Janssen SCHOOL
September 2023 Newsletter
Janssen Families,
Last month I shared with the importance of building a strong classroom community as the foundation for learning this school year. Across every grade level, these communities of learners have been hard at work together as they make meaning of the purpose and intention behind what they are learning.
Through this work, teachers and students will continue working together to clearly articulate expectations of what they are learning in the classroom and why it is important in order to expand their thinking. From there, teachers and students are co-creating success criteria that will guide their learning forward and develop their skill set as problem solvers.
In early November, you will have an opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher at parent teacher conferences. Below you will find a link to sign up for parent teacher conferences. I encourage all of you to attend as we continue to work together to share in your child’s successes, accomplishments, and areas where they will continue to grow this year.
As parents, each of you play a critical role in helping your child be successful. I truly appreciate your willingness to be open and to work collaboratively with our school staff to better understand your child and help them be successful here at school.
Wishing you and your families well as we continue to settle into the fall season and look forward to all that is to come this month.
After 32 years of dedicated service, Dr. Robert Mayfield, Superintendent of Kimberly Area School District, announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
“This community has been more than just a workplace; it has been my home and a special place to raise a family. I am grateful for the unwavering support and countless opportunities provided by this community.” Dr. Mayfield stated. “Thank you for allowing me the privilege of being a part of your children's educational journey. Your trust and support have been invaluable, and it has been an honor to serve both your children and this community as Superintendent.”
In the coming weeks, the Board of Education will begin the process of identifying Dr. Mayfield’s successor. They are dedicated to selecting a leader who will build on the District’s achievements and continue steering it toward a bright and promising future.
October 4 - Picture Retake Day
October 10 - 5K Walk to the Fire Department
October 10 - Walk to School Day
October 11 - 2nd Grade Field Trip to Heckrodt
October 11 - 2:00pm Release
October 17 - 5K Field Trip to Mulberry Lane Farm
October 18 - 3rd Grade Field Trip to Heckrodt
October 23 - 4th Grade Field Trip to The Capitol Building
October 24 - No School
October 25 - No School
November 1 - 1st Grade Field Trip to Barlow Planetarium
November 7 - Early Release (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
November 11 - Early Release (Parent/Teacher Conferences)
November 15 - Noon Dismissal
It is time to plan our Parent/Teacher Conferences for Grades 5K-4. Conferences will be held In-Person on Thursday, November 7th and Monday, November 11th from 5:00 pm until 8:00 pm. Conferences will be held between the parent/guardian and the classroom teacher.
Janssen Elementary School uses PTCFast.com to make signups as convenient as possible. To schedule your preferred time for a parent/teacher conference:
Go to: https://ptcfast.com/schools/Janssen_Elementary_School
Choose your student’s teacher (If your child has 2 teachers, please schedule with their literacy teacher. In 3rd grade the literacy teacher is the PM teacher) and submit. The non literacy teacher will reach out to you if an additional conference is needed with them.
Enter student information.
Enter parent information.
You will then receive an email with a link to select the date and time of the conference.
The following staff will be available for walk-in conferences on the times listed:
Mr. Englebert (Gym), Miss St.Arnold (Music) and Mrs. Cutler (Speech) will be available both nights from 5:00-8:00 PM.
Miss Wells (Counselor) will be available on Monday, November 11th from 5:00-8:00. Miss Wells is also able to schedule meetings to meet at a different time/date if needed.
Mrs. Lamers (Art) will be available on Thursday, November 7th 6:30-8:00 PM and Monday, November 11th from 6:30-8:00 PM.
Mr. Brinkmann (School Psychologist) will be available on Monday, November 11th 5:00-8:00 PM.
Students in grades 5K-4 will be dismissed at 2:00 pm on conference days. Unlike Friday 2:00 pm release days, childcare is not available unless your child is enrolled in the YMCA after school program.
If you do not have internet access, please send a note to your student’s teacher with requested times. We ask that you request your times by Wednesday, November 1st. Teachers look forward to this opportunity of sharing with you and discussing the progress of your child(ren).
