JC McKenna Newsletter
November 2019
6th Grade Outdoor Day
On Monday, October 7, the 6th Graders had their 10th annual Outdoor Education Day. This year we fished, kayaked, explored the Nature Center, tie-dyed, played spider ball, and tried our hands at archery! It was wonderful to see the students enjoying the beautiful day and working together to problem solve outside of the walls of our school. In June ’20 we are planning to have two additional Outdoor Days and we already can’t wait!
A Message from the Principal
Families of JC McKenna Middle School,
Second quarter is quickly approaching as we tie up first quarter on November 1. Parent teacher conferences are scheduled for November 7 and November 12 from 3-8. Team Time teachers have either sent things home with the students or have emailed parents. Please come to conferences to discuss how your child is doing if you are available. Teachers are willing to meet at a different time if needed. We appreciate your support and although your child may or may not tell you, they also appreciate your support and involvement.
Thank you in advance to the families that were able to help out with the staff dinner for parent teacher conferences. Staff definitely appreciate the dinner after a long day. The PTO has done an amazing job organizing meals for the staff for each set of conferences and we are incredibly grateful.
Speaking of the PTO, you should consider joining the group. They meet the third Monday each month at the TRIS (Theodore Robinson Intermediate School) library beginning at 5:30. Our PTO does a lot of wonderful things for our students and our staff. It is a small group which would like to be able to do more but we need more people to make that happen. The PTO organizes the annual Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree, sold Bucky Bucks and organizes the Evansville Eat Out events. Funds are used to support a variety of things 4K-8th grades such as playground equipment, classroom books, flexible seating options for classrooms and bringing down the costs of field trips to name a few.
If you haven’t driven by JC McKenna lately please take a look when you are in the area. The steel structure is starting to go up! The elevator shaft is also being built and is the most visible solid structure thus far. In case you are wondering, yes we can feel the vibrations throughout the day in different locations. Mrs. Demrow and our Health classes have the best view and also the vibrating work surfaces most often. Somedays are louder than others but our students are resilient and typically continue to work through it. Being able to look outside and see the progress is extremely exciting! The portable classrooms are louder than expected but are working out well. The heat and air conditioning are working well and students have adjusted to the short walk out to Science and Math throughout the day. Referendum updates are shared at https://www.ecsdnet.org/2018referendum/ please take a look to see the other building updates in addition to the JC McKenna progress.
Winter is quickly approaching (insert sigh) and I’d like to take this time to remind everyone to avoid First and Second Street as much as possible for drop off and pick up. Our parking lot will bring some challenges with the snow and the fact that we have limited locations for plowing. This will mean that more staff will need to park on the surrounding streets. Thank you for your cooperation in advance.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, concerns or fun stories to share.
Mrs. Joanie Dobbs
JC McKenna Middle School Principal
Recent Photos of Construction
MS Band performing at the Homecoming Parade
Students Enjoying Some Outside Work Time
Career Day
Eighth grade students will explore potential career opportunities at FutureQuest in Madison on November 21. Over five thousand students and one hundred businesses from the Dane County area will participate in this career expo. Students will interact with professionals and engage in hands-on activities to learn more about the education and skills needed to be successful in the sixteen career clusters. Please encourage your student to ask questions and take advantage of this great opportunity to think about the future.
Chorus
Chorus students received their annual chorus T-shirts this week and posed for pictures at lunch. We did a professional pose, our best “fa la la” face, and a goofy pose. It’s always fun when there’s music involved!
Cross Country
Congratulations to the Boys and Girls XC teams after their great run at the Conference meet at UW Whitewater
The Boys came out with a solid 4th place finish behind top runners Dillion Elliott in 6th place and Gauge Jorgenson in 16th place.
The Girls scored their 3rd Conference Championship in a row behind top runners Rosemary Gallagher in 3rd, Jer'noiva Hermansen in 6th, Tessa Tiedt in 12th, Kelsey Deegan in 13th, Irene Gallagher in 19th and Alyssa Tofte in 20th.
Congratulations to all 43 runners on a great meet and an excellent season!
Girls' Volleyball
7th grade volleyball had a new coach this year! Erica Savignac (Mitten) who is a 2nd year Special Education Teacher at JC Mckenna Middle School decided to coach volleyball for the first time! This season there was 24 girls. Some girls played came with experience, while other girls have never played before. We focused on passing, serving, and having a growth mindset. By the end of this season, the players had shown great improvements! Coach Savignac loved coaching volleyball and is excited to keep coaching next year!
Homework Club
HAVE KIDS WITH LATE OR MISSING WORK??
On Wednesdays (except the 2nd one of each month) each grade has a staffed room for late and missing work--extra help to get caught up.
If your student has 5 or more missing/late pieces of work, you have them come to Homework Club. Simply email your child's TeamTime teacher on Monday or Tuesday to give them a heads-up. Homework Club goes until 4pm.
Spanish Club
Students in Spanish club have been learning about the holiday El
Día de Los Muertros. They have decorated paper sugar skulls and skeletons and will be decorating cookies for the celebration.
Evansville Youth Center Calendars
More Calendar Items
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
November 2019
Craft of the Week:
Halloween!
28—Party
29—Gaga Ball Tournament
30—Madie Fun Night, Gaga Ball Tournament
31—Noodle Wars
1—EARLY RELEASE/NO EYC
Craft of the Week:
Beaded Keychains
4—Simon Says
5—DECA Archery
6—Cornhole Tournament
7—Pickleball Challenge
8—Pickleball Challenge
Craft of the Week:
Crochet
11—Disney Challenge
12—Movie & Popcorn
13—Slot Cars
14—Foosball Tournament
15—Foosball Tournament
Craft of the Week:
Turkeys
18—Karaoke
19—Karaoke
20—Star Wars game Challenge
21—Let’s Cook
22—Just Dance
No Craft of the Week
25—Party!
26—For Sale game Challenge
HAPPY TURKEY DAY/SEE YOU WHEN WE
ARE BACK ON DECEMBER 3
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
December 2019
Craft of the Week:
Clay Ornaments
2—NO SCHOOL/NO EYC
3—Golf game Challenge
4—Twister
5—NERF Wars
6—NERF Wars
Craft of the Week:
Snowflake Cards
9—Sports Resorts Wakeboarding Challenge
10—Spoons
11—Slot Cars
12—Rummikub Tournament
13—Let’s Cook
Craft of the Week:
Pipecleaner Ornament
16—Bottle Bowling
17—Party!
18—Rubic’s Race
19—Skeeball Tournament
20—Movie & Popcorn
20—5:30-8 Lights and Dinner Evening
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYBODY
RETURNING ON MONDAY, JANUARY 6