Elementary News
October 6th, 2022
October 6th, 2022
In this week's Elementary eLedger
Dear Parents/Guardians,
This past Tuesday, eleven students were welcomed to a light breakfast to celebrate the first Principal Pen breakfast of the school year. The Principal's Pen breakfast highlights students who have been observed bringing the Ledger Way words off the walls and into real life circumstances. Each of the three Principal's Pen breakfast throughout the month brings a different grade level range of students to the breakfast to celebrate. It's great to hear the stories of our Ledger community and recognize the growth in character as purpose filled lives are illuminated.
Parent teacher conferences will be held on October 11th and 12th, 2022 for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. Please review the parent communication regarding mandatory conferences in the fall to sign up for a conference time through Skyward system.
Fall Parent/Teacher/student Conference Parent letter PreK-8
SMSA is excited to build partnerships with each and every one of you through the parent/teacher conference experience. It’s a valuable experience to build relationships from Kindergarten – 8th grade. Looking forward to seeing you on campus.
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
The Principal’s Pen is an opportunity for teachers to recognize students who consistently demonstrate The Ledger Way with a focus on faith, learning, respect for leadership, community and responsibility. The students chosen will attend a special breakfast with Mr. K. and Mr. Fisher, receive a certificate with a brief sentence on how they followed The Ledger Way, and a principal’s pen.
This week's Principal Pen award winners are:
Evelyn M (4K)- She comes in every day with a smile! She shows leadership by being a good role model to her friends. She is a great helper and friend to all! We love having her part of our classroom Community.
Makena M.- B. (4K) – She is a joy to have in class! She is a great listener, kind friend, and a hard worker!
Matilda B. (5K) – She is a kind and loving, always respectful and willing to help others.
Matthew F. (5K) – For being kind to everyone. Always respectful and a great role model. His positivity and smile are contagious!
Eleanor R.(5K) - For Being a respectful leader at all times. She loves to learn, always does her best, and a kind friend to everyone!
Janie B (1st Grade) – She demonstrates the core value of respect by keeping a positive attitude towards her teacher and classmates. She is wonderful role model and always strives for the best in herself and also in others around her!
Kensington L (1st Grade) – She is always finding ways to be a leader and to help others around her!
Lily B. (1st Grade) – She is respectful to teachers and her peers. She loves to learn and is responsible by being ready for class.
Cerena G (2nd Grade) – She is a great buddy to our new student and helped her adjust to her new school and bus routines.
Carson G (2nd Grade) – Has leadership qualities, is very responsible, works hard academically. He always has a positive mindset.
Eli R. (2nd Grade) – He lives the Ledger way everyday! He is a great leader love to challenge himself and he is kind and helpful to his classmates
October 11 &12: Parent/teacher/student conferences
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.)
A day of fun family activities and exciting guest appearances are on the horizon, as the EAA Aviation Museum’s annual Space Day returns to Oshkosh on Saturday, October 8, with a theme of sustainability in space.
Space Day marks EAA’s participation in World Space Week, with activities from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. all included with regular museum admission that day.
Eileen Collins, the first female space shuttle pilot and commander, will be the featured speaker. Collins was selected as an astronaut in 1990 and made history in February 1995 as the first woman pilot of a U.S. space shuttle while serving on the Discovery. In July 1999, Collins took the shuttle Columbia into orbit as the first woman to command a space shuttle mission. Before becoming an astronaut, Collins served in the Air Force where was the first female flight instructor. Collins will be presenting at 4 p.m. in the museum.
Additional Space Day activities include:
Mercury and Gemini Capsule Replicas: Climb inside a full-scale replica of the Mercury space capsule, which was the first U.S. spacecraft, and the Gemini space capsule, which helped NASA get ready for the Apollo moon landings.
Moon Game: Work as a team to solve a series of challenges founded in science about living and doing research on the moon.
