March 2024 Bulldog Bulletin
Spring Mill Elementary 2023-2024 School Year
Translate/Traducir/ترجمة/ Traduire/ Tafsiri
Spring Mill Elementary
Email: kmerritt@msdwt.k12.in.us
Website: www.sm.msdwt.k12.in.us
Location: 8250 Spring Mill Road, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: (317) 259-5462
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpringMillElementary/
Twitter: @springmillelem
March
3/4-3/8 - National School Social Worker Week
3/4-3/15 - IREAD Testing Window
6 - eLearning Day - students will work from home
8 - End of Quarter 3 / end of Winter Clubs
8 - 5th Grade Music Concert at NVMS (10:00 am)
8 - Dedication of The Paul Logan Fieldhouse @ NCHS (4:30 pm)
9 - Great North Run
9 - Choir & Orff Ensemble Performance (Smoky Row Elementary)
12 - 5th Grade Parent Night at NVMS (6:30-8:00 pm)
13 - Spring Mill Spotlight at School Board Meeting (6:00 pm)
3/18-3/22 - Book Fair Week
19 - 5th Grade Music Try-ons and NVMS Counselor Visit @ SM
21- Kindergarten Jamboree and Book Fair (5:00-6:00 pm)
21 - Math/ Literacy Night and Book Fair (5:30-6:30 pm)
21 - ILEARN Parent Night 4th / 5th Grade Families (6:00 pm)
22 - PTO Popcorn Day
26 - PTO Dine to Donate at Cousin's Subs
April
4/1 - 4/7 - Spring Break
8 - eLearning Day - students will work from home
9 - Math Bowl at Eastwood Middle School (5:00 pm)
12 - PTO Trivia Fundraiser Night - see information below
4/15 - 5/10 - ILEARN Testing Window (3rd - 5th Grade)
24 - 5th Grade Instrument Information Night @ NVMS
27 - NCHS Art Show (1:00-2:30 pm)
4/29 - 5/3 - PTO Penny Wars
Message from Ms. Merritt
Dear Spring Mill Bulldogs,
We are nearing the final grading quarter of this school year. This is our time to shine as a school community as a whole. Families, we need your support and your presence now more than ever. It is imperative that students come to school every day on time. This is essential to their academic achievement and long term success. We know that our students can learn. We have proven that our students will learn when we are strategic and intentional about our learning goals and expected outcomes. Our students are so deserving of high quality instruction from teachers who are working diligently to develop their craft. This has been our focus this entire year at Spring Mill.
Our school was selected by the Indiana Department of Education as a collaboration site for the Get Your Teach On (GYTO) organization. This has been a transformational experience for our teachers and students, which has afforded us an opportunity to bring the joy back into our learning environment. The teaching and learning that is occurring in this building is just impressive. At any point, you can observe classrooms where learning is highly engaging, students working in partnership with their teachers and peers, and instruction is focused on a specific learning target. We have been able to narrow our focus to three goals: Target, Teach, and Track. It will be exciting to see our end of year performance as we take many high-stakes standardized assessments over the next three months.
In an effort to ensure that we have systems that are operating efficiently, there have been some changes that we have made to our front office in terms of morning drop-off. We have start times for morning arrival that help support how our building routinely operates. Our front office is not open for drop off until the office start of the school day, which is 7:40 a.m. The car line drop-off ends at 7:38 a.m. each morning. Our end of day pick up begins at 2:25 p.m. If your child needs to leave prior to the scheduled dismissal time, they must be picked up by 1:30 p.m. Again, this procedure is in place to help support our end of day operations and to maintain a smooth dismissal free of last minute changes to transportation.
We are working diligently to ensure that this school building is a place of academic excellence to maintain the legacy that Spring Mill has had in this community for many years. Every procedure that we put in place is for this purpose. Although change is not always welcomed, please know that our goal is to prioritize student safety and learning, which means some changes need to occur. Please be patient with us and extend us grace when you can because we are not perfect. However, we are trying our very best to make this school a place where you and your child can feel very proud to call home.
Sincerely,
Ms. Kellèe Merritt, Principal
#goodBetterBEST
#excellentonpurpose
#You'veBeenDucked
#whyWT
#BulldogProud
First Grade Music Sharing Days
First grade families, we hope you can join Mrs. Locke and your student for First Grade Music Sharing Days the week of March 18th. Check out Parent Square to find out what exact day your child attends music, along with more details. RSVP forms must be turned in to your child’s classroom teacher by Friday, March 15th.
