Fox Hill Elementary Family Update
Week of August 15th
Translate/Traducir/ترجمة/ Traduire/ Tafsiri
Mrs. Beard and Mrs. Pitcock Welcome You!!
Welcome Fox Hill Families!
Welcome Fox Hill Families to the 2022-2023 school year!
Remember - NEW SCHOOL HOURS for 2022-2023!!!
School Doors open at 7:30 AM. Students are tardy after 7:50 AM. School dismisses at 2:35 PM.
Fox Hill Elementary will be starting our renovation this year! Because of this, some practices and procedures will be different than years' past. Please stay in the loop by reading updates in this newsletter!
Upcoming Dates
8/8-8/31 - Beginning of Year Assessments (NWEA, F&P, Math Benchmark)
9/1 - Back to School Night, 5-6:30pm
Mrs. Beard
Principal
Arrival and School Visitors
Students can enter the school building at 7:30 am.
School are tardy after 7:50 am
- If a student arrives after 7:50 am, a parent must walk the student to the front entrance of Fox Hill and the student can sign in at the front office to obtain a tardy pass.
School is dismissed at 2:35 pm
Visitors - Upon entering the building, all visitors must report to the office to sign in at the computer and get a visitor’s badge. A valid picture ID will be requested.
Classroom Visits - Visitors during the school day will be limited. Parents who would like to schedule a conference or meeting with their child’s teacher during the school day may do so by contacting the teacher and requesting an appointment. Visits to the classroom without school/teacher notification and approval are prohibited.
**There are NO visitors during student lunch periods.
Volunteers- Parents interested in volunteering (field trips, field day, classroom help, etc.) during the school year should review the MSDWT volunteer requirements. All individuals who volunteer in classrooms or chaperone field trips have to complete and pass a criminal background check and view a bullying presentation prior to serving.
A hard copy of the background check form will be provided to interested parents by your teacher or you can access it at the front office.
We follow the 4 B's! Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Kind!!
Car Rider Information
If your student is a car rider:
*The Car Rider line starts at 7:30 am and will close by 7:50 am.
- Parents/Guardians dropping off after the car rider line has closed, must park in the front parking lot and an adult must walk his/her student across the crosswalk to the entrance of FH. If it is after 7:50 am, please plan to have your student enter the front doors for a tardy pass.
Cars should not enter the bus area during arrival and dismissal times!
Please DO NOT drive in or through the bus area during bus arrival and dismissal! Remember you are also in a school zone - an area with children. Please do not speed through any area on school grounds.
Car Rider Line:
Arrival 7:30-close by 7:50am: Parents should follow the “U” shaped line up formation on the west side of the school building. Students will stay in the car and should have items ready to go (backpack, lunch bag, etc.). Students should WAIT for the FH staff member to release them from their car. When the adult signals, student(s) should exit their car and walk on the yellow line into the entry door and go directly to class.
**Due to upcoming construction, students will enter through 5th Grade Doors - Students should Follow Staff Direction
Dismissal-. Car Rider Dismissal will begin at 2:25 p.m. (Bus riders dismiss at 2:35pm.) Parents will line up in the same "U" shaped formation as the AM process. Watch for staff direction - If there are numerous cars, we will line up 2 lanes of cars and merge the cars into one lane as you approach the school curb. FH staff members will call for students based on your car tag - Please make sure to have ID in case it needs to be checked. Each student will have a number that corresponds to the car tag number of the parent. Parents are expected to get out of car, if needed, and help their students get into the car. *If you have a car tag from last year, you can discard it.
Car Rider Drop Off and Pick Up Route
Attendance and Dismissal Information
- Should your student be absent for any reason, please call the attendance line at 317-259-5230 to report the absence. If a child’s absence is not called into the attendance line by 10:00 a.m., the child will be marked unexcused.
- If your student has a required appt during the school day, remember he or she can/should still attend school before and after the appointment. We would rather have a student come in tardy than miss a full day's instruction. Please provide a signed statement from the doctor, dentist, etc., upon the return to school in order for the office to code the missed time appropriately.
