WIS Express
March 2020
Waubesa Intermediate School Information
School Principal:
Corey Shefchik
Associate Principal:
Al Northouse
Building Administrative Assistant:
Arlene Bast (608) 838-7667
Email: shefchc@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/intermediate/
Phone: 608-838-7667
A Note From Our Principals...
Dear Waubesa Families,
Happy March, such beautiful weather to kick off this month. There are so many exciting events happening in March. We join the national celebration of Youth Art and Music Month at Waubesa Intermediate School. Our fourth and fifth grade students will be having their evening art and music shows; we hope you can all join us for this great event (the third grade performs in the fall). The art displays are available to view at 6:00 p.m. with the music performances beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the gym. The fourth grade performance is March 2 and the fifth grade performance is March 16.
March is also another time when we love to connect with you for our spring conferences. Meeting to talk about your child’s growth as a learner both academically and socially is important to us. Spring conferences will take place just before spring break during the week of March 9 with Related Arts Conference night on March 12 from 3:30-7:30 p.m. During conference week, we’ll also have our spring book fair in the library; please stop by to check it out. Book fair hours are Monday-Wednesday, March 9-11 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. and Thursday, March 12 from 3:00-8:00 p.m. There’s more! The PTO is hosting an inaugural family event, “Paint the Tile,” on March 12 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Please see the flyer below for the sign up sheet that’s due to the main office by March 6.
While you are visiting Waubesa for the spring conferences, please take a few minutes to look over our lost and found tables near the commons for any unclaimed items that may belong to your child. Our tables are full and growing every day! Of course you are welcome to come to school at any time to try to find lost items.
While the official first day of spring is March 16, we know that winter weather continues well into spring. Please continue to support your child in bringing their winter weather gear.
Friendly reminder for 2020-2021 classroom placement feedback: Throughout the spring and summer, our staff works through the process of determining class placement, with final decisions shared with families as a part of fall registration in August. Many factors go into this complicated and time-consuming process as great care is taken to establish class rosters that support the unique needs of all learners. Please note that while we do NOT take family requests for placing their child(ren) with a specific teacher, friend(s), or peer(s), we are open to parents sharing details about teacher characteristics or classroom environments that we might consider when determining a student's best placement. If you are interested in sharing preferred teacher traits or classroom environment needs (without specific teacher names), please send an email or written note to the appropriate principal by Friday, March 6, 2020 to:
All incoming Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade students: WIS Principal Corey Shefchik, shefchc@mcfsd.org
All incoming Sixth Grade students: IMMS Principal Aaron Tarnutzer, tarnuta@mcfsd.org
Finally, when we return from spring break, we will begin our required Forward Exam state testing. There are several components to the test, so it takes several weeks to test all 550 students. Please consider not taking any extended vacations during this time and having your child come rested and ready each day. You can access more information on the Forward Exam on the Department of Public Instruction website.
Thank you for your continued support and partnership.
Kind regards,
Corey Shefchik - Principal
Al Northouse - Associate Principal
March Dates At-a-Glance
March 2 - 4th Grade Music Program - 6:30PM
March 3 - 5th Grade Field Trip to UW Whitewater - Dr. Kaboom
March 5 - Youth Art Month Reception, 5:30 pm - ED Locke Public Library
March 6 - Jazz Ensemble Performs at WIS - 9:00AM
March 6 - Breakfast with McFarland Police Officers
March 9 - 13 - Conference Week
March 9 - 12 - WIS Book Fair
March 12 - Related Arts Conference Night - 3:30 - 7:30 PM
March 12 - PTO Paint the Tile Night - 6PM - 8PM, WIS
March 12 - 5th Grade Orchestra Field Trip to PAC
March 13 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Development
March 16 - Math 24 Regionals
March 16 - 4th Grade Field Trip
March 16 - 5th Grade Music Program - 6:30PM
March 27 - Last Kindergarten Orientation, RSVP required, 8:15-9:15 am
March 30 - April 3 - NO SCHOOL - SPRING BREAK
Upcoming Dates in April
April 7 - Human Growth and Development Night for parents at WIS - 6:30PM
April 10 - NO SCHOOL
April 13 - NO SCHOOL - Staff Development
April 15 - Summer School Registration Begins
April 24 - PTO Sponsored Social Event - More details to come!
National School Breakfast Week
March 2 - 6 is National School Breakfast Week and we've planned some special activities to celebrate!
