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Family Newsletter for Monona Grove High School
~ March 2017
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A Message From Dr. Brost
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Dear Parents and Friends,
Juniors completed the ACT and WorkKeys assessments on February 28 and March 1. Freshmen and sophomores will take the ACT Aspire assessments in late April. There will not be any changes in the school schedule for the Aspire assessments as they are administered during regular class periods. Sophomores also have a Social Studies exam, Wisconsin Forward, that will be administered later this semester.
Parent/Teacher Conferences take place on March 16 and 22. You will receive an e-mail with instructions for the on-line registration in the near future. Teachers will continue to have sign-up sheets outside their classrooms displaying available meeting times that are not pre-scheduled through the on-line system. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who made the Show Choir Invitational another success. On Saturday, February 18, we hosted over 20 high schools from around the Midwest. The number of volunteers needed to setup, run the event, provide food, assist with parking, etc. is incredible. As usual, we received numerous compliments from the students, parents, and staff from other schools regarding our hospitality. Our own show choir, under the direction of Ms. Nahirniak, provided a spectacular performance that afternoon.
Congratulations to coach Kelly Chadesh and the MGHS Boys Swim Team! They are the Division II State Champions again! The margin of victory was one of the largest ever recorded at the State Meet. Monona Grove High School had medal winners in almost every event. Even though the list is long, these student athletes all deserve to be noted. I am recognizing them in the order of the events:
- DIVING - Henry Carmen, State Champ
- 200 MEDLEY RELAY - State Champs: Eric Storms, Ben McDade, Connor Keith, Shane Sackett
- 200 FREESTYLE - Ben McDade, State Champ; Vince Giallombardo 6th place
- 50 FREESTYLE - Erik Doll 4th, Shane Sackett 5th, Connor Keith 7th, Jacob Lippiatt 8th
- 100 BUTTERFLY - Eric Storms 2nd, Connor Keith 5th
- 100 FREESTYLE - Erik Doll 4th, Shane Sackett 5th, Jacob Lippiatt 7th, Vincent Giallombardo 8th
- 500 FREESTYLE - Ben McDade, State Champ and broke his own state record; Jordan Allen 7th
- 200 FREESTYLE RELAY - State Champs: Shane Sackett, Jacob Lippiatt, Connor Keith, Erik Doll
- 100 BACKSTROKE - Eric Storms, State Champ; Jordan Allen 6th
- 100 BREASTSTROKE - Bronz Geissler 7th
- 400 FREESTYLE RELAY - State Champs: Erik Doll, Jacob Lippiatt, Eric Storms, Ben McDade
March continues to be a busy month at MGHS. Please make note of these upcoming events:
- March 8: National Honor Society Induction at 5:30 p.m.
- March 13: District Wide Strings Festival
- March 16 and 22: Parent Teacher Conferences
- March 20: Parent Educator Forum at 5:30 p.m.
- March 25-31: Spring Break
We hope that families enjoy time together over Spring Break.
Sincerely,
Paul Brost, Ph.D.
Principal
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Parent-Teacher Conferences
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Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held March 16 and March 22 from 4:00-8:00 p.m.
Parents may reserve conference slots with individual teachers using Sign Up Genius, an on-line reservation tool. When reserving slots with teachers, parents will be prompted to create a free account, which only requires a valid email address and password, or to sign into a previously-created account.
You may drop in and sign up for available slots in person on these dates. However, only spots that have not been reserved by on-line appointments will be available.
An Infinite Campus message will be sent to let parents know when they can begin reserving time slots for conferences.
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School Board Candidate Meet & Greet
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School Board Candidate Meet and Greet
Thursday, March 9, 2017
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Glacial Drumlin School IMC
A meet and greet forum for our communities to get to know the four candidates who are running for the two open seats on the Monona Grove School Board. This event will be moderated by a representative from the League of Women Voters. All audience members will have the opportunity to submit questions at the event.
We hope to see you there!
