Waubesa Weekly

WIS Principal: Corey Shefchik

K-5 Associate Principal: Brooke Hauser

Building Administrative Assistant: Angie TeBeest

Website and McFarland Facebook Page

Phone: 608-838-7667

October 23- WIS Family Fun Night 4:30-6:30

October 24- No School PD day

October 25- No School- Conference Release Day

October 27- Referendum Information Session - 6 p.m. MHS Performing Arts Center

October 30- Lost and Found will be donated by 2pm

October 30- HGD Family Night in the MPR- 6 pm

November 1st- 4th Grade-- Taste of Wisconsin

November 15th- Fall Activity Fees Due

Our lost and found is growing. We will be donating lost and found on October 30th by 2pm. Please stop by to check the lost and found if you are missing something. If you plan on checking the lost and found our doors open at 7:25am and close at 4pm. Please bring your ID for a smooth check in process.

McFarland Families,

McFarland students in grades 4K-8 have recently completed assessments via FastBridge and students in grades 4K-3 have completed literacy assessments via AimswebPlus. Those results are available for families to view in Infinite Campus. Directions on how to access that information are provided below.

FastBridge and AimswebPlus assessments provide a snapshot about what our students know and are able to do in the core academic areas of English Language Arts and Math. While these scores are only a single indicator at a single point in time, the scores do provide district and school staff with an opportunity for reflection about the quality of our educational programming as well as for conversation about how well we are preparing students to meet the requirements of the State standards across content areas.

For more information about AimswebPlus, please see this Act 20 information that was shared with 4K-3 families earlier this year.

If you have questions about these results, please reach out to your child’s principal for more information.

Sincerely,

Melissa Pfohl

Director of Teaching and Learning

To access Aimsweb Plus and FastBridge information via Infinite Campus:

• Login to the parent portal.

• In the menu on the left side, click “More” and then “Assessments.”

• All of your child’s historical FastBridge scores will be displayed. The number under “Score” is a raw score and the number under “Result” is the national percentile rank of that score for your child’s grade level. A percentile shows the percentage of students nationally who scored at or below your child’s score. The lowest value is 1 and the highest is 99.

• If you have more than one child in the District, you can click in the upper right to change which child’s scores you are viewing.

If you would like additional information about your child’s AimswebPlus or FastBridge scores, you can reach out to your child’s principal and request a FastBridge Family Report that includes more detailed information.

School Avoidance: If your student is having a hard with the transition back to school, please do not hesitate to reach out to Student Services. We are here to help support both you and your student! You can reach out to Emily Gierl at gierle@mcfsd.org for this as well.

Waubesa Student Services Team (website)

Casey Popowski: School Counselor, 3rd and 4th grade Lifeskills Teacher

Casey Ruhland: School Counselor, 5th grade Lifeskills Teacher

Kayla Gauwitz: School Psychologist

Emily Gierl: School Social Worker

WIS is currently asking for the following donations:

• Gum: any flavor any amount! Used as a regulation strategy for some students.
• Clothing items: Girls shirts size M-XL. Boys shirts size L-XL or gender neutral shirts size M-XL. Youth pants L-XL.
• Gently Used Board Games: Cleaning out a closet? We would love to have your gently used board games that are appropriate for child/family use! We offer board games during indoor recess due to inclement weather, and we are also planning to have a board game station at this year's family night.
• Snacks: Goldfish, pretzels, chocolate chip granola bars and/or golden grams. We will package snacks in portion sizes.
  

Please drop any donations in the front office labeled with "WIS Student Services."

The last groups of safety patrol will begin on Wednesday, October 23rd. If your student has not been on a patrol yet, or your student is not assigned to start 10/23, please reach out to Mrs. Jordan via email: jordanr@mcfsd.org

3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Families:

Your student (s) has been assigned an Activity Fee in Infinite Campus. We would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to log into your Parent Portal and pay the fee. For more details pertaining to the each grade level activity fee please reference your student's SeeSaw message sent by their homeroom teacher.

Directions on how to pay:

• Click on fees

• student drop down menu

• pick your student (if you have more than one student in the district)

• pick (3rd, 4th, or 5th) Fall Activity Fee

• Go to Cart

• Pay fee

*We have added a optional donation. If you would like to help sponsor a student's activity fee please chose the optional donation payment.

*If you are unable to pay for the field trip please reach out to your student's teacher. Contact the office if you are having trouble accessing the fees section.

Hello 5th Grade Parents/Guardians -

We have started our Recorder Unit in the music room! As you probably know, learning the recorder is a rite of passage for every 5th Grade student. I'm sure you will enjoy every step of their journey, from *squeaks* to Beethoven. Here at Waubesa we use a program called "Recorder Karate" which celebrates each song the students master with the earning of a belt (aka piece of colored string) that they can tie to the end of their instrument.