- Please notify your classroom teacher of dismissal changes in writing, or call the front office before 1:30 pm with transportation changes.
- The front office does not dismiss car riders from the office area during school dismissal time, 2pm-2:35 pm. Please notify the front office of any last minute changes by 1:30pm and report to the car line if your child will be a car rider. (*We do understand that there may be unforeseen circumstances, emergencies, or appts that may result in a deviation from this process.)
- Early pick ups from school - before 2:15pm- are coded in our FH Skyward system as afternoon tardies.
- **The State of Indiana requires that we send letters of notification to the families of children with excessive tardies (6 or more) and/or absences (4 or more unexcused). These letters will be sent on a regular basis.
From the Transportation Dept
The Office of Transportation would like to remind families that they continue to respond to bussing concerns and resolve issues. Please review reminders below:
- Families are reminded that VersaTrans provides another tool for direct access to finding your child’s most up-to-date transportation routing information: Family Bus VersaTrans Information Look-Up (Login = guest and Password = guest)
- Families are encouraged to use this Form to submit concerns/requests to the Office of Transportation.
- A webinar was held this past Thursday evening for families to provide clarification and additional information related to back-to-school transportation. The recorded webinar can be found here.
- All requested permanent transportation changes, additions, and deletions must be submitted to the Transportation Department:
- Time is needed to process the many applications and changes that the Transportation Department receives.
- Parents are responsible for transporting students until the transportation request has been received and processed.
- If a request cannot be granted, you will be notified.
- Requests submitted from parents/guardians at the beginning of the school year may not be processed until after the first two weeks of school are completed.
- Transportation requests take up to two-three days during the school year.
School Supply List
Fox Hill Supply List - English
Fox Hill Supply List - Spanish
School Supply Lists are also available on the school website! https://fh.msdwt.k12.in.us/
*If you want to bring school supplies before the first day of school, feel free to bring school supplies on the night of Kindergarten Orientation/Ice Cream Social or during the day 9-12 or 1-3 on Wednesday, August 3rd.
From PTO -- Fox Hill Cap/Lid Recycling Program – Collection through 9/30
Thanks to the efforts of the school community we are about 90% of the way towards last year’s goal of 550 pounds of plastic caps and lids to be used for a recycled plastic picnic table. We plan to continue collecting at school through the end of September, and will then pause the collection as we focus on sorting and weighing the caps and lids that have been received.
Please continue to reference the flyer below detailing the types of plastic caps and lids that are and are not acceptable. VERY IMPORTANT – the caps and lids need to be clean!! This makes the sorting process much easier for our Fox Hill student and parent volunteers because they need to be clean when delivered to Green Tree Plastics for recycling. This is also the same for your local recycling programs – one dirty item can contaminate an entire truckload of recycling and send it to the landfill!
Clean plastic caps and lids will be collected through September 30th. Please do not bring plastic caps and lids into school after September 30th. Thank you!
Parents of students with Individualized Education Program (IEPs), 504 Plans, or English-Learners (students recently tested for English Proficiency, English Prof. Levels 1-4, or Monitoring Years 1&2):
In the 2022-2023 school year, Washington Township will begin to use Ed Plan Connect to allow parents or guardians to access their student’s IEP, other Special Education related documents, 504 Plans, Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs), or EL Notification Letters remotely and securely. You will have the ability to view and, if applicable, sign the documents through this online system. An email will arrive from the address “noreply@doe.in.gov” every time there is a new document requesting review or signature. The email will include a hyperlink to the login screen specific to the parent. Parents will then complete secondary verification by sending an access code to their phone either via text or voice. (The phone numbers available will be the phone numbers that the school has on your profile as the parent/guardian.) More in depth instructions can be obtained by contacting your student’s Teacher of Record (Special Education), 504 Plan Administrator, or ENL Teacher.
Skyward Family Access - Stay in the Loop!
You may have received a back to school letter from the district regarding your Skyward Family Access. This is an online system where your child's information is kept. If you have never logged into Skyward, the back to school letter should indicate your password. If you have logged in before and changed your password, but you have forgotten it, you can select "forgot my password" and you will be send directions, to the email address you have on file, on how to reset it.
