The Mission of Middlebury Elementary School, in cooperation with family and community, is to develop compassionate, productive, responsible citizens and life-long learners.
Middlebury Elementary School
News from Mr. Hostetler, our Principal
I hope you all had a wonderful fall break! Fall brings colder weather, so make sure your child is dressed for the colder weather. We ask that shorts aren't worn from fall break to spring break. We go outside for recess unless the temperature drops below 15 degrees. If you don't have hats, gloves, snow pants, or a winter coat for your child contact the school and we will try to help with those needs.
Thank you to everyone that made it to our parent/teacher conferences. This gives our staff a wonderful opportunity to get to know you and your child better. Our goal at MES is to partner with you so each child can be successful.
A BIG THANKS to everyone who helped make this year's Scholastic Book Fair a success. A special thank you goes out to the book fair lead volunteer, Mrs. Alisha Jones! The Book Fair will return in the spring to give you another chance to get new books for your child and the school. More details will come in April.
November Calendar
2 - Benefit for Mrs. Dodson (Special Ed Assistant)
7 - Old Hoosier Give Back
14 - PTO Skating Party
15 - ALL SCHOOL Pizza Party to Celebrate Our Fundraiser Success. THANK YOU!
19 - School Board Meeting 4:00
20 - PTO Meeting 3:30
21 - Wear Your No Bully Shirt
27/28/29 - Thanksgiving Break NO SCHOOL
News from Mr. Peery, our school counselor
Holiday Help
The holiday season can be a lot of fun but it also can be very expensive and a major source of stress for families. There are sometimes a few ways that I can offer judgment-free help over the holidays but I will be up front that none of them are 100% guaranteed as I never know how many resources are going to be available each year. If you are interested in the possibility of getting any of the help listed below, please do not hesitate to contact me. The sooner the better.
Contact: Ben Peery, School Counselor
(574) 825-2158
Thanksgiving Help
We often have a few frozen turkeys donated which I pass along to families on a first come, first serve basis. I would be happy to pass one along to your family if you would use it!
Christmas Help
We always have local groups volunteer to adopt families if they could use some extra help with Christmas presents. We never know how much help is going to be offered each year but we want to help as many families as we can. If this is something you might be interested in, please contact me and I will put you on the list and hopefully we will have some help available.
IF YOUR CHILD WILL BE ABSENT FROM SCHOOL PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CALL THE OFFICE @ 514-825-2158 BEFORE 8:30AM
MIGHTY MIDDIE WINNERS - 1ST QUARTER
KINDERGARTEN - Toryiah Lawrence, Kendon Bontrager, Hudsen Cook, Kaden Troyer, Cora Bowers
KINDERGARTEN - Harlowe O'Hare
FIRST GRADE - Thysah Kuiper, Zayden King, Lanae Stutzman, Colton Williams
SECOND GRADE - Kevin Bontrager, Bridget Miller, Charleigh Silvers, Rowen Strombeck
THIRD GRADE - Marcus Smith, Kensington Hylkema, Christian Cano-Galvan, Hayden LaLime
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Students are expected to be in school except in the cases of emergency, illness, or school-approved absences. Parents should call the school office at 574-825-2158 on the day a student is absent. The school will call if no parent contact is made by 8:30 AM. A doctor's note may be required for an extended illness. If your child cannot participate in PE or recess due to illness or injury he/she must bring a doctor's note stating the reason for being excused.
BACKGROUND CHECKS
The safety of our students is top priority. ALL adults who will be interacting with our students are required to fill out a background check YEARLY. Click here to fill out the form online. If you do not have internet access, call the school for a paper copy.
When visitors come to the school they will need to present an ID or driver's license to scan into our security system and receive a visitor badge.
School Breakfast
Mornings can be rushed, but it is important to make time for breakfast. Children can benefit from the School Breakfast Program! Studies show that school breakfast can raise test scores while improving classroom attentiveness and behavior. Make sure your kids start the school day with a healthy meal!
