Primary Press

Address: 6009 Johnson St. McFarland, WI 53558

Main Phone: 608.838.3146

EC-2 Principal: Greg Nelson

K-5 Associate Principal: Brooke Hauser

Building Administrative Assistant: Lyndsey Niebuhr

Online: Website & Facebook Page

Meeting the needs of every learner, every day

• August 28-29: District Photo Days for all EC-12 students at McFarland High School 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
• August 29: Family Welcome Back Night (supply drop-off & meet-the-teacher) 5:30-7:30 PM
• last names A-K 5:30-6:20
• last names L-Z 6:40-7:30
• September 2: Labor Day (No School)
• September 3: First day of school K-6 and 9-12 (full day)
• September 4: First day of school 4K and 7-8
• September 10: First day of school Early Childhood
• September 24: CEPS Picture Retake Day
• September 27: No School (Staff Development)

Welcome to the first edition of the 24/25 weekly Primary Press, your CEPS family newsletter. Each Sunday evening, you can expect to find important dates, links, updates, and information shared in this newsletter. This year, I will try to keep the "weekly messages" section of our newsletter brief, as last year family feedback indicated a desire for school communication to get more "to the point." So with that, please enjoy the notes for this coming week, see you Thursday at Family Welcome-Back Night, and get ready for an amazing school year. See you soon, Spartan Star students and families!

CEPS is currently seeking snack donations. To ensure the safety of all students, please provide snacks that are peanut and nut-free. We are looking for individually wrapped items such as:

• Goldfish

• Pirates Booty

• Applesauce pouches

• Popcorn

• Scooby Snacks

• Cheez-It Crackers

• Pretzels

Donations can be dropped off at the main office for Ms. Keri. We greatly appreciate the generosity and support from our parents.

Thank you!

Your child will be able to meet their teacher, see their learning space, drop-off supplies, and enjoy a treat! This is a busy yet informal chance for all families to say hello to staff. That said, if you would like to share valuable individual information about your child with their teacher, please send them a email with the details, or request a time to check in, outside of this event. If you are unable to attend, your child can bring supplies the first day of school. We ask that if you are able, please follow this schedule for the night:

• Last names A-K: 5:30-6:20
• Last names L-Z: 6:30-7:30

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd, and is a full required day of school for all students. Please anticipate that for the first week or so, both morning arrival and afternoon dismissal will be slow as families and students learn the procedures and routines. Trust the process, things pick up very well once everyone learns the plan!

• Drop-off is 7:20-7:45 AM (no earlier, no later!). After 7:50 AM, students are considered tardy and must be walked into our main office on Johnson Street by an adult caregiver in order for the tardy to be excused.
• The school day ends at 2:40 PM, with pick-up from 2:40-3:00 PM.

Empire Photography and the McFarland School District are hosting picture days on August 28-29th from 10:00 AM-7:00 PM at McFarland High School; appointments and walk-ups are welcome. Our picture retake day for CEPS is September 24th.

Each year, we have families who wish to enter the building with their child during morning drop-off and walk them into their classrooms. For several reasons, we cannot have this happen. First and foremost is school safety; in this day and age, we simply can't risk having an open-door policy at any time. Secondly, we want our students to learn and practice the routine they should follow for arrival from day 1, which includes walking into the building independently. For the beginning of the year, we "over staff" our arrival time, with additional school members both in/outside the building to direct your child. More, once your child enters the building, they wait briefly in the hall before entering their classrooms, where their teachers need to get kids going with settling into their classrooms, meeting each other, and starting their day! Finally, after doing this for many many years, our consistent observation is that children whose families treat morning drop-off more matter-of-fact and give quick hugs/goodbyes fare much better. We know that it can raise lots of emotions when you drop your child off for their first day, especially in kindergarten, but when families give long goodbyes with lots of hugs and reassurances, the drawn-out process often causes students to have heightened anxiety, and is thus a more challenging start to their day.

Instead, please feel free to treat our Family Welcome-Back Night on Thursday as your chance to walk your child into the building. Both the main entrance off Johnson St and the Creamery entrance (used for car arrival/dismissal) will be open, so you can "walk the routine" with your child of coming into the building and finding their classroom!

Each year before school starts, all of our classroom teachers meet as incoming/outgoing teams to discuss how to best support all students. This means that the teacher your child had last year will meet with their new teacher to share strengths, individual needs (including medical/health, 504 plans, IEPs, etc.), and make sure they have the "good to know" info to set your child up for success on Day 1. This includes 4K teachers meeting with K teachers, and 2nd grade teachers meeting with 3rd grade teachers at WIS. In addition, if you have thoughts you'd like to share with your child's teacher, please don't hesitate to reach out to set up a phone call/meeting.

A quick Google search will land you with countless research that states the benefits of having recess occur before lunch. Well, starting this year, our wonderful supervision team and Associate Principal Dr. Hauser worked together over the summer to create a plan to make this happen! Students in all three grades will have a morning recess, then have another recess right before they come in to eat lunch. We anticipate seeing improved positive lunch behavior, students eating more of their meals instead of rushing to get outside, and a calmer transition back to the classroom, along with other benefits! On the first day of school, we will teach your child the procedure to go to recess then come in, clean up, and go through the lunch routine in the cafeteria.

As long as your child is feeling well, getting them to school every day and ON TIME (arrival is 7:20-7:45 AM) is one of the best things you can do to support their progress. That said, if your child is ill, has an appointment, etc., please follow our absence reporting procedures (click the button below) to note your child’s attendance accordingly. Please submit your child's absence by 7:45 AM. If your child is not in school and we haven't heard from you, front office staff must contact you either at home or at work to ensure your child is safe and accounted for.

We understand that your child’s birthday is a special day but treats and toys should be saved for the parties you host at home and not be delivered to the school. Briefly, the reasons behind this request are that it eliminates the concern for students with food allergies, promotes equity among students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, removes the management of treats and toys for staff, and reduces distraction during the day. Teachers might still request specific party food items to be sent in for classroom celebrations, which is fine. If you would like to share something with your child's class for their birthday, consider donating an age-appropriate read-aloud book to their classroom library or working with the teacher to come in and read a story if you'd like!

In an effort to keep our students and staff safe, reduce traffic into our office reception area, and avoid having to check people in who are simply dropping off items, we have an area right inside our main entrance vestibule for student deliveries. If your child forgot their lunch, shoes, water bottle, etc. please enter our main vestibule, use the sticky notes/pens provided to label the item with your child's name/teacher, and leave right on the ledge under the transaction window; no need to push the buzzer to be let in.

At times, families ask if we need any donations at school. In all honesty, our McFarland community and families are SO good to us at the start of each school year. Our supplies are stocked and we feel good to go! If you'd like, we are always looking for donations of K-cups for the Keurig in the staff lounge. Our CEPS staff would love anything that is made for a Keurig (coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.). Feel free to drop off your donation in the main office.

• District-Wide Photo Days - August 28 & 29

• Free Sale for Families - September 14

• McFarland Girls Youth Basketball - Registration open through September 15

• McFarland Youth Hockey Association Try Hockey for Free Event - October 10

The flyers found at the link above 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.