August

9 4:00-5:30pm Back-to-School Ice Cream Social

11 First Day of School

20 Spirit Wear Day

18 4-9pm Heavilin Night Out at Valpo Velvet

19 Parent Orientation Night

25 School Picture Day

30 Walk-A-Thon Begins

September

3 Walk-A-Thon Ends

3 Spirit Wear Day

6 No School - Labor Day

13 5-8pm Heavilin Night Out at Culvers

14 6:30pm PTO Meeting

17 Spirit Wear Day

24 Half Day - Dismiss at Noon

Click HERE for the 2021-22 Heavilin School Supply list.

Come join us and meet your new teachers! On Monday, August 9 between 4:00-5:30pm, stop by Heavilin to drop off your school supplies, see your classroom, connect with friends, and meet new friends. Our PTO is sponsoring an ice cream social. And our new kindergarten students will be able to practice getting on and off the school bus, too.

Classroom assignments will be available on Skyward on August 9, or we will have class lists up for you to check when you arrive.

Parking will be available in the field to the north of the school. Everyone should plan to enter Door A (the front door of the school). The PTO will greet you to give you an ice cream token for each enrolled student, then you can go to the classrooms, and then go out to the back playground area for additional activities and ice cream. Click on the flier below for more details.

All parents are encouraged to participate in the Parent Orientation Night on Thursday, August 19. This is an evening when teachers meet with parents to talk about what to expect for the school year and how to best help your child become successful. We are still planning the details of the evening and will send out more information when it is available.

Click on the PDF below for our 2021-22 parent handbook. It's full of helpful information to help you start off your school year, especially if you are a family that is new to Heavilin.

Our school day is officially 8:45am-3:15pm. The school doors open at 8:30am. We encourage students to arrive then in order to prepare for the school day and to be ready to learn when the bell rings. Buses usually leave campus after loading by 3:30pm each day. Parent pick-up car line will run as last year, enter the north drive and proceed through the front parking lot, heeding the parking lot attendant's instructions. Please remember that the first days of school we are working to fine tune dismissal and buses may run later than normal.

If you are driving on our school campus during drop-off and pick-up times, please be aware of our walkers. Walkers will be crossing at the stop sign of our south driveway, as well as at the stop sign of our front driveway. Please keep an eye out for our students and drive slowly at all times, in all areas of the school campus.

Each year, we offer Heavilin and Valpo Spirit Wear through our PTO at the start of the year. Spirit Wear is now available to order. Orders are due by midnight on Wednesday, August 18. Click on the flier below to see this year's options.

To order, please go to https://heavilinallschool21.itemorder.com/

Any child that needs medication at school needs to have a parent bring in the medication in a sealed prescription box with physician orders dated for 2021-22. Parents, you can do this on back-to-school night on August 9. Over the counter medications need to be brought in a sealed box with physicians orders for the 2021-22 school year as well. Please do not send in medications to school with your child.

There a many ways to stay updated with Heavilin through social media.

Class Dojo - We request that all parents create a Class Dojo account. Teachers will send home information on Class Dojo early in the year. Dojo is used for personal messaging as well as reminders and information.

Facebook - Follow Heavilin Elementary School on Facebook for reminders and updates on our daily experiences.

Twitter - @Valpo_Heavilin

Instagram - follow our school dog, Moses, on Instagram @1earup

Valpo Schools has a program called the Viking Puppy Project that places dogs for therapeutic purposes in our schools. Our school dog is Moses, a two-year-old English Cream Golden Retriever. He is back at school and ready for business!

Over the summer, Moses had fun playing with his brothers and sisters, some of the other Viking Puppies. And, he went swimming every day he could. Moses has become quite a good swimmer now! He loves to swim with his best friend, Toto, a schnauzer mix. They have races together, and Toto always lets Moses win. Most importantly, Moses studied hard and passed his third and final test to be a certified therapy dog. Moses is missing his school kids and is ready to see them again soon!

What is Kidstop?
Kidstop is a before- and after-school child care program for children in grades K through 5.
The program runs from 6:30 a.m. until school and after school until 6:30 p.m. We provide a daily snack as well as homework help.
We create an engaging, educational, and FUN environment for all children! See the flier below.

Contact Us
For more information about Kidstop in your school, please contact us or call 219.462.2182 or email Maggie Beezhold at mbeezhold@bggreaternwi.org

Hello Parents,

This year I am asking that all kindergarteners and first grade students bring a pair of gym shoes that will be left at school. These shoes do not need to be new, only clean and well fitting. Before the students come to PE class they will be allowed to change into these shoes which will ensure that all students will be able to safely participate in class. It will also alleviate the problem of students forgetting to bring shoes on PE day and therefore having to sit out of the lesson that day. If you need any assistance, please contact Mrs. Sibray, our school social worker. Thank you.

Miss Kraus

**Please send velcro shoes if your child is not yet able to tie shoelaces.**

Mr. Ostafinski and Mrs. Stamos will be holding Spell Bowl team tryouts in late August. 4th and 5th graders interested in trying out will be assessed on 50 of the first 200 words on this year's list. The word list is included as a PDF below. Time to start studying!

Thanks to the passage of the American Recovery Plan, funding is available to provide free meals to all students once again for the 2021-22 school year. If purchasing milk separately, there is a charge of $0.55. Parents can deposit money into their child's account online for free without fees. Download the My School Menus app (see above) to keep track of what is being served in our cafeteria each day.

Breakfast will be served each day before school starts in the cafeteria. Students who eat breakfast will be released off the bus at 8:25am, and car riders who eat breakfast should all enter Door L at 8:30am and go directly to the cafeteria before heading to class.

Please print the calendar below for your reference throughout the school year. It is also available on the VCS website at www.valpo.k12.in.us

We continue to work on planning for COVID safety this year. Before the start of the year, more information will be sent to parents so you feel informed and comfortable with the school environment.

Welcome Back Heavilin!

We have so many fun activities planned this year and are looking for volunteers. We are so excited for the start of the 2021-2022 school year. We would love your help!

Back to School Night:

· Stop by the PTO booth first for a ticket for each enrolled student to get an ice cream of his/her choice from the Ice Cream Truck! The PTO is sponsoring an ice cream truck this year. Each enrolled child will receive $1.00 ticket for an ice cream treat. Extra treats or those in excess of $1.00 are available for purchase, but at your own cost.

· Spirit Wear samples will be available at our booth.

· Our Sign-Up Genius is now live with a list of available volunteer opportunities! Please check it out, sign up, get more information at Back to School Night or email heavilinpto@gmail.com for more info!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084ea4ad2ba31-heavilin1

Spirit Wear

Spirit Wear will be available now through August 18th. Please check out the link above to purchase.

Heavilin Green Folders:

Heavilin PTO will be sending home a green folder with each student at the start of school which will introduce parents to the PTO. Please return the empty folder to school for teachers to send materials home for E-learning days. Don’t miss it!

Heavilin Nights Out:

Heavilin PTO partners with a local business each month who donates a portion of proceeds in support of Heavilin.

· August Heavilin Night Out is Wednesday, August 18th from 4-9 p.m. at Valpo Velvet – please let them know you’re from Heavilin.

· September Heavilin Night Out is Monday, September 13th from 5-8 p.m. at Culvers – the PTO is looking for volunteers for this event. Please sign up on our Sign-Up Genius Volunteer list above!

Heavilin PTO Meetings

Please consider joining us at our monthly PTO meetings which are the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Our first PTO meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 14th at 6:30p.m.

Looking forward to a great year! Please feel free to reach out with any questions any time!

Tara Worthley, PTO President

heavilinPTO@gmail.com