Sand Lake Elementary April Newsletter

From the principal’s desk…

 Sand Lake Families:

 As we return from break, we find ourselves with a lot of momentum surging towards the Spring weather and the 4^th quarter of the school year. Our third through fifth graders are working hard on their Forward tests while our younger students are working equally hard in their classrooms. 

 While Spring brings the end of the school year to the horizon, we still have much to accomplish over the course of the next couple of months. It is always refreshing to be around students and staff who are putting in the extra efforts to make the end of the year successful. Here are just a few more of the events taking place this month.

 Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week: This will take place the week of April 8-April 12. The statewide tornado drill will take place at 1:45 p.m. on April 11. To ensure safety, we practice different safety drills monthly. We would like to suggest that you work out a family plan at home as well, and make sure each member of the family understands.

 National Volunteer Week: National Volunteer Week is also April 21-April 27. We are thankful for our Sand Lake volunteers! The end of the year brings several field trips and volunteer opportunities. If you are volunteering, please remember to complete the School District of Holmen Volunteer Registration process.

 Finally, as we embark upon the final quarter of the school year, we want to highlight our 5^th grade students! Our 5^th graders will have the opportunity to participate in the 5^th grade bash, take a bike trip, and have a final farewell breakfast. We are excited to celebrate the final leg of their journeys at Sand Lake and wish them well in the future. To our 5^th grade families, we appreciate you all more than you know. We are here to assist in the transition to middle school and are working hard with our partners at the middle school to ensure success for everyone. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or our 5^th grade team!

 In Partnership,

 Matt Meyers

2024-2025 Sixth Graders

All parents of 2024 - 2025 incoming 6th graders are invited to our 5^th grade Parent/Guardian-Student Information night at Holmen Middle School in Gym B on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.  This is an informational meeting that both parents and students are welcome yet not required to attend. 

Please join us in the Holmen Middle School in Gym B on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. for this informational meeting.  

 If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Vogler, Holmen Middle School Principal, at 608-526-3391 ext. 5405 or vogrya@holmen.k12.wi.us

 

Art Room News from Mrs. Staige

Thank you for all the orders for the Original Works Fundraiser. Orders should arrive at Sand Lake at the end of April or beginning of May. Thank you for all your support! 

 

Bus Safety Evacuations

Spring bus safety evacuations will be practiced April 15-19 during morning bus routes.  This may delay bus arrival times by a few minutes.  Evacuations are required by law two times each year and are an important part of safety training for all students.   Drivers are to announce, in advance, when they are completing the evacuations.   We will attempt to do the evacuations on days when the weather is nice.  Drivers will review with students the proper procedures for exiting the bus through the emergency door, as well as additional safety information.  Please contact Transportation Services at 526-4752, if you have any questions.

 

Counselor Connection – Mrs. Kobs

I want to welcome Coulee Council to Sand Lake. During the month of March and April, they will be teaching lessons in all Kindergarten, 1^st,2^nd and 3^rd grade classrooms on such topics as responsibility, refusal skills for healthy drug free living, and interpersonal skills to resist peer pressure through the Too Good For Drugs Program.  You are encouraged to ask your child about what he or she has learned throughout March and April.  This program is part of the school counseling and health curriculum.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 608-781-0974 or send an email to kobamy@holmen.k12.wi.us.

Amy Kobs Sand Lake School Counselor

 

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

Early Release Reminder

As a friendly reminder, there will be an early release day on Wednesday, April 17, in order to provide professional development opportunities for staff.  School will be dismissed at 1:40 p.m. 

 

Educational Assistants   Extra

With the ever-changing Spring weather, please be sure that your child(ren) are dressing appropriately. Be prepared for the coldest part of the day. Bringing an extra sweatshirt may be helpful.

 

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".  April’s “Harvest of the Month” is greens.

 

Four-Year Old Kindergarten (4K) Registration

The School District of Holmen will begin accepting enrollment for the 2024-25 Four-Year-Old Kindergarten (4K) Program soon.  Any child who is four-years-old on or before September 1, 2024 and lives in the school district boundaries is eligible to participate. We encourage early registration in order to help us plan accordingly for the 2024-25 school year.

