

Bear Facts
For the Week of February 10
Madison Elementary School
Email: billingsm@usd231.com
Website: https://www.usd231.com/o/madison
Location: 800 W Madison St, Gardner, KS, United States
Phone: (913) 856-0400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MDEBears
Twitter: @MDEBears
Mission
Vision
Core Values
Tuesday, February 14 - Valentine's Day Parties (K-4 2:30-3:00; EC check with your teacher)
Wednesday, February 15 - No School, Family Teacher Conferences
Thursday, February 16 - No School, Family Teacher Conferences
Friday, February 17 - No School, Family Teacher Conferences
Lunch Menu
Just a reminder... Weekly balance reminders are sent to families whose students' account balances fall below zero due to purchases.
Specials Schedule
For a specific class schedule, please refer to the classroom information provided by the classroom teacher.
Monday - Specials Day #4
Tuesday - Specials Day #5
Wednesday - No School
Thursday - No School
Friday - No School
News from Dr. Wachel
Valentine's Day Parties will occur on Tuesday, February 14 from 2:30-3:00. Families will be able to go to the classrooms at 2:15 to set up for the parties. Students are able to bring in Valentine's Day Cards and Boxes and classroom teachers will inform families when the boxes and cards are to arrive in the classrooms.
Here is the link for the February Family Teacher Conferences. Our goal is 100% attendance as we value the opportunity to partner with each family. Be sure to find the time that works best for you and your family to meet with each classroom to discuss the growth of each student.
There will be no school on Wednesday, February 15 through Friday, February 17 due to Family Teacher Conferences as well as on Monday, February 20 due to President's Day. We look forward to seeing all of our students on Tuesday, February 21.
Thank you for your continued support of Madison Elementary. Have a wonderful weekend.
Character Counts Recipients
Congratulations to these Bears for receiving the January Character Counts Award for demonstrating our building-wide expectations - take care of yourself, take care of others, take care of this place.
Left to Right: Colton, Alicia, Connor, Jaxon
February Attendance Recipients
As part of our ongoing goal to encourage regular attendance, we have monthly drawings for students in attendance on a given day each month. Congratulations to these 5 Bears who were randomly chosen to receive a pair of Super Bowl socks (courtesy of Mr. Lee) for being in attendance today!
22-23 Yearbook Sales (Repeat)
Order your yearbook by February 24!
Kindergarten 2023-24 (repeat)
It is hard to believe that we are ready to recruit our incoming kindergartners. To help us better plan for the 2023-24 school year, please complete the link below if you have an incoming kindergartner. If you have a neighbor with an incoming kindergartner, feel free to share the link or direct them to our Madison website to complete the form. Mark your calendars for Kindergarten Rodeo - Friday, April 21 (more information will come soon). We can't wait to meet all of our incoming kindergarten Bears!
Please note that there will be no school for kindergarten on Friday, April 21 to allow our kindergarten team to meet our incoming Bears. Grades 1-4 will still be in session.
Positive Office Referrals
Counselor and Social Worker Corner
Mindful Morning Yoga Club
We have had over 35 third and fourth grade students regularly participate! It has been a GREAT group and I have been SO impressed with how intentional and mindful these students have been during our sessions! Our LAST session will be Tuesday 2/14 at 8am (to make up for the snow day). THANK YOU to all of the parents and caregivers who have made arrangements to make it possible to get them here early! Students who participated may turn in their orange 21-day Llama Flow Challenge page to Mrs. Hodson anytime after February 14 to receive a small prize.
Family Conferences:
We LOVE to partner with families to support the social and emotional well-being of our students! If you would like us to join your conference with your child's teacher OR have a private conference with either of us, PLEASE reach out!
Mental health needs continue to be on the rise for children and families. We wanted to make sure you had access to these crisis resources.
With thankful hearts,
Jackie Hodson, social worker
913-856-0409
Allison Southerland, counselor
913-856-3313
Watch DOGS
If you would like to sign up to be a Watch DOG, sign ups are now available for half day slots. We ask that you sign up at least two days in advance so a schedule can be created and the teachers can prepare for your visit. Volunteers must fill out a registration form and submit it to the office one week in advance of their scheduled day. Thank you for making a positive impact on our Bears! if you have specific questions, please contact Mrs. Daniels and Mrs. Billings at 856-0400.
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Click this link to see our SignUp: You can sign up to be a WATCH DOGS Volunteer here.
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like (please add your child(ren)'s name).
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password.
Note: Signup does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact the Madison Office and we can sign you up manually.
Watch D.O.G.S Apparel - If you would like to order and have the apparel shipped directly to you, please follow this link - DOGS Store
Madison Health Room Overview
As we enter into Fall/Winter, it is a great time to remind our school community of the measures we take to keep students healthy and prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
We reinforce frequent hand washing with our students and coughing/sneezing into a tissue or their sleeve (not their hands).
In addition, we refer to the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) recommendations when determining the need to send a student home from school (see attached document). The JCDHE recommendation chart provides specific guidance on when a student can be readmitted to school.
For example, students should be fever-free for 24 hours WITHOUT using fever-reducing medication before returning to school.
Occasionally we receive questions about head lice management in our schools, and we have an extensive set of resources on our website that can be found HERE.
As needed, we will inform parents when we see an increase in illnesses in our school population with the potential for rapid spread among students and staff (such as influenza) or in the rare instance we have a mandatory reportable disease occur in our population, like Mumps. General head lice notifications are not recommended as they have been found to cause harm and lead to unnecessary treatment. Instead, the school nurse will assess the need for notification individually to those considered close contacts.
The Madison Elementary health room is available if your child becomes ill or injured while at school. Please familiarize yourself with the USD 231 Parent Handbook with details of our Health Services guidelines and procedures. Kansas law requires all students to have on file evidence of required immunizations prior to attending school. The Medication Authorization Form must be completed and signed by the parent or guardian for all medications given at school. It is recommended that medication NOT be sent to school with children. Parents should bring the medication to the health room (8:15 am to 3:45 pm).
A student will be sent home from school with any of the following:
- Temperature 100 degrees or greater, or with incidents of vomiting and/or diarrhea.
- Symptoms related to a possible communicable disease.
- Excessive drainage from eyes, ears, persistent earache, constant cough, or painful sore throat with enlarged lymph nodes.
- Students with acute infectious disease or parasite
Thank you for reinforcing healthy habits with our students. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (913) 856-0450.
Nurse Angie
Birthday Treats
Amazon Smile
Madison PTA
Hello MDE families! We’re looking forward to the return of our Bears for the 2022-23 school year!
Madison Elementary PTA Executive Board Officers
President: Leah Bates
Vice-President: Jessica Grimes
Treasurer: Heather Musselman
Secretary: Andrea Satterfield
Membership Chair: Diane Owen
Madison Elementary PTA Meeting Dates 9/6, 10/3, 11/14, 12/12, 1/9, 2/13, 3/20, 4/10, and 5/1. All meetings will occur in the Madison cafeteria at 7 pm
Email us at: Madisonbearpta@gmail.com Like us on Facebook "Madison Elementary PTA Gardner, KS"
Interested in the Madison PTA Happenings? Stay in the know!
We invite everyone to join the Madison PTA Facebook page. By searching Madison Elementary PTA Gardner, KS under Pages, you will be able to join the group and receive updated PTA information.
If you are interested in joining the PTA, please see the membership form.
GESD RECOGNITION
Nominate a Deserving Student or Employee Today!!!
The GESD recognition program has been established to recognize students and employees who exceed expectations.
"Gardner Edgerton Students of Distinction" (GESD) nominees can be any current student in the Gardner Edgerton School District who exemplifies traits of outstanding character and serves as a positive influence on their peers and the community-at-large.
"Great Employees Serving the District" (GESD) nominees can be any certified or classified employee in the Gardner Edgerton School District who exemplifies traits of outstanding customer service and is a positive influence on students, parents, co-workers or members of the community. The award will be presented on a weekly basis.
Answers to a few questions you may have:
Nominations from previous years have been removed from the database.
Even if a student or staff member has been selected as a GESD in previous years, they are again eligible.
We will recognize our first student and staff member sometime in September. This will allow time for nominations to be submitted.
Nominate a deserving STUDENT by clicking HERE.
Nominate a deserving EMPLOYEE by clicking HERE.