Jim Falls Elementary
January 2024
Dear Jim Falls Families
Adventure awaits as we step into the new year with enthusiasm and purpose! As we embark on the journey of 2024, our focus remains on fostering an environment where every student feels safe, included, and empowered to achieve.
In the spirit of growth, students will once again engage in the Fastbridge benchmark, providing us with valuable insights into their academic progress. Our dedicated teachers and specialists will then analyze the data, ensuring tailored support to nurture growth in all areas of learning.
January brings not only academic pursuits but also a focus on physical fitness! Get ready for the annual Jump Rope Contest, where students will showcase their skills and compete for the chance to represent our school at the Bloomer Jump Off. It's an exciting opportunity for our students to embrace healthy competition and showcase their agility.
As we dive into these adventures, we're confident that the snow and cold weather will pass in the blink of an eye, making way for the warmth of shared accomplishments and successes.
Let's make 2024 our best year yet by working TOGETHER. The collaboration between our families and school is the key to unlocking the full potential of our students. Witness their academic and social/emotional growth, and know that your support plays a crucial role in making it happen.
Thank you for being an integral part of our school community. Together, we will make 2024 a year of triumphs, growth, and lasting memories!
Proud to be a Jim Falls Soaring Eagle,
Mrs. Janet Goodman
If you missed our most recent weekly updates please check them out here:
Service Learning Opportunity
Jim Falls will be collaborating with a few CFUASD high school students for a service-learning project aimed at benefiting various members and areas of Chippewa Falls. One specific project will focus on supporting the local Humane Society.
As partners, students will craft 1.5x1.5ft fleece tie blankets and fleece toys for cats. To complete this project successfully, we require fleece fabric that can be cut into squares and tied together to create the blankets.
At this time, we kindly ask parents to contribute any clean, fleece blankets or fleece fabric from home that can be cut and repurposed into tie blankets. Additionally, we welcome monetary donations, which will be used to purchase new fleece for the creation of these cat blankets.
Please send in the blanket(s), fleece, or money donation (in a clearly labeled envelope) with your child from now until Friday, January 12. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Winter/Cold Weather Attire
- All students need to wear proper attire - warm coat/jacket, hat, gloves/mittens, and boots and snow pants when the snow arrives.
- We will have a poster at each doorway with the suggested clothing you should wear to keep students safe and warm. Snow pants and boots must be worn to play in the snow.
- Please label all items so they don't get lost!
- You may want to send a plastic/reusable bag for carrying wet winter items home as needed.
We do go outside everyday for recess as long as it is not raining or below -6
Schedule & Important Dates
Elementary schedule for 2023-2024:
Start of Day:
- Student Drop Off Begins: 7:20 am
- Student Day Begins: 7:43 am
- Breakfast Served: 7:30 - 7:43 am
- Students arriving after 7:43 am will be marked tardy
End of Day:
- Bus Dismissal - 2:35 pm
- Students getting picked up will be dismissed after busses have left school grounds
Important Dates
January
1st - 2nd - No School
3rd - Cook Chiro Day
5th - Wire Choir Performance
8th - PTO Meeting in the library @ 6pm
10th - Cook Chiro Day
15th - Martin Luther King Day
16th - JF Jump Off
17th - Cook Chiro Day
19th - No School (staff work day)
23th - School Board Meeting @ 7pm at the district office
26th - PTO Family Movie Night 6pm
31st - CCF Bank Deposit Day
31st - Cook Chiro Day
February
23rd - No School (Professional Development)
27th - 3rd & 4th Grade Music Concert
March
5th & 7th - Parent/Teacher Conferences
11th - 15th - No School
29th - No School
April
1st - No School (staff work day)
May
2nd - 5th Grade Music Concert
16th - KG Spring Sing-A-Long
27th - No School
30th - Last Day of School
Reminders
Notes from the Office
If your child is going to be absent or tardy for any reason, please call the office by 8:00 am Instructional time starts at 7:43 am. Any student who arrives after 7:43 am is considered tardy.
If you need to change your child's transportation for the end of the day, please send a note to your child's teacher. Phone calls are discouraged but if a change needs to be called in, PLEASE call the office by 1:30 pm to insure that the message gets delivered to the classroom.
If you need to pick your child up early, please check in at the office. Parents will need to sign their child(ren) out and then we will call your child down to the office. Students will not be waiting in the office so make sure to give yourself enough time prior to appointments.
