Hello Leopold Families. A dreary week lies ahead, so we'll start thinking warm sunny thoughts now for the Timber Wolf Trample on May 10th!


The TimberWolf Trample is upon us!
Please sign up to volunteer for the Timber Wolf Trample fun run. This is a fun and easy event to help with. You can sign up for jobs like course marshall, where you can stand along the race route and make sure the runners stay on track, finish line to help track runners as they come in, course set up before the race or clean up after, or help hand out awards and raffle prizes. Check it all out here! We'll provide an overview for anyone who is new, so don't worry if you haven't volunteered (or even if your students haven't participated) before.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084AACAE2CA13-timberwolf2

The Timber Wolf Trample is Saturday, May 10. Registration begins at 9:30 with event warm up at 10:30, and the UW Marching Band leading our participants to the starting line just before 11 am, with some of our favorite tunes! Registration /fundraising forms went home with students last week.  We will send one more round of registration flyers closer to the Trample and also post them online so you should have easy access to the form. Students do not need to pay or raise funds to participate in the Trample, but we do encourage students who are able to ask friends and family for support. Additional information on the day's events can be found on our website:
http://www.leopoldpfo.org/timber-wolf-trample-fun-run.html

New this year: the class with the most participants will win a pizza party donated by The Bridge!

Picnic
Following the run, The Bridge will provide all participants and families with a lunch. Bring a blanket to sit outside if you'd like, or we'll have tables inside.


Staff Appreciation Lunch 
Tuesday, May 6 Leopold Elementary will be holding its annual staff appreciation luncheon to show our staff how much we appreciate all that they do for our students and our families.  This year the Heide family of Liliana’s Restaurant of Fitchburg has generously offered to donate the main dish for all Leopold staff members. The Department of Revenue has also graciously offered to assist in the purchasing of vegetables for the luncheon.  

We need your help complete the rest of the meal! A form will be sent home this week for you to fill out what you can bring. You can also contact Jill Arnold at jarnold50@hotmail.com to let her know what you'll bring, or with any questions you have.  You can bring items in to school beginning the morning of May 6. Please be sure to mark any containers or utensils with your name. At the end of the day, you can pick up your serving pieces in the school lobby.

-(Kindergarten and 1st grade) Cut fresh fruit – ready to serve
-(2nd and 3rd grade) Desserts – cupcakes, cookies, bars, etc…
-(4th and 5th grade) Drinks – 2 liters of soda, lemonade, iced tea or water

Please volunteer to come help with the luncheon for a short time! A handful of people are needed to set up, serve or clean up. You can sign up here:
www.SignUpGenius.com/go/409084AACAE2CA13-staff/1062747


Spirit Week
Leading up to the Trample, School Spirit Week is May 5-9. The student council has chosen a dress up theme for each day, and the PFO has identified a corresponding donation to a local charitable organization. We encourage kids to dress up for Spirit Days as well as bring in a themed donation for each day, if they are able. It's pretty amazing to see not only the fun outfits, but also the generosity of our Leopold community. Each day, a group of volunteers will count kids dressed up in each class and award a traveling trophy to the most spirited class. If you're interested in helping count for about 15-30 minutes at drop off any morning of Spirit Week, let me know! Have your kids start planning their costumes now!


Monday, May 5

MIS-MATCHED CLOTHES DAY - Wear a crazy, non-matching outfit!

Bring gently used children’s clothing to donate to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Children's Clothing Closet.




Tuesday, May 6

FAVORITE BOOK CHARACTER DAY - Dress up as your favorite character from a book!

Bring a book to donate to the Friends of Fitchburg Library for a fundraising book sale to benefit the Fitchburg Library.




Wednesday, May 7

CRAZY HAIR DAY - Style your hair a fun or crazy way!

Bring an unused hair product (hair brushes, picks and combs, hair color kits and shampoo or conditioner) to donate to the Essential Pantry in our neighborhood.




Thursday, May 8

FAVORITE TEAM DAY - Wear something that shows spirit for your favorite team of any kind!

Bring a soccer item to donate (ball, cleats, etc., used items are ok.) to donate to Millenium Soccer.




Friday, May 10

SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - Wear school colors (red and black) or your Leopold spirit wear.

Student Council will sell popcorn to raise funds for future school activities.




Grounds Cleanup
Thank you to all of the families and teachers who came out to help at the Spring Clean Up Day! We had about 35 people come out to rake, pick up trash, trim, weed, and spruce up the front of our school. A special thanks to the Bridge for volunteering their time and energy and cleaning out the beds on the southeast end of the school. A high five to the kids who came with their parents and helped clean up as well. We hope to do this again in the fall and work on the back of the school property!


