October 14, 2024

Hello Country Dale Families,

Great beginning last week!

Our therapy dog, Maddie, began her visitation schedule. We are starting small and slow once a week as she adjusts to our building and students. But so far, a great success! We also had Franklin High School Mentors/Tutors begin helping us in the building. They visit us once a week to help students in the classroom or small groups to reinforce concepts being taught in reading and/or math. They are amazing role models for our students! And lastly, Student Council also held their first meeting. The “Stu Cru” consists of 46 fourth and fifth graders!! WOW! We are so excited to see what they plan for our school! Student voice is always so important. If you ever have ideas for us, please send them our way!

What an amazing community I am so proud to be a part of here at Country Dale!

Enjoy your week,

Anjanette Nickel

COUNTRY DALE STU CRU 2024-25

As a reminder, the 2024-25 District Calendar can be found in PDF format here and linked into our district calendars on our website here. All of our calendars are able to be subscribed to! Follow the steps at the top of the District Calendar webpage for how to subscribe.

Absentee Picture day is scheduled for October 15th. If your child has not had a picture taken already, it will be taken then. Ordering information will be given out at the time of pictures.

If a picture was already taken, but a retake is needed, please let your teacher know so your child can be sent for pictures. Please return the original picture package to the photographer at the time of pictures. The same package will be ordered with the new image. New packages will not be received unless the original package is returned.

Please contact Customer Service with any questions 262-780-2901 or customerservice@schoolandsportpics.com

Reading is so important to our students. Come join us for a night of fun literacy games and activities. Bring your families!

We will be administering a brief screener of social, emotional and behavioral functioning in grades 3-8 between October 15-24, 2024. Please click here for more information.

Please click the CD Parent Teacher Conference Link for important information regarding conferences. We will be holding conferences on Thursday, November 14th and Thursday, November 21st. Sign up today to secure your time slot. Thank you.

Since we are a month into the new school year and using our new School Cafe lunch system, we wanted to offer these updates that might be helpful to families.

NOTIFICATIONS: The screenshot nearby shows the Student Information Screen and you’ll notice there is a place there to set an ‘alert’ for low balances. If you had alerts in our old MySchoolBucks system, please be aware you will have to come set up brand new alerts in SchoolCafe and this is where that can occur. Please be aware that low balance emails go out twice per week and come from the email “no-reply@schoolcafe.com” so please make sure to check your spam or other areas in your email if these are not appearing in your inbox.

AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS: Automatic payment is designed for users who like to replenish their student's cafeteria account whenever the balance falls below a specified amount.

To set up an automatic payment:

1. Add a valid payment source to your account either through the Payment Info menu (in the 'Payment Sources' tab), or on the Automatic Payment pop-up itself in the expanded details of individuals on your Dashboard.

2. On the Automatic Payment pop-up, select the payment amount to be replenished, the payment threshold, and the payment source.

3. Add an expiration date for the setting that ends before the payment source expires.

BALANCES ARE TRANSFERRED: As of last week, all MySchoolBucks balances have transferred over to School Cafe.

As we get closer to the November 5th Referendum Vote, we want to make families aware there are only TWO Community Information Sessions left! Join us to listen and learn about the details of the referendum projects AND tour the Franklin High School spaces to see first hand the areas of need.

Next session is THIS Wednesday at the Saber Center at Franklin High School at 5pm

Final Session is Friday, October 25th @ 10am (No School for Students)

As we move toward November 5th, here are some deadlines to be aware of when it comes to voter registration and absentee voting deadlines.

If you are not registered to vote and you are eligible, there is still time!

• Register Online: Wed, October 16th by 11:59 p.m. CDT

• Register by mail (postmarked by): Wed, October 16th

• Register In-person at voting location on Election Day: Tues, November 5th

Absentee ballot deadlines

• Request ballot (received by): Fri, October 31st by 5pm CDT

• Return ballot by mail (received by): Tues, November 5th by 8pm CST

• Return ballot in person: Tues, November 5th by 8pm CST
  
  

• From the City of Franklin website (here): Absentee voting in the City Clerk's office is restricted to the 2 weeks before an Election and ends at the close of business the Friday before an Election. In-person absentee voting at the City Clerk's Office for the November 5, 2024 Fall General Election will be available weekdays Tuesday, October 22, 2024, through Thursday, October 31, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday, November 1, 2024, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. No in-person absentee voting may occur on the day before the election.

Our VOTING page has more voter information details

Can't make one of the dates above? Check out our "virtual tour" of the FHS spaces by clicking on the map below! Short videos are clickable at each location right from your phone and will better explain the areas we hope to address through the referendum. NEWLY ADDED are 360 photos where you can click and drag around to see a room.

