BIRD SCHOOL NEWS
Note from Principal Toepfer
Hello Bird Families,
Today we wrap up School Social Worker Appreciation week! Ms. Olivia is THE BEST and we are so lucky to have her at CH Bird. Next week, there are many ways to connect as a community through the CH Best meeting, Science Night or ML night. Check out more information later in the Bird School News and I hope to see you at one or more of these events!
Sending love to all of our families!
Best,
Nicole Toepfer
CH Bird Principal
608-834-7301
Upcoming Events
March
- Yearbook Ordering Open
March 1 - April 1
Please note, all 5th graders will receive a free yearbook from our caregiver group. - Summer School Registration Opens
Tuesday, March 14 @ 8:00 am - CH Bird Spirt Week
See details in newsletter below - Science Night
Wednesday, Mar. 15 @ 5:30 - 7:30 pm
This is an event you won't want to miss! See details below in the CH BEST section of the newsletter! - Multilingual Family Night
Thursday, Mar. 16 @ 5:00 - 7:00 pm
We welcome our multilingual language families to join us for a potluck to celebrate the hard work of our ML students and families. Please see more details here! - Spring Break | No School
Monday, Mar. 20 - Friday, Mar. 24 - Burrachos Dine Out Night
Wednesday, Mar. 29 @ 4-8 pm
April
- Girls on the Run
April 3 - June 3 - Asynchronous Learning Day
Friday, Apr. 7 - Spring Earth Day Event
Wednesday, April 19 @ 5:30
- Summer School Registration Closes
Tuesday, April 21 @ Midnight
Student Spotlights
2nd Grade Character Parade!
2nd Graders at Bird have been working hard the last few weeks as readers! They have been learning about and studying characters in the books they’ve been reading. The focus has been on character traits, feelings, and tracking changes and growth in the characters in their books.
To celebrate, 2nd graders had a Character Parade! They chose their favorite character from a book they’ve read, and dressed up as that character. We had a great time celebrating all of our hard work in our Character Study reading unit! Please see the video below and check out our FB post for some fun photos!
5th Grade Orchestra Concert
The fifth grade orchestra students from CH Bird, Eastside, Royal Oaks and Creekside had a concert last Monday night. If you'd like to watch our amazing Blue Jays perform you can watch the concert recording here!
Staff Spotlight
Makayla Allan | After School Program
Ms. Makayla is our amazing after school program coordinator! She runs our Fly Birds Club that meets on Monday - Thursday from 2:40 - 5:00. Ms. Makayla has been an amazing asset to our school and has helped grow this program in incredible ways. We currently have 24 students who are attending the program and thriving.
The Fly Birds clubs allow our students to grow academically and socially through a variety of programs including drama club, STEM activities, culture club and book clubs. We are so grateful for Ms. Makayla's intentionality, creativity and passion for seeing students grow, our school community is better because of it.
CH Bird Reminders
Yearbooks
Caregivers can order yearbooks through April 1! You can use this link to order one for your student(s).
5th Grade Caregivers: Our parent group will be providing all 5th graders with a yearbook this year! Because of this, you do not need to order a year book for your 5th grader. However, we will have 5th grade dedication ads in the yearbook again. If you'd like to give your 5th grader a shoutout in the yearbook, please use the link above and click on "create a dedication ad".
Girls on the Run
We are looking for another Girls on the Run coach! You can see details about the program here or contact Mrs. Wohlers at ekwohle@sunprairieschools.org.
Lost and Found
This is the final week to have your students go through the Lost & Found at school. Next week all items will be donated.
Drop-off / Pickup Line
Please start the new year with pulling all the way forward before letting your student out. The line will flow much smoother and we will be able to get more kids dropped off or picked up. Students must be dropped off and picked up where the sidewalk goes all the way to the curb and we have supervision. If you need to get out of your vehicle to help your student, please pull into a parking spot. We have students enter at the back of the school so everyone passes the cafeteria and can grab a breakfast if they would like.
Attendance
If your child is going to miss school due to illness, a planned absence or an appt., please call and report it to our attendance line at 608-834-7300 (press 1).
We are a Community School
Community schools is a strategy that transforms a school into a place where educators, local community members, families, and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development. As partners, they organize in-and-out of school resources, supports and opportunities so that young people thrive.
- To help us live out being a community school, we need EVERYONE to complete our needs assessment/asset map. Take 5 minutes or less and click here to help us know what our community needs as well as the talents and resources we bring.
- We are very excited to bring a new program to CH Bird this spring. If your family is interested in enriching your family life please consider joining us for this 8-week program starting on Thursday, April 6th. For more information please view our FAST Program Flyer.
- Bird's Clothing Closet is in need of new//gently used gym shoes and athletic pants or leggings of all sizes. Please feel to drop them off in the main office, send them with your student or contact Jenny Divney to donate. Thank you!
If you'd like to connect with our community schools director Jenny Divney or introduce yourself you can reach her at jadivne@sunprairieschools.org or 608-834-7353.