We are encouraging students who typically eat breakfast at WIS to bring a friend along with them this week! McFarland Police Officers will be eating breakfast with students at WIS on Friday, March 6, and throughout the week, students are encouraged to make cards thanking them for their service. We'll have supplies in the lunch room at breakfast throughout the week.
Breakfast is served Monday through Friday at 7:15 at WIS. Breakfast menus can be found on the district website and our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/McFarlandSchoolMeals/
If your family qualifies for Free and Reduced Lunch, you also qualify for Free and Reduced Breakfast!
If you have any questions about our breakfast program, please contact Barb Waara, Student Nutrition Director, at waarab@mcfsd.org or 838-4549.
Updates from the PTO
February was a busy month for the EC-8 PTO! We participated in Indian Mound Middle School Family Night, where we hosted Escape rooms and sold pizza with root beer floats. Our At Large Meeting on February 19th was well attended and featured guest speaker Angie Brunett. We learned about the middle school’s progressive gender support plans, principal updates, as well as PTO happenings.
On Saturday, February 29th, the PTO hosted a Winter Carnival at CEPS. Families enjoyed crafts, games, yo-yo demonstrations, James the Magician, and silent raffle prizes. Thank you to our many parent volunteers, to the CEPS staff, Mr. Nelson, Emily Broome, and Ben Snyder for their support during the planning process of the carnival.
We are in the final days of the No Hassle Fundraiser. Thanks to your generous donations, the PTO has raised over $5,000.00. To make an online donation please visit https://mcfarlandpto.org/donate.php.
In March the PTO is organizing staff appreciation meals. The PTO will provide sandwich wraps and we are asking for families to provide side items. Watch for a sign-up genius. Thank you for your continued support. These meals are greatly appreciated by the staff.
Upcoming PTO Events and Meetings:
- March 5, 2020, 7pm PTO Advisory Council Meeting at the McFarland House Café. Learn about the inner workings of the PTO and become involved. We are accepting nominations for our treasurer position and advisory council members.
- March 12, 2020, 6-8pm Waubesa Intermediate School Paint a Tile Fundraiser. Parents come with your Waubesa student and paint a ceiling tile to have displayed in the cafeteria or main hall at WIS. The cost is $15.00 per tile and includes all supplies. Please RSVP by March 6, 2020. Thank you to Brooke Ecker for organizing this fundraiser!
- April 17, 2020 Save the date for a Playtime Productions performance. More details to come.
As we draw closer and closer to the home stretch of this school year, we'd like to remind you of our attendance and tardiness policies.
- First Bell: 7:52 AM
- Tardy Bell: 8:00 AM
- Dismissal: 2:55 PM
Supervision begins for breakfast at 7:15 AM and at 7:30 AM on the playground.
The more days of school that children attend, the more successful they are! However we of course understand (and appreciate!) you keeping your student home if they are ill. Be aware that once they have been absent more than 10 days, you will receive a letter notifying you of the number of days they have been absent. Feel free to contact us with any questions about our attendance policy.
TARDINESS POLICY
Please review the following from our Family Handbook regarding tardiness:
Students are allowed 2 tardies a quarter free of consequence. If a student is tardy for a 3rd time in that quarter they will serve a 15-minute lunch detention as a consequence for that tardy and any subsequent tardies that quarter. For third grade students, the consequence will not be imposed in the first quarter of the school year.
At any time, if chronic tardies or truancy are issues that you would like assistance from school staff to address, please do not hesitate to contact Lily Hlavacek, School Social Worker K-5 (608)-838-4610, Al Northouse, Associate Principal at Waubesa Intermediate School 608-838-4609, or Brooke Hauser Associate Principal at Conrad Elvehjem Primary School 608-838-4595.
Enroll for 4K and 5K!
WIS Book Fair!
We'll be holding a book fair at WIS during conference week, March 9 - 12. Please click the link below to volunteer.
Thank you!
Summer School in McFarland!
Session 1: June 15 - June 25 (classes Monday - Thursday)
Session 2: July 6 - July 16 (classes Monday - Thursday)
Camp Kindergarten - July 27 - August 6 (classes Monday - Thursday)
A table of offerings and course descriptions will be available online on our district website March 2.
To access summer school information, visit our district website and click "Summer School" under the "Community" tab. Or click the link below.
https://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/district/dept-summer-sch.cfm
Online Registration will begin April 15, 2020 at 7pm!
Note: All classes for students entering grades 1 - 5 will be held at WIS, and all classes for students entering grades 6 - 8 will be held at IMMS. Camp Kindergarten will be held at CEPS.