Madison Place Message.....

Dear Parents,

One of the most important events in our school year is coming up and I want to take advantage of this opportunity to ask you to be part of it. Parent teacher conferences afford both teachers and parents alike the chance to sit down and talk about how our students are doing in school. Highlights of your child’s report card will be shared along with work samples from this previous quarter. Likewise, planning will take place and ideas will be shared in regards to how you can help make sure your child has a successful 2nd quarter.

In years past I’ve always set a goal of having 100 percent of our students represented at parent teacher conferences. I can’t think of a better tradition to carry on at Madison Place. After all, having 100 percent of our parents at the conferences would mean that every Madison Place child has someone that cares enough about him or her that they take the time to invest 20 minutes to bettering their chances of success. Please know this is about much more than a number to me. While I do believe in goal setting and am proud of having reached this goal before, what this goal represents is much more important to me. You see, every child here at Madison Place is deserving of the benefits that come from having a mom or dad or even a grandma or grandpa sit with his or her teacher and talk about what needs to be done in order for the child to succeed. Every child deserves that. And so, achieving that goal means to me that Madison Place is a school filled with teachers and parents who care about their children and will do whatever it takes to make sure they are doing all they can to help them get a strong education.

I know it is sometimes inconvenient to find a time that will work in your schedule to come to school in order to see the teacher. Your days are busy and you have all kinds of things taking your time. Additionally, you might be afraid of what you are going to hear. However, you can rest assured that your child’s teacher wants the same thing as you. He or she wants your child to succeed. And while there may be areas in which your child is struggling, there are things that can be done to help change that. It’s just going to take all of us working together to make sure that happens. Be there on October 14th, 15th, 16th or 17th to be part of the plan that is put into place to see your child be successful!

Respectfully,

Gary Stevenson

October 14-18 - National School Lunch Week

Parent/ Teacher Conference week

October 16 - Half Day ( No Early Childhood)- 12:10pm dismissal

October 17 & 18 - NO SCHOOL

October 21 - Spirit Day! Maverick Monday! Wear your school spirit wear or school colors.

October 28 - Watch DOG Kick-Off Event 6:30 PM (See RSVP details below)

October 31 - Fall Class Parties

November 4 - Chiefs RED Monday!

November 7 - 2nd Grade Musical, 6:30pm

November 11 - Veteran's Day observed. Wear Red, White, & Blue

November 12 - Spirit Day - Throw Kindness Like Confetti! Dress in as many colors as you can.

November 13 - Spirit Day - P.J. Day! Wear you pajamas and put bullying to rest.

November 14 - Spirit Day - Take a Stand! Wear your favorite shoes. (No cleats)

November 15 - Spirit Day - Wear Pink! Pink represents anti-bullying week.

November 15 - Family Dodgeball Night!!!

As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure student safety, Madison Place front office staff would like to remind you of a few security procedures. We need your help and cooperation for our system to work effectively.

Everyone will be asked to show identification before being allowed access to the building. Even if you are well recognized by a staff member, you will be asked to show your identification so please have it ready.

In addition, please do not hold the door for someone behind you. Our staff needs to confirm the identification of each and every visitor that comes into the building.

All visitors must check in with the front office. Students who are dropped off after the school day has started must check in with the front office. Please do not walk your child on to the playground to join their class if you happen to see them at recess.

Your involvement continues to be critical to our school’s effectiveness, security and safety. We are counting on your cooperation. Thank you!

Beginning on Monday, October 21 and continuing indefinitely from that point forward we are going to require that all parents who have previously walked their child directly to their classroom in the morning begin dropping their child off at the front door of the building and allow your child to walk to class on his or her own. Having multiple doors unlocked to allow for student entry and allowing open access to parents between 8:35 – 8:55 is compromising our efforts to maintain a safe environment in that it is difficult to differentiate between adults in the building who are parents and have a valid purpose for being here and adults in our building who should not actually be in the building.

For parents who wish to visit with staff during this 8:35 – 8:55 timeframe, please sign in through the front office. Our front office staff will get a message to the staff member with whom you wish to visit. Depending on his or her current responsibilities, it may be possible for the staff member to visit with you at that time. If, however, they are unavailable we will get a message to the staff member and ask the staff member to connect with you as soon as possible.

Thanks for supporting our efforts to create a safe environment for our students and staff.

On October 31st, students will have the opportunity to participate in a costume parade and class party. In order to make our school activity appropriate for the school setting, and to ensure a fun, safe, and healthy activity, please note the following policy and guidelines in place at Madison Place.

Children, their safety, and education are top priority at this school. Unfortunately violence and safety are very real and legitimate concerns in all schools today. Because of these concerns, the guidelines listed here should be used as you select the costume your child will wear.

