NOVEMBER 2024 Newletter

NOVEMBER

1 Cookies and Clay 6:00pm

2 How The Grinch Stole Christmas IU Show

3 Daylight Savings Time Ends

5 Fall Picture Retakes

5 Grade 3 Checkpoint 1 Retest

5 Spell Bowl Practice

7 Honor Choir Practice 7:45 a.m.

7 Grade 3 Checkpoint 1 Retest

7 Suzuki Strings Class at BIA

8 Spell Bowl Practice

11 Veterans Day Program 10:00 am

12-14 Book Fair

12 Spell Bowl Practice

13 PTO Meeting 4:15 p.m.

14 Honor Choir Practice 7:45 a.m.

14 Vision Screenings for Kdg, 1st and 4th

5 Honor Choir Practice

8 Jingle Bell Spectacular

9-13 Candy Cane Grams

12 Honor Choir Practice

12 Grinch Matinee 2:00 p.m.

12 Grinch Holiday Show 6:00 p.m.

17 Pre-K Holiday Program

20 All School Sing Along

23-Jan 3 Winter Break

Check this out!

https://www.morgancountycorrespondent.com/articles/featured-stories/the-first-step/

Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, November 3rd. Please turn your clocks back 1 hour on Saturday evening.

Welcome our new head custodian and Pre-K IA, Ky Sumner and Margaret Asmus (Miss A)!!

Fall Picture Retake day is Tuesday, November 5. Pictures will be taken at Smith Fine Arts Academy.

If you are interested in having your child's picture retaken, order Online at Inter-State.com/order and

use order code 90414JD.

This year, your child’s school will be using the MBF Child Safety Matters® program (the Program) from the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. The goal of the Program is to help keep your child safe. The Program empowers children to spot and respond to bullying, cyberbullying, child abuse, and digital dangers. Most importantly, it teaches that adults are responsible for their safety but there are things they can do to help adults keep them safe. The Program is based on the latest research and has been reviewed and endorsed by national experts. The Program teaches using age-appropriate, easy to understand language and provides take-home items to remind children and parents of the lessons and Safety Rules. When children are taught safety information and rules to help them stay safe, they perform better in school and enjoy healthier, happier, and safer lives. You can learn more about the Program at www. mbfpreventioneducation.org. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Frantz at leigh.frantz@msdmartinsville.org

What’s Happening in Title I:

We have had a great start to the school year. We are currently serving one seventy-five students in kindergarten through third grade with various forms of reading intervention. Title I uses data to target the skills the students might be lacking. Some students may only need Title I for a few weeks. Students are selected by screening and test results, as well as their classroom teacher’s input. We use research-based lessons from a program called UFLI that concentrate on the Science of Reading Framework.

Meet the Staff:

Title I Teacher: Lynn Zook

Mrs. Zook has a bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University. She taught 2nd grade for 25 years and was hired last year as our Title I Teacher.

Reading Intervention Aides: Sherry Shotts & Diana Wren

Mrs. Shotts has worked in several areas of our school district for 23 years. Mrs. Wren has worked in our education system for 13 years. Both ladies are an amazing asset to our Title I program.

Things we work on in Title I: Our groups meet four times a week for approximately 25 minutes each day. Every other Wednesday we give a short assessment to document their progress. Data is then discussed with their classroom teachers. During our group times, the Title I students will receive supplemental reading instruction. The same skills being covered in his/her class will be reinforced in Title I. Primarily, the skills will involve phonological awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary, model good reading, and work on comprehension skills! A Fall (November 14th) and Spring (March) Reading Workshop will be available for those who are interested in attending.

Please feel free to contact your Title I Reading teacher at lynn.zook@msdmartinsville.org, or 765-342-8488 ext. 1521. We are always willing to help answer questions and offer suggestions.

We cut the ribbon on our book vending machine. All Fantastic Friends for each month will receive a token for the book vending machine!

Fantastic Friends for Anti-bullying month consistently model being kind, safe, and respectful.

• Kind and encouraging to everyone
• If they mess up, they fess up and apologize
• An upstander–if they see something, they say something
• Makes others feel welcome and important

School will not be in session November 25th-29th. We will be closed for Thanksgiving Break. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday spent with loved ones.

Meet the PTO Board

Co-presidents: Ky Sumner and Katie O’Neal

Vice President: Amanda Thomas

Treasurer: Leann Moss

Secretary: Amy Purkey

Upcoming Events

Cookies N Clay 11/1 at 6:00pm

Grandparents Night 11/14 at 5:00pm

Meeting Times

PTO meetings will be held on Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. in the library.

The following dates are tentative: Nov. 13, Jan. 8, Mar. 5, Apr. 2.

Everyone is invited and welcome. We hope many will participate.

Follow us on Facebook:

Smith Fine Arts Academy PTO

ParentSquare is the MSD of Martinsville’s tool to communicate with Artesian families.

Families may register for an account and set their preferences for how they’d like to receive messages from us. For example, many parents only want to receive a text, while others prefer email, and others choose both. If you download the app (it’s free!), you can also get notifications via the app.

Another feature of the app is that it allows users to select their preferred language.

In emergencies or when notifying school families is urgent, ParentSquare will use all methods of contact, including a phone call, text, email, and app notification (if we have the correct information and if you’ve downloaded the app).

