STILLSON BUZZ
November 2023 Newsletter
From the principal
Dear Stillson Families,
We are looking forward to hosting Parent-Teacher Conferences on November 6th and 9th from 3:00-7:00pm. If you haven’t yet signed up for a time, please do so! Conferences are a great time to connect with your child’s teacher on academics and social-emotional learning. We genuinely appreciate the opportunity to connect home and school.
This month, our school-wide focus is the Power of Attention- this means consciously choosing to focus attention on what we truly value. It means recognizing the good in ourselves and others and working to generate more of the positive behaviors and outcomes we desire in our school, home, and community. Students and staff in each class will be working on identifying appreciation for people and things 100 times this month, and even keeping track of when we hear it! We are choosing to focus on gratitude and positivity.
Just a few reminders….
*As the weather continues to grow colder, we encourage your child(ren) to dress warmly (coats, hats, mittens, boots, and snowpants as needed).
*We have a PTO meeting this month! You are invited to join us in the library on November 13 at 6:00. Toppers will also be hosting Stillson “Toppers Nights” on November 13 and 14 as a fundraiser for our PTO.
*There is no school for students on November 3. Students also have the week of November 20-24 off.
Thank you for your partnership and support in providing an excellent school experience for our students.
Sincerely,
Jennifer L. Sarauer
Stillson Elementary Principal
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happening this month
- November 3 : No School - Work Day
- November 5 : Daylight Saving Time Ends (turn clocks back one hour)
- November 6 : Fall Conferences (3:00-7:00p)
- November 9 : Fall Conferences (3:00-7:00p)
- November 13 : Bridge to Wonderland Parade Coloring Page Due
- November 13 : PTO Meeting (6:00-7:30p)
- November 13 & 14 : Toppers Night (PTO Fundraiser)
- November 20 - 24 : No School - Thanksgiving Break
Upcoming events
- December 2 : Bridge to Wonderland Parade at Downtown Chippewa (6:00p)
- December 7 : Picture Retake Day
- December 15 : 5th Grade Volleyball Tournament
- December 20 : Holiday Store
- December 21 : Holiday Sing-A-Long (6:00-7:00p)
- December 25 - January 2 : No School - Holiday Break
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Medical Excuses for Attendance
If you child will be out due to an illness or medical appointment, please ask for a doctor's excuse or note so we can medically excuse your child. Medical excuses do not count towards attendance reports. Here are the approved examples of medical excuses noted on attendance:
- Doctor note excusing for certain dates
- Doctor note excusing for surgery and recovery time
- Doctor note excusing for same day doctor appointment
- Being sent home due to fever of 100.4 (we mark medical)
- Being sent home due to confirmed vomiting or diarrhea (we mark medical)
- Being sent home due to unexplained rash of unknown origin (we mark medical)
- Following our 24 hour rule of no fever/fever reducing meds/vomiting/diarrhea (we mark medical)
Many times parents/guardians are unaware of the total number of days their child has been absent and/or tardy. Wisconsin Law 118.15 requires that students miss no more than 10 days each school year. The absences counted are excused and unexcused.
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pbis news
In October many students participated in Kindness in Chalk Day. There were so many creative and positive messages decorating our walk into the building. Hopefully, you were able to view some.
A big shout out goes to Everly, our orange ticket winner for October. She won a popcorn and movie party for her whole class. Congratulations!
The superpower we will be working on this month is power of attention. Keeping in mind that what we focus on, we get more of. Each class will fill a chart of 100 boxes with things they are thankful for. Feel free to discuss things you are thankful for with your child. They may share your same belief.
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Start/End Times
Drop Off to School Begins : 7:20am
Line Up from Playground/Enter Building/Breakfast Served : 7:35am
End of Day/Dismissal to Bus and Pick Up : 2:35pm
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Lunch Visitors
If you would like to have lunch with your child(ren), we ask you call 24 hours in advance and schedule with Ms. Prince. Only two families are being scheduled per lunch session at this time.
If another family member wishes to have lunch with your child(ren), we will need the parent/guardian to call and schedule it with Stillson. At no time is a non-parent/guardian permitted to schedule visits.
If purchasing a lunch from the school on the day of your visit, adult lunch tickets cost $4.00.
A Volunteer Form is needed to be on file in order to have lunch.
Any questions, please feel free to call or email the office.
Ms. Prince
715-726-2412
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Class DOJO
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Nursing and Health Services
WINTER HEALTH TIPS
Exposure to cold can lead to injury or serious illness such as frostbite or hypothermia.
Follow these tips to keep your children safe in cold weather:
Dress your children appropriately before coming to school. The air temperature does not have to be below freezing for your child to experience cold emergencies such as hypothermia or frostbite. Wind speed can create dangerously cold conditions even when the temperature is not that low.
Dress your child in layers so they can adjust to changing conditions from indoors to outdoors.
Most of your child’s body heat is lost through their head, so they should wear a hat, preferably one that covers their ears.
Mittens provide more warmth to a child’s hands than gloves.
Your child should wear waterproof, insulated boots to help avoid hypothermia or frostbite by keeping their feet warm and dry and to maintain their footing in ice and snow.
Tips on preventing and controlling the spread of Head Lice:
Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes.
Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfect combs and brushes used by an affected person by soaking them in hot water for 5–10 minutes.