Leopold Spirit Wear
The Leopold Student Council is selling Spirit Wear! Visit this website:
http://www.logowareonline.com/apparel/leopold2014
to view and order. 15% of orders go to the student council.


Leopold Community Walk--Steps to Respect 
What: A 20-minute walk through the Leopold neighborhood to celebrate Leopold’s emphasis on kindness and respect. Popsicles will be served to the students when they arrive back to school.

When: Wednesday, May 7th, 2014 (rain date is May 21st)

Time: 1:20 to 2:20pm

Where: Starts and finishes at Leopold School

You are invited to walk with your child. Please arrive at your child’s classroom no earlier than 1:20pm on May 7th. Please alert your child’s teacher if you leave the route with your child. 







Walking School Bus Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed for Leopold's Walking School Bus to help children get to school safely and on time. There are three different routes taken to Leopold school that all start around 7 am and end at the school at 7:25 am.  The program runs every Tuesday and Thursday morning.  If you know of anyone that is interested in helping, please have them contact Kao Yong Thao at kthao6@madison.k12.wi.us or 608-204-4334.




Race to Equity Presentation
Leopold PFO has been a part of a broader group, called the Westside PTO, bringing together various PTO members to share ideas and success and engage in communication across MMSD. We meet once a month at schools in the area. The final meeting for the year will feature a presentation from the Race to Equity team, a coalition engaging in a multi-year project dedicated to reducing racial disparities in Dane County.  After presenting their data from their first site of analysis - the experience of African Americans in Dane County - we will have a discussion about how PTOs and parent groups can work to build community in their respective schools and how to engage thoughtfully with all parents.

Some of the Leopold PFO Board members (myself included) have attended a past presentation from this group, and it is a pretty profound study of issues affecting all Dane County families. From the report:
Even starker and more consequential are the disparities evident in Dane County’s rates of child poverty. In 2011, the American Community Survey estimated that more than 74% of Dane County’s black children were poor, compared to 5.5% of white children. In other words, Dane County black kids were estimated to be over 13 times more likely to be growing up in poverty than white children. Our research suggests that this 13 to 1 disparity ratio may constitute one of the widest black/white child poverty gaps that the Census Surveys reported for any jurisdiction in the nation.

We have been offered a limited number of seats at the event. If you have any questions or if you are interested in attending, please contact me so that I can RSVP for Leopold attendees and get you further information.

http://racetoequity.net


2013-14 Yearbooks
Yearbook order forms have been sent home with students. If you prefer, you may order your yearbook online here:  http://www.schoolannual.com/  and click on the Buy MyYearbook button. We are listed as Leopold Elementary (not Aldo...).

Families of 5th graders are invited to purchase a spot for a special message for your 5th grader, honoring their time at Leopold. This must be done via form and not through the online ordering process. 

• Printable yearbook forms can be downloaded HERE
  
• 5th grade sponsorship forms can be downloaded HERE

Leopold Culture Night
Leopold Elementary School will be hosting "Culture Night" at Open Schoolhouse on April 29th from 6pm-8pm. This event will feature storytelling, multicultural performances (dance and music), and a dinner. (Additional programming to be announced). We hope that families can share a piece of their culture and contribute to our celebration of diversity! Please check out this online sign-up if you'd like to get involved.


6th Grade Orientation at Cherokee
An orientation for parents of incoming 6th graders will be held on April 30th from 6:30 - 8 pm at Cherokee Middle School.  Flyers can be seen below or downloaded here. 

Learn 2 Ride Volunteers Needed
Are you a bike enthusiast?  Do you love working with kids?  Do you want to teach a child a lifelong recreation skill?  THEN WE NEED YOU!  

The MSCR Learn 2 Ride won a Silver Star for Program Excellence by the Wisconsin Parks and Recreation Association in 2013!  The event was sold out last year and we taught 250 kids how to ride their bike.  The event teaches children (and their adult chaperone) easy, innovative techniques to get kids riding solo on two wheels!  The approach teaches youth ages 4+ how to balance, pedal, stop and steer on a closed course.  

Volunteers are a very important part of this event and we need you! All volunteers will receive an event t-shirt and leave the event with the knowledge they were a part of something great!  

Here are the locations and dates:

• Kennedy School, Sun. 5/4, morning          
  
• Leopold School, Sun. 5/18, morning                                   
  
• Mendota School, Wed. 5/21, evening       
  
• Van Hise School, Sun.  6/8, morning 
  

CLICK THIS LINK TO SIGN UP:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F45ADAE2EA31-mscr4

If you have questions, contact Cristine Reid, MSCR Recreation Specialist at 608-204-4583 orcreid@madison.k12.wi.us.  This event is sponsored by MSCR, Schwinn, Helmets on Heads and the City of Madison Department of Transportation.


