October is here!  We hope you're as ready as we are for the brilliant colors, cool nights, and sights & sounds of fall.  Several important reminders are below: 

Parent-Teacher Conferences -  Our fall Parent-Teacher conferences will be Thursday, October 5th and Tuesday, October 10th.  You may sign up for face-to-face conferences using the digital sign up:  https://signup.com/go/yUBMDjD .  Please realize that you need to scroll to find your child's teacher's name and not just sign up using the first available time slot.  Mrs. Ard has a lot of conferences scheduled that are not actually her students, due to being at the beginning of the alphabet (and most likely just for being awesome and popular)!  If you are having issues scheduling, please call Lisa in our office (513-367-5577).  

Bus drivers needed!!  - SLSD is hiring bus drivers.  Please visit our website for more information: https://www.southwestschools.org/departments/hr---employment-9/view-open-classified-positions-38/ 

BOOK Fair – Our PTO is hosting the Scholastic Book Fair during fall conferences.  All spent at the book fair benefits our MWE teachers! Scholastic now adds tax to each purchase, so please send a couple of extra dollars to cover your child’s entire purchase.  For more information, click the Scholastic Book Fair letter .

Lunch Box Labels – Please label your child’s name on jackets, coats, and lunch boxes.  Our lost & found rack has been overflowing on a weekly basis.  Many of the items could be returned to their rightful owner if they were labeled with student names.  

Saturday with Santa –  We’re collecting raffle basket donations for this year’s PTO Saturday with Santa event.  PTO shares so much with our students and teachers, so classes are collecting themed donations to support one of the biggest fundraisers of the school year!  Teachers are collecting items starting tomorrow through Nov. 2nd.  You can find your child's theme below.  Feel free to bring items to fill your child's basket to conferences if that's easier than sending the donations in to school.  If most families are able to contribute, we will have about 15 beautiful baskets for Saturday with Santa.  PTO volunteers will pick up the donations, create the themed baskets, wrap in cellophane, tie with Christmas ribbon, and add a tag.  If you have a connection or family member who would like to make a separate basket, please email Mrs. Casey at caseysgrl2000@yahoo.com .  PTO volunteers will be setting the baskets up the week before the event at lunchtime for students to buy tickets (November 27-Dec.3).  PTO will send more information about the raffle ticket prices and Saturday with Santa by the end of this month.  PTO has also secured autographed items from the Cincinnati Bengals that will be in a "Grand Raffle".  The Grand Raffle tickets will be separate from the themed raffle baskets due to the value of these items.  Thanks for supporting Saturday with Santa!

Raffle Basket Themes:

1. Pet Lovers - Mrs. Hollmann, Mrs. Payne, & Mrs. Blankenship

2. Wildcat Pride - Mr. Borcher & Mrs. Jackson

3. Hot Wheels (car cleaning supplies, air fresheners, gas gift cards, etc.) - Mrs. Osterhage & Mr. Williams

4. Spa Day - Mrs. Schaber & Miss Ventre

5. Foodie Fun - Miss Rack & Ms. Hollstegge

6. Green Thumb Gardening - Mrs. Beasley & Mrs. Mumfrey

7. Movie Night - Mrs. Ard & Mrs. Kober

8. Arts & Crafts for KIDS - Mrs. Pfeffer, Ms. Vandeventer, & Mrs. Midei

9. School's Out/Fun in the Sun - MWE Admin team, School Nurse, School Counselor, & Office Staff

10. Cincinnati Favorites - Mrs. Deller & Mrs. Heinrich

11. Cincinnati Bengals - Mrs. Guilfoyle, Miss Cole, & Mrs. Stafford

12. Gift Cards Galore - Mrs. Ange, Mrs. Horning, & Mrs. Weber

13. Cozy Comforts - MD Department

14. Family Game Night - Mrs. Houpe & Mrs. Linde

FEMA Test – As you know, FEMA conducted an emergency system test today at about 2:17pm. We had shared this in advance with our students and staff over the PA so no one was caught off guard.  You may want to explain more with your child at home tonight, but we did not go into detail about what FEMA is or why the emergency system warning may sound in a real situation.

Weber’s Pumpkin Festival Straw Maze - Please sign up for this aMAZing fundraiser for our school (link below)! The straw maze at Weber's Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 21-22 is an awesome fundraising opportunity, and a great way to interact with our community! It's bundles of fun working with friends and family, while also walking around and shopping at the 180 arts and crafts exhibitors expected this year! There is also live music, a variety of foods, and live demonstrations to check out while you are there. Thanks for helping out with this aMAZing fundraiser! https://signup.com/go/poVCecW

Halloween Parade & Parties – Temps are dropping & fall is here!  That means our first celebration of the year is coming… MWE Halloween Parade & Party Day!  In order for our little ghosts and goblins to have an amazing party experience on Oct. 31 at Miami Whitewater Elementary, please keep the following in mind:

