Middletown Messenger
October 2018
From the Principal's Pen
Middletown Families,
I hope you were able to meet and have great conferences with your child’s teacher this week. The grading period ends October 17, and report cards will go home on October 26. Thank you for collaborating with our teachers to ensure student success, and please do not hesitate to reach out to teachers with questions.
Our staff has been busy this year, laying the foundation for work around such district initiatives as the Backpack of Success Skills, Racial Equity Plans, and Culture and Climate. I encourage you to watch this short video about the Backpack of Success Skills and what it means to your child in the coming years.
Our School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council has been reviewing our instructional policies and will be reviewing policies, such as student assignment, and helping to develop our Comprehensive School Improvement Plan in the coming weeks. We will be reviewing goals for racial equity and analyzing data to ensure that we have clear and concise plans for all students to reach proficiency. If you would like to give input or participate in this work, please reach out to your parent SBDM representatives, Julie Davis or Jacquelyn Craig.
If you have a classroom concern, please talk with your child’s teacher first. The teacher needs to hear the concern so he or she can work with you to make your child successful. Our staff comes to school each day to make sure your child is successful.
If you have a concern with academics, please contact our school goal clarity coach, Tina Morris. She works regularly with teachers in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and is dedicated to partnering with you to ensure the success of every student. You may email or conference with her as necessary.
If you have a concern with discipline in school or on the bus, please call or email our counselor, Chas Meinecke, or Ms. Mettling, the assistant principal. Mr. Meinecke and Mrs. Mettling will be more than happy to collaborate with you to help eliminate any barriers to success for your child.
Your partnership and the collaboration of all Middletown families and staff are priorities for us. Together, we will ensure that Middletown Elementary continues to find the brilliance in every child and meet the needs of our incredible students!
Sincerely,
Justin Matson
Ms. Mettling's Systems & Facilities Updates
“The 7 Habits foster more than character traits and leadership skills that are necessary for success in students’ personal lives, education, and future careers. The habits develop positive, principle-driven behavior from students who know how to lead themselves and others. By exposing students to these vital skills and allowing them to practice the skills starting at a young age, the likelihood that the students will continue to use these skills as they get older increases. Furthermore, it increases the likelihood that students will be productive and competent, ethical leaders.”
—Dr. Chantal Ishola
Think Win-Win is the belief that everyone can win. It’s not me or you—it is both of us. It is a belief that there are enough good things for everyone; it is an abundant way of thinking. Think Win-Win is being happy for others when good things happen to them. As a parent, not everything is negotiable, but if you go into discussions with your child with a win-win mindset, you’ll find a lot less resistance.
Family Activities:
Play a game with your child that has a definite winner. Explain how competition is okay when you play a game, but it is not okay in relationships. Discuss how tense it would be in your home if every situation had to have a winner. A better way to think is win-win. This means we think of solutions that we can all feel good about when there is a problem. The more we Think Win-Win, the fewer problems there will be. You may want to display a chart listing the days of the week. When someone is “caught” thinking win-win, he or she gets to write his or her name on the chart for that day.
Encourage win-win solutions to sibling disputes. Don’t always be the mediator; let them work out a solution and be sure to be lavish children with praise when they do.
Mr. Meinecke's-Counselor's Corner
AP Testing
Fourth- and fifth-grade Advance Program (AP) testing will be administered on October 16, 17, and 18 (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). Third-grade AP testing will be administered on October 22, 23, and 24 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). Students should have taken home a letter explaining the process. All students will take the AP test unless parents decide to decline it. There will be directions for declining the test in the letter. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Red Ribbon Week
Middletown Elementary will be participating in Red Ribbon Week from October 22 through 26. This is a national event to educate students on the dangers of drugs, being drug-free, and making healthy choices. Each day of the week there will be a theme:
Monday, October 22—Wear Red Day
Tuesday, October 23—Be on a Drug Free Team—Wear Favorite Sports Team Apparel
Wednesday, October 24—Turn Your Back on Drugs—Wear Clothes Backwards
Thursday, October 25—Don’t Get Tied into Drugs—Wear Neckties for the Day
Friday, October 26—Blackout Drugs—Wear Black Day
There will also be a Door Decorating Contest with drug-free based themes between the classrooms. Doors will be judged based on Theme, Message, and Creativity. The winners will be announced during the Halloween Parties.
Career Day/Fair
On Thursday, November 8, we will have a Career Day/Fair at Middletown Elementary. I would like to invite any parent/guardian who is willing to share information about his or her career with students. More information will be given at a later date. If you are interested in participating, please contact me with the information below. Please know that anyone wanting to participate must pass a background check. To complete a background check, click on the following link: https://bit.ly/2ByRX9C.
Exciting News! We will be welcoming author Linda Taylor to Middletown Elementary on November 8. Ms. Taylor is the author of the book How the Little Girl Shelby Became a Princess. She will be participating in Career Day/Fair and discussing with the students about achieving their dreams and what it’s like to be an author. She will also have books available to be purchased at $13 and to be signed. For more information, you may visit her website at https://www.littlegirlswithdreams.com/mission.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the services I provide, please feel free to contact me through email at chas.meinecke@jefferson.kyschools.us or by phone at 485-8300.
