TopNewsletter for the Winnequah School Community - March  2017
In This Issue
From Principal Angie Fassl
It is so hard to believe we are already entering the third trimester for the 2016-17 school year.  This time of year often means we are working hard at finishing the current school year strong and also looking ahead to plan for the following year.  Report cards will be coming home with students next week, and this is a great time to talk to your students about having an excellent finish to their year! Winnequah Staff will also begin planning for classes for next year soon as well.  Please see the parent input form included in this newsletter for an opportunity to share information that staff should take into consideration during our classroom placement for next year.

One of the many things I love about Winnequah is the support and involvement from our families and our community.  This strong connection helps our kids grow into the most amazing people!  We have had the opportunity this week during Read Across America Week to have many family and community members read to our students.  We also had fun celebrating with dress-up days, door decorating, fun classroom activities, and more. It was a great week to celebrate one of the most famous authors, Dr. Seuss. So I will leave you with one of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes,  "Today you are you, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is more youer than you!"
 
Happy March!



Angie Fassl
Special PTO Thank Yous To...
  • All contributing parents, and especially to Van and Michael Meulemans for amazing P/T conference dinners!  The delicious foods help make a long day so much better!!
     
  • Jennifer Kahl, Cathy Bernards, and Erin Staver for organizing and hosting an awesome Trivia Night again this year... This is such a fun community event!!
     
  • Rochelle Miller and Brie Chapa for all of their hard work getting our PTO Enrichment programs up and running this year!  What a great opportunity for our kids!
Meet Our New Owl: Kate Wittig, RN
Name: Kate Wittig, RN

Position: School Nurse

Teaching History: I have been a nurse for 9 years.  I have 5 years of school nursing experience previous to being at Winnequah.  

Family Info:  I have a husband Vince and two daughters Scarlett and Sidney who go to Taylor Prairie.  I also have two dogs Olive and Hank. 

Hobbies:   I enjoy reading, cooking and being outdoors.  

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why: 
I would come back as one of my dogs because they are really loved and spoiled!

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food:  Tacos

Favorie Book: To Kill a Mockingbird

Who inspires you? 
I am often inspired by my children.  The fresh way that they look at life, their forgiving spirit and their willingness to love everyone. 

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Summer School 2017 

Summer School Schedule for 2017

June 19 - July 14 (no school on July 3 & 4)

Winnequah: 8:10am - 11:50am, grades 4K-5 

Taylor Prairie: 7:55am - 11:35am, grades 4k-1
Cottage Grove: 8:15am - 11:55am, grades 2-4
Glacial Drumlin: 8:25am - 12:05pm, grades 5-8
MGGS: 8:05am - 11:45am, grades 9-12 


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Kindergarten - 100th Day
We celebrated the 100th day in style.  We dressed up like we were 100, did many math activities with 100, met Zero the Hero, and had some 100 day snacks.



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1st Grade - 100th Day of School
1st grade spent February 14 celebrating the 100th day of school. We built with 100 cup structures, read 100 books, and did writing activities about 100 things. 



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2nd Grade - State Reports
Second graders began work on their big state projects. Students are creating wonderful work and teaching their classmates about U.S. geography.



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3rd Grade  - Mrs. Dyer's class learns about biodiversity!
Third graders from Mrs. Dyer's class enjoyed learning about biodiversity in the Rainforest at Olbrich Gardens!



 

5th Grade Explorer Wax Museum

Fifth Grade Explorer Wax Museum  ... Learning fun was had by all! 







Monona PTO Trivia Night
Team Beverly Hilllbillies
On February 25th, Monona PTO hosted a team trivia event.  There were 19 teams and 170 people that played 3 rounds of trivia at the Monona Community Center.  Over $5000 was raised.  Money collected will be put towards a small playground that will be placed on the back side of the garden.  This playground will be used by all students but will be especially used by the 4K classrooms, children with special needs, those classes using the garden or having special play time.

There was prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 11th place teams.  Congratulations to team "Beverly Hillibillies" for taking 1st prize.  2nd place was taken by team "Brady Bunch".  Finally, 11th place team was a tie between team "Gunsmoke" and team "Seinfeld".

