WILDCAT CLIPS
FEBRUARY 8, 2023
📅 2023-2024 & 2024-2025 School Calendar (select link at top of webpage)
Contact your child's teacher for more information on any upcoming event.
🔶 April 25 | 4K Nursery Rhyme Parade
🎻 April 30 | GR 4 Strings Concert
💥 May 5 | GR 5 DARE Graduation
🎷 May 15 | GR 6 - GR 8 Band Concert
✨ May 21 | GR 5 American Salute
🎹 May 30 | 5K Performance
🍭 June 4 | PTO Field Day
TALENT SHOW AT LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL
The last day of school is approaching quickly and you know what that means, the Lake Country School Talent Show is coming up. Auditions will be on May 22, 2024 in Mr. Bakken's classroom. We are looking for all types of talents from all students, it can be dance, music, drama, showing off sports skills, or magic, no acts involving fire allowed. Sign ups for auditions will be posted outside Mr. Bakken's room soon.
LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Lake Country School Education Foundation is Offering Academic Scholarships!
This is not a needs-based award. The scholarships, which are available to students in 3rd through 8th grades, are to be used toward the tuition of an academic camp/course or another academic enrichment experience. All camps/courses must be pre-approved. Student eligibility requirements are outlined in the application. Applications are due Tuesday, April 30th. Contact Susan Rovin, rovins@mylakecountrychool.org, or Debby Schneider schneiderd@mylakecountryschool.com with questions.
SCHOOL LUNCH HERO DAY
May 3, 2024
Between preparing delicious food, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies, and offering service with a smile, lunchroom staff have a lot on their plate. To celebrate their hard work and commitment, Lake Country School will celebrate School Lunch Hero Day on May 3. This day, celebrated annually since 2013, was designated by The School Nutrition Association and Jarrett Krosoczka, author of the “Lunch Lady” graphic novel series. School Lunch Hero Day provides an opportunity for parents, students, school staff and communities to thank those who provide healthy meals to nearly 30 million of America’s students each school day.
Federal nutrition standards ensure that school cafeterias always offer low-fat or fat-free milk, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein. School meals also meet limits on calories, sodium and unhealthy fats. The importance and nutritional value of school meals are well documented. For many children, school lunch is the most important and nutrient-rich meal of their day.
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students. To find out more about today’s school meals, visit www.schoolnutrition.org/SchoolMeals.
Attention, parents! To learn more about school meals, visit the About School Meals pages. You can find answers to FAQs, hot topics and more. Join schools across the country that are recognizing the difference lunchroom staff make for every child who comes through their cafeteria. Get the details about School Lunch Hero Day at www.schoollunchheroday.com.
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
Mon, May 6, 2024 – Fri, May 10, 2024
Teachers Appreciation Week is an occasion where educators are showered with gratitude and recognition for their invaluable service. It is celebrated across all states on the first full week of May. This year, we will celebrate Teachers Appreciation Week from May 6th to May 10th. It is a time for students, parents, administrators, and communities to come together and express their appreciation for educators’ dedication and hard work.
Teachers invest a lot of time and energy into their students’ success. During Teacher Appreciation Week, let them know how much you appreciate their efforts. This week you will receive correspondence from the PTO on ways to help celebrate Lake Country School teachers!
UPDATE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR
The Lake Country School Board of Education has approved some important decisions to achieve a balanced budget for the 2024-2025 academic year, as well as to improve the financial situation for the 2025-2026 school year.
When I joined Lake Country School in June of 2022, I was made aware that the school needed a capital referendum. The facilities were almost 30 years old, including the physical structure and internal systems like heating, cooling, and technology. As I learned more about the district, I had concerns that needed to be addressed about its financial outlook as well.
