Spartan Gazette
February 2018
Indian Mound Middle School
Building Administrative Assistant: Gina Pili / pilig@mcfsd.org
Attendance Line: 608-838-8980
Fax: 608-838-4588
Email: TarnutA@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/middle/
Phone: 608-838-8980
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Mound-Middle-School-McFarland-WI-204736889672509/
Twitter: @ATarnutzer
A message from Mr. Jondle - “Collaborate, Achieve, and Celebrate!”
It’s difficult to believe that there is already one month of 2018 in the books, and the month of February is upon us all. Each of us have settled in with our new year, focused on new and upcoming goals for 2018 and for many, may have slipped back into our “old ways” forgetting the resolutions we may have set earlier. The month of February is a month that is short, yet filled with events that allow for reflection, celebration, and looking ahead.
During the month of January, educators and students have been busy at IMMS! The month of January has seen highlights that reflect student achievement as well as teachers, administrators, and specialists’ professional development. As you can see below, February is shaping up to be another exciting month as well!
Spartan Trophy Challenge: During the month of December and the early weeks of January, through our Positive Behavior and Intervention Support [PBIS] program, the students at IMMS focused in on ways to be responsible and respectful, particularly in the hallways. Students were reminded of the importance of appropriate hallway etiquette including: walking in the hallways, showing responsibility by having a teacher issued pass while in the hallway, and showing respect by using an appropriate conversational voice volume when in the hallway. The Spartan Trophy will be awarded to the winning grade during our monthly “Student of the Month” assembly.
Family/Teacher Conferences: On Thursday, February 22 and Tuesday, February 27, IMMS will be hosting “Family/Teacher Conferences”. As always, we welcome families and students to join us for this wonderful opportunity to check in with your child’s teachers celebrating and sharing your child’s progress this year. The first night of conferences [Thursday, February 22] will be done by invite only, followed by Tuesday, February 27 serving as the traditional “Arena Style” conferences. On both nights, your child’s Related Arts’ teachers will be available for “drop in” conferences. The Family/Teacher Conferences run from 4:15pm-7:15pm both nights.
Time to Toot our Own Horns! Come join us on Saturday, February 17 starting at 7:30pm at the McFarland High School A Gym, for the annual “Band-O-Rama”! It will be a fun time had by all celebrating our students' musical talents!
Staff Development Days: There will be no school on Monday, February 26. This professional day will allow staff to continue to work on their curriculum with other team members of either the same grade level or same subject area.
Teachers will have time to collaborate in their Professional Learning Communities [PLCs] to analyze student learning, determine ways to continue to provide effective and timely feedback to students, and also continue to reflect on effective ways to infuse and assess College and Career Readiness Skills [ie: critical thinking, constructing a viable argument, etc.] to further enhance student learning. As you can imagine, this professional day is valuable time for our staff as collaboration, reflection, and planning are all key components in pushing students’ learning forward. Our staff thanks you for understanding and allowing us this time to work with one another.
As I look back to January and wait for what’s ahead for February, the theme of collaboration, achievement, and gratitude continue to surface as common, persistent thoughts to keep at the front of my thoughts and my actions. The month ahead, while short in the number of days, is a month full of exciting times for our students, staff, and families alike. As we continue to look at what we want to improve, let’s remember to commit ourselves to rejoicing in all that has been accomplished and what lies ahead yet to be accomplished!
Warmly,
Brett Jondle
Local Art Students Make Lifelong Gifts For Vulnerable Children
Art students at Indian Mound Middle School have joined the Memory Project, a charitable, non-profit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create and donate portraits to youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, violence, and extreme poverty. Given that youth in such situations usually have few personal keepsakes, the purpose of the portraits is to provide them with meaningful mementos of their youth. The project also allows art students to practice kindness and global awareness while enhancing their portraiture skills.
Students at Indian Mound Middle School are participating as part of a 7th grade lunch art club. To do this, the students receive photos of children who are waiting for portraits, and then work in their art classroom to create the portraits. Once finished, the Memory Project delivers the portraits to the children. In total, the students will make portraits for 12 children in Russia. The portraits will be displayed at the McFarland House Cafe before being sent to Russia in March.
The Memory Project is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin. Since the project began in 2004, more than 100,000 American art students have created portraits for children in 44 countries.
Free Breakfast for National School Breakfast Week
We all know that eating breakfast is an important way to start you day! We want every McFarland student to begin their day ready to learn, and that happens when you fuel your body right first thing in the morning. So in celebration of National School Breakfast Week, the Nutrition Department will be offering free breakfast for all!
The schedule is as follows:
Free breakfast for 6th graders on Tuesday March 6th
Free breakfast for 7th graders on Wednesday March 7th
Free breakfast for 8th graders on Thursday March 8th
Regional Middle School Science Bowl
Three Indian Mound Middle School teams competed in a Regional Science Bowl competition on Saturday, January 27th, on UW Madison campus. This competition was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
This event is a highly competitive science and math competition. Each team has four middle school students. They compete in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math.
Our twelve IMMS students were very strong competitors and displayed integrity throughout each round of the competition!
Our IMMS Teams:
Team 1: Charlie Stiemke (7th Grade and captain), Felicia Zheng (8th Grade), Gabe Lee (8th Grade), Matthew Miller (8th Grade)
Team 2: Matt Schutt (8th grade and captain), Henry Heasty (7th grade), Elliot Hummer (7th grade), Ray Wheaten (6th Grade)
Team 3: All 6th graders: Cole Willems (captain), Lorelai Cordio, Logan Borseth, Jacob Nix
Team 1 won first place in the regional competition and was invited to compete at the national event in Washington, D.C., with all expenses paid. They will enjoy five days of competitions, sightseeing, hands on science activities, and science seminars!
World Read Aloud Day
New!!!! Meal Viewer App
McFarland School Nutrition Department is excited to announce a new form of communication for our menus with our new MealViewer app and online platform. We have installed a new MealViewer mobile app and web-viewer which is a major technology upgrade to bring our school in the Digital Age where school nutrition is concerned. This technological mobile app and web-viewer have the capacity to display the menus along with nutritional and allergen information for items served for breakfast and lunch. This new feature will also be an additional communication piece between meals and offering opportunities to display school announcements and events, and more. Below is a link to our “Introduction to MealViewer ” video which is a video that will help better explain exactly what MealViewer is and how useful it will be for you! There is also a video on how to use the mobile app.
Click here for the MealViewer Introductory Video.
Click here for the MealViewer User Guide.
Swim Classes This Month
DO YOU KNOW WE OFFER BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING?
We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Our children need to receive nutritionally adequate meals in order to learn and grow properly. We also know that mornings can be hectic trying to get everyone off to school and work on time. If there isn’t time at your house to make breakfast or, if you child isn’t yet hunger before you leave, The School Nutrition Department offers a healthy, well balanced meal to start your child’s day off right.
We offer one hot entrée every day and there will be at least three cold entrees every day to choose from. Low sugar cereal will also be available daily. Mini bagels and lowfat, whole grain blueberry muffins are just a couple examples of what we offer.
The cost of breakfast is $1.75 or $0.30 for students who qualify for reduced lunch. Families who qualify for free lunch are also able to receive a free breakfast. If you have any questions about breakfast or anything about our program, please contact me, Barb Waara, Student Nutrition Director, at waarab@mcfsd.org or 838-4549.
First Bell - 8:03pm
Tardy Bell - 8:10pm
Dismissal Bell: 3:34pm
February Dates At-A-Glance...
February 26 - No School