Principal Thoughts
Kindergarten Information Night January 11th— Soon all three Kaukauna sites that offer kindergarten will be sharing information with interested parents on January 11th from 5:30—6:30 at Tanner Early Learning Center. The evening will start in the gym with a welcome from Director of Elementary Education, Kelli Antoine. After the welcome parents will have the opportunity to rotate between three rooms to hear presentations from Park Community, New Directions and Tanner staff about the fine programs each school offers. Please encourage anyone you know with a child currently in 4K to attend this informational night to learn why Park Community Charter School is the right school for their child.
Park Community Kindergarten Information Sessions January 17th—Park Community will also be holding two information sessions for people interested in seeing our Kindergarten program in action. Parents will have two opportunities this day to participate in a Brain Smart Start and watch either of our kindergarten classrooms. The sessions will start at 8:00 and 12:30 in our science lab with Mr. Kortens. I will discuss briefly what makes our school unique and then move to a classroom to observe a Brain Smart Start which is a key component of our brain based Conscious Discipline program. You will be able to see first hand how we build our school family connections each day with this activity. If you are interested in attending please click on this link or contact Ellen Tennessen to register for a time that works for you. You can reach Ellen at tennessene@kaukauna.k12.wi.us .
Registration and Lottery Process—All parents in the district will once again be receiving a School Attendance Confirmation form. It is very important that you select Park Community Charter School on this form even if you live in the Park attendance area (this will be listed on the form). If you do not indicate Park Community you seriously jeopardize your chances of having your child attend Park Community even if you have other students already attending our school. Class sizes for Park Community are based on the district average for each grade. This average is determined based on the School Attendance Confirmation form information received. Once the average is set for each grade if we have more applicants than openings we will hold a lottery after the district staffing plan is determined which is predicted to be early April. If you have questions about the registration or lottery process please give me a call or email me at 766-6129 or kortensk@kaukaunasd.org.
Lambeau Field Fundraiser - Thank you to everyone who participated in our Lambeau Field Fundraiser this school year. While I do not have final figures at this time I can say that we definitely exceeded our goal of raising $5,000! Extra Thanks to Travis Schaefer and Vicki Kerry for their leadership working every event at Lambeau since June 17th! We could not have done this without you both and appreciate your commitment to helping our school family. Travis and Vicki have agreed to run the booth again next school year and I am confident it will be even more successful with a year under our belt!
Dash for Cash
Kevin Rykal our PE teacher has been selected to participate in the Dash for Cash at the January 20th Green Bay Gamblers Hockey game. Over $7,000 will be dumped on the ice between periods and Mr. Rykal will compete with other contestants to see how much they can scoop up and take off the ice. All money raised by Mr. Rykal will be used for new gym equipment. We are also able to receive $3.00 for every adult and child ticket sold to Park Community families. This money will be placed in our sustainability fund for future projects. A sign up form will be coming home on Monday the 8th and needs to be returned by the 12th if you plan on attending.
PE News from Mr. Rykal
During the month of January all the Physical Education classes will be working on a volleyball unit. We will focus on the skills of bumping, setting, and serving.We will also work on learning the positions of the court and how to rotate and play a game correctly.Also in January we will have our annual Jump Rope For Heart Assembly. We will use this time to talk about the importance of the donations and get an information packet to all the students. We will have our JRFH activities the week of Feb. 12th to the 16th.
On January 20th I will be “DASHING FOR THE CASH” at the Green Bay Gamblers game. I was selected to do this for our school. There will be $7500 in singles in the middle of the ice and 22 local teachers get to run onto the ice to get the money. Whatever I am able to grab, I get to keep for our school! Also, a portion of every ticket sold through our school gets donated back. Keep an eye out for the information to come home if you are interested in going to the game.
As Always, Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
January Library News from Mrs. Lemke
In the library this month, we worked on the difference between Fiction and Nonfiction. Then, we explored Fact and Opinion. These are topics that are useful for the library and are taught in the classroom as well.Kindergarten-learned the difference between true and fake by hearing stories and guessing if they were true or fake. Then, we read a Balloons Over Broadway and colored “balloons” that went with our story.
First grade- discovered that fiction and nonfiction books are a little different. Then, they read fiction and nonfiction books on the same topic to determine which was true. They also practiced logging into our chromebooks, so they can start using them in their classes.
Second grade- practiced telling the difference between fiction and nonfiction. I challenged them with a couple stories/videos. They had to decide which type it was and give me evidence why they made that choice.
Third grade- explored fiction and nonfiction. We charted the features of each type and how it helps us determine what it is. Students read a fiction book(The Carpenter's Gift) and nonfiction video about the Rockefeller Center Tree lighting.
Fourth grade-reviewed fiction and nonfiction, why they are separated in our library, and how we know the difference when reading a book or watching a video. They explored this topic with the book and video on The Christmas Tree Ship.
Art with Mr. Theder
December was a busy month with students finishing up their holiday ornaments and other projects. Here are the projects students will be working on in January.
