Spartan Gazette
October 2018
Aaron Tarnutzer, Principal
Building Administrative Assistant: Gina Pili pilig@mcfsd.org
Attendance Line: 608-838-8980
Email: tarnuta@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/middle/
Location: 6330 Exchange Street, McFarland, WI, United States
Phone: 608-838-8980
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indian-Mound-Middle-School-McFarland-WI-204736889672509/
Twitter: @ATarnutzer
Welcome to the First Newsletter of 2018-2019 - By Aaron Tarnutzer
Thank you for taking the time to read our first newsletter of the school year. We have had an absolutely amazing start to the school year. I can’t thank you enough for your patience and understanding as we started the school year under a layer of dust. The feedback we have received from you and your kids about the new and improved Indian Mound has been wonderful. I still can’t believe what was accomplished in such a short period of time. We can already see how this new space has transformed our learning and it will continue to have an impact as we settle in. We hope to see you on October 4 between 6:00-7:30 for our official dedication event so you can see how much it has changed. We have been very busy in September with highlights including our 6th graders going to Camp Timber-lee and our school participating in the fun community building event of Banner Day. October brings a focus on bullying prevention and intervention (see more information later in the newsletter) as well as the following events:
Oct. 4: 6:00-7:30pm Community Open House/Dedication
Oct. 5: Student of the Month Assembly
Oct. 18: Family Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 7:00 pm
Oct. 23: Family Teacher Conferences 4:00 - 7:00 pm
Oct. 23: Mix it Up at Lunch Day
Oct. 25: No School - Staff Development Day
Oct. 26: No School - Conference Release Day
Nov. 1: 7th grade Courage Retreat
Nov. 2: Student of the Month Assembly
We look forward to seeing you at IMMS many times throughout the month of October!
Staying Involved By Staying Informed - By Aaron Tarnutzer
I may sound a bit repetitive, but I wanted to reiterate something I shared in the parent tip a couple of weeks ago about staying involved in your child’s education by staying informed. For some reason, when our children are younger it seemed easier to stay informed on the other part of their lives when they are not with us. At IMMS we recognize this challenge and want to make it as easy as possible to be involved at IMMS by first being informed of what is happening. To that end, we have several tools at your disposal:
Phone calls: Staff members will call you to share positive things about your child, and, if necessary, some areas in which they can improve. We will ask, “Is now an okay time?” when we call to honor your time. We will return your phone calls promptly (our goal is 24 hours).
Email: We try to make it clear in the first sentence or two the purpose of the email. Is this a “nice to know” or a “need to know?” We will get to the point, but, when possible, we will make it engaging to read. We will not send you an email for something that applies only to your child and should be discussed in person or during a phone call.
Newsletters: We will put the need to know information first and the nice to know information later.
Web page http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/middle/ : We are continuing to develop new structures to make sure our web page is an up to date and useful resource for families. Our webpage also includes the daily announcements in an effort to directly address your child’s response that “Nothing is going on at school.” We are working hard to put extra copies of forms and handouts on the page as well, in case they don’t make it home (i.e. field trip permission slips). All teachers have webpages and many keep them updated with current units, including important resources.
Assignment Task List: This resource, which you can access from our webpage in the quick links section, lists the current daily assignments and long range assignments for all classes. It is updated each day by 1:00 p.m.
Infinite Campus: We will update grades on Infinite Campus within two weeks of an assignment being due.
Letters: We will only mail home information that is important for you to read.
Facebook: We use the IMMS Facebook page to share interesting stories and events, as well as reminders. If you are on Facebook, I encourage you to “like” the IMMS page.
We hope that these commitments honor your time and provide meaningful ways for you to stay informed and involved at IMMS. If you have any other suggestions or comments, please stop by, give me a call at 838-8980, or send me an email at tarnuta@mcfsd.org
Thank you for your involvement in your child’s education!
October is National Bullying Prevention Month (a.k.a. Empathy Month)
At IMMS we are committed to a comprehensive approach to helping our students display empathy (the E in "We ARRE Spartans,"), and preventing and addressing bullying. While students learned about bullying prevention and intervention beginning on the first day of school, during October and November we add some additional activities including grade level presentations, in class lessons, a survey, staff training, a courage retreat, and stating our commitment to keeping students safe. You can learn more about each of these activities below.
