Madison Family Newsletter
February 2024
LETTER FROM PRINCIPAL ESTRADA
Students are currently taking their mid-year assessments in Reading and Math and teachers are excited to share growth, progress and student goals with you!
English Language students will take the Access 2.0 language proficiency tests beginning February 5th. We are so proud of all our multi-lingual students and their amazing progress toward English proficiency and high academic success.
This time of year I am always impressed with our students stamina for learning and problem solving. Watching high level student collaboration and thoughtful goal setting are highlights this trimester for me - Madison learners are transforming from students to scholars and we are super proud of them!
February is also Black History Month, we commemorate the contributions and achievements made by African Americans in the past and present. Matthew Henson, Bessie Coleman, Katherine Johnson, Maya Angelou, Dr. Charles Drew and Dr. Martin Luther King are some of the inventors, scholars and authors that we highlight with our students.
Reminder:
Winter conferences are February 15th and 22nd and the skyward scheduler is open for parents to choose a time. If you prefer you can call the Madison office (320)370-6330 to schedule a time as well.
Thank you always for sharing your children with us each day.
We look forward to seeing you!
Principal Estrada
UPCOMING DATES
- February 1: Literacy Night
- February 3: One District One Book Event
- February 3: Super Saturday
- February 5: Family Advisory Committee Meeting
- February 7: Two Hour Early Dismissal
- February 9: Chinese New Year Party
- February 15: School Conferences
- February 19: NO SCHOOL, President's Day
- February 22: School Conferences
FAMILY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH
When: Monday, February 5th
Where: Madison Media Center (Multiple Language Supports)
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
February Agenda:
Testing and Assessment Overview:
- MCA
- Fastbridge/iReady
- Access 2.0
Madison Online School Store!!
Madison School Spiritwear - Purchase your custom school spirit wear apparel and Spiritwear Direct. All purchases will ship right to your door.
When? All year long!
Why? Every purchase helps fund school programs!
Important information: All orders will be shipped directly to your homes! Click the ‘Weekly Specials’ icon on the website to see which items are on sale each week. Please click the link to order.
Happy Shopping Mustangs! 😊
From Our Classrooms 🍎
KINDERGARTEN
Kindergarten has been stepping up our learning like crazy!
- Learning about fiction and informational text
- Learning about setting, characters, and parts of a story
- Putting letters together to make words
- Social emotional learning
- Learning about trees, wood and natural resources
- Practicing composing and decomposing numbers to 10
We look forward to seeing you and sharing all the wonderful things your kindergartener has learned during conferences! Don’t forget to sign up for a time in Skyward.
Please remember:
- PAKRAT is so important. Your student should bring home a new book each night. You and your child should read the book together and complete the reading log.
- Please be aware of the weather. It is getting chilly, then warm, then wet and back again. Please send the appropriate winter clothes with your student daily – hats and mittens, plus make sure to include boots (the changing weather makes it really messy on the playground) and snow pants.
Thank you for all you do for your Kindergartener. We are a family here and can't do it without working together!
1ST GRADE
Hello First Grade Families!
We are learning a lot of new things this month in First Grade! In reading we are continuing to work on sequencing a story in order and making predictions about what is going to happen next! We are also still working on meeting our weekly Lexia goal to earn a prize at the end of the month. In math we will be learning about collecting data and working on numbers up to 120. We have been busy learning about solids and liquids in science. Students have been working on writing their opinions about two choices! We are busy working and learning and cannot wait to see families at conferences! :)
2nd GRADE
Greetings Friends and Families,
It's hard to believe that January is already behind us! Our students have worked diligently to complete their winter assessments, and we're looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming conferences scheduled for February 15th and February 22nd. During these meetings, we will discuss the progress and results of each student's academics. Our mission is to help students grow their understanding of literacy and math concepts.
Please keep an eye out for more information about conference sign-ups as the dates approach. There are a couple of other dates to keep in mind: February 1st is Literacy Night at Madison from 5:30 - 7:00, and students will be dismissed early on February 7th. We appreciate your attention to these important dates.
In literacy, we're moving on to multisyllabic words and more advanced phonics concepts. Students are encouraged to sound out words by touch spelling and then writing the sounds they hear. We're introducing more vowel teams, diphthongs, and compound words as we explore a variety of genres and use authentic writing to share what we've learned. Keep reading, reading, and reading!
In math, students have completed their work with 2-digit numbers, money, and time. Now, we're diving into place values and 3-digit numbers. Practice with money, time, basic addition and subtraction at home. This will help students improve their automaticity and ability to solve more challenging problems.
Our students are also discovering social and scientific concepts with enthusiasm and curiosity. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
Your 2nd Grade Team
3RD GRADE
Hello third grade families! Wow! We can’t believe it has been a whole month of learning since break. Along with reviewing our Mustang Model (Be Safe. Be Kind. Be Responsible.), we have been working very hard to review our multiplication and division fact families. We are nearing the end of Unit 2 and will soon start looking at finding the areas of different shapes. Please continue working on multiplication and division facts at home with your students. In reading, we have spent some time with finding the main idea and key details of a story. We have also looked for problems and solutions in some stories. We also started a Lexia challenge! Your students are working very hard towards a Pizza Party to celebrate their success in Lexia!
