EC-5 Elementary Express
March 2018
March Dates At-A-Glance
March 1 - Youth Art Month Reception @ E.D. Locke Public Library / 5:30pm-7:00pm
March 1 - High School Jazz Band to perform for WIS and MPS Students
March 2 - Kindergarten Orientation 8:15am-9:15am (RSVP Required)
March 5 - 4th Grade Music and Art Program - 6:00pm - ART 6:30pm - Music
March 5-9 - National School Breakfast Week
March 5-16 - Kindergarten Spring Conference Weeks
March 6 - 4K Math/Literacy Fun Night - 6:00pm-7:00pm CE Gym (RSVP Required)
March 9 - Kindergarten Orientation 8:15am-9:15am (RSVP Required)
March 12-16 - WIS Conference Week
March 12-22 - 1st/2nd Grade Spring Conference Weeks
March 13 - Welcome to 4K Parent Meeting - 6:00pm-7:00pm CE Gym Adults Only
March 15 - WIS Related Arts Conference Night 3:30pm-7:30pm
March 16 - Wear Green Day at Elementary Campus
March 19 - 5th Grade Music and Art Program - 6:00pm - ART and 6:30pm - Music
March 19-May 4 - FORWARD State Testing Window
March 22 - End of 3rd Quarter
March 23 - NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day
March 26 - April 2 - NO SCHOOL - SPRING BREAK!
Dates to look forward to in April...
April 3 - School Resumes
April 6 - Kindergarten Orientation 8:15am-9:15am (RSVP Required)
April 10 - 4th Grade Girls Human Growth and Development Night 6:30pm
April - Open Mic Poetry Night
April 12 - 4th Grade Boys Human Growth and Development Night 6:30pm
Summer school plans are well under way. Information on registration for classes will be online in early March. Summer school registration will open on April 11 at 7:00pm sharp. As a reminder, all classes for students entering into grades 1-5 will be at WIS and classes for students entering into grades 6 and above will be at MHS.
The Summer School staff has been working hard at putting together an awesome program for our students this summer! The Summer School catalog should be available online mid-March.
Online registration will begin at 7:00pm on April 11, 2018.
Summer School Dates:
Session 1: June 18 – June 28 (Classes Monday-Thursday)
Session 2: July 9 – July 26 (Three week session! Classes Monday-Thursday)
REMINDER:
Our lost and found is growing! Please be sure to check the lost and found prior to March 15th. We will be donating what is left behind after that time. This pertains to both the Elementary Campus and WIS.
Thank you!!
Scholastic Book Fair!
Waubesa will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair on the following dates. This will be held in the Library (upstairs) and all are welcome to attend.
http://www.scholastic.com/bf/waubesaintermediateschool
Monday, March 12 3-5pm
Tuesday, March 13 3-5pm
Wednesday, March 14 3-5pm
Thursday, March 15 3-8pm
Classroom Placement for 2018-2019
Throughout the spring and summer, our staff works through the process of determining class placement, with final decisions shared with families as a part of fall registration in August. Many factors go into this complicated and time consuming process as great care is taken to establish class rosters that support the unique needs of all learners. Please note that while we DO NOT take parent requests for placing their child(ren) with a specific teacher or friend(s), we are open to parents' sharing details about teacher characteristics or classroom settings that we might consider when determining a student's best placement. If you are interested in sharing preferred teacher traits or classroom learning environment needs (without specific teacher names), please send an email or written note to the Principal at your child's school by Friday, March 2nd. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Murphy, Dr. Novak, or your child's teacher with any questions about this process.
CEELC/Primary School Information
Principal: Kelley Novak
CEELC Building Administrative Assistant: Emily Broome 608-838-3146
MPS Building Administrative Assistant: Sheryl Leemon 608-838-3115
Email: novakk@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/elementary/
Phone: 608-838-3115
A Note From Dr. Novak...
Dear Families,
Happy March! This month is an exciting time at the Elementary Campus and in the 4K classrooms! Our students will surely look forward to the weather warming up in the coming months (hopefully!), and this is also a time where our teachers note that students make large gains in their academic and social learning.
Our K-2 students have learned about Jump Rope for Heart in their Physical Education class and are excited about our school’s effort to give to this cause. As of publication time, our students and families have fundraised over $17,000 which is amazing! Thank you! In Episode 4 of News for the Construction Site, our community got another up close and personal view of our new Conrad Elvehjem Primary School, and learned how the walls were insulated, how the electric wires run through the building, and how the ceilings were installed. Click here to check it out! Additionally, a group of teachers have been doing the exciting work of planning with a playground company to design the new playground for our new school. Finally, in February, our first and second graders got to put on their singing caps and show off their hard work for our families and community at their music performances; thanks to music teacher Kathy Kellen for her time and energy into making this a fun night for all! Some important dates to look forward to in the month of March include “Green Dress Up Day” on the 16th, no school for students on the 23rd, and spring break the March 26th - April 2nd!