Fly Birds After School Program - Help Wanted
If you or someone you know would be interested in working in the Fly Birds after school program, please let Ms. Makayla know. Available positions are Monday-Thursday, from 2:25/1:15-5:15. Pay starting at $17.15/hour. Ms. Makayla can be reached via email at meallan@sunprairieschools.org.
CH Best Updates & Volunteer Opportunities
CH BEST stands for CH Bird's Education Support Team and is our school's SCO / Caregiver Group. We are a group of caregiver volunteers who come together to help create a sense of community and support here at Bird. Here are our upcoming events:
- CH Best Monthly Meeting
- Tuesday, Mar. 14 @ 6:00 - 7:30 pm - please join us on Zoom!
- Science Night
- Wednesday, Mar. 15 @ 5:30 - 7:30
We are so excited for Science Night! We will have a snake man, the rocket club and many other hands on experiments and displays! Check out this PDF for details about the event and for information about student displays!
If you have a kid who loves science and would like to set up a student display, as noted in the PDF, please email our parent group at chbestgroup@gmail.com. We’d love to include any interested child(ren). We are also looking for a few parent volunteers to help set up and/or take down. - Burrachos Dine Out Night
- Wednesday, Mar. 29 @ 4-8 pm
Our schools will get a % of the night's proceeds to help support our students & staff. Please present this flyer when ordering. - Earth Day Event
- Wednesday, Apr. 19 @ 5 pm
More info coming soon!
Nurse Updates
General Info:
With cold & flu season in full swing please remember to keep your student home if they aren't feeling well. As a general reminder, if your student throws up or has a fever they need to wait 24 hours before coming back to school (24 hours of being fever free without medication and 24 hours).
Covid Testing Site:
Open Monday - Friday from 7:00 am- 10:00am at Ashley Field
SPASD Registration 2023-2024
We are making plans for staffing classrooms next year. If you have a neighbor/friend, or if you know of a family who has moved to Sun Prairie recently, please encourage them to register their child(ren) as soon as possible for the 2023-2024 school year. You can learn more about the enrollment process by clicking on the ENROLLMENT icon on the District homepage.
New Student Registration - 5K thru 12th Grade
Enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year opened on February 1st! New students to SPASD are able to enroll online HERE after February 1. The 2023-24 Academic Calendar can be viewed HERE.
Kindergarten Registration:
Please note that as a 4K student, your child is already enrolled in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. You will begin receiving information from your elementary school in the month of January.
Your kindergarten enrollment is based on the address we currently have on file for 4K. If you have moved during the 2022-2023 school year please make sure that the 4K office has your new address! If you have any questions or need to share a new address call the 4K office 834-6672
4K Registration
Enrollment into SP4K 2023-24 will be open on February 1st! New students to SP4K can follow the two-step enrollment process HERE after February 1st. Please contact the SP4K office at (608)834-6672 with any questions.
Summer School 2023
Here is the initial information regarding Summer School 2023, including important dates and times:
- Summer School 2023 registration begins Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 8 a.m.
- Summer School 2023 registration ends Friday, April 21, 2023, at midnight
You can check out the District Summer School website for more information or look at the following links:
- SS 2023 Introductory Letter to Parents/Caregivers of PreK-8 Students
- Spanish Version of SS 2023 Introductory Letter to Parents/Caregivers of PreK-8 Students
- 2023 Summer School PreK-8 Checklist/Frequently Asked Questions
- Spanish Version of 2023 Summer School PreK-8 Checklist/Frequently Asked Questions
- 2023 Summer School Information for Incoming 5K Students
ALP Updates
Greater Dane Anthology Project
Congratulations to all of the 5th graders who participated in the Greater Dane Writing Project. They are: Kingston B., Hadley K., Yousra E., Izzy A., Leilani M., William T., Rose K., Shamya S.H., Kingston T., Hazel B., and Brenna J.
William T's artwork and Leilani M.'s haiku poem will be published in the Sun Prairie Anthology Book. Congratulations to everyone who participated! We are very proud of you!
Math 24
Congratulations to ALL of the 4th and 5th graders who participated in the Math 24 competition.
- 4th graders: Anir H., Johanna MM., Aubree B., Jaylynn VM., Damian SM., Adrien B., Jake M., and Oliver M.
- 5th graders: Hadley K., Yousra E., Ali M., Izzy A., Morgan L., Isabella SM., and Rose K.
The students all did an amazing job and had a fun time solving their Math 24 problems. A big congratulations to Jake M. in 4th grade and Isabella SM in 5th grade who advanced to the Math 24 Regional competition.
Math Meet
Fifth graders will have an opportunity to participate in a Math Meet coming up in March. Students who were interested in participating completed a Math Meet screener to qualify for the upcoming meet. We will be forming our Math Meet teams in the next couple of weeks.
District Updates
Bus Driver Recognition Week - February 13 - 17, 2023
February 13-17, 2023 is School Bus Driver Recognition Week in the State of Wisconsin. We encourage families to go the extra mile to show appreciation to the men and women that work hard to get our students to and from school safely every day. Please take a moment to thank them or consider having your child make a token of appreciation.
Your kind words, cards, etc., will surely make the driver’s week brighter!