Madison Memos

Email: memos@madisonschoolpta.org
Website: http://www.cusd200.org
Location: 1620 Mayo Ave. , Wheaton
Phone: 682-2095
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/653462651407851/

Explore More Day is Fri., May 27! Thank you to everyone who has volunteered. Confirmation emails for 2nd through 5th grade volunteers were sent out this week. If you did not receive one and are interested in volunteering in 2nd through 5th grade, please contact us at emd@madisonschoolpta.org.

We are still seeking volunteers to help in Kindergarten and 1st grade. If you are available, please contact the coordinators below:

First grade: Janine Shimp, janineshimp@yahoo.com

Kindergarten: Julie Ippolito, julieippolito3@yahoo.com

Are you already dreading the school supply rush in August? Do you hate the thought of running all over town to find the right school supplies? Let the PTA help you. The PTA is now selling school supply kits for next year. This is offered as a convenience for parents, not as a PTA fundraiser.

All Madison students should have brought home a school supply order form. If you did not receive one, you can print one here. Paper orders are due on May 25, while online orders are due June 10. Please note, sales tax will be added to all online orders.

All families are encouraged to order online at

www.carlsonschoolkits.com/madison-elementary-school; however, paper orders also will be accepted. School supply kits will be delivered to your child's classroom by Aug. 15. If you have any questions, please email Kathryn Medanic at

schoolsupplies@madisonschoolpta.org.

Are you ready to step into a leadership role? There are many committees that currently are in need of a chair for the 2016-2017 school year. Please consider one of these important PTA roles:

Battle of the Books Committee Chair

Beautification Committee Chair

Jr. Battle of the Books Committee Chair

Multicultural Day Committee Chair

Reflections Committee Chair

Screen Free Week Committee Chair

Attention all soon-to-be fourth and fifth graders:

Madison PTA invites all of you to join the Madison Battle of the Books team next fall. It’s a fun way to read a variety of books and compete for your school. The more books you read, the more questions you can answer at the battles at the Wheaton Public Library. The more books and authors you know, the more you can help your team!

With this link, you’ll see all the 50 Battle of the Books titles and authors for next year. Here’s your challenge:

1. How many Battle books can you read over the summer? Five? 10? 25? 50?

2. How many book titles with the author’s last name can you memorize?

Next school year, we hope you sign up to be part of the team. You don’t have to read Battle books over the summer to participate in Battle at Madison, but we thought this could be a fun way to get your summer reading minutes in and get a head-start on the Battle season!

If your parents/guardians would like to help lead a Battle group, please have them email Janet Mathis at: janetmarkmathis@yahoo.com. Happy reading!

Madison’s Run-A-Thon will be back next school year. On Sept. 7 and Sept. 8, Madison’s students and staff will participate in our biggest fundraiser of the year. Rain date will be Sept. 9. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to Madison PTA to support programs such as Multicultural Day, Explore More Day, Cultural Arts, Field Day, and many other wonderful programs. Questions? Contact Michele Triscik at mtriscik@prodigy.net.

The Conservation Committee students tagged trees around the school as part of a Morton Arboretum initiative to celebrate Arbor Day. Parent Todd Jacobson who works for the Morton Arboretum provided the tags in an effort to gain awareness of the importance of trees.

In addition, the Go Green Committee wants to thank Gina Garza and Vandana Mody for their instrumental help in getting the student Conservation Committee off the ground.

Gratitude is well deserved by the 2015-2016 Yearbook Committee. Not only did they have to learn an entirely new yearbook program, each member took time out of their busy schedules to collect photos, tap into their creativity, and help create another high quality installment of this annual tradition.

Please take a moment to say thank you to Stephanie Brown, Holly Harty, Jennifer Hasbrouck, Louise Kirkman, Julie Klink, Kristin Olson, Alis Priebe, Christa Renello, Megan Savitt, Sybil Scaccia, and Randy Wenger. Also, a sincere thank you those parents that uploaded photos to TreeRing. At this time, please welcome Megan Savitt as the new Yearbook Committee Co-Chair. Her attention to detail, creativity, and stellar organizational skills make her a valuable asset to this committee.

Using a new yearbook company did have its challenges, however, the overall feedback has been quite positive. This helped make the decision easy to contract with TreeRing for the upcoming school year. Please be advised, similar to this year, yearbook orders can not be placed when registering for PTA membership or school registration. Please look for information in the Madison Memo's once the 2016-2017 school year starts.

Orders for the 2015-2016 Madison School yearbook can still be made through TreeRing. Please use the following link to place your order. Shipping charges will apply as our bulk order has already been placed.

https://www.treering.com/validate?PassCode=1014308585474714

The passcode to order is 1014308585474714.

Please click HERE for a list of all student that have ordered a yearbook as of May 12, 2016.

The Yearbook Committee always welcomes new members. If you are interested in joining or have any questions, please contact Dawn Draus at yearbook@madisonschoolpta.org.