Chas Meinecke, School Counselor
Ms. Morris' Academic Goals
This year, our school is participating in the BOOK IT! Program to encourage your child to find the joy in reading. The mission of the program is to turn “have to read” into “want to read” and the only way to get better at reading is to take time to do it. From October through March, we will set a monthly reading goal for our students. The goal will be to read after school for a certain number of days each month. A calendar will come home monthly with the goal listed. Initial each day that your child reads at home for at least 20 minutes.
The Hite/Middletown Family Resource Center
HMFRC Mission: “To mobilize and coordinate students and family-focused activities at times and in locations appropriate to their needs. Through the creation of a local source of information and support, the HMFRC will strive to support students and their families in order to overcome barriers to achievement. By providing this support, the center will assist children to reach their full human potential as caring, competent, lifelong learners who contribute to the community in a positive manner.”
Educational Benefits Form
Middletown Elementary is one of 128 JCPS schools participating in the Community Eligibility (CE) Provision under the National School Lunch Program. The CE provision is directed toward schools with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Under CE, all students receive a breakfast/lunch at no charge for the entire school year. However, to determine eligibility to receive additional benefits for our students and to determine funding for our school, we need ALL Middletown families to complete the Educational Benefits Form (EBF) every year. One per family is fine. If you have already submitted the form, thank you! The EBF is used for not only data-collecting purposes but also to identify students who would be considered for fee waivers as well as free and reduced-price meals. Some families may prefer not to disclose financial information; if this applies to you, there is check box in both the hard copy and the electronic copy of the form where you can elect not to disclose, but remember, by filling out the form, you are helping your child's school receive additional funds, we are only 180 forms short!
You are now able to fill the form out online at https://jcps.me/ebf. For more information you can also click here.
I am also available and more than happy to help you fill this form out over the phone, or I can send a hard copy home. Please let me know and I will send it home with your child. All you have to do is return it to school when you have completed it.
HMFRC Compliments, Concerns, Questions or Suggestions...
The HMFRC is always looking for volunteers and donations; if you have items (we are especially in need of sweatpants) to donate, feel free to send them my way.
My office door is always open, please come visit me Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can find me at Hite Elementary.
The Center’s hours are 8:30am-4:30pm.
email: elvira.paguada@jefferson.kyschools.us
Phone: 502.313.4504 (M, W, & F) or 502.313.4473 (T & Th)
Follow the center on Social Media:
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Did you know?
Each Friday in September and October, your Cheering Bulldogs will be collecting clean, gently used, and new shoes (e.g., sneakers, dress shoes, flip-flops, sandals, slides, cleats, and dance shoes—laces not necessary) to be redistributed through the Funds2Org network of micro-enterprise partners to create, maintain, and grow a small business to feed, clothe, and house their families. We are excited to have the chance to help others around the world while earning funds to benefit our cheer program. Please, no house slippers, grass-covered, or worn-out shoes are to be donated.
Contact Coach P (rayanne@spirit-llc.om), Coach Julie Lee (coachjulielee@gmail.com), or Coach Crumpton (regina.a.crumpton@gmail.com) for large pickups or questionable items.
Thanks, y’all! *\o/*
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Extracurricular Activities
Girls Who Code IS COMING TO MIDDLETOWN!
Dance at Middletown
Featuring Fortnight Dances with a Professional Twist
2018/2019
- When: September 6th—May
- Time: Thursday’s 3:45-4:45(Parents must be at the front of school by the office unless the child attends cep)
- Ages: 3rd-5th Grade
- Attire: Comfortable clothing that allows the body to move (no skirts please) and tennis shoes. Absolutely no bare feet or flip flops. The children will be allowed to change after they have reported to me in the gym.
- Cost: $40.00 per month, due the first class of the month. Payment for each month is $40 regardless of the duration of the month. Please make all checks payable to Casey Ross-Russell. To ensure registration the deadline will be August 26th
- Download registration form below; please mail registration forms with payment to: Casey Ross-Russell 5407 Highpoint Dr. Crestwood, Ky. 40014
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3rd Grade Music Concert--October 25th!
Report Cards go Home--October 26th!
Fall Family Festival--October 26th!
Wizards Basketball vs. Middletown--October 28th!
Fall Parties--October 31st!
Teacher PD Day-No School--November 5th!
Election Day-No School--November 6th!
Career Day/Fair--November 8th!
Book Fair--November 8th-16th!
Grandparents Day--November 13th-15th!
5th Grade Music Concert--November 15th!
Thanksgiving Break-November 21st-23rd
5th Grade Exhibition Night
Tuesday, Nov 27, 2018, 05:30 PM
Middletown Elementary School, North Madison Avenue, Louisville, KY, USA
About Us
Website: www.middletownelementary.org
Location: 218 North Madison Avenue, Louisville, KY, USA
Phone: 502-485-8300
Facebook: facebook.com/middletownelementary
Twitter: @MiddletownES