Compressed Air Rockets: Learn what makes a rocket fly high by building an air-compressed rocket out of basic household materials.
Re-Entry Capsule Design: Ever wonder how astronauts return to Earth after a mission from space? Design a re-entry capsule that can survive a wind tunnel.
In addition, youths 18 and under can submit entries in the Space Day Habitat Creation contest. Participants can choose from two types of habitats, land-based or orbital, and must be constructed at home or off-site with recyclable material.
More details are available at the EAA Aviation Museum website.
Some important notes about the fair:
Students will be previewing the book fair either on Friday 10/7 or Monday 10/10. Most will come home with a “wish list” —we understand that not all wishes will be granted! As shopping during their preview times are not allowed.
Teachers will also be busy creating a paper wish list that will be available at the fair as well as most have created an eWallet for you to add a monetary donation to if you wish. Teachers will sharing this link with you or we will have QR codes available on the wish tower as well.
The SMSA Library has an eWallet as well! Just scan the QR code at the bottom of this article to make a voluntary donation.
You can also create an eWallet for your child by visiting:
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/stmarysspringsacad2
It’s a great way to have family and friends contribute money so your child can shop for books.
Please note remaining funds under $2 will be an automatic donation to All for Books at the end of the fair. Anything over $2 will be sent back to you in an e-gift card with Scholastic and will then turn into an automatic eWallet at our next fair. But remember no shopping is allowed during previews.
If your child earned Scholastic Dollars from our summer reading program this is the only time to redeem them; shopping in person. After our fair closes we will not be able to honor them, nor are they allowed to be used at the online fair option.
We will be rounding up totals for our All for Books Campaign once again. Money collected is immediately used to purchase goods from the fair for library/classroom use. Scholastic also matches that amount and donates to schools in need.
Scholastic is going green! Remember the Scholastic blue bags 100 lucky recipients received at our Spring fair? Dig them out and try your luck picking a pumpkin and see what you can win! Perhaps it’s a poster, or an amount off of your total…or???
Hope to see you at the Fall Book Fair in the SMSA Elementary/Middle School Library!
Monday 10/10: 2:30-4:30 PM
Tuesday 10/11: 7:30-8:30am & 2:30-7:00 PM
Wednesday 10/12: 7:30-8:30am & 2:30-7:00 PM
Care to volunteer? Click here for more info: https://signup.com/go/JqnrCjx
eWallet QR Code
Do you have old yard signs hanging around your garage? Maybe some political ones? The SMSA Book Fair needs them! We don't need the actual signs...just the metal portion of your signs. Feel free to drop them off at the South office.
Thank you for helping us improve our signs and for recycling!
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.
This is a reminder that students who took the time to log and submit their minutes for our Junior Ledger Summer Reading Challenge will receive:
1 Coupon for a Free Root Beer Float
A Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate good to be used only at the Fall Book Fair worth at least $5 (more if you were a top reader in your grade!)
and a Ledger Summer Reading CLUB Sticker only if the student logged over 300 minutes
Congrats to our top school reader (drum roll please!) Camryn K (Fourth Grade) who read 6,386 minutes!!! She will receive a $25 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate to be used at the Fall Book Fair.
Top Readers Per Grade Level:
Kindergarten:
1st: Caylee L ***
2nd: Catherine S**
3rd: Michael S*
First Grade:
1st: Samantha B***
2nd: Janie B**
3rd: Kensington L*
Second Grade:
1st: Emillie W***
2nd: Lucy M**
3rd: Daphne H*
Third Grade:
1st: Aiden M***
2nd: George B**
3rd Lucas F*
Fourth Grade:
1st: Camryn K****
2nd: Austin V**
3rd: Braden L*
Fifth Grade:
1st: Andrew H***
2nd: Vincent B**
3rd: Annaliese N*
*** will receive a $20 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate
** will receive a $15 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate
will receive a $10 Scholastic Dollars Gift Certificate
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: