Elementary News
September 22nd, 2022
In this week's Elementary eLedger
From the Desk of Steve Kelnhofer - Elementary School Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Homecoming week has been filled with fun with the themed days and seeing the Ledger spirit in all the little ways of a positive community culture. It’s an exciting time for everyone associated with SMSA. Starting with the littlest of Ledger in P3 all the way through our 8th grade students, students have been great at participating in the fun dress up days to share their Ledger pride.
Parent teacher conferences will be held on October 11th and 12th, 2022 for grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. Please look forward to a communication regarding how to sign up for a conference time through Skyward system. SMSA is excited to build partnerships with each and everyone 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.
Please help us as at the start and conclusion of the school day. The front South Hall entrance, door 17, is a place for people to wait patiently to come into school and parent/guardians to pick children up from school. We expect people to use it as an entrance/exit to a building and not a playground area to run and play. Please remind your child(ren) the expectation of a building entrance. Tag is a fun game if it's played in a safe area. The South Hall entrance apron is a safe area to enter/exit school, it's not a safe place to play tag and run around. Thank you for helping keep us safe.
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
Upcoming Dates
October 11 &12: Parent/teacher/student conferences
October 13 &14: No School (Teacher in-service)
May 26, 2023: Kindergarten – Eighth Grade Mass & 8th grade graduation at Holy Family at 9:00am
Parents of Performing Arts Meeting Dates
Parents of Performing Arts meeting Dates for the 2022-2023 school year are:
September 21
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!
Sad Day for Junior Ledgers!
Sad to say Junior Ledgers…Mr. K is once again SAFE! Our Junior Ledgers were only able to read 128,584 minutes this summer. We were short of his goal of 145,000 minutes by 16,416 minutes.
We only had 96 students out of 346 participate this summer. So we changed things up a bit to reward those who took the time to read this summer and logged with us for a chance to Silly String Mr. K. Since we didn’t reach that goal we didn’t want those students to be disappointed so we are instead upping our rewards for all who participated!
If you took the time to log your minutes you 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 you 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
Countdown to the Fall Book Fair is On!
Mark your calendars for October 10-12, 2022 to stock up on the latest reads!
Stay tuned for more information and volunteering opportunities!
2022 Christmas Card Fundraiser Recipient Nomination Form
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.
2022-2023 SMSA Concession/Admission Help Needed!
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
LEGO League at SMSA!
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
2022 Co-Ed Volleyball League for 4th & 5th Graders
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!
Safeguarding God's Children (SEE) Training
SMSA will be hosting SEE training on Wednesday, September 28th at 6:00pm in the Multi-Purpose room. This training is needed for all volunteers, coaches and employees of SMSA.
Please sign up for training online through CMG Connect
If you have any questions please contact Carrie Wiza at cwiza@smsacademy.org or 920-322-3215
School Safety
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.
Speak Up/Speak Out (SUSO)
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.
Standards-Based Grading
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: