Wilson Parent Newsletter
November 2018
Message from the Principal
We would like to thank all of you for attending our fall Parent Teacher Conferences. We were thrilled to see such a great turnout! Working together as a team greatly benefits your child. Now that the winter months are upon us, please be sure your child is dressed appropriately for cold weather. Most days we go outside for recess and it is important that they come to school dressed with all their winter clothing. If you need assistance with winter wear, please contact our social worker Alisha Field.
The end of our first trimester is November 30 and this is also the day we are going to have a school wide ROAR celebration at Spare Time Entertainment. Students will be going bowling at different times throughout the day. We're looking forward to celebrating everyone's hard work this first trimester.
Wilson staff has implemented a new system of academic support for all students. Every day we have a thirty minute block of time when students work with a staff member on specific skills. We evaluate student progress every 3-6 weeks and make changes based on your child’s development. We are highly committed to helping every student grow in their learning. Our staff has also been working on using a new literacy resource during our reading block in grades K-3. It’s exciting to see students enthusiasm with these new books!
Wilson is fortunate to have an author visit on Tuesday, November 13th for the following grade levels:
9:00-9:30 (Grades K - 2)
10:00-10:45 (Grades 3 - 5)
If families and students are interested you can order the authors books on Amazon prior to the visit and have them autographed that day.
Author Bios:
Miranda Paul is the award-winning children’s author of Water is Water, One Plastic Bag, 10 Little Ninjas, The Great Pasta Escape, Are We Pears Yet, Whose Hands are These, and Blobfish Throws a Party. Her books have been named to several “Best of” lists and have been translated into multiple languages. Miranda has been a guest presenter at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center, serves as Mentorship chair for We Need Diverse Books™ , volunteers for Books for Africa, and is a regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers (Wisconsin). One of her bravest moments involved reciting poetry inside a crocodile pit. (Yikes!)
Baptiste Paul is a Caribbean-born author and native Creole/Patois speaker. His debut picture book, The Field, centers around teamwork, leadership, diversity, and acceptance through a neighborhood game of soccer. He has also co-authored a book Adventures To School that tells about the unique ways kids around the world get to school.
Best Regards,
Melodee Hoffner, Principal
Facebook @WilsonOwatonna Twitter @WilsonOwatonna
Family Night - November 19 featuring Magician Michael Madden
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- November 5 - No K-12
- November 7 - World Passport begins
- November 19 - Family Night ~ 6:30-7:30
- November 20 - PTO Meeting ~ 5:00
- November 21-23 - No K-12
- November 29 - Assembly 1:45-2:15 (student recognition of ROAR and patrol installation)
- November 30 - End of 1st trimester
- December 3 - No K-5
- December 11 - Winter music concert (grades 3-5 and 4/5 choir, band, orchestra)
- December 24-January 1 - Winter Break
- January 2 - School Resumes
Wilson Winter Music Concert
The Wilson Winter Concert will be held at the Owatonna High School Auditorium on Tuesday, December 11 at 7:00 pm. The evening will include selections from the Wilson Orchestra, Wilson Band and the Wilson Choir. All students in third, fourth, and fifth grade will also perform pieces at the concert that they have been learning and rehearsing during music class. The concert will be professionally video recorded and available to view online or purchase a DVD through Owatonna Live. If you are not able to make it to the concert in the evening, you may come to Wilson large gym at 8:25 am on Dec. 11 to watch the dress rehearsal. Please come to the concert and support our Wilson musicians, display proper concert etiquette, and celebrate the growth that students have made so far this year. Specific information about meeting times and places at the Owatonna High School will be given at a later date.
Safety Patrol
On Friday November 29th at 1:45 our Safety Patrol Members will take an official oath and be sworn in as official patrol members by the Owatonna Sheriff. If you’d like to attend you are welcome to join us at Wilson in the large gym at 1:45 for this short ceremony.
PTO News
We are thankful for…
*All the Wilson families who participated in the Fall fundraiser with Great American! We don’t have the final numbers in yet but we wanted you to know that we appreciate your willingness to sell to family and friends to help support Wilson students!
*All the volunteers who have helped so far this year with the Ice Cream Social, Book Fair and Fundraiser pick up! We can’t do these things without you! If you would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities please email wilsonpto1@gmail.com.
*Everyone who ate at Buffalo Wild Wings during the week of September 24-September 30! We won the Blitz week again! We earned over $90 during that week so BWW will match what we earned. Awesome job Wilson! A special thank you to the Wilson staff who ordered lunch as a group during that week! Remember, anytime you eat at BWW tell them you are there for Team G. This fundraiser goes on all year long, even summer!
