WIS Express
June 2020
Waubesa Intermediate School Information
School Principal:
Corey Shefchik
Associate Principal:
Al Northouse
Building Administrative Assistant:
Arlene Bast (608) 838-7667
Email: shefchc@mcfsd.org
Website: http://www.mcfarland.k12.wi.us/schools/intermediate/
Phone: 608-838-7667
A Note From Our Principals...
Happy June!
Welcome 2nd grade families to the Waubesa community! We’ve enjoyed seeing so many of your children in their classroom Zoom meetings as we talked about their exciting transition to WIS in the fall.
3rd, 4th, and 5th grade families, thank you for your partnership this school year, especially during the past nine weeks of Distance Learning. We are grateful for your patience as we transitioned teaching and learning from a person-to-person experience to a virtual experience - Thank you! We know that you managed the natural emotional struggle that occurs as part of the learning process and the frustration when technology wasn’t working - Thank you! We appreciate you reading all of the communications and completing the numerous surveys that informed our work - Thank you! Most importantly, thank you for encouraging your child to do their best as they were attempting to do “school” from a distance when so much of what they knew as “school” was flipped. As we approach summer, we wanted to let you know that we’ll be keeping the WIS Distance Learning website active all summer for students and families. Feel free to access those activities, but please know teachers will not be monitoring the activities.
In this edition of the WIS-Express, we’re excited to share with you the following:
Review of the June 4-5 Student Supply Pick-up and Drop-off Procedures for current students in grades 3-5.
Recap of the transitions for our 2020-2021 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. You will find a school tour, staff introductions, and grade level overviews.
2020-2021 WIS schedule updates. These updates are not in response to the COVID-19 situation. When we have information about how school will look next year in response to the impacts of COVID-19, we will share that with you.
Summer reading opportunities from Ms. Evans, WIS Library Media Specialist, and Miss Heather from E.D. Locke Public Library.
An Update on 5th grade school supply lists for the fall.
5th grade Orchestra sign-up information from Ms. Hershey.
5th grade parents/guardians, thank you for walking with us to support your child the past three years. We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know and work with your child. We’re confident they’ll use their Waubesa POWER at IMMS and beyond as they continue their journey as the Class of 2027. While their time was shortened this year, they will leave a lasting impression of being a kind and respectful class.
We wish you a safe, healthy and relaxing summer. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Waubesa Pride,
Corey Shefchik and Al Northouse
June Calendar Updates
June 4 - Noon - 6pm - Student personal item pickup and school-issued item dropoff
June 5 - 9am - 3pm - Student personal item pickup and school-issued item dropoff
June 5 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR
June 10 - 6:30 pm - Q&A Session regarding 2020-2021 Schedule Updates via Zoom (see below for more information)
Personal Item Pickup and School-Issued Item Dropoff for Grades 3-5
Dear Current Waubesa Families,
We hope this message finds you doing well. We continue to miss seeing you and your students at school and are grateful for your partnership with us during this unprecedented time. Thank you! This message includes an outline of how we will handle returning student-owned items and collecting school-issued items for the summer.
A few items to be aware of:
Yearbooks will be placed in the student bags.
Students will keep their iPads over the summer.
If you still have medications at school, you should have received a message from our District Nurse, Christin Strong, with options for picking up medications on June 4 and 5.
Normally students return their school-issued items and take home their personal items during the last few days of school. This year we will need to take a different approach. While we know this message is long, please read carefully as we work to create a safe and efficient process. While everything is written below, please check out the PDF document that spells out the information more visually.
Prior to coming to school for curb-side item pick-up/drop-off
Place a sign on your dashboard “Last Name, First Name” using the provided template. Please use a new sign for each child.
Families/Students place school-owned items into a clear bag with the student’s name (last name, first name) and a list of all items included in the bag.
Include any school owned materials such as library and text books. Please place library books in a separate bag when possible.
Parents place the container of school-owned items in the trunk before leaving home.
If a child’s parent is not able to come to school for item pick-up, please contact the building principal to make arrangements for who will be coming instead of the parent.
