The Tiger Times

Email: sstrube@decaturproud.org
Website: decaturproud.org/westnewtonelementary
Location: West Newton Elementary School, 7529 South Mooresville Road, West Newton, IN, USA
Phone: 317856-5237
Twitter: @wntigers

The MSD of Decatur Township is Student Invested, Community Connected. We prioritize Student learning, Safety and Customer Service, fostering a support system for our families.

Preparing our students to be tomorrow ready!

Dear West Newton Families,

I am so appreciative of the West Newton staff’s and our families' collaboration in supporting our students’ school successes. Here are some important items to note:

• Tues., Jan. 24 @ 6pm = Grade 3 Parent Meeting for IREAD3 in the cafeteria

• IREAD3 is the week of March 13-17, 2023

• Tues. Jan. 24 & Thurs., Jan. 26 = Extended Day from 2:30-4:30pm

• Wed., Jan. 25 = Clubs from 2:30-4:30pm

• Tues., Jan. 31 & Thurs., Feb. 2 = Extended Day from 2:30-4:30pm

• Wed., Feb. 1 = Clubs 2:30-4:30pm

• Feb. 1-3 = Apple Specialist with Grade 5 teachers and students

The West Newton staff continues to prepare our students to be “Tomorrow Ready”. Thank you so much for partnering with us in our students’ success and for sharing your children with us. #DecaturProud

With Tiger Pride,

Susan D. Strube

Principal

West Newton families, if we have an eLearning Day as designated by our superintendent Dr. Prusiecki due to inclement weather, then he will also alert families if it is a Synchronous eLearning Day. Please review below regarding what a Synchronous eLearning Day would look like for students as they work on their iPads from home with their teachers.

Synchronous Schedules (Live)

Kindergarten -4th Grade

• 8-8:30am Attendance/Morning Meeting/SEL

• 8:30-10:30 a.m. Reading/Writing/Math/SS/Interventions

• 1-2:00pm Office hour

• Related Arts/Asynchronous

5th-6th Grade

• 8-9:45am Block 1

• 9:45-11:00 a.m. Block 2

• 1-2:00pm Office hour

• Related Arts/Asynchronous

Exceptional Learners Teachers + IAs and Reading Teacher

• Follow and attend general education schedules in designated grade levels for ELA/Math (30 mins of ELA/30 minutes of Math)

• Meet with their students during Asynchronous learning-90 minutes

• And will designate 1 hour for an office hour

Behavior Support Classrooms, Speech, and ELL

• Teachers will share a specific schedule to families with 150 minutes of synchronous learning including IA support and will designate 1 hour for an office hour.

westnewtonelempto@gmail.com

FEBRUARY

Tuesday, February 7 ~ PTO Meeting @ 5:30 pm

MARCH

Tuesday, March 7 ~ PTO Meeting @ 5:30 pm

It’s time to refresh your optimism and brighten your spring!
At Your School (AYS) is offering a full-day Spring Break camp for Decatur Township
families (Pre-K – 6) at Blue & Gold Academy from March 27-31. This camp will help
empower you and your family to achieve your goals and ensure your Spring Break is as
bright as possible! Families currently enrolled in AYS or waitlisted-register by January 25 for $20 off per child! Registration opens for all families on January 26th.

Learn more and register today at www.ayskids.org/spring!

Decatur Township Families,

Dry and fresh food items will be available for drive thru pick-up for any families with children enrolled in MSD of Decatur Township Schools!

When: Selected Thursdays 11:30AM – 12:50PM (dates below)
Where: DCHS, Door 1
How to apply: Complete the intake form below and submit! (required for each distribution date) The form must be completed by the Tuesday before the pick date. 2023 days have been updated on the google form.

Click Here to complete the form.

Mark your calendars for pick-up dates this semester:

January 12
January 19
February 2
February 16
February 23
March 2
March 16
April 13
April 27
May 11

Please see QR Code below.

Hello Decatur Township community members.

