Veterans Weekly Newsletter

Have you viewed your child's quarter 3 report card?

Click here to view the iRead and iLearn Parent Presentation!

• Students need to have headphones at school. This is especially important for students in grades 3, 4 and 5 with their upcoming state assessments.
• Dress your Brickies for outside recess! As the weather is starting to change please send them with their winter coat.
• Please send your child with a water bottle and a healthy snack daily!
• Chromebook insurance is a separate fee this year for $25. If you signed the paper at Back to School asking for insurance, the fee has been assigned to you in Skyward. The insurance is not effective until purchased. You can pay through Skyward or send cash or check to Veterans School at Mundell. It is not too late to still purchase insurance if you opted out before. We strongly encourage all parents to purchase insurance.

• How does your child become a Mathlete? Students master their facts in XtraMath based on their grade level expectation and earn a Veterans Mathlete shirt.

  1st and 2nd Grade-Addition and Subtraction

  3rd Grade-Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication

  4th and 5th Grade-Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division

• It very important to follow our car rider procedures to ensure everyone is safe.
• Students in grades 3-5 can ride bikes to school. Younger students can ride bikes with an adult only. Scooters, skateboards and hoverboards are not permitted.
• Students should have a consistent dismissal plan each night to avoid confusion.
• Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays students can be dropped off at 8:30 at door 14 and not any earlier. Supervision and doors open at door 14 at 8:30. Students should never be dropped off at door 1 unless they are tardy and it is after 9. Door 1 is for visitors only not drop off.
• Late Start Wednesdays students can be dropped off at 8:50.
• Fridays are Brickie Fridays! Encourage your child to wear purple and gold.

Arrival:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

8:30 Breakfast

8:45 Students Go to Classrooms

8:55 Attendance is Taken

Wednesday

9:00 Breakfast

9:10 Students Go to Classrooms

9:15 Attendance is Taken

Dismissal:

3:15 Car riders and Walkers Dismiss

3:20 Bus Riders Dismiss

The Y is applying for a grant to offer learning services to our students after school.

Please take this brief survey to help them have supporting data on the need for their grant application. We want them to be awarded this grant for more opportunities in order for our students to be successful.

The following classrooms are nut free - ALL of 5th grade, Hall, Bezvin, Smith, Lannon, Stafford, Lauridsen.

Why must birthday treats and snacks be nut free?

At school one of our top priorities is keeping our students safe. In order to do this, we have to make certain classrooms NUT FREE. Most of us know someone who has a nut allergy of some degree, but everyone’s allergen response is NOT the same. Some student can have an anaphylactic reaction from particles in the air, from simply touching anything with traces of nuts, while others are less severe and only react if ingested. Depending on the severity of the student’s allergy, we at times cannot have even a trace of nut products in the classroom. Emergency Epinephrine is available at school, but requires the student then to be transported via EMS to the local ER to ensure no additional treatment is necessary. Food allergies can be life threatening, no student or parent should have this burden of concern at school.

How Can I help?

There are many nut free options of treats that will help celebrate your student’s special day, while keeping the peers around them safe! When shopping for nut free treats, please read the label!

SOME NUT FREE Options: LOFT HOUSE cookies, BEST CHOICE cupcakes, MEIJER fresh cupcakes (most options, check label), FAVORITE DAY BAKERY at Target.

Why not remove the student with an allergy for snacks?

Students never want to be different from their peers. Isolating them during birthday treat and celebrations is unfair and detrimental to their mental wellbeing. There are many alternative nut free options that allow them to be included. It is important to take into account the perspective of the student and parents of those with food allergies. A child should never be excluded when we can, together, keep their classroom safe and enjoyable!

Click here to nominate a Brickie you catch being EXCELLENT ON PURPOSE!

Students can now earn beads for a necklace at Veterans for being Excellent on Purpose!

We love to show our Brickie Pride at Veterans School. Encourage your child to wear purple and gold on Fridays!

Every Friday, you will receive a weekly newsletter. This is the school's way of communicating important events and sharing all of the fun from the week.

You will also receive recorded notables and Remind text messages from the school on your phone.

You can also find current information about school events:

https://www.facebook.com/Veterans-Elementary-School-at-Mundell-100433255104986/?view_public_for=100433255104986

Veterans Web Site:

https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ve

Food Service Menus:

https://brickiecafe.com/index.php?sid=2609121618454573&page=menus

It is important for the safety of our children to be aware of our school buses.

The stop arm and blinking lights mean “STOP”. To disregard the stop arm is a misdemeanor and mandatory court appearance. The Hobart Police Department has shared that law allows the police to use the bus driver’s observations to issue a citation to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Our ultimate goal is a safe commute for children to and from school.

VEM Parents,

We quickly winding down the 2023-2024 school year here at Veterans. As the weather warms up, we anticipate an increase not only in students walking and riding their bikes to school, but also in the neighborhood in general. Please take some time to talk to your student about walking to and from school as well as riding a bike.

Wear a Bicycle Helmet. Everyone – at every age – should wear bicycle helmets. For more guidance on fitting a helmet, see the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fitting Your Bike Helmet.

Adjust Your Bicycle to Fit. Stand over your bicycle. There should be 1 to 2 inches between the rider and the top tube (bar) if using a road bike and 3 to 4 inches if using a mountain bike. The seat should be level front to back, and the height should be adjusted to allow a slight bend at the knee when the leg is fully extended. The handlebar height should be level with the seat.