BUS TRANSPORTATION CHANGES
All student rerouting requests will originate at Chippewa Yellow Bus Company. Student rerouting requests require a 24 hour notice and approval by the bus company. This includes one time and/or occasional rerouting requests. Please call 715-726-2454 if you have any questions or concerns. Please click here for more information regarding rerouting requests.
If a student's afternoon transportation plans vary week to week, please provide the teacher, the office, and the bus company a monthly calendar to insure that your child gets to their intended location.
Handle with Care
As always we are a TEAM and we want to help your child thrive in our Jim Falls family.
Weekends Kids Meals
The Jim Falls Community Food Pantry has been providing food assistance to the families of the Jim Falls school for over 15 years. One of the services we provide is "Weekend Kids Meals." Each Friday, we make available an assortment of non-perishable healthy food products geared toward the children to send home with them for the weekend. If this is something you would like to participate in, please enter your information here.
Medical Absences
Food Service Payments and Menus
Payments can be made on the Infinite Campus portal under the food service tab. The free and reduced lunch application is also located on your Infinite Campus parent portal by selecting "more" then "meal benefits". Here is a list of the CFAUSD Meal Prices.
Classroom Treats
The health office requests that any treats brought in to school for birthdays, parties, or any other special occasions should be store bought with a clear nutrition label.
There are certain students and staff members with health conditions that may require certain dietary accommodations and it's important that they are able to review a food's nutrition label before choosing to omit or consume certain foods.
Please also be mindful about choosing treats that may contain tree nuts and/or peanuts for your student's classroom. There may be other students in your child's classroom who may have a severe nut allergy. If you are wondering whether your child is in a nut free classroom, please inquire with your student's classroom teacher or the school's health office.
HIGH SCHOOL GAME ATTENDANCE RULE
The Chippewa Falls High School would like to remind you of our game attendance rule.
In order to enter any high school game/event, all middle school and elementary students must be accompanied by an adult chaperone.
Thank you for helping all of our fans stay safe at our home sporting events!
Chiropractic Care at school
Happy New Year!
Children’s young bodies are usually flexible and resilient, and can usually take a lot of falls, bumps and bruises without much difficulty. But some signs that chiropractic care may benefit your child are: complaints of pain, limited head mobility, uneven shoulders and irregular sleep patterns.
Even if your child doesn’t have a specific condition that you are concerned about, regular chiropractic care can be part of a healthy lifestyle that promotes regular development & wellbeing.
We realize that parents considering chiropractic care for their child may have a lot of questions and we’d be happy to answer any concerns you may have. Give us a call or text at 715-382-6864 or email onsitechiroinfo@gmail.com.
Potential School Closure Days
CFAUSD Inclement Weather Closing Protocol
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.
**Please contact Chippewa Yellow Bus if your child will need an alternate busing plan for Early Release days.**
Remote Learning
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.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
The elementary schools developed consistent independent study packets for each grade level for completion on remote learning days only. Packets include reading, math practice, writing prompts, and activities from our specialists.
Students received their packets on November 27th.
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.
Jim Falls Soaring Heroes
In November, our 5th graders received First Aid training from a Chippewa Falls Firefighter, Mr. Jose Lagunas. Recently, we had five 5th grade students who stepped up in an emergency situation and put this training to use. They did an amazing job in keeping calm, helping others, and ensuring the safety of others. We are so proud of our Souring Heroes!!!
Jim Falls Kindness
Jim Falls's third and fourth graders as well as the whole school, raised $170.00 and collected items for the Chippewa Humane Association.
During October, the fourth graders read Love That Dog. It is a book written in free verse poetry. It tells the story of Jack writing poems for school and he learns how to be himself. In the book, Jack remembers when he adopted a dog from a shelter. Students brought $1 to school and cuddled with a stuffed animal. As a class and whole school event, we raised $170.00 for the Chippewa Humane Association.
The third-grade students also collected items during December and took the time to deliver all the donations to the Chippewa Falls Humane Society.
A big shoutout to everyone involved-students, staff, and parents for making a positive impact in our community.
December Attendance Winners!
In order to encourage healthy and well students to attend school each day, Jim Falls Elementary will have a monthly drawing for a $20 Kwik Trip gift card or a Free Culver's Kids Meal. All students who have no unexcused tardies or unexcused absences will be entered into the monthly drawing.
December Winners: Hazel, Kooper, Raelyn, Louisa, Ariannalynne, and Jordan
SEB (Social/Emotional Behavior Focus)
Welcome back! In the months of January, we will be reviewing the winter weather expectations. Although we haven't had much snow, it's always a good idea to refresh our memories! Mrs. Goodman will be reading the story "Be Where Your Feet Are" which reminds us to be mindful of what is happening right now, and to be focused and present in the moment. We are so proud of all of the work that our students have done so far this year to make Jim Falls a safe and caring environment!
