MVES Weekly News

Ms. Westbrook's Weekly Newsletter

March 19, 2026

To keep up with the latest news and photos of your favorite Jr. Trojans, follow us on Twitter!

To receive school-wide text alerts for special events, text @hc-mves to 81010.

mves.hallco.org

SUBMIT A SAFETY TIP

To send an anonymous tip of a text or photo please send text to 678-865-6282.

To submit an anonymous tip over a phone line call 770-503-3232, or call your school principal.

For immediate threats please call 911 or complete the form below.

https://schoolsafety.hallco.org/submit-a-tip/

TO VIEW THE DISTRICT'S SAFETY WEBSITE: https://schoolsafety.hallco.org/

Dear Parents,

The Harlem Wizards game at NHHS was a wonderful community event! Thanks to our PTO and staff for making this possible along with our volunteers and team at North Hall High School. You can find pictures from the game on social media: https://x.com/MVESGainesville.

Kindergarten registration for the upcoming school year has begun! Please share the information below with your friends and family who have rising kindergarten students.

Tomorrow, Friday, March 20 will be a staff professional learning day (no school for students). 3rd quarter report cards are going home today. Good luck to our 1st-5th grade Math Mania team members next week!

Next week is the 4th and 5th grade musical, Seussical Kids! Please make sure you have returned your child's permission form so that he/she can go see the show at NHHS.

Spring MAP Growth testing is coming up March 31-April 2. We are excited to see our Jr. Trojans' progress in reading and math!

Before Spring Break, we will share our 2026 spring dates and 5th grade yard sign order information for the Class of 2033.

Go Trojans!

Jennifer Westbrook

Principal

Click here to view the 25-26 HCSD Calendar

Click here to view the 25-26 MVES Handbook

Wear School Spirit Colors on Fridays

MVES Parent Connection Calendar

Important Dates to Remember:

March 19 - Report Cards
March 20 - Student Holiday/Teacher Workday
March 23-25 - Math Mania
March 27-28 - Musical at NHHS
March 30 - Future Explorers at 1:15
March 31-April 2 - Spring MAP Growth testing
March 31 - 6:30 ESPLOST meeting at NHHS
April 6-10 - Spring Break
April 21 - Future Explorers at 1:15
May 1 - Future Explorers at 9:45

March menu

Due to increased costs, purchasing milk for lunch from home will be $.75 (does not include lactose free milk). Students should have money available in their MyPaymentsPlus account to purchase. Students will need a parent note to purchase lactose free milk.

Notice from the PTO: The following individuals were nominated to serve as the PTO Vice President beginning in the 2026-2027 school year: Jennifer Mullis. The following individuals were nominated to serve as Secretary beginning in the 2026/2027 school year: Rachel Gibson. Voting will commence on 3/23/2026. Votes must be cast in writing and placed in the ballot box at the front office of the school no later than 3/31/2026 at 2:00 PM. Votes will be counted during the 4/2/2026 PTO Board Meeting and results announced in the school newsletter on 4/16/2026.

hhp.booktix.com/dept/main/e/seukids

Universal Screener (Elementary)

In approximately 2 weeks, your student’s classroom teacher will score the following screener. At the start of the school year, all parents were asked to complete the Student Services Acknowledgement form within the Parent Portal. If you completed all back-to-school forms, then you have already done so.

Please note, if you have not already completed the Student Services Acknowledgement form within the Parent Portal, it is imperative that you do so now. Directions for setting up your Parent Portal can be found here.

If it is your desire that your student NOT participate in the upcoming screener, it is your responsibility to communicate with your child’s School Counselor directly. A directory of Hall County School District’s School Counselors can be found here.

* (K-5th) Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS-IE)

En aproximadamente 2 semanas, el maestro del salón de clases de su estudiante calificará la siguiente evaluación. Al inicio del año escolar, todos.Se pidió a los padres que completaran el formulario de Acuse de recibo de servicios estudiantiles dentro del Portal para padres. Si completaste todo formularios de regreso a clases, entonces ya lo ha hecho.

Tenga en cuenta que si aún no ha completado el formulario de Acuse de recibo de servicios estudiantiles dentro del Portal para padres, es. Es imperativo que lo haga ahora. Las instrucciones para configurar su Portal para padres se pueden encontrar aquí.

Si desea que su estudiante NO participe en la próxima evaluación, es su responsabilidad comunicarse con directamente con el consejero escolar de su hijo. Puede encontrar un directorio de los consejeros escolares del distrito escolar del condado de Hall aquí.

* (K-5th) Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS-IE)

We are hiring!

MVES is looking for lunchroom monitors to support our Jr. Trojans in the cafeteria during lunch.

Interested candidates can apply online: https://www.applitrack.com/hallcounty/onlineapp/default.aspx?AppliTrackPostingSearch=location:%22Mount+Vernon+Elementary+School+-+0194%22

and contact jennifer.westbrook@hallco.org.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On May 19, 2026, Hall County voters will have the opportunity to vote on the upcoming ESPLOST VII referendum. We encourage all families to vote their conscience and to take advantage of the informational resources available to learn more about how ESPLOST has supported our schools.