Money was also collected for the Monona Giving Project. Just under $1100 was raised. Funds are used by the Dane County social worker in charge of Monona schools for families in crisis.  These funds are used for items such as rent payments, unexpected expenses, food, etc that families can not afford.  The funds were generated by voting with dollars for the best dressed team.  Team "Dukes of Hazzard" got the most dollars and were crowned the winner.  Team "MASH" came in a close second.

Thank you to all families and community members who donated food.

Thank you to our helpers:  Jenny Baerwolf, Kate Brown, Kelsey Hansen, Don Bernards, Joann Bernards, MC Robb Kahl, Kathy Thomas, Susan Fox, Kate Oliver, Jessica Klabough and Josh Fassl.  

Thank you to Erin Staver, Jennifer Kahl and Cathy Bernards for organizing the event.


PTO Bake Sale
The PTO is having a bake sale at the Dane Handmade spring craft show on Saturday, March 11, 10am - 4pm at the Monona Community Center.  We would greatly appreciate donations of snacks or treats (homemade or store bought) to sell at the bake sale.  Please see the sign up genius below for more information.  Come and support our PTO and local crafters at this fun event!

  
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Winnequah Garden
Unseasonably warm temperatures have the gardeners dreaming about green shoots and tiny seedlings. We are also looking forward to Winnequah's bulb show this spring as many classes tucked blooming bulbs away in the fall - it should be a colorful display! 
 
Ask your Winnequah Owl what they like best about the garden and/or what they would like to grow in their school garden this spring?
 
And, as always, if you would like to volunteer OR join the steering committee please send a line to Erin Staver @  cannonerin@hotmail.com
 
Keep blooming!


   
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News from Nurse Kate

Eat a  R A I N B O W for National Nutrition Month!
 
RED:    Protects against Cancer and Heart Disease!
 
PURPLE:  Good for your Heart, Brain, Bones and Supports Healthy Aging!
 
GREEN:  Supports eye health, Lung Health, and Liver Function!
 
WHITE:   Supports Healthy Bones, and Circulatory System. Prevents Cancer and Heart Disease
 
ORANGE:  Promotes Eye Health, Healthy Immune System and Growth and Development!




  
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Scripps Spelling Bee 
4th and 5th grade students participated in this year's Spelling Bee in January.   Classroom winners then participated in the School Spelling Bee on Wednesday, February 1st.  The final two contestants, Ava R. and Myles P. completed many rounds in a close competition.  Congratulations to Myles P. who won the School Bee and will participate in the Regional Spelling Bee in Stoughton.    

 

  
Third Grade Super Book Bowl
Third graders created teams and began reading books to prepare for the Super Book Bowl. The Super Book Bowl consists of teams of readers reading eight novels and being ready to answer questions taken from the books.  Over forty students that made up about ten teams chose to participate this year.   The team names include:  The Readers, The Fantastic 4, Banana Pudding, The Confetti Goats, Imagination Machine, Lollipop,
The Super Book Bowl took place on Wednesday, February 8th.  Four teams made it into the finals and the Confetti Goats won the contest.  The members of the Confetti Goats were: Celia K., Noah P., Benny B., and Maryn N.  Congratulations.

  
TerraCycle Update
Hello Winnequah Families, here is a quick TerraCycle Update!

It is very exciting that we have successfully earned over $1k for Winnequah School through our recycling efforts. Even more exciting is that we are nearly to the milestone of shipping 2000lbs of items to TerraCycle! Thank you all for your support! Keep collecting your TerraCycle items and bring them to the library collection site. Please check out the article in the Herald Independent and stay tuned for an update on when we reach our shipping weight milestone.

Thanks to the volunteers that helped with our January box and ship (see photo).  They successfully boxed up over 139 lbs of collected items. Thank you!!!

Calling all Volunteers:
Are you someone interested in making radio spots, drafting social media posts, managing communications sent via the newspaper, various newsletters, and the like?  Winnequah TerraCycle is currently in need of a communications person to help manage some of these tasks.  If this is something that interests you, please contact us by phone or email ( kechristo@gmail.com) to learn more.

