Memorial Message
Memorial Elementary School Newsletter, October 2018
Save the Date (s):
October
5 PTO Walk-A-Thon
10 PTO meeting 6:00 p.m.
11 End of first grading period
12 No School for Fall Break
18 Fall Fest & Trunk or Treat
19 First Quarter Report Cards available on Skyward.
22 - 26 Red Ribbon Week
25 & 26 1/2 day for students - PT Conferences (12 p.m. dismissal)
31 Halloween Parties
November
6 ELearning Day - Students work from home - more information will be coming home.
6 Election Day
7 Picture Re-take Day (must return original packets for retakes)
12 Veteran's Day Observed at Memorial
14 PTO Meeting at 3:30 p.m.
12 - 17 Scholastic Book Fair
13 Family Night Book Fair for Mom's (6 - 7:30 p.m.)
15 Family Night Book Fair for Dad's (6 - 7:30 p.m.)
17 Grandparent's Day Open House (9 a.m. - noon)
13 - 19 Major Saver Card Sales for the Valpo Education Foundation
21 - 23 Thanksgiving Break
The new mural hung in the cafe.
For More Information About Your Child's Day at School...
- What was the best or coolest thing about school today? What wasn't so cool about your day?
- What made you think today?
- What made you laugh today?
- How were you kind or helpful today? Was anyone kind or helpful to you?
- What was the most creative thing you did today?
- What did you do at recess today? of What did you do in Reading or Math today?
- Pretend you are the teacher, how would you describe your day?
- Based on what happened today, what do you think your class will be doing tomorrow?
18-19 TEAM LEAD and STUDENT COUNCIL
Team LEAD District Themes:
Ideas for Student Council and Team LEAD
Sept/ October: Empathy: Be Proactive & Begin with the End in Mind
(Animal Shelter – Oct 15-19 and Operation Quiet Comfort Christmas Cards)
Nov/December: Thankfulness: Put First things First, Think Win- Win
(Angel Tree) (Caroling at nursing home for holidays) (Placemats)
Jan/February: Trusted adults: Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood, Synergize (Nursing Home possible service project) (Sniffty Sale for American Heart Association, Feb 11-14) Collecting items for the Memorial Food Pantry (backpacks and snacks).
March/April/May: What helps me? I am strong: Sharpen the Saw (Chores for Charity for Riley Children's Hospital and Family House)(Collection and Card Making for Operation Quiet Comfort)
Important Things to Know (Different than last year)
- PTO meetings will be on Wednesday evenings, alternating 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. start times.
- Election Day, November 6, will be the VCS schools first eLearning Day. Students will stay home and teachers will monitor work from school. More information will be coming.
- Memorial will have three parties this year. One at Winter Break, Valentine's Day and Halloween. Five Parents will be permitted to volunteer and attend per classroom. These 5 parents can be different for each party, giving more parents the opportunity to volunteer. All parent volunteers must have an approved background check on file.
- The VCS Healthy School policy will be strictly enforced for all students in all classrooms. Please review the Healthy School Food Guidelines before sending in snacks and treats to school.
We are working on showing our H.E.A.R.T.s at Memorial.
Classrooms who are collectively, as a class, showing their HEART can earn a heart sticker for their class. These are placed on a big red heart on the door of each classroom. The goal for each class is to fill up their big red hearts with stickers (see the picture above). We hope our students are proud of doing well and continue to strive to show their HEARTS.
NEWS FROM THE CAFE
NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH WEEK: OCTOBER 15-19, 2018
To recognize the National School Lunch Program and the 30 million children it serves every day, Valparaiso Community Schools will celebrate National School Lunch Week from October 15-19, 2018. The theme, “Lots 2 Love,” encourages students and school nutrition professionals across the country to share what they love most about school lunch programs.
National School Lunch Week will emphasize the nearly one million healthy meals that are served each year at Valpo Schools. Elementary students will compete to name the cafeteria mascots, The Power Up Pals and all students will celebrate Indiana Food Day learning about the radish and sampling unusual varieties of this root vegetable like Purple Ninja, Daikon and Watermelon.
“School lunches are healthier than ever, with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less fat and sodium,” said Kathleen Kane, Director of School Nutrition. “National School Lunch Week helps us educate parents, teachers and students about all the benefits of our program to the classroom and to families. We are fortunate to have several newly renovated facilities with state of the art equipment which allow us to expand our culinary skills and offer a wider variety of fresh produce.” Have you tried school lunch lately?
