The Slicer Chronicles

Dear Kesling Parents and Students:

With time changing on March 9th to Daylight Saving Time it reminds us that spring and summer

are right around the corner. Hopefully, we will continue with the trend we have seen in the last

week of warmer days filled with sunny skies.

March ends a very important stretch in schools as we continue to prepare to help all students

master the Indiana College and Career Ready Standards in Math, English, Social Studies (Grade

5) and Science (Grade 6). The testing dates for ILEARN are April 14, 2025 to May 9, 2025.

Please understand that what is demanded of students on ILEARN is rigorous; however, we are

confident that our students will perform well as students are working extremely hard to master the

Indiana College and Career Ready Standards. The campus staff continues to rise to this challenge

as we have increased what is expected out of students on assignments, projects and assessments.

Together, we are confident that our students will excel on ILEARN 2025. The link to the Indiana

Department of Education website for ILEARN information is as follows:

As we continue to prepare for the transition to the 2025-2026 academic year in the next few

weeks, The LaPorte Middle School Program of Studies will be sent to current sixth grade and

seventh grade families through email along with information regarding scheduling and elective

choices that current sixth and seventh grade students will have the opportunity to make regarding

next school year. There are some changes in programming at the middle school in response to the

new Indiana High School Diplomas that will be implemented starting next school year. As a

result, the majority of middle school courses will be exploratory in nature with the elimination of

high school credit classes at the middle school except for Algebra and Geometry. Students will

still have the opportunity to determine if they would like to be in a music class (band,

choir and orchestra), Advanced Art in grade 8, and Spanish in Grade 7 and 8. Students

who would like to take Spanish will still need to meet certain requirements; however, the

course will no longer be a high school credit course. Enrollment in the course is strongly

encouraged for students who plan on taking Spanish as a Freshman at LaPorte High

School. Before Spring Break, the administration and counselors will be meeting with

students in grade 6 and 7 regarding scheduling and in April, students will have the

opportunity to choose elective classes through Skyward. Students in Fifth Grade will have

to decide if they want to take band, choir or orchestra as a sixth grader. On March 18, 19, and 20,

students will watch presentations from Band, Choir and Orchestra so they can complete an

interest survey after Spring Break to let us know if they want music next year.

Finally, we look forward to our Spring Engagement Events that will be taking place in March for

Kesling Intermediate School. On Thursday, March 6, 2025 Kesling Intermediate School will host

the third annual Cabin Fever/STEM Night event from 4:30-6:00 p.m. All grade 5 and 6 families

are invited to attend the night which will include family bingo, multiple blow up playhouses in

the gym and some treats. The third annual LaPorte Middle School Showcase Event “Spring

Walk of Fame” on Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 5-6:30 showcasing all of the great

things happening at the middle school. Sixth grade students will also be invited to this

event.

We hope everyone continues to visit the school web pages and frequently visits our Facebook

pages. Finally, we hope everyone has a rejuvenating Spring Break (March 24 – March 28).

Please do not hesitate to contact a staff member at Kesling if you need any assistance regarding

the growth and achievement of your child.

Sincerely,

Bill Wilmsen

Kesling Campus Principal

03/06/2025 Cabin Fever and Family STEM Night

03/09/2025 Don't Forget to "Spring Ahead" Daylight Saving

03/13/2025 County Spelling Bee

03/13/2025 6th Grade Orchestra Concert

03/13/2025 PTO Fundraiser Pick-Up

03/24/2025 - 03/28/2025 - Spring Break - No School

5th Grade

Makenzie Brown

Melissa Martinez

Luis Carrillo Gutierrez

Hunter Kleine

Brielle Stringham

William Gerstbauer

Annabelle McClusky

Jace Gakle

Leonardo Salinas

6th Grade

Maximus Taylor

Jackson Olson

Nikolaos Hatzikostantis

Cambrie Tyler

Brooklyn Marvin

Aubrey Goranson

Breakfast is served daily to students at no cost. If students need or want breakfast please go to cafeteria in the morning.

Congratulations to our KIS Spelling Bee Winners!!

1st-Bane Bucher

2nd-Kendrick Hise

3rd-Gavyn Potter

Bane will advance to the County Spelling Bee on March 13! Best of Luck!!

Products will be delivered to the school on Thursday, March 13. Parents may pick up items after school from 2:45-5:30pm. Please enter Door 18 to retrieve items.

Please note: The Kesling Yearbook is ONLY for students in grades 5 and 6.

Order using this link.

Mrs. Hancock wants to thank all of the parents for sending in donations for the Family STEM Night. These donations are so helpful with STEM Night and Engineer's Week in March. Thank you for your support. Family STEM Night has been moved to March 6th! We hope to see you there!

For more information, contact Amy Hancock ahancock@lpcsc.k12.in.us

On Saturday, February 8th, students from Kesling Intermediate School competed in District Band Solo-Ensemble Contest at Valparaiso High School. The students sang beautifully and represented Kesling very well!

The following student received a Gold ratings on their vocal ensemble

Aubrey Goranson (plus several LPMS students: Evangeline Kotulski, Leah Newton, Aylani Mora, Tiara Campbell, Kyla Magley)

The following students received Gold ratings on their vocal solos:

Abigale Jones

Maddie Chance

Mi'Yana Sparkman

Bella Higginbotham

Aubrey Goranson

The following student received a Silver rating on their vocal solo:

Georgia McLachlan

The following students received Silver ratings on their vocal ensembles:

Lilly Ruiz

Lillyann Jones

Mi'Yana Sparkman

Bella Higginbotham

Hazel Born

Maddie Chance

On Thursday, March 13th, the 6th Grade Orchestra will perform their March Concert in the Kesling Auditorium. Student performers should arrive no later than 5:30 pm. The show begins at 6:00 pm.

These orchestra students received a Gold ratings on their solo at ISSMA Solo & Ensemble:

Kaydence Thomas, Liam Terry, & Irene Anabe

Final Food for Thought…The following are excerpts from one of the many publications I read

each week. As we head into March and Spring Break, I wanted to share the following with all

parents as a reminder to enjoy the gifts that we have in our children…yes…parenthood is a

challenge; yet, we have so much to be thankful for in our children….have a great month of

March…. Mr. Wilmsen

Count Your Blessings, Not Your Problems

One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test.

They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor walked around the class

and handed the question papers with the text facing downwards.

Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page and begin. To everyone’s

surprise, there were no questions, but just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor

thoroughly read through everyone’s bewildered expressions and said – “I want you to write what

you see there.” The perplexed students began to do what they had been asked to do.

At the end of the class, the professor took all the answer papers and started reading each one of

them aloud in front of all the students. All of them described the black dot, trying to explain its

position in the middle of the sheet, etc.

After all had been read and the classroom was silent, the professor began to explain: “I am not

going to grade you on the test; I just wanted to give you something to think about.” No one wrote

about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot.”

306 E. 18th Street

La Porte, IN, 46350

ghrunek@lpcsc.k12.in.us