The Mountie Messenger

I have never been more excited for a new school year to begin. We have so many new and exciting opportunities for our students and staff. Additionally, our buildings look great and the new furniture has arrived and will provide an excellent learning environment for our students. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to lead our district and be able to update our facilities and provide the best learning experience for our students.

Before we get to all the stuff for the new school year, I want to take a moment and recognize a few outstanding performances across the district. First, congratulations to all our students, staff, and community for once again having the highest corporation performance scores in Montgomery County and surrounding areas on the ILEARN test for grades 3rd-8th in both Math and English Language Arts! Additionally, we are very proud of our IREAD-3 results and Ladoga Elementary has earned a 100% pass rate for the past three years. While there are several other areas to celebrate, special recognition goes to Mrs. Erin Jones and the 8th grade for earning a pass rate of 82% on the ILEARN 8th grade English test, which was 38% above the state average! Finally, as a corporation our students scored 18% above the state average on the English ILEARN exam and 20% above the state average on the Math ILEARN exam.

Over the summer we held several professional development opportunities and we are very thankful to our teachers that attended these sessions. In June, we held a Science of Reading Summit that will help our teachers with the new ELA curriculum and benefit our students that are learning to read. Also, we held a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professional development for grades K-8. We are excited to enhance our Science curriculum with a new program entitled Create2Think and we are in the process of becoming the only area district to be certified in STEM. Next, we received professional development in our new Junior High Math curriculum entitled Reveal Math. This was the #1 choice of our Junior High Math teachers and it comes with a new online platform entitled ALEKS Math. Additionally, our teachers in grades K-6 have received multiple days of training on the new ELA curriculum entitled CKLA and we are all extremely excited to implement this curriculum at the start of the school year and watch our students grow. Finally, we will be taking approximately 20 staff members to the PLC (Professional Learning Community) Institute in Chicago at the end of the month. I have attended this conference in the past and it is the best conference that I have ever attended.

We are wrapping up several capital projects throughout the school corporation. If you drive by the high school and junior high you will see that the parking lots have been repaved. Inside the junior high and high school, all the classrooms have been repainted, most rooms have been carpeted, and we hope to have the new liner installed in the pool. Across the entire district, new furniture has been installed, deep cleaning has taken place, and our buildings are almost ready for the first day of school. Despite all the projects going on it is extremely quiet in the buildings without our students. I am very excited to see all of our students back at school and I can’t wait to see their faces when they see all the updates to our buildings. Until then, good luck at the fair to all those that are participating and enjoy the rest of the summer as school will be here before you know it.

Sincerely,

Dr. Chad C. Cripe

Proud Superintendent of Southmont Schools

Yes. Even if your child has been a Southmont student for many years, we ask that every family complete the registration process so that our records are up to date with your contact and emergency information. Please visit your PowerSchool Parent Portal to register today!

Southmont Schools are pleased to be able to continue to offer a quality FREE BREAKFAST for every student again this year. School breakfast will provide your student with a healthy start to their school day!

Students will be charged for purchasing a lunch served by our school staff. Students also have the option to bring their lunch from home.

You can make online payments to your child's account at any time using the MySchoolBucks program. Online payments are automatically credited to your child's meal account. There is a $2.49 processing fee, charged by MySchoolBucks.

You may also send cash or check to your child's school, and the money will be deposited into his/her account. The money is then used as a debit system to purchase meals using your child's student ID number. If you choose to send a check, please be sure to include your child's name and "lunch payment" in the memo section to ensure it is deposited into the correct account.

Yes, financial assistance can be provided for families who qualify. Free and reduced meal applications must be completed annually by each household. Enrolled students may be eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at a free or reduced rate. Qualifying for free and reduced meals can bring additional education benefits such as test/exam fee reduction or waivers, and eligibility for other discounts or program opportunities.

An application must be completed for this purpose. Applications can be dropped off at our central office or mailed to:

Southmont Schools

6401 US 231 South

Crawfordsville, IN 49733

We are not collecting any fees at this time. Indiana lawmakers recently passed Senate Bill 395 which requires Indiana public schools to provide curricular materials at no cost to students.

Preschool openings are available at Walnut Elementary School. Parents may be added to our preschool waiting list for New Market and Ladoga Elementary Schools by calling our central office at 765-866-0203. If you have not paid your deposit at New Market or Ladoga, please do so by Friday, July 28th to hold your spot.

If you need further assistance with the voucher process, please contact the Family Service Provider assigned to Southmont Families:

Laura Roy: 833-903-2331

The elementary instructional day begins at 8:15 a.m. The school day ends at 2:45 p.m. daily.

