Hello Leopold families. I was working to solidify some things before I sent the email this week. So much good stuff going on!
Dinner is done for tonight!
It's Leopold Night at Qdoba, tonight, April 23 from 5-9 pm. Leopold will get 10% of the sales from our families so dine in or take out, but take the night off in the kitchen. Remember, you must bring the flyer that came home in your child's backpack to get credit for Leopold. If you need to print an extra flyer, you can find it here.

School Spirit Week
Leading up to the Timber Wolf Trample, the PFO has organized a sprit week for our student and staff. In conjunction with fun themed days for kids, we are also encouraging giving back to our community with themed donations to local organizations. We encourage all students to bring something to donate if they are able. 

Let your kids know there will be a traveling trophy awarded to the most spirited class each day, as judged by our volunteers who will count participants in each class. (If you are available any morning during Spirit Week and would like to help with the fun task of judging/counting participants in each class, please email me). So get planning those outfits!! Please support your kids in making this a fun event for our whole school! Here is the list of days:

Monday, May 6
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 Domestic Abuse Intervention Services

Tuesday, May 7
MIS-MATCHED SOCK DAY - Wear your craziest mis-matched socks (and the right pants or shorts to show them off)! 
Bring a new pair or package of children’s socks (size S, M, or L) to donate to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Kids' Clothing Closet 

Wednesday, May 8
FARMER DAY - Dress like a farmer.
Bring a non perishable food item for Zion City Church food pantry

Thursday, May 9
MY CLOTHES GOT MIXED UP IN THE LAUNDRY (MISMATCH) DAY - Wear a non-matching, crazy outfit 
Bring a bottle or box of laundry detergent (travel size ok) to donate to Porchlight, Inc.

Friday, May 10
SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY - Wear school colors (red and black) or your Leopold spirit wear
Bring a book to donate to a new one-room library in our neighborhood being developed by a Leopold family

Saturday, May 11
Come to Leopold at 9:30 am to register and run the Timber Wolf Trample!! If you're not participating in the run, be sure to come to cheer on your classmates and join us at noon for a Leopold family picnic.

Timber Wolf Trample Participation
We encourage all parents to sign up for a volunteer shift for the Timber Wolf Trample. Volunteering gets you some of the best seats in the house! (finish line, course marshall, etc.). Don't worry, you will still be able to see your child participate. Please visit here to find the volunteer opportunity that works best for you! Spots are limited so act quickly! :-)

I have also had inquiries from several parents asking if you can run with your kids. Yes! Particularly if you have a little one, you are welcome to run along with them. You do not need to register to do so. If you don't want to or can't run with your child, don't worry! They will be following a large crowd along a clearly marked path with course marshalls all along the way to help direct them and cheer them on. To my knowledge, we haven't lost one yet!

Event t-shirts have already been ordered so quantities for extra t-shirts are limited. Be sure to mark your child's registration form and include payment for any additional t-shirts you want to purchase.

Trample registration forms are due May 3, to qualify for the early bird extra prize drawing ticket.  The sooner you can get your forms turned in, the more it helps our volunteers get organized. We will have a registration packet pick up for pre-registered runners only on Friday, May 10 from 4:30-6 pm in the cafeteria. This gives the opportunity for those who pre-registered to get all their stuff ahead of time so they can just show up on Saturday morning for warm ups at 10:30 without having to wait in line.

If you have any questions on the Trample, please don't hesitate to email me or talk to any one of our PFO board members. We want to communicate all things about this day clearly and encourage as much participation as possible.

Lockers!
After 44 years of use, our hallway cubbies are giving way to lockers. This is a major upgrade to our school, which will help to modernize our building, keep things neat, and widen our hallways. Many thanks to Mr. Bulkholder who advocated for our school to get this much-needed upgrade. Installation will begin in June.

Box Top Collection continues
Our final Box Tops collection of this school year will conclude on May 13. Please be sure to turn in box tops to your child's teacher by that date. Each teacher has a collection envelope in his or her classroom.

Fifth Grade Graduation Meeting
A meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 24, from 7-8:30 in the Leopold Library for all parents who want to learn more about 5th grade graduation (held June 11) and the 5th grade picnic at McKee Farms Park (held June 12). If you would like to volunteer to help with graduation but cannot attend the meeting, please contact Kristi Buscemi at 220-5596 or [email protected].

Fundraising Reminders

• Don't forget to use your Target credit or debit card (1% of all purchases back to Leopold)
  
• Remember to shop at amazon.com using the link on the PFO website fundraising page (up to 7% back to Leopold)
  
• Take advantage of our fundraising dinners in the community (Qdoba tonight, 10% back to Leopold)
  
• Continue to collect Box Tops, Labels for Education and pop tabs for our school
  

MMSD Community Schools Parent Task Force
The next attendance area Parent Task Force Meetings are scheduled for May 2 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm. The meetings are open to the community, and will take place at Falk, Mendota, Glendale, and Leopold Elementary Schools. These meeting are co-facilitated by district staff. The agenda will focus on creating attendance-area recommendations from parents and community members about the services and resources they would like to see offered through Community Schools and Parent University. 