Pick-up times will be staggered alphabetically by last name to minimize traffic volume and are consistent across buildings so you’re able to complete the pick-up process at multiple schools in one trip. Families are encouraged, but not required, to come at the specific times assigned based on their last name. The times are:
12:00 - 2:00: A-H
2:00 - 4:00: I-Q
4:00 - 6:00: R-Z
9:00 - 11:00: A-H
11:00 - 1:00: I-Q
1:00 - 3:00: R-Z
Curb-side Pickup Procedures:
Parents/students arrive at pick-up site and remain in vehicles during pick-up.
Staff members act as runners, retrieving students’ storage bags from the staging area and placing items in trunks.
Driver opens the trunk upon arrival.
Staff member places student-owned items in the trunk and removes school-owned items and closes trunk
Please see the attached map of the traffic pattern. As much as possible, please enter the lot from the west, and make a right turn into the lot. This will keep the street open for our neighbors.
Please reach out to us if you have any questions. Thank you for your flexibility with this process!
Student Transitions to 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade
With the school closure, we were unable to prepare our students as usual to transition from one grade to the next. In a typical year, we connect them with the grade level they will be moving to by introducing them to some of the teachers and sharing a few highlights of that grade.
Since we are unable to do that in the traditional sense, we have created some documents that we hope you’ll be able to share with your children. We will also be putting this information on the Distance Learning Website so you can access the information when you learn about your child(ren)’s placement in early August after registration.
We understand that this is not a perfect solution, but we hope it brings a little excitement and energy to our students as we transition back to school.
School Video Tour (Link)
All About 3rd Grade (Link)
The 3rd Grade Teaching Team (Link)
All About 4th Grade (Link)
The 4th Grade Teaching Team (Link)
All About 5th Grade (Link)
The 5th Grade Teaching Team (Link)
The Related Arts Teachers (Link)
The Office Staff (Link)
Student Services Staff (Link)
2020-2021 Scheduling Updates
Please take a moment to view two items:
1. The video presentation of the slideshow that includes an explanation from our principals.
2. The slideshow that includes link to a survey if you have additional questions and/or if you'd like to attend a Q&A session on Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Do you have additional questions or would you like more explanation?
Keep Your Kids Reading, Thinking, and Growing All Summer!
Check out these great options from Scholastic!
Six reading resources your children use at Waubesa!
This presentation includes descriptions of resources as well as videos that show how to access them on iPads.
Summer Reading Opportunities at E.D. Locke Public Library
Update on 5th Grade School Supply List for 2020-2021 School Year
Previously, we had split up the 5th grade supply list by having some families purchase markers and other families purchase colored pencils based on the first letter of your last name. In the past, these supplies had been shared among students in class. Now, we are asking that each student supply their own markers and colored pencils. We have also added a zippered pencil case/pouch to hold these items.
If you ordered school supplies online through the PTO Toolbox order form, you will need to separately buy a zippered pouch and either markers or colored pencils, as we were unable to change the online form in time.
Thank you for understanding!
Our Orchestra is Looking for Interested Students for the Fall!
4th graders
You can choose one of the following:
Violin- The smallest string instrument
Viola - The middle string instrument
Cello - The largest string instrument at WIS
How do I choose an instrument?
Watch the videos on the google form and listen to the instruments. What sound do you like? If you’re not sure, contact Mrs. Hershey and you can talk about it.
Where do I get more information?
Here is more information and FAQs - click this link
Mrs. Hershey - McFarland Orchestra teacher - hershel@mcfsd.org
Check out the orchestra website at mcfarlandorchestra.weebly.com
Videos for the instruments are embedded in the google form.
How do I sign up?
The google form to sign up for 5th grade orchestra is in this link.
5th graders
It’s okay if you didn’t play in orchestra in 5th grade:
You are more than welcome to join us for 6th grade orchestra in the fall. It would be best if you can get started this summer, but no worries if you aren’t able to.
If you played in 5th grade and are considering a different instrument, please contact Mrs. Hershey to discuss your options.