Note: All enrollment is done online– www.holmen.k12.wi.us

Important 4K Information:

· 4K classes are currently held at Viking Elementary School

· AM Session: 8:15 a.m.—11:00 a.m.

· PM Session: 11:45 a.m.—2:30 p.m.

· Placement in AM or PM session is based upon transportation needs.  We notify families of class placements during the first week of August.

 

Health Office News

Nurse Emily Hanes, BSN, RN 

Health Aide, Annette Hundt

Change to Vaccine Requirement for Students Entering 6^th grade in 2024-2025 

Tdap

 The Wisconsin Student Immunization Law now requires students to receive the Tdap vaccine before beginning 7^th grade. This is a change from previous years. Prior to March 2023, it was required before entering 6^th grade. This change will allow it to line up with the recommendation for students to receive the vaccine at age 11. For 7^th grade, parents will be required to have their children vaccinated or claim a waiver.  

 Tdap is the adolescent combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). Only one dose is required.

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/tdap.html

 Recommended but not required vaccines:

 Meningococcal (bacterial meningitis) vaccine

 This vaccine is available for students over 11 years of age. Two doses are recommended, with the second dose administered at 16 years of age. This is not a required vaccination at this time, but may be in the future. More information can be obtained from the health office, your clinic, or the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mening/

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

This vaccine is now available for both male and female students starting at age 11. It was recently changed from a three-dose vaccine to a two-dose vaccine. The second dose is needed 6 to 12 months after the initial vaccine. At this time, it is not a required vaccination. For more information, contact the health office, your clinic, or follow the link: https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/vaccine-for-hpv.html

 Your primary care provider can provide these immunizations or from The La Crosse County Public Health Department (608-785-9723). Please feel free to call your school’s health office with any questions. Please inform the health office when immunization are received so records can be updated.     

Kidz Klozet

We have plenty of clothing items for all seasons. As we enter Spring, we are looking for tennis shoes. Thank you in advance for your donation.   Please feel free to stop in and take a look. As always, contact us if you have any questions! 

Thank you 

Any questions, please contact us at: 

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

 

Musical Notes from Mrs. Heerts

Happy Spring!

This April in music classes the students will be singing many seasonal songs and working on movement activities. They are also learning targets specific to each grade level:

 Kindergarten: Will focus on internalizing the steady beat, body movement with scarves, ribbons and other materials, and creating rhythm patterns with the quarter note (tah) and eighth notes (ti-ti)

 First Grade: Will focus on steady beat vs. rhythm and creation of rhythm patterns for the rhythm instruments. We will also conclude our study of the instrument families of the orchestra.

 Second Grade: Will focus on steady beat vs. rhythm and creation of rhythm patterns for the rhythm instruments. We will also conclude our study of the instrument families of the orchestra.

 Third Grade: Will focus on the staff and note naming utilizing the recorder. They will also focus on note reading and counting.

 Fourth Grade: Will review the rhythms and utilize the percussion instrumentation. They will begin to analyze form in music and add ostinato patterns to songs utilizing Orff instruments.

 Fifth Grade: Will review the rhythms and utilize the percussion instrumentation. They will begin to analyze form in music and add ostinato patterns and harmony melodies to songs.

 Thank you for supporting music education!

 

Parent Teacher Group (PTG) News

Hello Sand Lake Families,

 Please know you are welcome to join our upcoming PTG meeting on May 6 (6-7pm) in the Sand Lake conference room. This is a great time to meet other parents, connect with our principal, hear from teachers, learn about school events, and share your ideas.

 Our first big fundraiser at Toppers was a success! We are happy to announce that we raised $363.40 in total. Thank you sincerely to all who participated. We have two more fundraisers planned for the rest of the school year. In full disclosure, during our recent Covid years fundraising was less of a priority as so many other matters were at the forefront. Our goal this year is to build back a savings so we can continue to offer important contributions to our Sand Lake community including:

Transportation costs for field trips
Birthday book program funding
Teacher mini grants
Breakfast Buddies
5th Grade BASH
School play props
PTC dinner for Sand Lake staff
One-time expenses such as buddy benches, bike racks, the Gaga ball pit, and our new volleyball net/court."

 Anything you can contribute makes a big difference!

