Primary Press

So. Much. FUN! Our Spartan Stars have been doing so well this year. They got to celebrate good behavior with a full-school bingo game on Friday last week! Mr. Nelson broadcasted live to each classroom over the Smartboards to call the cards, and every student played along with a special popcorn snack popped in-house by our student services team. Bonus: the bingo cards are all a review of our school-wide behavior expectations, which we will be practicing as a mid-year review this coming week. We all had a great time!

Address: 6009 Johnson St. McFarland, WI 53558

Main Phone: 608.838.3146

EC-2 Principal: Greg Nelson

K-5 Associate Principal: Brooke Hauser

Building Administrative Assistant: Lyndsey Niebuhr

Online: Website & Facebook Page

Meeting the needs of every learner, every day

2025: New year, new goals!

Our theme at CEPS for the month of January is GOAL-SETTING! Each student will learn about what it means to set a goal, practice picking something to work on, and reflect on how it goes. And, classes will work together to set class-wide goals as well! Students will also learn how short-term goals can impact long-term goals, even starting in primary school.

As we walk the halls, visit classrooms, and give high-five's at lunch, we reflect on how lucky we are to get to work with our Spartan Star students, staff, and families. Our students love learning and making friends, and sometimes our school almost feels like it's buzzing with their excitement and joy. We have an extremely hard-working group of staff here, and each plays their own role in helping to shape our learners. Really, it's a top-notch group of people that we feel lucky to get to work with and learn from each day. And of course, we feel the love from our amazing families! You send your child as their best selves to us each day ready to go, you support our work by coming into school to help, answering calls and emails, reading notes and newsletters that come home, talking with your child about their day, and of course, reading with them at home.

That reflection helps us think of a shared goal of ours, which is to continue finding any way we can to reflect on what's working, find areas for improvement, and collaborate with staff and families to do our best work supporting students. That said, be sure to share any feedback or questions you have with our school any time via our Family Feedback Form, which is a live button in each week's newsletter under "Important Links." Mr. Nelson gets a notification each time this form is filled out, and will be sure it goes to the right party.

Take care!

Greg Nelson, CEPS Principal

Brooke Hauser, CEPS/WIS Associate Principal

• 1/20: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• 1/23: Kindergarten Family Cookie Day (more information coming soon)
• 1/24: NO SCHOOL - Professional Development Day
• 1/27: Report Cards live on Infinite Campus 3:00 PM

• ACT Prep Plus - Registration Open

• McFarland Youth Hockey Learn to Skate Program - Register by January 8

• McFarland Music Booster Chipotle Fundraiser - January 14

• E.D. Locke Library Family Yoga Storytime - January 16

• E.D. Locke Library Weaving Workshop - January 24

• E.D. Locke Library Teen Crochet Party - January 30

• E.D. Locke Library Teen Dungeons and Dragons One-Shot Adventures - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library VolunTeen Program - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library Teen S.T.E.A.M. - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library Teen Hangout - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library Teen UnBook Club - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library Teen Snack & Chat - January-April

• E.D. Locke Library Grades 3-5 LEGO Club - September-May

• E.D. Locke Library Grades 3-5 Graphic Novel Book Club - September-May

• E.D. Locke Library Grades K-2 Magic Tree House Book Club - September-May

• Free Triple P Positive Parenting Online Program for WI Families

Beginning last week when we came back from winter break, we are re-routing all students who get dropped off in the Johnson Loop at arrival time to enter the main entrance. Previously, we had first graders enter the main entrance and second graders enter the building into their wing. Now all students, including bus riders, will enter the main doors. We are making this change to ensure adequate student supervision at morning arrival. With this change, we are no longer need to prop vestibule doors open during arrival time because they (Johnson St and Creamery Rd entrances) will be programmed to automatically unlock at 7:20 so that students can enter the building, and then re-lock at 7:50, and with this update we have staff supervising inside and/or outside each entrance the full block of arrival time.

• Visitors dropping off items at school use a sticky note provided to label the item with the student's name and homeroom teacher's name; leave the item on the shelf in the entry vestibule, and office staff will ensure it gets delivered. We will not open the transaction window to receive deliveries.
• Visitors gain access beyond the entry vestibule only for a pre-approved reason (e.g., meeting with a staff member, planned classroom visit, special person lunch, etc.).
• Visitors who do not have a direct need to enter beyond the vestibule remain in our entry area for things such as dropping off students late or picking them up early.
• Front office staff communicate with visitors through the secure two-way audio system in the vestibule.

Is your student missing school due to illness, injury or health-related appointments? Providing a medical note or appointment card will prevent these types of absences as counting towards your students' allotted 10 days of excused absences for the school year. Please reach out to School Nurse, Stephanie Peplinski at PeplinS@mcfsd.org or cepsattendance@mcfsd.org if you have additional questions about this process. You can also find more information about absences and attendance in the CEPS parent handbook located on the school website.

MSEC is a collaborative group that meets monthly to provide feedback to the district with the goal of enhancing positive experiences for all students and families. If you’re interested in advocating for improvements to our school community or learning about important district topics, we invite you to join our upcoming meeting on January 15th from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at WIS in the Multi-Purpose Room. Everyone is welcome! Representatives from each buildings student services team will be joining us to provide share how they support our students. To receive more detailed information about MSEC, join our mailing list by completing this form. For upcoming meetings, check out our calendar of events for the year.

MRAP recently received the 2024 Sparks grant! Part of the grant process is to examine our programming and find ways to make it more inclusive and accessible to our community. 2024 MRAP SPARKS GRANT SLIDESHOW AND SURVEY

January is...

• Reflection and Motivation

Looking for more things to do?

McFarland Recreation Aquatics & Play (MRAP) and the McFarland Performing Arts Center (MPAC) offer a wide variety of recreation and aquatics programs for community members of all ages. To learn more, visit MRAPNews.com

Questions about specific MRAP or MPAC programs?

Reach out to the staff contacts listed below:

• Stu Schaefer, Director of Community Services: schaefs@mcfsd.org | 608-838-3168
• Kayla Eliasson, Aquatics Supervison: eliassk@mcfsd.org | 608-838-3168
• Alisha Fix, Recreation Supervisor: fixa@mcfsd.org | 608-838-4666
• Zachary Franczak, Performing Arts Supervisor: franczz@mcfsd.org | 608-838-4461