Spring Mill PTO
Bulldog Families, Spring is in the air and we have so many exciting things happening at The Mill:
Saturday 3/9 - Great North Run 9am
Join the Bulldogs at North Central for a fun run and Washington Township community-building event! Each school is trying to have the largest representation, so let’s make sure the BULLDOG CREW IS READY TO RUN - sign up HERE!
Friday 3/22 - Popcorn Day
Stay tuned for a volunteer sign up to go out soon!
Tuesday 3/26 - Dine to Donate @ Cousins Subs 4-8pm (see the flyer below)
Take a night off cooking and check out Indy’s newest sub shop at 9321 Michigan Rd.
NEW DATE! Sat 4/12 - Trivia Night 7-10pm
Save THIS Date for the PTO’s annual fundraiser! We pushed the event back a few weeks to give us more time to plan, so get ready for an awesome night out. There will be team trivia, door prizes, a silent auction, and much more! Tickets and additional info coming soon.
Friday, 5/4 - Spring Fling! 5-7pm
Save the Date for our annual spring celebration with games, food, and fun! We can’t wait!
Week of May 6-10 - Staff Appreciation!
You’ll see more info as we get closer, but prepare to show our amazing Bulldog staff the love with themed days that will caffeinate, encourage, and celebrate the incredible SM team that does so much for our kids.
Also, for those who are KROGER shoppers or BOX TOP item buyers, please click HERE to find out how to make sure your purchases are going toward Spring Mill. It’s a simple way to give back throughout the year, and the cash back really does go a long way!
Thanks for all you do, here’s to a great Spring!
-Spring Mill PTO
Go Bulldogs!
SME PTO
Great North Run
PLEASE HELP US REACH OUR GOAL BY PARTICIPATING IN THE GREAT NORTH RUN: The 20th running of the Great North Run is happening March 9, 2024. This event includes a Family Fun Run/Walk, 5k, and 10k races that start at North Central High School. It is a great way to be a part of the WT community and raise money for Spring Mill. Come out and walk, run, or just have fun! Registration is open for the 2024 Great North Run and Fitness Fair at:
https://runsignup.com/Race/IN/Indianapolis/GreatNorthRun
All proceeds help to fund classroom grants, student scholarships, and transformational programming for the students, teachers, and staff of Washington Township Schools! MSDWT Schools compete to see who can reach their participation goals, please help us reach ours!!
Black History Month
Throughout the month of February, staff and students celebrated and learned about Black History Month. Students met authors, conducted research on important historical figures, participated in the NCTE African American Read In, performed culturally relevant songs, and much more. Please take time to enjoy our Black History Month Showcase video compilation, thanks to the effort of Lisa Harton and many more at Spring Mill. https://youtu.be/wykQJzOfrQw
23-24 Yearbook Orders
Sales for the 2023-24 Spring Mill Yearbooks have begun! Yearbooks are $20 and must be purchased by Friday, March 22. Order online at inter-state.com/order and enter code 83136D. You may also send a cash or check made out to Spring Mill Elementary PTO. Please add both your child’s name and their teacher’s name on the envelope.
5th Grade Fundraiser
Send your student an ILEARN care basket! The 5th Grade class will be selling ILEARN baskets for parents/guardians to purchase for their 3rd, 4th, and/or 5th grader who will be taking ILEARN during the week of March 11. Baskets will be delivered to your student on the first day of ILEARN testing on April 15th! Baskets will be $10, and an order form will be sent out the week of March 4.
Items in the basket include an inspirational bracelet, a motivational note, three fun pencils, a large eraser, a pencil sharpener, mints, hard candy, a fun writing utensil, a small water bottle, hand sanitizer, a pack of tissues, and a fidget tool.
*Parents/ guardians who attend Math & Literacy Night/ ILEARN Night will have the opportunity to hand-write their student a note that will also be placed in their basket.
Book Fair
We are excited to have our Spring Scholastic Book Fair! Students will attend the Book Fair with their classes from Monday, March 18, through Friday, March 22. The Book Fair will also be open during the Kindergarten Jamboree and Math & Literacy Night on Thursday, March 21, from 5:00-6:30 pm. You can visit the flyer online, shop, and create an eWallet for your students HERE!