We have added the recorder fee to the fees section in Infinite Campus that will allow you to pay for the book and recorder (~$10). If your child will be using a recorder and/or book from home (from an older brother or sister perhaps) please let me know and we will remove the fee from your account. I surveyed the kids for their color choice, and the recorders came fast so we were able to get them started right away! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

I look forward to watching this wonderful group of musicians move up the ranks and earn Black Belt!

Musically,

Paul Otteson

General Music Teacher

Bridging Brighter Smiles Dental Clinic will be back at WIS on Tuesday, October 22nd and Tuesday, October 29th for their fall visits! It's not too late to enroll! See flier information for more details and how to enroll; as well as the MSD Health Service website for additional Dental Resources.

‼️ Please review DHS update regarding increased Pertussis cases in Wisconsin‼️ You can also find information and resources linked in the article. Please reach out to your medical provider with questions, Thank you!

With the cold and flu season in full swing, please review our Guidelines for sending your child to school. Remember, if your child is sick please keep them home and seek medical evaluation as needed. Students will be sent home with the following symptoms:

• Temperature above 100.4°F

• Vomiting or diarrhea

• Frequent uncontrollable cough

Your child should remain at home until fever, vomiting/diarrhea has stopped for 24 hours without the use of medication. If they have been prescribed antibiotics, please see the MSD Health Services Handbook and DHS Wisconsin Childhood Communicable Disease guidelines for when they may return to school. As well, please notify the School/Health Office if your student has tested positive for a communicable disease such as: Influenza/Flu, Covid 19, Pneumonia, Strep Throat, RSV, Hand Foot & Mouth, Pertussis, etc.

Thank you for your partnership as we work to keep our students and staff healthy and safe each day!

Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with surrounding school districts and SSM Health in a few weeks to offer more school vaccine clinics to get students up to date on their school vaccines in time for the 2024-25 school year. These clinics will take place at multiple locations and dates. Find more information and to schedule an appointment see the attached flyer (English, Spanish), or via publichealthmdc.com/schoolclinics.

In this fast-paced digital era, our children are growing up surrounded by technology and the vast opportunities it brings. While this presents incredible potential for learning and growth, it also raises important concerns about their safety in the online world. In today's society, ensuring our children are equipped with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital landscape safely has become more critical than ever. On average, kids with a smartphone received it by age 8, and those without one can expect to receive it by age 13 (FOSI Online Safety Across the Generations, 2018).

• Technology agreements. It is important for adults and kids to agree on how personal devices and technology will be used to ensure safe behavior and a positive online reputation. The Family Online Safety Institute offers helpful resources and talking points for families when establishing guidelines for device and internet use in the home.

• Family Online Safety Agreement: Ages 13 and under

• Family Online Safety Agreement: Teens

• Familiarize yourself. Among our student community, the most commonly used apps include Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. However, the landscape is constantly evolving with new apps and games emerging regularly. If you have reservations about a particular app or game, take the time to research and perhaps even test it out firsthand before reaching a conclusion. Included below are a variety of resources to delve into when assessing whether an app or game aligns with your child's needs, along with discussion points regarding digital citizenship and online safety.

• Common Sense Media

• Entertainment Software Rating Board

• Family Online Safety Institute

• See something, say something. Lastly, should you or your student come across any possible threat or safety issue on social media, we urge you to promptly report it. You can do so by informing a school staff member, reaching out to law enforcement, or utilizing this provided link, even if you feel it may not be that serious or may have already been reported.

In September, families of students in grades 3-8 and 10 received information about their children’s Forward Exam scores from last Spring. On October 9th, data about Forward Exam scores were released across the state and included in articles like this one from the Wisconsin State Journal.

We know that the Forward Exam is just one measure of what McFarland students know and are able to do, but we do look at the results carefully to find areas of celebration and growth as a District. Our District strategic plan puts literacy achievement front and center with a specific focus on closing gaps between students in various demographic groups (for example, between students with and without disabilities).

When looking at the Spring 2024 Forward Exam results, we noticed:

• More students are meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA, math, science and social studies than in previous years.

• In all subjects and grades, McFarland students perform better than the State average.

• When comparing our results to the rest of Dane County in most grades and all subjects McFarland improved or maintained their ranking in the county.

• McFarland School District had the #1 rank in Dane County in the following areas:

• 8th grade Math, Science and Social Studies (Congratulations Class of 2028!)

• 4th grade Social Studies

We will continue our work to close achievement gaps between students at our school and focus on research-based instructional practices in all subjects to help us meet our strategic plan goals.

If you have questions about your child’s Forward Exam results, please contact your child’s principal. If you have questions about McFarland’s Forward Exam results overall, please contact Melissa Pfohl, pfohlm@mcfsd.org

October is...

• Bullying Prevention Month
• LGBTAIQ+ History Month
• National Physical Therapy Month