Sand Lake Elementary Newsletter-October

 

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Hello Sand Lake Families:

October brings such excitement to our school, and we’re grateful to get to partner with you for many of these activities. I want to extend a thank you to all who participated, helped, shared, or donated to our Sand Lake Scamper with the Sand Lake PTG. This community-building fundraiser literally wouldn’t be possible without your support, and our PTG can’t wait to reinvest the funds back into our classrooms and students. Hopefully, your student had a wonderful experience at the Scamper and shared many fun stories with you!

We’re gearing up for Student Learning Conferences towards the end of the month. We’re sure you are hearing from your child’s teacher often, but we also value this time together to get a chance to connect personally with each of you. If I can provide any assistance to you or your family during Conferences, please let me know.

We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter with more of the happenings around Sand Lake and the School District of Holmen!


In Partnership,


Mr. Meyers

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 be conducting vision screenings for students in Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades at each elementary school. Please see the screening dates below:

• 10/19/26 – Viking Elementary

• 10/20/26 – Evergreen Elementary

• 10/22/26 – Prairie View Elementary

• 10/23/26 – Sand Lake Elementary

The Lions Club will assist with the vision screenings and will be using a device called the Spot Vision Screener. This machine is slightly larger than a professional camera and essentially 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 be sent home by mail or with your student.

More information about the Spot Vision Screener can be found on the website linked below.

If you do not want your child to participate in the vision screening, please notify the Health Office at your child’s school.

Note: A vision screening does not replace a complete, professional eye examination.

http://www.welchallyn.com/en/ products/categories/physical- exam/eye-exam/vision- screeners/spot-vision- screener.html

From the Sand Lake PTG:

With Student Learning Conferences coming up, we have our first big opportunity of the school year to show our amazing Sand Lake Elementary staff just how much we appreciate everything they do for our students!

The Sand Lake PTG is asking our wonderful families to help us spread a little kindness (and some delicious treats!) during conference days.

Have a famous cookie recipe, a crowd-favorite dessert, or just love to bake? We'd love your help providing homemade or store-bought desserts for our hardworking staff to enjoy on both conference days! Whether you donate a bag of treats, whip up your famous brownies, or pick something up from the store, every contribution makes a difference! 

Sign up below to bring a treat on October 20, our first day of conferences:

• Oct. 20: Conference Desserts

A separate email with a sign-up for our second day of conferences, on October 29, will come out later next week.

It's the little things that make a BIG impact! Let's come together as a Sand Lake community and remind our teachers and staff just how valued and appreciated they are.

Thank you for helping the Sand Lake PTG make our school a special place for our students, families, and staff!

What's for lunch at Sand Lake? 

Find our October menu here! 

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

by first clicking the Menus icon in the top bar of the home page, 

then clicking Sand Lake Elementary.

Sand Lake Newsletter-September 2026

 

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

We hope that you have found the start of the year successful for your child. Our staff has been working hard to develop relationships with all of our learners, pilot new and exciting curriculum experiences, enhance the tools we already have, and learn where students' academic talents currently are so we can continue planning for growth.

As we hit the back half of September, we have officially wrapped up four weeks of school! Our students and staff have done a fantastic job establishing consistent daily routines. Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be reviewing student achievement and assessment data, developing formal intervention plans for some students, celebrating Homecoming in the School District of Holmen, and continuing our commitment to Every Student, Every Day.

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!

Finally, we are getting ready to wish a fond farewell to Mrs. Sara Schultz, our dedicated administrative assistant for the last 16 years. Sara is entering retirement, and her final day at Sand Lake is Thursday, September 24th. We wish Sara all the best in retirement!

In transition-related news, you’ll see Rhea Newman in our school office as our new administrative assistant. For some, Rhea will be a familiar face from her years as a special education assistant here at Sand Lake. Welcome, Mrs. Newman!