CLICK ON THE MAP BELOW TO LOOK AROUND!

Join us tomorrow, Tuesday, October 8th at 5:30pm in the Country Dale Art Room (Room 1). This will be the second PTO meeting of the year. Please feel free to bring any new ideas/suggestions, or just come to listen. Your support is always greatly appreciated!

Join us virtually via this Zoom link if you cannot make it in person!

Meeting Link (click): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85443386281 (or copy/paste)

Meeting ID: 854 4338 6281

The Fall Book Fair is scheduled for October 28th-November 1st. Here is a Book Fair Information Letter.

We will need quite a few parent volunteers to help set-up and take-down, and volunteers throughout the school day(s). In addition, we will also have an evening time slot during Trunk-or-Treat (Wednesday, October 30th). Click the link below if you are able to help work the Book Fair:

BOOK FAIR SIGN-UP HERE

Have you ever heard of Scholastic eWallets? Scholastic eWallets are a great way to have your child buy books at the Scholastic Book Fair without having to carry around cash. You can start setting up your child’s eWallet today, and it will be available until the end of the Book Fair. Any remaining balances on eWallet accounts can be used at future Book Fairs. Need help setting up your child’s eWallet? Go to the Country Dale Scholastic Book Fair website to create an account and start adding money, or reach out to the PTO with any questions. We are always happy to help!

PARENT DIRECTORY: Scan the QR code, or click the link to sign up to receive monthly emails and connect with other Country Dale families. Our directory is safe and secure, as only those who join are able to see your information. All submissions must be approved by a board member. Only you can decide what information you want shared.

Please log in to A to Z Connect (called Membership Toolkit in your app store) and update the following information for each child:

Click on “Your Family Information”

1. Update each child’s grade and teacher

2. Or, remove student if they no longer attend Country Dale

Also, check your “Directory Publish Preferences” if needed.

The music of Elton John and Billy Joel is coming to Franklin! Join us a musical celebration of the 1970s, as award-winning Canadian recording artist Jim Witter and his incredible band lead an expertly crafted tour of an entire decade that begins with "Your Song" and winds us along on a musical time machine, saluting two of the century's most popular contemporary songwriters.

"The Piano Men" starring Jim Witter

7 p.m. | Thursday, October 24

Saber Center for the Performing Arts

8221 S. 51st St. (attached to Franklin High School)

Purchase Tickets Here

$32 Reserve | $40 Premium Reserve

SAVE THE DATE! The FHS Freshman Class of 2028 is hosting the Saber SpookFest -- a Halloween themed event for kids, on Sunday, October 27th from 1-3pm in the main commons of Franklin High School. We'll be offering Halloween games, crafts, indoor Trick or Treating, a costume contest, fall snacks, and more! Tickets will be available online mid-October so watch your newsletters for more information!

The Franklin Recreation basketball program for 2nd through 8th grades will be closing registration on October 18th. Spots are limited based on the number of volunteer coaches. Practices begin the week of November 18th with games on Saturdays starting December 14th. REGISTER HERE.

We are proud to share the next (2) connected events in this year’s 2024-25 "Family Information Series" for Franklin Public Schools caregivers. Mark your calendars for these events and please share with friends and family locally as these events are open to non-FPS caregivers as well!

• Part 1 is a screening of the documentary "Childhood 2.0" at the FHS Saber Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, October 21st @ 6pm. This will be followed by a panel discussion that includes district leaders, law enforcement, a student, and a Bark representative.

• Part 2 is a session led by Child Advocate & Education Consultant Katey McPherson on how to teach and support the "iGeneration" of students.

Click on the flyer below to see more details and we hope to see you there!

NOTE: Our partners in the Pewaukee Schools are also hosting these same events one day after each of ours. Here is a link to their flyer with details if you want to help share with friends and family in the area.

Whether you're a pro, or just getting started, the FEF Charity Pickleball Tourney will be an event you won't want to miss! All proceeds go to support grants, scholarships and student assistance funding through the Educational Foundation. Matches begin at 8 am on Sat 10/26 and will end by 4 pm in the FPMS gym (wood floors). Brackets will include competitive and recreational play. FPS staff and High school students 14 and above can play at a discounted rate! Click here for more and to register!

Email: terese.tubbs@franklin.k12.wi.us
Website: https://www.franklin.k12.wi.us/country-dale-elementary-school
Location: 7380 South North Cape Road, Franklin, Wisconsin 53132, USA
Phone: 414-529-8240
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CountryDaleElementary/posts/