• Each homeroom will have five volunteers helping with games, snacks, and crafts at the party.  PTO room parents and guardians will be reaching out for donations & volunteers.   All parents and guardians who are volunteering need to come to school with a valid driver's license and have a quick background check done by the secretaries by Oct. 20th.  No additional visitors will be allowed to go to classrooms during party time.  We will encourage our teachers and staff to park in the Junior School lot next door or in the green barn lot to keep the front lot open for our parent and guardian volunteers on Oct. 31.  Parents need to park out front and not in the side bus lot, as the Junior School buses will be coming for dismissal during the parties and we can't block bus traffic. 
• Party volunteers are welcome to arrive at 1:30 and need to bring a photo ID when checking in.  We'll send party volunteers to classrooms at 1:40pm to get set up and help little ones get into costumes.
• Costumes need to be appropriate for school.  We do not allow face paint, weapons, blood, or violence of any kind.  Students in full-day Kindergarten, 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 grade should pack their costumes and not wear them to school.
• AM Kindergarten parties begin at 10:45am.  AM & PM half-day Kindergarten students can wear their costumes to school.  AM Kindergarten students will parade through the school before their parties begin.
• Parties for students who attend school all day will begin at 2:20 after the parade ends.
• Our annual Halloween parade will begin at 1:50pm.  All full-day Kindergarten, PM Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students will parade through the intermediate hallways, cafeteria, and gym or outside on the playground blacktop if weather permits.   4th and 5th grade students will be the parade audience.  Parents and guardians who are not helping at the party who wish to watch the parade can come to school between 1:50-2:00 to watch the parade from the seats in the cafeteria (or the sidewalk bordering the playground if weather permits) & be asked to leave after the parade.
• All treats and baked goods should be individually wrapped and packaged.  This keeps our kiddos safe and healthy & is aligned to our SLSD wellness policy.
• All parties will be wrapped up by 3:30!  
• Thanks in advance for helping our young wildcats celebrate Halloween in a fun and exciting way!

Veteran’s Day – Our annual Veteran's Day parade will be November 9th at 10:00am.  We will also be inviting local Veterans to join us at our program the afternoon of Nov. 9th.  More details will be shared closer to the event in a separate email.

End of Quarter & Fall Break - October 13th is the end of first quarter.  Students will not have school that day, as it's Teacher Record Day.  All SLSD schools are closed Oct. 16 & Oct. 17 for Fall Break.  School will resume Oct. 18, 2023.

Upcoming Assessments - The week of Oct. 23-27, the following grade levels will be taking assessments:

1. Second Grade - InView Assessment

2. Third Grade - OST Reading Assessment

3. Fifth Grade - InView Assessment

Mark Your Calendars:

October 

Oct. 4 - Student Banking

Oct. 5 - Parent Teacher Conferences from 4:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Oct. 5-11 - PTO Book Fair

Oct. 6 - Fifth Grade Grandparent’s Day 10:15

Oct.  10 - Parent Teacher Conferences from 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Oct. 11 - CAT Store

Oct. 12 - Christian Tracy visit 5th graders 9:45am

Oct. 12 - Kindergarten Grandparent’s Day (AM & PM)

Oct.  13 End of 1st Quarter - No School

Oct. 16-17 - Fall Break - No School 

Oct. 18 - Student Banking 

Oct. 20 - Art To Remember fundraiser begins

Oct. 23-27 - Grade 3 fall OST Reading Assessment week

Oct. 23-27 - InView Assessments (grades 2 & 5)

Oct. 25 - Second Grade Grandparent’s Day 9:30am

Oct. 25 & 26 - Harrison Children’s Librarian classroom visits

Oct. 26-27 Cincinnati Museum Center on Wheels (PTO)

Oct. 31 - Halloween Parties

November

Nov 1- Student Banking 

Nov. 2 - Last day to collect Saturday with Santa raffle basket donations

Nov. 6 - Fourth Grade Grandparents Day 9:30

Nov. 7 - In-Service Day - No School 

Nov. 9 - MWE & HJS Veteran’s Day Parade @ 10AM

Nov. 9 - MWE Veteran's Day program (afternoon time TBA)

Nov. 10 - Veterans’ Day - No School 

Nov. 14  - PTO Meeting @ 6:30 PM 

Nov. 15 Student Banking

Nov. 17 - Final Friday - JEANS day 

Nov. 21 - Third Grade Grandparents Day (PM)

Nov. 22 -  Conference Release Day - No School 

Nov. 23-24  - Thanksgiving Break - No School 

Nov. 29 - Student Banking 

December 

Dec. 2 - Saturday with Santa 

Dec. 5 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30 PM 

Dec. 11-15  - AIMSWeb Plus fluency Winter benchmark (grades K-3)

Dec. 13 - Student Banking 

Dec. 13 - CAT Store

Dec. 15 - First Grade field trip to Children’s Theater

Dec. 18 - 5th grade field trip to iSpace

Dec. 19  - 5th grade field trip to iSpace

Dec. 19-20 - Dental Van 

Dec. 20 - Class Winter Holiday Parties 

Dec. 21 - End of 2nd Quarter - No School 

Dec. 22-31 - Winter Break -No School 

January 

Jan. 1-2 Winter Break - No School 

Jan. 3 - First Day of Second Semester 

Jan. 3 - Student Banking 

Jan. 8-12- NWEA MAP Winter Benchmark assessment week

Jan. 15 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School 

Jan. 17 - Student Banking 

Jan. 18 - MWE Spelling Bee 1:30pm

Jan. 31-  Student Banking