We need you, our Janssen community, to help us out. We are looking for Noon Hour Supervisors to join us. Being a Noon Hour Supervisor is extremely flexible. You can work 1 day, 2 days, or however many may work for you. Or, we can work week by week to schedule your days. We are very flexible! Hours are approximately
10:45am – 12:45pm and pay is $10.50/hour.
What being a Noon Hour Supervisor entails:
- Assisting students with opening lunch packaging.
- Having the opportunity to get to know your student’s Janssen friends.
- Supervising students during recess.
- Getting to know other Janssen community members.
- Being a steward to our Janssen community.
By becoming a Noon Hour Supervisor, you join the Janssen Team and become even more entwined in the Janssen community. We are extremely grateful to our past, present and future supervisors for enabling us in providing a safe and fun lunch and recess. It takes numerous people to run a school community.
Please reach out to me if you would like to join us on a new adventure, or if you just simply have questions.
Thank you!
Arianna Champeau
920-788-7915
With many field trips coming up, it is a great time to check if you have a background check on file to join in on the fun! Please call the office if you are uncertain about having a background check. Background checks expire after 5 years.
We ask that background check forms be turned in at least 2 weeks prior to volunteering (i.e. attending a field trip) in order to give the background check vendor time to process the check. Unfortunately, if we do not receive the background check form prior to 2 weeks, you may not be permitted to attend the field trip.
Life Skills
Starting the month of October during Life Skills students will be learning about:
5K- classroom expectations, problem solving
1st- classroom expectations, Career planning: transportation,distribution, and logistics career cluster
2nd- classroom expectations, Career planning: manufacturing career cluster
3rd- classroom expectations, students complete Fall connection survey
4th- classroom expectations, students complete Fall connection survey
Katie Wells
Janssen School Counselor
M.S. School Counseling
920-788-7915 ext. 24150
Buddy Goes To Work
Hello Janssen Elementary Parents and Guardians,
Students at Janssen are learning about Career Clusters. We are looking for volunteers to help with our Buddy Goes to Work Project. This project will help students learn about different careers from you! If you are interested, email Katie Wells, the Janssen Elementary School Counselor at kwells@kimberly.k12.wi.us.
Those who sign up will get a laminated picture of Buddy to bring to their work and take pictures of Buddy working. You will receive instructions in your child's backpack with Buddy and a return date for Buddy; as well as, a short report to fill out about your career. These reports and pictures will be displayed at Janssen for Janssen students to learn more about your careers. Thank you so much for your participation.
Medication consent forms are required for all over-the-counter and prescription medications. This includes cough drops, ointments, creams, etc. These forms are conveniently available for you here. Prescription medications do require a physician’s signature. Forms are available for asthma, bee sting allergy, diabetes, food allergy, seizure medications and general medications. If you have any questions, regarding these forms, feel free to call the school office. Thank you!
If your child will be receiving a prescription medication at school and you would like consent to apply to summer school, please have physician extend “end” date through completion of summer learning sessions (e.g. 8-30-24).
Student & Parent Handbook
Bus Handbook
If your child(ren) will be riding the bus at any time during the school year, please review the Pupil Transportation Handbook with them. The last page of the handbook is a form that must be completed and signed by a parent/guardian for each pupil that will ride the bus. The completed form should be returned to the child's school secretary by September 22, 2023.
Janssen Families,
Welcome to another year of awesome music learning here at Janssen! I am so excited to work with your students this year - we are going to have so much fun! :)
I wanted to share some very important dates with you early this year, as we have some adjustments from past years as it pertains to concerts.
This year, the 2nd & 3rd grade students will be performing in the Winter. That date for the concert is Tuesday, December 3rd.
The 1st & 4th grade students will be performing in the Spring. Their date is Tuesday, March 4th.
The 5K will be performing the day after, Wednesday, March 5th. This will be a daytime performance, starting at 2:00 pm.
I will have more details regarding times of performance of older students within the next month. Thank you for your patience as we get these concerts scheduled. I cannot wait to showcase your students' lovely talents!
Miss St. Arnold
