Mountain Bay Mustang Messenger

Greetings Mountain Bay Elementary Families!

Happy September! This past week was a busy, busy week for our staff as they began to prepare for the upcoming school year. The many meetings and time spent getting classrooms ready was all worth it as the smiles of our Mustangs came in during Open House. We are excited to welcome all of our students back on Tuesday!

This year, we will continue to teach our values and expectations as well as recognize the positive choices of our MIGHTY Mustangs at Mountain Bay. A refresher to our returning families and for our new families, each letter in MIGHTY stands for a value/expectation:

M - Make Safe Choices

I - Integrity

G - Get along with others

H - Have respect

T - Think First

Y - You Matter

Our staff continues to brainstorm and think of creative ways to positively reinforce our students when we hear and see kind and helpful words and actions. In addition to continuing to recognize Mustangs of the Month, students may also receive a Mustang Moola as staff notice above and beyond positive choices made. Those Moola will be entered into a drawing at the close of each month.

Students will hear consistent language around being a MIGHTY Mustang in all parts of the building such as classrooms, hallways, bathrooms, recess, etc. As we get into the swing of school, please take some time to discuss each of these at home to help with that consistency. When students hear that consistent language with high frequency and from trusted adults, it helps with building a strong foundation here at Mountain Bay.

Please enjoy and have a safe Labor Day weekend! Looking forward to seeing our MIGHTY Mustangs on Tuesday!

Mountain Bay apparel is now available to order online! Please visit our online store to view options and to place an order. Orders typically arrive in approximately 2 weeks and can be shipped directly to your home or to school.

Please click here to view our online store.

The Marathon County Health Department will be conducting Vision and Hearing Screenings for all Mountain Bay Elementary students in grades K, 1, 3, and 5. Please note, 2nd and 4th grade students are not screened unless there is a concern. If you do not want your child screened for any reason, please contact our health assistant, Theresa Howland, at 715-355-0302 ext. 5823.

Bridging Brighter Smiles, Inc. is a school-based preventative dental care program. They are a non-profit organization that brings essential dental services to students in the comfort of their school. Their mission is to bridge the gap in dental care by offering access to services, building wellness relationships within communities, and educating students to instill life-long healthy habits.

Preventative Dental Hygiene Services Include

• Oral Screening
• Fluoride Varnish
• Silver Diamine Fluoride
• Sealant Retention Checks
• Dental Cleaning
• Sealants
• Referral Assistance
• Oral Hygiene Education

They accept ForwardHealth/BadgerCare; however, they do not bill/accept other private dental insurance. Funds made available through your FSA/HSA account may be utilized as form of payment, please check with your carrier for specific terms and conditions.

For questions call 262-896-9891 or visit www.bbsmiles.org

Say cheese! Make sure that your student dresses their best and puts on a great smile for picture day on Thursday, September 12. All students will have their picture taken for our student record system. Ordering information will be sent home with students once picture proofs are available. This will give you the opportunity to see your child's picture prior to placing an order.

This event is not only an extremely fun day for our students, but also raises important funds for our school. We received such wonderful feedback on this event last school year, that the PTO is planning a fun run inplace of the catalog fundraiser which was typically done each fall. All students will participate in the fun run throughout the school day on Friday, October 11. Students can also help us raise funds by collecting pledges for the the laps that they run and will have the chance to win some awesome prizes.

We are excited to once again offer this fun event for our students. Watch for more information to come home once the event date gets closer.

Sept 3: First Day of School

Students can begin arriving at 8:20 a.m.

School hours are 8:45 a.m. - 3:40 p.m.

Sept 9: PTO Meeting 6-7 p.m.

All parents and staff are welcome to join us at our first PTO of the new school year. Meetings are typically held on the second Monday of each month in the Multi-Purpose Room at Mountain Bay. Please join us to stay informed about upcoming events and to see how you can get involved at your child's school.

Sept 9, 10, & 11: Vision and Hearing Screenings

The Marathon County Health Department will be conducting Vision and Hearing Screenings for all Mountain Bay Elementary students in grades K, 1, 3, and 5. Please note, 2nd and 4th grade students are not screened unless there is a concern. If you do not want your child screened for any reason, please contact our health assistant, Theresa Howland, at 715-355-0302 ext. 5823.

Sept 10-11: Bridging Brighter Smiles

Bridging Brighter Smiles will be at Mountain Bay to provide dental services to those students that are enrolled in their program. Please visit www.bbsmiles.org for more information.

Sept 12 : Picture Day

All students will have their picture taken. Picture ordering information will be sent home once picture proofs are ready.

Sept 17: 2nd Grade Field Trip - Mrs. VanderLeest's & Mrs. Witter's class trip to the School Forest

Sept 18: 2nd Grade Field Trip - Mrs. Emmerich's & Mrs. Sjoberg's class trip to the School Forest

Sept 19: 4th Grade Field Trip to Fust Farm

Sept 23-Sept 27: Homecoming Spirit Week

Watch for additional information on fun dress up days for Homecoming Week.

