Kegonsa Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

SASD and Kegonsa students are in the news! Exciting to see Dr. Ahlgren, our Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Dr. Keyser, our Superintendent interviewed around such important reading work. Read the article here: Wisconsin Reading Scores to Led to New Law

As a bit of context, 5 years ago SASD adopted a K-5 new phonics curriculum and 4 years ago we adopted our knowledge building curriculum Wit and Wisdom. This fall we decided our curriculum could work even harder for us and we adopted Magnetic Reading for K-2. Over the last four years we have had districts from around Wisconsin come and visit us for the day to see our teachers and students "in action" with our English Language Arts work. Next week, yet another district in a neighboring county is spending the day with us to learn about what we do. So proud of the work of our district and all our educators!

Erin

Kegonsa Library Media Specialist Kristin Rosenberg and District Media Coordinator Cathy Gargano received a grant from the Stoughton Area Community Foundation, which allowed them to purchase 157 books to give to reading students during Summer EXCEL! We are so thankful for our Librarians and the immense love they have for books, reading, and our students! 📚

Working for Kids needs your help to celebrate Kegonsa's phenomenal teachers and staff. Through Teacher Appreciation Week, we'll provide meals, games, and fun events.

Please sign HERE to help supply staff meals and/or volunteer your time to help with setting up and cleaning up — WFK committee members will be there to help guide you.

Feel free to grab as many slots/items as you like — thank you so much!

The 3rd and 4th grade concert was a hit! Our students did a wonderful job! If you missed it, or want to watch it again, we've included it here. Way to go, kiddos!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

From time to time, parents ask whether they can request a classroom or classroom teacher for their child. At the three elementary schools, we do not accept teacher requests from parents/guardians, however, we take classroom placement very seriously. We have an excellent staff at Kegonsa Elementary School that excels at meeting every child’s individual needs. Our team has a strong understanding of the various learning styles of children and goes above and beyond to meet those needs.

We believe that you, as a parent/guardian, know your child best. We are asking for your help as we begin to develop class rosters for next year. On the enclosed form, we are giving you an opportunity to provide us with valuable information about your child. Please do not indicate a teacher's name but rather personality characteristics that work best with your child. Please note, THIS IS NOT A CLASSROOM OR TEACHER REQUEST FORM.

The following is our procedure at the elementary level for the placement of students into classrooms. Classroom placements are completed in late Spring of each year by our staff. In determining class placement for the upcoming year, we take a variety of factors into consideration, all of which are important in planning for a healthy balance of students and a positive learning environment:

1. Separating children who we know do not get along with each other.
2. IEP team requests - achieving balance in each classroom.
3. Teacher input based on their experience with the child in the classroom:

• Balance gender
• Balance ability (high, medium, low)
• Consider relatives of teachers or very close friends. (A teacher may not want their own child/relative/family friend in their classroom.
• Consider classroom size - grades K-3 range 22-24 and grades 4-5 range 24-26

Please return the completed form (or comments) by email to erin.conrad@stoughton.k12.wi.us by April 30th if there are factors about your child that you would like us to consider when we begin to develop class lists for next year. Thank you in advance for your help.

Sincerely,

Erin Conrad

Principal

In working in partnership with the Stoughton Police Department we have had the opportunity to have several of their officers visit Kegonsa! Officer Stachel, Dehn and Julseth have been at Kegonsa talking with our students and even playing on the playground! We are learning so much about them and what they do to help our communities. We even learned that Officer Dehn can dunk a basketball!

During the week of April 29, classroom teachers will be reviewing with our students what to do if there is an emergency. For our littlest learners, we introduce these concepts through the book “I’m not scared. I’m prepared!” The information we provide is brief and offers them reassurance that there are many adults here to protect them. For our 3-5 students, we work through the ALICE protocol in a child-friendly, informative and non-threatening way.

Safety drills help us evaluate our emergency operations plan, improve our response skills and prepare our students and staff in the event of an actual emergency. At the close of the drill, we will send out a message to families informing you that the drill is complete.

If you would like resources to talk with your children at home, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) offers a number of excellent resources for talking with children about school safety. Click here to read more.

SASD is partnering with MOD Media on an exciting project, producing a video that highlights the excellence of our school district! Filming will begin next month and wrap up at the beginning of the 24-25 school year. Students may appear on campus or in the background. If you prefer your student not to be featured in the film, please contact Abbey Sharp at abbey.sharp@stoughton.k12.wi.us by May 10, 2024.

What does belonging look and feel like to you? How do we create a community of equity and belonging?

Come join in continuing the conversation Thursday, May 9th - 5:30-7:00 p.m. Click here for more information.

SASD’s Board of Education is seeking community members to serve on the Finance & Facilities Committee, Community Relations Committee, and Climate & Culture Committee for the 2024-2025 school year (May-April). These committees meet regularly to help advise the Board in their work. If you are interested, please fill out this online form by April 22nd: https://forms.gle/DWwhSaG9rkLPqgnUA

CESA 2 is looking to hire instructors to work specifically with students in Stoughton. The posting is on WECAN, Indeed, and the cesa2.org website.

• CESA 2 has its own DPI DE teacher licensing program which is at no cost to the teacher candidates.

• Please look here for more information.

Are you interested in earning some additional income while supporting our staff and students at SASD? Consider subbing! All education levels are invited to apply at: ESS-SASD APPLY. Or reach out to Lauren Amburn at 608.607.7326 or lamburn@ess.com.

Upcoming meeting: 2nd Tuesday in April

2nd Semester:

January 26, February 2, February 9, February 16, February 23, February 29, March 8, March 15, March 22, April 6, April 14, April 19

Ms. Conrad, Principal (877-5201)

Mrs. Sannes, Dean of Students (208-3468)

Mrs. Southern, Admin Assistant (877-5202)

Mr. Schultz, School Counselor (877-5229)

Mrs. McDermot, School Social Worker (440-0270)

Mrs. Menon, School Psychologist

Mrs. Hart Health Assistant (877-5204)

Email: erin.conrad@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/page.cfm?p=619
Location: Kegonsa Elementary School, Vernon Street, Stoughton, WI, United States
Phone: 608-877-5202
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonschools/
Twitter: @WeAreStoughton