Each building will be communicating their own specifics regarding car rider procedures and after school care.

Students in grades 1-5 will receive their chromebooks from their teacher when they arrive in their classrooms on the first day of school.

Kindergarten students usually receive their chromebooks the second week of school. This allows our teachers time to teach procedures on how to keep their devices safe.

The Jr. High instructional day begins at 8:00 a.m. The school day ends at 3:00 p.m.

Students will have access to their schedules through their school email by the last week of July. Paper schedules will be available during Junior High Locker Days on August 2nd and 3rd.

Chromebooks may be picked up from 10am-2pm during the Jr. High Locker Days (8/2 & 8/3) and/or at Back to School Night (8/7) from 4pm-6pm. Students may also pick up their chromebook on the first day of school.

Incoming sixth grade students can choose between joining band or choir their 6th grade year. This is a year long commitment and will replace the rotational classes of: Computer Science, Music, Physical Education, Art, and Library. If your child is interested in joining either band or choir please contact Mrs. Busenbark at 765-866-2023 or by e-mail at Brooke.Busenbark@southmont.k12.in.us.

Seventh grade students have the option to join both band and choir. If he/she joins one it will replace the rotational classes of: STEM-Engineering and Technology, Computer Science, Exploring Agriculture, Art, Exploring World Languages, and Business/keyboarding. If your child decides on taking both band and choir they will opt out of the rotational classes along with physical education.

Eighth grade students have the option to join both band and choir. If he/she joins one it will replace the rotational classes of: STEM-Engineering and Technology, Computer Science, Exploring Agriculture, Art, Exploring World Languages, and Business/keyboarding. If your child decides on taking both band and choir they will opt out of the rotational classes along with a semester Preparing for College and Careers and a semester of Health which are both high school credited courses.

The High School instructional day begins at 8:00 a.m. The school day ends at 3:00 p.m. These times are the same as our Jr. High.

1. As a reminder, Sports Physicals must be turned in to the Athletic Office and all required documentations must be completed by parents and athletes via Final Forms in order to participate in any athletic activities. This includes participation in summer weights & conditioning, team activities, and individual workouts.

2. Moratorium week is set for July 24-July 30. All athletic facilities will be shut down and there will not be any workouts (individual or team) during this time. Athletes should not be on campus. We want everyone to take this time to relax with family and friends prior to the start of the school year.

3. Please remember to sign up for Eventlink and subscribe to practice calendars as well as game schedules. This will allow you to receive text messages with updates and changes.

High School Fall Sport Start Dates to Remember:

July 31 (with the exception of girls golf (July 28)

• Boys Sports: Cross Country, Soccer, Tennis
• Girls Sports: Cross Country, Soccer, Volleyball
• Golf Coed Sports: Football and Cheerleading

Junior High Fall Sport Start Dates to Remember:

Start Dates July 31 ·

• Boys Sports: Cross Country, Football
• Girls Sports: Cross Country, Cheerleading

Start Dates Aug 2:

• Boys Sports: Soccer ·
• Girls Sports: 7 & 8 Grade Volleyball, Golf, Soccer

Start Dates Aug 9:

• Boys Sports: Tennis
• Girls Sports: 6th Grade Volleyball

Anyone who wants to have up-to-date athletic schedule information should go to eventlink.com and create a "community" account. You will be able to select your school and the calendars you want to subscribe to. This is the best way to get information on all last-minute changes to schedules at Southmont!

Looking for new Mountie Apparel and Accessories? The Athletic Department has an online store available to our community. It is open 24/7 and offers everything from hats to sweatshirts to cups. You can also customize many of the items in the store.

Athletic Department Online Store Details:

• Open 24/7
• Lots of Apparel, hats, bags, and accessories.
• No minimums. Orders are shipped and delivered to customers in 7-10 days.
• Most items are fully customizable.
• Changes can be made to apparel colors.
• Designs can be chosen with colors and lettering.
• Last names and/or back numbers can be added.
• Any new custom designs can be uploaded.
• All items on the store are in stock in all colors and sizes.
• Shop by brand: Nike, UA, Adidas, Holloway, Augusta, and others.

PASSWORD to enter the store is mounties (all lowercase.)

Website: https://www.southmontschools.org/
Location: 6425 U.S. 231, Crawfordsville, IN 47933, USA
Phone: (765) 866-0203
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthmontSchools
Twitter: @SMontgomeryCSC