Before we get into these details, it is important to understand the extent of bullying at IMMS. Anecdotally, students who come to IMMS from other middle schools often speak to how much safer it feels at IMMS and that there is less bullying here, but we can’t pretend that bullying does not occur at IMMS. An excellent source of information to answer the question of bullying at IMMS is the Dane County Youth Assessment that was completed in December of 2017 by McFarland students in grades 7 through 12. The survey, which is given every 3 years, asked students questions on a variety of topics such as drug and alcohol use, school climate, and sexual behavior. Here are some highlights from what we learned:
63% of students reported seeing students being bullied at IMMS during the school year, with 39% reporting seeing bullying occur 1 or 2 times.
33% of students reported being picked on in the last 30 days, while 12% stated they had upset other students for the fun of it.
60% reported telling someone to stop harassing another student in the last 30 days.
12% of students admitted to excluding other students from their group of friends.
86% of students reported feeling safe at school.
25% reported being bullied through the internet or text messages in the last year.
15% reported being bullied by others thinking they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender in the past year.
We clearly have work to do. An important part of this process is sharing with you all of the things we are doing, stating our commitment to keeping your child safe, and asking for your help. Bullying is not a rite of passage. It is not something we tolerate or expect to go away if not addressed. It is also something that we, as staff members of IMMS, cannot always see. You, as parents/guardians, are often the first line of defense when dealing with bullying behavior. Your child may share things with you that no one at school knows. We ask that you please share this information with us so that we can work together to keep your children, our students, safe. You can call, stop by, or go to the IMMS website to report online.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, regarding our efforts to eliminate bullying at IMMS, please contact us or any staff member. Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy article and for your support to make IMMS Bully Free!
1. Grade level presentations: Administration and student services (Counselor and Psychologists) will present information to students as a grade level including that they deserve to go to a school that is free from bullying and harassment and what to do when they see or experience bullying (i.e. being an ally not a bystander, reporting using the report form or online at Sprigeo.com). We also re-teach the "Name it, Claim it, Stop it" strategy that involves naming the behavior ("I just heard you say..."), stating that the behavior is not okay ("I don't like that.."), and telling the person to stop ("It's not funny and you need to stop it). We reference important parts of our School Board Bullying Policy, which is included in our family handbook and can be found on the district website by searching for "bullying" at this address: http://www.neola.com/mcfarland-wi/
2. Lessons: All students participated in a lesson on bullying prevention and intervention on the first day of school. Students in each grade level participate in bullying prevention lessons throughout the year during ARRE Time. For example, all students will participate in a "Use Another Word" lesson regarding how to address inappropriate language (i.e. "that is so gay," "you're a retard") and bullying when it is observed. A special emphasis is placed how to be an assertive ally and not aggressive by retaliating. Additional lessons occur on an ongoing basis throughout the year, with an emphasis on integrating the lessons into existing content area units (i.e. Language Arts).
3. Survey: Each fall students complete an anonymous online survey regarding their experiences with bullying. We use this information to help us better prevent bullying and intervene if it does occur.
4. Staff training: Each October we provide training to staff focusing on preventing, identifying, and addressing bullying (i.e. being present and visible during unstructured times in the hallways and recess). We reinforce these skills throughout the year.
5. Staff statement to students: On a designated day in October each teacher shares with their students in each period their commitment to keeping them safe and their right to be free from bullying and harassment. It is powerful for students to hear this same message throughout the day.
6. Courage Retreat: On November 1st our 7th grade students and staff will participate in a “Courage Retreat” that is facilitated by a group called Youth Frontiers with help from high school mentors. During this day long activity students will work in small and large groups to empower students to face their fears and create a positive school community. You can learn more about the Courage Retreat here: http://www.youthfrontiers.org/courage-retreat/
2019 IMMS Drama
The 2019 IMMS Drama Production Madagascar A Musical Adventure Jr. will be on January 24th, 25th and 26th 2019 at the Stoughton HS Auditorium.
Applications will be available with detailed information on October 15th. Students must turn in an application and signed permission form no later than Friday, October 19th at 3:45 pm.
No late applications will be accepted.
Spots in the program are limited. 75 cast members and 20 crew members will be selected based upon answers to the application questions and availability for rehearsals.
All selected cast members will be singing, dancing and acting in the production.
Roles will be selected based on auditions.
Please check your conflicts before committing to the production.
