Stone Bank School
Reaching Out ~ February 19, 2021
Balancing the Budget. Building the Future!
March 8th, 2021 - 12:00 PM, 4:30 PM, and 7:00 PM
*Zoom Links on District Website Calendar
February 19, 2021
Dear Stone Bank Parents and Community,
Annually the School Board engages in discussions that provide direction to administration related to budget and staffing for each upcoming school year. As a district, it is our goal to create amazing learning experiences and together we work as a team to balance the district budget and build our exciting future! Given the nature of the budget process and general budgeting/staffing questions, we wanted to provide opportunities to engage in conversations.
In summary:
Since 2018, the district has experienced shifts in enrollment due to the demographics of our district and patterns of housing development. This year COVID has had an impact on our ‘typical’ school year, yet we are celebrating another successful year and are excited about our growth headed into 2021-22.
Student enrollment is the primary driver for both the district’s revenue and staffing.
The School Board has thoughtfully examined our goal to provide a world-class education to current and future students and the realities of current and projected enrollment and budget.
We are excited about an enrollment increase (2019-20 to 2020-21) in both 4K and 5k students for this past year, yet we are still unable to project (as of 2/19/21) the overall enrollment based on the size of the outgoing graduating class.
The school board annually sets the expectations to the administration to begin the process of balancing the budget based on both enrollment and goals to continue to build excellent programs.
Budget alignment, or ‘right-sizing’, includes our commitment to building powerful learning experiences, offering a variety of electives, expanding programming, and having a student-staff ratio that allows for maximum achievement.
The budget-balancing process can result in expanding programs, offering more options for students, changes to staffing and duties, capital projects, health insurance, and equipment for the next school year.
While we anticipate annual changes, we are committed to providing the high-quality programming our community expects and to keep Stone Bank financially viable for the long-term sustainability of the district.
The following ‘Presentation and Listening Sessions’ are designed to share our current budget processes and engage in conversation. These meetings will not discuss specific changes but are designed to answer questions, discuss ideas, and gather feedback.
Stone Bank is an amazing place to learn, grow, and succeed! We look forward to moving forward together.
Sincerely,
Ryan Krohn
District Administrator
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Presentation and Listening Sessions:
Given our commitment to two-way communication and feedback, we have scheduled a number of listening sessions. The goal of each session is to share district budget information and engage in conversations about ‘what is working well’, ‘the challenges we face’, and ‘ideas for building our future’. If you are unable to attend the session, please email us and we will add additional dates or set up an individual conversation.
Thank you.
Parent Information Night for 4K and New 5K Families
Open enrollment 2021
Mark your calendar - PTO Dining Nights
Tuesday, February 23rd
5-8pm
Culver's in Hartland
We are heading back to Culver's in Hartland for our traditional Culver's Tuesday dinning night. Enjoy some mouth watering butter burgers and some delectable custard. No need to mention SBS, as a portion of all proceeds from 5-8pm will be donated to the PTO. So come join us!
SBS Dining Night at Boondocks
Thursday, March 4, 4PM – 10PM
Come support SBS and one of our local restaurant favorites for dinner at Boondocks! Boondocks will donate a % of their sales to SBS. Have you checked out their new awesome menu?!?!
https://www.boondocksbbqs.com/menus/
SBS Dining Night at Kuhtz
Thursday, March 25, 4PM – 9PM
Come support SBS and Kuhtz for a family friendly dinner! Kuhtz will be serving up pizzas and jumbo pretzels for dine in and take out. Pre-orders appreciated for take out (call earlier that week and get your order in early). Or dine in, enjoy your favorite beverages and let the kids play in the general store. Kuhtz will donate a % of their sales to SBS.
Summer School Update
Stone Bank School Fundraiser
Have you checked the Stone Bank School Facebook Page lately? If not, head over to join in on a fun game and a chance to win a prize from our PTO! Here is the latest clue to our game:
Win It Wednesday Clue #2: Since the 2012-2013 school year, this fundraiser has brought $12,739 in to our school, and has helped us to buy new smart boards, iPads, Chromebooks, and other classroom items.
