Big Bend Elementary Newsletter

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Phone: 262.363.4401 OFFICE: #0 / ATTENDANCE: #1 / HEALTH ROOM: #3

Fax: 262.662.1309

Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

School Hours: 8:30 a.m.-3:35 p.m.

Dear Families,

February is here, bringing with it exciting opportunities for growth and connection at our school! This month is packed with engaging activities, important dates, and meaningful conversations.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

We’re excited to partner with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences, which will take place on February 12. This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, celebrate achievements, and set goals for the remainder of the school year.

Reminders:

• Weather-Ready: Please ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for winter weather. Hats, gloves, and warm coats are a must for recess.

• Attendance Matters: Regular attendance is essential for academic success. Please report any absences to the school office attendance line or online in your parent portal.

Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. Let’s make February a month of learning, growth, and connection!

Warm regards,

Greg Burton

Building Principal

Big Bend Elementary School

w230s8695 Big Bend Drive

Big Bend, WI 53103

262-363-4401 ext. 21500

We are updating enrollments for the 25-26 school year. In doing so, we would like to know how many of our present 4K through 5th grade, students will be returning to Big Bend Elementary next fall. We are asking that each family complete the form below so we may gather accurate data for the district office.

Please complete one form for each student separately.

Thank you!

Please be sure to log on to the parent portal and enter your child's absence or call the school attendance line if your child will be absent or coming in late. When entering it in the portal it is helpfult to add your students teacher and lunch choice in the comments section. When calling 262-363-4401 press option #1. Please leave a detailed message as to why your child will be absent. If your student will be arriving late, please leave a message with the estimated time of arrival. If they will be taking hot lunch, please leave the child's lunch choice (#1 or #2). This is important as we do order our lunches by 9:00 am each morning from the Central Kitchen located off site. We try to keep the numbers as accurate as possible to avoid a shortage at lunchtime. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

If your child is not reported absent, they will be marked unexcused for the day.

Do you have concerns about your child’s development? The Mukwonago Area School District will conduct preschool screening for children between the ages of 3-5 years old, or children not attending 5 year old kindergarten. If you have concerns about your child's development, you are encouraged to register. If the child is not an MASD resident, they must be in an MASD school aged program.

District staff will screen your child in the areas of cognitive development, personal/social skills, fine motor (small muscle), gross motor (large muscle), adaptive, speech/language, hearing, and vision.This screening is NOT 4K or 5K kindergarten screening. There is no cost, and takes approximately 45 minutes.

To schedule a required appointment, please contact Gina Berka at 262.363.6300 x24201, or by email at berkagi@masd.k12.wi.us.

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Vision and hearing screens will take place at your child’s school during the month

of February. First graders will receive vision and hearing screenings, and kindergarten, third and fifth graders will receive vision screening. Your child will receive a copy of the screening results. The form will indicate if no further evaluation is needed or if follow up is recommended with a Physician, Optometrist, or Audiologist for further evaluation. Results will be documented in your child’s school health record and available to parent/guardian upon request.

If you have a child in second, fourth, and/or sixth grade, and feel they would benefit from a free vision or hearing screen, please contact your child’s school health assistant to request a vision and/or hearing screen for your child. Your Health Assistant at Big Bend Elementary is Wendy Fleck. She can be reached at 262-363-4401 Press #3 to be connected directly to the health room.

Please contact Wendy Fleck in the health room If you would prefer not to have your child screened at this time. If you have a child in second, fourth, or sixth grade, and feel they would benefit from a vision or hearing screen, you may also contact the health room.

Thank you,

Noel Menghe, RN, BSN

Mukwonago Area School District Nurse

(262) 363-6292 x27515

MASD is excited to offer this district wide voluntary reading program for students in grades 4th, 5th and 6th. The Reading Rumble encourages students to read and collaborate with others in teams of 2-4 students.

Students have been introduced to the Reading Rumble through the Library program. The basics of the program are:

1. Now - May 6, 2025 = Reading titles from reading list (not all books need to be read by each team member). Copies of books can be found in the school library, electronically through SORA and the local public libraries.

1. Now - February 28, 2025 = Find a team of 2-4 people at the same grade level and turn in a permission form (located in the school library) to Ms. Bretza.

1. May 7, 2025 = Grade Level Rumble at BBES. Teams of students will compete in a book trivia challenge (rumble) against other teams at their grade level. Top 2 grade level teams move onto the building level rumble.

1. May 12, 2025 = Building Level Rumble at BBES. Top winning team will move onto the district level rumble.

1. May 21, 2025 = District Level Rumble at MHS. One team from each school will compete in one final rumble.

We hope your child will consider joining this voluntary reading program as it should be a lot of fun in May! Feel free to contact Ms. Bretza (bretzbe@masd.k12.wi.us) if you have any questions or would like additional information.

Our 3rd & 4th grade BEATLES concert is coming up soon!