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2017-18 Student Calendar
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The 2017-18 School Calendar has been approved by the MGSD Board of Education. Click
here to view it.
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Parent Educator Forum Meeting
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All parents/guardians of MGHS students are welcome to attend the Parent Educator Forum meeting on Monday, March 20, at 6:30 p.m.
Parent Educator Forum is an informal meeting in which Dr. Brost gives a brief overview of current issues in education and events occurring at the high school, occasionally followed by group discussion. There is no formal agenda, it's an opportunity for parents to have contact with high school staff, without dues or volunteering. Typically, we meet on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30 in the IMC (library) for about an hour. This is a great opportunity to meet with Dr. Brost in a small group setting, hear what's going on at the high school level and discuss issues!! Parents interested in what is discussed can email Lisa Stangler at jlstangler@hotmail.com to get notes from our most recent meeting. We'd love to see new faces!
The Forum will meet again on April 17 and May 15.
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Blood Drive
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On March 21, 2017, the Monona Grove Chapter of Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) will facilitate a Blood Drive sponsored by the American Red Cross. If you are interested, or would like more information, please email
kelli.kline@mgschools.net
with your name, phone number, and time of day you wish to donate. Appointments begin at 8:00 a.m. and run every 15 minutes with the last time being 1:30 p.m..
Remember, every unit counts. Help save three lives with your donation!
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District Wide Strings Festival
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On Monday, March 13, the Monona Grove orchestra program will present its annual District Wide String Festival Concert. The program begins at 7:00 p.m. and will feature more than 500 string students in grades 4-12 playing as individual ensembles and as one mass orchestra.
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NHS Induction
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The National Honor Society Induction ceremony will take place on March 8, 2017 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in the Auditorium.
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Homework Help
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The Overtime Program is a program for students who need a place to do homework after school and for students who need extra time to complete an assignment or get extra help in a class. Some students may be assigned to Overtime by their teachers if there is a need.
Overtime takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 in the IMC. Please encourage your student to take advantage of the Overtime Program if they need additional help with an assignment or in one of their classes.
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Sign Up for Sporting/Activities Updates
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Spring sports are right around the corner! Have you ever wondered if a sporting event or activity has been cancelled due to weather? If so, it's time to get registered to receive email notification of the cancelled/changed sport/activity. MGHS waits until approximately 2:00 p.m. to cancel a sporting event.
To register to receive email notification, click
here
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MG21 Open House
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The Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century (MG21) is hosting its annual open house on March 20 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to tour the school at 5301 Monona Drive, inside the old Nichols Elementary School. Come talk with staff and students, tour the school, and see student projects.
MG21 is a public charter school for students in grades 9 through 12. Their mission is to provide a student-centered educational community for independent learners, and their curriculum is designed to give students the skills they need for life.
"My child has developed more than I could have ever imagined...and this school brought that out in him so others could see it." MG21 Parent
Collaboration and critical thinking skills serve as the focus of the MG21 curriculum. Partnerships with local businesses and community members offer opportunities for hands-on and individualized experiences. MG21 encourages students to "take control of their education" and utilizes:
- Project Based Learning: An inquiry based learning process in which students design, plan, investigate, research and present their own projects in response to an essential question, problem, or challenge.
- Integrated Liberal Arts Curriculum: "Liberal Arts" refers to academic classes, which are teacher led, and emphasize content knowledge and expertise in the core subjects of language arts, art, mathematics, social science, and science.
- 21st Century Skills: Their program integrates mastery of 21st Century skills into the education process. These skills include critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, communication, curiosity and imagination, commitment and motivation.
- Community: MG21 is a community for all who attend. MG21's success is based on its ability to develop meaningful relationships: teacher to student, and student to student
Come see a unique and stimulating educational environment that has been helping independent, non-traditional learners prepare for their future and graduate from high school for the past seven years.
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Spring Musical - Les Miserables
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Mark your calendars for the MGHS Spring Musical, "Les Miserables", April 6-10.
