Coulston Elementary School

ILEARN

As we approach our ILEARN testing window for students in grades 3–5, we want to share important information and ways you can support your child during this time. Testing will take place from April 13 through May 8.

ILEARN is an important assessment that helps measure student progress and guides our instruction. We encourage all students to do their best and approach testing with confidence.

You can help your child be successful by:

• Make sure they get a good night’s sleep each evening

• Providing a healthy breakfast each morning

• Making sure they arrive at school on time

• Encouraging a positive attitude and reminding them to take their time

• Avoiding scheduling appointments during testing days when possible

We appreciate your support in helping create a calm and encouraging environment for your child. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

NCAA

We are thrilled to share that our third grade students have made it to the NCAA Final Four Reading Challenge as one of the finalists! On April 6th, they will attend a special ceremony to find out how they placed. As part of this exciting accomplishment, our students have also earned a field trip to the Final Four Fan Fest!!! What an incredible experience!

We are so proud of the hard work and dedication our students and teachers have shown all semester in this reading challenge. Their commitment to growing as readers truly paid off!

We would also like to give a huge shoutout to our librarian Dr. Schoettmer, for being awarded a $10,000 Library Makeover Grant! This grant will be used to enhance our reading incentive program here at Coulston and continue to foster a love of reading among our students at school and at home. Great job Team Coulston!!!! We are so proud of you! We will keep you updated on how our third graders do in the NCAA Final Four Reading Challenge.

Memories With Mom

We are so excited to invite you to our Memories with Mom event on Tuesday, April 28th from 5:00–6:00 PM!

Weather permitting, all of the fun will take place outside for moms to relax and enjoy special activities with their children. It’s always such a fun and memorable event!

Invitations will be sent home in a few weeks, and we hope you can join us for this special evening. If you’re interested in helping make this event extra special, we would love your help!! Please contact Mrs. Deaton our PTO President at the school to volunteer. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Negative Lunch Balances:
Please note if your student has a negative lunch balance the negative balance needs to be paid in full by the end of each month. Any negative balances over $25.00 may be sent to TRECS (Tax Refund Exchange and Compliance System) and additional collection fees will be charged. You can pay by credit card through MySchoolBucks or cash/check can be brought to the front office. If you need financial assistance, please complete the free and reduced application to determine if you are eligible. If you become eligible for assistance, all charges prior to your approval still need to be paid in full. Please contact Ashley Metcalfe, 317-398-9731 ext. 2033 or armetcalfe@shelbycs.org for more information.

Reminders & Updates for Spring 2026

Cell Phones – Indiana law now prohibits cell phones in the classroom and at school. Please keep this in mind if your child brings a phone to school.

Attendance – A new law requires interventions and parent conferences after 5 unexcused absences in a 10-week period. More information will be sent home this week.

Dress Code – Students must wear shoes with a back. No slides, backless sandals or flip flops, or shoes without backs are allowed for safety reasons. Please remember that bike shorts, short crop tops, etc are not allowed.

Tardies– Just a reminder that the tardy bell rings at 7:45. Students arriving after this time will be marked tardy.

Tardy students must be signed in by a parent or guardian. Students may not sign themselves in or be dropped off without an adult if they arrive after the tardy bell.

Please help make sure your child arrives on time so they do not miss important instructional minutes at the beginning of the day when routines, breakfast, and the tone for learning are being set.

Transportation Changes – Must be called in by 1:00 PM. After this time, changes cannot be accommodated. Just a reminder that students being picked up after 2:00, need to be picked up in the car rider line.

• April 6-Go Blue Day-Wear Blue

• April 13-ILEARN Begins in Grades 3-5

• April 17-Mid-Terms

• April 27-PTO Meeting @ 5:00

• May 6-Elementary Track Meet @ 5:00

• May 7-Dental Safari

• May 15-Kindergarten Celebration @ 8:30

• May 19-5th Grade Celebration @ 8:30

• May 20-Awards Day Grades 1-4

• May 22-Field Day

• May 22-Students Last Day

PTO Meeting

We are excited to invite you to our PTO meeting on Monday, April 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM! This is a great opportunity to come out, volunteer, and support our school community.