*Our followers on our Facebook and Twitter Pages and parents who signed up for our Remind messages! If you haven’t already, please find us on Facebook at Wilson Elementary PTO or our Twitter @wilson_pto. You can join Remind by texting @wilsonpto1 to the number 81010. We use all these free ways to keep our families stay up to date on school events, reminders, etc.
At any time you can turn in Box Tops, Milk Moola, Godfather’s Fedoras and Loaves for Learning. We will also begin collecting empty pouches from the Little Bites muffins and snacks! There is a colorful storage bin with drawers located outside the office for all these items to be dropped off by students or parents!
Here is another opportunity to help raise funds for our school:
Please consider downloading the Shoparoo app on your mobile device and designating Wilson Elementary in Owatonna as your school of choice. Users snap pictures of their shopping receipts and earn points for their designated school. Points accumulate to turn into a cash donation to the school! Receipts also get entered into chances for monthly and yearly sweepstakes. So easy!
(The information on your receipts is used by Shoparoo for retail data analytics).
Wonder what else PTO does? Come to our next PTO meeting on Tuesday, November 20 at 5:00 pm in the teacher’s lounge! We offer free on-site child care for parents during the meeting. We would love for more parents to join us! All you have to do is show up!
Thank You PTO
ROAR Report
The ROAR Store will be opening soon. Students will have opportunities to turn in their hard-earned ROAR dollars for fun prizes. Currently, 1st grade is in the lead with the Golden Tray Trophy for showing expected lunchroom behavior and 5th grade is in the lead for the Golden Ball Trophy for showing expected playground behavior. Way to go 1st and 5th grade! We will find out which grade level wins and highlight other great ROAR behaviors at the next ROAR Assembly will be on November 29th.
Building Readers
Health Office Reminder
WILSON SCHOOL
Influenza (flu) season is upon us. Remember that the flu is a contagious respiratory disease that can be prevented by immunization. It is not the same as the "stomach flu." Flu is caused by a virus that attacks the nose, throat, and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness and at times can lead to death. Please follow these guidelines if your child becomes ill.
Flu Symptom Screening Tool for Parents and Caregivers
Use this questionnaire each day your child is sick with flu-like symptoms and follow the instructions for when to keep the child home and what to tell your child’s school.
Does your child have:
1. Fever of 100◦ F or higher? Yes No
(Take the child’s temperature before giving him/her fever-reducing
medicine, like Tylenol)
2. Sore Throat? Yes No
3. Cough? Yes No
SHOULD I KEEP MY CHILD HOME?
● If you circled “yes” to fever AND one of the other symptoms, keep your child home for at least 24 hours after his or her fever is gone without fever-reducing medicine. For many children this will be 5 to 7 days. Your child should feel well enough to participate in school before returning. If you have questions about your child’s health or symptoms, call your child’s doctor or clinic.
● If your child has been diagnosed by a doctor or clinic with a different disease such as strep, follow your doctor or clinic’s recommendation and school policy for when to return to school.
WHAT SHOULD I TELL MY CHILD’S SCHOOL?
∙ If you circled “yes” for fever AND one of the other symptoms, tell your child’s attendance office that your child is home with influenza-like illness.
∙ If your child has been diagnosed by a doctor or clinic with a different disease such as strep, tell your child’s attendance office.
Field Trip Chaperones and Volunteers
Office Information
School Hours (7:55-2:25)
325 Meadow Lane
507-444-8400 (Main Line)
507-444-8405 (Attendance Line)
Health Office Hours (7:45-2:45)
Spanish Liaison Hours (7:45-2:30)
Somali Liaison Hours (8:30-12:30)
Reminders
- Call the office before 9:00 a.m. if your child will be absent.
- The first bell rings at 7:50 and students are able to enter the building at that time. If students enter the building after 7:55 they need to check in at the office as they will be marked tardy.
- Please check the lost and found area as many items are there waiting to be claimed.
- Please remember to notify the office if you have a phone, address or email change.
Lunch Schedule
Please feel free to stop in and have lunch with your child. Remember to bring your photo ID (driver's license) to the office and receive a visitor badge.
1st grade
- 11:00-11:20 recess
- 11:20-11:40 lunch
5th grade
- 11:10-11:30 recess
- 11:30-11:50 lunch
Kindergarten
- 11:20-11:40 recess
- 11:40-12:05 lunch
4th grade
- 11:35-11:55 recess
- 11:55-12:15 lunch
2nd grade
- 11:45-12:05 recess
- 12:05-12:25 lunch
3rd grade
- 12:15-12:35 lunch
- 12:35-12:55 recess