West Middleton Update
~A Compassionate, Collaborative Community of Learners~
A few quick updates from Mrs. Krych for February 2020
We are halfway through the 2020 school year and what an amazing year it's been so far. All of the boundary decisions have been made and you should know whether or not you will be continuing with us in the fall or transitioning to Pope Farms. The elementary principals will be working on transition activities and plans and the principal of Pope Farms is planning many different welcoming activities for Pope Farms. It's definitely a bittersweet time of the year, but please know that once a Wolverine, always a Wolverine!!
February is going to be a busy month for us. We are finishing up our winter assessments and will be reviewing data and making instructional decisions at our staff meetings, during our weekly Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings and at our February 17th Professional Development (PD) day. We will also be sharing this information with you at our Parent/Teacher Conferences on February 13th and 18th. If you haven't signed up for a conference yet, please contact your child's teacher. We're so excited to have this opportunity to connect with our families and share all of the amazing things your students are doing. February is Black History Month, Kindness Week is the week of February 11th, and Valentine's Day is coming up too. It's going to be a great month of learning and community building.
Please let me or your child's teacher know if you have any questions or feedback on how we're doing. One of our collective commitments is that parents are partners in their child's education and we value your voice and perspective greatly.
Take care of yourselves and each other and don't forget that we are #bettertogether at West Middleton.
With Love,
Mrs. Krych
3rd Annual Cultural Family Night - Friday, April 17th
Our 3rd Annual Cultural Night is coming up on Friday April 17th and we need your help! Forms asking for presenters were sent home in backpacks this week. If you are interested in having a display at our event, please send back the paper form or complete the google sign up at the link below. For those of you who are new to West Middleton, our Cultural Family Night has been a huge success because of our amazing families, who have offered to their family's heritage with us. We have had 400 people attend each year and it consistently our favorite annual event! Here are some pictures to show you what has been done in previous years. Please read the google form for more information about how you can be involved!
Cultural Family Night Sign Up for Presenters
¡Nuestra tercera noche cultural anual se acerca el viernes 17 de abril y necesitamos su ayuda! Los formularios para pedir presentadores fueron enviados a casa en mochilas esta semana. Si está interesado en tener una exhibición en nuestro evento, envíe el formulario en papel o complete el registro de Google en el siguiente enlace. Para aquellos de ustedes que son nuevos en West Middleton, nuestra Noche Cultural de la Familia ha sido un gran éxito gracias a nuestras increíbles familias, que han ofrecido la herencia de su familia con nosotros. ¡Hemos tenido la asistencia de 400 personas cada año y es nuestro evento anual favorito! Aquí hay algunas fotos para mostrarle lo que se ha hecho en años anteriores. ¡Lea el formulario de Google para obtener más información sobre cómo puede participar!
Wolverine Reads
Our Wolverine Read for the month of January was What Does it Mean to be an American?. We were lucky enough to have one of our West Middleton families read the book for us this month for all families to be able to share the story. Minza, who is also a MCPASD school board member, read the book with her three sons. The video is linked below. We have also attached a discussion guide for you to be able to talk about the book as a family, as well as some fun activities you could do.
Nuestra lectura de Wolverine para el mes de enero fue ¿Qué significa ser estadounidense? Tuvimos la suerte de que una de nuestras familias de West Middleton leyera el libro para nosotros este mes para que todas las familias puedan compartir la historia. Minza Karim, quien también es miembro de la junta escolar de MCPASD, leyó el libro con sus tres hijos. El video está vinculado a continuación. También hemos adjuntado una guía de discusión para que pueda hablar sobre el libro en familia, así como algunas actividades divertidas que podría hacer.
What Does it Mean to be an American? Read Aloud Video
What Does it Mean to be American Family Discussion Guide
Please let us know how the conversations about our monthly Wolverine Reads are going! We'd love to hear about what your kids are talking about. We will have a new book celebrating Black History Month later in February.
¡Háganos saber cómo van las conversaciones sobre nuestras lecturas mensuales de Wolverine! Nos encantaría saber de qué están hablando sus hijos. Tendremos un nuevo libro celebrando el Mes de la Historia Negra más tarde en febrero.
February is Black History Month
"Buy a book by a Black author or illustrator and make it a part of your child’s permanent collection. Books offer a fun and easy way to introduce your children to new cultures and to help them explore the experiences of people from different backgrounds.
Look for books that are inclusive and reflect the diversity of our communities. Books help illustrate that diversity is a natural part of everyday life.
When and if children ask questions about race, don’t sweep differences under the rug. Give children simple, concrete explanations when they have questions. Select books that affirm a valued place for all children. Try to find books that will help prepare children for the complex world in which they live.