· No blood, guts, weapons or gore—supporting our stand against violence

· No face/body paint should be brought to school eliminating the potential risk of spills and stains. (Costume make-up used to create such details as freckles or whiskers can be worn to school as long as it is not so obvious as to cause disruptions resulting in distracting students from instruction.)

· Costume clothing should be worn to school so that limited changing/preparation needs to occur prior to the parade/party. (Accessories such as masks and other items can be brought in your child's backpack or a separate sack.)

In adopting this policy, please know the above guidelines for costumes are not meant to take the fun from this time of year, but are meant to provide boundaries that will allow students to participate in a safe, nonviolent, positive way. Also, our goal and focus at Madison Place is to educate children. While dressing up for the Fall Party may be fun for children, it is not our focus. Finally, please know we will not be able to allow costumes that fall outside of the above guidelines to be worn.

MTSS, or Multi-Tiered System of Support, is an approach used at Madison Place and other Olathe School District schools. The intervention time at our school is a “walk to” model where students are placed in groups across the grade level and provided instruction based on their need. Grade level interventions for math and reading are scheduled at the same time so teachers can share students to maximize the ability to target students’ individual needs. Staff will intervene with students for 30 minutes a day building wide. After three to five weeks of instruction, the teacher progress monitors (a quick check for progress) and makes adjustments to groups as needed.

MTSS is just part of what we do to support our students success. A law related to student growth and success, the "Kansas Every Child Can Read Act", was passed in Kansas that mandates that each third-grade teacher communicates with the parents of each third-grade student at least once each semester regarding the student’s individual deficiencies and any recommended interventions for such student. A full-explanation of this law was recently sent home with your child. To access an additional copy of the this explanation, click on the graphic included in this article or click the link below.

Kansas Every Child Can Read Act

Calling our fathers and father-figures who want to make a difference in the lives of their children and make a positive difference for our school. On Monday, October 28th, from 6:30 - 7:15 PM, we will have our Watch DOGS Kick Off Night for dads of students at Madison Place. Meet at the school at 6:30 PM for pizza and information about how you can be part of this program.

WATCH D.O.G.S.® is a program used by schools across America. Students are positively impacted by the committed involvement of fathers and father-figures in their lives. The goal is to have each dad spend at least one day a year, at the school, to be an extra set of eyes and ears and to also serve as a positive male role model for all Madison Place students.

In order to attend, you need to do two things:

1. Complete the link included below. We need to obtain an accurate head count so that we have enough pizza for everyone.

2. Mark your calendar! We’ll see you Monday, October 28th from 6:30 to 7:15 PM!

Madison Place Watch DOG Pizza Night RSVP

Hello Maverick Readers! We have exciting things happening.

Our Page to Screen Book Club is off to a great start. If you haven’t had a chance to read The Wild Robot, I highly recommend that you do. … and then go check out the movie! Third, fourth, and fifth graders who were able to attend with us this past weekend really enjoyed it.

Another way that we are keeping readers motivated is with our 15 & the Mahomies Read for 15 Challenge. This challenge will last through November 22 and will culminate with a Chiefs Tailgate in the library. The score for the challenge is based on time read as well as number of readers in each class. Thank you so much for helping make reading a daily priority in your home.

Readers can also participate in Birthday Book Club. With a donation of $12 towards the purchase of a book, your child will be able to choose a new book to help donate to the library during their birthday month. (Summer birthdays will be included in other months.) A book plate with their name will be placed in the front of the book and they will be the first person to check it out.

To join: Access the Madison Place PTO website. Update your information and then you will receive several options. One of those is Birthday Book Club.

Please let me know if there are any questions that I can answer for you or any way that I can help.

With conference time right around the corner, the book joy continues as this means that it’s BOOK FAIR time! – Your support for the book fair is what keeps all of our extra programming going. Without these funds, additional things like the 3D printers, contests, giveaways, and much more simply would not be possible.

In Person Book Fair

Monday, October 14 – Wednesday, October 16. - - Readers will be able to purchase on their own on Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday mornings from 8-8:15 a.m. and on Monday & Tuesday from 3-3:30 p.m. or when we do not have classes in the library. We will also be open from 3:40-8:00 p.m. and hope to see families come together.

Online Book Fair

Monday, October 16 – Sunday, October 22 - at this website

Although you may choose to conference via Zoom, we are hoping that you will either send money with your child to buy books or stop by as a family to the book fair. The Scholastic Book Fair is one means by which the library is funded. When you purchase in person, 50% of sales go to the library. However, when you purchase online only 25% of sales go to the library.