During my research, I discovered that the district had been using the fund balance at various times for 10 years to make up for operating shortfalls. Every year, these budget shortfalls were approved at the annual meeting, reducing the district's fund balance over time, and having a negative impact on the district’s finances. The district’s fund balance is our internal line of credit and shows the financial health of the district. In general, a district should have a fund balance of at least 20 percent, but a smaller school district tends to keep a higher balance.
The fund balance at Lake Country School was approaching a dangerous threshold of less than 10 percent. The district began long-term financial forecasting using the Baird Financial Forecasting Model to help guide our decision-making. By November 2022, we learned that the district's financial situation was much more dire as we began looking at the future forecasts.
The Lake Country School District is facing some serious financial challenges due to several factors. One major problem is the decline in the district's enrollment, which has been steadily decreasing. Since the majority of the district's revenues are based on the tax levy, the number of students living within the district directly affects the amount of funds that can be levied. With fewer students, the district can levy less and the state expects us to adjust our programming and staffing accordingly to operate within the revenue limit.
In addition to the decline in enrollment, all schools, including Lake Country, have been negatively impacted by the state's freeze on per-pupil funding in 2021-2023. Districts were instructed to use one-time ESSER funds from the federal government to balance their budgets during this time. Although the state did increase per-pupil spending for the 2023-2025 biennial budget to $325/student, it will not fully cover the funding gap caused by the per-pupil funding freeze.
As we continued to assess the financial status of the school district, it was very clear that we needed to take action. A school district is not allowed to have a negative fund balance. Without implementing a referendum or making significant cuts to spending, the district was at a high risk of a financial collapse, similar to what we have seen happen in another district in the state.
Starting from November 2022, the Board of Education and Administration had discussions with a facilities and referendum company named SiteLogiQ, which has an 85% success rate with their referendum work. The approach was to propose a capital referendum to address building needs and an operational referendum to continue programming and rebuild the fund balance. As the 2022-2023 school year progressed, the board of education and community received updates about the financial stress that the district was facing.
The district took the following actions to address financial difficulties: 1) We did not replace three retiring teachers and a Kindergarten teacher who resigned mid-year. 2) We restructured the post-employment benefit plan for teachers. 3) We explored different benefit plans to find additional savings. On March 17, 2023, a Finance Committee meeting was held in the Lake Country Library, where the district explained the financial situation to the community and the need to seek both an operational and capital referendum. At this meeting, a fundraising effort was initiated, and the PTO raised $107,000 to help defray costs or further reductions for the 2023-2024 school year.
The school district was unable to hold a referendum before April 2024 since there were no state elections in November 2023. The school board chose to protect and maintain current programs for the 2023-2024 academic year while committing to passing an operational and capital referendum.
Beginning in September the district began to ramp up preparations for a referendum. SiteLogiQ presented a comprehensive assessment of the capital needs of the building and outlined the support required for the operational referendum. To help with financial analysis and bonding support, the district engaged with Erik Kass from PMA Financial, Dr. Todd Gray (CPA) and former Superintendent of the Waukesha School District, who is highly regarded in the area of school business finance, and Baird Financial. In December, three listening/informational sessions were held by the district and SiteLogiQ to inform the community about the needs of the district. During this time, a survey was sent out and received 310 responses from the community, which helped provide the board with direction for the referendum.
After conducting listening sessions, building assessments, and financial analysis, the district gained a clear understanding of the magnitude of the necessary improvements for the referendum. The district had requested $9.5 million for capital improvements and $7.2 million over seven years for operational expenses. However, even with the operational referendum, the district was still projecting a deficit and would need to make additional reductions.
In January 2024, the board approved two referendum questions related to capital and operational expenses. The goal was to have a single, consistent increase in taxes for the taxpayers. To achieve this, the operating referendum was a step increase each year to meet the budget requirements, while the debt repayment for capital referendum bonds was structured in such a way that the mill rate increase remained flat at $1.16 per $1000 of equalized value.