Sept 27: D.C. Everest Homecoming Football Game vs. Eau Claire North - 7 p.m.

Sept 30: No School for Elementary Students / Virtual Learning Day for Secondary Students

Oct 1: Packer Outreach Event for grades 3, 4, & 5

Our Play 60 Club is excited to team up with the Green Bay Packers to once again bring the Packer Outreach Event to Mountain Bay. This event encourages our students to have healthy lifestyles and to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will get the opportunity to test their football skills in various drills and obstacle courses. The stations will give the participants an opportunity to take part in a relay race, kick a ball, leap for a catch, and dive for a touchdown. Please note, in order to participate, each student must have a waiver form completed by his or her parent or guardian. All students are encouraged to wear Packer gear or the color green for this event.

Oct 7: Vision and Hearing Re-Screening Day

Oct 11: PTO's MIGHTY Mustang Fun Run

Our students absolutely loved last year's fun run and will be excited to have this event return to Mountain Bay. Students will also have the option to collect pledges for the laps they run and help raise funds for our school. This fundraiser will replace the catalog sale that was done each fall in the past. Watch for more information coming soon!

Oct 14: PTO Meeting 6-7 p.m.

Oct 18: Mountain Bay Metro's Monster Bash 5-8 p.m.

Mountain Bay Metro Police Department and D.C. Everest are teaming up together to offer our families a fun and safe event which will include trunk or treating, bounce houses, and fun for the whole family. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend on Friday, October 18, from 5-8 p.m at the D.C. Everest Middle School.

Oct 24: No School - Teacher Professional Development Day

Oct 25: No School

Oct 29: Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Nov 4: No School for Elementary Students due to Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. and No School for Secondary Students due to a Grading Day for Secondary Teachers

Nov 5: Picture Retake Day

Nov 27-29: No School due to Thanksgiving

Dec 17: Winter Programs

• 5:15 p.m. Kindergarten
• 6:00 p.m. 1st grade
• 7:00 p.m. 2nd grade

Dec 19: Winter Programs

• 5:00 p.m. 3rd grade
• 6:00 p.m. 4th grade
• 7:00 p.m. 5th grade

Dec 23-Jan 1: No School due to Winter Break - Classes resume on Thursday, January 2

Each family is assigned a pick up number to help expedite our dismissal process. If you are new to Mountain Bay or need a replacement placard number, please stop in the front office to have one issued to you.

Our school day ends at 3:40 p.m., at which time we will begin releasing our pick up students. Please park your vehicle in the parking lot and walk up to the front entrance with your assigned placard number to pick up your child at dismissal. Parents will remain outside for dismissal. In the event of very inclement weather, we will open the front doors and have parents come into the multi-purpose room for dismissal. Your child's safety is our number one concern. Please make sure to drive slowly and carefully at all times through our parking lot areas. It is also imperative that you do not park your vehicle and leave it unattended at the front curb or in the bus loop during drop off or dismissal times. Please be patient and courteous as we have approximately 150 students that are picked up each day.

The Mountain Bay Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) would like to welcome you back to Mountain Bay Elementary for another wonderful school year. We look forward to working with you and are excited to have you at our school!

The PTO is committed to supporting our school and our students! We help to fund field trips, afterschool clubs, fine arts programs, new books, classroom supplies, playground equipment, and many other events that further enrich the education of your child. The PTO is also dedicated to creating a community between our parents and teachers. We do this by building parental involvement within our school and by supporting teachers in their efforts to educate our children. The PTO helps you to stay informed about upcoming school events and is also a wonderful way to get involved in your child’s education. Now is a great time to get involved.

Please plan to attend our first PTO meeting of the year on Monday, September 9, from 6-7 p.m.

If you have any questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at PTOMountainbay1999@gmail.com or on our Mountain Bay PTO Facebook Page.

Corey-Beth Cielinski - President

Kelli Laffin - Vice President

Jenna Drengler - Treasurer

Robyn Swart - Secretary

Every day, D.C. Everest volunteers make a huge impact on the educational experience of our student. Prior to chaperoning any field trips or volunteering at our school, volunteers must complete an application through the Volunteer Tracker System and have a background screening done.

For in-depth information related to district volunteer opportunities and/or protocols, please visit the DCE Volunteer page https://www.dce.k12.wi.us/community/dce-evergreen-volunteers

D.C. Everest administrators and staff have been proactively working with law enforcement, first responders and our Superintendent’s Office in Wisconsin to update our Comprehensive School Safety Plans and put into place effective drills that will help prepare us for incidents, emergencies or disasters that may occur at school or within the community. Below is important safety information we encourage you to review prior to the start of the school year.

Talk to Your Student About Safety

It is crucial for parents/guardians to be aware of the safety protocols at their child’s school. Engaging in conversations with your child(ren) about safety drills taking place at school is vital to helping them prepare for emergencies that may take place at school or elsewhere. By helping your student understand the district safety protocols (found below), you can help reduce fear and build a student’s trust in the systems we have in place. Open dialogues between parents, teachers, support staff and students strengthen our processes and emergency response plans. Below are the district safety protocols to review with your student.

