CEPS EXPRESS
September 2020
Conrad Elvehjem Primary School Information
School Principal: Greg Nelson, nelsong1@mcfsd.org,
608-838-4602
Associate Principal: Brooke Hauser, hauserb@mcfsd.org,
608-838-4595
4K/CEPS Building Administrative Assistant:
Emily Broome, 608-838-4652, broomee@mcfsd.org
CEPS Administrative Assistant:
Sarah Goecks, 608-838-3146, goeckss@mcfsd.org
A Note from our Principal
Hello Conrad Elvehjem Primary School Families,
And we’re off! Last week marked quite a historical event for us. For the first time ever, we started our year virtually for our students. Despite the odds, our students and staff (with the support of you, the families!!) did a wonderful job rolling with it. I appreciate the flexibility of our students, families, and staff as we worked together to get all the gears in motion.
It was wonderful to see students participating in their Zoom lessons and visiting school in small groups last week. With 4K starting today, and with our K-2 students beginning on September 17th, we are getting excited to take the next step into Step 3 of our district’s reopening plan. As students attended their “first day” in-person last week, I overheard comments like…
“I am so excited to be back in school!”
“I had SO much fun today!”
“Do we have to go home already?”
...and the neat thing is, it was BOTH students and staff saying those comments!
Our teachers are preparing warm and safe environments that maintain the required health and hygiene element, in anticipation of moving to the hybrid step. Our staff and students will wear masks at all times, handwashing will occur multiple times per day, students will remain in their small-group cohorts, and table and sit spots are spaced six feet apart. In addition, I appreciate our district’s Building and Grounds crew for implementing heightened cleaning procedures, including sanitizing tables and chairs and high-touch surfaces between morning and afternoon lessons, and deep cleaning on Wednesdays.
I know that you have been receiving a lot of communication lately, and I appreciate your attention to the details shared from the district, me, and your child’s teacher. It is all important, and I know it can be overwhelming, but right now as plans are created and adjusted I will ask you to continue to bear with us for the time being. Hopefully the amount of email can start to taper soon, as we all get into a groove with our new way of teaching and learning.
While we finish out this week with our live Zoom lessons, I ask that you pay attention to the expectations your teachers share with the students for being “ready to learn” online:
Have your video on and show your face!
Be dressed for the day
Eat before or after the lesson, not during
Sit in a comfortable spot and stay online the whole time
Attend all three lessons each day
In addition, teachers may share other specific expectations based on the lesson. We have also shared helpful visuals and expectations with all McFarland daycares so that they can help reinforce these skills as well.
As we prepare to move to our hybrid instruction, here are a couple reminders to keep in mind:
The approximate times will be AM: 7:45-10:45 and PM: 12:15-3:15 PM (will be confirmed soon)
Students will attend school in-person on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
Students will attend school in their assigned AM or PM session; this is the same assignment as their virtual session
There will continue to be live virtual related arts lessons on Wednesdays
There will continue to be asynchronous lessons (e.g., non-live, to be completed on your own time) for academics and related arts throughout the week
Students will need to wear masks the entire time they are at school; they did a wonderful job last week, and local daycares report exceptional success with having students wear masks over the summer as well; only students with that have a note from their physician on file with our school nurse will be exempt
Students will need to bring their supplies to school; teachers will communicate which supplies to begin bringing so students don’t need to transport everything at once
All K-2 students will be asked to keep a spare set of clothes in their cubby to reduce sharing spare clothing for the time being: shirt, pants, underwear, and socks in a Ziploc bag labeled with their name
All students are asked to keep a spare mask in a Ziploc bag in their backpack in case of loss/accident to the mask they wear to school
Drinking fountains are closed; please plan to send a water bottle to school each day with your child to fill in the classroom
In order to promote clean spaces and support allergy and health needs, there will be no snack break during hybrid school; please plan to have your child eat breakfast (before the AM session) or lunch (before the PM session)
Families that sign up with our district food service department will be provided “grab and go” bagged meals to bring home and eat at the end of their daily in-person session
There will be a brief recess during the students’ day in order to move about and our district policy is that students will remain in their small-group cohort at recess and will need to keep their mask on during recess; please plan to dress for the weather!
Visitors are not allowed at this time; if you need to meet with a teacher you must plan accordingly and may be asked to set a phone/Zoom appointment instead of in-person; if you need to drop something off at school you will be asked to complete that transaction from our main vestibule and turn in the item through our window
You can expect to see more information and details about drop-off procedures, the daily schedule, and other important information as we draw nearer to September 17th.
Thanks as always for your time!
Greg Nelson
CEPS September Dates At A Glance
September 1 - First Day of School- Virtual K-12
September 7 - NO School/Labor Day
September 8 - First Day of 4K - in-person, GBH 4K meets at CEPS (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday- Wednesday's OFF)
September 17 - K-2 starts In-Person at CEPS, step 3 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
Upcoming Dates in October
No School - October 22 & 23
FREE MEALS!