When Miss Laura Fograse was in 2nd grade she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She loved the influence of her own 2nd grade teacher, Dr. Jordan. Now in her fifth year at Madison, she currently teaches 1st grade. Miss Fograse started her career at Madison (and Johnson) with our current 4th graders when both she and they were in Kindergarten. She also taught many of our current 5th graders when they were in 2nd grade.

Miss Fograse loves teaching the younger grades and feels there is a lot of room to be creative. She feels that one of the most important concepts to teach children, in addition to all the fundamental skills, are life skills, such as kindness and responsibility. Many children spend much of their time with technological devices, so she incorporates board games to teach social skills, and human and interpersonal connections so that these valuable skills aren’t lost with this generation.

In her free time she loves crafting, going to the movies, and bowling. Miss Fograse enjoys spending time with family and friends, and she is now planning her own wedding for November of this year.

Mrs. Gayle Murray is one of three Art teachers at Madison and has spent 21 years teaching art in District 200. She has taught at 10 of the 13 district elementary schools, but Madison has been the only school where she has taught her entire career. Mrs. Murray teaches 865 students per week, splitting her time this year between Madison and Sandburg. She has also taught high school art and was a graphic artist for 15 years. She enjoys teaching all kinds of art: fine and performance.

She aims to create an environment where children feel safe to explore and take risks, and doesn’t want them to feel too constrained by directions and examples. She says that art is about problem solving, math, and a combination of skills

subconsciously utilized.

Cultures and school districts that continue to celebrate, recognize and embrace the importance of art, see flourishing results. She believes that to teach elementary school students, one needs patience, flexibility, understanding, and a lot of enthusiasm.

In her free time, Mrs. Murray “gigs out” with her band, which performs music from the 60s and 70s. She also volunteers at the Humane Society with rescued dogs and serves as a guide at the Arboretum. She often bikes on the Prairie Path and enjoys keeping up with her adult children.

Thank you to all the students who participated in the Raging Waves Plunge into Fitness program. Free weekday passes will be sent home before May 30. Passes expire Aug. 12, 2016. Raging Waves is offering an additional online only coupon to all Madison families and staff. Go to www.ragingwaves.com and save an extra $7 off an over 48" general admission ticket. Use store name: madison15.

Art Appreciation exposes children to artists and artwork outside their regular art classes. Volunteers visit the classrooms once a month to present on various genres.

Thank you to the following 2015-2016 Art Appreciation volunteers: Rachel Bailey, Hollie Bourne, Stephanie Brown, Debbie Buttell, Gina Garza, Leigh Ann Gaul, Jennifer Guevara, Julie Ippolito, Louise Kirkman, Sridevi Mallu, Debbie McCormac, Vandana Mody, Marla Mothershed, Meghan Orr, Abby Richardson, Sybil Scaccia, Missy Straza, Jonathan Strum, Kelly Styrkowicz, and Lynn Tucker.

Most sincere gratitude to the parents that helped with this year’s Staff Appreciation luncheon, raffle gift donations, and staff thank you letters:

Rachel Bailey, Jeannie Cho, Jen Doty, Dawn Draus, Monica Fahey, Sarah Gochee, Jaime Kammerzell, Louise Kirkman, Mike Krejci, Linda Madsen, Kelly Masse, Evelyn Mosca, Melisa Oker, Kristin Olson, Meghan Orr, Alis Priebe, Tone Rosen, Megan Savitt, Sybil Scaccia, Jon Shimp, Jaime Szafranski, Michele Triscik, and Jill Weck.

A special thank you to Janine Shimp for organizing an incredible luncheon to appreciate Madison’s amazing teachers.

Your time and donations helped make it a great week for the Madison staff!

Our Schwan’s fundraising campaign will continue to earn 5% for another 30 days. If you haven’t had a chance to give their delicious frozen foods a try, then follow the instructions below to place your order. Remember, Schwan’s delivers straight to your door! A quick and easy meal from Schwan’s could be your answer to "what's for dinner" on one of the upcoming hot and busy summer days.

Ordering

There are three ways to place a fundraising order:

1. Via Schwan’s Cares. https://www.schwans-cares.com/campaigns/26158-madison-elementary-school-pta. Choose “Shop to Give” to place a food order from Schwan’s.
2. By Phone. Place your order via toll free number 1-855-870-7208. Make sure to provide our Campaign ID, 26158, or “Madison Elementary” when ordering by phone.
3. Via Schwans.com. During checkout simply type in our Campaign ID, 26158, to contribute to our fundraiser.

Delivery

For new customers, you will choose your delivery date and time during checkout.

For existing Schwan’s customers, you will need to follow one of the three ordering steps above to create your fundraising affiliation and have your order contribute to the campaign. Your order will be delivered on your existing scheduled route day.

