Cumberland Thursday Folder
May 30, 2024
Dear Cumberland Families,
The soon to be last days of the school year make us look simultaneously forward to the warm days of summer with different schedules and opportunities, while also reflecting back to September 1st. We can quantify and measure the year in so many ways: the number of birthdays celebrated (approximately 700), the number of items checked out from the Cumberland LMC (25,721 - with 879 checked out this week alone!), the number of bandaids handed out in the Healthroom (approximately a gazillion), or how many student minutes of recess there were this year (3,850,000!). It is more difficult to quantify how many friendships were formed, how many joys were shared, or how many enthusiasms were shown as students learned to read, draw, sing, throw or solve a challenging math problem.
Even just between the two of us, we have lost track of how many times our hearts have been touched by something a student or you did or how many smiles and tears have happened this year. Being in education means that we embrace the charge of nurturing and nudging and supporting and leading children and it is with grateful hearts that we thank you for sharing your children with us at Cumberland as we do this important unquantifiable work. We do not take this responsibility lightly, and we are endlessly committed to doing this work well.
There will be many practical and informative bits of information coming to you between now and June 14th (and there are some informative items below in the announcement section of today’s letter). We will be saying farewell and thank you to Ms. Barb Fleming in the office, as she looks to the land of retirement, and there will surely be other changes throughout the summer. In the midst of the news and changes, we do not want our appreciation for you and your children to get lost. So, thank you for another fantastic year!
We look forward to seeing you at Spring Sing and Donut Day.
Warm regards,
Jayne Heffron and Rebecca Salomon
Upcoming Events
MAY:
31st - Friday, Library: Last day for book checkout
JUNE:
5th - Wednesday, Spring Sing, 1:15pm on the playground
7th - Friday, Library: All books due back to the library
13th - Thursday, Last Day K4 Only
14th - Friday, Last Day, EARLY DISMISSAL, 11:30am, K5 - Fifth Grade, K4 No School
Ms. Fleming is Retiring: With an excited heart and hope for the future, I will be retiring from the Whitefish Bay School District on Monday, June 24, 24. I am grateful for the opportunity to work in the Whitefish Bay School District and after having moved 14 times over my lifetime and having numerous supervisors, my current supervisor, Ms. Jayne Heffron, has been the highlight of my administrative assistant career. Ms. Heffron invested in me during the hardest time of my life. I am sincerely grateful for my time at Cumberland Elementary, it is an extraordinary school with amazing students, families and staff and of course the PTO.
With that said, we have an opening for a 10-Month Administrative Assistant, do you have skills and interest? Please email Ms. Heffron, jayne.heffron@wfbschools.com Lastly, you get to work near the most fun, funner and funnest guy in the world, Mr. Levek.
ABC ALL-School 4K and Student Council Countdown: Calendar Happening now through June 13th.
Registration: Registration opens July 23 and closes August 12. Classroom teacher assignments and welcome letters will be posted in Family Access on Monday, August 19th. Prep for Success days are September 3rd, 4th, and 5th. On these days, 5K-5th grade students come to school once to meet individually with the teacher and to complete assessments. Based on family survey input, families will schedule these appointments. Prep for Success scheduling is available starting on August 19th. Directions for accessing Family Access, teacher assignments and Prep for Success scheduling will be sent in mid-July.
- 4K students have a separate schedule, available (See the flyer Prep for Success 4K)
A concern about students wearing smart watches at the elementary and middle school levels has surfaced as an issue within the daily instructional environment during this year. Within the classroom environment, concerns about student’s social emotional health, and the lack of student interpersonal connections are all linked with smart watch/smart phone accessibility. Our elementary schools and middle school have worked to try to navigate smart watches as that device has increased the ability to communicate like a cell phone (since many students who don’t have a cell phone at least have a smart watch for basic communication).
We are having our elementary schools and middle school update their guidelines to reflect that students will be required to keep their smart watches turned off and in their backpacks/lockers in the 2024-2025 school year. As always, if parents need to contact their child for urgent matters at any point in the school day, they can contact the main office. Please feel free to reach out to your principal if you have any questions.
Human Growth & Development: 1st-2nd Grade students continues HGD through the week 6/3, our school counselor, Jennifer Kivi, will be teaching a brief lesson on personal safety. Additional details are available in last weeks newsletter.
School Supply List for the 2024-25 School Year: For details see the previous newsletter.
