explain the process for asking to meet with me.
Upcoming events:
- 1st Quarter Classroom Lesson for all grades: Bullying Prevention
- September 18th: Coat Assistance Form Due
House Points Update
These students were chosen by their classroom teachers for this past month for being a leader with our focus on “Kindness” and setting a positive example. We called them to the top of the Success Slide and gave each of them one of the gold tokens for our book vending machine which they were able to use to choose a book to keep. They will also be receiving yard signs for their families if they want them. We are so proud of these great kids and the great choices they make each day!
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
The school year is well underway, and if students still have library books from the first time we checked out books, those books are now overdue. Please watch your email on Mondays at 10:00 a.m. as overdue/fine notices are sent to parents each week. Encourage your students to return overdue as soon as possible!
Parents can pay for lost library books via MVCSC’s eFunds link. Click on PAY for Optional Fees, then choose Lost/Damaged Library Books.
"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 not currently looking for a part-time High Intensity 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/webinars
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The Fortville Elementary School Walk-a-thon is coming on Friday, September 25!
And we are so excited to make this year’s event one our students will remember! During the Walk-a-Thon, students will spend time outside with their classmates walking laps, listening to music, enjoying a snack, and celebrating their hard work. It’s a fun day focused on exercise, friendship, school spirit, and raising money for our school!
The Walk-a-Thon is our primary PTO fundraiser, and the best part is that 100% of the donations go directly back to Fortville Elementary! Funds help support teacher-initiated projects, student programs and activities, and school improvements. Our school-wide goal is $30,000, and we truly believe our FES families can make it happen! We are also purchasing TWO nice picnic tables with shade umbrellas for the playground area from the funds raised.
***NEW! Donate Online with Zeffy***
We know that asking friends and family to support your child is much easier when you can simply send them a link, so we are excited to offer an online donation option through Zeffy this year!
Friends and family can donate from anywhere and easily share their support for our FES Vikings.
FES Walk-a-Thon Online Donation Page
Cash and check donations can still be turned in to your child’s teacher as usual with the envelope that came home with students. The online option is simply an additional, convenient way to participate that we hope will make donating even easier for everyone!
On the week of the actual event, we will be having a Walk-a-thon Spirit Week, too! There are some exciting individual prizes and classroom incentives this year (see the flyers below).
All money is due by September 18th with the event taking place on Friday, September 25th!
We also need volunteers! See the opportunities linked below.
Snacks Donations
Silly String Donations
Help with Counting Money Donations
Updating thermometers
Day of Event Volunteers
Thank you for supporting FES PTO and, most importantly, our students! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out! Let’s get walking, FES!
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