We will begin accepting nominations for the 2026–2027 PTO Board starting in April, with official nominations held at the May meeting. If you are interested in serving, please return the nomination form with your child beginning in April.

We will also start planning several spring events, including Teacher Appreciation Week and Field Day. Your ideas and involvement make these events possible!

Thank you so much for your continued support!!! We truly could not do it without you. We hope to see you there!

The elementary schools at SCS will be recognizing Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention week from April 13-17, 2026 this year. It's important to spend time talking about Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention for all of our students, as well as letting families know about the events taking place at school!

As you may recall, in the fall semester, students received the Child Help: Speak Up Be Safe training as a way to promote body safety and smart choices in their community. During this special week in April, we use the time to reflect on why making smart and safe choices is important, as well as why feeling safe in your community is an essential part of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention. In coordinating this week's activities, our school has partnered with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to provide these special events to help students understand safety at home, at school, and in their community:

• Monday, April 6th is Blue Day. We are asking staff and students to wear blue(shirts, hats, blue accessories, etc).

• Students in grade K-2 will read the story, I Have a Secret, to help them understand the difference between secrets that are okay and not okay. Students in 2nd grade will receive a copy of the book to take home.

• Students in grades 3-5 will hear the story of how the pinwheel reminds us that childhood should be safe and fun for children. They will color a picture of a pinwheel which will be displayed in the halls of the school.

• On Wednesday, April 15th, representatives from various organizations that help children feel safe will be at school

• at the beginning of the day to greet students. Organizations that may be here are SPD, SFD, CASA, Children's Bureau, Youth Assistance Program, etc.

• Also, on Monday, April 6th, we are asking students and staff to wear blue to show their support to preventing child abuse, this will be a community wide initiative to go blue!

Lastly, April 16th, eight 4th grade students from Coulston will travel to the courthouse to participate in a community event to recognize Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month.

We're excited to with other organization in our community to promote safety for children as well as to reinforce the importance of child abuse awareness and prevention. We hope you and your child(ren) find the program helpful. If you have questions or would like to opt your student out of the grade level lessons, please contact Mrs. Reed at cmreed@shelbycs.org.

Winter wellness starts at home! Handwashing, rest, and staying home when sick helps protect our entire school community.

Please remember that Shelbyville Central Schools (SCS) policy, consistent with general health guidelines, requires students with a fever to stay home until they've been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine, ensuring they're well enough to return, alongside other symptoms like vomiting or diarrhea. Always check with your doctor and the school's nurse for specific guidance

If your child will be absent, please call the attendance line each morning so their absence can be marked properly. Thank you for your continued support and partnership!

Your School Nurse – Emily Polston, RN

We would also like to remind families how important regular school attendance is for student learning and success. Our school goal is to maintain an attendance rate of 95% or higher, and we appreciate your partnership in helping us reach this goal.

We are currently working on a school-wide incentive to encourage and celebrate strong attendance, and we look forward to sharing more details soon. Thank you for your continued support in making attendance a priority.

Lunch Information

We encourage all families to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch Form each year. Even if you qualified last year. This ensures eligible families receive meal assistance. You can sign up at this site: SCS Free and Reduced Lunch Form

Healthy Snacks – We appreciate your help in following the SCS Wellness Policy! Students enjoy a daily healthy snack at school, helping us meet our Healthy Snacks guidelines.

Transportation

Bus route information is available at scs.shelbycs.org/page/transportation. Scroll down to find the INFOFINDER link. If you need to make a change to your child’s transportation, please complete a Change of Transportation form at school. Changes take 48 hours to process. Call the office with any questions.

Car Rider Line

Here are a few car rider reminders to keep things running smoothly:

• Drop-off begins at 7:25 AM

• Pick-up is at 2:15 PM (1:45 PM on Wednesdays)

• Students should exit the car on the side closest to the sidewalk

• Please stay in your vehicle—do not park and get out

• Give hugs, kisses, and goodbyes before pulling forward in the line

• The car rider door closes at 7:45 AM. After this time, students must be dropped off and signed in at the front office.
  Thanks for helping us keep arrival and dismissal safe and efficient!