STAY CONNECTED

Empowering Students Through Communications & Lifelong Learning

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.

September 1 No School-Labor Day

September 2 PTO Meeting 5PM in the library

September 9 Chess Club 3:40-4:15PM in the library

September 10 Midterms Posted in Family Access
September 11 PTO After School Movie 3:35-5:30PM
September 15-16 4th Grade PLTW Learning Trip
September 19 3rd Grade Field Trip
September 26 Fall Pictures
September 30 Kindergarten Field Trip
September 30 Mrs. Anderson & Miss Richardson's Applied Skills' Field Trip

October 3 First Nine Week Ends

October 8 Parent Teacher conferences during the day; Asynchronous Elearning Day

Parent Teacher conferences 4-7:30PM

October 9 Parent Teacher conferences 4-7:30PM

October 13-17 Fall Break

South Elementary Events Calendar

Click to view the South Elementary calendar.

MSD of Martinsville Events Calendar

Click to view the district calendar.

Click the graphic above to view the menus at Arties Cafe.

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. 1628 with any questions about support your child may receive.

2025-2026 MSD of Martinsville South Elementary Student Handbook

(Click to view)

WELL WEDNESDAY INFORMATION

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

Therefore, doors will open at 9:25AM with school starting at 9:40AM for all students, including Pre-K.

Free childcare is provided on Wednesdays from 8:25-9:25 by South staff.Contact the South office if childcare is needed from 8:25-9:25 on Wednesdays.

All MSD of Martinsville students will receive Free breakfast and Free lunch this School year. Starting in 2025-2026 school year, the MSD of Martinsville will participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of their household income. Full tray meals that meet USDA nutrition standards are included. A la carte & individual items are not included, but are available at a set cost.

Questions? Contact the Food Service Department for details at 765-342-6641.

ParentSquare

The MSD of Martinsville uses ParentSquare for school and district communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each family, using their preferred email address and phone number.

Here’s what you can do with ParentSquare:

Receive messages from the school and district via email, text or app notification.
Choose to receive information as it comes or all at once with a daily digest at 6pm.
Communicate in your preferred language.
Comment on school postings to engage with your school community and more all from your desktop or mobile device.
Report attendance for your child if your child is going to be absent.
Receive District ArtieStories

Add the free app today!

For more information and training videos, please visit our

website www.msdofmartinsville.org/community.

Class Dojo

Most South Elementary teachers will still be using Class Dojo to communicate with parents. Class Dojo is FREE. You do not need to pay for this app. Your child's teacher will send home more information to get connected.

Arrival

The doors open at 8:25AM, 9:25AM on Wednesdays
School begins at 8:40AM, 9:40AM on Wednesdays
We ask that all parents/guardians dropping students off remain in their vehicles during drop off.
We will have South staff members outside to guide the students into the school.
You can drop off students at the front of the building in the front drive or in the circle lot.
Staff will be located at both locations to assist.
Pre-K students should be dropped off in the circle lot in the designated area for Pre-K.
Please be patient during arrival as we want to make sure that everyone remains safe.

Dismissal

Busses are loaded at 3:35PM
Walkers are dismissed and begin loading vehicles at approximately 3:45PM for grades K-4. Pre-K dismisses at 3PM.
Parents/guardians picking up students should remain in their vehicles during dismissal. Students will be called to each vehicle.
Pre-K, Kindergarten and Daycare students can be picked up in the circle lot. If a Kindergarten student has an older sibling at South, the older sibling would be picked up in the circle lot also.
Students in grades 1-4 can be picked up in the front drive. In the front drive, cars will be moved up in line once the busses have been loaded and dismissed.
Traffic in both locations will remain stopped until students are loaded safely. Staff members will be calling names so that students come to the vehicles.
Remain in the car rider lines and follow staff direction for movement.
Please be patient during dismissal as we want to make sure that everyone remains safe.
Please remain in vehicles. Do not walk to the front doors to wait on your child.
Walkers are dismissed from a different area.

Reporting An Absence

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. You can also dojo the teacher or put a message in ParentSquare to notify the office about your child's attendance.

If you find that your child is still ill the next day, another phone call from you to the school is necessary. At this time, arrangements may be made to send home make up work for your child so that he/she does not fall behind in the classroom. Schoolwork will be sent with a sibling, neighbor, or you may pick the work up at the end of the day.
Upon returning from home to school, a note should be sent to the teacher explaining the 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.
Call the school office or send a note on the day before or the day of the appointment. This helps teachers plan for tests, homework, etc. The note should contain the date, the time, and the reason for the appointment/absence.
If your child has a slip from the dentist/doctor’s office, please have your child drop it off at the office when your child returns to school.
We ask that you not keep a child out of school for the entire day for a doctor or dental appointment.
Please keep these appointments to a minimum. The best time to schedule appointments is toward the end of the day.
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.

Tardies

Call the school as soon as possible, informing us that your child is going to be late.
Bring your child in as soon as possible, as teachers start their lessons as early as 8:40 a.m.
Sign your child in at the office, with an explanation for the tardy.

*A number of unexcused or questionable absences and tardies for any child are reported to our district attendance officer. Daily records are kept on all students and weekly reports are made.

MARTINSVILLE SCHOOLS

IMPORTANT ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

2025-2026

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.

MSD OF MARTINSVILLE ACTION PLAN:

In an effort to improve the safety, graduation rate, and overall individual personal success of students in the MSD of Martinsville, the District’s Attendance Team worked this past year to streamline the District’s Attendance Process. The effort has increased diligence, pursuance, and attention to details regarding the process, communication, academic options, follow-up, and records with school attendance.

Legislative updates now only focus on habitual truancy.

Habitual truancy equals 10 days of unexcused absences.

DISTRICT ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Due to updates with Indiana Code for Indiana Attendance Compulsory Laws, the District Attendance Policy was updated on July 25, 2024.

Attendance Guidelines

AUTHORIZED ABSENCES: If documentation is not provided, these absences will be recorded as unexcused absences.
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.

Attendance Letters

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

Guidelines for Duty to Report to DCS Regarding Attendance (IDOE)

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

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

Visitor Information

No visitors will be allowed beyond the front foyer area unless they have an approved, scheduled meeting. We will not be having visitors for breakfast or lunch. All visitors must have a background check on file in the office before volunteering.

Picking Up A Student Early

Only adults listed on a student's emergency contacts will be able to check out a student from school. In addition, anyone picking up a child, will need identification to be able to check a student out of school. Students will be counted tardy if leaving school early.

Before & After School Childcare through the YMCA

Want to get involved?!? Join South Elementary School PTO!!! The monthly meetings will typically be the first Tuesday of each month at 5PM. The first meeting will be on September 2, 2025, in the library. PTO has spirit wear available for purchase.

PTO OFFICERS

President: Samantha McDaniel

Vice President: Joanna Chamberlain

Secretary: Jessica Hostetter

Treasurer: April Shover

South Elementary will be having an after school chess club starting on Tuesday, September 9. This will be held right after school, 3:40pm until 4:15pm in the library.
South Chess Club welcomes 2nd thru 4th graders interested in playing chess. (Younger students are welcomed if they already are familiar with the game.) Mrs. Hostetter, 3rd grade teacher, and Mrs. Pilat, Artesian Chess Club Coach, will be the coaches.
For any questions, please email Beth Pilat at artesianchess@gmail.com.