- 24-25 Winkie's School Tool Order Form 4K
- 24-25 Winkie's School Tool Order Form 5K - 5th Grade
- 24-25 Winkie's School Tool Order Form WFB Middle School
Is your student NOT returning for the 2024-25 School Year? Accurate student numbers are important for sectioning and staffing decisions. Please contact John, John.levek@wfbschools.com in the office if your child/children will not be returning to Cumberland next year.
Outdoor Family Movie Night: Grab your chairs and blankets and join us on Cumberland’s back fields on Saturday, June 1st. This is not a drop-off event; adult supervision is required. Kids are welcome to wear their PJs! The back fields will open at 6pm. The movie, Trolls 3: Band Together, will start at 7pm. There is no rain date currently set.
We are looking for volunteers to help from 5:50-6:50pm. Children of volunteers are welcome to come early, too! Please email dwwebb83@gmail.com. Thank you! And a huge thank you to Jamie Ludlow, Shorewest Realtors for sponsoring the movie licensing and generously providing pizza (while supplies last)!
Yoga on the Front Lawn: Come join Senta Metz for yoga on the front lawn at 3:15pm on Tuesday, June 4th! Please remember to bring a yoga mat or a towel! Adult supervision required, and all are welcome to participate! The rain date is Tuesday, June 11th.
Celebrate National Donut Day: Start your morning off right and come grab a donut before school on Friday, June 7th from 7-7:45am. Siblings are welcome! There will be nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan options available. Cumberland’s National Donut Day event is generously sponsored by Molitor Properties.
PTO Open Committee Positions: Planning is already underway for next school year, and we need your help! We are in search of volunteers to chair/co-chair the following open committee positions. If you are interested in helping in any way or would like more information about these committee positions, please email the PTO at cumberlandschoolpto@gmail.com.
PTO Committee Chair Openings for the 24-25 School Year:
Touch a Truck Event
Homecoming Tailgate
Composting
Room Parent Requests: If you would like to be considered for a room parent position in your child’s classroom next school year, please email the PTO at cumberlandschoolpto@gmail.com. Please put in the subject line: RP 2024-2025. Provide your name and your child(rens) name and grade they will be entering, and we will reach back out in August!
Attention 5th Grade Families: Congratulations to all your future Whitefish Bay Lions! What a wonderful accomplishment to be advancing from elementary school to middle school! As you begin your summer vacation, please bookmark all the Whitefish Bay Middle School PTO accounts to stay informed, especially for the start of the school year! Questions?
Please email the WFBMS PTO at: wfbmiddleschoolpto@gmail.com.
Facebook: @WFBMSPTO
Instagram: @WFBMSPTO
Website: https://wfbmspto.mempershiptoolkit.com/home
Cumberland PTO:
*Be sure to LIKE our Facebook & Instagram page, Cumberland PTO!
*Please visit the PTO website for all PTO updates at www.cumberlandpto.com
School Board Meeting Information: Next Meeting Wednesday, June 5th
The community is welcome to attend School Board meetings to gain a better understanding of School District business and the role of the School Board. The public is also invited to address the Board during the public comment portion as indicated in Board meetings.
Meeting agendas are posted within BoardDocs two days preceding each meeting.
Bay Gives Back: EOY School Supplies Drive: June 3-13th - As the end of the year approaches, Bay Gives Back is organizing a school supplies collection program throughout WFB Public Schools and our parochial neighborhood schools. A collection box for gently used supplies will be in the school foyer at Door 1 during the last two weeks of the school. Thank you for donating.
The Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation: invites students, families and community members to enjoy the start of summer at the Ice Cream Social, June 19th. The celebration is from 6-8pm at the Old Schoolhouse Park across from the Public Library on Marlborough. The Whitefish Bay Village Band will perform. First scoop of ice cream, music and fun are free.
New Immunization Requirements: The Department of Health Services has updated immunization requirements for school-aged children. These requirements for school-age children will go into effect at the beginning of the 2024–2025 school year.
Changes include:
- Meningococcal (MenACWY-containing) vaccine has been added as a requirement for students entering seventh grade, and a booster dose for eligible students entering 12th grade.
- If a child has had chickenpox, a parent report of chickenpox disease is no longer acceptable for exemption from the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine requirement. Children must have a diagnosis of chickenpox from a qualified health care provider (M.D., D.O., N.P., or P.A.) to be exempt from this requirement, however existing exemption options still apply.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services website includes additional information. We encourage you to contact your healthcare provider if you have specific questions, or to schedule an appointment for a vaccine.