McKinley Monthly
March 2020
Dear McKinley Families,
In only a few short months, our PTO Treasurer, Joe Stadler, will be finishing his term. We are greatly indebted to Joe for all he has done for us! That being said, we need a new treasurer. It would be great if we could get someone to step up soon, so that we can have a little overlap on this position. Please see a more detailed job description toward the bottom of the newsletter. If you are interested, please send an email or give me a call. I will connect you with Joe so that he can talk you through any questions that you have.
February “Thank You’s” go out to everyone who worked to put together meals for teachers during conferences, and to Jacki Rynish and Lindsay Stadler and all of the parent volunteers for Kids Trivia Night! So much fun! We appreciate the dedication and abundance of time and energy given--we couldn’t do it without you.
Also, I want to thank all those who showed up for our February Family Equity Listening Session. We discussed the district’s Vision of a Graduate and shared ideas of what each of the components might look like in elementary school. I enjoyed the conversation and hope to bring the Vision document to students as well. Some of you were interested in learning more about the Equity Trainings that staff and administrators have gone through. You will have an opportunity to attend a session given by Willie E. Garrison II, Supervisor of Equity; Student and Family Services. This learning opportunity is for any interested parents/community members on the topic of Implicit Bias on Wednesday, March 4, 6-7:30 p.m. at Fisher Administration Building in Conf. RM C (where the school board meets). Please RSVP Here so that they can plan accordingly.
We have much coming up in March you should be aware of. The District Art Show at Metcalf’s will continue until March 17th. The next PTO meeting is March 5th. Family Fun Fest will be on Friday, March 6th--please see the PTO newsletter for more information and needs associated with that event.
Have a great March!
Mrs. Hoffmann
* ! * ! * ! * ! * ! * McK Attendance Line 773-1502 * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! *
***Dates to Remember***
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March 2 - Dress Up As Your Favorite Book Character day
March 5 - PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
March 6 - Family Fun Fest
March 8 - McKinley's 90th Birthday Celebration
March 10 - Hoops for Heart from 3:20-4:45 p.m. for grades 3-5
March 12 - Friday Schedule
March 12 - Report Cards Sent Home
March 13 - No School JK-12
March 20 - Down Syndrome Awareness Day - Lots of Socks!
March 23-27 - No Classes - Spring Break
April 2 - Math Night
McKinley's 90th Birthday!
McKinley’s 90th year celebration is right around the corner on Sunday, March 8th from 1-4 p.m. Alumni and staff from years past will be coming to say one last goodbye and walk the halls checking to see how McKinley has changed (and stayed the same!) over the years. Dignitaries who will speak at the 2 p.m. reception will be former principals, former teachers, and former students. In order to make this a wonderful event for our returning visitors, we are in need of lots of help from current parents and staff. Please click the signup genius link below to see what is available and let us know if you are able to help out. We thank you so much in advance for considering to help! And don’t worry, the many 90th celebration displays will be up and available to see at our April open house, so that current families and students can see what McKinley has all had to offer over the years!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a45a9aa2fa4ff2-mckinleys
Save the Date!
More info to follow...
McKinley Groundbreaking
Friday, Jun 5, 2020, 03:00 PM
McKinley Elementary School, North 89th Street, Wauwatosa, WI, USA
Read Across America!
Next week Monday, in the spirit of celebrating Read Across America, we would like to kick off the week by having students dress like their favorite book character. The same guidelines for costume dress are in place. No masks or weapons.
Also on Monday, there will be an announcement to tell the entire school to "Drop everything and read." Please advise your children to carry a silent reading book with them to switches and specials.
Thanks for helping make this a fun day to celebrate reading!
JK Registration
Kindergarten Registration is underway! Children who are currently enrolled in our Junior Kindergarten (4K) do not need to register for SK as they are already enrolled in the district.
We are also offering an online registration option for NEW students via our student information system, Infinite Campus.
Registering online can be done here.
A step by step guide on how to register online can be found here.
Information about documents required to register can be found here.
You will need to upload the required documents when prompted or you can complete all the registration information online and bring in the documents to your child’s school for verification.
Registration is not complete until all required documents are submitted.
*** Please share this info with your friends, family, and neighbors. ***
New Third Grade Teacher
Colgate Oral Care Recycling Program
EFW Rush for Education
The EFW Rush for Education is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at Hart Park. The deadline for early bird registration has been extended until March 20, 2020. Until then, pricing will remain at $12 for the one mile events (walk and fun run) and $25 for the competitive 5K.
Here is a link to sign up for the event: EFW Rush for Education
Join the fun and support the EFW by attending this great family event!
Ms. Kumferman’s Korner –News from your School Social Worker
Hello and Happy March! The first week in March celebrates National School Social Work Week so we wanted to take this opportunity to let you know more about what we do. I also asked Nick Kasten, graduate social work intern, to say a little bit more about himself (see below). He will be at McKinley until the end of May.
Building Resilience in Children
This month, I thought it might be good to focus on how we can help children build resilience. Resilience is the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress. By building resilience, we can help our children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. However, being resilient does not mean that children won't experience difficulty or distress.
The good news is that resilience skills can be learned.
Here are some key things we can do to help children along the way:
· Make sure your child has a place he or she feels safe, whether that is home or school (ideally, both would feel safe).
· Talk to your children. When they have questions, answer them honestly but simply and with reassurance that includes black-and-white statements that leave no room for doubt, such as "I will always take care of you." Don't discount their fears when they bring them to you.
· When there is a situation outside of the home that is frightening, limit the amount of news your children watch or listen to. You don't need to hide what's happening in the world from your children, but neither do they have to be exposed to constant stories that fuel their fears.
· Realize that extra stresses may heighten normal daily stresses. Your children might normally be able to handle a failed test or teasing, but be understanding that they may respond with anger or bad behavior to stress that normally wouldn't rattle them. Reassure them that you just expect them to do their best.
Nurture a positive self-view
Help your child remember ways that he or she has successfully handled hardships in the past and then help him understand that these past challenges help him build the strength to handle future challenges. Help your child learn to trust himself to solve problems and make appropriate decisions. Teach your child to see the humor in life, and the ability to laugh at one's self. At school, help children see how their individual accomplishments contribute to the wellbeing of the class as a whole.
Teach your child self-care
Make yourself a good example, and teach your child the importance of making time to eat properly, exercise and rest. Make sure your child has time to have fun, and make sure that your child hasn't scheduled every moment of his or her life with no "down time" to relax. Caring for oneself and even having fun will help your child stay balanced and better deal with stressful times.
Nick Kasten
My name is Nick Kasten and I am the school social work intern here at McKinley. I currently completing my Masters Degree in social work at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. I am also employed as a Residential Care Worker at the Bakari House program through Wisconsin Community Services. I chose to go into school social work because I have love working with children of all ages and once I found out I could do within a school, I knew immediately this was the career I wanted to pursue. Thank you for allowing me to work with your children!
New Math & Literacy Assistant at McKinley
Meet the McKinley Construction Crew
Wednesday, Apr 8, 2020, 06:00 PM
McKinley Elementary School, North 89th Street, Wauwatosa, WI, USA
Third Grade
The McKinley PTO is Looking for a Treasurer...
What this volunteer opportunity entails:
1. Be familiar with Quick Books Online
2. Handle checks, cash, payments, and deposits
3. Reconcile monthly account balances
4. Assist with budget creation
5. Either prepare taxes or solicit someone to assist
6. Attend the 5 or so PTO meetings per year and report
Please consider volunteering and helping out the McKinley PTO.
Lost and Found
Homework Help!
https://www.brainfuse.com/highed/helpNow.asp?a_id=FDAD2B64&ss=&r=
Wisconsin Weather!
We go outside every day, unless the weather is extreme. Please remember to send hats, coats, and gloves to school every day. When it snows, children need snow pants, boots, scarves, and gloves or mittens for playground play. Students without proper snow gear stay on the blacktop only during recess, which can be disappointing when there is a fresh pile of snow outside.
Our district rarely closes, since few students in the district stand outside to wait for buses. District policy is that a “feels like” temperature of 5 below is the standard for indoor recess; however, we will be reasonable with the call. Negative five degrees and sun with no wind after a week of 20 below can feel like a welcome heat wave; whereas, negative five with biting wind feels terrible for kids having to be out for 20 minutes.
New this year: during inclement weather days we will allow students into the building at 8:05 to go directly to their classrooms. We ask that parents leave their kids at the door. We will help students get to their classes if needed.
Let’s kick READING into...
OverDrive is a free library collection for all elementary students to check out ebooks and digital audio books on personal devices.
It’s as easy as 1,2,3
1. Visit https://wsdlcwi.libraryreserve.com/ or open the app
Sora on any smartphone, tablet, mp3 player, e-reader, or computer. Choose Wauwatosa School District from the dropdown.
2. Login: Library card number is your school username
(same as logging onto your chromebook)
Pin is your password (same as logging onto your chromebook)
3. Read in your browser or download the epub/kindle book!
Happy Reading!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:
Meegan Archambo, Elementary Library Media Services Coordinator
Crossing Guard Hours
M, T, Th & F
7:50 to 8:50 & 2:50 to 3:50
Wednesday
1:50 to 2:50
* * Tosa Cares * *
Tosa Cares is a local, non-profit organization located in Mount Zion Lutheran Church that helps families with food donations and so much more. Here are the dates for the monthly food distributions. You are encouraged to contact Linda Ertel before you come either by email Tosacares@gmail.com or phone 414-861-4725, or you can just show up on one of these dates.
2020 dates:
March 7
April 25
June 13
August 8
October 3
November 21
Tosa Cares is also always looking for donations of food, or cash. There are three permanent donation sites/times which you can find on their website: tosacares.org
Here is a list of the most needed items:
- Cereal
- Nonperishable fruits, vegetables and juices
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Spaghetti sauces and noodles
- Pastas and rice
- Canned protein, such as chicken, tuna and beef stew
- Snacks such as granola bars, crackers, popcorn and cookies
- Packaged dinners, especially those with meat
- Hearty soups
- Toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, paper towels and tissues
- Personal care items such as shampoo, hand soap, lotion and toothbrushes and tooth paste
- Dish soap and laundry soap
Wauwatosa Avenue
Office Max / Office Depot Gives Back
McKinley contact info
Website: https://www.wauwatosa.k12.wi.us/McKinley
Location: 2435 N 89th St, Wauwatosa, WI, United States
Phone: (414)773-1500