Sand Lake School’s December Newsletter
From
the Principal’s Desk
The season of giving is upon us and it is a
great opportunity to reflect on the wonderful things that we have accomplished
this past year. As a Sand Lake staff, we want to thank you for partnering with
us to provide the best educational experience for our students. The time, attention,
and thoughtfulness you give to your child and our school during this season and
always is ever appreciated!
As Principal, I never take for granted the
opportunity to observe classrooms all across the building, in every different
grade level. It’s wonderful to see students working in large groups, working
with each other and working closely with our teachers and educational
assistants. In each different scenario, our students and staff are living our
mission of being Dedicated to Excellence!
We also want to take time to thank those of you
that were able to attend our Breakfast Buddies program, recent concerts with
our 2nd and 4th graders, or a specific classroom event.
Partnering with our families, and developing our sense of the Sand Lake community
is paramount to our student’s success! Thank you!
We hope that you each have
the time you need to enjoy the season with your family. On behalf of the office
staff at Sand Lake, we send you warm holiday wishes!
In Partnership,
Matt Meyers
Art
Room News from Mrs. Staige
The elementary art show
at the Pump House Regional Art Center is November 16th – January 6. The
artists’ reception open house will be on Wednesday, December 13th from 3:30 – 6:00
p.m. The show will be featuring student’s artwork from Sand Lake, Viking,
Evergreen and Prairie View. Congratulations to all of the following
artists that were selected for the art show!
Kindergarten: Jamie Burge
First Grade: Stella Towne and
Atli Damrow
Second Grade: Brekkin
Wood, Scarlett Stanton, Ashlyn Myers, Ellie Tippetts, Chloe Aspenson, Charlotte
Ikert, Christian Ekern, Aideen McNeil and Bretlynn Hoffman
Third Grade: Grace
Wiemerslage, Ella Miller, Lou Fischer, Mila Witt, Brienna Maland and Peyton
Dworshak
Fourth Grade: Serenity
Westerman, Caiden Ikert, Mina Lambert, Madelyn Buchheit, Brielle Rupert and
Fiona Bliss
Fifth Grade: Clara Faron,
Tayte Gnewikow, Ivan Tierney, Amelia Houdek, Grady Tauscher, Gio Lethlean, Jed
Waters, Adelynn Otto, Lauren Griffith and Henry Berg
Early Release
Reminder
As a
friendly reminder, there will be an early release day on Wednesday, December 13 in order
to provide professional development opportunities for staff. School will be dismissed at 1:40 p.m.
Educational
Assistants EXTRA
Each
month our Educational Assistants will be sharing useful information and tips.
v
The earliest drop off time
in the morning is 8:10 a.m., unless you are enrolled in the Surround Care
program through the YMCA.
v
We ask that you do not leave your car running while unattended,
especially if you are coming into the building.
v
Parents-please make sure
Kindergarten and 1st Grade students are prepared to dress themselves. This
includes zipping and tying articles of clothing.
v Extra gloves/mittens are a great idea.
Farm2School
The La Crosse County Farm2School program is a collaboration
between public school districts in La Crosse County and the La Crosse County
Health Department. The Farm2School program provides student opportunities for
health and nutrition education. Each month, one locally-grown produce item is
selected as the Farm2School "Harvest of the Month". December’s
“Harvest of the Month” is winter squash.
Health Office News
Nurse: Emily Hanes RN, BSN
Health Aide: Annette Hundt
From the Health
Office:
Nurse: Emily Hanes BSN, RN
When to Keep Your Child Home:
1. Any temperature of 100 degrees
or higher requires exclusion from school. If your child is requiring
Tylenol or Ibuprofen to keep the fever
down, they should stay home. They should be fever free for at least 24
hours without the use of medication to maintain a normal temperature.
2. Cold symptoms, serious enough
to interfere with the child’s ability to learn.
3. If your child has diarrhea
and/or vomiting, keep them home until their bodies have had time to
recover. Sometimes, children return too early and end up having a relapse
or infecting more students.
4. Coughing that causes
difficulty breathing, moderate to severe chest pain and/or vomiting.
5. Headache severe enough to
interfere with learning.
6. Abdominal pain accompanied by
elevated temperature, vomiting, or diarrhea.
7. Sore throat serious enough to
interfere with swallowing or accompanied by a fever or rash.
8. Pink eye-if fever is present,
behavior changes, or unable to avoid touching the eyes.
9. Certain bacterial conditions
which are prescribed an antibiotic, such as strep throat and impetigo, require
a student to be on the antibiotic for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
10. Unknown rash.
Hearing and Vision Screenings: Almost all the hearing
screenings have been completed. We hope to have The Lion’s Club come in
December to complete vision screenings for students in EC, 4K, K, 1st, 3rd, and
5th. No dates are currently set at this time. If there were any concerns with
the screenings, a text message or a letter will be sent home to notify.