In addition to the Book Fair, we will also be hosting Wake Up & READ in the coming months our first, second, & third grade readers. (Kindergarten already had their Wake UP & Read morning.) It will take place from 8:15-8:45 a.m. and will be a time for readers and their adults to spend reading together and exploring the library. Be watching for a note to come home closer to your child’s grade level event.

These events do require an RSVP so that we can plan accordingly:

First Grade – Thursday, November 14

Second Grade – Wednesday, January 23

Janelle Stigall

Email: jstigallmd@olatheschools.org

Library Website

Hello Madison Place families,

Your artists are excited that the art they create in class has traveled all the way to Indianapolis, Indiana to the Art to Remember’s headquarters. Kindergarten painted colorful flowers, first grade created adorable ladybugs, third grade painted dogs using geometric shapes, fourth grade created a dragonfly on a flower and fifth some seriously impressive cactuses – or cacti.

If you are interested in purchasing items with your child’s art printed on them, ordering information will come home October 15th -16th and orders are due by October 31st. Art to Remember has a variety of quality products – many under $10. Madison Place receives a percentage of all items purchased and profits will be used to purchase supplies for art classes. Orders will arrive at school mid-November, just in time for the holidays.

Thank you for considering supporting the art program at Madison Place!

Mrs. McClaskey

amcclaskeymd@olatheschools.org

Hello!

We are moving and grooving in PE this year! A big emphasis has involved our locomotor skills. The students are specifically practicing skipping, galloping, jumping, hopping, leaping, and running each visit. These basic ways of moving carry over to other developing skills in various avenues outside of class. Every student will be a master of these skills by the end of the school year.

All PE classes, from grades 1-5, have a full hour of class this year. This increases our movement time as well as our heart rates for a longer period than the previous years. It is SO important that your student is prepared from the ground up. Please help your student be prepared for class with proper footwear. Students should come with proper fitting tennis shoes. If they don’t know how to tie their shoes, now is the perfect time for them to practice. If finding proper footwear is difficult, please reach out to me and I will help support you and your child in any way I can. Tennis shoes are strongly requested for class, but any type of non-marking athletic shoe will work

October is here and the buzz is starting to go around in the building. That’s right, I’m talking about our annual Family Dodgeball Night, November 15th. This event is open to Madison Place students in grades 3-5 as well as alumni students and family members. More information is to come, so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox in the coming weeks.

The Chiefs are winning and the Royals are in the playoffs! What a time to be a fan! I hope your fall season is full of chili, tailgate food, and you in your lucky seat because this season is going down in the books!

Eddie Toplikar

Physical Education

Madison Place Elementary

Twitter: @Phys_EDucate

What’s happening in the music classroom?

October is one of my favorite months in the music classroom. All grades will be creating accompaniments to books and stories with sound carpets, creative movement, rhythmic and melodic ostinatos, vocal improvisation, and using instruments to add sound effects.

4th & 5th grade special chorus rehearsals have begun. We have been working on voice projection, enunciation, phrasing, and learning how to sound like a choir instead of individual singers. Our special chorus members have the opportunity to sing the National Anthem with Chisholm Trail Middle School at ODAC on Wednesday, October 9th. More information was sent home via email and paper handout.

2nd grade is preparing for their upcoming musical “How Does Your Garden Grow?”. We will be performing for our family and friends on Thursday, Nov. 7th @ 6:30 pm. I am looking for volunteers to help create props for our show. Please e-mail me at mbruningmd@olatheschools.org if you are willing to lend a hand.

Thanks,

Maurica Bruning

As we get off to a running start in October, we wanted to share a few BIG events coming up soon!

Important Dates:

October 9: Monthly PTO Meeting (5:15pm - Library)

October 16: Dine-Out Night @ Chipotle (5-9pm)

October 21-November 8: FALL FUNDRAISER! Moving with MAVS Fun Run (more info coming soon!)

October 31: Fall Classroom Parties

Important Notes:

• Sign up HERE to provide conference meals Oct 14-15
• Are you a business owner (or do you know a great one)? Our Fall fundraiser is looking for community sponsors. Learn more HERE or send us an email at madisonplacemavspto@gmail.com to contribute towards our goal!
• Have you signed up for your students' fall parties? If not, visit MadisonPlacePTO.com to volunteer today!

We hope to see lots of Madison Place families over the next few weeks at one (or more) of these dates!

Your PTO Board

President: Mary Verett

Vice-President: OPEN: Could be you? Join us!

Treasurer: Jeri Harris

Secretary: Kelly Vickery

Email: gstevensonmd@olatheschools.org
Website: https://www.olatheschools.org/madisonplace
Location: 16651 Warwick Street, Olathe, KS, USA
Phone: 913-780-7520
Twitter: @Madisonplacek5