Sand Lake Elementary News

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Sand Lake Elementary Newsletter - January 2026

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

We hope that you enjoyed a restful break with your family and friends over the holidays. We appreciate working together with each of you and for everything you do to ensure your child's success here at school. As we approach the end of the first semester, on Friday, January 23rd, we want to reiterate our thanks for your continued partnership.

In looking ahead, we have many exciting things planned for the winter and spring! Whether these be school-wide events, such as our end-of-semester PBIS assembly, classroom celebrations, or the upcoming February highlights of Global School Play Day and Valentine’s Day, there will be plenty to look forward to!

Academically, our classroom teachers will be completing winter benchmarking assessments in both reading and math. This information is one piece of the puzzle that helps evaluate how all students are learning and progressing. Our teams regularly review data and adjust plans for students as needed, a core part of our dedication to Every Student, Every Day!

In Partnership,

Matt Meyers

Keep up with all of our happenings by following us on Facebook!

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

From the Sand Lake PTG:

The Sand Lake PTG successfully awarded our first batch of mini-grant requests totaling close to $3,500! This money goes directly to supporting students by providing classroom resources, memorable experiences, and life skill development. Watch for our Facebook posts for more details on how this is divided among grades and programs. Staff will have another opportunity to apply for our second round of minigrants this month. We plan to provide this each semester, every year moving forward.

Looking for an easy dinner night and a chance to support our school? Stop at McDonald's on Tuesday, January 27th, from 5:00-7:00 PM for our McSchool Night fundraiser! Sand Lake staff and PTG members will be on hand to assist with serving that evening! See the graphic below for more information.

We are also hosting a BINGO night again this year, so save the date for Friday, February 13, 2026! Get out of the house, win some prizes, and build community with your besties. It's sure to be a fun night!

To join us in planning this and other great events, come to our next meeting, which will be held on Monday, February 2, at 5:30 pm in the Sand Lake Elementary conference room.

What's for lunch at Sand Lake?
Find our December menu here!
Our menus can always be found on the Holmen School District website
by clicking the "Lunch Menu" icon on the landing page.

Bridging Brighter Smiles will be visiting our school soon! Sign your child up for free preventive dental care at school by completing this quick online form: www.bridgingbrightersmiles.org

Monday, December 1, 2025

Sand Lake Elementary Newsletter - December 2025

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

This time of year allows us to reflect on the wonderful things that we have accomplished so far at Sand Lake. Therefore, we wanted to highlight the amazing achievements of our students, staff, and families with our recent Wisconsin DPI School Report Card. Our school received a 73.8, formally classified as Exceeds Expectations. This is the result of our teams reviewing data, implementing universal and intervention plans, and our students rising to the occasion. Notably, our 5.4 point growth was exceptional from one year to the next and the result of tons of hard work! Thank you for all that you do to support your children.

Over the course of the next month, there will be several celebrations and events happening within our school. We kick off the festivities this week with our 2nd and 4th grade concerts taking place on Thursday, December 4th. It is always a great way for friends and families to come together and enjoy the hard work our students put into these performances!

While December is a busy time for everyone, we hope that you each find time to enjoy the season. On behalf of the office staff at Sand Lake, we send you warm holiday wishes!

In Partnership,

Matt Meyers

Keep up with all of our happenings by following us on Facebook!

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

From the Music Teacher: Mrs. Heerts

Our holiday programs are quickly approaching. Here are the details:

Second Grade Program - Forty Winks: December 4th at 6:00 p.m. in the Sand Lake Cafeteria. Concert dress is nice clothes. Students will meet in their classrooms at 5:45 p.m. and be picked up after the concert in their classrooms.

Fourth Grade Program - Jingle Bell Jukebox: December 4th at 7:00 p.m. in the Sand Lake Cafeteria. Concert dress is nice clothes. Students will meet in their classrooms at 6:45 p.m. and be picked up there after the concert.

Since we are hosting two concerts this year on December 4th, please be aware of your arrival time and that there may be parking constraints. Additional parking is available at Coulee Life Church, which is located next to Sand Lake Elementary.

We can’t wait to share our holiday spirit with all of you!

From the Sand Lake PTG:

Sand Lake PTG is busy taking in applications from teachers and staff for mini-grants - these are ways that we can directly impact and support the needs your classrooms have as a result of your fundraising efforts! We will share all those amazing experiences in the coming months.

Additionally, we'll be looking to build more community with a McDonald's night in January. More information will be heading your way soon!

If anyone would like to help with this or anything we do, please join us at our next meeting on January 5, 2026, at 5:30 pm in the Sand Lake Elementary conference room.

What's for lunch at Sand Lake?

Find our December menu here!

Our menus can always be found on the Holmen School District website

by clicking the "Lunch Menu" icon on the landing page.

Have you ordered your yearbook yet? Use the QR code below or visit https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/sandlakeelementaryschool

Monday, November 3, 2025

Sand Lake Elementary Newsletter - November 2025

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

As we approach the season of gratitude, we thank you for all that you are doing to support your child’s learning. We are grateful to partner with each of you in service of our students and our community. As we enter the month of November, we wanted to highlight some past and present events that continue to build our school community.

On behalf of our students, staff, and the Sand Lake PTG, thank you for your efforts to raise money and help your student(s) participate in the Sand Lake Scamper. Our students had a great time!

Our Related Arts team has been working hard to develop and enhance various opportunities for families to visit our school. As such, we’ll have our first Trio of Treats, Books, Bites, and a Gallery Walk for our 2nd and 3rd grade families in November. These events will continue for each grade level throughout the school year.

