The Mountie Messenger

It has been an amazing start to the school year and it seems as though every day I learn about something new and great that is happening at Southmont. As you may know October is National School Principals month and I wanted to thank our group of fantastic school principals. Being new to anything is never easy, and being a new superintendent can be very challenging, but our principals have made my transition to Southmont much easier with their professionalism, understanding, and ability to create and maintain positive learning environments in their buildings. Thank you for your leadership Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Schafer, Mrs. Duncan, Mr. Brewer, Mrs. Busenbark, Mr. Owens, and Mrs. Hammond! You exemplify what it means to do “what is best for kids!”

We have started a Learning Prioritization Plan for the district to provide an evaluation of our strengths and areas that need improvement. We would greatly appreciate your support in helping us with our plan by having all parents complete a survey. Parents only need to complete one quick survey regardless of how many students they have or which building they attend. Thank you for all of your help and support, we are very interested to learn how we can better serve you and your children. The survey can be found by clicking on this link or by accessing it through the provided QR Code:

We have also started a Superintendent’s Advisory Council that meets the first Monday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the boardroom at the central office. The purpose of the council is to provide parents the opportunity to share their ideas, concerns, and meet with me to get more information about things that are happening around the district. We are always looking for more parent involvement, so if you would like to join us, please email Rhonda Wright at rhonda.wright@southmont.k12.in.us and she will add you to our group. I am very proud of the work that this group has already accomplished and I look forward to our time to collaborate.

I am excited to announce that at the October School Board meeting the South Montgomery Community School Corporation School Board unanimously approved the new Master Teacher’s contract. The contract will provide salary increases for our outstanding teachers, and raise the starting salary for new teachers to $45,301 and increased teachers salaries at the top of our placement scale to $77,230. We greatly appreciate our teachers and the new contract will compensate them with the highest salaries in the area! At the same time we will maintain our commitment to keep our class sizes as low as possible. Thank you, teachers!

As good as a start that we have had to the school year, it is clear that everyone is ready for Fall Break. Fall is my favorite season and I hope that this fantastic weather sticks around as long as possible. I trust that you will find time for some rest, relaxation, and quality time with your friends and family. Please have a safe and fantastic Fall Break, we will look forward to having all of our students return to school on Monday, October 24, 2022.

Sincerely,

Dr. Chad C. Cripe

Proud to be the Superintendent at Southmont Schools

All registration forms for the K-5 Junior Mounties Boys Youth Basketball League are due this Thursday, October 13th. Practices will begin the week of October 24th. The cost is $50 for each child in the league. If you have questions or are interested in coaching, please reach out to Jake Turner at jake.turner@southmont.k12.in.us.

Congratulations, Mrs. Timmons, for being named The Journal Review's Teacher of the Month! She is an outstanding recipient from New Market Elementary School.

Voting opens again on October 18th and we love to see our Southmont Staff nominated!

Dear Mountie Students and Families,

It has been an exciting month at Southmont High School, which included a successful Homecoming week, College Go! Week, Constitution Day, and lots of learning in the classrooms! Believe it or not, we are roughly 5 weeks from the end of the first trimester of the 2022-2023 school year. We are looking forward to a busy month ahead!

Thank you to all of the parents/guardians who were able to attend parent/teacher conferences last week. It’s been a couple of years since we have been able to host conferences in a “normal” format. It was nice to see parents/guardians collaborating with teachers face-to-face to ensure their students are successful at school. If you were unable to attend, you are always welcome to email your student’s teachers to discuss their progress.

In my first few months at Southmont High School I have learned that we have incredible students, a caring and hard working staff, wonderful families, and an extremely supportive community. If I can ever be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am proud to be a Mountie!

Yours in education,

Mrs. Hammond

Principal

ashley.hammond@southmont.k12.in.us

765-866-0350

Twitter - @SouthmontSrHigh

Facebook - @southmontsrhigh

We had a great Constitution Day at Southmont! Mr. Thompson planned a great day of activities to celebrate. He had a table set up in the student entryway and Ms. Fadil had patriotic music playing as well.

Mr. Thompson has special Constitution shoes that were created by students! According to Mr. Thompson, he is the only person IN THE ENTIRE WORLD with this pair of shoes and he will be selling them on eBay for $15,000 if you are interested! He has named them "The Constitution 1's."

Mr. Owens and Mrs. Hammond visited Mr. Thompson’s class to play “Constitution BINGO” during 5th period. Even having two cards neither administrator won a single game--maybe next year!

Thank you for planning such a fun day of learning, Mr. Thompson!