The Fall season brings much excitement along with the beautiful changing natural colors of the Coulee Region, and we hope that you get a chance to enjoy it with your family!

In Partnership



Matt Meyers

Attendance Information

State law allows parents to excuse their children for up to ten days of school per school year. While state law allows this, we believe that using 10 days of absences is not in the best interest of students. Sometimes, we know these absences are unavoidable or part of a once in a lifetime experience for students.

In any case, when students meet predetermined absence number thresholds, you will receive an attendance letter indicating the number of absences along with a variety of attendance status-related information. In addition, our teachers, student services staff, or I may reach out to learn more. If there is a barrier to your child attending school, we want to play a role in removing that barrier so that students can be here as often as possible. We know that special events, occasions, and family trips occur. If this is the case, please email your child’s teacher and the office. You may still receive an absence letter after the vacation, indicating, for example, that your child has missed 5 days of school, even if it has been pre-arranged. This helps the school and your family monitor how many days your student has been absent.

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 1 Annual Notice

Sand Lake Elementary receives federal funding through Title I, which provides additional resources and support to help meet the needs of our students. As part of the Title I program, schools are required to share certain information with families each year.

We want to make sure you are aware of the following:

• Families may request information regarding state or local school district policies related to student participation in mandated assessments.

• Families may request information regarding the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teacher(s).

Additional information about Title I, including annual notices and resources for families, can be found on the Holmen School District website:

• Title I Program & Annual Notices:

• https://www.holmen.k12.wi.us/departments/instructional-services/title-1-program#overview

We appreciate your partnership and are grateful to have your family as part of the Sand Lake community. If you have any questions about Title I or these annual notices, please feel free to reach out.

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

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

Sand Lake Yearbooks!

Online ordering is now active! Follow the link to order yours here:

https://www.vipis.com/group/9d9cdbce/sand-lake-elementary-school

Find our September menu HERE! 

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

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

Just a reminder that if you are paying a student's lunch account by check, 

please make the check payable to: 

Student Universal Nutrition or SUN. 

Thank you!

Apply here: Sand Lake Head Custodian 

Sand Lake Newsletter-August 2026

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

It was so great to see each of you and our students throughout August for Picture Day and Open House. We hope that you found Sand Lake to be a welcoming place and are so excited for our adventures ahead this school year! If you ever have any questions or want to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Our schoolwide theme this year is “Learning Together at the Lake”. 🌊🛥️ This theme is set forth by our school's Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports team and voted on by our staff, and is designed as a fun and exciting way to unite our school community. Our talented staff has already spent time decorating the school and their learning spaces with lakeside themes and the serenity of the water!

We are also fortunate to begin the year anew with some exciting changes!

• We welcome new teachers to our building, in a variety of capacities:

• 2nd Grade: Hannah Davis
• Special Education: Dan Ender
• Special Education: Rhyen Larson
• Early Childhood Special Education: Jodi Iverson
• Multilingual Learners: Hollie Duffy
• We’ll also be joined by support staff Tricia Theisen, Myranda Roberts, Jackie Allen, and Lynn Krenz.

• This summer, we replaced our chiller, so the building will continue to stay nice and comfortable on those hot days early and late this year! In addition, our roofing project is continuing, with construction actively taking place. While this might pose a challenge or two, we’re confident that we’ll be able to work through it and are excited to have the projects come to completion.

• We always post about events on our Sand Lake Facebook page, and our teachers and staff will remain in regular communication with you through phone calls, email, and our Class Dojo accounts. Class Dojo is a new tool that allows teachers to send messages to individual families, communicate classroom updates, share photos and stories, post reminders and events, and respond when families have questions.

Contained within this newsletter, you’ll find some updates, dates, and information needed to start the school year. Our school office will send this newsletter on a regular basis so that you are aware of key events and information happening at Sand Lake. As with past school years, timely information will still come through in individual email messages. If at any point in the school year, you are concerned that you aren’t receiving this communication, please reach out to Melissa Lacasse at lacmel@holmen.k12.wi.us

We are honored to be part of your child’s early learning journey and look forward to an outstanding school year together!