Fitchburg Bike Rodeo
This fun event will be held Saturday, May 11, from 11-12:30 at Wingra Stone. You can click here to see the flyer with more information. Stop by after the Trample.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

(Necesidad en español? Visita aquí.)

Oh my, do things get busy in the spring! Now if only we could get outside to enjoy them even more in the sunshine!

A New Record

A huge thank you to Pam Baumgartner and the small group of volunteers who identified and contacted local businesses to solicit sponsorships for this year’s Timber Wolf Trample. We collected a record amount of $6,350 in sponsorships and more than $1,800 in prize donations. We can’t wait to see what the kids can do with their donation collection efforts!

Pam has worked tirelessly over the past few weeks on the sponsorship drive. It is a big (but rewarding) job to organize the sponsorship aspect of Trample and we are all very thankful for her efforts!

We are also very appreciative of the local businesses that support our community, our school and our students. Please be sure to check out the extensive list of sponsors here and be sure to show your patronage to those that support Leopold!


Spirit Week

Don’t forget, the Trample is May 11. The kids are “training” in gym class and should be hard at work collecting donations for great prizes. Leading up to the Trample we will be holding Spirit Week. In an effort to help our kids learn about giving back to our community, along with the dress-up theme each day, we are asking kids to bring in a “themed” donation for a local organization that serves our community. Details will follow soon about the theme for each day and items to donate.


Box Tops Collection

The Final Box Top sheet of the year has been sent home with all students. The classroom that collects the most Box Tops by May 13 will win a party from Pump It Up. All students from the winning classroom will be entered in a drawing to win a Cinch Sac with their name on it!


Leopold Goes to the Duck Pond

The Leopold PFO and the Madison Mallards invite you to the Mallards game on August 10, 2013 at 6:05 p.m. Each $16 ticket purchased will include a box ticket in the Mallards grand stand, one hour of an all-you-can-eat ballpark food, soda and water, a fun baseball game, and best of all, $2 from every ticket sold will be donated back to the PFO. Bring the family and your friends! Order forms will be sent home in the coming weeks.


Get Fit at Leopold

From Jennifer Compton, AmeriCorps Volunteer:

• Looking for a way to fit exercise into your day? Want to spend time outside with your kids?  Walking Schoolbus is kicking off Tuesday, April 30th and will run Tuesdays and Thursdays for the rest of the school year. Experts recommend that we walk 10,000 steps a day for optimum health! You can start on that number by walking with us, even just for one morning!! Help kids get outside, be safe pedestrians, and get to school on time. 
• Learn more ways to keep your body AND mind healthy with our Family Mindfulness Workshop at Open Schoolhouse Tuesday April 30th.  We have an AMAZING team from Baltimore coming in to teach students AND parents techniques to reduce stress, control thoughts and emotions, and relax!  You can learn about the group, Holistic Life Foundation Inc., at their website:  http://www.hlfinc.org/home.htm.  
• Also at Open Schoolhouse, get your kicks with Family ZUMBA.  every Tuesday, this free Zumba class is a blast from 6:20-7:20 pm.  You won't find that kind of deal at any other gym!

• Saturday mornings, get outside with your kids and coach Millenium Soccer!  We are looking for caring adults (no soccer expertise required) who can help coach and/or manage equipment. 

• The school Green Team is working hard to reduce our waste!  We are now recycling used pens, markers, and mechanical pencils at school. Writing utensils can be deposited in a container in the lobby right next to the pop can tabs.  Help educate your child about the importance of recycling and send in used up writing utensils from home!

For more information or to sign up to help out with any of these programs, contact Jennifer Compton at[email protected], 608-204-4334.


Lunch Buddies

Our Leopold counseling staff is looking for some adult volunteers to be lunch buddies for some special students. Lunch Buddies is a program designed to give select students social and emotional support, and provide these kids with more positive role models. Adult volunteers spend lunch and recess with their student buddies once a week. Volunteers can choose any of the three lunch periods (11- 11:40, 11:40- 12:20, 12:20-1) and are assigned a buddy based on recommendations from our school social workers.  Of course, parents are also asked first to give an ok.  

Kids love the chance to show off their school and friends to special adults.  For recess, they can choose to go outside, or stay in and read or do a special activity with their buddy. For forty minutes once a week, the amount that students appreciate this extra attention is incredible. Being a lunch buddy is a great way to get more involved in Leopold, meet staff and students, learn about the school day, and grow a positive connection with kids that can really influence what they think of themselves and their school. 

Here is what one of our adult lunch buddies said about his experience:

"I can sum up the Lunch Buddy program in one word: powerful. What started out as him barely making eye-contact with me has transformed into his eyes lighting up every time he sees me coming down the hall, and eager hopes that I’m coming back next week. The Lunch Buddy program provides an easy access point to invest time and words of affirmation into the next generation of leaders, and I am confident the seeds planted today will bare awesome fruit tomorrow. It has become a highlight of my week, and I give it my highest recommendation!"