Form of payment is required when placing fundraising orders, but you can change payment at the door to a preferred method of payment (Check, Cash, EBT, or Credit and Debit Card are accepted). If you are not home during the time of delivery, your items will be left in a protected freezer bag at no cost to you.

Questions? Email waysandmeans@madisonschoolpta.org.

A big "thank you" to the following parents for leading and helping with third grade Junior Battle this year: Stephanie Brown, Monica Fahey, Nancy Giordano, Nicole Klotz, Alexandra Martinez, Janet Mathis, Kelly Masse, Evelyn Mosca, Allison Nelson, Annette Shore and Anne Valente. These volunteers encouraged a love of reading in the 40 or so third graders who participated.

Thank you to Becca Hary and McDonald's for providing prizes of a McDonald's dessert to the winners of our mock battles. And, thank you to Amy Fiorato for designing a bookmark listing all the Battle books for next year. The kids had a great introduction to Battle of the Books, thanks to all the volunteers.

Thank you to the Library Learning Center volunteers this year and to Kathryn Medanic, the LLC Volunteer Coordinator. The library volunteer program has always been an important aspect of Madison’s LLC program. Volunteers shelve book, check books in and out, read stories, and complete the many tasks involved to make the library run smoothly. Volunteers also allow Mrs. Graham the opportunity to work with classes on research projects and other activities. With the district’s reduction of library aides at the elementary level, we especially need volunteers next year to continue providing services for our students. Volunteers are needed either mornings (9:15 - 11:45 a.m.) or afternoons (1-3:30 p.m.). If you are interested in volunteering next year, please contact Kathryn Medanic at madisonschoolllc@gmail.com.

Thank you to this year’s library volunteers: Sue Adkins, Amy Angolkar, Admira Avdic-Klinko, Stephanie Brown, Debbie Buttell, Joo Chang, Samantha Campen, Linda Doherty, Jen Doty, Dawn Draus, Karen Evans, Monica Fahey, Kim and Paul Franch, Gina Garza, Julie Hann, Holly Harty, Brooke Heavey, Hurtado, Stacia Keegan, Kelly Masse, Janet Mathis, Kathryn Medanic, Dan Milinko, Marla Mothershed, Dawnelle Muff, Anne Nigrelli, Kristin Olson, Alis Priebe, Abby Richardson, Vickie Samala, Janine Shimp, Annette Shore, Margit Spires, Susana Sitges, Jaime Szafranzki, Lisa Thomas, Lynn Tucker, and Suzie Weber. Thank you so much for your time and dedication! Also, thank you to Holly Harty who organized the ink recycling program and Margit Spires who organized the General Mills Box Tops for Education program.

Thank you for saving the Box Tops for Education. Because of your time and generosity, we have earned enough money to purchase Caudill, Monarch, and Bluestem Award books. Thank you for your support.

Registered kids 14 and under receive two free games of bowling every day all summer long. Wheaton Bowl and Fox Bowl are among hundreds of bowling centers around the country are participating in the first ever Kids Bowl Free program. This program is designed by bowling centers to give back to the community and provide a safe, secure, and fun way for kids to spend time this summer. Visit http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ to register.

Our last event of this school year will be held at the Sensory Playground on Sat., May 21 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. It's a good chance to learn more about us and the other sponsor agencies. http://www.playforalldupage.org/Upcoming-Events/Sensory-Garden-Playground-Play-Day

Our last meeting of the year and elections for next year’s Board will be held on May 23 at 7 p.m. at Pleasant Hill Elementary in the library. If your kids are receiving any kind support or services (you don't specifically need an IEP or 504), I would strongly encourage you to attend our meetings. We need to hear the voices of as many parents as we can get!

• Become a member at www.PT-Avenue.com, organization code WWSNPTA
  
• Visit and “Like” our page at www.facebook.com/wwsnpta
  
• Find us at www.cusd200.org, Parents and Students, Special Needs PTA
  
• For more information, email us at wwsnpta@gmail.com

Madison's LLC is looking for donations for our STEAM room. Examples of items include:

We have dreams to add LittleBits, a Lego wall, Ozobots, and Spheros.

Thank you for your help,

Mrs. Graham

Wheaton Warrenville South Summer Recreation Registration is now open. Clink here to register.

Click on the calendar on the Madison section of www.cusd200.org to view upcoming dates. See below for some highlights:

May 27: Explore More Day

May 30: No school - Memorial Day

May 31: 5th Grade Celebration

June 1: Last day of school

Aug. 15: Meet and Treat (3-4 p.m.)

Aug. 17: First day of school (1st - 5th grade)

Aug. 18: First day of school (Kindergarten)

Aug. 23: Curriculum Night (Grade 3, 4, 5)

Aug. 24: Curriculum Night (Grades K, 1, 2)

Sept. 1: Picture Day

Sept. 7 & 8: Run-A-Thon

View the 2015-2016 school calendar here.