Panther Digest

Dear Prairie View Families,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We are thrilled to have everyone back and are excited about the great start we've had. Our Open House was a huge success, and today’s first day of school was filled with energy and excitement!

This year, our theme is "You Belong," and we are dedicated to ensuring that every student feels a strong sense of belonging at PVES. Our school mission is to ensure high levels of academic, social, and emotional learning for all, and we are eager to partner with you in making this a fantastic year for our students.

Thank you for your support, and here's to a wonderful year ahead!

Warm regards,

Valerie Vos, Principal

9/3 First Day of School

9/9 PTO Meeting, Library, 7:00 p.m.

9/26 School Picture Day, 8:30-11:00 a.m.

9/26 EARLY RELEASE @ 1:35 p.m.

We would like to welcome the following staff members to our building this school year:

Kindergarten Teacher: Ms. Anna Bechtel

Art Teacher: Mrs. Rachel Bergman

Band Teacher: Mr. Reid Montanye

Orchestra Teacher: Ms. Jasmyn Kosier

Special Education Teacher: Mrs. Christina Martello

Special Education Paraprofessional: Mrs. Amber Oetlinger

Special Education Paraprofessional: Mrs. Sara McGlothlin

Speech and Language Pathologist: Alyssa Oldenburg

Recess Monitor: Elyse Kelliher

Kitchen Staff: Danielle Pauc, Diane Botic, Sharon Machajewski

School starts promptly at 8:30 AM, and it is essential that students are in their classrooms by this time, as instruction will begin at 8:35 AM. If a student is not in the building by 8:30, parents will need to sign them in at the office. Please ensure that all students are ready to start their day on time to maximize learning opportunities.

Kindergarten - 6th Grade:

8:30-3:35 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Students can start getting dropped off by 8:18 AM. Students need to be ready to learn at 8:30 when the final bell rings.

If you need to leave the car to help your child get out of the vehicle in the morning, please pull off to the side visitor parking spots and help your child cross to an adult.

At the end of the day, parents picking up students must wait outside the designated doors. Please see image below for details. Parents may not enter the building during drop off and pick up.

4K Schedule:

AM Session: 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. (Monday - Friday)

PM Session: 12:30 - 3:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday)

The safety of our students and staff is the top priority of the Mukwonago Area School District. Each year, district schools practice the Standard Response Protocol which include hold, secure, shelter, lockdown, and evacuate.

In the past, many of these safety drills were announced in advance to students and staff. However, knowing that these drills are coming limits their effectiveness.

Starting this year, the Mukwonago Area School District will treat September as School Safety Month. During the month, schools will run an evacuation (fire) drill, a shelter (tornado) drill, a lockdown drill and a hold drill. We will provide information to teachers, students, and our families on the meaning of each drill and information following each drill to let you know that it has been conducted.

After September, in order to help everyone practice the Standard Response Protocol as effectively as possible, our safety drills – including holds and lockdowns – will not be announced in advance. However, you will always receive communication from your school after a safety drill – including a lockdown, hold, or secure – is held.

Please talk to your child about the importance of safety drills and being prepared for an emergency. The district is confident this will help our students and staff be as ready as possible for any situation that may occur.

We are excited to announce our new partnership with Playworks to create a safe, healthy, and inclusive recess experience for all of our students. As part of this program, a Playworks coach will be at our school one week per month to attend all recesses, teach new games, and help us build an outstanding recess environment. This initiative is being implemented across all MASD elementary schools, thanks to a grant from our student services department.

As we start the school year, students will have the opportunity to enjoy our new outdoor recess equipment and access to some games they’re already familiar with from PE class. Initially, they will play games like 500 with the football, lightning with the basketballs, soccer, kickball, volleyball, and tag. As the year progresses, more games will be introduced and learned.

Additionally, we’re thrilled to offer our older students the chance to become junior coaches, where they will engage and lead younger students in games at recess. We look forward to a fantastic year of play, learning, and growth for all our students!

On behalf of the PBIS Team at Prairie View, we are happy to welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the PBIS program at Prairie View. PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports designed to acknowledge appropriate student behaviors in school. PBIS strives to teach students consistent school expectations, acknowledge when students act responsibly, and re-teach expectations to encourage successful behavior.

There are three foundational components of the PBIS Program at Prairie View that we call Panther Pride. These components will be taught, reviewed, and reinforced daily throughout the school year.

• Be Respectful

• Be Responsible

• Be Safe

There are a number of rewards and incentives that students are able to work toward as part of the PBIS program. These rewards and incentives include the following:

• Blue Paw Tickets

• Individually earned for displaying expected positive behaviors. Students can turn in Paw tickets to earn incentives from their teacher.

• Red Paw Tickets

• Classroom earned for displaying positive behaviors as a class.

• Panther of the Month

• Monthly, teachers nominate a student who exhibits the characteristic of the month (ie. gratitude)

It is our goal to create a safe, secure, and inviting atmosphere at Prairie View where students take risks, accept challenges, and make mistakes - because this is how learning takes place! We firmly believe that all students can succeed and we consider it a privilege to be able to work with your children in the pursuit of helping them be their personal best. Through the implementation of our PBIS program, we know our Prairie View Panthers will succeed!

Earlier this summer, the MASD school board approved Policy 5136 - Personal Communication Devices (PCDs). PCDs are defined in Policy 0100 as including "computers, laptops, tablets, e-readers, cellular/mobile phones, smartphones, and/or other web-enabled devices of any type."

The new policy prohibits students from using their own personal communication device - specifically cell phones - during the school day and during school-sponsored activities. Except as authorized by a teacher, administrator or IEP team, students must power off their cell phone and other PCD and store them out of sight at all times once they have entered the building for the school day.

This policy means that no student may have a cell phone or other PCD out during the school day, unless the child has a confirmed medical condition or which requires the use of their cell phone or other PCD.

The new policy has been created to combat the excessive distractions and interruptions cell phones cause to learning during the day and reduce the number of negative student behaviors exacerbated by social media and phones while at school. The increase in mental health concerns with our nation’s children has been well-documented in recent years and it is hoped that having a cell phone free environment will reduce behavioral issues and improve student learning.

Students who violate this policy may have their cell phone or other PCD confiscated and held until a parent picks up the device at school. This means that the only way a student will have a confiscated cell phone or PCD returned is by parent pickup.

If the violation involves an invasion of another person’s privacy, the student may be directed to delete any audio, pictures, and/or video files while the parent is present. If the violation involves potentially illegal activity, the confiscated cell phone or other PCD may be turned over to law enforcement.

Parents are reminded that the best way to get in touch with their child during the school day is by calling the school office.

We have made revisions to our school handbook for this year. Please review this handbook for updated school policies and procedures.

Picture day is scheduled during the morning of Thursday, September 26th. Pictures will be taken by Network Photography. Picture forms will be available on the Prairie View website. Picture packets can be ordered and paid for online only, directly to Network Photography. More information will be posted on the Prairie View website.

You can check online to see which library books your student has checked out! Go to our school website, www.masd.k12.wi.us and if you scroll down there is a “Family & Student Login” button (yellow computer icon button). Use the “Destiny” icon for library software. Then choose your child’s home school and log in on the top right corner.

Your student should login with Google (their username is their network log in name, 4 letters of their last name and 4 of their first - ex: John Smith would be smitjohn@stu.masd.k12.wi.us) Students in Grades K-3 have their password set by their teacher and students grades 4 and up set their own password. Your child is very versed on using this login information on websites on Chromebooks at school so you can ask them!

Once logged into Destiny, you can go to the tab on the top labeled “MY INFO” and it will show the items checked out, date, and due date. Please let your child’s LTS (Library Technology Specialist) know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Drivers are instructed to pick up students at assigned stops only. This prevents students from dangerously walking or running along town and subdivision roads to another location. Students have ample time to socialize with friends at scheduled recesses and after school hours. Thank you for following your assigned scheduled bus stop.

At Prairie View we encourage a strong partnership between the home, school, and community, and recognize a positive relationship between good school attendance and success in school. If student learning and growth are to take place, parents, students, and school personnel must recognize their responsibilities to assure regular attendance. We now have two methods available to report a student absence.

New Infinite Campus Parent Portal Feature - Absence Requests

Parents are now able to submit absence requests via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or Mobile App. School staff can review and process requests to automatically update attendance. Save time and make your absence requests via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal!

School Attendance Line: 262-392-6310 (Then Press 1)

The Prairie View School Attendance Line offers 24 hour voice mail messaging. Please call the main office numbers 262-392-6310 and listen for the prompts. All absences and tardies should be called in by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the absence or tardy. The message should include the child’s name, the teacher’s name, and the reason for the absence. If your child will be late, please include their hot lunch choice (option #1 or #2) OR cold lunch.

The office will contact the parents/guardians of absent children when a student absence has not been received either via phone call or Infinite Campus entry by 9:00 a.m. on the day of absence.

Please note any pre-planned absence exceeding one day, a Planned Absence Form should be completed and turned in to the office PRIOR to the date of absence.

All birthday treats sent to school must be pre-packaged or packaged into easy to serve individual servings. All treats must be sensitive to any allergies within the classroom. Balloons and decorations should be kept at home to celebrate with your family.

All volunteers are required to complete an online application form prior to volunteering at school. You will need to complete the online volunteer application no less than five school days prior to your first volunteer assignment in our schools. Volunteers will be required to provide a social security number and birth date for the criminal background check. Once approved, volunteers can volunteer in any building within the district. The online application can be found on the Mukwonago Area School District website at www.masd.k12.wi.us under Families / Quick Links / Volunteering. Once approved, the application is good for two years.

Attached below are guidelines to help parents and school districts determine when to keep children/students home from school. The recommendations are based on guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health professionals. They were developed to help prevent the spread of potentially contagious disease. Home is the best place for a child who is ill. If your child is sick with a diagnosed communicable disease, please notify the school as soon as possible. This notification will greatly assist others who, due to medical reasons and/or treatments, have weakened immune systems and may require immediate and specialized care.

Mukwonago Area School District has various options available to Parents/Guardians related to Internet Safety and monitoring student activity. Parental controls for Chromebooks are also available via Aristotle Internet Referee. For more information on how parents/guardians can take advantage of available options, please click this link.

Parents will need to put money into their child's lunch account through the Infinite Campus Portal. You may check the balance at anytime by accessing the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. You will receive an automatic low balance or negative balance phone call if your child needs money added to his/her account. Payments may be made online through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, or paid by check made out to MASD and sent to the school office. The hot lunch price for this year is $3.20 and includes one milk. If a child takes a milk with a cold lunch, they will be charged $0.50

The 2024-2025 elementary registration fee is $61.00. This fee may be paid through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal (preferred method). You may also pay by check made payable to MASD. Please be sure to include your student(s) name on the check and/or envelope to ensure that the payment is applied to the correct student accounts. Fees should be paid prior to the first parent/teacher conference in October.

The district will have a grace period waiving the service fee assessed to parents for online payments made now through September 30, 2024.

Students in 4th grade are eligible to join the orchestra and learn to play a stringed instrument (violin, viola, or cello). If you didn’t get a chance to sign up last spring and would like to join before our first lesson, it’s not too late! Please reach out to Ms. Kosier at kosieja@masd.k12.wi.us to get the information you need and to get enrolled into the orchestra.

Ms. Kosier

We will be providing families with access to a student directory this year.

The following information will be listed in the Student Directory:

Student Last Name, First Name, Homeroom, Grade Level

Guardian's Name

Street Address

City, State, and Zip

Parent Contact Email

Parent Phone Number

Please complete the opt-out form below if you wish to NOT have your students information in the directory. We will be sending home paper copies of the opt-out form at Open House.

A great to learn more about Prairie View, connect with parents and get involved is to attend a PTO meeting. The goal of the PTO is to support students and teachers as well as build a strong "school-family-community" connection.

Join us for the first PTO meeting on September 9th.

Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and is located in the Prairie View Library.

Click HERE to learn more about the PVES PTO, upcoming events, meetings and ways to get involved.

We need your HELP for Harvest Fest 2024! Harvest Fest is Prairie View Elementary School's largest fundraiser. These essential funds help to support PTO and student activities for the year like playground equipment, Halloween Dance, after school clubs, field trips, teacher appreciation, and more!

Last year through Harvest Fest we raised over $13,000.00!! Our participation in Harvest fest requires that we provide volunteers to work the festival. The funds we raised last year were possible due to teacher and parent volunteers who took a couple hours of their time to volunteer and make the event a success.

Can we rely on you in September to help at Harvest Fest? We are seeking volunteer commitments now to help ensure we have enough people to pull off our portion of this event and raise even more funds for our kids! Below is the signup link. Please click the link and select at least one volunteer time and activity. Two hours of your time makes such an incredible impact on the school!

Link to Volunteer Sign Up

Please feel free to reach out to the office staff with any questions or concerns:

Mrs. Valerie Vos, Principal

262-392-6310, ext. 26500

vosva@masd.k12.wi.us

Mrs. Ann Dudek, Administrative Assistant

262-392-6310, ext. 26501

dudekan@masd.k12.wi.us

Mrs. Tara Rice, Clerk

262-392-6310, ext. 26502

riceta@masd.k12.wi.us

Mrs. Cindy Fendryk, Health Assistant

262-392-6310, ext. 26503

fendrci@masd.k12.wi.us