The IMMS orchestra instruments are:
Violin, Viola, Cello, and String Bass
How do I choose an instrument?
Watch the videos on the google form and listen to the instruments. What sound do you like? If you’re not sure, contact Mrs. Hershey and you can talk about it.
Where do I get more information?
Here is more information and FAQs - click this link
Mrs. Hershey - McFarland Orchestra teacher - hershel@mcfsd.org
Check out the orchestra website at mcfarlandorchestra.weebly.com
Videos for the instruments are embedded in the google form.
How do I sign up?
The google form to sign up for 6th grade orchestra is in this link.
AHA Kids Heart Challenge Update
Join the Girl Scouts This Summer!
Region III Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center’s Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtable Series
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Our Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtables are dynamic, online learning experiences aimed at providing an opportunity for parents/ caregivers with different backgrounds (i.e. families of Color, families with varied religious backgrounds, families with children with disabilities, families from disinvested communities, non-traditional families) to talk with and ask questions of an expert in family and community supports, and in home and school partnership, around COVID-19 resources and supports.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This is a parent/caregiver ONLY event. This experience is designed to be responsive to the interest and needs unique to historically underserved families.
We encourage attendance from parents/caregivers with different backgrounds, including, but not limited to:
- Families of Color
- Families with varied religious backgrounds
- Families of children with disabilities
- Families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
- Non-traditional families (i.e. LGBTQ+ parents/caregivers, foster families, grandparent caregivers)
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
June 6, 2020
Balancing Caregiver & “Teacher” Roles at Home
12 noon-1:00 PM EST [11 AM CT; 10 AM MT]
Wondering how other parents and caregivers are balancing the roles of “teacher” and “caregiver” during the COVID-19 pandemic? This Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtable event, facilitated by scholar-mother Dr. Jada Phelps-Moultrie, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, provides a great opportunity for parents and caregivers from different backgrounds to share their concerns, offer ideas, and learn about strategies related to balancing family roles with their new roles as educators at home in the age of COVID-19.
We invite you to join this online event where families can connect, share, and learn!
June 13, 2020
Supporting Emotional Wellness: Coping with Anxiety and Fear During the COVID-19 Pandemic
12 noon-1:00 PM EST [11 AM CT; 10 AM MT]
Every day, we are overwhelmed with news about the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtable event, we invite families from different backgrounds to come together to discuss their anxieties and fears related to the pandemic and learn self and community care strategies for promoting emotional wellness in the age of COVID-19. This virtual roundtable is facilitated by Tracy Pruitt, M.Ed., a trained school counselor specializing in parent support around trauma, grief and loss, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and behavioral and anger management.
June 27, 2020
5 Essential e-Tools & Family Activities for Summer Enrichment
12 noon-1:00 PM EST [11 AM CT; 10 AM MT]
June is the summer season for parents, caregivers, and families to be entertaining their children out of school. But with pandemic closures of many public and educational spaces, how does one keep them entertained and engaged throughout the summer? With so many different online options available, how do you know what to use to best support your school-aged children this summer? This Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtable event is an interactive showcase of e-tools and resource websites for parents, caregivers, and families with varying experience and exposure to internet-based resources. During this showcase, Dr. Rosiline Floyd, Assistant Director of Technical Assistance from the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center, will overview 5 online activities to support summer learning and enrichment for families. Join other families as we learn from each other what engages their students at home this summer during the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing them for successful re-entry into school buildings in the Fall.
The Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center)—a project of The Great Lakes Equity Center, approaches resource and service delivery that is grounded in a multi-tiered framework of technical assistance. Our goal is to engage in well-defined, content-rich technical assistance such that knowledge and expertise are shared in a way that results in transformative systemic change, as well as personal reflection and growth. The Region III Midwest & Plains Equity Assistance Center Families Learning from Families Virtual Roundtable Series is a project within our Tier Two: Learning Networks tier. To that end, we aim to make this unique learning experience available to others across Region III by providing a recording and transcriptions of the Series on our website, as well as posting pictures on our social media platforms. This will not pertain to any concurrent virtual activities with youth.