IREAD3 2nd Grade / 3rd Grade
Parents of 2nd and 3rd Grade students, please encourage your children to do their very best for our upcoming IREAD3 assessment. We need your support by making sure students are here every day, on time, rested, and with a positive growth mindset so they are ready to ROCK this test like we know they can! Third grade will be testing the week of March 4 and 2nd Grade will be testing the week of March 11. The testing window closes on March 15, so it is imperative that students are here every day, on time, so we can assess every student and allow them the opportunity to show what they know. Parents, thank in advance you for your help to make sure we have the best results possible!
Spring Mill Reading Challenge
We are now one month into our reading challenge and the excitement on the faces of students when they meet a milestone has been unmatched. Students want to read and are making it a priority to read as much as they can to meet each milestone. We want to keep the momentum going and need your help doing this. Encourage your student to read every night. Have them record the books they have read from beginning to end on their recording sheet. All students should have access to a recording sheet and, if not, please reach out to your child’s teacher for another copy.
How it works….
Each student will receive a recording sheet to keep track of the number of books read. Students will shade in a box or add the title for each book they have finished from beginning to end.
Reading Challenge K-2
This challenge would run through the end of the year (May 9). Students will be challenged to read 40 books by May 9. There will be a prize associated with each set of 10 books that students read.
Update: Student's names are added to the Bulldog Readers Hall of Fame as soon as they reach the first milestone. After that, each milestone will be added to their star.
Goal: Read 40 books by May 9th
10 Books = Reading Sticker
20 Books = Bookmark
30 Books = Popsicle
40 Books = Certificate
41 Books or more= Name will be read on the morning news
Reading Challenge 3-5
This challenge would run through the end of the year (May 9). Students will be challenged to read 20 books by May 9. There will be a prize associated with each set of 5 books that students read.
Update: Student's names are added to the Bulldog Readers Hall of Fame as soon as they reach the first milestone. After that, each milestone will be added to their star.
Goal: Read 20 books by May 9th
5 Books = Reading Sticker
10 Books = Bookmark
15 Books = Popsicle
20 Books = Certificate
21 Books or more= Name will be read on the morning news
Happy Reading!
March Behavior Focus - Responsibility
doing the things you are supposed to do when when you are supposed to do them. Being responsible is making good choices, being dependable, managing your time, and taking accountability for your actions. A responsible citizen looks out for the well being of others and understands we all play a part in making the world a better place. When you are talking with your child/children about their day, please incorporate demonstrating responsibility into your discussions and practice the skill at home as well.
Bulldog Bone Students of the Month for Kindness
Throughout the month of February, our behavior focus was kindness. This included caring about other people’s feelings and well-being. Being kind is listening, feeling, and understanding others’ needs and trying to help meet those needs. Kindness is a choice you make in everything you do. Choosing to treat others kind makes them feel good, and it makes you feel good too!. Every classroom selected a student to recognize that consistently modeled the skill of kindness in all areas throughout February.
Raes- Clifton Clark
Cherwin- Donovan Diaz
Kindergarten
Gabbei- Bryson Harris
Bloomer- Karter Covington
Miranda- Sh’Niyah Dixon
Moore- Mira Parsudi
Special Area Classes - Akasha Stokes
1st Grade
Johnson- Nubia Johnson
Harton- Alani Ivy
Schneider- Aeryn Wills
Keegan- Dre’A Robinson
Special Area Classes - Devaro Garrett
2nd Grade
McAllister- Chloe Bernadac
Urbanski- Lei Lani Vinice
Finley- Levi McGinnis
Culp- Zylis Easter
Special Area Classes - Isaiah Campbell
3rd Grade
Gallagher- Aubry Guadalupe
Hartnagel- Devanee Duncan
Joyner- Gloria Joviya
Special Area Classes - Avah Hunter
4th Grade
Dewey- Andy Bernabe
Patterson- Briseyda Barrios
Turner- Melani Lopez
Morse- Wesley Williams
Special Area Classes - Zyionna Lucas
5th Grade
Amspaugh- Mia Quintanilla
Evans- Alice Rivera Natividad
Badger- Fany Granilo Martinez
Arms- Alex Triblet
Special Area Classes - Jayla Scott