Madison Memo

• School starts promptly at 8:10am. The soonest your student can be dropped off is 8am as there is no supervision outside prior to this time.
• Please do not allow your students to run across the road outside of the crosswalk areas during drop off and pick up times. We have heavy traffic in the mornings and afternoons and drivers cannot see from every angle around them. Using crosswalks is essential to keeping everyone safe!
• Breakfast runs from 7:45a-8:05a. If your student is eating breakfast in the morning, please have them enter at the gym doors.

• Wednesday, December 6th - Book for a Buck info coming in 12/1 Friday Folder)
• Monday, December 18th - PTO Meeting in the library at 5:30p
• Monday, December 25th - Monday, January 1st - No school; Winter Break
• Tuesday, January 2nd - No school for students; Staff Development Day

If you have any new or gently used gloves, we would LOVE to take them off your hands and put them on the hands of our students who need them! We are in very minimal supply of winter gloves and any donations would be so appreciated!

There will be no Winter concert this year. Instead, there will be a Spring concert. The date is still TBD and we will communicate it with families and friends as soon as it's in place.

Please remember to pack your student's hats, mittens, boots, snow pants and jackets everyday! Unfortunately, we don't have enough extra gloves and coats to go around. If you are unable to provide your child with any of these items, please reach out to the Madison Office at 920-663-9540.

Any donations of mittens, hats and coats would be greatly appreciated!

Just a reminder that a key component to SFA is reading nightly with your child. Please be on the lookout for Read and Respond Sheets in your child's backpack. We appreciate you dedicating 20 minutes Mondays through Thursdays to reading with your child. Your continued support and interest in your child's education is greatly appreciated! If you have any questions or concerns related to all things SFA, please don't hesitate to contact me:

Angela Schardt

schardta@mpsd.school

(920) 663-9352

Our SFA Reading Groups are in full swing! Please continue to be on the lookout for your student's weekly reading log homework that is due on the last day of each week! Happy Reading!

Parents be on the lookout over winter break. Every student will get a BINGO sheet sent home. Try to complete as many as possible and return to it to their teachers after break to earn a prize!

Right now in Life Skills all grade levels are diving into a new program to the Elementary Schools called Xello! If you have other students in Middle or High School, you may have already heard about Xello and how it's used to help students explore their futures. Here is a summary of what your child will learn as they progress through Xello lessons here at Madison:

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Alysa Holly

School Counselor

Madison Elementary

hollya@mpsd.school

920-663-9662 (o)

Guardians can now make updates to their household information from in their parent portal in IC! If you need to update you address, phone number, place of employment, emergency contacts, etc. please log into your parent portal to do so. If you need to set up your parent portal or have forgotten your username or password, please contact the Madison Office at 920-663-9540 for assistance.

Upcoming Events

• Book for a Buck – Wednesday, December 6th. Students will have the opportunity to purchase a book for one dollar. Money can be given to their teacher before day of event, max $3.
• PTO Meeting - Monday, December 18th at 5:30pm in the Madison Library
• Snowball Dance - Friday, January 26th, 6-8pm
• Madison Elementary Family Night at WI Herd game – Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 7pm

• The first day of Winter usually lands on December 21 or 22.
• December 4th is National Cookie Day, but cotton candy, pie, brownies, and cupcakes are also celebrated during December.
• In the Northern Hemisphere, December is similar to June in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The term Yuletide comes from a Norse tradition of cutting and burning a tree to bring in the Winter Solstice. This was to last through 12 days – later known as the 12 days of Christmas.
• December 12th is Poinsettia Day.
• An ancient legend states that forest animals can speak in human language on Christmas Eve!
• An almanac prediction states that if snow falls on Christmas Day, Easter will be warm, green and sunny.
• Hanukkah lasts for eight nights, to commemorate how long the holy light burned.

• Harry Truman was the first president to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House

• The famous dreidel, or four-sided spinning top, was invented as a distraction

• Millions of jelly donuts are consumed in Israel throughout Hanukkah

• Kwanzaa is a cultural celebration, not a religious one

• There are seven principles that represent Kwanzaa:

• • Unity (Umoja)
  • Self-determination (Kujichagulia)
  • Collective work and responsibility (Ujima)
  • Cooperative economics (Ujamaa)
  • Purpose (Nia)
  • Creativity (Kuumba)
  • Faith (Imani)