IMMS Family Flier

Dear Indian Mound Middle School Students and Families,

On Sunday, several IMMS staff attended a the Martin Luther King Jr. Outstanding Young Person Award at Edgewood High School. See below for a photo and more information about this incredible event.

Today, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we want to take a moment to reflect on the significance of this important holiday. Dr. King’s legacy reminds us of the power of courage, compassion, and the pursuit of justice. His leadership in the Civil Rights Movement helped change our country, promoting equality and the fundamental belief that all people deserve dignity and respect.

This day off is not just a break from school but an opportunity to honor Dr. King’s memory and the values he championed. As a family, you might consider ways to commemorate the day meaningfully. Here are some ideas:

• Read and Learn Together: Explore books or online resources about Dr. King’s life and the Civil Rights Movement.
• Volunteer in the Community: Dr. King believed in serving others. Participating in a service project is a wonderful way to give back.
• Have Thoughtful Conversations: Discuss what fairness, kindness, and standing up for what’s right mean in your daily lives.

Let’s make this day one of reflection and action, living out the values Dr. King worked so tirelessly to uphold.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Warm regards,

Jamie Thomas, Principal

Brett Jondle, Associate Principal

2-hour delay schedule

Daily Schedule

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Day A/Day B Schedule

Student Services Support Contacts

McFarland School District Website

McFarland School District App

McFarland Youth Center Website

McFarland RADAR (Relevant Alcohol & Drug Awareness Resources) Coalition Newsletter

IMMS Athletics Calendar

Family information on IMMS Expectations

IMMS Sports and Clubs Eligibility Criteria

• Januarty 21 - No School
• January 22 - Safety Drill at IMMS (more info later in newsletter)
• January 23 - End of 2nd Quarter
• January 24 - No School
• January 27 - Start 3rd Quarter
• January 30-February 1 - IMMS Musical @ PAC

The PTO is looking for input on meeting topics and activities that are of interest to families! Hearing directly from you will help us identify topics that are interesting to you and how best to communicate about meeting dates, times, and locations. We appreciate you taking the time to provide your thoughts! Please fill out this SHORT SURVEY

This week 8th graders will start learning and talking about high school registration. The start comes on Wednesday when high school counselors come to IMMS to talk with all students during their Social Studies class about the high school transition process. Below are some key dates that you should keep in your calendar. Please reach out to Fred Bartman, School Counselor with any questions you may have.

High School Registration Timeline:

• Jan 21: High School Counselors Talk w/ 8th graders during school day
• Feb 5: Advisory Night at MHS
• Feb 10: Registration sheets due to IMMS Social Studies Teacher
• Week of Feb 17: 8th graders register online for classes during Social Studies Clas

The IMMS Art Ambassadors designed Valentine's Day postcards. This beautiful pack of cards is only $5 and proceeds will support McFarland's Food Pantry. You can purchase them through the Classmunity fundraiser link and then the cards will be available for pick up in the IMMS lobby starting January 29th Monday - Friday 8:30 - 4:00.

Use this LINK to order!

For More Information

Contact: Sandy Schoen

608 838-4500 ext. 4805

SchoenS1@mcfsd.org

Each year the Urban League of Greater Madison celebrates the achievements of outstanding young people across Dane County in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. To celebrate their acheivements, they were recognized at the 41st annual MLK Youth Recognition Breakfast on Sunday, January 19th. This is one of the state's largest family observances of the King Holiday, attracting more than 900 youth, famlies, volunteers, and community leaders each year. Students are nominated by schools from across Dane County based on their academic performance, community service, and extra-curricular participation.

The following youth received this award:

Left to Right:

Miley Torres Villanueva, Norma Prado, Serafina Modest, Dash Caradine, Astou Seye, and Jamyla Davis.

Not pictured: Anthony Jones, and Ha'Keem Stevens

After 23 rounds of spelling, 8th grader Izzy Voss is the IMMS Spelling Bee Champion! Izzy now advances to the Regional Spelling Bee at Stoughton High School.

Championship word: Maelstrom

Congratulations to the other top finishers:

2nd place: Adriana Li (8th grade)

3rd place: Katie Bertz (6th grade)

Student Services is looking for donations of student backpacks that are either brand new or gently used, and preferably a basic color and look. We occasionally have students who are in need of a new or replacement backpack, and we are almost out of them. Donated backpacks can be brought to the Student Services office. Thank you for considering this request.