If you do not register with ParentSquare, you will still receive an email when we use ParentSquare to send a message.

Registering your ParentSquare account

If you do not have an email from the MSD of Martinsville inviting you to create a ParentSquare account, please notify your community.relations@msdmartinsville.org and we will send you the invitation. While you do not need to create an account to receive messages from us, you will have greater flexibility to tailor the ways you receive messages from us if you have an account.

Once you have created an account, there are additional resources available to help you tailor your account to meet your own preferences.

Questions? Email community.relations@msdmartinsville.org

Click this link to apply! Applying has benefits for the school and your family. If you have questions, check out the video.

All visitors to MSD of Martinsville Schools during the school year will be required to have a Limited Criminal History Check. Completed background checks are confidential and will be kept in the school office. A valid driver’s license or state-issued ID will be required for the background check. Please complete the Background Check Form, available in the office, and present your ID to the office at least a week prior to visiting or volunteering. In order to keep our students safe, individuals who do not have a valid driver’s license or state-issued ID will not be allowed access to our building or our students. Please note: If you have a misdemeanor conviction within the last 5 years or a felony conviction within the last 10 years, you will not be allowed to visit/chaperone during school hours. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we keep student safety a priority!

The building opens at 8:25 a.m. Students should not arrive before that time since there is no supervision. Please monitor the time your child leaves for school to make certain he or she does not arrive before 8:25 a.m. We ask that you call the school office (342-8488) by 9:30 a.m. if your child is going to be absent or tardy. If we have not heard from you, you will receive a phone call informing you that your child is not in attendance. A note is necessary the day your child returns if you do not call the school.

· Please share our dismissal procedures with any friends and/or family members who will be responsible for picking up your student.

· To change your student’s dismissal procedure, please call the office at 765-342-8488 ext 3 before 3:00 p.m. We may not be able to accommodate dismissal changes after 3:00 p.m. Please do not leave a message when making a dismissal change.

· If your child is a car rider, please stop by the office to pick up a green sign to place in your car during dismissal.

· Car riders, bus riders, and daycare students will begin dismissing at 3:30 pm. Walkers will be released at approximately 3:45 p.m., after all buses and car riders have departed.

· Students who are being picked up early must be signed out in the office by a parent, guardian, or emergency contact.

The goal of the clinic is to keep everyone safe and healthy.

We would like to remind you that if your child has a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, they will not be permitted to stay at school.

Students must be fever FREE for 24 hours without medication to return to school. They must also be vomiting and diarrhea FREE for 24 hours to come to school.

Please talk to your children about hand washing and personal hygiene.

If your child borrows clothes from the clinic, PLEASE wash the clothes and return them to school.

It would be extremely helpful for students in Pre Kindergarten and Kindergarten to keep an extra set of clothes in their backpacks in case of an emergency. The state is requiring immunizations to be up to date by September 3rd. Students not up to date will be unable to attend school on September 4th.

The MSD of Martinsville is partnering with volunteers from the Martinsville Noon Lions Club to facilitate State required vision mandatory screenings for the following grades: K, 1, 3. If your child wears glasses or contacts please be sure they are wearing them the day of the screening.

your child is in another grade and you would like them to be screened, please send an email to Emmylou.spence@msdmartinsville.org and give your child's name, grade, and school. Smith will be doing screenings on November 14th.

The screening is a very simple procedure and will take only a few minutes. If you do not want your child to participate in the screening, please decline in a written note sent to the clinic.

No report will be sent home if your child passes the vision screening.

Letters will be sent home prior to the screening with dates set by our volunteers.

You can also add that Pre-K students with a permission form can be screened.

Menus are available at the beginning of each month and can be found at: artiescafe.org .

Lunch payments may be made, and meal/textbook assistance forms may be completed, online at artiescafe.org.

Student Lunch: $2.75

LUNCH SCHEDULE

PREK

10:45-11:15 a.m.

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

It is the responsibility of the students to maintain a healthy and respectful-looking appearance while attending school and school activities. Specific regulations of the dress policy:

· Clothing and/or accessories which are indecent or displaying/inferring offensive or lewd words, sayings, and/or pictures is considered a violation. Clothing and/or accessories may not display any forms or references to alcohol, tobacco products, and/or illegal substances.

· Short shorts, halter tops, net shirts, tank tops with spaghetti straps, and midriff tops are not permissible.

· Shoes should be appropriate for safety and comfort. Flip flops and shoes with wheels are not permitted at any time. Students must wear tennis shoes to Physical Education. High heels, and sandals without backs are not permitted.

· Hats and sunglasses are not to be worn in the school building except on designated days.

· The wearing or displaying of any gang related article of dress or adornment is not allowed at school or any school activity.

· Any attire that disrupts the educational process or puts a student at risk, such as clothing that does not fit appropriately, or leaves underwear exposed, is not permitted.

M, T, TH, F ARRIVAL

Doors Open: 8:25 am

School Begins: 8:40 am

WEDNESDAY ARRIVAL

Doors Open: 9:25 am

School Begins: 9:40 am

DAILY DISMISSAL

Daycare/Car Riders/Bus Riders: 3:30 pm

Walkers will be released after all busses and car riders have departed.