- Kindergarten is working on winter collage landscapes
- 1st and 2nd are making perspective snowman drawing incorporating paint and resins
- 3rd and 4th are going to start making perspective cityscapes learning about worm’s eye and bird’s eye view.
Music With Mrs. Nimmer
Our birthday composer for the month of December was Berlioz. We learned about the life and music of this famous composer. One of his most famous pieces is called "Symphonie Fantastique." Berlioz uses music to create many different feelings and pictures in this piece. We used a guided listening sheet to record what we heard in the music and what the sounds made us feel and imagine.In kindergarten, we continue to work on concepts of steady beat, pitch-matching, and basic rhythmic patterns through exposure to a variety of songs, books, and patterns. During December we had fun singing about snowmen, snowflakes, and Santa! We used pictures such as bears and bees to help illustrate basic rhythmic patterns. We also took turns improvising on the drum!
The 1st graders had fun learning some animal names in Spanish with our song “Va Camarada.” We also got to learn about an instrument called the “autoharp” in our song “Hush Little Baby.” We are taking turns each week playing the autoharp, which is a string instruments. We compared our version of “Hush Little Baby” to a cello/voice recording of the song by Yo Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin. It was fun to compare and contrast the two versions of the song. We enjoyed a read aloud of Santa’s Stuck, and had fun singing “There’s Someone in the Chimney” to go along with our story. We love the jazz style of the piece! We practiced our quarter notes, eighth notes, and rests, and tested our ears to see if we could figure out the rhythms of some Christmas words.
The 2nd graders had fun learning about holiday celebrations around the world. We learned about different ways that people celebrate Christmas around the world. Did you know in Italy children put out their shoes for gifts/treats? We learned about this from a Jingle Bells read aloud. We also learned about other seasonal holidays, including Hanukkah and Las Posadas. We heard an informational text and a fiction story about Hanukkah, and then added tambourines to the refrain of the song "Make a Little Music for Hanukkah." We also sang many traditional Christmas songs. We enjoyed following a listening map to the song "Sleigh Ride" by Leopold Mozart. We were able to hear 3 unique percussion instruments in this piece: sleigh bells, slapstick, and ratchet. We sang in both Spanish and Swahili this month, with our songs "Mi Cuerpo" and "Eh Soomboo."
The 3rd graders studied the story and music of the Nutcracker Ballet this month by the composer Tchaikovsky. We followed listening maps to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and "The Russian Dance." We also completed a listening comparison chart comparing 3 different recordings of the famous Russian Dance, including the original orchestral version, a Big Band version, and a Banjo version! It was fun to hear the melody in so many different styles! The 3rd graders completed their first "voice check" this past month, giving me an opportunity to hear their pitch-matching skills in small groups. We read a book of the 12 Days of Christmas, and learned some of the tradition of the old English Carol. Did you ever notice how many of the gifts are birds?
The 4th graders worked really hard on our first 3 recorder notes: B, A, and G. We put them all together for several songs. We will have our first playing test when we come back from the holiday break. Students will be bringing their recorders home with them over break to practice and share their skills with you! We finished our study of the Brass Family of instruments, and have moved on to the Woodwind Family. Studying each of the instrument families helps the students to make an informed decision about which instrument that may want to play in the band or orchestra next year at River View. The 4th graders completed their first "voice check" this month, singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and giving me an opportunity to hear their pitch-matching skills in small groups.
News from the School Nurse
Winter Weather Wear
It’s that time of year when the weather is cold and the snow if fun to play in; especially if you are a child. As a general rule your child will be playing outside during recess if the temperature and windchill is above zero degrees. So please dress your child appropriately each and every day. Having an extra set of clothes and mittens in their backpack is also recommended. As the health office has a very limited supply of extra clothes that children can borrow. That way if your child needs to change into clean/dry clothes they have them available and we won’t have to interrupt your day by asking that clean/dry clothes be brought to school.
If you are unable to provide the needed winter wear items for your child, please don’t hesitate to contact the health office at your child’s school.
Thanks in advance for helping all children stay safe in the winter weather and have fun in the snow as only children can.
JANUARY SCHOOL COUNSELING NEWS!! From Mr. Zamost
January Classroom Guidance
During the month of January, I will be visiting all of the K-4 classrooms and talking with students about Bullying/Violence Prevention! In each grade level we will discuss the definition of bullying (negative, hurtful actions toward another person that occur repeatedly over time…or “when someone is being mean and hurtful over and over again”) We will discuss the difference between “conflict” and “Bullying”. Kindergarten will get introduced to this topic and will focus on effective strategies to solve peer conflicts. Grades 1 and 2 will be learning about positive ways to handle bullying situations, while grades 3 and 4 will focus on ways to prevent bullying situations at Park Community Charter School. Throughout all grades, we will be emphasizing the importance of showing good character and being a “bucket filler” as bullying prevention methods. As always, feel free to call me at 766-6134 Ext. 3164 with any questions or concerns.
K-Kids Update!