We will gladly accept donations of snacks that we can give to students who may not be able to provide their own. We are specifically looking for nut-free, nonperishable, healthy snacks. You can drop off donations at the IMMS Student Services office.

Every year we join forces with the American Legion to provide an opportunity for our 8th grade students to participate in an essay writing contest. Eventually, two 8th graders receive the American Legion Award. All 8th graders are eligible to participate. All students who complete an essay will receive an honorable mention certificate and the 2 winning students will be invited to participate in the Memorial Day parade.

To apply for this award, students need to write an essay based on the tenets of the American Legion: Courage, Honor, Leadership, Patriotism, Scholarship, and Service. THIS google slide presentation will shown to 8th graders during Social Studies class and THIS google document gives details about the essay contest.

8th Grade students had an opportunity to learn more about the contest from Mr. Bartman during lunch on Friday. We will also run some essay writing workshops during ASR in January. You can reach out to the 8th grade counselor, Mr. Bartman, with any questions about the essay contest.

School safety is a priority in the McFarland School District. At Indian Mound Middle School (IMMS), we take several steps to ensure your child is safe and our school is secure. This upcoming week, we will be holding our fifth "School Safety Drill" of the school year, in which we will be conducting a "Secure" drill. During this drill, students will remain in their classrooms with "business as usual", and no one will be allowed in or out of the building during this short duration. As a reminder, a Secure is put into place when there is a danger OUTSIDE and near the building. We have been preparing your child for the drill during the past week during our school announcements.

During Wednesday's drill, we will make an announcement that clearly explains to students that we are about to conduct a drill prior to the drill beginning. The entire procedure should last approximately ten minutes with minimal impact on student learning. Before the drill, and following drill, students will be reminded (as we have done during each of our previous drills and safety discussions) that schools are often some of the safest places to be and that these skills students and staff learn about safety can be applied anywhere, both in school and out of school. Our goal is always to make this experience a useful practice of the procedures, without alarming students.

If you have any questions about the drill, please feel free to contact Ms. Thomas or me at any time at 838-8980.

Thank you,

Brett Jondle, Associate Principal, Jamie Thomas, Principal

If you are looking for a way to support the staff here at IMMS during our Wisconsin winter months, we are always looking for donations of coffee. We are especially in need of cans/bags of ground coffee of any kind, as long as it has caffeine:) We are also now in need of K-cups and appreciate any donations.

Thank you in advance.

As the weather continues to cool down and the seasons change, we wanted to provide a few reminders that we will/have been sharing with your scholar:

• Students should take their coats/sweatshirts/hats with them to lunch to avoid having to have to go to their locker/backpacks after being dismissed from lunch to recess
• To allow students the chance to eat at their own pace, there are two waves of dismissal from lunches. The first wave of dismissal happens 15 minutes into lunch (for those who are finished and want to get outside right away). The second wave of dismissal occurs twenty minutes into lunch (lunch/recess is thirty minutes total).
• The expectation is that at this point, all students must go outside for recess. Please continue to encourage this with your scholar

Below you will find "Hubs" (aka Task-List) for each grade level and Related Arts. You can click on the "Hub" to get information on what your scholar is doing in class, assignments, and assessments.

• Spartan Headquarters Donations for Feb. Vintage Sale to Benefit Food Pantry

• CESA 2 MHS Driver Education Program

• ACT Prep Plus - Registration Open

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

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

• McFarland Dance Team Winter Kids Clinic 2025 - Registration closes February 7

• MHS DECA Superhero Training Camp - February 8

• Futura Grades K-2 Spanish Language Program

• Spartan Headquarters Vintage Sale to Benefit McF Food Pantry - February 11 & 13

• E.D. Locke and Galin Education Free ACT Diagnostic Test Day - March 11

• McFarland Youth Baseball Organization 2025 Season Registration Open

• McFarland Youth Softball 2025 Season Registration Open

• i9 Sports 2025 Spring Season - Register by March 28

• McFarland Soccer Referee Course - April 19

• 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

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 Supervisor

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

Welcome to winter in Wisconsin! With the cold weather here, the Health Services Team wants to remind families of some cold weather safety tips. You can help by reminding your student of the importance of wearing weather-appropriate clothing, especially in these below zero temps. Your student should be wearing several layers of clothing on very cold days including a coat, hat, mittens/gloves and water-resistant boots. Please see the following links for more information and resources. Reach out to Health Services with any questions. Stay warm!