A significant amount of effort was made to convey the district's requirements to the community through various channels, such as postcards, a referendum website, social media posts, a mailer, and three community listening sessions. Meanwhile, the board was actively working towards addressing the financial challenges faced by the district. To that end, the board decided to discontinue the post-retirement benefit plan for staff by the end of the 2027 school year.
Despite all the planning and hard work, on April 2nd the operating referendum failed. In hindsight, there are several things that we could have done differently, but unfortunately, it does not change our current situation. This has been a problem for the last 10 years, and we have limited options now. We need to balance the budget, and since there are statutory requirements related to teaching contracts, we must take action by April 30th.
On Friday, April 19, 2024, the Lake Country Board of Education approved non-renewals and reductions that will affect 15 employees across the teaching and support staff in the district. These decisions are not taken lightly. Some positions were eliminated, while others have been reduced. We want to make sure that we are being respectful of all the individuals impacted by these decisions. The board and administration were deeply saddened by the necessity of these actions. These decisions were not related to the performance or the importance of the roles played by these people within the district.
The board and administration have carefully considered all the feedback received from the public and explored every possible option to avoid making these reductions. We can assure you no one wanted to be in this position. The impact to students, staff, and the community has been difficult to say the least. According to state statute, certain areas of public education must be safeguarded. Specifically, for K-8 education, each school board is required to provide consistent instruction by licensed teachers in subjects such as reading, language arts, social studies, math, science, health, physical education, art, and music. Regular instruction in foreign languages must also be provided for grades 7 and 8. Additionally, each school board must ensure that students in grades 5 through 8 are introduced to career exploration and planning.
Although the reductions were necessary, no programs have been completely eliminated. The district is committed to achieving a balanced budget by 2024-2025, which will lead to a much better financial outlook for the 2025-2026 school year.
There is hope for the future, we plan to bring forward another operational referendum in April of 2025, which is the soonest we appear on the ballot according to state statute. The capital referendum did pass, and reduces the risk of a catastrophic financial crisis should one of our main systems fail and we will be able to address many needs of the building.
We will continue to look for ways to strengthen our financial foundation by working with other school districts on shared services and viable options that may present themselves. We have witnessed the passion and support of this community. It is now time to come together and put an end to this chapter of financial distress, and refocus on achieving excellence in education.
Sincerely,
Chad E. Schraufnagel
ARROWHEAD A STICKERS FOR SALE
FOR SALE IN THE LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL OFFICE
$3/each or 2 for $5 - Proceeds support the scholarship fund for graduating seniors at Arrowhead High School!
SUMMER SCHOOL
Arrowhead Area Summer School Cooperative at North Lake School
Summer School will be held at North Lake School.
Registration opens April 4 online at www.2024summerschool.com
Questions: summerschool@mylakecountryschool.org
GRADE 8 YEAR END EVENT INFORMATION
DEVICES (PHONES, WATCHES, ETC)
If a student brings an ECD to school, it must remain in the student’s locker and be turned off until the end of the school day.
Lake Country School’s policy on student cell phones, smartwatches, and other telecommunication devices as outlined in the Student/Parent Handbook and Technology Use Agreement: Students are prohibited from using or possessing any electronic communication devices (ECDs) including, but not limited to, cell phones, I-Pads, I-Pods, smartwatches, and others during the school day or at school-sponsored activities that occur during the regular school day unless given permission by a teacher for educational purposes only. If a student brings an ECD to school, it must remain in the student’s locker and be turned off until the end of the school day. MORE INFORMATION
HOMEWORK HELP
Monday's and Thursday's 3:20 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Room 202. Lake Country School students in grades 3-8 are able to drop-in after school on Mondays and Thursdays (through May 20) for Homework Help. Students must have homework and/or a book to read. A parent or guardian must sign a permission slip for the school year in order for their child to drop in. If there is no school on Monday or Thursday, there will be no Homework Help. CLICK HERE FOR THE PERMISSION SLIP
STUDENT COUNCIL EVENTS
PROJECT LINUS
Student Council has recently taken on a new community service project called Project Linus. Project Linus is an organization that takes homemade blankets and distributes them to local children in need. We are looking for donations of polar fleece that are 50” x 60” and must be new, smoke and pet free. Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby are great locations to get the fleece from. We also accept monetary donations which will be used to buy more materials, as well as fabric scissors. Checks should be addressed to “Lake Country School” with “Project Linus” in the memo. At this time, Student Council members will be the only ones working on the blankets. Contact Mrs. Thurin with any questions at thurinh@mylakecountryschool.org.
