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
We are off to a great start. The staff at MES is doing an amazing job welcoming students and preparing for the year ahead. I enjoy walking through the classrooms to see what the students are learning. I also enjoy getting to know the students at lunch and recess Just a couple of reminders so we can have the most successful year possible.
Visitors - if you want to visit or volunteer, you must complete and pass a limited criminal history background check every year. Click here to fill out the form online. When you come to the school you will need your ID to check in to our visitor management system.
School begins at 7:40 (8:05 on Wednesdays), It is important that your child arrives to class on time. Students are allowed to enter the building at 7:25 (&:50 on Wednesday). Please do not drop off students before there is a staff member present.
Drop off and pickup - If your student is a car rider please remain in the lane of traffic and do not go around while others in front of you are still loading/unloading. This is a safety issue and our number one goal is to keep all students safe.
Make sure to call the office at 574-825-2158 before 8:30 if your child is going to be late or absent. If we do not hear from you a call will be made home.
If you need to change transportation arrangements in the afternoon please call the school before 1:30
If you have any questions at any time, don't hesitate to call the school at 574-825-2158.
September Calendar
2 - No School
3 - School Board Meeting
5 - Picture Day
5 - Old Hoosier Give Back Night
17 - School Board Meeting
18 - PTO Meeting @ 3:30
19 - Wear Your Middie Shirt or Blue and White
20 - Pizza Fundraiser kickoff! Runs thru 10/4 (more information to come)
26 - Kindergarten Field Trip
A Note From Mr. Peery, Our School Counselor
Attendance
We are encouraging students to have excellent attendance again this school year. Research shows that students who are chronically absent from school have academic achievement gaps that carry over into the next school year and grow each year after that. We want all of our MES students to achieve to their fullest potential and that doesn't happen when we aren't here. As a reward, we will hold 2 drawings at the end of the school year for a $100.00 gift card. All your student needs to do to enter is be at school. Students with 2 or fewer absences will automatically be entered. We definitely understand that illness happens, and we want sick students to stay home until they are better. If they aren't sick, we want to see their smiling face at school!
Grocery prices are crazy! We know that a lot of our families work really hard and still don't always have enough to cover food at the end of the week. We offer the Blessings In A Backpack program here at MES to any family that needs it. Blessings In A Backpack puts a little bit of food in your child's backpack on Fridays for them to take home and have a little something extra for the weekend. It's not a lot, but it helps. There are no specific qualifications to sign up. If you are interested in the program, please feel free to call me here at the school or email me at peeryb@mcsin-k12.org.
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.
YEARBOOKS
All third graders will receive a free yearbook as a gift from the Student Leadership Team.
MCS WEBSITE
Here you can find breakfast and lunch menus, photos from our school system, newsletters, and fun educational websites for your child 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. Low balance notices are green and are sent home weekly.
Mosquito Tag in PE...hilarious and fun!
PE NEWS FROM MRS. FREY
Just a reminder that your child needs to wear socks with their gym shoes. This helps prevent blisters. Please make sure your child has a pair of socks in their backpack for PE days. Thank you,
Mrs. Frey
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
NEWS FROM OUR NURSE, MRS. GLEIM
If your child is sick, please KEEP THEM HOME! Remember - students must not have had a fever, vomit, or diarrhea for 24 hours (without the help of medicine) before they may return to school.
The MOBILE DENTIST is coming on October 31st. Every student is able to take advantage of this convenient service. They accept insurance, private pay, and even have grant assistance available. Sign up forms were in everyone's gray back-to-school folder. If you need another copy, call the office or click here to sign up online.
Please keep a 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.
Hello from everyone at MES PTO! We wanted to thank everyone for their participation in this year’s annual mum fundraiser. The flowers were beautiful, and we are always thankful to start off the school year with this event! We will be busy this month preparing for the October book fair and parent teacher conferences, so look for further information about that to come! If you shop at Harding’s, information has been sent home to register to support your school by contributing some of your purchase back to the school! Every contribution helps make our school a better place! We had a great turnout at our first PTO meeting of the year and would love to see you for the next one. It is scheduled for September 18th 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. We hope you have a great rest of the month and don’t forget to mention Middlebury Elementary at Old Hoosier on the first Thursday of the month to help support our school!
Cafeteria News:
We are trying out some new items this year. Join us for lunch to check them out! In addition, every other month we will be alternating salads or a sub sandwich as the 3rd choice entree. September's 3rd choice entree will be a sub sandwich. September 5th we will celebrate the NFL season opener with a football treat. Johnny Appleseed Day is the 26th. Join us for lunch and a special apple dessert! Guest lunches at MES cost $4.60 for an adult and $2.45 for a child.