WI DHS - Climate and Health: Winter Weather and Extreme Cold

WI DHS - Cold Weather-Related Health and Safety Tips (Hypothermia)

CDC - Winter Weather: Before, During, and After

National Weather Service - Understanding Cold Weather Alerts

Your student’s school health assistant will be sending out email notifications shortly for students who are still in process or not compliant with WI School Immunization Requirements, in preparation for the 2025-24 school year. Please follow up with your Primary Care Provider to ensure that your child becomes up-to-date with vaccinations for their age/grade for next school year, WI Student Immunization Law by Age/Grade Requirements. If you have updated immunization information or would like access to a waiver (for personal, religious or health reasons - see step 4) please submit a student immunization record (English, Spanish) to your students school health office.

Vaccine Clinics: Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with Madison Metropolitan School District and SSM Health to offer more school vaccine clinics to get students up to date on their school vaccines. These clinics will take place at the below dates and times in Madison.

• Saturday, February 8th – 10am-2pm – at Holtzman Learning Center

• Saturday May 17th – 10am-2pm – at Holtzman Learning Center

To find out more information and to schedule an appointment, see the attached flyer, or visit publichealthmdc.com/schoolclinics.

Each January, school boards in Wisconsin are required to determine the number of open enrollment spaces available for the next school year.

At its January 13, 2025 meeting, the McFarland School Board approved the following open enrollment spaces for regular education students:

• 4K: 27 spaces

• Kindergarten: 6 spaces

• 1st Grade: 19 spaces

• 2nd Grade: 13 spaces

• 3rd Grade: 3 spaces

• 4th Grade: 22 spaces

• 5th Grade: 6 spaces

• 9th Grade: 7 spaces

• The board also approved open enrollment for siblings of current McFarland students

• There is unlimited space at the virtual programs that are part of the Wisconsin Virtual Academies

Open enrollment is not new to McFarland. If all of these spots were filled, next year there would be 214 students attending via open enrollment. The highest number of students attending the district via open enrollment was 320 in 2012-13.

What is Open Enrollment?

• Open enrollment allows students who live in one school district to attend school in a different district.

How Are Open Enrollment Spots Determined?

• The formula is: Grade Level Capacity – Projected Enrollment = Available Open Enrollment Spots

Why Are Spots Available?

• Declining enrollment: McFarland, like many districts in Wisconsin, is experiencing declining enrollment, particularly in 4K-5th grade, due to lower birth rates. According to the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officers, there was a 15% decline in births in Wisconsin from 2008 to 2019 and another 4.4% decline between 2019 to 2020.

• McFarland also has the added challenge of low housing stock and high cost of real estate, making it difficult for younger families to start their residency in the McFarland School District.

How Does Open Enrollment Benefit the District?

• The revenue provided by students who open enroll into the district helps us maintain appropriate staffing and programming.

• Having enough students for 8 sections per grade level in Kindergarten through 6th grade helps us maintain full-time status for all of the non-core classroom teachers and other staff members that provide important services for our students.

• Districts with declining enrollment that aren’t able to fill sections using open enrollment have to sometimes consider sharing staff between buildings or reducing teachers below full time status.

Will Class Sizes Be Larger?

• Open enrollment spaces are carefully planned to keep class sizes within established targets and below class size maximums.

• There are situations where open enrollment may actually reduce class sizes as we are able to add another section to the grade and distribute those students across 1 more class.

Example:

If we have 140 resident students enrolled for kindergarten, using our target class size of 20, we would have 7 sections of 20 students.

If 10 students enroll in kindergarten under open enrollment, there would be a total of 150 students. These 10 students would result in approximately $90,000 of revenue at which point we would likely add another section.

We would then have 8 sections of 18 or 19 students each as opposed to 7 sections of 21 or 22 students each.

In this case the addition of 10 students would reduce class sizes.

When will you know if the spots are filled?

• The district will know more about the number of non-resident families that have interest in the school district by the end of April when the application period closes; however, families are not required to give official notice of attendance to the district until June 27th.

Questions or Concerns?

Please contact Emily Broome, District Enrollment, Data, and Records Specialist, at 608-838-4581 or BroomeE@mcfsd.org.

January is...

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day