STUFFED ANIMAL DRIVE
SPIRIT DAYS - WEAR YOUR LCS WEAR
Next Student Council Meeting: May 7, 2024
LAKE COUNTRY SCHOOL PTO
Lake Country PTO is a nonprofit parent teacher organization whose membership includes all staff, parents, and legal guardians of students attending Lake Country School. The PTO’s mission is to establish a close relationship between home and school by advancing opportunities for all parents to become involved in the Lake Country School community.
The PTO sponsors assistance to teachers in classroom settings, raises funds for supplemental educational materials and experiences, supports school and family social interaction, and provides a forum for sharing information on issues that impact our children. The PTO believes that when parents support school through a positive partnership, it offers the best possible learning environment for our children.
🔆 LCS PTO Kringle Fundraiser
It’s Kringle Time!! Information will be sent home with students (Youngest or Only child) on April 15, 2024 . Order forms are due on May 1, 2024. Pick up is May 9, 2024. Spread the word to family and friends about the annual LCS PTO Racine Kringle Sale! Remember Kringles freeze really well and would be a great addition to Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial day, or any day you need a sweet treat! 12 delicious Flavors. $12 each
🔆 Spring Dance
May 10, 2024 - 4K - Grade 5 students and their families!
🔆 Lake Country School PTO is on Facebook!
ARROWHEAD HIGH SCHOOL CAMPS & ACTIVITIES
📌 COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD 📌
Lake Country Swim Team
LAKE COUNTRY COMMUNITY SWIM LESSONS
Where: Arrowhead High School
When: June 10-August 1 st
Lake Country Community Swim offers youth swim lessons at Arrowhead High School from June 10th-August 1st . We offer Group Learn-to-Swim (5 years and over), Group Pre-School (3-5 years old) and Group Parent Tot (9-36 months) lessons. Private lessons are also available. We offer both daytime and evening lessons Monday through Thursday. Schedule will be posted on our website by May 1st and online registration will open on Sunday, May 19th at 9:00 AM. For more information check out our website, www.lakecountrycommunityswim.org.
Arrowhead Area Girl Scouts
Girl Scout Camp
Saturday, May 18th 9:30am-3pm
Chinook Program Center
S62W24528 Townline Rd, Waukesha
Presented by: Your local Arrowhead Service Unit
FREE Event Open To All Girl Scouts Grades K5-12th*
Come and find out what day camp is all about!
A perfect introduction to camp for new campers and a chance for our
experienced campers to have a bonus day at camp! Activities led by our
amazing teen counselors will include crafts, a campfire with singing and
s’mores, a walk around the beautiful grounds of Chinook, and more.
Adults are welcome to attend and participate alongside their scout in camp events.
Troop Leaders - This is a great opportunity to introduce your scouts to camp/outdoor
activities! Let us do the planning so you can spend a fun day with your troop!
*Girls in grades 6+ are invited for counselor training which will start Friday evening.
Grades K5-5th: Sign up here
Grades 6th-12th: Sign up here
For more information on this event click here
For more information on Arrowhead Day Camp click here
Packing List:
Lunch, drink and snacks
Weather appropriate clothing and footwear
Your sense of adventure!
Robotics Summer Class
Sailing School
The Wall that Heals in Hartland
The Wall That Heals on display in downtown Hartland!
