Messages from Memorial
September 2020
HEART*EFFORT*ATTITUDE*RESPECT*TEAMWORK
WE ARE VIKINGS WITH HEART!
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Happy September! I am very proud of the Memorial students and teachers for all they have done to start out the school year strong in this strange and unprecedented time. The school year is now in full swing and we have learned a lot on how to help two formats of learners be successful. In addition to teaching and learning the academic standards, there have been many opportunities for all of us to practice important Lifeskills, such as perseverance, patience, kindness, problem solving, effort and grit. Memorial students and staff are using these everyday. We are embracing a growth mindset and using the struggles to learn and grow.
I would like to thank all parents and guardians for your help and patience as we are navigating this new way of teaching and learning. Your support and kindness have been appreciated. The students have been doing an amazing job wearing masks, washing hands, sanitizing and trying to social distance when necessary. The students, both in person and remote learners, are doing well listening to their teachers and putting forth lots of effort in their work. This really is a tribute to how well education is a priority in your home. THANK YOU!
One of my favorite sayings is "As good as we are, we can always get better." If you have any suggestions for improvement or need some assistance, please do not hesitate to call me.
Thank you for your continued patience.
With Great Respect,
Mrs. Debra Misecko, Principal
Reminders from Memorial
- Please make sure that you are screening for Covid 19 symptoms before sending your child to school. This link can take you to the VCS Return to Learn Plan and the screening guidelines.
- Thank you for following your dismissal plans as written.
- We recognize that family situations change from week to week for various reasons, and we will accommodate weekly dismissal plans as needed. Those plans need to be in the office by 10 a.m. on Monday morning. That gives us time to communicate with all stakeholders and to make provisions for assigned seats, if needed.
- Unfortunately we cannot accommodate mid-day switches for convenience, as it is difficult to make sure all of our safety provisions can be in place and that we can communicate the change with the appropriate personnel. If it is truly an emergency, please call the school office to discuss your needs.
- If your child gets picked up in a car from school, please continue to follow the correct times for lining up: Last names of A-K dismissal begins at 3:10 and last names beginning L-Z start dismissal at 3:20.
- Morning supervision and breakfast begin at 8:50. Please drop off your child after 8:50. If they would like to eat breakfast we will send them right in. All other students will be let in the building at 9:00 a.m. The tardy bell rings at 9:15.
- Pick up and drop off should only be done along the school on the curb on Milton Street. Students should not be dropped off or picked up in the school parking lots. The parking lots are not supervised for safety.
- Please consider putting a spare mask in your child's backpack. Some students are experiencing mask malfunctions during the school day.
- Please refrain from sending your child to school in flip flops. Flip flops are not safe on the playground and are also likely to break during play.
Reminders for Remote Learners
- Congrats on learning how to navigate this tricky way of learning. You are doing great! It is really fun for us to see you during your live sessions.
- Please remember to be ready for your Zoom sessions on time. Being ready means that you are logged on, have removed distractions from your learning area, put away all food and drinks, and have the needed school supplies ready to go.
- Keep your computer on mute until you are ready to speak. Keep in mind when your computer is not on mute, the entire classroom is hearing all noises from your home. Family discussions can be distracting.
- Remote student attendance is determined by the students' completion of the class participation for the day, whether it is one or more live sessions.
- If your child is ill and cannot participate, please inform your child's teacher and the office in the morning.
- Classroom teachers will let you know if there are books or materials to pick up. When necessary, you will have contactless pick up in the front vestibule. Please come during office hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Information about including remote learners for picture day will be sent in a separate email, stay tuned.
20-21 Book Rental is Now Due
Picture Day is September 23 - See below for more information.
Library Opportunities this Year
- Students can check out up to 2 books at a time and the books are due in one week.
- Mr. Walters asks the students to be extra careful with the care of their books and to make sure that they try and not share their library books with other students while they have them checked out.
- Mr. Walters is delivering books to classrooms.
- Students in grades 3-5 use their Chromebooks for putting hold requests on library books. Mr. Walters has also been encouraging students to use our school library website as a good source for ebooks.
- Mr. Walters delivers a "grade appropriate" crate of books to each class weekly. Each class receives a weekly crate of hand selected titles that is based on the general interests and reading levels of each class.
- Mr. Walters has also been encouraging everyone to use the expanded resources that the Porter County Public Library has made available to all students, even those who do not currently have a Porter County Library Card. (students can access the Porter County Library site using the same page that connects them to the Memorial Library Page).
- *The video below shows students how to access the Memorial Library site for reading ebooks, but, once logged into their student account, this is also the website students can use to browse and place holds on the actual, physical, library books that are on our shelves.
Teaching about Being Proactive
Job Opportunities Available at Memorial
There are also openings across the district for full-time custodians and substitute custodians. Applications can be found at this link to the VCS HR webpage.
MEMORIAL PTO
We are so excited to announce the PTO Executive Board for the 2020-2021 school year and greatly appreciate their willingness to work in these valued positions.
President - Kristen Elinkowski
Vice President - Rose Gutshall
Treasurer - Megan Taylor
Secretary - Rae Smedley
Stay tuned for more information coming about 20-21 PTO events. They will be shared in the Memorial Newsletter, on the Memorial Elementary PTO Facebook page, and the Memorial PTO Website.
THE NEXT PTO MEETING WILL BE AT 3:45 on SEPTEMBER 16 via ZOOM (link will be emailed that week.)
FOOD SERVICE INFORMATION
Food Service would like to limit contact touch points for students and staff and prefer that parents pay for meals online. This is now a FREE service (The fees have been waived during the pandemic). If you have not paid online before, you may refer to this link for a quick tutorial.
They have also added a cool app (see picture below) for students and parents to check out the menu and nutrition information. Paper menus will not be printed this year. Menus will only be available online and through the app. You can find additional menu information at this link.
Elementary meal prices are:
$1.55 for Breakfast (.30 reduced)
$2.65 for lunch (.40 reduced)
Memorial Elementary
Email: dmisecko@valpo.k12.in.us
Website: valpo.k12.in.us/Domain/337
Location: 1052 Park Avenue, Valparaiso, IN, USA
Phone: 219-531-3090
Twitter: @Valpo_Memorial