McKinley Monthly
April 2016
A Word from Mrs. Hoffmann
Dear Families,
I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break. I feel rested and ready to take on the end of the year. In looking at my lead for last month’s newsletter (In like a lion!) I realize we are not much better off weather-wise than we were a month ago. April (snow) showers bring May flowers? It is hard to believe we are in our last stretch of the school year. I find myself remembering often to slow down and enjoy the time that is here right now. As we move into testing season, sometimes I forget that there is still awesome learning going on in these rooms every day, and that for many students, what happens now is the wonderful “sealing” of knowledge. I hear kindergarteners starting to sound like first graders…fifth graders sounding like middle schoolers…. Our staff focus this last trimester will be on continuing to foster the growth mindset that pushes us to accept and love the challenges before us, and to persevere through whatever comes our way.
Soon you will receive the parent input document that will help inform our decisions as we move forward with class placement for next year. For our new families, I would like to explain the procedure:
We ask that parents fill out the form with anything that they would like us to consider as we start our collaborative process to build next year’s groupings.
We do not accept requests for particular teachers, but rather look for the parent perspective on such things as a child’s disposition or learning style.
We work to create classes that have balanced numbers of girls and boys, academically heterogeneous groupings, and a fresh mix to help foster the developing of new friend groups.
We release class lists mid-August, in case unexpected changes come about over the summer. (For instance, staffing may change, new students may come into the area, some students may move.) The adjustments that I make during the summer are informed by my own knowledge of students, teacher input, and the parent information that I receive on these forms.
Looking forward to the rest of April, I am excited about hanging out at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday for the fundraising event, and even more excited about the field trip to the compost farm scheduled for April 18th. I know that students are very excited about High Interest Day coming up April 22nd. Thanks to Heidi Engbring and everyone else working so hard to make sure that day is a success. If you are looking for something cool to do, be sure to take a trip to the Wauwatosa Public Library to check out the Art Show, running through May 6th. We have some really nice representation there (Thanks Mrs. Leigh!).
Here’s to hoping that as I write my remarks for next month, we are far from this cold weather! Have a great April everyone!
Mrs. Hoffmann
Library Art Show
Upcoming Dates
April 22 High Interest Day
April 23 Adult Social
May 10 Spring Band, Chorus, Orchestra concert
May 12 PTO meeting
May 19 Spring GOBO bookfair
May 27 Snow Make-up day if needed; otherwise no classes
May 30 Memorial Day; no classes
June 9 Last day of classes
School Day Stability
We the People...
Dear McKinley Families,
At Wauwatosa West High School, a class known as “We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution,” competed in a state competition at Marquette Law School on January 9th. This competition is a simulated congressional hearing before judges, demonstrating students’ understanding of the Constitutional principles of our government. The students were judged on understanding, constitutional application, reasoning, supporting evidence, responsiveness, and participation.
Three McKinley alumni, Simon Ng, Eileen Reetz, and Libbi Fassbender, were part of the team that won the state championship and will be representing the state of Wisconsin at national hearings in Washington D.C. on April 23-April 25. In addition to working hard to prepare for the national competition in Washington, their team of 29 students also has the tremendous task of raising $60,000 in the next ten weeks to ensure that our entire team may travel together to the national hearings. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to represent Wauwatosa and the State of Wisconsin.
The McKinley Messengers are hoping the McKinley community can help support these students. Therefore, donations can be sent to Chad Mateske at Tosa West. Checks should be made out to Tosa West with ‘We the People’ in the memo section. Donations and messages can also be submitted through their secure GoFundMe website at gofundme.com/t9xfgyxc.
Sincerely,
McKinley Messengers
PBIS Basketball Game
First Grade vs Teachers
First Grade vs Teachers
Fifth Grade vs Teachers
Flyers
As always be sure to read the community flyers on the district website.
http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/Wauwatosa_School_District/Community/Community_Flyers