Bear Facts
Madison Elementary - News for the week of April 1
Madison Elementary School
Email: billingsm@usd231.com
Website: http://www.usd231.com/mde/
Location: 800 W Madison St, Gardner, KS, United States
Phone: (913) 856-0400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadisonElementaryBears/
Twitter: @MDEBears
Vision
Core Values
What's happening at Madison Elementary the Week of April 1
Monday, April 1 - Choir Practice, 7:50 am
Monday, April 1 - Spring Picture Day
Monday, April 1 - PTA Meeting, 7 pm
Tuesday, April 2 - 3rd Grade English Language Arts State Testing, 12:00-2:00 pm
Wednesday, April 3 - Choir Practice, 7:50 am
Thursday, April 4 - 3rd Grade English Language Arts State Testing, 12:00-2:00 pm
Thursday, April 4 - 4th Grade Musical, 7 pm
Friday, April 5 - Madison Spirit Day
Sunday, April 7 - Facebook Live Read Aloud with Dr. Wachel, 7 pm
View our online calendar (select individual events for more details): http://www.usd231.com/MDE/Events:Month/
Next Week's Lunch Menu
Monday - (A) Pulled Pork Sundae (B) Breaded Chicken Sandwich (C) Yogurt Cup
Tuesday - (A) Oven-Fried Chicken (B) Corn Dog (C) Jammy Sammy Plate
Wednesday - (A) Boneless Chicken Wings (B) Cheeseburger (C) Yogurt Cup
Thursday - (A) Cheese Bosco Stick (B) Popcorn Chicken (C) Jammy Sammy Plate
Friday - (A) BBQ Ribette Sandwich (B) Cheese Pizza Wedge (C) Chicken Caesar Salad
View our menu online: http://usd231.nutrislice.com/menu/madison/lunch/
Spring Picture Day Rescheduled
4th Grade Musical - Hats
"Hats! is a musical that celebrates what's underneath ... it starts at the top of your head and makes its way to the bottom of your heart." It features characters defined by their hats, a cast of Milliners (hat-makers), and a couple of characters who set out to find the right hat for them. Along the way we discover what matters most in life.
We will have a dress rehearsal assembly at 2:15. Due to the limited space in the gymnasium and the number of students we have at Madison, we ask that families do not attend the dress rehearsal so that all the other grade level students can attend and experience the music performance. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Thank you,
Ms. Christina Metzger
913-856-0427
Library Media Center Update
Kindergarten: We have been enjoying lots of picture books. We talk about authors who use rhyming words in their books. We have spent some time talking about illustrators and some of the ways they show their artistic abilities in books. We also have talked about nonfiction books and how we use them to learn about different topics.
First grade: We have been having so much fun doing our first research project. The kids each picked a type of spider to research and read a book about it, took notes, transferred the notes to a final draft, and created a cover for their reports. I am so proud of all their hard work. These reports are hanging on the walls outside of the library.
Second grade: We worked on putting book titles in alphabetical order to help with learning how to find the books they are looking for on the library shelves. We also read a cute book picture book titled "The Book of Bad Ideas" and wrote our own book of bad ideas.
Third grade: We just finished up a research project. Each third-grade classroom picked a different habitat to dive deep into while in their classrooms. Then each child picked an animal within their habitat to research here in the library. Our focus was on the adaptations that their animal had to help them survive in their habitat. They learned a lot about their chosen animals and the researching process.
Fourth grade: We started out 2019 researching their famous Kansan. Then moved into finishing up our text features of nonfiction books. Then we were able to do a stem project of making a roller coaster for a marble. The kids were so creative and had a lot of fun working on this challenge. We are now researching states to get them ready for the state parade.
Counselor Corner
This month in our counselor lessons, we will be focusing on personal safety. The Kansas Department of Education has outlined specific curricular standards for counselors. Standard #3 states that students will acquire skills for personal safety, health, and well-being. This includes recognizing the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch, personal boundaries, rights, refusal skills, the safe use of personal information, making healthy choices, and understanding risky behaviors and consequences.