Please consider joining us for a very special fundraiser event at Chuck E. Cheese on Friday, April 19 from 3-9 p.m. where 20% of all proceeds will be donated to Sand Lake. This is a unique opportunity where you can help support our community while having a fun Friday night out with other Sand Lake families. Our PTG members will be sure to greet you and connect you with other families as you arrive. If you would like to directly donate to PTG, feel free to drop off a personal check or cash to the office. We appreciate your support and generosity very much.

 

 

Check out our past meeting minutes and other information on our website at https://www.holmen.k12.wi.us/schools/sandlake/parents/sand-lake-ptg.cfm. You can reach us at any time as well at sandlakeptg@gmail.com.

 Sand Lake PTG 

 Mission Statement: The mission of Sand Lake PTG is to promote the welfare of the children of Sand Lake Elementary and to bring the home and school together for social and educational interaction.

 

 

Physical Education - Sneaker News from Mr. Fredrick

We are back to feeling like winter again!  With this cool down, we haven't been able to get outside for PE like we originally had planned for some of our units this month.  We look forward to hopefully a warm April and getting outside to learn our skills.  In April, 4th and 5th graders will be wrapping up their invasion games unit where they are using the tools of football, soccer, and ultimate frisbee to learn about the strategies and tactics of these types of games.  At the end of the month, students will be starting inline skating.  Make sure to keep an eye out for a letter in your student’s backpack mid-April for what that all entails!  K-3 also has some fun things coming up.  To start the month, we will be doing a short nutrition unit learning about healthy choices with foods.  Then we are going onto our object control with implements unit where students will be challenged to use lots of different items like hockey sticks, baseball bats, pickleball paddles, and more to strike things to different locations and to different people.  On May 30, we will be having our Field Day again.  If you are interested in assisting a Sand Lake staff member at a station that day, please reach out to Mr. Fredrick (frejoe@holmen.k12.wi.us) and let me know.  We had so many wonderful helping hands last year and hope to have more again this year!     

 

Substitute Opportunities

 

 

Summer School

Tornado & Severe Weather Awareness Week

As Wisconsin looks ahead to spring weather, Wisconsin Emergency Management and its partners at the National Weather Service want people to be ready for the possibility of tornadoes and severe storms. As part of those preparations, everyone in the state is encouraged to participate in statewide tornado drills scheduled for April 11 at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. The annual drills will take place during Tornado and Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is April 8-12.

During the drill times, Wisconsin’s National Weather Service offices will conduct NOAA Weather Radio tests that can be heard only if you are actively listening to those devices or have one programmed to activate on test alerts. Many communities may choose to test their outdoor warning sirens during the drill times and local media may also put out messages to encourage people to participate.

Schools, businesses, and homes are encouraged to practice going to their nearest tornado shelter during the drills, as if there were an actual tornado warning in effect. Ideal shelter locations include a basement or ground floor interior room or hallway, located away from windows and exterior doors.

For more tips on tornado safety, visit ReadyWisconsin. If there is severe weather expected anywhere in the state on April 11, the drills would be postponed to April 12. If you are unable to participate at those times, ReadyWisconsin encourages everyone to pick another time on the date of the drill to practice your plan.

 

Virtual Backpack

The School District of Holmen has implemented a “green” approach for distributing flyers from community organizations, and has discontinued the process of sending paper flyers in your student's backpack, unless they are school related. The information is divided into three sections, by grade levels, and updated on a regular basis.

Click on this link:  https://www.holmen.k12.wi.us/community/virtual-backpack.cfm to be directed to the actual webpage which is housed in the COMMUNITY tab of the homepage.

Note that most of these advertisements are not district publications (unless marked). The District enables their online distribution as a community service to inform you of educational opportunities, activities and events available in our area.

 Volunteers: Celebrating People in Action

Sand Lake volunteers play a vital role in the success of our school.  Each day, parents, extended family, community members and high school students use their skills, time, and energy to assist Sand Lake students.  Their efforts are appreciated more than words can say. During the week of April 21-27, 2024, we will once again recognize our many wonderful volunteers, who are dedicated to serving our learning community in this capacity.

 

Deb Sinclair

Jean Nash