You Are Invited to Family Safety Day
Background Checks/Visitor Badges
Additionally, each visit to the school will require a state issued I.D. card or Driver's License. It will be scanned and you will be given a visitor's badge for your visit.
Teaching about Beginning with the End in Mind
Job Opportunities Available
Substitute Paraprofessionals at Memorial
Paraprofessional at Porter County Educational Services
Porter County Education Services is seeking candidates interested in becoming paraprofessionals. If you or someone you know may be interested please contact
Shannon Sobeck, Director of Special Education Services at 219-850-1911.
BUS DRIVERS
Are you looking for an amazing part-time job that has the same scheduled days off as your children? Would you like to join a wonderful community of drivers and aide assistants who would love to have you come on board? Then you should consider becoming a school bus driver for Valparaiso Community Schools! We have friendly and dedicated trainers who will work with you every step of the way. You will receive paid training from them, all while helping you obtain the necessary licensing (Commercial Driver’s License).
Great pay, great hours, great people.
Stop by the transportation office located at 55 Evans Avenue for an application Monday-Friday, between 8:00 am – 3:00 pm; or you can call us at 219-531-3121. We look forward to welcoming you to our team!
NOTES & REMINDERS:
- Please send a note, or email Mrs. Remijan, in the morning with all changes in transportation. When calls are made during the busy school day, there is a chance that the message may get delayed and/or not delivered. If you have an emergency during the day, which merits a change in transportation, the best way to send the message is to Mrs. Remijan's email: lremijan@valpo.k12.in.us.
- Students may not carry medicine with them throughout the school day, this includes Inhalers. Please talk to the school nurse about your child's medical needs.
- If your child is late to school (after the 8:45 bell) please walk them into the office and sign them in.
- If you need a copy of the School Wellness Policy, please ask in the office or look it up on the Memorial website. There is a list of acceptable birthday/classroom treats.
- If you do not have a completed Background Check this school year, please do so ASAP. This needs to be done for all visitors and volunteers that are coming to school during the school day.
- If you need a sign for your car for the Pick-Up Line, please call the office.
General Arrival Procedures
If your child is a walker, they will cross the corners at Park and Milton with the assistance of the adult supervisor. Please remind them to wait for her to stop traffic.
If your child is a bus rider please note that all buses, except bus 8, unload in the front of the building. The bus drivers will let students out to eat breakfast as soon as they get to school. So if your child is in need of breakfast, please tell them they are allowed to get off the bus early. Students eating breakfast are allowed in the building at 8:20.
General Dismissal Procedures
All students who are car riders should leave the building out the east door (Door 2) and wait along the curb on Milton Street. The students should enter the car along the curb as directed by the staff.
Students who are walkers should proceed out the front door and follow the sidewalks along Park and Milton. If you are generally a walker, but plan to drive during the cold winter months, please send in a note and your child can become a car rider.
If you park on Park Avenue to pick up your child who is a walker, please be mindful of the cars that travel down Center Street and leave plenty of room for them to pass through.
Thank you for your assistance in keeping dismissal safe!
PTO News
This year's PTO officers:
President - Debra Krieg Lewis
Vice President - Stephanie Edwards
Secretary - Leslee Davies
Treasurer - Trish VanTornhout
First and Third Graders honoring and learning about U.S. Constitution Day.
Nurse Notes
Dear Memorial Families,
We want to be sure we keep Memorial healthy!. Here are some helpful tips.
Please remember, in accordance with the VCS policy , children should be kept at home if they have the following:
- Temperature of 100 degrees or over
- Eye infections with discharge
- Cough associated with fever or continuous unrelieved cough
- Cold symptoms associated with other signs of illness
- Communicable diseases (chicken pox, scabies, impetigo, ringworm, head lice - until treated appropriately)
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Undiagnosed skin eruptions or rashes
*We ask students to be on antibiotic treatment for 24 hours or fever free 24 hours without an analgesic (Tylenol, Motrin) before returning to school.
For more information, please contact our School Nurse
Copyright 1999 Dr. William P. Sawyer
Memorial Elementary
Email: dmisecko@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: www.valpo.k12.in.us/Domain/337
Location: 1052 Park Ave.
Phone: (219) 531-3090
Twitter: @Valpo_Memorial