Jim Falls Adventures
Greetings Jim Falls families,
As you know, our school theme this year is Adventure Awaits. Going along with this theme, we want to offer the opportunity for you to share any adventure(s) your family goes on!
To do this, the school has a bulletin board with two maps on it:
Map of Wisconsin
Map of the U.S.
If your family leaves for a weekend or a week anytime throughout the 2023-24 school year and you want to share, send an email or dojo message to their teacher(s) when you return. You can share as many adventures as you want! In every message please state
Student’s name
City and state of where you went
Optional: Send one picture from the trip and we will put it on the bulletin board!
No matter if you went to Appleton (WI) or Anchorage (AK), we want every student to be included which is why we have two maps. Let’s share where Jim Falls Eagles spread their wings!
December SOARing Eagles
The students below showed exemplary leadership in the areas of safety, offering kindness, acting responsibility, and respecting others! They truly SOAR!
Jim Falls SOARing Eagles are honored with a special lunch in the SOARing with Kindess Cafe, their pictures are displayed on the hallway bulletin board and on the hallway TV, and they also receive a Jim Falls SOARing Eagles pin and certificate. Thank you for being great role models!
Congratulations Mrs. Bell!!
Congratulations to Helissa Bell on becoming a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early & Middle Childhood - Vocal & General Music. She is now one of only 1,686 teachers to currently hold National Board Certification in the state of Wisconsin. To earn the title of a National Board Certified Teacher, a candidate must demonstrate mastery of all 5 Core Propositions of teaching through a variety of tasks based in their content area and scored on a national level. The certification process is extremely rigorous with only 71% of candidates who attempt, achieving certification.
“The National Board process has helped me to grow as an educator and has had a direct impact on my instructional practices. Through deep reflection of my own teaching, I have discovered and developed new and better ways to connect with students, support students individual learning needs, as well as create and implement highly engaging and effective instruction in the music room along with deepening my own content knowledge. This process was challenging but so worthwhile for me and my students (now and in the future).” - Helissa Bell, NBCT
News from the Nurse
Health and Wellness Message:
Just a friendly reminder as it is that time of year where viral and bacterial illnesses are on the rise and we are in cold and flu season. Please help remind your children to cover their coughs – cough/sneeze into an elbow, Kleenex, sleeve. Wash hands often! If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer. Handwashing is always the preferred method, but if unable use hand sanitizer until you are able to wash with soap and water. Follow these steps:
Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice
Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Also practice the following every-day good health habits to prevent the spread of illness:
• Cover your cough or sneeze. Preferably do this with a tissue that you then throw in a trashcan. Next best is covering your cough with your inner elbow.
• Avoid touching your own eyes, nose, or mouth
• Don’t share food or drinks
• Avoid contact with sick people
• Always contact your doctor’s office if you have questions or concerns regarding you or your child’s health
If you do get sick, stay home, get lots of rest, and drink plenty of fluids. There are some over-the-counter medications you can take to help you feel better at home. Tylenol and ibuprofen can help with fevers. (Reminder: students are allowed to return to school only after being fever free for 24 hours without any fever-reducing medication) Please remember that children should not take aspirin, particularly if they have flu-like symptoms. Antihistamines and decongestants can help with nasal drainage or stuffiness.
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. Sick Procedure: Keep your student home if any of the following apply: Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher 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 They have an unexplained rash
Caitlin Maranell BSN, RN
Chippewa Falls Area Unified School DistrictDistrict Wide Registered Nurse
715-738-2660 ext. 3543
Jim Falls PTO
Useful Links
Elementary Student/Parent Handbook
Strengthening Families Program
The Cardinal Feeder Newsletter
Winter/Spring Community Education Brochure
Cardinal Community Learning Center
Facilities Calendar & Information
Community Education Jan-May 2024
Annual Notice of Special education Referral and Evaluation Procedures
District Mission Statement
“Together with students, families, and our community; we inspire, support, and learn.”
District Notice
Upon request to the building administrator, submitted twenty-four (24) hours in advance, the District shall make reasonable accommodation including the provision of informational material in an alternative format as necessary for a disabled person to be able to participate select activities
Jim Falls Elementary
Email: wilsonsm@chipfalls.org
Website: https://cfsd.chipfalls.k12.wi.us/jimfalls/
Location: 13643 198th Street, Jim Falls, WI, USA
Phone: 715-720-3260