Log into your Skyward Family Access at the start of the year to:
-Complete Data Clean Up
-See busing information
-Make sure your phone number and email address are updated to ensure you receive school and district communication.
Skyward Family Access Directions
If you have questions or issues with Skyward, please email skyward@msdwt.k12.in.us.
If you need further support with logging in, please email skyward@msdwt.k12.in.us or call Fox Hill Elementary.
From the Child Nutrition Team!
Meal Prices for the 2022-2023 School Year:
Student Breakfast Prices: $1.50 (reduced $0.00)
Student Lunch Prices: Elementary $ 2.50 (reduced $0.40); Secondary $2.65 (reduced $0.40)
Milk Only (regardless of eligibility): $0.50
If you wish to send cash or a check, please place the money in an envelope marked clearly with your student’s name, their student ID number, dollar amount, and the check number if included. Elementary students can turn the envelope into the cafeteria or their classroom teacher. Middle and high school students can place their completed envelopes in the cash boxes located outside the school's cafeteria. Deposits made before 10:00 AM will be in their account for lunch. If cash is presented in the lunch line for purchases, change will not be given.
Check out the MSDWT Child Nutrition 2022-23 Newsletter for more information.
Need Meal Assistance and Other Educational Benefits Such as Textbooks?
Free and Reduced Price Meals are available to families who qualify. A new application must be completed every school year beginning July 20, 2022, unless you are otherwise notified that your student has been pre-approved through Direct Certification. Only one (1) Free or Reduced Meal application is required per family. Incomplete applications cannot be approved, so please fill out all required information. If your family chooses to apply, there are four ways to do so:
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Complete an application online for quick processing: Go to http://café.msdwt.k12.in.us. Results in 48 hours.
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Print a paper application and instructions: Go online to www.msdwt.k12.in.us, click Child Nutrition/Fork & Knife Icon, click Download Meal Application in English or Spanish and print to complete.
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Pick up a paper application and instructions at any school or the H. Dean Evans Community & Education Center.
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Call the Child Nutrition office at 317-205-3332, extension 77209 and request that one be mailed to you.
All completed paper applications can be returned to any school office, cafeteria or mailed to the H. Dean Evans Community & Education Center, Attention: Child Nutrition, Free and Reduced, 8550 Woodfield Crossing Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46240. Applications can be faxed to 317-205-3385. You will be notified by phone, mail or email of your student’s status within 10 working days of being processed. For questions regarding status, please call your school.
Factors considered in the application process are household size and total household gross income.
HOUSEHOLD SIZE is considered all persons, related or unrelated, including parents, children and grandparents who live in your home and share living expenses. The TOTAL HOUSEHOLD GROSS INCOME is the income each household member received last month before taxes. This includes wages, social security, pension, unemployment, welfare, child support, alimony, and any other cash income. Other determining factors include being a recipient of SNAP (Food Stamps), TANF, FDPIR or Medicaid. All case numbers will be verified before processing. Foster children are eligible for free meals regardless of household income but must complete an application for processing.
FROM THE NURSE
Life-Threatening Allergies – If your child has a life-threatening allergy or serious medical condition, you MUST report this to the nurse and meet with the nurse prior to your child starting school. You can call the office to schedule your appt with the nurse at 319-259-5371.
Medication – A parent or guardian must fill out a permission form for prescription (blue) and/or non-prescription (yellow) medication to be administered at school. All medication must be stored in the clinic and children MAY NOT transport medicine to and from school. It must be brought into the school by an adult.
AYS (At Your School) - Before and After Care
*2022-2023 MSD Washington Township
*Fox Hill Elementary
Stay Connected!
District Websites:
- www.msdwt.k12.in.us
- Washington Township Schools Facebook
- Twitter: @msdwt
- Fox Hill Facebook Page
Website: https://fh.msdwt.k12.in.us/
Location: 802 Fox Hill Drive
Phone: 317-259-5371
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fox-Hill-Elementary-School-643527989006604/
Twitter: @FoxHillElem