Please share your input on programs you would like to see offered at the Indianapolis Public Library Decatur Branch and what times work best for you and your family. Follow the link to fill out a brief survey. Thank you for your time. https://forms.gle/SMY6iUxCGHUaSbMF9

Distribution of information by a community group in accordance with MSD Decatur policy does not imply, directly or indirectly, that the group's program(s), event(s) and/or service(s) is sanctioned, sponsored or endorsed by the district, the Board of Education or the superintendent."

Our Lost and Found is full of coats, jackets, sweatshirts, lunchboxes and other items. If you are missing anything, please stop by the school to look or ask your student to check the table.

Popcorn is $.50 per bag. Popcorn money will be collected all week and the popcorn will be distributed during the students' lunch time. All proceeds benefit the Student Activity fund and the Staff Fund.

Popcorn Friday will take place every week!!

West Newton has a book store with school supplies (ie: pens, pencils, notebooks, folders, etc) in addition to trinket style school suppplies (ie: pencil sharpeners, small notepooks, pencil pouches, etc). Students may bring cash to shop at the supply store. The supply store is open every week on Monday and Wednesday only.

Send in your Coke lids and Coke codes! All Coke products (Coke, Sprite, Barq's, Pibb, Dasani, etc.) either have a code under the bottle lid or in the box/sleeve. All these codes can be used to earn money for West Newton! Your child can earn personal prizes and prizes for their class if they bring in these codes.

You are welcome to send a donated book, puzzle or game to celebrate your child’s birthday. Due to food allergies and diet restrictions, all birthday celebrations will be FOOD FREE. This is to assure that all students can participate in the birthday celebrations. Students will be recognized on the announcements and in their classroom for their special day. At times, parents have asked us to help them by passing out birthday party invitations to children in the class. We are not able to do this unless every child in the class is invited.

Decatur Township School Police Department, (DTSPD), in collaboration with the Drug Free Coalition, is excited to offer a new diversion program for students found to be in possession of tobacco products,

e-cigarettes, and or vaping devices. DTSPD has also partnered with our local courts in an effort to minimize the use of these products and devices on our campuses. Our students, if found with the aforementioned items, would be in violation of Indiana Code 35-46-1-10.5, Minor in Possession of a Tobacco Product or an Electronic Cigarette or 7.1-5-12-8 Smoking in a Prohibited Area. Each of these would be met with an Indiana citation, also known as a “Uniform Traffic Ticket,” (UTT). When submitted to the courts, the cost of the ticket for this violation is $170.50. This is an actual ticket and will affect your license or the ability to obtain one if left unpaid. Our objective however, is not to create financial hardship, but to have an opportunity to educate students and families on the dangers of vaping and tobacco products. Twice per month, DTSPD officers will present a 1-hour class for students who have opted to accept the terms of the diversion program. The cost of the class for a student attending alone is $75.00. If a student attends the class with a parent or guardian, the class is discounted at a cost of $25.00. Upon the completion of the class, the UTT, or citation, will not be referred to the courts, and there will be no record of the violation. A student may only participate in the program once per school year, and only twice throughout their entire school career.

All volunteers are required to submit a volunteer application and clear a background check prior to volunteering at any Decatur Township school. It is important to submit your application at least 2 weeks prior to the field trip, field day, and/or any other special event to ensure we get the background check results to clear you to volunteer. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. To begin the volunteer process, click the application link below.

Volunteer Application

Click here for important information from our district Health Services!

• We encourage all families to conduct a daily screening of your children prior to sending them to school. COVID symptoms are any of the following:
  • Fever or chills
  • Sore throat or shortness of breath
  • Cough (especially new onset, uncontrolled) or shortness of breath
  • Diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain
  • Headache (particularly new onset or severe especially with fever)
  • New loss of taste or smell
• A positive COVID case will need to quarantine/isolate at home for a period of five (5) days. A student/staff member may return at the conclusion of five days if they are no longer showing any symptoms.
  
• If your child tests positive, please access our “COVID Parent Reporting Form” on the main page of our website, or call your school’s front office. The following link is the reporting form:
• Click here for the Parent COVID Reporting Form
  
• Students who are close contacts may come to school because of our mask requirement. A medical note is required if close contacts quarantine at home.

Parent Instructions