At our last meeting we decided to help out our School Family and raise funds for a Buddy Bench to go on the playground! We will be asking for donations in each classroom with the grade level who raises the most money earning a celebration of their choosing. The Buddy Bench is designed for students to sit on when they are looking for someone to play with at recess. Other students can see them sitting on this bench and ask them to join what they are playing!News from our Reading Specialist Mrs. Keehan!
As your child travels along his or her journey of developing into a fluent reader, it is important to give him/her lots of opportunities to read aloud. During this process, it is normal that many times your patience will be tried. When your child is stuck on a tricky word, it is helpful to provide a prompt to encourage the use of a word-solving strategy. Here are some prompts beyond “Sound it Out” that you can try when reading with your child.
Meaning Prompts
- Does that make sense?
- Look at the picture.
- What word would make sense?
- Go back and smooth it out.
Syntax (Sentence Structure) Prompts
- Does that sound right?
- Do we say it that way?
- What word would make sense?
Visual Prompts
- Get your mouth ready for the first sound(s).
- Does that look like ______?
- If this was _____, what letter would you see?
Great Scholarship Opportunity for Students in Art, Music or Dance!
Les and Dar Stumpf Youth Arts Scholarship
Les and Dar Stumpf combined their love of children and the community into a youth arts granting program to support area young people interested in music, drama, dance and visual arts. “We wanted to give young people the chance to use their unique talents to better themselves and continue a sharing and caring philosophy,” Les said.
“We feel that God has given us great blessings and that we are on this earth to share, care and nurture wherever we can,” Dar said. “The Community Foundation has given us the tools to that end.”
The Les and Dar Stumpf Youth Arts Scholarship program was established to provide, on the basis of need, discretionary financial assistance to children in kindergarten through high school to support participation in an art discipline (i.e. music, drama, dance, visual arts).
Eligibility:
Students entering kindergarten through 12th grade, who reside in one of the following school districts: Appleton, Hortonville, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Menasha or Neenah and will be participating in an art discipline. Applicants must have a financial need to be considered.
Award Amount:
Scholarship amounts will vary, not to exceed $500 per child per year.
Selection:
Selection of recipients will be made by the Les and Dar Stumpf Youth Arts Scholarship Committee within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.
Payment Procedure:
Prior to the release of the scholarship payment, which will be made payable to and mailed to the provider of services, documentation of enrollment in the activity must be received by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. This should arrive in the form of a letter, invoice or billing statement from the sponsor of the activity.
Further Information:
For more information regarding this and other scholarships or to obtain scholarship forms please visit the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region’s website at www.cffoxvalley.org/scholarships or contact us at scholarships@cffoxvalley.org or
920-702-7619. Memory Books On Sale Now!
The Memory Book Sale going on. Envelopes went home Tuesday, Jan. 3rd and due back on Jan. 24th.Bad Weather Coming? Emergency School Closing Information
In the event of a school closing due to weather you will receive a notification through Infinite Campus Messenger. It is extremely important that your contact information in the program be up to date. Please follow the directions on the Park Community website Click Here
Please Dress for the Weather
This is an unpredictable time of year weather-wise. Please be sure to send your child prepared for the worst Mother Nature has to offer. It is very important that the children go outside to play at recess; however, they need to be dressed for the weather. We do want to keep your child healthy. When the snow falls ALL students must have boots, in addition to snow pants if they play in the snow. If you have difficulty providing winter wear, please contact the office as we have donated items to share. It is also recommended that students keep a dry pair of socks and pants in their backpack in case clothing gets wet.
Lost and Found
Are you missing any items of clothing, mittens, hats? Please check out our Lost and found box in the school lobby.
Old Christmas Tree Light Collection
As you begin taking down your holiday lights please consider donating any lights you are not going to use again to our collection at Park Community. profits from recycling will be donated to our community partner the Grignon Mansion.
PICKING UP STUDENTS PRIOR TO DISMISSAL
Just a reminder when picking up a child early from school (for an appointment or other reasons), please send a note or email to your child’s teacher or call the office in the morning. Once you arrive, the office will call the classroom and have your child sent to the office. This eliminates children from waiting in the office in case you are delayed and allows them to participate in the classroom instruction until you arrive. Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.
Community Flyers
Upcoming Elementary Level Events
2018 Kaukauna Softball Flyer
Champs Camp 2018
Girls Soccer Winter Camp
Here is the link to access all Community Flyers and Events:
Parent Advisory Council (PAC) News
The Park Community PAC meets in Room 25 every month at 5:30 on the 3rd Tuesday. This group works very hard to provide funds to help support our charter initiatives and provide fun activities for families and students. Please consider attending.
SCRIP
Thanks to everyone who tried SCRIP over the holidays! It really seems to be taking off and we appreciate your help. SCRIP is a great fundraiser because we are not asking you to buy anything. All you do is purchase gift cards for the places you shop normally and we get a percentage from those stores directly to our school. If you would like to order online or learn more about the program CLICK HERE.