As a reminder, please send your student to school with appropriate winter gear EVERY DAY! Even those days where it seems warmer, the playground is usually wet and muddy. Having boots and snow pants can protect your child’s clothes from getting dirty and wet. Also, please remember to send your student with a different pair of shoes besides their winter boots, as their feet can get very warm throughout the day. This also keeps our students from dragging mud into the classrooms.
As always, feel free to reach out to your student’s teacher with any questions. See you on February 15th or February 22nd for conferences!
Madison Third Grade Team
Mrs. Ortloff, Mrs. Hausmann, Mrs. Zheng, Mrs. Deters, & Mrs. Hartwig
4TH GRADE
Hello parents and guardians,
Here are the updates from your fourth grade team.
First, we are excited to announce that our first field trip will be happening on February 20th (Mr. Moline and Ms. Jacobson's class) and February 21st (Mr. Maas and Ms. Yeh's class). This field trip will be outside, so as we get close make sure your child has winter gear that will keep them warm. We will be providing additional information to parents in the first week of February. We will also be sending home additional permission slip forms to those that did not sign them at the parent/ teacher conferences. We will need these filled out so your child can participate. As always, contact your child's classroom teacher if you have any questions.
Math:
Fourth grade is transitioning from fractions into mixed numbers. We are currently beginning our understanding of adding and subtracting mixed numbers, which requires students to convert the improper mixed numbers to proper mixed numbers. Once completed, we will move into decimals.
Literacy:
We will be moving into our fourth wonders unit, focusing on narrative nonfiction. Our students will identify the main idea, key details, and what the author's purpose and opinion are throughout the nonfiction narratives. We will be taking a lot of elements that we have already covered in units one, two and three, so there will be plenty of time for review, as well as enrichment.
Writing:
Students will be focusing on writing their own narrative nonfiction. This will be done throughout the whole six weeks that we will be doing this unit.
Science/Social Studies:
Fourth grade will be transitioning into different science and social studies units. They have been divided the following ways:
Moline - Social Studies
Jacobson - Life Science
Maas - Earth Science (Water)
Yeh - Social Studies
5TH GRADE
Shivering our way into February, please, please, please, let us know if your child needs snow gear. We have limited sizes and items. We go outside every day, weather permitting, and without proper gear, the students are getting wet and very cold. It makes it tough to learn comfortably after that.
We have been working on fractions and whew, those steps for adding and subtracting get confusing when paired with fractions and mixed numbers. Practicing multiplication facts during down time would really support our students in this process. We are continuing to discuss different genre elements and embark on creating an expository writing sample. Science and social studies continue to vary depending on each class with some students learning about explorers, the environment, force/motion, and landforms.
Conferences are February 15th and the 22nd-Please sign up through skyward family access. If you need assistance, please contact the office.
As the days stay short and the sun stays away, sometimes it’s hard to stay happy and hopeful. Many students find this part of the year to go by slowly and they can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Try to find a moment to connect with your child doing something you both enjoy helping to boost those feelings of success and love.
ALLIED ARTS
The Art room is in full swing! Kindergarten is starting their clay projects and are learning to make pinch pots. In preparation for Literacy Night, the 1st & 2nd Graders are learning to make books with a variety of bindings. The 3rd-5th grade students continue to learn new types of art making and pursue those areas that interest them. It has been so fun to see what draws in each student and how different each student is.
We will be starting our fiber & sculpture centers soon and are in need of some donations. Currently we could use some stuffing for our tiny creatures (like Poly-fil), embroidery thread, scrap fabric, and cereal boxes for building with. Feel free to send it with your student or drop it off in our office. Thank you in advance!
SCHOOL NOTES
FROM OUR MADISON NURSES OFFICE:
Winter Skin Woes-- Our skin is the body's first defense against germs and bacteria. This is why it's important to try and prevent cracks in the bodies "armor." Several kids have been coming to the health office with dry, cracked, itchy skin and cracked painful lips. Encourage your kids to slather on Fragrance Free, Hypoallergenic lotion at home immediately after bathing and coat their lips in Vaseline or kid friendly lip balm at bedtime every night during the winter. Thanks!
Reporting Absences Protocol:
If your child will be absent from school, please call the attendance line at 320-370-6502. When calling into the attendance line, you will only reach voicemail. Please leave a message with your child's first and last name and the reason for the absence. Please note this is a trusted way to report your child's absence as we check this voicemail everyday.
If you prefer to digitally inform us about an absence, you are also welcome to use your Family Skyward Access and submit attendance in this format.
AFTER SCHOOL CHANGES:
If you need to pick-up your child early, or have an end-of-day change for how your child will be leaving school, please ensure those messages are called into our front office by 1:00 p.m. on a daily basis. Our phone number is 320-370-6330. Thank you.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MENU
We will also attach our Breakfast and Lunch Menus at the bottom of our family newsletters each month.