Sandhill E-News

Week of 9/2/2024

A Message from Mr. Johnson:

Hello Everyone -

This past week was really fun! It was very nice to see so many of you at back to school conferences! It was great seeing children come in nervous and leave so excited for the school year.

As you scroll down below you'll see the Sandhill Arrival and Departure Procedures, many of which we've kept from last year. Please remember that the Drop-Off and Pick-Up lines will likely be slow the first few weeks. Thank you in advance for your patience and staying in your vehicle while in the car line to "keep 'er movin'". We're hoping to become a well oiled machine in a short time!

Please remember that families drop off at the outside doors and are not allowed to walk their children down to their classrooms.

Remember, the first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd and school starts at 7:45 AM!

See you on Tuesday!

Bob/Mr. Johnson

Sandhill School Supply List

School Reminders

Annual Permission Form

Please follow this link to give your permission for your child to accompany their class on any field trips off campus that may occur during the 24-25 school year. Only about 17% of Sandhill families have completed this form so far.

On this form you will also be asked if you approve that your child's finger be scanned in order for them to purchase school lunch from Taher.

Permission Form

Arrival and Departure Procedures

Bus arrival: Students arriving by bus will enter the building at 7:35 a.m. All students will enter the building at 7:35 and proceed to their classrooms or to the cafeteria if they are getting a school breakfast. If you have any questions regarding transportation, please call 608-877-5062

Sandhill students can be dropped off at school at 7:30. The first bell rings at 7:35. School starts at 7:45. Students enter the school by grade level at the following doors from 7:35 - 7:45:

4th & 5th Grade - Door #11, by the gym;
2nd and 3rd grade - Door #1 (the main entrance);
Kindergarten and 1st grade - Door #2 to the right of the main entrance (aka The Bridge).

After 7:45 all students enter Door #1.

Parents/guardians may drop their children off at the outside door. Students proceed to their classroom by themselves or with the help of Sandhill staff. Parents/guardians wait outside after school for their student at dismissal at 3:00 pm.

Please note: Only buses and families of students who need accommodations are to use the bus circle during drop off/pick up.

Students Picked Up From School by Someone not listed in Infinite Campus: A note or a phone call must be received from the parent or guardian for your child to be picked up by you or someone else after school, for an appointment during school hours, or if you will change the normal after-school route home. If you need to call the school with this information, please call the Sandhill Office (877-5400) to leave a message; do not leave a voicemail for the teacher. So that the office staff has sufficient time to deliver your message to your student, please contact the school before 2:45 p.m.

Please see the following map for vehicle drop off / pick up information.

School Pictures

If your child got their picture taken on August 29th at Back to School Conferences you can order pictures by following this link. The code to order a picture package online is: EVT4N3ZHJ

We Are Allergy Aware

We are a nut-aware district and ask that our students and families be aware and considerate of the medical needs of our students/staff. We strongly discourage sending any nut or nut products to school with your children.

Welcome to our new staff - Bios Below!

PE - Melinda Dozois
1st Grade Long Term Sub - Alexis (Lexi) Cina
3rd Grade - Calissa Kruckenberg
5th Grade ELA - Toireasa (Tessa) Pierce
5th Grade Sci/SS/FS - Emma Zweifel
Kindergarten - Anna Rousseau
Librarian - Angela Yach
Learning Strategist - Tara Wheeler
EA - Jodie Schaub
EA - Jaslyn Baker
EA - Tamara Kaiser
K-1 Coach - Marilee Cronin
2-3 Coach - Karen Palmstein
4-5 Coach - Bruce Booher

Still Needed:

District Learning Strategist (located at SH) - Currently being filled short term, but looking for a full time employee
Educational Assistant - Currently being filled short term, but looking for a full time employee

Ms. Dozois

Melinda holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in K-12 Physical Education, as well as a minor in Adapted Physical Education from Oregon State University. During her studies, she was fortunate to have studied abroad for a semester in Australia, which was truly an amazing experience! Additionally, during her college career, she was honored to be awarded the National Major of the Year for NASPE (The National Association for Sports and Physical Education). She comes to Sandhill having taught 11 years as a PE Teacher, 7 in which were across town at Kegonsa Elementary and 4 in Washington State. In her free time she enjoys spending time with my 3 daughters and Husband, Matt. She also loves running, hiking, gardening, reading, drinking coffee, and listening to 90’s country! She is extremely excited to begin her new adventure at Sandhill!

Ms. Cina

Lexi graduated from University of Wisconsin - La Crosse in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. She spent the last school year as a long term substitute in Oregon, WI (where she grew up) in 1st and 2nd grade. She loves spending time outdoors, hanging out with my friends and family, and trying new places to eat in Madison. She is very excited to be a part of the Sandhill family!

Ms. Kruckenberg

Calissa is excited to join Sandhill Elementary as a 3rd Grade teacher! With five years of teaching experience from the Monona Grove School District, Mrs. Kruckenberg is thrilled to return to her roots at Sandhill, where she once attended school. Calissa is enthusiastic about working with the families in her community and fostering strong connections. Outside the classroom, Mrs. Kruckenberg enjoys reading, trying new recipes, spending time with family and friends, and playing golf. She looks forward to a fantastic year of learning and fun with her new students and colleagues!

Ms. Pierce

Tessa graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2021 with a degree in elementary education and a minor in special education. This is her first year at Sandhill however, she taught 4th grade for 3 years at the Baraboo School District. Ms. Pierce in her free time enjoys reading, thrift shopping, hanging out with animals (especially her two cats), and playing games with her family!

Ms. Zweifel

Emma graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in December of 2022 with her degree in Elementary Education. She completed her student teaching experience in the DeForest Area School District and then went on to be a long term substitute for two 1st grade classrooms and one 3rd grade classroom in the Monona Grove School District. In her free time, Emma enjoys spending time with her dog Mae, attending UW Badger sporting events, watching Chicago Cubs baseball, and spending time with family and friends.

Ms. Rousseau

Anna graduated from Concordia University Wisconsin in May of 2024 with a degree in Elementary Education with a minor in music. She is a first year teacher at Sandhill in our kindergarten position! She just moved to the Madison area from Hartford, WI. Anna’s main goal is to build relationships with her students and create an adventurous school environment.

She is super excited for the next part of her teaching career, and cannot wait to get to meet her new students! What makes Anna the creative soul she is, is golfing, hiking, going to farmer’s markets and cooking! :)

Ms. Yach

Angela completed her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and Library Science from UW-Oshkosh. She earned her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Library Science from UW-Oshkosh. Angela was previously a library media specialist in the Appleton Area School District and is excited to be the librarian at Sandhill where she thinks she has the best classroom in the school! In her free time, Angela loves to be with her family outdoors camping, hiking, and biking and is rarely found without a book or audiobook. She is looking forward to sharing her passion and excitement for reading at Sandhill this year!

Ms. Wheeler

Tara will now be full time at Sandhill every day as compared to the split role she had last year. She's taught for many years and this will be her third year in the district. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from UW-Whitewater. She's looking forward to being a part of students' learning adventures this year! In her free time, she and her husband like traveling to spend time with their three adult kids.

Ms. Schaub

Jodie is a Stoughton native. This is her second year working in the district. Her first was as a substitute EA, and she's excited to have that as her full-time role this year. She has always loved working with kids, first as a nanny and now with 7 of her own. She has twins on the autism spectrum, which is a unique qualifier that has given her many tools. She graduated from Madison College with a Culinary Arts degree. She loves to read, bake, travel and drink coffee by a campfire.

Ms. Baker

Jaslyn grew up in the vibrant city of New York. She attended CUNY Brooklyn College, where she met her husband. Bilingual and deeply connected to her heritage, Jaslyn is fluent in both Spanish, her native language, and English.

After a brief stay in Asheville, North Carolina, Jaslyn and her husband made Wisconsin their home following his acceptance into the Ph.D. program in Social Psychology at UW-Madison. In her free time, Jaslyn enjoys the companionship of her dog, Harvey, and her cat, Lyra, affectionately known as Ms. Kitty. She also has a passion for painting and is an avid reader of Nordic Noir and Tony Hillerman's Navajo murder mysteries.

Ms. Kaiser

Tamara is an Educational Assistant returning to Sandhill! This will be her third year working at Sandhill and her fourth year working for the Stoughton Area School District. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Special Education from UW-Whitewater. She is passionate about supporting students and helping them achieve their academic and personal goals. When she isn't working, she enjoys gardening, going on vacation and being a foodie. She is so excited to be returning to Sandhill and looks forward to a great school year!

Ms. Cronin

Marilee Cronin is an Academic Coach across the three elementary schools. She began her teaching career in 2006 and joined the Stoughton Area School District in 2009. Prior to the 2024-2025 school year she was an academic coach and interventionist at Fox Prairie and before that, a reading teacher at River Bluff Middle School. Marilee has her degree in Elementary Education from UW-Madison and her Masters in Education with certification as a reading specialist from Concordia University. In her time away from school she enjoys spending time with her husband and three boys and can often be found poolside cheering for her kids swimming, or alongside a cross country course trying to keep up.

Ms. Palmstein

Karen is an Academic Coach across all three elementary schools. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1998. She began her classroom teaching career in Milwaukee before moving to Madison. Karen worked in the Madison Metropolitan School District for 13 years where she taught 1st-5th grade. During that time, she obtained her Master’s Degree in Literacy Leadership and Instruction from Cardinal Stritch University in 2006. Karen eventually went on to become a reading teacher and literacy coach in the surrounding districts for the past seven years. She loves spending time with her daughters, dogs, and husband.

Mr. Booher

Bruce is an Academic Coach across all three elementary schools. He received his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1993 and has since completed two Masters Degrees and a Doctor of Education (ABD - All but Dissertation). Bruce is also a Veteran of the United States Navy. He has experience teaching students in 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades and has held roles as a New Teacher Mentor, an Elementary Science/Math Facilitator, and Math Interventionist in the Frederick County Public School District in Maryland. More Recently, after retiring from the Frederick County Public School District, Bruce has worked at Sandhill as a substitute Teacher and Educational Assistant. Although Bruce is originally from Maryland, he has fell in love with the Midwest and enjoys all of the outdoor activities that the Midwest has to offer. He is married, has three kids, and one very active Golden Retriever.

Monthly Working For Kids (WFK) Meetings

What: We meet monthly to plan events and work on ways to continue to support our students and our staff here at Sandhill. From fun events such as the Annual Fall Festival and Crane Games, Scholastic Book Fairs, and the Read-a-thon to providing snacks and meals for our staff and celebrating Staff Appreciation Week every spring, we are busy year-round and are always looking for new faces and new ideas.

When: Our first meeting of this school year is Monday, August 19 at 6:30pm. Starting in September, we meet the second Monday of every month at 6:30 pm (exception is April 15 due to no school on April 8). Meetings last about one hour.

Where: Sandhill Elementary School Library

***If you would like to attend a meeting but are unable to do so in person, please let us know and we are happy to provide a Zoom link.

***We love it when we can provide childcare during our meetings. So if someone in your household (middle schooler, high schooler, or adult) is interested in earning some extra cash, please consider signing up! Sign up to babysit during our monthly WFK meeting!

Your WFK Board Members