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Mrs. Froden's class recently celebrated a reading unit with "Readers Theater," and invited some other classes and school staff to come listen to their production. Bravo!

Our teaching staff put in a lot of hard work, over many hours, and this is especially evident on our district Professional Development Days. Tomorrow's PD day will have a focus on continual learning around our new reading curriculum, Wonders. At one of our previous fall PD days, teachers had the ability to take a little break in their day, show off their creative side, and create a fall craft.

• 12/8 NO SCHOOL (Staff Development Day)

As I walk the halls, visit classrooms, and give high-five's at lunch, I often reflect on how lucky I am 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 I feel lucky to get to learn from each day myself (wait till you see the article from Superintendent Tarnutzer linked below that shows McFarland School District is in the top 10% of districts in the state with our most-recent school report card). 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 that come home, talking with your child about their day, and of course, reading with them at home. At CEPS, we have a theme for each month to help unite us as a school with a common focus and opportunity for fun. It is quite easy for me to connect with this month's theme...Gratitude!😌

❄️🧤Quick follow-up from last week's message in which I asked for your help getting that winter gear out, labeled, and sent to school daily. If for ANY reason at all you need assistance in getting winter wear for your child, please contact our School Social Worker Lily Hlavacek directly at either 608-838-4500 ext. 4610, or hlavacl@mcfsd.org. She does a great job working with our families to make sure every CEPS learner has what they need to be successful.

Check out our Wonders (English-Language Arts curriculum) grade-level newsletters by clicking the buttons below, to keep up-to-date on what your child is learning, along with tips on how to support literacy at home!

Hi Families!

Your student(s) should have received an informational form about the PE Ice Arena Field Trip on December 18th and 19th. The schedule is as follows.

Monday, December 18th

8:05-9:05 Punzel and Albrecht
9:05-10:05 Smith and Wisniewski
10:10-11:10 Robbins and Mandli
11:10-12:10 Brezenski and Brown
12:30-1:30 Heim and Carey
1:30-2:30 Paugel and Dettlaff

Tuesday, December 19th

8:05-9:05 Presser and Fix
9:05-10:05 Schmidt and Hemmer
10:10-11:10 Froden and Rotunno
11:10-12:10 Mueller and Davis
12:30-1:30 Cook and Davis
1:30-2:30 Gray and Marking

Students will need to bring a helmet to go on the ice. We do have extras if needed. Students do not wear skates. Gloves and boots are recommended. Parents/Guardians are welcome to attend and can meet us at the ice arena, located at 4812 Marsh Rd, McFarland, WI 53558. Questions? Email Mrs K (1st-2nd) at klappea@mcfsd.org or Mrs Vitse (K) VitseE@mcfsd.org.

With the cold and flu season in full swing, please review our Guidelines for sending your child to school and MSD Health Services Handbook. Remember, if your child is sick please keep them home and seek medical evaluation as needed. Students will be sent home with the following symptoms:

• Temperature above 100.4°F

• Vomiting or diarrhea

• Frequent uncontrollable cough

Your child should remain at home until fever, vomiting/diarrhea has stopped for 24 hours without the use of medication. Students who are prescribed antibiotics for infectious conditions such as strep throat or impetigo must complete treatment for 24 hours before returning to school. As well, please notify the School/Health Office if your student has tested positive for a communicable disease such as: Influenza/Flu, Covid 19, Strep Throat, Hand Foot & Mouth, Chicken Pox, Pertussis.

Thank you for your partnership as we work to keep our students and staff healthy and safe each day!

Last week the Lions Club trained vision screeners conducted vision screenings on all Kindergarten and 2nd grade students for vision difficulties.

Families of students who did not pass will be emailed a vision referral. Please review the information provided in the email and let health services know if you have any questions. If you need assistance or resources obtaining vision exams and glasses please reach out to Stephanie Peplinski, District Nurse Peplins@mcfsd.org for information.

As we shared in a previous newsletter, the School and District Report Cards were released in November. Now that the results are in, we are excited to share that our District Report Card score of 77.6 not only “Exceeds Expectations,” but it is the 2nd highest score among Dane County school districts (just behind Waunakee) and places us in the top 10% among all districts in the state (43 out of 420). This outstanding result reflects the dedication, hard work, and commitment of our talented staff and students, as well as our strong partnerships with families and the community.

While this is only one way to assess our effectiveness and we always have more work to do, it is a clear indication that we are headed in the right direction. Congratulations! This is worth celebrating!

For your reference, our report cards are available here and all report cards in WI are available here

Summary from the 12/4/23 School Board Meeting:

In addition to their regular duties of approving minutes, staffing, and expenses, here are some highlights from the meeting:

• MHS students Joey Lewis and Valery Vayserberg from the MHS Connect Club provided a report from the MHS student body.

• Director of Student Services, Lauren Arango presented the pupil non-discrimination summary report.

• Director of Business, Jeff Mahoney reviewed the proposed upcoming operational referendum.

• Action items that were acted upon included:

• The Board approved the 2024-25 District Calendar. The calendar can be found HERE.

• The Board approved the 2024-25 4K McFarland Calendar

• Cooperative team renewal for MHS Boys Wrestling

COMING UP:

The next School District of McFarland School Board meeting is scheduled for December 18, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.

Click HERE for a link to the McFarland School Board agendas and minutes.

Click HERE for a link to the McFarland School Board meeting recordings and upcoming YouTube live streams.

December 7 - 15 Hanukkah

• Also known as the festival of lights, is time for Jewish people to come together and reflect on their story of resistance. The celebration lasts eight days and nights and is observed with foods, games, and the most symbolic tradition of lighting the menorah.

* Wisconsin Public School Observance Days

The following flyers are not necessarily school-sponsored activities, and the McFarland School District does not provide support or endorsement of the program/flyer. It has neither reviewed nor approved the program, personnel, or activities announced in the brochure/flyer. Permission to distribute this material must not be considered a recommendation or endorsement by the School District.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL CALENDAR OF CHILDREN'S EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY

Each third Thursday of the month we will have a PJ Storytime featuring a special theme and activities.

Santa is making a special stop at the library for our December PJ Storytime. We will have a holiday storytime featuring a visit from Santa. After the program families are welcome to visit with Santa, take pictures, make holiday crafts, and enjoy holiday treats.

This winter/spring we are offering zoom options for Toddler Monday Storytime, Zumbini, Little Bodies Big Feelings, and PJ Storytime. To attend these programs virtually, email youthservices@mcfarlandlibrary.org by 9am the day of the program you wish to attend. For PJ Storytime, please email by 5:30pm the day of the program.

Visiting Santa can be overwhelming. This December the library is happy to offer a sensory friendly visit with Santa. Families can schedule a 15 minute visit with Santa. You can take pictures with Santa and visit without worries about loud noises, flashing lights, and crowds. Registration is required.

REGISTER HERE