Congratulations to Addison Meadows on becoming the first female golfer in Southmont history to be named 1st Team All-State by the IHSGCA!

Congratulations, Faith Allen, for winning the Sagamore Conference XC Title!

Congratulations, Adam Cox, on being the boys tennis IHSAA Sectional Champion! Adam is one win away from winning a Regional title and advancing to the State meet. Good-luck on Saturday at Fishers High School, Adam!

Ms. Gilley’s Principles of Agriculture class learned about the leaves and stem of a corn plant this week. Ms. Gilley brought corn stalks into school so that students could learn about the specific parts of the leaves and stem.

Outside of being a fantastic teacher in the classroom, Mrs. Caitlyn Tennison helps mentor new teachers, houses a foreign exchange student, and serves as the lead teacher for the English department's team time. Mrs. Tennison also worked to provide a fantastic homecoming week for our students and community.

This year we have one of the best Senior Classes that Southmont has had this century and one of the best of the best is Gabe Little. A teacher wrote, “I have discussed Gabe on many occasions with my colleagues and they all agree that he is responsible, reliable, honest, hardworking and also an excellent student. In every aspect of his life Gabe provides leadership and encouragement to others. He is a great role model to all that have the honor of knowing him.” Congratulations, Gabe!

Avery Hannum is a great student because she always goes above and beyond to support her peers and her teachers in different ways. Avery helps run the concession stand all the time when she doesn't need to, and she does it with a smile on her face. She is very reliable and kind. Congratulations, Avery!

Thank you to all parents and caregivers who came to Parent/Teacher Conferences. Seeing parents in the building collaborating with teachers is a welcomed and meaningful thing. We sincerely appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to have these conversations. If you could not attend you are always more than welcome to reach out to your child's classroom teachers via email or by phone to schedule in-person meetings.

Mrs. Brooke Busenbark, Principal

Southmont Jr. High School

Hello! My name is Christina Kerns, and I am honored to have an opportunity to work with all of you. I have an overwhelming passion for helping students meet their mental, physical, social, and spiritual needs. In addition, I strive to understand all difficulties by encouraging students to challenge themselves to make a change in their own lives.

Over the past ten years, I have developed a strong clinical skill set through the combination of education and practical experiences by providing therapeutic services for children, families, and individuals by utilizing an integrated approach tailored to their unique needs. Most importantly, I understand the benefits of both professional and personal development throughout a lifespan and would consider myself a lifelong learner. In addition, I spend a lot of time gaining extensive experiences in policy and public health research under the guidance of a research team out of Boston University and University of Hawaii. I encompass advocacy and prevention surrounding the mental health of Putnam and Montgomery County residents, as seen through my work as Co-President for Mental Health America of Putnam County (MHAoPC). I work hard to establish financial stability and sustain community partnerships. My mission is simple: to help create a living-learning environment where students thrive, belong, and engage.

I believe all of you are the heart of Southmont Junior High!

Mrs. Reimondo's 6th grade classes had the unique opportunity to create Lunar Cycle T-shirts! Students were able to "show what they know" in their own style!

Congratulations to our amazing 7th and 8th grade science teacher, Mr. Rick Overfield, for being our October Junior High Employee of the Month. Mr. Overfield is an integral part of the Junior High. Not only does Mr. Overfield coach kids in the classroom to do the right thing and be successful, he also works closely with our High School Wrestling team. Some of the kind words shared about Mr. Overfield include:

"Mr. Overfield has been a great mentor since coming to SJHS. He always has something insightful to say and provides guidance when needed."

"He is always leading and double checking with others on what is happening for the day and seeing if others need help. He has great relationships with students and always builds up others around him."

We are so incredibly lucky to have him as part of our team! Congratulations, Mr. Overfield!

We would like to congratulate our October Student of the Month, Dean McGaughey. Dean is an eighth grade student who prides himself in being both a student and athlete. Dean was recently elected as the Vice President of the 8th grade class. Some of the positive things stated about Dean include:

"Dean is the perfect model of a student/athlete. Dean gets it done in the classroom and has Mountie Proud sportsmanship on and off the playing field. "

Thank you Dean for being such a role model to the other students in your class!

Thank you to all of our parents/guardians who made time to attend parent/teacher conferences these past few weeks. We appreciate you taking time to meet with us as we work hard to meet the needs of every child. I am proud to say that we reached almost 100% for our conferences this year!

Here are just a few of the great things going on in Canner Country.

Our 2nd graders have been working hard on their writing so far this year. They all had to choose the place in our community that they felt was the most important. They did a fabulous job of coming up with reasons and then putting those thoughts onto paper. I am so proud of how hard they all worked on this assignment. Their writing is truly outstanding!

