Mustang Messenger

February 2024

From the Principal's Desk

Greetings Mustang Families!

Usually in Michiana, February is always the coldest month of the year but we have been lucky thus far! (Knock on wood!). As February comes, so does our middle of the year "check in" on how our students are performing using our district-wide assessments. Our goal is ALWAYS growth for every student. Teachers may be reaching out to you about interventions and other strategies that you can do at home to assist your child in reaching their full potential. Remember - you are the third part of our triangle of success! Please support your child by helping with homework, checking returned work, and giving extra help where needed. Above all - READ with your child every night!

Below, you will see some information (including a video) about the PTO fundraiser of Major Saver cards. This sale runs through Feburary 13th. Students will be bringing home information on Friday, February 2nd.

A few other reminders for this month:

NO school on Friday, February 16th and Monday, February 19th.
Especially during winter months, avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at school and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
Students should not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, barrettes, hair scrunchies, combs, or brushes.

Some of you may recall that we ended the practice of "Valentine's Day" parties 2 years ago. Rather, our teachers do activities all month long that are focused on the lifeline of friendship.

Finally, and most importantly....Safety is all of our number one concern for our children. Dr. Jenner, Indiana's Secretary of Education, shared resources on Best Practices in Safe Possession and Storage of Firearms. Please take some time to make sure these guidelines are being followed anywhere your child spends time outside of school.

Have a great month and enjoy all of the activities we have happening including our One Book One School event!

Warmly,

Mrs. Heerschop

February Calendar of Events

February 1

One Book One School Kicks Off!

February 2

Major Saver PTO Fundraiser Kick-Off!

February 5

NWEA Testing (HA Qualification) Window Opens

February 8

Donuts with Grownups - A-M - 7:00-7:40am

February 9

Donuts with Grownups - N-Z - 7:00-7:40am

American Heart Association Wellness Week Kick-Off!

February 16 - February 19

President's Day Weekend Break - No School

February 23

Popcorn Friday!

February 24

Circle the State with Song - Goshen College

February 26 ~ March 1

Spring Book Fair

One Book One School!

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Jack: The (Fairly) True Tale of Jack and the Beanstalk!

Get ready to cozy up to this year's book! It's One Book, One School time! It will run from February 1 - March 1.

The book, the pamphlet, and calendar will be coming home to students on February 1st or 2nd. We ask that every student please put their name on the inside cover of the book as soon as they receive it. it never fails that we find a book or two lying around the school!

Some of the highlights this year to look forward to:

Daily readings PLUS we have audio recordings of the daily recordings being read by mystery readers. Studio will be announcing who that mystery reader is each day...can you guess before they tell you?
Weekend at home activities. Projects turned in by the following Tuesday will be eligible to be in a drawing for a prize. The project and any papers you may need to complete them are linked and available on our school website.
Trivia Tuesdays - call in radio style, make sure you are current with the readings to win a prize!
Feb. 26th - Dress like your favorite fairy tale character!
March 1st - Finale - we have something special planned. This will be an assembly in the gym, Grades 3-5 8:00 - 8:20 am, Grades ELA - 2nd 8:30 - 8:50.

As always, all this information and more is in the pamphlet and on our Mary Frank School website. We will send the link to you once it goes live.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher!

Thank you and enjoy!

PHM 2024 Major Saver Kickoff!

Here are the details for the Major Saver program.

The Major Saver Card: What the students are selling

The students will be selling the Major Saver card which is a discount card featuring 25 local businesses offering a buy-one-get-one deal or a special discount to the card holder. The card sells for $20 and includes access to the Major Saver app which can be used nationwide for additional discounts.

Friday, February 2nd : Major Saver Campaign Kick Off

A Major Saver representative will be delivering the campaign packets to your school the morning of Thursday, February 1st. Packets will be bundled by teachers/classrooms for easy distribution. The video below will be shown to all students.

Wednesday, February 7th – Tuesday, February 13th : Daily Collections

The Mary Frank PTO will handle every aspect of the daily money collections, card and prize distribution plus record keeping.

First thing each morning students will be asked if they have packets to turn in, and their teacher sends one student and the packets to the office. The student will drop off the packets and immediately return to class.

A Major Saver representative will collect the money from each packet, place cards and prizes into the same packet and return to the grade level container for easy distribution. Students have the ability to turn in money daily so it is imperative the packets are returned to the students every day.

Wednesday, February 14th : Follow Up

This day is not an advertised on the packet. We use this opportunity to take care of any late orders that students may have forgotten and process any online sales from the previous day.

If you should have any other questions about your campaign or want to set up a live assembly, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you in advance for your help and participation.

Books & Bots

This year, the Young Authors' Conference and Next Gen Conference are teaming up for the first time. They will run back to back at the high school, rather than having two separate events on the same day. We are calling the event "Books & Bots" and you can find the flyers attached.

Get ready for some friendly competition! We are looking for the elementary school with the highest percentage of attendees. This school will win a collection of the author's books that are currently in print for your school library. Information about our author can be found here. Carolyn Crimi has written a wide variety of books including: Weird Little Robots, Secondhand Dogs, Don’t Need Friends, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, There Might Be Lobsters, and I Am The Boss of This Chair. We can't wait for her interactive presentation.

Registration Information

Registration Link

5th Grade Immunization Letter

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5th Grade Letter 2023-2024.docx

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Helpful Links

School Delays & Closings Procedures

Safe School Helpline

Before & After School Care (Kids Club)

Forms for Parents

The PHM website has almost all forms (some online) and information you may need throughout the school year. Instead of hunting down paperwork, always check here first.

Elementary School Menus

Community Events & Activities

Volunteer Information

Parents' Guide to Technology

February PTO News

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Upcoming Fundraiser

February 1st - February 13th: Major Saver Fundraiser Cards

Cards are $20 each. Mary Frank will receive $5 for every card sold! There are lots of participating restaurants and businesses such as Drive and Shine and Strikes and Spares. More details will be sent home!

February 23rd - Popcorn Friday

$2/box - money is due the morning of February 23rd

Donuts with Grown-ups

February 8th and 9th (7-7:40 am) - event is by last name

A-M on February 8th

N-Z on February 9th

$7/family - immediate family only please.

Book Fair

February 26 - March 1st

Parents' shopping night TBA

Look out for the sign up genius for volunteer opportunities!

Silent Auction/Art Show

Our silent auction and art show will be on April 26th (5-7 pm). We are now accepting any donations! Looking for themed gift baskets , gift certificates, sports related things, art, music lessons, and many more!

February “Smile & Share”

We know our Mustangs are busy with Winter extracurricular activities so it’s time to “Smile & Share”! These pictures can include anything from sports to just hanging out with multiple Mustangs. If you play on a team with other Mary Frank students or hang out with Mary Frank friends, snap a group pic together!

✓ Email: Pictures should be sent to maryfrankyearbook@gmail.com, and include student name(s) and grade(s).

✓ Reminder: Pictures can only include current Mary Frank students.

✓ Photo Tip: Clear, close-up, bright photos will give us the best yearbook!

PHM Excellence

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation continues to be good fiscal stewards of taxpayer dollars by maintaining the lowest property tax rate in St. Joseph County. For 2024 the rate will stay at 0.9275, which is the same rate as it was for 2023. Click here for more information.