Many students had the opportunity to participate in the Walking School Bus, which was the first of its kind at Sand Lake! We thank Ms. Franzen for her leadership of this event, the many staff who volunteered to participate and walk, and for the creativity in rewarding students who wanted to participate but were not able to, such as our bus riders.

Finally, we encourage your child to continue to read at home. Taking part in our Kwik Books program led by Ms. Englerth, Ms. Peterson, and the Sand Lake PTG is a great way to reinforce good reading habits at home! If you’re ever interested in learning more about the Sand Lake PTG, please reach out to SandLakePTG@gmail.com

We’ll keep things rolling here at Sand Lake in November with a month packed full of new learning, fun experiences, and shared memories!

In Partnership,

Matt Meyers

Keep up with all of our happenings by following us on Facebook!

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

From the Art Teacher: Mrs. Staige

Congratulations Sand Lake Elementary Pump House Participants!

The Pump House Regional Art Center hosts our annual Elementary Art Show this year from October 14th – November 8th. The show features students' artwork from Sand Lake, Viking, Evergreen, and Prairie View. All are welcome to view their work during the Pump House operating hours.

Congratulations to the following Sand Lake artists who were selected for the art show!

5th Grade: Leila V., Piper N., Lauden O., Richard M., Margaret D., Dawson D., Landon E., Deacon P., Ryker T., Keirah B., Elliott W.

4th Grade: Owen G., Emma D., Veda K., Evelyn J., Ripley K., Blaire P., Abby H., Margo D., Jaxon D., Sean H., Sofia B.

3rd Grade: Weston L., Jackson C., Laney S.

2nd Grade: Rylee M., Aspen T., Kyra L., Riley D.

1st Grade: Henry S.

Kindergarten: Eli D.

What's for lunch at Sand Lake?
Find our November menu here!
Our menus can always be found on the Holmen School District website
by clicking the "Lunch Menu" icon on the landing page.

The Salvation Army Angel Tree Application for Christmas Assistance

The Salvation Army Angel Tree program helps provide Christmas gifts for hundreds of children around the country each year. Once a child has been registered and accepted as an Angel, their Christmas wish list is shared with donors in your community who purchase gifts of new clothing and toys.

For more information and to register for assistance, please visit https://saangeltree.org/ .

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Sand Lake Elementary Newsletter - October 2025

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

We hope that you have found the rhythm of the school year and your student and family are settling into a routine. We’ve been busy establishing both academic and social-emotional routines, learning about our students' academic performance, and developing plans to support all of our learners in the spirit of our mission: Every Student, Every Day.

As we transition to October, we’re excited about upcoming events. We’ll host our first-ever schoolwide Fun Run for students on Thursday, October 16th. Thanks to our amazing Sand Lake PTG for planning this event. In addition, we have parent/teacher conferences on October 21st and October 30th.

Students are also getting a chance to show off their skills in being Sand Lake Proud. Ask your child what it means to be Safe, Respectful, and Responsible in different areas of the school, like the hallways and lunchroom. We build on these expectations throughout the year and celebrate student achievements. You can also ask your child if they’ve earned any Sand Dollars. Students can earn these Sand Dollars if a staff member “catches” them doing the right jobs. All of our classrooms set a Sand Dollar goal to work towards, which culminates in some sort of classroom celebration!

In Partnership

Matt Meyers

Handbook Link

The Elementary Family & Student Handbook is always available at the following link. Should you ever need a paper copy of the handbook, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office staff. If you have any questions, you can also contact the office.

Title I Annual Notice

Sand Lake receives federal funds through Title I. One requirement of that program is to provide certain information to families. Here are a couple of annual notices that were not included in our K-5 Elementary Family Handbook, but are important for you to know about Sand Lake:

Families may request information regarding state or local district policy regarding student participation in mandated assessments.

Families may request information regarding the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teachers.

Keep up with all of our happenings by following us on Facebook!

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

From the Health Office: Mrs. Kokott, BSN, RN

We will have a vision screening for grades 4K, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 5th mid-October or the beginning of November. The Lions Club will assist in the vision screening and will be using a machine called the Spot Vision Screener. This machine is slightly larger than a professional camera and basically takes a picture of the eyes. The screening is very quick and only requires the child to look at the vision screener. If a referral is recommended, a letter will come in the mail or with your student.

Please note: A vision screening does not replace a complete and professional eye examination.

From the Sand Lake PTG:

With parent/teacher conferences (Oct 21 & 30) coming up, it's our first opportunity to show the staff at Sand Lake Elementary how much we appreciate them! We have multiple ways you can help at parent-teacher conferences: donate treats for our trail mix activity in the cafeteria, make your famous treat for their desserts each day, or help us WITH our trail mix activity by being a scooper at the table! Each way helps us build community and support.

To sign up and let us know what you plan to do, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/2025FallPTConferences to help contribute and dish out our trail mix on the day, or visit: https://tinyurl.com/2025PTConfDesserts to commit to dessert! The Parent Teacher Group plans to provide a meal for all the staff as well.

Interested in joining the PTG? We'd love your input, ideas, and talents! Our next meeting is at Sand Lake Elementary on Monday, Oct 6, 2025 at 5:30pm. We will be finalizing plans for the Sand Lake Scamper and Parent-Teacher Conferences. Have any questions? Email is at sandlakeptg@gmail.com.