Messages from Memorial
October 2021
HEART*EFFORT*ATTITUDE* RESPECT*TEAMWORK
Memorial Students are Thankful for...
Dear Memorial Families,
Happy November and Happy Thanksgiving! As I reflect on things I am thankful for, the Memorial students, staff, and families are at the top of my list. I am very grateful for the support and kindness you show to the school, and the support and guidance you provide for your children. Research shows that students do their best when schools and home work collaboratively.
Thank you to those who have served our country in the armed services. Memorial is very thankful for you and the sacrifices you have made. We will be honoring Veterans on Veteran's Day through our pre-recorded program. It will be sent to you and we hope you share it with the Veterans in your family.
The Scholastic Book Fair will be coming to Memorial next week. Please check out the flyer sent home with your child. If you are wanting your child to be able to purchase a book, but do not want to send in cash, you can set up an eWallet for your child to use. See the directions below.
The number one way to make sure that your child is getting the most out of school is to make sure they are in attendance each day. Since much of what we do at school is direct teaching and practice, it is very hard to put together the lessons as make-up work. When a child is absent they can miss important instruction and the teacher's help with practice. Please consider taking vacations and scheduling appointments when we are not in session. However, if your child is ill or your family is struggling with Covid19, the teacher and instructional aides will always do their best to help catch him/her up.
Please call the school office if you have any questions.
Thank you for your help and support.
Mrs. Debra Misecko, Principal
Some Important Dates
November
2 - Election Day - eLearning today
3 - After School Sports - Grade 4
8 - 12- Scholastic Book Fair (evening hours on 11-9 and 11- 11, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.)
10 - PTO Meeting at 3:30
10 - After School Sports - Grade 5
11 - Happy Veteran's Day
11- Picture Re-take Day (see information below)
15 - Spell Bowl Competition
17 - PTO family night at Chipotle (4-8pm)
24-26 - No School - Happy Thanksgiving
29 - Digital Safety Program for parents at 5:00 p.m. at Memorial
Tuesdays & Thursdays - 7:45 a.m. - Spell Bowl (ends on 11/15)
Tuesdays - Robotics Team at 3:30 (starts October 19)
Fridays - Choir at 8 a.m.
December
7 - This is Our Story at VHS - 7 p.m.
8 - PTO Meeting at 3:30
15 - PTO family night at Culvers
16 - End of Second Grading Period
16 - Half day for students (noon dismissal)
17 - Weather Make-Up Day
Digital Safety for Students and Parents
There will also be a parent program on Monday, November 29 at 5:00 p.m. at Memorial. All parents are invited to intend. Please come and get some tips on how to keep your child safe in the digital world and how to handle this topic with your child.
Picture RETAKE day is Thursday, November 11
1. If your student took pictures on the original picture day and ordered a package and would like to have the picture retaken, then you MUST bring the original picture package back on the retake day. You will be sent a new package identical to the one that you returned.
2. If your student was absent on the original picture day, we have them on a list and will send them down to get their picture taken that day. The package that you ordered will be sent in a few weeks!
Dear ,
When I was young, my parents set up an allowance for me—and taught me a valuable lesson about money management. They told me I would get a weekly allowance and then they explained the rules. Of course, I didn’t focus on the rules—I was overjoyed just at having money that I could spend any way that I wanted!
That same week, we went to the carnival as a family. I had a great time and spent my entire allowance on all sorts off exciting things. I didn’t give it a second thought because the money was mine to spend any way I chose. However, the following Monday morning I realized I had a problem—one of those pesky rules. I was supposed to use my allowance to pay for my lunch at school.
I went to my Dad and asked him what I was going to do for lunch. He replied, “Go over to your pay envelope and get your lunch money out.” I told him it was all gone. With genuine empathy he said, “Oh no, that’s really too bad. What are you going to do about that?” I replied, “I don’t know, can I get some food out of the refrigerator and make a lunch?” He said, “Sure, if you can afford to pay for it. Mom and I have already paid you for lunches once, and we don’t want to pay for them again.”