I will be using the P.S. It’s My Body curriculum from Sunflower House for this unit. Sunflower House is a children’s advocacy center serving Johnson and Wyandotte Counties. This curriculum will teach the basic skills - recognize, resist, and report.
Students will learn that it is important to tell an adult if another adult makes you feel scared or worried or tries to trick you. Students will learn that it is okay to say no if someone tries to touch any part of your body in a way that you do not like or makes you feel scared or nervous. Even if it is an adult. Private parts are covered by the swimsuit. These should be covered around other people. No one should touch these parts unless it is a trusted adult or doctor who is offering medical help.
We will discuss the difference between a secret and a surprise. Surprises are secrets that we only keep for a little while and then we tell (like a birthday present). Adults should never ask a child to keep a secret, something you are never allowed to tell anyone. Children should be encouraged to tell any secret to their parents or another trusted adult.
We will also discuss our personal information. It is important for students to know their own address and phone number. This is good for you to practice with your child at home. We will discuss how it is important to not share that information with anyone in person or online without parental permission.
We will learn about making healthy choices for our bodies. It is important for kids to know that our refusal skills can also be used when someone is asking us to do something that is unhealthy or dangerous for our bodies.
Each of the skills will be taught with age-appropriate language and activities provided in the P.S. It’s My Body curriculum and Happy Bear, from Sunflower House, will be visiting our school for grades K-1 on April 12.
If you have questions about this unit, please contact Mrs. Clegg at cleggd@usd231.com .
PTO Information for 4th Grade Families
Kids Helping Kids Update
Make Up Days and the Last Day of School (repeat)
As a result of this season's inclement weather and our responsibility to meet the state of Kansas' requirements for hours completed during the school year, the following adjustments to our calendar are necessary (pending no additional inclement weather days):
- April 22 - Full day of school (originally no school as a result of professional development)
- May 22 - Full day of school (originally a 1/2 day of school)
- May 23 - Full day of school (originally no school if there was no inclement weather). Last day of school for Early Childhood, Kindergarten and 8th-grade students.
- May 24 - 1/2 day of school (originally no school if there was no inclement weather). On May 24, lunch will be served. Dismissal times are as follows: Grades 1-4 - 12:30 pm. Grades 5-11 - 12:00pm. Grades K, 8, 12 - No school.
Please know that Dr. Wachel will be in touch with additional details related to finals schedule, award ceremonies, end-of-year activities, field trips, etc. GEHS graduation will remain on May 18, 2019.
If your child is going to be absent on any of the days listed above due to an already planned activity, please work with Dr. Wachel to make arrangements.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Enrollment for the 2019-20 School Year (repeat)
Parent Input for Class Placements (Repeat)
The vision for Madison Elementary is to create learning experiences for every learner, every day, in every way. It is essential to establish a learning environment that promotes the academic success, personal growth and general well-being of each and every child. As such, it is important we spend time ensuring that every child is placed in a classroom where he/she can thrive to his/her maximum potential. Over the next few weeks, I will begin working closely with classroom, special education and specialist teachers as we begin to focus upon classroom placement for the 2019-2020 school year.
Parent/Guardian input is certainly welcome if parents/guardians would like to share information about their child to support the placement process. The class placement input form has been designed for this purpose. Parents/Guardians are reminded that a request for a specific teacher by name cannot be accepted. Forms that request a teacher by name will not be considered. There are several reasons for this. For example, we could encounter a situation where the team feels two or more students should not be in the same class, yet their parents have requested the same teacher. Furthermore, there may be other reasons which prevent requested placement including confidential factors concerning other students. Additionally, with a growing student population, last minute staff changes may occur which might prevent placing a student in a specific classroom. Parents/Guardians who complete the optional input form will need to have the form completed no later than Friday, April 5, 2019.
Our common goal is to make the school experience the best it can possibly be for every child. The Gardner Edgerton School District is fortunate to have excellent teachers who put children first. We all pledge to you that we will do all that we can to make your child’s education enjoyable, exciting, fun, meaningful and productive.