Be Alert

“If you see something, say something!” This proactive approach is encouraged among students, parents and staff to ensure safety concerns are reported immediately to school administrators or appropriate first responders, especially if there is a potential for imminent danger.

Drills

DCE schools comply with Wisconsin safety drill mandates. Some of the safety drills we conduct are, per the mandates, unannounced. These drills provide the DCE safety team with the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of our responses. We conduct the first of our fire and lockdown drills within the first two weeks of school to ensure our students are informed and prepared for potential emergencies.

For the past several years, D.C. Everest has followed an established protocol in the event an unauthorized person enters the school building. If that occurs, a building-wide alert is announced, and students and staff are instructed to lock their classroom doors, turn off the lights, and hide while remaining quiet.

Research indicates, however, that to increase their chances of survival, students and staff should be provided with additional options when confronted with an intruder. Therefore, DCE has enhanced the traditional lockdown protocols with a new Run, Hide, Fight Training and Instruction that will be implemented across the District. These procedures are endorsed by safety experts across the country, including the Department of Homeland Security.

Run, Hide, Fight

In an active shooter situation, the protocol of Run, Hide, Fight is adopted:

Run

• Have an escape route and plan in mind

• Leave your belongings behind

• Run regardless of whether others agree to follow

• Help others escape, if possible

• Prevent others from entering an area where the active shooter may be

• Call 911 when you are safe

Hide

• Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view

• Lock the door or block the entry to your hiding place with tables, chairs or any other sizable item

• Silence your cell phone so you are not detected by the shooter

Fight

• Fight as a last resort and only when your life is in imminent danger

• Attempt to incapacitate the shooter

• Commit to your actions — your life depends on it

Emergency Procedures

• Fire: Evacuate and do not return until it is deemed safe.

• Lockdown: Take action based on the nature of the threat, which may include locking doors and covering windows.

• Shelter in Place: Used during external threats, students are secured inside buildings.

• Reunification Off Site: In rare instances, where more distance is needed to ensure student safety, students may be relocated to another site for reunification with parents/guardians. Parents will be advised of reunification sites through our School Messenger all-call system, websites and social media channels.

For your safety and the safety of students, staff and first responders, please:

• DO NOT REPORT TO THE SCHOOL — procedures are in place to safely and efficiently reunite students with parents/guardians.

• Ensure you have persons authorized to pick up your student(s) LISTED ON YOUR STUDENT’S EMERGENCY CARD in Infinite Campus (you can find more information linked HERE). No student will be released to any other adult, if not listed on the current emergency card.

• Have your photo ID with you at the reunification site; it will be required at the time of pickup​.

Communication During an Emergency

During an emergency at a D.C. Everest school, communication is distributed through the School Messenger all-call system, the district websites and our social media channels. To ensure you receive timely alerts, please update your emergency contact information. Please visit the DCE Safety and Security webpage to update your contact information in Infinite Campus.

Parents are advised to:

• Remain at home/work and monitor our communication channels (website, social media, email, texts) for updated information.

• Avoid sending repeated texts or phone calls to students’ personal cell phones; doing so may alert intruders to your child’s location and may tie up the cellular systems, potentially delaying a safe and effective response

• Refrain from proceeding to the site of the emergency — doing so may block roads and prevent First Responders from responding in a timely manner; only proceed to the site if advised to do so by the district or law enforcement

• Avoid posting unverified information to your social media channels — this can lead to mass confusion and misinformation

For any concerns or questions, please contact your building principal.

Please make sure to review our handbook for additional valuable information. Our handbook can be found on the Mountain Bay website by clicking here.

Our August Newsletter included detailed information on district notices, including numerous annual notices, visitor policies, our directory data notice, and information on screeners administered through out the school year. If you missed that information, please make so to go back and review the August Newsletter by clicking here. You can also access a full list of all district notices by visiting our website by clicking here.

Email: mschult@dce.k12.wi.us
Website: https://mountainbay.dce.k12.wi.us/
Location: 8602 Schofield Avenue, Weston, WI, USA
Phone: (715)355-0302
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DC-Everest-Mountain-Bay-Elementary-822129127822143/
Twitter: @DCEverestSchool

Phone (715)355-0302

Press 0 for the main office

Press 1 for attendance

Fax (715)355-0307

Lamer's Bus Company (715)298-6110

School Hours 8:45 a.m - 3:40 p.m.

Students can begin arriving at 8:20 a.m.

Office Staff

Matthew Schult - Principal - Ext. 5822

Jocelyn Barwick - Administrative Assistant to the Principal - Ext. 5821

KiyAnn Platta - Itinerant Administrative Assistant - Ext. 5827

Theresa Howland - Health Assistant - Ext. 5823

Dawn Schueller - School Counselor - Ext. 5826

Taylor Rowerdink - School Psychologist - Ext. 5889

Ber Yang - School Social Worker - Ext. 5305

Melissa Low - Student Support Teacher - Ext. 5828