MCS WEBSITE
Here you can find breakfast and lunch menus, photos from our school system, newsletters, and fun educational websites for your child to brush up on their skills.
SIGN IN/OUT
Any student that arrives after the tardy bell or leaves the school before the end of the day must be signed in or out by an adult. If this person is not a parent/guardian, please make sure the office is aware. Thank you!
TRANSPORTATION
If you know in the morning that your student will have a change from their normal routine at the end of school, please send a note that morning. If you are unable to do this, please call the school before 1:30PM. Notes are appreciated more than telephone calls. Your cooperation is appreciated.
FREE/REDUCED MEALS
Click here to apply online for free or reduced meals. If you do not have internet access and need a paper copy of the form please call the school. If your financial situation changes at any point during the school year you may apply for free or reduced meals.
LATE START WEDNESDAY
Remember that school will start later every Wednesday at 8:05AM. Bus routes will run 20-25 minutes later than other days.
HOWEVER If we have a 2 hour delay on a Wednesday, the day will start 2 hours later than a regular Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. The 2 hour delay time does not include the Wednesday delay time.
MEAL PRICES
BREAKFAST
$1.70 per day
$8.50 per week
LUNCH
$2.45 per day
$12.25 per week
REDUCED BREAKFAST
$0.30 per day
$1.50 per week
REDUCED LUNCH
$0.40 per day
$2.00 per week
If your child receives free or reduced meals and packs their lunch but wants milk, they need to buy milk. Milk costs $0.65.
You can deposit money into your child's lunch account online through the LINQ Connect website or by sending money to school clearly labeled with your child's name.
Negative balance notices are bright pink and sent home daily. Please take care of negative balances as soon as possible.
ROUNDBELLY'S PIZZA FUNDRAISER
Huge thanks to everyone who supported our recent fundraiser! We raised just over $7200! Some students were rewarded for their efforts by getting to spray Mr. Hostetler with silly string. We hope everyone enjoys their pizzas.
TOP SELLERS - Paityn McHenry 2nd place, Jocelyn Yoder 3rd place, Rylan Yoder 1st place
MONEY DRAW WINNERS!
MUSIC NEWS FROM MR. LOAR
Concert Dates for 2024-2025
Second Grade: December 12, 2024 at 6PM
Third Grade: March 20, 2025 at 6PM
First Grade: May 8, 2025 at 6PM
Middlebury Elementary is an ALLERGY AWARE building. We have many students with various food allergies. PLEASE FOLLOW GUIDANCE FROM YOUR STUDENT'S TEACHER REGARDING SNACKS AND TREATS FOR THE CLASSROOM! In some cases, very specific brands known to be safe will be requested. Thank you for your cooperation so that all classmates feel safe and included in celebrations.
NEWS FROM OUR NURSE, MRS. GLEIM
If your child is sick, please KEEP THEM HOME! Remember - students must not have had a fever (below 100.4), vomited, or had diarrhea for 24 hours (without the help of medicine) before they may return to school.
The clinic would appreciate donations of sizes 5 and 6 bottoms and underwear for both boys and girls.
Please keep a seasonally appropriate CHANGE OF CLOTHES in your child's backpack. Accidents, spills, & playground messes are all possible and I may not have the right size to loan your child.
Middlebury Schools needs substitute nurses!! If you or someone you know would be interested I'd be happy to talk about it with you!
CHANGES IN CHILDREN'S INFORMATION
Many changes may occur throughout the school year regarding telephone numbers, work numbers, addresses, and transportation arrangements. Please notify the school office when these changes happen and give new information to the office.
Morning Transportation Changes
If you have last minute transportation changes in the mornings (for example, on 2 hour delay days), then a call needs to be made to Transportation @ 574-825-9410 or to your child's bus driver.
ROOMS - classroom communication tool
If you have not yet accepted the invitation from your child's teacher to ROOMS, please do so as soon as possible. This new platform will be the district's main source of communication going forward.