Tickets can be purchased at
www.seatyourself.biz/mghs
Adults: $14; Student and Seniors: $10
Showtimes: April 6, 7, 8 at 7:30 p.m.
April 8 and 9 at 2:00 p.m.
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Spoken Word Stories and Poetry
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On Tuesday, January 31, several students, along with a couple of staff members performed their "Spoken Word" stories and poetry for a small audience at Java Cat on Monona Drive. Most of the pieces performed were original works written by both the students and teachers. Several of the people wrote about their life experiences and events throughout their lives that have impacted them; other people wrote about abstract topics, such as "time" and "fitting in." Several of the students reflected on their writing and performance, indicating that this activity gave them a voice to convey things that have been difficult to talk about up until this opportunity.The performers and audience members, alike, enjoyed coffee and gelato, while listening to the hour long performance. It was a great deal of fun learning about each other and giving personal expression to the varied stories.
This "Spoken Word" student performance was made possible by the generous support of Monona Grove Education Foundation grant program.
 
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"Amigos" from Costa Rica Visit MGHS
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On February 1, students in Ms. Ramirez's and Ms. Flesch's Spanish 3 classes had the opportunity to participate in a 1-day cultural exchange with students from Costa Rica. The 17 Costa Rican students had been visiting and staying with students at Verona High School, but they took time to come visit Monona Grove High School for a day as well.
Many students in Spanish 3 volunteered to "host" a student for the day. This means that the Costa Rican students went with them to their classes, lunch, and met their teachers and friends. Also, all Spanish 3 students got a chance to meet the Costa Rican students and learn about their lives and culture during a cultural exchange presentations. Our students shared information about Monona Grove High School, our community, state, and culture in general. The Costa Rican students did the same about Costa Rica and the students also had time to do a Question-Answer session with each other in smaller groups. There was a combination of Spanish and English spoken, or "Spanglish"...but we all communicated, laughed, and learned a lot.
In the days and weeks since the visit, there are still many MG students who are still in contact with their new Costa Rican "amigos" via social media. In the future, we hope to Skype with the students and get to know them even better and continue our cultural exchange. And who knows....maybe one day we'll get to visit some of them in Costa Rica!
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Summer School 2017
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 June 19-July 14 (no school on
July 3 & 4)
- Taylor Prairie 7:55am-11:35am, grades 4K-1
- Cottage Grove 8:15am-11:55am, grades 2-4
- Winnequah 8:10am-11:50am, grades 4K-5
- Glacial Drumlin 8:25am-12:05pm, grades 5-8
- MGHS 8:05am-11:45am, grades 9-12
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News from the Student Services Department
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Students are encouraged to build a relationship with their school counselor during their high school years. Passes for appointments during school hours may be obtained by stopping in Student Services. Each student has been assigned a counselor based on the student's last name. Ms. Bishop has A-G, Mr. Groff has H-O and Ms. Burke has P-Z. Although students are assigned to a certain counselor, a student may seek assistance from the counselor of their choice.
In addition, the Student Services Department includes Ms. Macias, School to Work Coordinator (co-op and apprenticeship information), Ms. Frain, School Social Worker, and Ms. Smith, School Psychologist. All are available to meet with students and parents to help with academic, career, social and emotional needs.
Student Services welcomes all students! Please remember to stop in to make an appointment.
Scholarship Information
Remember to continue applying for college scholarships. Go to the scholarship page on the Student Services website.
Jobs Information
All jobs and contact information can be found on the Student Services website.
ACT and WorkKeys
The ACT is designed to assess a students' readiness for college and WorkKeys helps assess a students' readiness for work and for life. All MGHS juniors will take the ACT on February 28 and WorkKeys on March 1. Links to free practice materials can be found here
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Mental Health Resources
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The Monona Grove School District is committed to supporting the social/emotional/academic well being of your student. As an adolescent, working to grow up and to be a successful young adult requires the support and guidance of all the student's trusted adults. The MGHS Student Services team would like to share some resources with parents, to promote a better understanding of when your teen may be in need of mental health support. Below are two links to mental health resources. Please review, and if you have any questions or concerns, we invite you to contact a Student Services staff member.