Families are invited to:

Watch the district’s informational video
Visit the district ESPLOST website

The district will also host informational meetings by school cluster to share how ESPLOST has helped fund the district’s 10-Year Facility Plan and supported academic and extracurricular programs. All meetings begin at 6:30 PM.

Meeting Dates and Locations

March 17, 2026 — Johnson High School
March 19, 2026 — Cherokee Bluff High School
March 26, 2026 — Flowery Branch High School
March 31, 2026 — North Hall High School
April 16, 2026 — West Hall High School
April 21, 2026 — Chestatee High School
April 23, 2026 — East Hall High School

We encourage stakeholders to attend one of these meetings to learn more about the proposed implementation of the district’s 10-Year Facility Plan should the ESPLOST VII referendum pass on May 19, 2026.

Thank you for staying informed and engaged in our school community.

Sincerely,
Hall County School District

Estimados padres y tutores:

El 19 de Mayo de 2026, los votantes del Condado de Hall tendrán la oportunidad de votar en el próximo referéndum de ESPLOST VII. Animamos a todas las familias a votar según su criterio y a aprovechar los recursos informativos disponibles para conocer más sobre cómo ESPLOST ha apoyado a nuestras escuelas.

Se invita a las familias a:

• Ver el video informativo del distrito

• Visitar el sitio web de ESPLOST del distrito

El distrito también organizará reuniones informativas por grupo escolar para compartir cómo ESPLOST ha ayudado a financiar el Plan de Instalaciones de 10 Años del distrito y ha apoyado los programas académicos y extracurriculares. Todas las reuniones comienzan a las 6:30pm

Fechas y lugares de las reuniones

• 17 de Marzo de 2026 — Preparatoria Johnson

• 19 de Marzo de 2026 — Preparatoria Cherokee Bluff

• 26 de Marzo de 2026 — Preparatoria Flowery Branch

• 31 de Marzo de 2026 — Preparatoria North Hall

• 16 de Abril de 2026 — Preparatoria West Hall

• 21 de Abril de 2026 — Preparatoria Chestatee

• 23 de Abril de 2026 — Preparatoria East Hall

Animamos a las partes interesadas a asistir a una de estas reuniones para obtener más información sobre la implementación propuesta del Plan de Instalaciones de 10 Años del distrito, en caso de que se apruebe el referéndum ESPLOST VII el 19 de Mayo de 2026.

Gracias por mantenerse informados y participar activamente en nuestra comunidad escolar.

Atentamente,

Distrito Escolar del Condado de Hall

MVES Parent Surveys

Dear Parents,

As we continuously seek to improve the Hall County School District, we want to know how you, as a parent or guardian, feel the schools and the district are doing to meet the needs of students and all stakeholders. Please help us by completing the survey online.

The information that you provide will help us evaluate and improve how our schools, district, families, and parents work together to help all students achieve academic success.

Please click the link below to complete the survey online.

Your opinions and suggestions are valuable, and we thank you for your input.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrXVQ3neFaNZvi-vfNsICFhPYuHPtJ8ez172E0P_zrT-OHQg/viewform

Queridos padres/tutores,

Debido a que buscamos continuamente mejorar el Distrito Escolar del Condado de Hall, queremos saber cómo usted, como padre o tutor, siente que las escuelas y el distrito están trabajando para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes y todos los miembros de la comunidad. Ayúdenos con este proceso completando la encuesta en línea.

La información que nos proporcione nos ayudará a evaluar y mejorar la manera en que nuestras escuelas, distrito, familias y padres trabajan juntos para ayudar a todos los estudiantes a lograr el éxito académico.

Por favor presione en el enlace (link) de abajo para completar la encuesta en línea.

Sus opiniones y sugerencias son muy valiosas, y le agradecemos su aporte.

**2025-26 Georgia School Climate Survey for Families**

MVES will take the Georgia School Climate Survey this year. Each parent or guardian is invited to take the family version to answer questions about the current school or schools you have a child or children attending. If two or more children attend the same school, please only complete one survey for that school.

The survey measures what you think about how the school engages with families. Answers are not linked to names in any way. When typing answers, please do not give names or information that you don’t want to share with this school. Data will be shared with school leaders to help improve the school and will be published on the GaDOE website.

Please help by sharing your honest opinion on this 22-question survey. To take the parent survey, please click this link.

2025-26 Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students)!

