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
February
2 - PTO Popcorn Day
4 - NVMS Open House 1:00-4:00
2/5 - 2/9 - Body Safety Week
8 - IREAD3/ILEARN Night (2nd and 3rd Grade)
12 - Kindergarten Registration Officially Opens
14 - Valentine Classroom Parties
19 - No School - President's Day
22 - PTO Parent Mix and Mingle Night
22 - Bus Driver Appreciation Day
28 - Dine to Donate - Lou Malnati's on 86th Street
March
3/4-3/8 - National School Social Worker Week
3/4-3/15 - IREAD Testing
6 - eLearning Day
8 - end of Quarter 3
9 - Great North Run
9 - Choir & Orff Ensemble Performance
13 - Spring Mill Spotlight at School Board Meeting
21- Kindergarten Jamboree 5:00-6:00
21 - Math/ Literacy Night 5:30-6:30
22 - PTO Popcorn Day
Message from Ms. Merritt
Dear Spring Mill Bulldogs,
The second semester of this school year is off to a strong start and we could not be more excited for all that these next few months have in store. As we continue to raise the bar in terms of academic achievement, we are also maintaining HIGH expectations for our learning environments within and outside of the classroom. We are reminding our students daily that positive behavior is not only expected, but sometimes it is recognized and rewarded in a variety of ways. By the same token, we must ensure that we have a safe school for everyone of our SM Bulldogs. Therefore, we will continue to give discipline consequences when warranted especially when students make the choice to be physically aggressive. We simply can not tolerate this type of behavior as it is not conducive to the learning environment we are fostering here at Spring Mill.
For our fourth and fifth grade students, we will begin utilizing scheduled class restroom breaks instead of individual bathroom breaks until further notice. Students with medical needs that warrant more frequent access to the restroom, will be given the opportunity to go as needed using a designated location determined by their teacher. Since bathrooms can often be unsupervised, we want to ensure that these areas do not become places for students to loiter causing them to make poor choices. If your child has a specific need, please reach out to your child's teacher directly.
We are currently participating in a healthy competition, "You've Been Ducked", from now until February 23rd. Our classroom teachers are leading this charge by earning ducks as they implement instructional strategies with their students. The goal is for each teacher to earn five ducks to represent five strong instructional best practices that makes learning more relevant and meaningful for their students. It is our way to make sure that the instruction within our classrooms is optimal for ALL of our Bulldogs. We believe that learning should be a celebration, so we thank you for all of your continuous support. You are the reason that our School is an AMAZING place to learn, grow and THRIVE!
Sincerely,
Ms. Kellèe Merritt, Principal
#goodBetterBEST
#excellentonpurpose
#You'veBeenDucked
#whyWT
Spring Mill PTO
Hello Bulldog Families,
And just like that, we’re back in the thick of things at Spring Mill! There are lots of exciting ways to engage with the PTO and Bulldog community, and we hope to see you at some or all of these upcoming events:
Fri 2/2 - Popcorn Day - We still need a few volunteers, if you’re interested, sign up HERE
Wed 2/14 - Valentine’s Day Classroom Parties
- We need Capri Suns & Little Debbies delivered to school by Mon 2/12
- We are also hoping to have 2 parent/caregiver volunteers for each classroom from 1:30-2:30pm on the 14th.
- Sign up for either or both HERE
- We’re going to Penn & Beech in Carmel for candle making and cocktails! Bonus is that this will also be a fundraiser for the PTO! Save the date and stay tuned for more info.
Sat 3/9 - Great North Run
- Join the Bulldogs at North Central for a fun run and Washington Township community building event!
Sat 3/23 - Trivia Night
- Save the Date for the PTO’s annual fundraiser! There will be team trivia, door prizes, a silent auction and more! Tickets and additional info coming soon.
Thanks to everyone who has and continues to contribute! We couldn’t do it without you.
Stay up to date on all the upcoming events by checking our website, www.springmillpto.com, or following us on social media at /SpringMillPTO on Facebook or @SpringMillPTO on Instagram.
Here’s to a great 2024 at Spring Mill. Go Bulldogs!
SME PTO
IREAD3 2nd/3rd Grade Parent Night
Calling all 2nd & 3rd grade Parents/Guardians!