Thanks everyone. Have a great week!Kris

-- 
Kris Aman, PresidentLeopold Parent Faculty Organization
Encouraging Kids. Connecting Families. Serving Leopold.

Good morning Leopold families. In defiance of the weather, we are beginning to plan some exciting spring events!
2014 Timber Wolf Trample!
Planning is underway. Here are some important things to know:

• The 9th annual Timber Wolf Trample fun run will take place on May 10. Information on last year's Trample can be found here.
  
• Again this year, we will be holding a t-shirt design contest for our "official" Trample t-shirts. Forms should go home with kids this week, and will be available online as well. All Leopold students are welcome and encouraged to enter their design!
  
• Leading up to the Trample, we will hold a Spirit Week, with fun dress up days that coincide with donations to important causes in our area. We are excited to work with the new Leopold student council to plan Spirit Week events.
  
• A major component of the Trample, as well as a significant funding source for many of our activities and events throughout the year, is the sponsorship campaign. Businesses are asked to donate toward our event, and in return, they receive advertising on our materials. If you work at, or know of, a business that might be interested in becoming a 2014 Timber Wolf Trample sponsor, please contact Pam Baumartner (pam@baumgartnerlegal.com) so that we can add them to our list. You do not have to ask for the sponsorship (although you are welcome to, personal connections always work best), as Pam is also happy to add them to her contact list.

Spring Grounds Cleanup
Please mark your calendars for our spring grounds cleanup on April 26 from 9 am-12 pm. We will work on cleaning up our grounds and getting the garden ready for spring, as well as some possible playground improvements. Many hands make light work so we encourage families and neighbors to join in a fun day of taking pride in our school. More information will come about how you can play an active role in making our school and community look great!

PFO Meeting
Our next PFO family meeting will be Tuesday, March 11 at 7 pm in the Leopold library. Everyone is welcome to attend! We will be having Mr. Beaman, our REACH science teacher talk to us about the REACH science program. Every Leopold student spends time in Mr. Beaman's class during the school year so come find out what fun and exciting things they're up to in this unique program. Mr. Budd, 3rd grade teacher, will talk about fun math activities and how parents can support math skills at home for kids of all ages. Both will be able to answer questions parents have as well. We will also have a quick PFO update as well as a principal update. If you need childcare other than Open Schoolhouse, please let me know in advance.

Science Night
Science Night is scheduled to take place at Open Schoolhouse TOMORROW March 4th from 6pm-8pm. We hope that this event will show families how fun science is, and expose students to different areas of science. This event will include family challenges, hands-on experiments, and cool demonstrations. Science Night will also feature "MaGicEnergy," an interactive show that includes juggling, storytelling, and magic and inspires kids to engage in environmental stewardship. We are looking for volunteers to participate in Science Night by facilitating interactive exploration stations, serving food, and assisting with set up and tear down. MUCH HELP IS STILL NEEDED to support our awesome Open Schoolhouse group who is sponsoring this fun event for our kids! Please review this online sign up and see how you can participate. Any questions/comments, please contact Kao Yong Thao (608-204-4334,kthao6@madison.k12.wi.us) 

Leopold Garage Sale
Calling bargain hunters and closet cleaners! The Leopold garage sale is scheduled for April 5. Items to donate for the garage sale can be brought in on Friday, April 4 (drop-off time to be determined). Mrs. Czech is organizing the garage sale and would like a few parent volunteers to help out! If you are interested in helping (and getting a first look at the goods), you can email Mrs. Czech at pczech@madison.k12.wi.us.

DLI Summit
DLI parents are invited to attend a DLI Summit and BoE Forum. This is a summit designed for DLI parents, teachers and stakeholders who want to have conversations with other parents and stakeholders from all the MMSD DLI schools.  The DLI Summit is being organized by Nuestro Mundo parents and the Latino Education Council and will be hosted at Centro Hispano on Sat. March 8th from 9 -1:30.  Food and childcare provided. RSVP requested as seats are limited. The Board of Ed. candidates will be there over lunch to hear from families.  Backpack flyers were sent home with DLI students.

Race to Equity Project
Last week, Sara Dawkins (PFO VP) and I attended a presentation on the Wisconsin Councils of Children and Families' (WCCF) Race to Equity project.  This was an eye-opening presentation about a multi-year project to reduce racial disparities in Dane County. I would encourage everyone to visit the project's website at http://racetoequity.net. and review the first report issued by the project. Presentations have been given by Race to Equity throughout Dane County to various groups. The presentation we went to at Franklin Elementary School was very well attended. We are considering ways to bring this discussion to Leopold for our community and families as well. It is worth your time to look at and understand some of the powerful data that has been collected so far.