Upcoming Meetings:
 
Team Meeting @ Waypoint Public House  -Monday, April 3rd at  7:30pm

April box and ship @ Monona Public Library  -
 Sunday, April 23rd  at 1:30pm 

Link to signup:  
Questions? 
Contact Kathryn Christopherson at 279-7568 or   kechristo@gmail.com  

Need a list of all the items you can TerraCycle?  Check out the TerraCycle page of the Winnequah School website, and/or like TerraCycle Winnequah on Facebook. 
 


School Lunch Menus and Info
Menus are posted at:  http://www.mononagrove.org/district/menus.cfm

Making Payments
Payments to a Food Service account can be made from within Infinite Campus by clicking on the payment link (on the left). You may also pay with a check or cash in the school office. Please place the payment in an envelope clearly marked food service with your student's name.

Account Balances
Clicking on the Food Service tab in Infinite Campus will allow you to access account information including current account balances, transactions, and account history.

Additional Info:

Parent Input Regarding Placment

Please return this optional form to your child's homeroom teacher by Thursday, March 16th.  It is available for downloaded from our website at:




Monona Public Library Spring Break Events
The Monona Public Library has a number of free events coming up for children and families during Spring Break. We would love to have this info included in your next newsletter to parents. Thank you so much!

SPRING BREAK EVENTS
Come to the Monona Public Library for some great free programs over Spring Break:

Monday, 3/27
10:30am Star Wars Force Academy, ages 6+
LEGO Build! Grades 2 to 5
Construction Zone, All ages (children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult)

Tuesday, 3/28
9:30am Storytime, all ages
Storytime, toddlers

Wednesday, 3/29
10am Origami, ages 8+
Family PJ Storytime & Activities, all ages

Thursday, 3/30
9:30am Storytime, all ages
Storytime, toddlers
Storytime, babies

Games Galore, for grades 5+

Friday, 3/31
11am to 1pm Yarn Fun & Crafts, for all ages

For more info go to mononalibrary.org or call the Monona Library at 222-6127. 
 
Monona Parks & Rec Update


YOGA FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

Start a lifelong practice now! Through the movements and breath of yoga, kids can come in contact with their best selves, learning to tune out negative thoughts and focus on being present, strong and empowered. Benefits are both mental and physical - we stand behind yoga as a foundation to success in all sports! Register your 'middlers' for a sample class and help them start their journey! Grades 5th - 8th.  
http://mymonona.com/1103/Middleschool-Yoga


 
Dane Handmade
Dane Handmade came to fruition through the work of two crafty moms that saw a need for an event within their community that would bring young crafters together. This show is an opportunity to showcase new mediums as well as new purposes for upcycled materials. Vendors goods vary from paintings, woodworking, fabric, felting, pottery, jewelry, whimsical and earthy...just to name a few. Shoppers can expect the unexpected and find very unique items in a relaxed and fun shopping atmosphere. For more information check outhttps://www.facebook.com/events/1222691334482918/
 

We've got baseball & softball leagues from Pre-K all the way through 8th grade.
Our early bird special ends soon, so sign up ASAP to save $10! Kids will have fun learning the game of baseball, teamwork, and sportsmanship. For more information and to sign up click here. http://mymonona.com/343/Baseball-Softball
 

 Watch your child blossom this Spring in athletics and confidence by signing up for youth spring sports this season. We have tennis, soccer or dance opportunities available. Sign up by March 3rd and save $10. 
 

 Swim lesson registration begins Monday, April 3rd. To view class offerings visit www.mymonona.com .


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Important Dates
 
March 3
No School 4K-5

March 6
No School - 4K Only 

March 7
Report Cards Sent Home

March 24
No School - 4K-5 

March 27-31
Spring Vacation

April 3
Classes Resume K-5

April 4
Classes Resume 4K

April 14
No School -  4K-5 
 
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Planning a Vacation?

Just a reminder that if your student(s) will be gone for 2 or more days please complete the Pre-Arranged Extended Absence form at least 2 weeks prior to your trip and return to the school office.

Extended Absence Form

 En Espanol