Sand Lake School’s January Newsletter

From the principal’s desk…

Sand Lake Families:

Welcome officially to the “2024” part of the 2023-2024 school year! We hope that you had a a relaxing break with family and friends and have been able to shift back into school mode during the first couple of weeks!

This portion of the school year brings along various assessments for our students. This is a busy and pivotal time as we gain information on what students have learned and what next steps they’ll need to take. We’re excited to work collaboratively in our teams to plan for your child’s learning as we get student assessment results. Of course, this makes it a busy time for our students, teachers, and school staff so we appreciate weekend time to relax!

We can be stuck indoors quite a bit during these months and we encourage you take advantage of as many opportunities as you can to keep these months exciting. Beyond our academic learning, it’s been exciting to see some of our clubs and activities, including the drama club, up and running. Do something fun to beat the winter blues with your child or as a family!

Thank you for all that you do to support your child and our school community as we live out our mission of being Dedicated to Excellence!

Matt Meyers

Art Room News from Mrs. Staige

This month students will be learning about 3-dimensional art! All grades will be working with clay to create a 3D sculpture. Students will learn to create a basic form in clay using various hand-building techniques. They will also get creative by adding texture and decorative pieces to their clay designs. 5th and 3rd grades will also learn about form with the paper mache process while creating masks and bowls.

Contacting Staff Members

If you need to contact a staff member with time sensitive information (i.e. your child should ride the bus home, your child will be picked up for an appointment, etc.), please make certain to also leave a message with the office staff as a teacher may be absent. Our substitutes are not given access to retrieve voice or

e-mail information.

Educational Assistants EXTRA

Each month our Educational Assistants will be sharing useful information and tips.

· Please be sure that your child(ren) are prepared for colder weather and they are prepared for the coldest part of the day.

· Please help students remember to pack their shoes or send a pair that can stay at school.

· For everyone's safety, please DO NOT leave your vehicle running if you are not in it.

Farm 2 School

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". January’s “Harvest of the Month” is beets.

Health Office News

Nurse: Emily Hanes, RN, BSN

Health Aide: Annette Hundt

It's that time of the year when illnesses are on the rise! Please remember to keep your student home if: they are so sick that it would impede their learning, have a fever- may return when they are 24 hours fever free without the use of fever reducing medication, vomiting, or diarrhea. Students do not need to stay home with pink eye unless they are very uncomfortable or unable to not touch their eye. Students with strep throat or impetigo are required to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

Here is a link to the district's illness guidelines for the 23-24 school year.

https://www.holmen.k12.wi.us/families/2023-2024-health-guidelines.cfm

Kidz Klozet

We are STOCKED with winter gear, so please contact us or stop in for boots, jackets, mittens, hats, or snow pants!

Any questions, please contact us at:

kobamy@holmen.k12.wi.us yassar@holmen.k12.wi.us

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.

Parent Teacher Group (PTG) News

Please join us for any or all of the upcoming PTG mtgs. on Feb. 5, Mar. 4, Apr. 1 and May 6 - held at 6pm in the Sand Lake conference room. All are welcome! This is a great time to meet other parents, connect with our principal, hear from teachers, learn about school events, and share your ideas. As new members ourselves, in the coming months we will explore volunteer/engagement opportunities based on teachers’ feedback, and review future PTG events/development – taking a closer look at what has been done recently as well as throughout the years.

One upcoming event includes the annual 5^th Grade Bash; a tradition shared between our four Holmen elementary schools in honor and celebration of our 5^th graders’ transition into middle school. The first collaborative planning meeting is coming up & all interested parents/adult family members of Holmen elementary school students are invited (see details below). It is a unique opportunity to connect with others in the school district and give back to our community.

Happy New Year!

Sand Lake PTG

Physical Education: Sneaker News from Mr. Fredrick

I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing, and active winter break! This month in PE, 4th and 5th graders will hopefully be cross country skiing at some point. Please keep an eye out for more communication in regards to this. It may be short notice as it isn't looking too promising for snow yet. Until we get snow, 4th and 5th graders will be doing a healthy habits unit where we will learn about the health-related fitness components, making appropriate food choices, and more about their bodies. Kindergarten through 3rd grade students will be busy working on skills that you would think of being used in basketball. Dribbling, passing, and some shooting will be taught over the course of our 4-day unit. If your students are asking or talking about the gymnastics unit that many look forward to, that will be happening in February! Make sure to challenge your student(s) this month to get outside and be active as the weather appears to finally start to cool off, and we tend to want to stay inside.

School District Open Enrollment

Wisconsin’s inter-district public school open enrollment program allows parents to apply for their children to attend school districts other than the one in which they live. Students in 5-year old kindergarten to grade 12 may apply to participate in open enrollment. Open enrollment for pre-kindergarten, 4-year old kindergarten and early childhood education is limited. Parents should call their resident school districts to find out if their preschool-aged children qualify for open enrollment. The Open Enrollment application period for the 2024-2025 School year is from February 5 - April 30, 2024. Parents must apply to the nonresident district. A nonresident district is defined as the district you do not live in, but where you want your child to attend.

It is recommended that you apply for open enrollment through the on-line application process at http://dpi.wi.gov/oe. The open enrollment application period closes at 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted for any reason.

If you have any questions regarding open enrollment, please contact Courtney Wilson, Open Enrollment Coordinator for the School District of Holmen, and Student Services Department at 608-526-1309.

Staff Development – No School

There will be no school for students in the School District of Holmen on Monday, January 22, 2024 in order to provide professional development opportunities for staff.