USDA has approved free meals again! This means that ALL BREAKFASTS AND LUNCHES ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL McFarland children, 18 and under, AT NO COST.
YOU MUST SIGN UP TO RECEIVE MEALS! You will still need to sign up online by 6 am the morning of pick up. We will need your child’s name, school (or age) and pick up location. Every child will receive a lunch for that day and a breakfast for the following day. IF YOU DO NOT PICK UP AN ORDERED MEAL, WE WILL CHARGE YOUR ACCOUNT $3.15 TO COVER OUR COSTS. Access pre-order survey here. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWITGVpUppDh03X6GKHrSJQGYHzVHQOG7qdrImlbFz2GKPXA/viewform
Meal pick up will be available daily at Waubesa Intermediate School from 11:00-12:00 and McFarland High School from 12:00 -1:00. PLEASE POP YOUR TRUNK WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE PICK UP SITE AND HOLD UP A SIGN WITH YOUR STUDENTS’ NAME ON IT.
All lunches include an entrée, ½ cup fruit, ½ cup vegetable and 8 oz. milk carton. Breakfasts include an entrée, ½ cup juice, ½ cup fruit, and 8 oz. milk. Adults may also purchase meals from us. You will indicate on the survey your choice of the menu item or a large chef salad. Check our online menus at https://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/district/Dept-SchoolNutrition-Menus.cfm
Lunch Menu
NEW Staff/Role Changes at CEPS!
Lindsay Fix- 2nd Grade Teacher
Isabel Smith - 2nd Grade Teacher
Susan Schmaling - 1st Grade Teacher (from 2nd grade)
Christine Punzel - 1st Grade Teacher (from 2nd grade)
Heidi Ackley - Long Term Sub-2nd Grade for Lauren Frazier
Sarah Goecks - CEPS Office Administrative Assistant
Lisa Aubey - Kindergarten Educational Assistant (from Lunch/Recess Supervisor)
We'll miss our Retirees.... Sheryl Leemon - Office Administrative Assistant, Nancy Juszczyk- 1st Grade teacher, Kathi Schlender-Adams - 1st Grade teacher, Dodi Kuehl - Kindergarten teacher and Diane Friedel - Kindergarten EA.
CEPS Enrollment
4K- 103
Kindergarten- 147
1st Grade-168
2nd Grade-157
Sections: 4K - 8, Kindergarten - 8, First Grade- 9, Second Grade - 8
School Start and End Times (When we go to Hybrid, Step 3): 7:45 - 10:45 am, 12:15-3:15 pm
PTO September NEWS
On behalf of the McFarland EC-8 PTO welcome to the 2020-2021 school year. The McFarland EC-8 Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a nonprofit organization comprised of parent volunteers, teachers, and administrators whose mission is to enrich the lives and educational experiences of our children, as well as to inspire families and our community to advocate for our children. Please visit our website mcfarlandpto.org/ to learn more and join our Facebook page facebook.com/McFarlandPTO to see our latest updates.
As a parent/guardian of a child(ren) in grades early childhood through 8th grade, you are automatically a member. There are no dues to belong to the PTO and we encourage participation from all. The PTO holds three at large meetings per year and are open to all parents/guardians. The meetings include updates from principals and a guest speaker on a topic relevant to the parent body. Our first at large meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 6:30pm via Zoom. We also hold monthly advisory council meetings on the second Thursday of the month, where we discuss fundraisers and teacher appreciation events in greater detail. Anyone is welcome to attend the advisory council meetings.
PTO Board Members are:
President: Michaela Voeck email: mcfarlandptoprez@gmail.com
Secretary: Jessica Liston email: mcfarlandptosec@gmail.com
Treasurer: Laura Klocke email: mcfarlandptotreasurer@gmail.com
Advisory Council Members are: Darcy Gilbertson, Suzy Murphy, Beth Malecki, Taylor Dagenais, and newly elected members; Abby Perry and Jaclyn Persinger.
The McFarland PTO is a designated charity on Amazon smile. Please see our Facebook page on how to designate the PTO as a recipient or visit smile.amazon.com for more details.
Thank you to everyone that generously donated snacks and drinks for the back to school stuff the staff lounge event. This was a great way to show our amazing educators support during trying times.
Cub Scout Flier
Live Interactive Spanish in a Virtual Setting!
GET AHEAD WITH SPANISH! This Fall join Futura for a live, interactive Spanish class in real time. From the comfort and safety of your home, your child will learn Spanish in a dynamic, lively manner that incorporates songs and games. There are two options for learning: ‘Vamos a viajar’ is a theme based class where students will “travel” all in Spanish. ‘Essential Spanish’ will include all the basics to create an amazing language foundation for years to come. Various times and days to choose from to fit your family’s needs for language learning. Please check our website for course details and offerings. https://futuraadventures.com/virtual-learning-registration/ Enroll today! Space is limited.