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At South Elementary School, we are a learning community nurturing a culture to provide students the skills necessary to be active, productive, and responsible citizens while empowering students through communications.

January 6 School Resumes

January 7 PTO Meeting 5PM

January 10 Report Cards

January 13-14 2nd Grade PLTW Learning Trip

January 16 PTO after school movie

January 17 Club/Team & Candid Pictures for the yearbook

January 17 Spelling Bee 1:45PM-This is the rescheduled date.

January 18 Robotics Competition in Bloomington

January 20 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day-No School

January 21 ILEARN Checkpoint 2 4th Grade Math 9AM

January 23 ILEARN Checkpoint 2 4th Grade ELA 9AM

January 27 ILEARN Checkpoint 2 3rd Grade ELA 9AM

Week of January 27 PTO Candy Grams

January 29 ILEARN Checkpoint 2 3rd Grade Math 9AM

January 30 MCT Vision screening for 1st grade and applied skills (K,1,3,5)

February 4 4th Grade Field Trip to the Symphony (will be back before lunch)

February 4 PTO Meeting 5PM

February 7 Healthy Smiles

February 7 End of Midterm

February 8 Robotics Competition at Decatur Central

February 12 Midterms

February 13 Kindergarten Kickoff at MHS Fieldhouse 5-7PM

February 13 PTO Trash Bag Sale (2/13-2/24)

February 14 Valentine Day Parties (PreK 2:15-2:45, GR. K-4 2:45-3:15)

February 17 Presidents’ Day-No School

February 22 District Robotics Competition at MHS Fieldhouse

March 2-6 Read Across America week

March 3-14 IREAD-3 Window (2nd and 3rd graders)

March 4 PTO meeting 5PM

March 5 District Literacy Night 03/05 at CEC 5-7pm

March 7 End of 9-weeks (3/7-3/11 noon)

March 12 Report Cards

March 13 Communications Showcase 6-7PM

March 14 Spring Pictures

March 20 PTO After School Movie

March 24-March 28 Spring Break

March 31-April 1 1st Grade PLTW Learning Trip

What is digital Citizenship? All students need digital citizenship skills to participate fully in their communities and make smart choices online and in life. Students will be engaged in lessons in October and November to help prepare them more with the skills they need for digital citizenship.

Congratulations to the South Staff for being dedicated to teaching students to be safe, responsible digital citizens and earning their certification.

The Robotics Team has started practices and are gearing up for competitions this year! Mrs. Willard and Miss Shover are the coaches. December practices are going well.

South Elementary high ability students meet monthly after school for LEAP (Learning Enrichment Activities Program) Club. Thank you, Mrs. Hostetter and Mrs. Durbin, for leading this club! In December, LEAP club had no activity. They will start back up in January.

• To report an absence for your child, please call the office at

(765) 349-1486 by 9:00AM. If you do not call the school by 9:30 a.m. and report the absence, the school messaging system, someone from the school, or the attendance officer may be calling your home. Please call in so that the day is an excused absence.

• A doctor visit should be documented with a statement from the doctor so that it can be entered in the school data system. Doctor statements should be faxed to 765-349-5247 or given to the office. We need this documentation to mark it as an excused absence.

• WE ASK THAT YOU NOT KEEP A CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL FOR THE ENTIRE DAY FOR A doctor or dental appointment.

• If a child is sent home with a fever of 100.4 degrees or over, he/she is not to return to school until fever free for 24 hours without fever medication. If the student is sent home from the clinic, it will be marked as an excused absence through the clinic.

Regular attendance is essential for children to be successful in their educational endeavors. Students are bound by the requirements of the Indiana Compulsory Attendance Laws. Students are expected to attend school regularly and be on time for classes in order to benefit from instructional programs and develop responsible personal habits that are respected in society and therefore a part of the educational process. Please make sure students arrive on time. The morning bell rings at 8:40AM to start class. It rings at 9:40AM on Wednesdays to start class for grades K-4.

*Complete details of attendance procedures and guidelines can be found in the student handbook.

Attendance Guidelines

• AUTHORIZED ABSENCES: If documentation is not provided, these absences will be recorded as unexcused absences. Documentation does include calling into the office.

• DOCUMENTATION: All legal or medical documentation must be submitted within 5 days for the absence to be recorded as excused. The school’s fax # is 765-349-5247.

PLEASE CALL IN OR SEND A DOCTOR NOTE for the attendance to be excused.

Attendance Letters & DCS Notification

• Attendance letters are generated and sent via email on the 5th unexcused absence, 10th unexcused, and 18th unexcused absence.

• Under IC 20-33-2-25, the school must notify DCS when a student reaches 10 unexcused absences. See additional information below.

Under IC 20-33-2-25, the “Superintendent or an attendance officer having jurisdiction shall report a child who is habitually absent from school in violation of this chapter to an intake officer of the juvenile court or the department of child services. The intake officer or the department of child services shall proceed in accord with IC 31-30- through IC 31-40.”

Everyone should report abuse or neglect. The reporting and investigating of suspected child abuse and neglect are not discretionary matters. They have been required by law (IC 31-33-5-1) since 1979.

Do Report When...

• Students have reached ten (10) or more unexcused absences.

• Educational neglect is suspected

• Students are missing and unaccounted for

On Wednesday mornings, staff will be participating in professional development to improve student learning and success.

Therefore, for grades K-4 doors will open at 9:25AM with school starting at 9:40AM. Contact the South office if childcare is needed from 8:25-9:25.

PreK will still be at normal time on Wednesdays. Doors will open at 8:25AM and school will start for PreK at 8:40AM on Wednesdays.

Federal funding has been made available through school-wide Title I services to South Elementary for the purpose of providing students with extra support in reading and language arts. This extra support is available for all students at South Elementary. Classroom teachers, Title I teachers, and instructional assistants will provide assistance in reading, language arts, and math through small group and individual instruction as children demonstrate need for support. Please contact Jessica Shanafelt at 765-349-1486 Ext. 1654 with any questions about support your child may receive.

We were happy to be able to donate 1,060 food items to the Gunner Burnam Food Pantry. Thank you to everyone that donated! Congratulations to Mrs. Scrougham's class for bringing in the most items.

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*Please contact the office if you need this information provided in another language.

Website: https://msdofmartinsville.org/south-elementary/
Location: 500 Artesian Ave, Martinsville, IN, USA
Phone: 7653491486
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SouthElementarySchool
Twitter: @southdolphins1