Check Your Equipment. Before riding, inflate tires properly and check that the brakes work.

See and Be Seen. Whether daytime, dawn, dusk, bad weather, or at night, make yourself visible to others. Wear neon, fluorescent or other bright colors when riding, to be most easily seen. Wear something that reflects light, such as reflective tape or markings, or flashing lights. Remember, just because you can see a driver doesn’t mean the driver can see you. Bicycling is fun, healthy, and a great family activity.

Control the Bicycle. Ride with two hands on the handlebars, except when signaling a turn. Place books and other items in a bicycle carrier or backpack.

Watch for and Avoid Road Hazards. Look for hazards such as potholes, broken glass, gravel, puddles, leaves, and dogs. All these hazards can cause a crash. Also, walk your bike across crosswalks. Do not ride your bike with headphones on, earbuds, etc... as well as being on a cell phone. Look both ways before you cross the street as some drivers are not paying attention. During school hours, cross where there is a crossing guard, pay attention and listen to their directions.

Use Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication. This includes eye contact with drivers, turn signals, pointing to road hazards for bicyclists behind you, and stating “passing on your left,” or “on your left.”

Avoid Riding at Night. It’s hard for road users to see bicyclists at dusk, dawn, and nighttime. Use reflectors on the front and rear of your bicycle. White lights and red rear reflectors or lights are required by law in all States.

Along with these bicycle safety tips, there are some tips for those students who walk to and from school.

Look both ways before crossing the street.

Do not walk with headphones or earbuds on as well as walking and looking down at a cell phone. With these devices on and covering ears, students are not able to hear what is going on around them and can lead to being easily distracted as well. Put these devices away and be cognizant of your surroundings.

Walk with a group of friends. Walking with a group of friends is not only fun, but students all can look out for each other.

During school hours, cross where there is a crossing guard. As with bicycles, pay attention and listen to their instructions.

Next week Wednesday April 24th is our 5th grade Too Good For Drugs Celebration at the high school. Too Good For Drugs is through the Mendez Foundation and sponsored by the Hobart Police Department and supported by the School City of Hobart. Without the sponsorship and support, Too Good For Drugs program would not be possible. The Hobart Police Department and the School City of Hobart in collaboration are proud of the Too Good For Drugs program as it affords students the opportunity to learn not only about such things as peer pressure and setting goals, but the dangers of substance abuse. The School Resource Officers at Veterans, Joan Martin, and Liberty have over 70+ years of combined experience. With the instruction coming from experienced School Resource Officers, it lays the groundwork for living a drug-free life through interactive, fun lessons. The celebration at our high school effectively is a culmination of everything the students learn as well as with the t-shirt and essay contest winners. Regarding the essays, they provide the opportunity for students to apply and showcase what they have learned in the lessons and what is most important to them in other words, what "sticks" out the most. In other words, the essays are a unique opportunity to addresses environmental and developmental risk factors related to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs through the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to make healthy decisions consistent with their healthy goals. As they say in the School City of Hobart, work hard, be nice, and stay safe, Be Excellent on Purpose.

Check out the SEL page for great tips and advice for Social Emotional Learning for students, parents, and families! Lots of great information with what we do in school with students and what you can do at home.

It’s not a myth that electronics can affect sleep. Studies have shown that blue light screens such as TVs, tablets, computers, and cell phones emit suppress melatonin resulting in not feeling sleepy at bedtime and disrupting quality sleep. The best rule of thumb is to eliminate screen time an hour before kids head to bed. Think about what your child needs and when you can fit screen time in appropriately so that it does not affect their sleep habits. You don’t want your child to feel deprived of electronics, or like they are being punished, so instead, we recommend being intentional with creating a new schedule that allows for screen time prior to the last hour of the day. Turn off the electronics an hour before bed. This works for all ages from young to adults.

Check out the Nurse's Corner for May here!

If your child isn't feeling well, please keep him or her at home. You must report the absence to the school before 10:00 AM. Click the link below to learn how to report an absence.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UVUSq5USyAh-AwDoDXVhZl-nP83REUqB/view

Visit www.hobart.k12.in.us/techhelp for information on how to report absences and check grades in Skyward, receive assistance with Canvas, and much more!

To contact our Technology Department, please call (219)942-1388 ext.8963.

We aim for a great partnership with our parents! That is why we utilize CANVAS and SKYWARD! Learn how to access them both at www.hobart.k12.in.us/partnership

The School City of Hobart uses Remind to communicate with families via text messages and/or phone calls.

What are some ways that we use Remind?

• District News- Weekly newsletter, emergency closings, and other important information
• Class Reminders from Teachers - Events, tests, homework, due dates
• Announcements and Celebrations
• One-on-One Help
  
  

If you have not been receiving our messages and would like to, please reach out to your student's teacher for their Remind class code, which you will then text to 81010. For example, if you wanted to join a class with the class code @math, you would text @math to 81010.

Start planning your breaks for next school year by checking out the Board-approved 2024- 2025 School Calendar! #BrickieUp www.hobart.k12.in.us/calendar

We have a very enthusiastic PTO!

Click here to access our PTO social media.