In Partnership,


Matt Meyers

4K and Kindergarten Families

Kindergarten families, please note that your child will have an introductory conference with their teacher on August 25. Thank you for signing up for your orientation time in advance. Please reach out to your teacher if you have any questions or concerns. Please also note that with the retirement of 4K Administrator Sue Eitland, I am your primary administrative contact for our 4K students.

1st-5th Grade Students
The Board of Education for the School District of Holmen has officially established Tuesday, August 25th, as the first day of school. The school day at Sand Lake is from 8:40-3:40. We are so excited to begin school!

Drop-Off/Pick-Up
Students can be dropped off at school as early as 8:10 AM when our staff is available to supervise. When students are dropped off, they can either go into school to eat breakfast or play outside with staff supervision.

The school day officially ends at 3:40 PM. Please know that we’ll take great care when dismissing students to ensure that everyone is on the right bus or following their designated after-school plan. We will only alter students’ after-school transportation plans if we hear directly from their primary caregivers listed in Infinite Campus. That means you should contact the office and your child’s teacher if the plan changes during the day. Also, as routines are being established and we take time to get students where they belong at the end of the day, it may take a few extra minutes to get our buses on the road at the beginning of the year.

Pickup and Dropoff Safety
In the past four school years, we’ve seen significant changes in the volume of pickup and drop-off students, and students who walk to school. We continue to study our parking lot safety with a team of staff and are involving outside agencies as well. Most importantly, if you pick up your student, please continue to cross with an adult wearing a yellow safety vest. We need you to maintain constant supervision and close contact with your student after we have transferred them to your care. It is my expectation that our staff is actively working with any drivers in the parking lot to ensure they are being safe and following our procedures. We are confident that if we work together, we can meet our primary goal of keeping all students, staff, and family members safe.

Connection with Caregivers
Communication between home and school is essential for student success. Our staff communicates in a variety of ways, including newsletters, grade-level communication, Class Dojo, meetings, e-mails, and telephone conversations. Opportunities may arise for volunteering; you can review our process and get registered by following the links. Teachers will communicate opportunities as they are available.

Support Available
There are a variety of opportunities through the Sand Lake Kidz Kloset or community programs in the event that you need assistance with school supplies, clothing, or other needs for your students. Please contact our school office, our school counselor, Haley Lamprecht (lamhal@holmen.k12.wi.us), or our school social worker, Erin Noll (noleri@holmen.k12.wi.us), if you need assistance at any time.

Transportation Updates
This summer, our transportation department emailed your child’s bus route and information to you. If you have any questions about your child’s transportation, we encourage you to contact the transportation department at 608-526-4752. If you have any questions about transportation safety procedures at Sand Lake, please contact the main office at 608-781-0974.

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

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

Find our August menu HERE! 

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

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

*Just a reminder that if you are paying a student's lunch account by check, 

please make check payable to: 

Student Universal Nutrition or SUN. 

Thank you!

Sand Lake Newsletter - July 2026

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

We hope this message finds you and your families well and enjoying summer break! For our school staff, summertime brings time away and a chance to plan and prepare for a great upcoming school year. We are excited to start the year together in support of Every Student, Every Day!

Please take a minute to review our summer newsletter as we get ready for back-to-school events. As the new year draws closer, more detailed information will come your way about school day and school year procedures.

We always appreciate the opportunity to learn from each of you. If there’s anything you want to connect about, share with us, or talk in further detail, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our school office. We’d love to help or direct you to the right resource.


In Partnership,


Matt Meyers


Sand Lake Picture Day

Picture Day will take place on Wednesday, August 5, from 7:00 AM-7:00 PM in the Sand Lake gymnasium. Please choose a sign-up time slot if you are able. You can find the SignUpGenius link HERE.