Scholastic Book Fair
Our Scholastic Book Fair is a reading event that brings to school the books kids want to read. It’s a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level. Please make plans to visit our Book Fair and be involved in shaping your child’s reading habits.
Book Fair dates: Wednesday,, October 17 – Wednesday, October 24
Shopping hours: Students are able to purchase books when they come to preview the fair with their ELA classes, we will also be open during Parent Teacher Conferences, Thursday, October 18th AND Tuesday, October 23rd.
To find out more information about our Book Fair, including volunteer information, book titles, hours, buying online, and an app to find just right books, check out the Book Fair Website. We are expanding the Book Fair this year so we will need MANY VOLUNTEERS. Please help us out!!
We look forward to seeing you and your family at our Book Fair! Remember, all purchases benefit our school. For any questions, please contact the IMMS Library at 608-838-4575.
Solo and Ensemble Festival
Wednesday, November 14
7th and 8th grade Band and Choir students, 6th,7th and 8th grade Orchestra Students will participate in the Local Solo and Ensemble Festival at IMMS. Students will perform at a scheduled time between 4:15 and 8:15 pm. More information will be coming from Mr. Vanderbloemen, Mrs. Lemens and Mrs. Hershey regarding the event. It's a great evening of music!
Students of the Month
Youth of the Month
Outdoor Education at Timber-lee
Unit VI students recently returned from their outdoor education experience. They spent three days and two nights at Timber Lee Center located in East Troy, Wisconsin. They had 15 different classes; studying everything from canoeing and geology to leaf classification. They also square danced and played capture the flag.
In addition to nearly 200 sixth grade students, many IMMS staff went along on the adventure and we had more than 70 parents who were able to attend camp with their children. Everyone had a remarkable time! The parent volunteers were wonderful, and truly made a positive impact on the success of our outdoor education experience. Our sixth graders were very motivated and well behaved. They represented IMMS with the highest of standards and they made us all very proud to say we are from McFarland. This is a wonderful experience for our sixth graders, and we hope to be able to continue with outdoor education for many more years to come!
IMMS Family Fun Night
Koats for Kids
Gently-used winter outerwear of all sizes are requested and appreciated, as are snow pants, scarves, hats and mittens and gloves. Items which continue to be in greatest demand include infant and toddler snowsuits and jackets, larger teen jackets (sizes 16-22) and oversized adult outerwear (XXXL and larger).
You can set up a coat collection in your school and then make daily, weekly or a one-time drop-off at any Klinke Cleaners location. Klinke Cleaners will clean all of the donations and give them to Community Action Coalition. That organization will distribute the donated clothing to families in need between October 16 and November 8.
Please see the attached poster and feel free to print and hang out or distribute around the school.
Throughout the campaign we look for interesting stories to feature on our daily KOATS updates, so please inform us if your school participates. We’d love to give you an WISC-TV 3 on-air shout-out! Call (608) 277-5226 or email Mary Kleppin at mklepping@wisctv.com.
KOATS FOR KIDS is in partnership with WISC-TV 3, Klinke Cleaners, Community Action Coalition, and Magic 98.
Thanks so much for supporting KOATS FOR KIDS, and we hope you’ll consider donating your winter coats, hats, scarves and mittens to community members in need!
McFarland Youth Center
Hello Parents and Guardians,
McFarland Youth Center members have had a great start to the school year with art, sports, science and cooking projects.
We have another exciting month ahead of us in October and will be adding two new clubs to our activities (DND and Drama).
Attached is October's programming calendar, see below for key dates for the month of October
Key Dates and Closings:
Wednesday, October 10th: Girls group 6:00 to 7:30 PM. (MYC is also open our regular drop in hours 3-6)
Thursday, October 11th: Boy group 6:00 to 7:30 PM. (MYC is also open our regular drop in hours 3-6)
Thursday October 25th: MYC open 1:00 to 5:00 PM (Non School Day)
Friday October 26th: MYC open 1:00 to 5:00 PM (Non School Day)
McFarland Youth Center is a free nonprofit youth center for middle school youth, if your youth will be new to MYC please visit our website to access the required pledge form: https://www.mcfarlandyouthcenter.org/
MYC is open Monday to Friday; 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm during the school year.
**Schedule is tentative, check calendar.
As always, please don't hesitate to call or email with any questions or concerns. Or visit our Facebook page and website.