The Wall That Heals will be on display May 30-June 2 in downtown Hartland, at Nixon Park, 175 E. Park Avenue.
Lake Country Youth Baseball
LCYBS Youth Baseball Registration is Open!
Dousman Transport is Hiring!
Dousman Transport Co., Inc.
Merton Athletic Association
**Be sure to share MAA News with Friends NEW to the Community**
THIS WEEKEND----BURGHARDT’S TEAM WEEKEND---APRIL 12th-14th
• CLICK HERE for the 2024 Discount Card
• CLICK HERE for more INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEEKEND EVENT
PHOTO NIGHTS:
- Mavericks and Fillies TEAMS—Friday, APRIL 12th at Merton PRIMARY Cafeteria (enter door D). CLICK HERE to see the schedule. (Game Hats will be available to Purchase--$20)
- 4K/5K T-ball/Coach Pitch, 1st/2nd Machine Pitch, Broncos and Ponies TEAMS---Friday, May 17th at Merton INTERMEDIATE Gym. CLICK HERE to see the schedule.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES: (Be part of our MAA grounds crew to prepare Baseball/Softball fields for practices and games)
- Lead Grounds Maintenance Worker
- Grounds Maintenance Workers for the Spring/Summer 2024
- Detailed information can be found on the MAA Website
- Interested Applicants please contact Leslie at actdirmaa@gmail.com
PARENT RESOURCES
Technolgy Tips
Set clear limits for daily screen time use AND for specific topic usage. You can create an action plan that works for your family by using the American Academy of Pediatrics' Family Media Plan
Check in devices with parents or in a general area at night to not disturb sleep
Limit phone use during homework time
Practice what you preach--lead by example with your own screen time use
Monitor media usage- what apps, accounts, sites and games being used
Discuss safety and respectful behavior with media usage
Enforce the rules with your agreed upon technology expectations.
Screen time recommendations from the CDC: CDC: Screen Time vs. Lean Time
Navigating Social Media recommendations from Common Sense Media
Screen time recommendations from the AAP: Media and Young Minds
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Strategies to Make Homework Go More Smoothly
Homework has been around as long as public schools have, and over the years considerable research has been conducted regarding the efficacy of homework practices. Besides contributing to academic success, homework can help teach children how to take responsibility for tasks and how to work independently. Homework helps children develop habits of mind that will serve them well as they proceed through school and through life. Specifically, homework helps children learn how to plan and organize tasks, manage time, make choices, and problem solve. All of these skills contribute to effective functioning in the adult world of work and families. Homework also helps parents stay involved with their child’s education.
We encourage parents to help and assist their children to follow a nightly homework routine. Below are some recommendations from the National Association of School Psychologists. If you have further questions please reach out to your child’s teacher. CLICK HERE FOR HELPFUL HOMEWORK ROUTINES
If you have further questions, concerns or need to collaborate about your child’s education or social/emotional/behavioral health; please reach out to your Student Support Team.
Heather Thurin, School Counselor EXT 132
Kelley Berlin, School Psychologist EXT 134
WELLNESS CORNER
The Lake Country School District promotes a healthy school environment for students and staff through education and awareness, and by providing and promoting healthy options and opportunities. The Lake Country School District will practice and promote good nutrition within the school setting. Students who practice good nutrition attend school with minds and bodies ready to take advantage of their learning environment. Eating habits are learned early in life. Therefore, the School Board, administrators and staff support a school environment that promotes and encourages lifelong nutritious eating habits.
Trail Mix Cookies
WILDCAT CLIP SUBMISSION DETAILS
- E-mail submissions to Nicole Brown in the School Office at: brownn@mylakecountryschool.org
- Submissions for the Wildcat Clips must include a contact name and phone number for the readers to contact if they need additional information. Lake Country School District reserves the right to edit and/or limit items submitted.
- Click here for deadline dates and publications.