During picture day, you can also visit with our school nurse, office staff, nutritional services, and transportation department. Feel free to stop by the informational table, which will have literature about our growing Sand Lake Parent-Teacher Group (PTG) and its mission to continue strengthening the valued partnership between the school and parents, caregivers, and families.

Picture retake day will take place on Monday, October 5. If you have conflicts with any of these dates, you can attend any picture day in the district this summer.


Class Assignments

Classroom assignments will be sent electronically on Monday, August 3. You will receive your teacher's welcome letter, open house reminders, and first day of school information in this email, which should arrive to your inbox that afternoon, around 3:00 PM. If you have twins, the teacher assignment will be sent in a separate email.

It is important to have completed the annual update in your Infinite Campus Parent Portal for the 2026-2027 school year to ensure all of your family's information is up to date. Reminder emails have been sent throughout the summer and will continue to be sent to those who have not yet finished these updates.

Open House Night

Sand Lake will host an Open House on Thursday, August 20, from 4:00-6:00 PM. During this time, you’ll be able to meet your child’s classroom teacher, drop off school supplies, and get prepared for the school year. Our PTG has once again scheduled food trucks for the evening, if you wish to purchase dinner. We’re excited to have a great back-to-school celebration!


First Day of School

Grades 1 - 5: First day of school is Tuesday, August 25.
4K & Kindergarten: First day of school is Wednesday, August 26.

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

Like us @ Sand Lake Elementary

Annual Update - 2026-27 School Year

The Annual Update application is open to verify your family information that is stored in Infinite Campus. This information is vital to help us prepare for your student (s). The District Registrar will process your requested updates/changes once you have completed and submitted the application. We encourage you to complete your annual update as soon as possible. Further communication and reminders may be sent by each school.

Please use the link below if you have not yet completed

your Annual Registration Update:

Infinite Campus - Parent Portal

School Portrait Date-Sand Lake Elementary: August 5, 2026

Families will receive an email to view and order their student's pictures about a week after picture day. 

Printable School Supply Lists can be found on the Sand Lake school website:

Back to School Supplies-Sand Lake Elementary

To view the 2026-2027 Student School Calendar online, visit the district website here.

Enroll for Bridging Brighter Smiles services here:

 Bridging Brighter Smiles – Enrollment Form (bbsmiles.org)

Sand Lake Newsletter - June 2026

 

From the Principal: Mr. Meyers

Sand Lake Families:

As we bid farewell to the 2025-2026 school year, our eyes turn ahead to 2026-2027. Included in this newsletter is a brief reminder of some items that we shared in May, along with a few community events.

The School District of Holmen has designated the first day of the 2026-2027 school year as Tuesday, August 25th, 2026, with 4K and Kindergarten having orientation only on that day. 4K and Kindergarten will have their first student day of school on Wednesday, August 26th.

Finally, thank you to every one of you for the support of your child through this school year. Each staff member at Sand Lake firmly believes in the importance of strong home and school relationships, and we are grateful to each of you for your partnership. To our 5th-grade students and families, we are going to miss you! We’ll miss your presence in our halls and seeing you at our school activities, but you’re always welcome back for a visit. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for each of you!

Have a great summer!


In Partnership,


Matt Meyers

Annual Update - 2026-27 School Year

The Annual Update application is now open to verify your family information that is stored in Infinite Campus. This information is vital to help us prepare for your student (s). The District Registrar will process your requested updates/changes once you have completed and submitted the application. We encourage you to complete your annual update as soon as possible. Further communication and reminders may be sent by each school.

Please use the link below if you have not yet completed

your Annual Registration Update:

Infinite Campus - Parent Portal

What's for lunch at Sand Lake? 

Find our June menu HERE! 

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

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

*Just a reminder that if you are paying a student's lunch account by check, 

please make check payable to: 

Student Universal Nutrition or SUN. 

Thank you!