Feel free to contact the health office if you have any questions about your
child’s vision and/or hearing.
A HUGE thank you to Jessica Stanton, for
helping us again. She reorganized and took inventory on our winter
gear. We are STOCKED with winter gear, so please contact us or stop
in for boots, jackets, mittens, hats, or snow pants!
Musical Notes from Mrs. Heerts
This January in Music we will be focusing on the following musical elements:
Kindergarten: Tempo and melodic
direction
First grade: Matching pitch and rhythm composition; beginning
of program preparation
Second grade: Music terms,
instruments of the orchestra:
Third Grade: Instruments of the orchestra
and line and space names of the treble clef; beginning of program preparation
Fourth grade: Ukulele
introduction and playing
Fifth grade: Ukulele continuation and rhythm composition; beginning of program preparation
All
students will also be singing seasonal songs and movement activities.
No School December 25 – January 2
School will not be in session from Monday, December 25 through Monday, January 1. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 2. Enjoy the winter break!
Parent Teacher Group (PTG) News
Greetings
from Sand Lake Parent Teacher Group! Thank you again for the continued support
you have
shown
to our PTG. Through SCRIP fundraising and donations, we have been able to
support our students
and
staff in many ways including: supplementing transportation costs for field
trips, funding the birthday
book
program, enhancing our playground equipment, providing needed winter supplies and
more.
We
are very happy to announce that we have recently filled the officer positions.
Here
is what our newest members would like to share with you:
President – I’ve been a part of the Sand Lake school system
since 2014 – almost 10 years now! Our
youngest
is in 2nd grade and we also have an 8th grader at HMS and a freshman at HHS. I
work at GHS
Hospice
with a background in grief counseling and family systems. I’m hoping to support
PTG and our
family
and school relationships especially through volunteer development. – Beth Allen
Vice President – With a background
in youth organizations, I’m here to lend my support to students,
families,
school staff and teachers in whatever way I can. Currently I manage the county
4-H program
and
our twins are in Kindergarten at Sand Lake. I’m looking forward to getting more
involved in our
school
community through PTG! – Em Crook
Secretary – We have two boys in 5th grade and 1st grade at Sand
Lake. I work at River Architects in La
Crosse
as their business manager, and in my free time I enjoy gardening, reading, and
cheering on the
Minnesota
Twins. I’m excited to be a part of PTG and support our learning community. –
Emily Staed
Treasurer – I am a manager with JRMCPAs, and we currently have a
3rd grader at Sand Lake along with
two
younger girls, ages 4 and 3. I joined the PTG in an effort to become more
involved with the school
and
with hopes of enhancing the relationship between parents and school staff. –
Betsy Jessie
Please
mark your calendars and join us for our upcoming meetings on: Jan. 8, Feb. 5,
Mar. 4, Apr. 1 and
May
6 (from 6-7:00 pm in the Sand Lake Conference Room). You can also find more
information on the Sand
Lake
website (click on Parents, then Sand Lake PTG) or contact us with any questions
at
sandlakeptg@gmail.com.
Happy holidays! #SandLakeProudPTG ***
Emily Crook, Matt Meyers, Betsy Jessie, Beth Allen, Emily Stead
Physical Education: Sneaker News
from Mr. Fredrick
Wow,
time is flying in PE! In our shortened month of December, 4th-5th grade
students will be completing their net/wall game unit where we will be ending
with a paddle ball tournament. We will be anxiously waiting to see what
snow we will get in hopes to start our cross-country unit following our winter
break. 2nd and 3rd graders will be learning about jump roping and the
benefits of being physically active every day. K-1 students will get a
chance to learn how to choose the right jump rope and how to start turning and
jumping with the rope safely. Before the end of break, we also will have
a day where all students get a PE day where we have many different winter
stations to try. Make sure to ask your student the last week before break
what their favorite winter station was this year!
Winter Weather
Now that the winter weather is not too far away, the staff would like to remind you that students will be going outside when temperatures/conditions permit (see winter recess guidelines listed below). Please make certain your children are dressed appropriately for the weather (i.e. scarves, hats, mittens, snow pants, and boots). If they are not to go outside because of medical reasons, please send a note to their teachers.
*Parents sending notes may be
requested to send a physician's statement after one day of indoor recess.
Winter Recess Guidelines (in effect every day)
from all of us at Sand Lake Elementary! Thank you for making 2023 a great year! We look forward to working with you throughout 2024. Enjoy the Holidays!