COMMUNITY NEWS


Madison Reads Leopold
On March 1st there will be a free public reading from Aldo Leopold's work at the UW Arboretum Visitor Center from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM on Saturday, March 1st. Eric Liljequist, a retired teacher from Leopold, is one of the readers.

Thanks everyone. Have a great week!

Kris

Hello families. I hope everyone enjoyed the little break we just had, despite the frigid temps! Reality hits tomorrow morning! Here's what's happening.

Leopold Grounds Cleanup (Todd Hanson, Chair)
Please come to Leopold next Sunday, November 4, anytime between 8 and 12 and help us clean up the school grounds. If we work together to rake, trim, and pick up trash if will make a huge difference in the appearance of our school. We are proud of our school, so let's show it at its best! This is an easy way to get involved at our school, especially if you are unable to come volunteer during the week! In the past, there have been as few as three or four families who come for several hours. If 10-15 families come, we can get things cleaned up in just an hour or two, and if even more come, maybe we can spend less than an hour! Bring your family, your rake, and your sense of community!

Election Day Bake Sale (Lisa Shebesta, Chair)
A message from Lisa Shebesta...
It's that time of year, vote for your candidate. This is a great opportunity to raise money for Leopold. We will be hosting a bake sale in the Leopold lobby because our school is a polling place. This means we need tons of treats and breakfast baked goods. If you can make something for the sale please email me at shebesta@charter.net so that I have an idea of how much product to expect. Please also let me know when you might drop it off at school.  Items can be dropped off Monday or Tuesday morning at the office. Ideally the items would be in serving size packaging.

If baking is not your "thing", it's not mine, you could make a monetary donation and mark it "bake sale". I will use that money to purchase baked goods.

Please call with any questions, Lisa Shebesta, 215-6475. Thank you for your support. I'm Lisa Shebesta and I approve this message.

Help Leopold Become Greener
Leopold's new REACH Science teacher, Kelsey Kosterman, is already hard at work on some new green initiatives at Leopold. Below is a letter from Kelsey regarding the new Leopold Green Team. Many of you have expressed interest in helping make Leopold a more sustainable school. I would ask, if this issue is  important to you, that you please consider supporting Kelsey's efforts and Leopold in this important endeavor.

From Kelsey...
Dear Families,
Leopold has been accepted to be an Mpower ChaMpion this year! We are one of five schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District to be accepted for our passion in making our school more sustainable, healthy and educated. This is an opportunity for us all to work together to make Leopold an even better learning environment than it already is. 

What is MPower? The MPower School ChaMpions Program works with local schools to put them on the path to becoming “greener” more sustainable schools. It helps teachers, administrators, parents and students create a vision of what sustainability can look like for their school, and it provides the tools, resources and support to take those ideas from conception to completion. 

The Green Team is looking for you! We would appreciate any and all parent input. At the kick off meeting we will be selecting three projects to implement during the program, one in each of three categories: Decreasing Environmental Impact, Promoting Health, and Developing Environmental and Sustainability Literacy. If you have any ideas of projects that we could do please consider attending the meeting on Tuesday, October 30. If you are unable to attend but would still like to share suggestions, please e-mail me at kkosterman@madison.k12.wi.us.

The Green Team will kick off with a meeting on Tuesday, October 30 at 3:15. We will be meeting in the Leopold Science Lab in room 214. Come one and all to share your ideas on three projects that we can complete this year to make Leopold a more sustainable learning environment. Snacks will be provided! Thanks for your time and consideration!

Video Help Wanted
Are you an experienced film maker? Or just a mom or dad who can make cool movies on your computer? Either way, Leopold's new website editors would like some help making a video or videos for the school website. If you might be interested - even if you've never done it before, contact me and I'll put you in touch with the right people to make you an Oscar contender. 

Pop Tops
If you've been collecting pop tops, there is now a 5-gallon collection container right outside of the school office.  At our house, we've set out a small plastic container on our kitchen counter to collect pop tops, and then we'll take it to dump it in at school when it's full. So simple!

PFO Blog
I've added a Blog link to the PFO website. I will post these emails there in case you ever want to look back at something. Find it here: http://www.leopoldpfo.org/leopold-pfo-blog.html

Ongoing
Target RedCard....BoxTops contest....My Coke Rewards....Open Schoolhouse on Tuesdays from 6-8....

Have a great week!