We would like to invite you to our IREAD3 Parent Information Meeting on Thursday, February 8th at 5:00 pm. IREAD3 is an assessment that all 3rd Grade students are required to participate in before advancing to the 4th Grade. For the first time, 2nd Grade students will also participate in this assessment. During the Parent Information Meeting, we will explain in great detail what the assessment is, how it is measured, as well as provide families with ways in which you can help your student at home. Please join us to prepare our Spring Mill Bulldogs for success as they complete this important reading assessment. Childcare will be provided for families in attendance.
Spring Mill Reading Challenge
One of the priorities we want to create here at Spring Mill is a continued commitment to reading in all grade levels. To encourage students to read more we will be kicking off our very own Spring Mill Reading Challenge beginning Thursday, February 1st. All students will participate and receive special prizes based on the number of books read. The information below explains how this challenge works based on your student’s grade level.
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 for each book they have finished from beginning to end. Please reach out to your individual student’s teacher for more information regarding their recording sheet.
Reading Challenge K-2
This challenge would run through the end of the year (May 9th). Students will be challenged to read 40 books by then. There will be a prize associated with each set of 10 books that students read.
Goal: Read 40 books by May 9th
10= Reading Sticker
20= Bookmark
30= Popsicle
40= Certificate and Name added to the “Bulldog Readers Hall of Fame”
41 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 9th). Students will be challenged to read 20 books by then. There will be a prize associated with each set of 5 books that students read.
Goal: Read 20 books by May 9th
5= Reading Sticker
10= Bookmark
15= Popsicle
20= Certificate and Name added to the “Bulldog Readers Hall of Fame”
21 or more= Name will be read on the morning news
Valentine's Candy Gram!
No Valentine's Day gifts? No problem! The fifth-grade students are having a Valentine's Candy Gram (Lollipops!) on Tuesday, February 13th and Wednesday, February 14th. Let your student brighten someone's day with a Valentine's Candy Gram for $1. They can send a gram to a friend or family member of their choosing. Students can bring cash or change, we accept it all, to purchase a gram during their lunchtime.
Body Safety Week
Safety is always one of our top priorities. Your student came home with a letter about the Body Safety Program that will take place at Spring Mill next Thursday, February 8th, and Friday, February 9th. Child Lures Think First and Stay Safe™ is one of the oldest, most widely used, abuse prevention programs for youth. Your child will learn the proper names for body parts, what constitutes safe and unsafe touches, abuse resistance techniques, and how to identify their trusted adults. The letter that was sent home is an opt-out letter for families who wish for their student to not participate in this program. You only need to return the form if you wish to opt-out of their participation.
Great North Run
SAVE THE DATE FOR 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 now open for the 2024 Great North Run and Fitness Fair! Register early and save:
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!!
The Bulldog Times
Please enjoy the latest edition of The Bulldog Times by our 4th Grade journalists. Every month, Mrs. Ashli Hess works with our authors to create interactive articles that teachers can use in their classrooms and share with the families. We are so proud of our students and their hard work! LINK
February Behavior Focus - Kindness
Here is what Mathematicians have been working to master in the month of January-
Kindergarten:
- Introduction of teen numbers as 1-10 and some ones.
- 14 is 1 ten and 4 ones
- Decomposing (breaking apart a whole into parts)
- Shapes (a square into 2 triangles)
- 6 into 4 and 2
1st Grade:
- Measure, Compare and Order lengths
- Computation Games- Partners to 10 and Tic Tac Toe Sums in a Row
2nd Grade:
- Compose (put together) and decompose (break apart) shapes to form different shapes
- Identify, describe and classify shapes by attributes (number of sizes, number of vertices, length of sides, number of parallel sides, angles)
- Partition shapes to build foundational fraction understanding
- Fractional understanding is applied to telling time
3rd Grade:
- Recognize that area as an attribute of 2D regions
- Rectangular arrays can be decomposed (broken apart) into rows and columns
- Rows and columns represent the side lengths
- Use formula length x width = area (square units) to real world problems
4th Grade:
- Rename fractions that are greater than 1 as mixed numbers
- Generate equivalent fractions
- Compare fractions and mixed numbers using inequality symbols = < >
- Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers
5th Grade:
- Relate understanding of whole numbers to fractions and decimals
- Rename fractions as decimals and decimals as fractions
- Decimal concepts
- Place value to thousandths
- Rounding
- Comparison use inequalities = < >
- Add, subtract, multiply and divide
