Meet Our New Staff!

Mrs. Spindler - Long-Term Music Sub

Mrs. Spindler will be filling in as a long-term substitute in music to start the year. Mrs. Spindler is licensed in elementary education, special education and as a WI architect. Her family includes her husband, two kids, and their two-year-old rescue dog. 

Besides her love for music, she enjoys reading, painting, and building + making activities. She is looking forward to meeting the Wales and Explore Community and working with Mrs. Cavanaugh's students for the next several months.

Ms. Kibitlewski - Speech and Language Pathologist

This is my second year working as a SLP, and first year at Kettle Moraine, and I can't wait for this year!

I went to Marquette University for undergrad and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for grad school. I live in Milwaukee, and I love running, reading and dogs!

Ms. Piatek - Student Teacher in 1/2 and Special Education

Hello, my name is Olivia Piatek and I am a student teacher from the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater! I am so excited to be working alongside Mrs. Guenther and Mrs. Winkelman this semester on the last leg of my educational journey. 

Once graduated, I will receive a dual license in both regular education and special education for ages birth to third grade. I am looking forward to a great semester and am grateful to be here at Wales! 

Ms. Dorn - Student Teacher in 4th Grade

Hello! My name is Abigail Dorn. I will be student teaching in the 4th grade this year. I am so excited to be back in the Kettle Moraine School District pursing my passion in teaching! I look forward to meeting you and your student!

Mr. Sizer - Occupational Therapist

Hello! My name is Steven Sizer, and I am excited to join the Wales/Explore and Magee families as an occupational therapist this upcoming school year! I received my MS in occupational therapy from UW-Milwaukee in 2020, and I have been working with children and families of children with special needs since 2016.

I come from a family of educators and am passionate about public education and universal/accessible design. As a school-based occupational therapist, I strive to ensure that all students are able to participate in and benefit from their education regardless of their disability status. 

In my free time, I enjoy staying active, playing board games with friends, and participating in local musical theater. 

Normal School Day Hours, Late Arrivals and Early Pickups

Our school days run from 8:30am - 3:30pm for Monday, Tuesday, Wedneday and Fridays.

Every Thursday is early release and school lets out at 3:05pm. 

A child will be considered "tardy" if they enter the building past 8:30am. A parent MUST come in the building to sign their children in when they are tardy, or the child will be marked "tardy unexcused."

If you are picking your child up early from school, please email your child's teacher and Mrs. Schultz in the front office. When you arrive to pick up your child, come to the front office. We will call your student down from their class at that time. We suggest arriving a little bit before you must leave the building to give your child time to pack up and come to the office. Any child picked up before 1:05 and not returning, will be marked absent for the PM. 

Pick up and Drop Off Routines

Our top priority during drop off and pick up is safety for our learners and staff. In order to achieve this, we ask for your help following the pick up and drop off routines. 

If your learner still uses a safety seat, we recommend having them practice buckling and unbuckling themselves as well as opening the driver's side passenger door and shutting it. This will be extremely helpful in keeping the line moving and ultimately getting all parents to where they need to bein a timely manner. 

Thank you for your cooperation.

Hwy 18 Road Closures Affecting School Traffic

A 4-mile stretch of HWY 18 between HWY 83 and HWY 67 is closed for roadwork. Only local access traffic will be allowed now through late October. Kettle Moraine was informed citations will be issued for drivers in violation of the closure.  

Our School Resource Officer Jamie Soneberg implores residents not to violate the closure and use the alternative route as shown above or take the southern route: HWY 67 to D to C to G to HWY 83. Get more info. 

Because of the extra traffic we will have, we strongly encourage you to consider having your child utilize Dousman Transport Bus Service. 262-965-2214.

Join our Team!

We are looking for fun, kid-centered, outdoor-loving adults to join our recess and lunch room team. We currently have 3 supervisors on the team and could use 1-2 more. The hours are from about 10a - 1:30p. The schedule would be any day we have school, but we can be flexible if you only have a two or three days to give. The pay is a standard set rate but you will gain so much more-

• Get to know your learner's friends and classmates!
• Connect with teachers on another level! 
• Know your learner's building!
• Be part of a supportive, family centered team!

If you are interested, please fill out this application to get started. 

Note from the Library and Media Center

Screen Time and Gaming/Digital Use at Home: Students do not spend the entire school day on computers. Please team with your child to set healthy practices at home.

• Make sure you monitor digital devices at home.
• Set limits for screen time.
• Monitor gaming contacts and limit graphic/violent games or shows.
• Check history and maintain awareness of where your child roams.
• Establish a routine of balance - physical activity and breaks from screens.
• Communicate with your child about pros and cons of technology.
• *Read books with your child or set time for the child to read (to pet, to stuffed animal, to a loved one, etc.)