Make sure your selections include contemporary stories. Black History Month is celebration of not just history but also of culture and experiences, which are readily reflected in picture books, chapter books, and poetry.
Seek the suggestions and guidance from knowledgeable cultural experts, booksellers and librarians. Coretta Scott King Award-winning titles are always a good place to start for excellence in text and illustrations.
Use Black History Month as a starting point to introduce children to more books that reflect other cultures and ethnicities, but celebrate Black history and cultural diversity all year long."
Kindness Week - Week of February 11th
In an effort to create a culture of kindness, our school, along with hundreds of other schools across the nation will be participating in a Kindness Challenge during the week of February 10th-14th. The week is devoted to doing as many acts of kindness as possible in and out of school. The purpose of this week long event is to foster an environment that values the importance of being kind all year round. This week's activities will include daily kindness morning announcements and music, kindness themed morning meetings, spirit wear days promoting kindness (see below for days), kindness book readings by 4th grade members of Pride Pack and a Mix-It Up lunch. Classrooms will also receive a checklist with acts of kindness to complete during the week. We look forward to an exciting week and can't wait to see how many acts of kindness we complete!
Dress Up Days:
Monday February 10th: We Dream of Kindness: Pajama or comfortable clothes
Tuesday February 11th: Kindness Predicts Your Future: Dress as favorite career
Wednesday February 12th: Crazy for Kindness: Crazy hair or crazy clothes
Thursday February 13th: Nothing Beats Kindness: Sport Team or Sports attire
Friday February 14th: We Love Kindness: Wear Pink or Red
Updates from the PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Team
We had our PBIS assembly on Monday. We reviewed our focus of January of Be a Learner. Mrs. Finley's class and Mrs. Hoeft's class shared with us how they have been modeling how to be a learner. This month's students of the month are:
K: La’Zaydreon Harrison
1: Tassika Lao
2: Alice Blackmore
3: Noah St. Clair
4: Tyler Gerry
The 4th grade Pride Pack did skits to teach us and remind us how to be safe on the playground and in the hallway, this is the focus for the month of February. Students were reminded about how to be safe with their snow gear and how to be safe on the playground with the snow and ice. We also learned our new affirmation of the month which is The Pledge of Kindness. Ask your child if they are able to share this pledge with you!
A Message from Your School Nurse, Sonya Waldorf
Cold and Flu Season has arrived! We have seen an increase of students with cold and flu symptoms and fevers. To help decrease the risk of spreading illness, please review the information below:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (Singing the Birthday song helps for younger children to measure the time)
- Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Do not have close contact with people are sick.
- Stay home when you're sick. It is best practice to keep your child home until food is tolerated. Children should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication. (A fever is defined as an oral temperature greater than 100.0 F)
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue or upper sleeve and not your hand; you should still immediately wash your hands.
- Do not share any food, drinks, or utensils with others.
- Do not prepare food for others when you are ill.
- Disinfect high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, phones, remotes, light switches, or counter tops.
If your student misses school related to illness, please contact the attendance line (829-9050) to notify staff and have your doctor's office provide a letter excusing for any absent days. Please contact your doctor's office with any concerns for symptoms your child may be experiencing. There is additional information regarding the Flu available on the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/
Save the Dates - Mark Your Calendar for These Fun Upcoming Parent and Family Events
As a reminder, here is the link to our 19-20 Family Calendar. Here are a few of our upcoming dates you may want to get on your calendar:
February 13th & 18th - Parent Teacher Conferences
February 17th - Monday - No School - Professional Development Day
March 2nd - No School - Professional Development Day
March 6 - Friday - Spring Dance
March 12 - Thursday - BLOOM MCPASD Fundraiser Event (6:00 - 8:00)
March 23 - 27th - Spring Break
April 10th - Friday - No School
April 17th - Friday - Cultural Family Night
May 4th-8th - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 11th - Monday - Kindergarten Visitation
May 20th - Wednesday - Ice Cream Social - 5:30-7:30
May 22nd - Friday - No School - Professional Development
May 25th - Monday - No School - Memorial Day
May 28th - Thursday - Hot Dog Picnic - 10:45 - 12:45
June 4th - Thursday - Field Day
June 5th - Friday - Last Day of School
Get Your Tickets for Bloom, a Fundraiser for MCPASD Schools
Join the Education Foundation as we raise funds to expand and diversify our K-8 classroom libraries! Watch Dana Monogue and Purna Byraiah's interview on NBC15 Madison to learn more about Bloom, which begins at 6 p.m. on March 12 at the Marriott West Hotel. They discuss the challenges facing the district and how funds raised at Bloom will help update classroom libraries at schools across the district. Enjoy an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, games, and silent and live auctions! Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at mcpasdfoundation.org.