Stone Bank Players
Hello Stone Bank Families,
Well, as they say, “The show must go on!”. We are officially going to have our annual musical and this year it is Aladdin Jr.! The musical will take place May 19th & 20th for limited in-person capacity. There will be a live-stream of the show as well. All 8th grade students will be expected to participate, in some fashion, as part of their music/theatre grade. If the 8th grade students can not fulfill the cast or crew requirements, I will reach out to 7th grade students to help out.
Parents, we are looking for help in ANY capacity, such as: choreography, set building, artistic design, costuming, lights and sound, and concessions.
In addition, we are starting Stone Bank Players Drama Club. This is an activities club which allows students to get involved in theatre, fundraise, and partake in fieldtrips and a banquet. (Due to COVID, some activities may be limited.) This is a club for 4th-8th grade with the 8th graders being the Drama Board for the club as well. If there are not enough interested 8th grade students to fill the Board, I will invite 7th graders to join the Board. There is no cost to join just a lot of fun ahead! The first meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 23 @ 2:30 PM. It will run no more than 30 min.
Please see the permission slip below to allow your son/daughter to participate in the club.
Thank you and be well,
Ms. Richards
Music/Theatre Teacher
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____ YES, I give permission for my child __________________________, in ____ grade, to participate in the Stone Bank Players Drama Club. I am aware that fundraising is a part of the club but not mandatory.
Parent/Guardian Signature ________________________________________________________________
Congratulations Blake Larson
Congratulations to Blake Larson for winning the Lake Country Optimist Club “True Grit” award. This is an award that is awarded to a student who demonstrates the most growth in perseverance, endurance, and resilience through optimism, creativity, and confidence to achieve a desired academic or nonacademic goal. Each of the area middle schools chooses one winner, and this year, the Stone Bank winner is Blake! Blake is kind and respectful to everyone and is one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet! He has the ability to walk into a room and instantly make everyone smile, his positive attitude and outlook on life has been a blessing to all of the Stone Bank teachers and students this year! We appreciate you Blake and we are so proud of the young man that you are!
No Teacher or Staff Member Left Behind
To show their appreciation for the hard work of local educators and staff members, they provided our entire faculty with a free box lunch which consisted of a sub sandwich, chips and cookie. Your generosity was truly appreciated.
Drive-Thru Breakfast with the Bunny
Sunday, March 14th, 2021 9:00am-12:00pm
Merton Community Fire Department
Station #1 - N67 W28343 Sussex Rd Merton
*Pancakes*Sausage*Butter*Syrup*Fruit*Donuts*Milk
The Easter Bunny will have a goody bag for the first 400 kids
$7.00 per person
$4.00 Children 6 & under
“PLAY BALL in 2021 with MAA”
Our #1 goal is to keep our players, coaches, families, and community SAFE.
Coed 4K/5K T-Ball/Coach Pitch
Baseball 1st-2nd grade-Machine Pitch
Baseball “Broncos” 3rd/4th, 5th/6th, 7th/8th grade teams
Fastpitch “Ponies” 1st-2nd grade
Fastpitch “Ponies” 3rd /4th, 5th/6th, 7th/8th/9th grade teams
NEW Fastpitch “Ponies” 10th-12th grade
REGISTER/More Information at www.mertonathletics.org
Camp Opportunities
Weekly Planner
Monday, February 22
Tuesday, February 23
PTO Dining Night at Culver’s night in Hartland 5:00pm-8:00pm
Wednesday, February 24
4K/New 5K Information Night 6:00pm-7:00pm
Thursday, February 25
Friday, February 26
Virtual Family Trivia Night 6:30pm
Monday, March 1
Committee Meetings 5:00pm-7:15pm
Tuesday, March 2
Wednesday, March 3
Thursday, March 4
PTO Dining Night at Boondocks 4:00pm-10:00pm
Friday, March 5