Elementary News
October 13th, 2022
October 13th, 2022
In this week's Elementary eLedger
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Thank you for attending parent/teacher conferences this week. It was wonderful to see our community coming together in partnership. Our school was filled with a positive energy as the SMSA community was navigating hallways. Parent/teacher conferences come along twice during the school year. Please know we are available for scheduled individual conferences throughout the school year if the need arises. It's as easy as communicating with the teacher and scheduling a time that works for the both of you. Thank you for taking the time to be present at conferences. SMSA appreciates your commitment, trust and partnership.
SMSA has a couple of events approaching. Please check out the important dates further down the eLedger to learn more about Halloween activities and our new SMSA Talent Show.
Thank you for your continued partnership with SMSA. Together we will create a path for tomorrow’s children to achieve amazing dreams.
God Bless,
Elementary Principal, SMSA
October 13 &14: No School (Teacher in-service)
October 27: Trunk or Treat
October 28: Elementary Halloween Parties and Middle School Halloween dance after school
May 26, 2023: Kindergarten – Eighth Grade Mass & 8th grade graduation at Holy Family at 9:00 AM
Parents of Performing Arts meeting Dates for the 2022-2023 school year are:
October 18 (note the revised date)
November 16
December 21
January 18
February 15
March 22
April 19
May 16 (note the revised date)
All meetings will be held at 6 pm in the Lauby Lounge (first floor teacher lounge).
Contact Maggie Rose with any questions about PPA!
Parents, please use the following links...
To make a lunch payment using eFunds
To check a student's information, (After logging into your Skyward account, click the "Student Information" tab on the left hand column.)
Grades 6-8 will have a Halloween Party on Friday, October 28th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM in Baker Gym.
Parents/Guardians will need to contact Christa Lewis if your child is planning on leaving earlier than 6:00 PM. Parents/Guardians may pick up their student in front of the North Hall Office at 6:00 PM.
Students should bring their costumes and accessories to school to change into prior to the dance. We will be serving pizza and prizes will be rewarded for various activities.
Please remind your student that this is a school sponsored event, and all behavior protocol will be in place for the duration of the dance.
We would like to thank the Parent Connectors for supporting this wonderful opportunity!
Do you own a company or know of a company willing to help us sell SMSA’s Big Money Raffle tickets? Companies that choose to become a BMR ticket location will have their company logo placed on BMR promotional materials, including posters and radio ads.
We would appreciate an opportunity to hang a BMR poster and leave a few tickets for sale. Please email Kristin Zitlow ASAP if you are interested in participating.
Stay tuned for more information regarding BMR ticket distribution in early October!
Thank you for your support!
The BMR Committee (Kelly Baker, Jenny Baker, Valerie Everson, Sasha Smith)
A long-standing tradition at SMSA continues again this year with the Christmas Card Fundraiser! Students in Grades 4 through 8 will be creating and selling handmade Christmas Cards. These cards will be sold for $2.00 each by the St. Mary’s Springs families after all the masses at Holy Family Parish sites on Saturday, December 3rd and Sunday, December 4th.
We will also be having a movie and popcorn afternoon, the day before Christmas Break, where students can bring in a donation to watch the movie of their choice and enjoy popcorn. Everyone will be able to participate, whether they bring in a donation or not.
All proceeds from the card sale and movie/popcorn will go to benefit a local child (Fond du Lac County) and his/her family, who is currently or has had medical concerns/conditions. Last year our Christmas Card Sale raised $4,200 for 9-year-old Mason Abraham and his family!
If you know of a child and their family that you feel is deserving of a nomination, please fill out the form using the link provided below. All nominations will be reviewed and a recipient will be chosen by random draw.
Are you the parent of a SMSA Middle School or High School athlete? If so, please consider signing up below to help out ABC (Athletic Booster Club) by volunteering your time and talent to work in concessions or admissions at an upcoming sport event.
Booster Club is encouraging ALL parents of ALL athletes to embrace teamwork and help out at an event that fits for your schedule. For those that have already signed up and volunteered, ABC sincerely appreciates your help!
Use the links below to sign up through SignupGenius:
Winter sports will be added at a future date with a follow up email
To parents and students currently in 3rd-7th grade:
Do you like Legos, robotics, lots of research about new ideas, inventing things, improving your community, and working as a team? Keep reading!
WHAT IS FIRST? FIRST is an international organization that stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology”. It introduces STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) to students through fun, exciting, hands-on, real-world learning.
LEGO TEAM AT SCHOOL: SMSA started a Lego League team last year, named Bot Busters. We are starting our second season. Each team can have a maximum of 10 students from 4th to 8th grade. Schools can have more than one team. Each team needs two dedicated coaches. This season, our team is full, but we would love to expand and grow next year!
THE SEASON: Each season has two components:
1) Robot design, coding, and robot games to complete missions.
2) Researching a solution to a challenge (presented by FIRST each year), and designing an invention to help solve the problem. Researching the challenge, problems, and solutions requires field trips, interviews with field experts and stakeholders, internet searches, and the building of prototypes.
2022 FIRST CHALLENGE: This season’s challenge is how to make energy more affordable, sustainable, or reliable, by looking at where energy comes from, and how it is stored, distributed, and used. This challenge aligns with the United Nations sustainable development goal #7.
The solution to the challenge should have the ability to positively impact the local community, so students are encouraged to think locally about how to solve the challenge. This focus allows students to get to know local businesses and people when doing research.
At this time, we are researching biofuels…so if anyone with knowledge of this would like to offer an interview or help, please let us know!
THE FUTURE: We would love to see Lego League grow next year so we can accommodate more students. But we can’t do it without help. We need parents to consider coaching and volunteering. The time commitment is significant, but the rewards are great.
If this opportunity sounds interesting to you and your student, please consider asking us questions, dropping by our meetings (after school Tuesdays and Fridays), volunteering some small amount of time this year (not required), or maybe even coming to our competition or scrimmage.
In all, this organization and team provides a very unique opportunity. The time it takes for parent volunteers and the students is significant, but the rewards are many. The life skills students learn, the intensity of the games, the independence they show, and the curiosity fostered is something which will be remembered long after school is completed.
So please, contact us to learn more.
Sandy Schwoerer: sandyschwoerer@gmail.com
Mary Jo Rammer: mhalbmaier@hotmail.com
Lauren Bellmore: laurenbellmore@gmail.com
The Fond du Lac School District Recreation Department is running a co-ed volleyball league for 4th and 5th graders! Check out more information about the program, how to sign up a student, and how to help out as a coach!
As always, if you or your child become aware of a potentially dangerous situation that may threaten campus safety, we urge you to contact the Fond du Lac Police Department.
To report life threatening urgent matters, please dial 9-1-1. To report concerns that may not be urgent, please call 920-322-3700. You may also call the high school main office at 920-322-8062.
Created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS), the Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center (SUSO) is a comprehensive, one-stop place to turn with important concerns currently offering: threat assessment consultation, critical incident response, and general school safety guidance.
Visit the SUSO website for additional information on these three services as well as resources on school safety best practices.
St. Mary’s Spring Academy is excited to introduce Standards Based Grading in grades kindergarten through third grade for the 2022-23 school year! Standards Based Grading is a best practice initiative the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is leading all of its schools towards implementing in the coming school year.
The objective of the video series is to educate parents in short videos to unpack Standard Based Grading. The series intends to deliver an education and mind shift to understand Standards Based Grading, why Standards Based Grading is best practice, and how Standards Based Grading functions with the parent and teacher supporting the student’s journey.
Please watch the following videos to learn more about Standards-Based Grading at SMSA: