Kegonsa Family Newsletter

Happy Friday, Blue Gills! 🌞

We've had another amazing week here at Kegonsa! I’m pleased to share that our student assessments went wonderfully, and I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and focus our students put in. Looking ahead, the Kegonsa Working for Kids Gilly's Grand Prix is coming up! Please check your student's take home folder for additional information. We’re excited for this fun event that promotes fitness and school spirit. It is our LARGEST fundraiser of the year. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our AMAZING sponsors for making this event a success. Your generosity and support are what keeps us racing forward each year! We are truly grateful 💙 Have a wonderful weekend! ~Erin

Picture retake day is Monday, October 7th! If your student did not get their picture taken at Back to School Conferences, or if you would like them to retake their picture, please reach out to let their homeroom teacher.

It has been exciting to see the enthusiasm of Kegonsa students for the library and books. Each class will come to the library for 30 minutes, once a week, for the purpose of checking out books and receiving library lessons. Throughout the course of the school year, we will cover the following topics: digital citizenship, online safety, research skills, media literacy, book genres, author studies along with essential library skills and coding.

We are going to refresh our STEAM and Makerspace with new supplies, including Dash, Dot, and Sphero Bolt robots, and also additional building materials like Keva Planks and Rigamajigs.

Mark your calendars! Our Literati Book Fair is from October 17-25 at Kegonsa LMC. The online Book Fair opens on September 19 and closes on October 25. Books like Baby-Sitters Club and Captain Underpants series are available online only. Details to follow on September 19.

Exciting news: Author Aaron Reynolds will be visiting Stoughton from November 11-13, and Kegonsa gets him first! It's going to be a fantastic event that you won't want your child to miss.

Huge thanks to the students, parents, and staff for such a warm welcome. I'm really looking forward to what we will achieve together this year.

In this increasingly digital world, it's not surprising that children are spending more and more of their time on some sort of device. And while there is certainly much to be learned, explored, and created using devices, there are skills that devices can't always teach — and that children need to learn.

Play bolsters executive function and mood regulation skills

Executive function, emotional regulation, and general physical skills are important for children to learn — and practice — as they grow. The best way for children to learn these skills is through play; that's why we say that play is the work of a child. As devices become more pervasive, and as many children become more scheduled with lessons and organized activities, making time for device-free play can become forgotten. Read more here...

In the near future, you will receive a paper copy of your student’s Individual Student Report (ISR) mailed to your residence via the United States Postal Service. The ISR provides information about your child’s performance on the Wisconsin Forward Exam. The Forward Exam was administered during the spring of 2024 in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics for students in grades 3-8, science for grades 4 and 8, and social studies for grades 4, 8, and 10. As part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System, the Forward Exam is a large-scale, standardized achievement test designed to assess what students know in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards.

Please remember that the ISR is just one of many indicators of your child’s academic performance. To obtain a more complete picture of your student’s areas of strength and growth, it is important to consider information from a wide variety of sources.

For more information on ISRs, or your student’s learning experience and performance, please contact your student’s teacher or Ms. Conrad.

If you’ve ever considered making extra money by helping as a substitute in the school, Lauren at ESS would love to share some information with you! ESS is hiring for several substitute positions in SASD. To learn more about these opportunities or the steps needed to start your sub career, you can email Lauren at lamburn@ess.com or give her a call at 608.607.7326.

ESS partners with SASD to provide substitute teachers, aides, and more. You can find them on Facebook at ESS WI. From now through September 13th, please like/follow ESS WI for an entry to win a $50 Amazon gift card! For an extra entry, please like and comment on a post (one additional entry for every new post you like and comment on). For another additional entry, share one of our posts! (one additional entry per share).

Our winner* will be announced on Monday, September 16th!

*additional winners may be chosen based on the total number of entries

If a student is absent or tardy, parents and/or guardians must contact the school by either calling the school attendance line or sending a note to the office.

To leave an absence message, please call 877-5200 and listen to the attendance line prompt. Provide your name, child’s name, homeroom teacher, date of absence, and reason for absence.

When a student is absent and the parent/guardian has not contacted the school, an automated message will be sent to your phone(s) and/or email advising you that your child is not present in school. If you do not confirm the absence, your child will be marked with an “unexcused” absence. For further information regarding the School Board of Education and the State of Wisconsin policies for student Attendance, please consult the 2023-24 Stoughton Area School District Legal Notices and Student Policy Handbook.

A student may be excused by a parent/guardian for ten full days per school year. The parent or guardian must call the school to excuse the absence. These absences are considered parent-excused absences.

• Partial days combine to contribute to the 10 excused absences a student may have each year. The following explains a ‘partial’ day: Arriving later than 8:30 a.m. or departing earlier than 2:15 p.m. would count as one half-day absence. Two half-days would combine into a full day.

• Any absences beyond the ten parent excused absences will be considered unexcused unless the absence is included in the list of excusable absences below.

Students who have accumulated 5 or more unexcused absences per semester are considered by the school board and the State of Wisconsin to be habitually truant.

• At this point, a meeting between school staff and the parent/guardian would be held to develop an attendance improvement plan. We understand that various barriers may prevent regular attendance, and we are committed to working with you to overcome them.

• When the attendance improvement plan is made, the student’s attendance will be monitored and is expected to improve. If no improvement is made, the school may file with the court that the student is habitually truant. The parent/guardian may receive a fine of over $500.

Students can be excused for these specific reasons:

• Medical, dental, counseling or other professional appointments that cannot be scheduled outside the school day may be medically excused with proper written documentation from the provider.

• A court appearance or other legal procedure that requires the student’s presence.

• An emergency in the family or other crisis that requires the student to be absent

• A death in the immediate family, or funerals for relatives or close friends.

• Religious holiday.

• Absence from school during a period of suspension or expulsion.

• Approved school activities during class time.

• Special circumstances that show good cause and which are approved by the school principal.

Office hours: 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

School hours: 7:45 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:35 a.m.

Please try to get your student to school by 7:35 every day. It gives your students ample time to get to their locker, chat with friends, and grab breakfast. We start our morning meeting at 7:45 and it is hard for kids to walk in late to the classroom when everyone is already begun the day.

If students are not in their classroom at 7:45 they will be marked tardy.

Ms. Conrad, Principal (877-5201)

Mrs. Nelson, Dean of Students (877-5222)

Mrs. Southern, Front Office Admin Assistant (877-5202)

Mr. Schultz, School Counselor (877-5229)

Mrs. Menon, School Psychologist (877-5276)

Mrs. McDermot, School Social Worker (440-0270)

Mrs. Hart, Health Assistant (877-5204)

Email: erin.conrad@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/page.cfm?p=619
Location: Kegonsa Elementary School, Vernon Street, Stoughton, WI, United States
Phone: 608-877-5202
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonschools/
Twitter: @WeAreStoughton