In the coming month, we also look forward to our spring Parent-Teacher conferences, which is an opportunity for families to hear about our students’ progress in their all-around learning in school, and a chance for teachers and families to strengthen the partnership as you collaborate to best support your child(ren)’s unique characteristics. Please anticipate more to come from your child’s teacher, and thank you in advance for making your participation a priority.
Thinking about weather and the arrival of Spring, March often likes to surprise us with what to expect. Please plan to check the weather before sending your child(ren) to school, as there may be snowy, rainy, muddy, windy, dry, cold, or warm days! Students have recess outside as long as it isn’t actively raining or a windchill below 0, so it is important to be prepared for whatever elements come our way. We suggest that students wear waterproof boots and snow pants outside during the “slushy” days so that pants and shoes don’t get wet, which can be an uncomfortable distraction during the learning time in class.
We are pleased to share a staffing update that will have a positive impact on our school community as the McFarland School Board recently approved the addition of two new roles for our school for next year. An Associate Principal will help provide leadership and support in the areas of behavior, curriculum, instruction, and supervision. A Program Support Teacher will join our team to support our social-emotional curriculum (Lifeskills), as well as PBIS programming, student behavior interventions, and special education. An application and interview process will take place over the spring months, and we will surely provide you with updates on this exciting process.
Yours under “Kid”struction, as we are building Learners, Leaders, Dreamers, and Doers,
Kelley Novak, Ed.D Greg Nelson
Elementary Campus Principal Teacher on Special Assignment
2017-18/2018-19 School Calendar Changes
On February 19th, in an effort to meet the construction schedule for our new school building, the McFarland School Board approved changes to the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school calendars. The following day, the details of these changes were shared with families via an Infinite Campus email, but in an effort to make sure everyone is aware, you can also find the information at this link. We sincerely appreciate your understanding about these changes as we know it may require families to make adjustments to their family calendars to accommodate them.
K-2 New School Start Time for 2018-19
In an effort to maximize our schedule and learning needs, the decision has been made to move our school start time up a few minutes to begin at 7:45 AM. This will be the time of the first bell when students can enter their classrooms to begin the day. The dismissal bell will remain at its current time of 2:42 PM. As we continue to evaluate the arrival/dismissal, transportation, and supervision needs of our new campus layout, more details will be provided about the procedures associated with these these time frames. In the meantime, thank you for noting our new student school hours of 7:45 AM-2:42 PM.
4K/5K Enrollment
Waubesa Intermediate School Information
Principal: Sue Murphy
Building Adminstrative Assistant:
Arlene Coady-Bast
608-838-7667
Email: MurphyS@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/intermediate/
Phone: 608-838-7667
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Waubesa.Intermediate.School/
A Note From Principal Murphy...
In March we join the national celebration of Youth Art and Music Month at Waubesa Intermediate School. The fourth and fifth grade students will be having their evening shows. (3rd grade performs in the fall) We hope you can all join us for this great event. That art display is always fantastic and the music is awesome to hear. Both events start at 6:00pm with the 4th graders performing on March 5 and the 5th graders performing on March 19.
In addition to our Waubesa Art and Music programs, the McFarland Public Library will be hosting a Youth Art Month Reception on March 1 from 5:30-7:30. The art is created by students in grades K-12 and will be on display and musical performances will occur throughout the event.
March is also the time when we love to connect with you for our spring conferences. Meeting to talk about your son or daughters growth as a learner both academically and socially is important to us.
While you are visiting Waubesa for the spring conferences, please take a few minutes to look over our lost and found tables near the commons for any unclaimed items that may belong to your child. Our tables are full and growing every day! Of course you are welcome to come to schools at any time to try to find lost items.
All lost and found items will be donated on March 16.
Finally when we return from spring break, we will begin some of our required state testing. There are several components to the test, so it takes several weeks to test all 540 students. Please consider not taking any extended vacations during this time and having your son or daughter come rested and ready each day.
Have a great Spring Break, and please give me a call at 838-7667 Ext. 4601 with any questions.
Sue Murphy
Principal
Waubesa Intermediate School
4th Grade Human Growth and Development Night
Tuesday, April 10 - Girls Night
Thursday, April 12 - Boys Night
Meet at 6:15pm in the Waubesa Intermediate School Commons. Program begins at 6:30pm.
**More information will be sent out via IC in the next few weeks. If you have any questions at all please feel free to reach out to our school nurse Alison Potter @ 608-838-4500 ext. 4761.