Happy Fall from the MES PTO! We wanted to extend a huge thank you to everyone that contributed and participated in the Family Fun night, Parent Teacher Conference meals, and Book fair! We wouldn’t be able to do these things without your involvement and support. As the leaves continue to change, we will next be looking forward to our fall Skating party at Jarisa's, on November 14th! More details will be coming soon! If you want to learn more about other activities and get involved with PTO, the next meeting is scheduled for November 20th, at 3:30 at the school, with childcare available for school-aged children. If you can’t attend but want to contribute in another way, please notify the school and we will find a way to have you included. Soon the PTO will be making posts directly to the MES Facebook page, so if you aren't already following that, now would be a good time to add it to ensure you don't miss out on exciting happenings! We hope you can enjoy the cooler weather and don’t forget to mention Middlebury Elementary at Old Hoosier on the first Thursday of the month to help support our school!
Minutes from October meeting:
Attendees: Katie Wingard, Liz James, Alisha Jones, Kelly Jantzi, Brandi Jakubowicz, Brittany McHenry, Elsie Frey, Brinne Graff, Jeniece Cook, Britney Miller, Marion Hostetler.
Treasurer’s Report:
$151.07 in expenses for the month.
Expense for the playground and family fun night will be coming out.
Providing $9 per student for field trips again.
Will provide gift cards for staff meetings as well. 8 $25 Amazon, 4 $10 Pretzel place, 6 $10 Danny’s, 6 $10 Legendary Grind.
Middie Spotlight:
Mrs. Schena.
Book Fair/Family Fun Night:
Book fair going good and on track to exceed last year's amount.
All areas went well and approximately 320 people.
Spent under $200 compared to $1,949.93 last year.
Calendar Fundraiser:
Moved from this fall to February.
P/T Conferences:
Monday 10/21 will be provided by Tammy.
Wednesday 10/23 will be the taco bar. 2:15 all items need to be here.
Pizza Fundraiser:
$7600 made before prizes.
Whole school pizza party should be in November.
Pizza fundraiser pickup will be Monday 10/21.
Looking Forward:
Skating parties are 11/14 and 3/13 at Jarisa’s.
Hacienda give back will be in the spring.
PTO Facebook page:
We have a page already and can add admins. Brittany will be handling the page.
Principals Report:
Playground Equipment is complete.
Next Meeting is November 20th at 3:30pm.
Middie Staff Spotlight
Our Middie Spotlight staff member for October is Mrs. Schena! The students sure to appreciate her and had so many great things to say. One student wrote “Her patience and kindness shines so brightly. I love her smile she brings to my face every time I’m in the classroom.” Another wrote, “Friendly, and sometimes she gives us treats!” I think we can all agree that Mrs. Schena brings smiles in the hallways and classrooms at MES! Make sure to say hi when you see Mrs.Schena in the hallway!
Here is a little about Mrs. Schena:
I have been married for 38 years and I am the proud mother of 3 amazing children. I have a 2-year-old Irish Setter that thinks she is a lap dog, and she keeps me and my husband busy. I love teaching and always seem to be planning or creating something for my classroom but when I have down time my happy place is the beach! I love paddleboarding with my dog on Lake Michigan, camping, reading mystery books and collecting Peeps and pencils. I love working here at MES. The families are involved and willing to help, which is so amazing, and the staff is so kind. I enjoy learning from the students and getting to know them. The MES family has been so welcoming and generous to me. I love the hometown feeling in and out of school. I love iced tea, hot chocolate and HOT tea and any baked goodie!
Do you shop at Hardings?
Did you know Harding's offers community rewards? This is a way you can help earn money for MES doing something you would normally do! Information on how to sign up is at this link. When you shop just enter your phone number at check out. So simple!
Cafeteria News:
November 5th is National Donut Day! Come have donuts with us! We will celebrate Veteran's Day with a red, white, and blue Bomb Pop. Be sure to thank a veteran for their service! On November 18th we will celebrate Mickey Mouse's birthday. Friday, November 22nd will be our Thanksgiving lunch. Happy Thanksgiving!
