Elementary News
October 27th, 2022
October 27th, 2022
In this week's Elementary eLedger
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We are approaching the end of our first trimester of school. The trimester official closes Nov. 17th which is only three weeks away. Skyward is one of the avenues of communication to depict the learning that is happening at SMSA with your child(ren). If you have not yet interacted with Skyward regarding the learning that is happening, please use this link to support your journey into Skyward for parents
The end of the trimester will be here faster than we can say "trick or treat"!
Our classroom Halloween parties will be held on October 28th. Please see more details form individual homeroom teachers. Parents must be SEE trained to attend the classroom parties. October 27th will be our annual Trunk or Treat in out upper parking lot. Please look below for more information. It's so much fun to build community at these events.
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 27: Trunk or Treat!
October 28: Elementary Halloween Parties and Middle School Halloween dance after school
November 1: All Saints Day - All System Mass at Holy Family at 9:00 AM
November 17: End of the First Trimester
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:
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.)
Part of our transition to Standards Based Grading in K-8th grade included making updates to our electronic gradebook within Skyward. As part of our regular review at progress report time, we identified that the scores associated with the priority standards listed within the gradebook were not displaying accurately.
We were able to make a correction within Skyward last Friday, October 21st that corrected the issue. Grades are now displaying accurately within the system.
If you have any question or concerns about the update that was made within the Skyward gradebook, please don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Melissa Trepte, at mtrepte@smsacademy.org
A great big thank you to all who volunteered, shopped, or helped to support our fall book fair in one way or another!
We were able to get approximately 1,530 books into the hands of our students. The additional funds we collected in our rounding up for ALL FOR BOOKS was use to purchase books for the library. Thanks to you our Scholastic Dollars (profit from the book fair) will be increased by almost $6,000! These funds are used to purchase items for the library and classrooms, the Waiting Library (in South's Entrance area), and rewards for our summer reading program.
We truly appreciate your commitment to reading and your overall support of our book fairs.
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!
The Middle School Theatre Department is presenting Shrek Jr.!
Any student in 6th through 8th grade is invited to participate. We will be having an informational parent and student meeting on Wednesday, November 9th at 6:00 PM in the Cafeteria.
At this meeting, you will be given the information you and your child need to make a confident decision: When, Where, Expectations, etc.
Attending this meeting does not lock you into participating, it simply gives you the important information you need to decide if this is the right fit for your family.
It is BMR time on The Ledge! Every SMSA family has received five (5) BMR tickets to sell and/or purchase to help ensure this System fundraiser is a success. (If you have not received your tickets, please check your youngest child's backpack, as any remaining tickets were sent home this week). Tickets may be returned to school with your child anytime before the live drawing at noon on Friday, January 13th, 2023.
Additional tickets can be purchased at the North, South or Scrip office or by contacting Kristin Zitlow at kzitlow@smsacademy.org or 920-322-8006.
Thank you for supporting SMSA's Big Money Raffle!
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)
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: