View from Valley
October 28th, 2022
Valley Mills Elementary
Assistant Principal - Ashley Zarse
CIS - Kiersti Binette
Lead Teacher - Jennifer Keller
Email: mrichey@decaturproud.org
Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/valley-mills
Location: 5101 S. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46221
Phone: 317-856-6363
Twitter: @VMVikes
A Message from the Principal
Dear Viking Families,
I hope that you all had a wonderful two weeks of Fall Break! Our students have done a great job of getting back into the routines and following our S.R.R.F expectations. Please remember that student attendance is an area we are focusing on as a school. Being at school every day and on time will help your child tremendously!
Thank you to everyone that came out and joined us on Wednesday for our Fall Festival. Seeing so many families out enjoying their time together playing games and creating crafts is what this event is all about. Your support and participation in this event allowed up to raise $1,443.34, which goes back into our student activity fund. Congratulations to our 3rd-grade, 2nd-grade, and 5th-grade teams for having the top votes in our pumpkin contest. We are thankful for the partnership that we have with our Decatur Township Fire Department, the pumpkin drop at the end of the night is always a big hit!
On Thursday, our Kindergarten classes had an opportunity to take a field trip to Waterman's Family Farm. They had been learning all about pumpkins and wrapped up their learning with a real-life experience at the pumpkin patch. Each student came home with a pumpkin as a souvenir.
I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Marissa Richey
Proud Principal of Valley Mills Elementary
Kindergarten Field Trip
Important School Dates:
- November 11th- Veterans Day Parade 9:30 - 10:15
- November 17th- Math Fluency Night 5:30-7:00
- Thanksgiving Break- November 23rd-25th
Valley Mills Fall Fest
District Vape Statement
Decatur Township School Police Department, (DTSPD), in collaboration with the Drug Free Coalition, is excited to offer a new diversion program for students found to be in possession of tobacco products, e-cigarettes, and or vaping devices. DTSPD has also partnered with our local courts in an effort to minimize the use of these products and devices on our campuses. Our students, if found with the aforementioned items, would be in violation of Indiana Code 35-46-1-10.5, Minor in Possession of a Tobacco Product or an Electronic Cigarette or 7.1-5-12-8 Smoking in a Prohibited Area. Each of these would be met with an Indiana citation, also known as a “Uniform Traffic Ticket,” (UTT). When submitted to the courts, the cost of the ticket for this violation is $170.50. This is an actual ticket and will affect your license or the ability to obtain one if left unpaid.
Our objective however, is not to create financial hardship, but to have an opportunity to educate students and families on the dangers of vaping and tobacco products. Twice per month, DTSPD officers will present a 1-hour class for students who have opted to accept the terms of the diversion program. The cost of the class for a student attending alone is $75.00. If a student attends the class with a parent or guardian, the class is discounted at a cost of $25.00. Upon the completion of the class, the UTT, or citation, will not be referred to the courts, and there will be no record of the violation. A student may only participate in the program once per school year, and only twice throughout their entire school career.
Social Emotional Learning Corner
Hello,
I hope that your family enjoys this beautiful fall weather while you enjoy your family time this weekend and on Halloween!
After Fall Break, our teachers spent this week reteaching school routines and school expectations to help students transition back to school. The students have done a great job of remembering their daily routines!
Our classrooms will be working on social and emotional learning using our Second Step curriculum starting again next week. Grade levels Kindergarten through 3rd grade will be focusing on similarities, differences and identifying/understanding emotions. Grades 4 - 6 will be focusing on handling big emotions and setting goals and monitoring your progress toward your goals.
Other than Second Step, our teachers are also teaching a model that is E + R = O. This means that Events + Response = Outcome. We teach students that many times we cannot control the events that occur during our day. However, with some effort we can usually control what our response is to the situations that occur. Depending on what response we choose, it will determine whether the outcome will be.
Everyday, our teachers instruct students in ways to handle changes that occur in their environments. They learn to tackle a wide variety of problems that they may encounter with other peers and in the school environment. Our school uses Second Step as a school-wide intervention to help students learn strategies that help them problem-solve these issues.
Please check out the HomeLink that your teacher sends home for the topics they are covering this month. You should find the HomeLink in your student’s backpack. If you would like any additional resources please feel free to contact us and we can send additional resources.
Thank You,
Jennifer Whipple
SEL Coach
Valley Mills Elementary
Attendance Matters
Volunteers Needed!
- Visitors are allowed to enter Valley Mills starting August 15th, you will need to check-in at the front desk.
- Field Trips will be allowed for all grade levels.
- Parents may come to eat lunch with their own child during the school day.
- Volunteers are allowed with a valid criminal background check.
Please remember to bring your valid Driver's License to check in. You can sign up to be cleared to volunteer by following the link below.
In order to be cleared to volunteer, please sign up on this link.
Get Involved
FUNDRAISERS
Community Connections
Lunch and Textbook Assistance Information
Please visit our Child Nutrition Department Website (https://www.decaturproud.org/child-nutrition/p-ebt) for resources and general information about P-EBT cards.
MSD of Decatur Township and the Child Nutrition Department do not have access to P-EBT information or funds.
All calls and questions need to be directed to The Family and Social Services Administration.
Thank you,
MSD of Decatur Township
Child Nutrition Department
School Start Time and Dismissal Time
Student Arrival: 8:15 AM
Tardy: 8:25 AM
Dismissal: 3:10 PM