That week was tough for me at school because I had to skip lunch and only had two meals a day. Even though my parents made sure that there was plenty of food at those two meals, I learned a big lesson in money management.
Love and Logic parents use allowances to teach their kids money management—and responsibility. When kids struggle with money at an early age, they learn not only to be more fiscally responsible, but this lesson helps them be responsible in all areas of life. Here are some helpful rules for allowances that can help your kids get the most out of this terrific learning experience.
Rule One: Children do not earn their allowance
We do not pay them to do chores. Kids should see chores as contributing their fair share of the family workload. We only pay them for chores when they do our chores.
Rule Two: Provide the allowance at the same time every week
Put the cash for the allowance in an envelope and include a small invoice that lists the breakdown of the allowance (for example, a child might have $2 for spending and $8 for lunch money). You can add a message, such as, “Because we love you. Spend it wisely and make it last.”
Rule Three: Never insist that children save the allowance
In general, people learn to save money only after they have experienced being broke. It can be difficult for parents to let their kids go broke, but it will be a lesson that their kids will remember.
Rule Four: As long as they are not engaged in illegal activity, allow children to spend, save, or waste the money any way that they see fit
They can use their money any way they want. For example, they can pay others to do their chores. Here’s the catch—when the money’s gone, it’s gone. No more allowance until the next week’s envelope.
These rules are based on one of the fundamental principles of Love and Logic—let the consequences do the teaching. For more about teaching kids to be responsible, listen to our MP3 audio, Four Steps to Responsibility.
Thanks for reading!
If this is a benefit, forward it to a friend. Our goal is to help as many families as possible.
Memorial Job Opportunities
VCS Job Opportunities
Support your school community by applying for one of our open positions! Our essential support services departments help make the teaching and learning process as smooth as possible.
VCS has openings for:
● Substitute Teachers
● Food Service (Substitute and Permanent)
● Bus Drivers (Substitute and Permanent)
● Instructional Aides (Substitute and Permanent)
● School Nurses (Substitute and Permanent)
Porter County Educational Services is also hiring Instructional Aides that will be assigned to the
Valparaiso Schools buildings. View PCES open positions and job descriptions here:
https://www.applitrack.com/pces/onlineapp/
Many open positions allow for working during school hours only and follow the same
schedule as students!
Impact students in your community by joining the VCS team! View all open positions and job
descriptions here: www.valpo.k12.in.us/apply/.
MEMORIAL PTO NEWS
We are so grateful for the hardworking PTO Executive Board.
President - Kristen Elinkowski
Vice President - Rose Gutshall
Treasurer - Megan Taylor
Secretary - Rae Smedley
All Memorial parents and guardians are considered members of PTO. Please join us at the next PTO meeting on Wednesday, November 10 at 3:30 P.M. We will meet in person at Memorial.
You can also learn more about the activities of PTO on the Memorial PTO Website.
Other ways to support Memorial PTO while shopping
- Go to smile.amazon.com, and search for Memorial Elementary PTO Inc.
- Shop as usual, Amazon gives us credit and pays us directly.
Box Tops - (Grocery Items)
- Download Box Tops App (no more cutting) and create an account.
- Search for Memorial Elementary School
- Scan receipts. That's all. Box Tops keeps track and sends money to school.
Mabel's Labels - (Customized name and storage labels)
- Go to campaigns.mabelslabels.com, and search Memorial Elementary PTO Valparaiso
- Place order. Portion of sales go back to PTO.
Memorial's Girl Scouts Shine at the Library
Cybersafety for Children at Common Sense Media
Memorial Elementary
Email: dmisecko@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: valpo.k12.in.us/Domain/337
Location: 1052 Park Avenue, Valparaiso, IN, USA
Phone: 219-531-3090
Twitter: @Valpo_Memorial