Supporting Your Child's Mental Health
Suicide and Depression Prevention
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AODA Newsletter - Self-Medicating
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The focus of this newsletter is on self-medicating in teens. Click here to learn more.
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Design Thinking
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Students in Mr. Wait's Marketing 2 class recently learned about "Design Thinking" from Amy Lee and Rachel Wallace (MGHS '01) of Design Concepts, Inc. Students learned about empathetic design through interviewing, brainstorming, and prototyping. They used these techniques to develop a new "concept" smartphone app.
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Great Immigration Debate
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Finalists of "The Great Immigration Debate" presented their policy to guest judges. Finalists took questions from the judges and audience members.
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Reminders from the Attendance Office
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 24 hour Attendance Line: 608-316-1393
The Attendance Office is open from 7:15-3:45. Parents may call before or after school and leave a message regarding their child's attendance.
Parents are required to call the Attendance Line prior to 10:00 A.M. on the day of the absence.
Please be sure to indicate the student's name, grade, date of absence and reason for absence when calling.
Students must have absences excused within 24 hours after they return or the absences will be considered unexcused.
The MGSD recognizes a positive relationship between good school attendance and success in school and employment.
A student's attendance in school becomes part of his/her permanent school record and is often the subject of inquiry by employers. Most importantly, however, is the need for students to be in school to interact with the teacher and with other students as they gain the knowledge that is necessary for successful completion of the course of studies Monona Grove High School provides.
Excused Absences
Parents may excuse, in writing, a student for any reason
PRIOR
to the day of the absence. (Wis. Stats. 118.15(3)(c). If an excuse is not given prior to an absence, the school, not a student's parent, excuses an absence. Monona Grove High School will excuse a student from school for the following reasons:
- personal illness;
- illness in the family for which the student is required at home;
- funerals and weddings;
- religious holidays;
- legal obligations;
- dental, medical, and orthodontic appointments;
- family vacations that cannot be scheduled during non-school times or other family approved vacations or school visits with prior approval; and
- an emergency situation which must be reviewed by the assistant principal.
Unexcused Absences
The school will not excuse an absence for any reason other than those listed above. Specifically:
- single period absences for illness when the student fails to report to the Nurse's Office
- absences related to vehicle problems during the school day
- oversleeping
- absences due to working on other school work will not be excused unless it's a school-sponsored field trip.
Parents will be notified of unexcused absences by phone or mail. Students with unexcused absences from classes or study halls will be assigned one, two-hour after school detention per period missed.
Leaving School Early
Monona Grove High School is a closed campus except for the following occasions: lunch, cooperative education programs, medical/dental appointments, sudden illness, or open campus students. During passing times, students must remain on school grounds. All students wishing to leave school must obtain permission from their parent, the assistant principal, or the school nurse in case of illness. Students will not be allowed out of class for illness unless they are going home. At that time, the student must sign out in the Attendance Office and receive an out pass. If he/she plans to return to school, he/she must sign in upon returning. Students are not allowed to have other students drive them anywhere during the school day.
Planned Absences and Vacations
Occasionally a student will know in advance that he/she will be absent from school. This can be excused if, and only if, a planned absence form is
completed prior to the absence. This requires that the student notify his/her teachers of the planned absence so that school work missed during the absence can be given to the student. This must be done at least three days prior to the planned absence. Planned absence forms are available in the Attendance Office and are required for absences of 2 or more days.
If forms are not completed and returned before the student leaves, the absences will be unexcused.
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Infinite Campus Information
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Is your Infinite Campus Information Up to Date?Do you have a change of information such as a new doctor, a new e-mail address or phone number? It is very important that all of your information is up to date on Infinite Campus. Please log into your Parent Portal and enter the new information.
Infinite Campus Mobile App
Parents may access Infinite Campus on their mobile devices. The mobile app information can be found at the bottom of the parent portal window. The District ID is GJGZMY.
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