Deerfield Elementary
October 2018
Greetings from the Office!
Our focus for this school year is parent engagement. We are always looking for new ways to involve families in their child's learning. We want to ensure that any in and out of school offerings are known to ALL families. So we currently send out this monthly newsletter, Skylerts, emails, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, the district website, and Tuesday Newsday as forms of communication. If you have any suggestions or feel some other forms of communication would best fit your needs let us know.
There is a strong correlation between family engagement and student learning. So we will continue to create opportunities for you and your family to become more engaged.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at 764-5442 ext.5201 or kamrathm@deerfield.k12.wi.us.
Thanks,
Melinda Kamrath
DES Principal
What's Happening in October?
October 2-Community ALICE discussion 6:00 @MS/HS
October 3-Walking School Bus 7:15am meet at Nelson Lumber Yard
October 8-5th grade band meeting 7:00pm in DES cafeteria
October 9-PTO meeting 6:30 @DES IMC
October 10-Walking School Bus 7:15am meet at Nelson Lumber Yard
Early Release 12:15
October 11-Fire Prevention Day K-2
October 12-HEY! day-all students will wear name tags
October 15-Board Meeting 6:30
October 17-Walking School Bus 7:15am meet at Nelson Lumber Yard
October 18-Parent/teacher conferences 3:30-7:30
October 19-Wear orange- "Be a Buddy, Not a Bully" day
Community Day-afternoon
October 22-Parent/teacher conferences 3:30-7:30
October 23-Scoopie Night at Lake Mills Culvers 5:00-8:00pm
October 24-Walking School Bus 7:15am meet at Nelson Lumber Yard
October 25-26-No School-Multi district inservices
October 31-School wide Halloween celebrations
Early Releases-12:15
Wednesday, October 10
Wednesday, November 14
Wednesday, December 12
Wednesday, January 9
Wednesday, February 13
Wednesday, March 13
Wednesday, April 10
Wednesday, May 8
Guidance News
Deerfield Elementary School will be participating in the Start with Hello program at the end of September. Start with Hello is a violence prevention program that teaches children and teens how to be more socially inclusive and connected to each other. We are hoping to prevent feelings of social isolation at our school and community. Students who feel isolate or excluded are at risk for experiencing bullying, violence and/or depression.
At school:
· Students will learn strategies to include their peers and be an upstander when they see bullying.
· Friday, October 12th will be a “HEY!” day. Each student will wear a name tag so that we can greet others by name.
· Friday, October 19th we will wear Orange for “Be a buddy, not a bully” day.
Get involved at home:
· Share your story. Tell your child a story about a time that you reached out to someone who was alone and in need. What happened? How did you feel afterwards?
· Be there for your child. Talk about what your child can do if they ever feel lonely at school. Remind your child that you are always there for them if they need someone to talk to.
· Talk about good and bad kinds of being alone. When does being alone feel good? When does being alone feel bad?
· Make an effort to talk to new parents, or others who may be sitting alone at sporting or other extra-curricular events. Your kids will follow your lead!
News from the Specials-Phy Ed, Music, Art
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical Education is a time for students to explore different activities and feel good about moving, which in turn encourages them to be active and healthy. Our goal is to help children find a variety of ways to enjoy being physically active so that they will be able to get all of the physical, emotional, intellectual and social benefits that come to someone who is physically active. In physical education your child will be exposed to several age appropriate activities. This exposure will give them an opportunity to find a healthy activity they enjoy doing and will show them the benefits of lifelong fitness.
At Deerfield Elementary your child will have physical education three times a week for 30 minutes. Each child is required to wear proper shoes and dress appropriately for class. When a student comes into class we expect them to have a great attitude and always give 100% no matter what activity we are doing. In physical education we are always working on sportsmanship, problem solving, and teamwork as well as a variety of physical skills.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION K-6
GRADES K-1: Students have been working on body and spacial awareness (body shape and moving through space in different directions and different ways while keeping their own space). They have also learned several different fitness games and dances-just ask them to teach you one. We will begin working on our throwing and catching skills with a couple of different objects (beanbags, gator skin balls and other objects). We will also have a spooky scavenger hunt is for a couple of days at the end of the month. Next trimester we will be working with the parachute, kicking and dribbling skills, and throwing at targets.
GRADES 2-3: Students started out the year by reviewing several different fitness games and dances. Both grades have worked on fitness testing and the importance of exercise in our daily routine. From there the second grade will be starting their soccer unit. In third grade it will be football skills. We will also play some really fun festive games during Halloween week. Units coming up will be adventure and problem solving activities, jump rope, and the start of our basketball unit.
GRADES 4-6: Fitness testing and cooperative games have kept the students busy these first couple of weeks. Unfortunately the weather has not been very cooperative this fall and it has kept us inside most of the time. Over the next couple weeks we will start our football unit. During this unit we aso play flickerball, this game uses all of the football skills we learned in class but it is more of a fitness football game. We have also just finished up our fitness testing and talked about ways to improve our fitness levels. We will be testing again in the spring and comparing our scores from the beginning of the year. Upcoming units include: soccer, hockey, rollerskating, and basketball.
Music News
1st/2nd Grade Concert
Tuesday, December 11th - CONCERT DAY!
Afternoon Performance (all school) 1:30-2:30 PM
(1st grade performs first, immediately followed by 2nd grade)
Evening Performance:
1st Grade - 6:30-7:00 PM
2nd Grade - 7:30-8:00 PM
3rd/4th Grade Concert
Thursday, February 28th - CONCERT DAY!
Afternoon Performance (all school) 1:30-2:30 PM
(3rd grade performs first, immediately followed by 4th grade)
Evening Performance:
3rd Grade - 6:30-7:00 PM
4th Grade - 7:30-8:00 PM
Kindergarten/5th Grade Concert (incl. 5th grade band)
Thursday, May 16th - CONCERT DAY!
Afternoon Performance (all school) 1:30-2:30 PM
(Kindergarten performs first, immediately followed by 5th grade band and choir)
Evening Performance:
Kindergarten - 6:30-7:00 PM
5th Grade - 7:30-8:00 PM
Art Theme-Sea Sand and Art!!
"Sea, Sand, and Art," Deerfield Elementary School Artroom Theme 2018-19
Did you know that artists throughout time have often used the theme of the beach in their drawings, paintings, and sculptures? The DES art room will be celebrating all things beach and ocean with our theme this year of, “Sea, Sand, and Art!" As the school year starts, you will see many visuals up in the hallway by the art room that show famous artworks all about the beach and ocean. Students will be learning about these pieces of art in their art classes during the school year, as well as creating other projects based on this theme. Anything that you wish to do to promote this within your own home would be more than GREAT! The Internet and Pinterest have all kinds of unique and creative ideas to help give you a start. As always, we are looking forward to another creative, imaginative, and fun-filled year in art class!!
Bridges News
Bridges ER Program
You may sign up for all of the Bridges Early Release dates if you would like for one bulk sum. If you choose this route, you may an $8 credit towards all field trips your child chooses to go on. Please see our program website for more information.
October ER Field Trip
Students in grades K-6 may join us for our Bridges October Early Release Field Trip. We are going to Schuster’s Farm. Cost is just $9 or $1 for those already signed up for the Early Release Program. Due date for permission slips and payment is October 3. Please see our website for more details.
Homework Club
Don't forget, homework club runs every Tuesday & Thursday in the DES Computer Lab from 3p-4p. This is a great resource for students who need some extra help or are falling behind in their work. No sign up is necessary.
After School Programs
Bridges runs after school programs for students in grades K-12 including Lego Club, Pie Making, Christmas Cookie Drive and more. Please see our website to sign up and check out all of our current after school programs.
Want to know more about Bridges Programs or how to get involved? See our website or “like” our Facebook page.
Elementary Student/Parent Handbook 2018-19
2018-19 PTO NEWS
We had a great turnout at our first PTO meeting and met our goal of having at least two representative parents for each grade! We hope the rotating nights helps keep this momentum up and allows more parents to participate! During the meeting, we voted to cover the cost of two new microwaves in the Teachers’ Lounge, a new die cut machine that will increase efficiency in cutting and provide more options for the teachers, and stools for one of the first grade classrooms. We also discussed a list of larger items that the school would like help funding. We voted to focus our fundraising efforts on a large sign for the school parking lot lower entrance and flexible seating options around the school. Administration will be gathering costs on these projects.
We have lots of events coming up and will need volunteers! Please watch the DES PTO Facebook page for information on events and volunteer opportunities.
-Culvers Scoopie Night in October 23
-Pizza orders during Parent Teacher Conferences October 18, 22
-Christmas in the Country Craft Fair on November 10th -- we need lots of volunteers to make this event work!
-Opera performance for the kids, and one for the general public Thursday, January 31@6:30
We are also looking for volunteers to help stuff Tuesday Newsday folders on Tuesday mornings and someone to assist with advertising for the Craft fair. We are also in need of donations for the annual raffle, and will be asking for help selling raffle tickets. Contact an officer or post on the Facebook page if interested in any of these opportunities or if you have any ideas for fundraising or projects to fund.
Our next meeting is Tuesday October 9th. We hope to see you there!
PTO Officers
President - Sarah Hart
Treasurer-Rebecca Schultz
Secretary - Kim McAloon
Meeting Dates
Tuesday, October 9
Monday, November 5
Wednesday, December 12
Thursday, January 10
Wednesday, February 13
Tuesday, March 12
Monday, April 8
Thursday, May 9