Designer Dads/Maker Moms group will be NEW this year for "handy" parents to help students tinker, create and innovate. Contact Mrs Wieczorek in the library if you can lend a hand to plan or assist this initiative. Possibly during indoor recess or after school periodically TBD  

• This group will partner with various aged students to: sew, crochet, create cardboard creations, dig deeper in robotics, STEAM challenges, and assist students with ideas they create.  Potentially we generate an idea or challenge each month to gather materials and host interested students/families.
• wieczoreks@kmsd.edu

Note from the Health Room

Attention Parents: If your student requires medications while at school, their medications can be brought to the health room during your great start conferences. A complete medication authorization signed by your child's Dr is required. Please reach out to our campus nurse with any additional questions. Jamie Muellernabch, RN @ muellenbachj@kmsd.edu 

“The best way to find out what you do best is to do it. Catch a fish. Ride a bike. Set up a tent. Build a Pinewood Derby® car. Shoot a bow and arrow. Cub Scouting offers boys and girls the opportunity to see and learn fun, new things that can’t be found anywhere else.

Cub Scouts are at that magical age where everything is new and possible and, most important, fun. They build things. Play with purpose. Make friends and work together. The life lessons learned here not only transform today’s Cub Scouts into tomorrow’s Scouts BSA members but also help form a foundation to embrace opportunity and overcome obstacles in life.”

From Lions to Webelos, all of our Dens offer fun and challenging activities that promote character development and physical fitness in boys AND girls, grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. The best part is, you don’t need any prior experience to join the fun. Please email aubreysvogel@gmail.com if your child is interested in joining our Wales Campus-based Pack. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Come to the Dragon’s Den on September 7 between 5 and 6:30 to learn more about and join Cub Scouts Pack 91!

Practicing Cafeteria and Recess Expectations

Dressing for the Weather

We know that kids being outside is as important as their academics inside. We are planning on sending the kids outside unless it is downpouring rain, thunder, or lightning.

To help kids make sure they get the most of their time outside, we are asking that you help make sure your children have extra clothes in their backpacks/cubbies, and are dressed for the weather - including light rain. It may be helpful to have your child keep a pair of rainboots and a rain jacket in their cubbies as well.  

Blessings in a Backpack

Blessings in a Backpack is an organization that helps to fill the weekend “gap”. This is a time when many children go hungry in our communities. They started bridging the gap by serving 25 students at Hadfield Elementary School in Waukesha, and now serve 3,300 children at 38 schools. They help bridge the gap for these children every week during the school year by filling their backpacks with food for the weekend. 

Your child may be eligible to be a recipient of the Blessings in a Backpack program. If you would like to receive a bag of food, and need the food, then you don’t need to do anything. Food will be dispensed in a discreet and caring manner into your child’s backpack. There is no cost associated with this program.

There are many hungry kids throughout our area, and we are trying to make sure that those kids who need the food receive it from our organization. If you wish for your child to participate in the program you do not need to do anything.

If you choose to opt out of this program, you can either: sign the form that will be available at great start conferences and return it school or fill out this Google Form 

Pioneer Teachers Recieve Award

Congratulations to our Pioneer Teachers, Mary Mathison and Barb Shaver, on recieving the Innovator of the Year awards for our district.  Mrs. Mathison and Mrs. Shaver often challenge their learners by encouraging them to generate ideas. Last year the Pioneers, under the leadership of Mrs. Mathison and Mrs. Shaver, created a design for an outdoor learning space. They designed plans, got approval from the village of Wales, and secured funding through grants. This collaborative effort resulted in a beautiful outdoor space for everyone on campus to enjoy!

So Far...

Our school year has gotten off to a wonderful start! Today we were able to meet as a K-5 Explore group! All of our wonderful teachers were introduced to all kids with the message that we are a family of learners and we are all here to help each other!  

There are so many great benefits to multi-age learning and we can't wait to explore those benefits with our learners!

Here are just a few....

• Sharing Social Skills 
• Creating the growth mindset of a learner
• Building confidence between age groups
• Offering real world experiences as a team
• We can't wait to continue learning and growing this year in Explore!

Building Community

Wales has been focusing on building each classroom's community for the past few days. Making sure each learning community is strong is important because it helps to build relationships among peers, which in turn, helps learners feel safe making mistakes and learning out loud. Here's a look at what a few of our classrooms have been up to duing their community building time. 

5th Grade - Creating an All About Me Slideshow

4th - Creating and Hanging Posters

1/2 -  Playing getting to know you games and activities

We can't wait to see what our learners can accomplish when they feel safe and included in their communities!

KM Community Education provides recreational and educational opportunities for families. Please be sure to visit the website often for updates and new programs. For program information and registration forms, visit www.kmsd.edu/communityed.

Middle School Cross Country

Sign up is happening now! Join Coach Fritsch and Coach Page this fall after school on Mondays-Wednesdays September 12-October 13. There will be 4 meets available.  Sign up today at https://kmsd.revtrak.net/rwcommunityeducation/

Kettle Moraine Boys Basketball Club Tryouts- Attention Boys entering 3-8 grade.

Register NOW for  https://kmbbc.sportngin.com/register/form/260382249

Tryout dates:

• Attn. 3rd graders tryout is   Wednesday September 7th- 3rd/4th grades (6:30pm- 8pm HS east and middle gyms)
• Thursday September 8th- 5th/6th grades (7pm-8:30pm HS middle gym)
• Wednesday September 14th- 7th/8th grades (6:30pm-8pm HS east and middle gyms)
• Please arrive 15 minutes early.

Boys Volleyball

Any boys interested in playing fall volleyball grades 4-6 please see Link to pre-register. Weekday practices with league play on the weekends