~Josh

If interested, please contact Adam Emmart at [email protected].


A Conversation with Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham

Please visit here to find out more about the new superintendent’s upcoming conversations throughout the district.


From Arlene Silveria, MMSD Board of Education

We have some updates for you on the state budget and the private school vouchers. We need your help!

Where do I find the most updated information on the governor's budget and how it impacts MMSD?

The district has updated their budget page. There are links to talking point on private school vouchers, special education vouchers and the proposed charter school legislation. These budget proposals, if passed, could drain $37 million from Madison schools over the next 5 years! In addition, there is a link in the right-hand column that will take you to a page providing information on how you can advocate for public education.  We need you to inform your community about these issue and ask them to register their opposition. 

https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/budget

Is there something I can sign to register my opposition to private school vouchers?

Our state representatives have put together a petition against the private school vouchers. In the link below, please click on the stop sign and sign the petition. Then please SHARE this with everyone you know. (the web site at the capitol is a bit clunky. If you submit the petition and it takes you back to the welcome page....it worked.)

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/taylor/Pages/default.aspx

Press Conference - please attend if your schedule permits

The Dane County School Board Consortium and Dane County Superintendent Consortium will be holding a press conference detailing the impacts of the Governor’s proposed budget on public schools at noon on Wednesday, April 10, in room 411 at the State Capitol.

School board members, superintendents, parents and business community members will address the governor’s proposed budget and its impact on public schools. 15 districts will be represented.  If you are in the area, we hope you will attend. It will also be an opportunity for you to meet our new MMSD superintendent, Jen Cheatham.

MMSD Budget

On April 22, the Board will be receiving budget information from the Administration regarding the MMSD budget for the 2013-14 school year. 


Thanks everyone! Have a great week!

Hello families. I hope everyone had a great spring break, even though it wasn't very spring like for those of us who stayed in Madison. But, as the weather warms up, we can all look forward to the May 11 Timber Wolf Trample!
Timber Wolf Trample Update
Registration Forms are coming home Friday. The forms include a section for kids to collect donations from friends and family and earn prizes, register for the race, and a waiver for participation. If you need to download the form, you can find it here in English and Spanish.

In the coming weeks, we will have Spirit Week, a Trample pep rally, and other fun activities leading up to the big event.

Lunch Buddies
Our Leopold counseling staff is looking for some adult volunteers to be lunch buddies for some special students. Lunch Buddies is a program designed to give select students social and emotional support, and provide these kids with more positive role models. Adult volunteers spend lunch and recess with their student buddies once a week. Volunteers can choose any of the three lunch periods (11- 11:40, 11:40- 12:20, 12:20-1) and are assigned a buddy based on recommendations from our school social workers.  Of course, parents are also asked first to give an ok.  Kids love the chance to show off their school and friends to special adults.  For recess, they can choose to go outside, or stay in and read or do a special activity with their buddy. For forty minutes once a week, the amount that students appreciate this extra attention is incredible. Being a lunch buddy is a great way to get more involved in Leopold, meet staff and students, learn about the school day, and grow a positive connection with kids that can really influence what they think of themselves and their school. Here is what one of our adult lunch buddies said about his experience:


"I can sum up the Lunch Buddy program in one word: powerful. What started out as him barely making eye-contact with me has transformed into his eyes lighting up every time he sees me coming down the hall, and eager hopes that I’m coming back next week. The Lunch Buddy program provides an easy access point to invest time and words of affirmation into the next generation of leaders, and I am confident the seeds planted today will bare awesome fruit tomorrow. It has become a highlight of my week, and I give it my highest recommendation!"
~Josh

Private School Vouchers in the Madison Metropolitan School District
The PFO Board and the MMSD School Board are hoping to enlist your help in our advocacy efforts regarding the governor's recent budget proposal.  In the budget proposal, the implementation of private school vouchers in Madison, coupled with money targeted toward independent charter schools and NO increase in funding from the state will be financially devastating to our school district.

Information is linked.  https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/node/10455

We need your help to advocate for 3 things:

1.   Remove the voucher and independent charter school expansion from the budget

2.   Require accountability

3.   Restore funding to public education

On the second page of the linked document, there are ways to contact the legislature.  In addition to contacting our Madison legislators, please also spread the word to any family and friends you have in other areas of the state.  All legislators must hear from their constituents on how negative this budget is for public education.

Please share this information with your parent groups.  If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Board at [email protected]   

A Message for Parents of 5th Graders from the Cherokee PTO 
I'm Co President at Cherokee MS PTO and we are in the process of finding great parents from Thoreau and Leopold that have kids moving to 6th grade. We have openings on the PTO Board and lots of volunteer opportunities (dances, magazine sales, ultra zone nights, etc….). I would love to make personal connections with incoming 6th grade parents that might be interested! We also have an opening for VP!

If you are interested, please contact Beth Dohrn at [email protected].

Get Fit In Fitchburg

Please see the attached flyer regarding the upcoming Get Fit in Fitchburg event at Leopold Elementary.

Thanks everyone. Have a great weekend!