Our 1st graders have been learning about Monet in art class. We took that learning to a new level and went to Newfield’s to tour the Lume exhibit! It was a great experience for the students and I enjoyed getting to help chaperone! I hope you enjoy the highlights from our trip!

Bennett Grimes is an amazing 2nd grader that was nominated by Mrs. McGaughey.

"Bennett is always doing what he is supposed to be doing. He works hard, strives to do his best daily, and always has a good attitude. He is also kind to everyone. He sets a great example!"

Way to go, Bennett!

Mrs. Christine Keough is a special education instructional assistant and an amazing morning greeter! Mrs. Keough is always willing to help wherever she is needed and does it with a smile on her face! She goes out of her way to make sure she greets all of the students each morning by name and with a warm smile. She is the first person many of our students and staff see each morning and we appreciate her!

Thanks for sending us such amazing kids each day - we truly love what we do and there is no place we would rather do it!

Sonna Schafer

Principal, Ladoga Elementary School

Southmont Community School Corporation

The Student Council Campaigns are underway at New Market Elementary School! Our 3rd-5th grade students were invited to run for Student Council. Students had to complete a ballot, design campaign posters and will prepare a speech on why they would make a good representative!

October 13th will be our Book Fair and Family Buy Night. Families are welcome to come to the school from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and shop at our Book Fair!

Our 2nd grade students built "The Best Place in the Community" through their Social Studies Community Projects. Our students worked hard and came up with some amazing displays!

Mr. Bob Browning was nominated by his peers for his hard work, dedication and selflessness. Bob is always willing to go above and beyond to ensure New Market Elementary School is a safe environment for all of us!

Jordanna Troutman is a 5th grade student at New Market Elementary School. Jordanna is a positive role model to everyone! She is kind, polite, smart and helpful! Jordanna works hard and has a positive impact on our school!

Brittany Cooper

Principal, New Market Elementary School

Hello, Walnut Flyers!

September was a very busy month of learning and fun. We’ve had a book fair, a Color Run, dress up days, dissecting of textural evidence, Kona Ice, popcorn parties, and College Go Week. We also had Careers on Wheels Day with our community friends: Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Walnut Township Fire Department, Woodfire Pizza, Price Excavating, CEL&P, and Arthur’s Excavating. Our Little Flyers also took a field trip to the Monet exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This month has been awesome for students and staff! We look forward to what the rest of October will bring!

Mr. Eric W. Brewer, Principal

Walnut Elementary School

Ms. Dittmer’s students performed text feature surgery. It allowed students to break down the writing to find the text features (glossary, diagrams, captions, title, etc). Students loved it! What a creative way to teach text features. Awesome job, Ms. Dittmer!

We had several dress up days this month to celebrate our love for school, homecoming, College Go Week, and Career on Wheels. It was a blast! Students and staff enjoyed it!

Careers on Wheels was a huge success. It gave students a great, hands-on opportunity to see different career options and to ask questions. It was a beautiful day and the students loved it. Thank you, Mrs. Schroll, for organizing this for us!

We’d like to give a huge Flyers shout out to Ms. Tina Swisher, Walnut Elementary’s Employee of the Month! Ms. Swisher serves as our Fifth Grade Teacher. Ms. Swisher provides the best opportunities for ALL of her students and strives for them to be better. She is a strong leader for both students and staff. Her colleagues say, “Tina is a meaningful teacher who changes her lessons daily to meet the students' needs.” Another colleague stated, “I love her support and how kind she is! She is appreciated beyond measure!”

Ms. Swisher’s students said, “She is so awesome! She’s funny!” “She makes learning fun!”

Thank you, Ms. Swisher, for all you do for our Flyers. We are lucky to have you!

This month, we'd like to give a big Flyers shoutout to Hallie Rhoads, Walnut Elementary’s Student of the month. Hallie is a 5th grade student who is known for her extremely hard work ethic and always going above and beyond to be successful. Ms. Swisher says, “Hallie treats everyone in the classroom with respect”. Hallie’s friends said, “ She is so smart and so kind to everyone!”

Awesome job, Hallie! We are proud of you!

Anyone who wants to have up-to-date athletic schedule information should go to eventlink.com and create a "community" account. You will be able to select your school and the calendars you want to subscribe to. This is the best way to get information on all last-minute changes to schedules at Southmont!

Website: https://www.southmontschools.org/
Location: 6425 U.S. 231, Crawfordsville, IN 47933, USA
Phone: (765) 866-0203
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthmontSchools
Twitter: @SMontgomeryCSC