Do not lie on beds, couches, pillows, carpets, or stuffed animals that have recently been in contact with an affected person.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that an affected person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry-cleaned OR sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the affected person sat or lay. However, spending much time and money on house cleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
**You should examine your child’s head, especially behind the ears and at the nape of the neck, for crawling lice and nits if your child exhibits symptoms of a head lice infestation. If crawling lice or nits are found, all household members should be examined for crawling lice and nits every 2–3 days. Persons with live (crawling) lice or nits within ¼ inch or less of the scalp should be treated.***
Head Lice: What Parents Need to Know
Head Lice Treatment: Myth and Realities
Sick Procedure:
Keep your student home if any of the following apply:
Temperature over 100.4 degrees in the last 24 hours before medication (Tylenol/Ibuprofen)
Vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours
They have been diagnosed with a contagious illness (e.g.; strep throat, pink eye) and have been on medication for less than 24 hours if medication is required
Have an unexplained rash of unknown origin
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RCU School $ense
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On-site chiropractor
November is the month of thanksgiving & gratitude. One of the things we are grateful for is to be able to provide chiropractic care in all 9 of the CFAUSD public schools & hear the amazing comments that students make about their chiropractic care.
One student shared, “I am always so tired on Mondays but after I see you I am ENERGIZED!”
Studies have shown that gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity and build strong relationships. Thinking of at least 3 things you are grateful for every day and remembering to say thank you is a great mood-booster. And when thanking others, don’t forget to thank yourself, too, for all of the amazing things you do!
Happy November & Happy Thanksgiving! If you have any questions about chiropractic care for students please contact us at onsitechiroinfo@gmail.com.
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Practicing Gratitude
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THE LAKE WISSOTA LIONS CLUB RECYCLING PROGRAM
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Inclement Weather
Weather can change quickly in the Chippewa Valley. When inclement weather strikes, there are three options for adjusting our days:
Cancellation: If the weather is too severe, school and other activities may be canceled altogether.
Two-hour delay: If the weather is bad but not severe enough to cancel school for the day, classes may be delayed by two hours.
Early release: If the weather worsens during the school day, school may be dismissed early.
Cancellation -- If we cancel school due to inclement weather, we will make the decision by 6:00 AM. All schools, Head Start, Early Childhood, 4K Cardinal programs, after-school programs, and public use of buildings will be closed.
Two Hour Delay -- If we delay school due to inclement weather, the school day will start two hours later than normal. Buses will also run two hours behind schedule. Breakfast will not be served, but lunch will be served near normal time. 4K Cardinal, Early Childhood, and Head Start will be canceled for the day. After-school programs and public use of buildings may still occur. If the delay is later changed to a cancellation, the decision will be made by 8:00 AM.
Early Release -- If we dismiss school early due to inclement weather, the decision will be made by 10:00 AM. Elementary schools will dismiss at 12:00 PM, and secondary schools will dismiss at 1:00 PM. Lunch will be served at the normal time. High school students with open campus lunch may leave at 12:00 PM. Afternoon 4K Cardinal, Head Start, and Early Childhood are canceled. After-school programming and public use of buildings are canceled.
When there is inclement weather in the Chippewa Valley, we may have to change the school schedule. We will let you know by 6 AM if we are canceling school or starting school two hours late; by 10 AM for letting students out early.
We will tell you via radio, TV, our website, social media, and by email or text message. We want to keep our students safe, so we may have to make last-minute changes. We will try to make the best decision we can based upon the weather and/or other information available to us.
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Early Release Transportation Plans
Chippewa Yellow Bus is reminding families about after school bussing on Early Release Days.
The Boys & Girls Club does NOT operate on Early Release Days.
If you want your student to ride a different bus home on those days, a student rerouting request must be on file through the bus company. The bus company will NOT accept changes called in on the day of an Early Release, even if it's an emergency. Please have a plan in place.
Chippewa Yellow Bus: 715-726-2454
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Remote Learning Matrix
We are writing to inform you that the District will be moving to a remote model of learning for students when inclement weather or other emergencies force school closures. This means that students will be able to continue their learning from home on days when school buildings are closed.
We believe that in-person instruction is the best way to deliver education, but we also know that there will be times when school closures are necessary and appropriate. By implementing a remote learning model, we should be able to avoid having to make up days for these school-day closures and the focus will be on continuing learning and connecting with teachers through modern means in these modern times.
Here are the major points to keep in mind as we prepare for inclement weather and other emergencies:
DISTRICT-WIDE
● Two inclement/emergency closure days are already incorporated into the 2023-24 school year calendar.
● If a high chance of inclement weather is predicted well in advance and there is high confidence from the National Weather Service (NWS) that the prediction will hold true, the District may make the call at a sooner time to have a "REMOTE LEARNING DAY" and bank a school closure day. This would allow the District to save for two unplanned school
closure days when those calls have to be made unexpectedly or without advance notice.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
● The elementary schools will develop consistent independent study packets for each grade level to send home when potential school closures occur, except on the two designated inclement weather/emergency closure days. Packets will include reading, math practice, writing prompts, and activities from our specialists.
● Teachers will be remotely available those days to aid students with their assignments during the regular school day hours; however, school electronic devices will not be sent home with the independent study packets.
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CFAUSD Food Service Hiring
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District Family Links
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CFAUSD Notice of Special Education Referral and Evaluation Procedures
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CFAUSD Regular Monthly Board Meeting
Tuesday, Nov 28, 2023, 07:00 PM
1130 Miles Street, Chippewa Falls, WI, USA
CFAUSD Automated Phone System
Stillson Elementary
Website: https://cfsd.chipfalls.k12.wi.us/stillson/
Location: 16556 50th Avenue, Chippewa Falls, WI, USA
Phone: 715-726-2412
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StillsonPTO/
Twitter: @ststingers