Here is some information about our concert:

1. Place: Thursday, February 20th at the Greenwald Foundation Performing Arts Center. Make sure to put this date and location in your calendar! 605 W Veterans Way, Mukwonago, WI 53149 *Different this year: There will not be a daytime school concert at BBES. There will be enough seating for everyone to come support our students at our evening concert at our beautiful PAC at Mukwonago High School!

2. Time: Our concert will start at 6:30pm. The concert should be around 30-45 minutes in duration. All 3rd & 4th grade students should plan on being at the PAC at 6:00pm the evening of Thursday, 2/20. No earlier, please. Please drop your child off at Door 11 (east entrance to Mukwonago High School, marked “performer entrance”)

3. Attendance: This concert is a required school performance for all 3rd and 4th graders. Please send Mrs. Schroeder an email if you will be out of town on a pre-planned family vacation, or if your child is out ill that school day and cannot physically be there. schrobr@masd.k12.wi.us

4. Dress Rehearsal and Permission Slip information: Our dress rehearsal at the PAC with the 3rd & 4th graders will be 8:40-10:45 the morning of 2/20. If possible, please refrain from scheduling any appointments during this time. Students were given a paper copy of our permission slip the last week of January. The permission slip is due on Thursday, February 13th. HERE is a pdf copy, in case your child misplaces his or her permission slip. You may print it out at home, if needed.

5. Concert dress: Dress like the Beatles! Feel free to create an outfit inspired by any of the Beatles' looks! Costumes and wearable accessories are welcome! Students are also welcome to wear any Beatles band T-shirts as well, or any clothes they are comfortable in, if no Beatles apparel is available. Please note that during the school day on 2/20, students should wear NORMAL school clothes, and dress in layers, for our dress rehearsal at the PAC. The PAC lights are warm, so make sure any sweatshirts can be removed if needed.

6. Preparation: Students should be practicing singing their concert pieces at home with the lyrics sheets provided in music class. Below are links the students can use to practice with at home too! Dedicating 5-10 minutes per night to practice their concert songs will make a big difference in the level of our performance on the 20th! You can open these links on any device you use at home with a speaker, like a computer, phone, iPad, etc.

Yellow Submarine

Here Comes the Sun

Hello, Goodbye

Help!

Twist & Shout

I Want to Hold Your Hand

Yesterday

Looking forward to a wonderful BEATLES concert experience with our 3rd & 4th graders. See you on February 20th!

Brianna Schroeder

4K-6th Grade Elementary Music Teacher

Big Bend Elementary School

Mukwonago Area School District

schrobr@masd.k12.wi.us

.

*PTO MEETING-PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF DATE CHANGE- FEBRUARY 11th @ 6:30 PM- We encourage everyone to attend our monthly meetings. All are welcome! Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month in the library. You can also attend virtually using the zoom link below!

*VIRTUAL SNOWMAN COMPETITION- JANUARY 3rd- MARCH 3rd- No snow yet :( Hoping for some snow this month for our virtual snowman competition. Take a photo with your snowman and email your entry to julielynnklawitter@gmail.com. Be sure to include your name, grade and teacher with your entry. Awesome prize baskets for the top 5 entries. Check out our facebook and instagram pages this winter to see all of the creative snowmen built by our BBES kids.

*SPRING DANCE & BASKET RAFFLE- MARCH 7th from 6-8 PM- Join us for “A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES”!! Concessions, dancing, raffle baskets and more! Come dressed as your favorite movie character or dressed to impress! Basket themes are in the process of being chosen. Watch for a donation letter coming home in your child’s folder in the coming weeks!

*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for our upcoming events. Please sign up if you can help. THANKS!!

SPRING DANCE AND BASKET RAFFLE NIGHT:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4EA5AB2DABFB6-winter1

PARENT/VIP LUNCH & SPRING BOOK FAIR:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4EA5AB2DABFB6-book

WE LOVE OUR BBES STAFF!!

Our PTO will be treating our staff to a Valentine’s Day breakfast on 2/13!

Thank you for supporting our PTO so special events like this can happen!

What’s Coming Up…

MARCH PTO MEETING- 3/13 @ 6:30 PM

VIRTUAL SNOWMAN COMPETITION- 1/3-3/3

PARENT/VIP LUNCH WEEK & SPRING BOOK FAIR- 4/7-4/11

PTO MEETING ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87433901291?pwd=KC1W5xCQFpn3jgSbV54aX1sah5ceIt.1

PASSCODE- 970099

LIKE us on Facebook: Big Bend PTO ~ JOIN our Instagram @BIGBENDPTO

As it is every year. We have several items in the lost and found we are unable to identify. If you feel you are missing items at home, please remind your child to check the lost and found. We have A LOT of items ranging anywhere from water bottles to coats and boots! We are limited on space to keep these unclaimed items. If you think you may be missing something, please stop in and take a look!