We are changing things up a little bit this school year. We will have different dates available for different grade levels. Thursday dates will be for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. Friday dates will be for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. If you have kids that overlap on two different date/grade level preferences - it's okay, just pick a date and you will still get to see all of your kids :). Before signing up to be a Watch DOG, you must complete the volunteer application by following this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yk7UX64rMYA_oLGUHUAphIV9Aed3XvhSPyMOQcS3Q3Q/edit?usp=sharing

WATCH DOG Sign Up Genius Link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4FA5AC2EA4F94-60503360-mves

Please reach out to Mrs. Nix with any questions at Bethany.nix@hallco.org

Medication Reminders from Nurse Devra Wood

Please contact Nurse Devra Wood regarding any student medical concerns or medications. Children should not deliver medications or have medications in their book bags.
Parent/Guardian must complete the HCSD medication permission form and deliver medication to the clinic in the original bottle.
For safety reasons, please do not send medications in with students.

Hall County Schools Bus App for Parents

Reminder from HCSD Transportation Dept: Nonresident students including HB251, Magnet and Tuition students, are not allowed to ride the bus to or from school unless it is a school day field trip experience. Nonresident families are required to provide transportation (car rider or MVES approved afternoon day care). Please contact the MVES front office with questions.

Car Rider Reminders

For morning drop-off, please have your student gather belongings, water bottle, etc. so he/she is prepared to exit the car quickly with all belongings READY when your car arrives at the sidewalk for drop-off.
Please remain in your car when unloading AND loading students. If you need to buckle students into car seats, please pull into the spaces next to the hill after you exit the loading area.
Please have students load/unload from the PASSENGER SIDE if possible. This saves time and is safer than having students cross between cars.
Please pull up as far as possible in the car rider line. The unloading/loading area is the entire length of the sidewalk.
A current car rider tag is required for pick up in the car rider line.
Our campus (including the car rider line) is a drug free/tobacco free campus.
It is unsafe for children to hang out of car windows or stand up through the sun roof while in line.

Frequently Asked Questions about Birthdays:

If you would like your child's class to celebrate his/her birthday at school, please communicate in advance with the teacher. Buying the class ice cream or sending in store-bought birthday treats (ex. cupcakes, donuts) can be planned ahead with the teacher. The teacher will distribute the treats at the appropriate time. We are unable to distribute invitations at school.

VISITORS & VOLUNTEERS:

Hall County Schools and MVES encourage family involvement in our schools. Parents will be invited to participate in special school and PTO events during and after school.
School visitors must have ID and be listed on the student's Infinite Campus approved contacts.
Visitors should not take/post pictures of other students.
A schedule for lunch visits will be available after Labor Day. Visitor seating will be scheduled on a limited basis due to space.
- no outside food will be permitted in the MVES cafeteria
- only 2 guests per student (unable to bring siblings from another grade)
- must have ID and be listed on IC approved contacts
- sit with their student at visitor tables
School and field trip volunteers must complete the HCSD application with volunteer modules through Checkmate (KEYWORD: HallVolunteers). https://campus.hallco.org/campus/checkMate/volunteerSignUp.jsp?appName=hall
The application will be available online and at the front office between 8:30-1:00 and 3:00-3:30. Due to district guidelines, volunteer applications and modules will be required each school year.
Following the first day of school, students arriving by car should come through the car rider line off Odum Smallwood Road. The front and front lower parking lots should only be used by buses and staff during arrival and dismissal times.
If you need to check out your child from school (we ask that you limit check-outs as much as possible), please notify the child's teacher and the front office staff in advance from a parent/guardian email address and call 770-983-1759 to confirm:
- missy.odom@hallco.org

AND

- marisa.chester@hallco.org

LUNCH VISITOR SCHEDULE (see *visitor guidelines above) - January - March

*Volunteer applications are not required for lunch visitors.

Please review the available slots below, and click on the button to sign up.

Here is the link to the lunch visitor schedule for January 6 - March 31.

MVES is excited to welcome our parents/guardians for lunch with your students! ALL lunch visitors will be required to have a reservation due to very limited seating. Visitors are limited to signing up for only 1 time during the dates above.

For the safety of students, please note the following:

· For your child’s lunch visit, 1 or 2 adults (must have ID and be on student IC contact list) may join the same reservation (no school-age siblings; younger children should be in lap or stroller to help with limited seating).

· Siblings from other grade levels cannot be combined into the same reservation, but a parent can sign up 1 time during these dates for each child.

· Outside food will not be allowed to be brought into the MVES cafeteria (HCSD guideline).

· Lunch visitors will eat in the visitor seating area located outside the office, across from the learning commons.

· Lunch visitors will meet their child in the hall as his/her class goes to lunch and sign-out in the office after the lunch period ends (student will rejoin his/her class at the end of the lunch time).

· Visitors may purchase lunch in the cafeteria for $5.10 each (cash or check).

· Lunch visitors may have lunch with your child only. Other students cannot join your lunch visit.

Exact lunch times for each homeroom class may be viewed HERE.

Please contact our front office with questions. We look forward to seeing you at MVES!

We appreciate our 2025-26 MVES Partners in Education!

1st Response Roofing

American Family Homes

Anchor Real Estate Advisors

BCI

BGW Dental Group

Big Peach Running Co - Braselton

Causey Orthodontics