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Hello Leopold families. Here is some information on upcoming events at Leopold.PFO Volunteers Needed
There are a couple of particular and somewhat urgent needs on the volunteer front at Leopold. The volunteers who currently chair these positions are moving on to middle school next year, and we would like to have someone learn from them while they are still here! Our Box Top coordinator runs our school Box Tops contests including providing flyers, class counting and tracking. We have another volunteer who does all of the counting and sorting to submit to Box Tops so this would not be part of the role. Please contact Michelle Barfield or me if you would like more information. We are also in need of a Timber Wolf Trample fundraising coordinator. This is a great position to raise money for our school. An amazing foundation has been put in place and really is more management than fundraising. This is a very important position to our school, as we raise around $10,000 each year through these efforts. Please contact Pam Baumgartner or me if you would like more information. *Asking questions and finding out more information does not obligate you to accept one of these roles!* Thank you for considering offering your time and energy to keep so many important and fun programs at Leopold strong so that we can continue to support our students, staff and families through great programming! PFO Family Meetings to Begin Tuesday, November 11 will be our first PFO family meeting of the school year. The topic will be family and community engagement. We'll also touch base on some general PFO info as well. Please join us in the Leopold library from 7-8 pm. Spanish interpretation provided. Attendance Matters breakfast volunteers The Attendance Matters Breakfast is an event that Leopold school staff has hosted the past two years. All Leopold families are invited to a family breakfast and then parents can join their children for the first 15 minutes of class. Finally, parents return to the cafeteria to learn about attendance expectations. The goal is to communicate attendance practices and allow parents to see that the classes are off and running at the bell. This event is very well attended, and for that reason, we need a lot of volunteers to help run it. We need volunteers onNovember 20thfrom5:30 to 7 pm to assist with setting up the cafeteria. More importantly, we need volunteers on November 21st from 6:30 to 9 am to help run the breakfast. Please considering signing up to help with this event. Set up volunteer sign up (Nov. 20) can be found here and breakfast volunteer sign up (Nov. 21) can be found here. Tito's Readathlon Literacy Event The PFO will lead an all-school literacy event, encouraging kids to read, write, and create! The kickoff, or Starting Line event will be held December 2, in the evening and the Finish Line event will be held on January 13, in the evening. Students will get to hear from guest authors and readers, participate in a book swap, and much more. *We are encouraging families to save any books your children are done with to bring in for the all-school book swap at our Starting Line event. A drop off box is now available in the lobby for book swap collection (please don't take books out as a swap yet, we're saving this for the literacy event). Library Volunteers needed Mr. Mueller, our librarian, is in need of volunteers in the Leopold library to help shelf books, etc. If you are interested, he can share a calendar sign up link with you so you can find a time that's convenient for you. This is an important request from school staff that supports all of our students. We'd love to have some parents help out in this fun and easy way. If you want to take a look at the calendar to see if a time might work in your schedule, please email Ben at [email protected]. Staff Grants from the PFO This week, the PFO will be rolling our our 2014-15 staff grant program. The PFO has budgeted $5,000 to support innovative and creative ideas that our staff may have, but that are not funded through the regular school budget. If your child's classroom teacher or support staff has mentioned an exciting idea to you, please encourage them to apply for these funds. The PFO loves to see the innovate ideas that our staff wants to implement with our students! Flu Shot Fundraiser Flu shots are the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age or older be vaccinated annually against influenza. The Leopold PFO is partnering with the HyVee Pharmacy in Fitchburg to offer flu shots to our community, with $4 from each shot coming back to our PFO. In order for Leopld to receive credit, please take a Flu Shot PFO Fundraiser in with you so Leopold gets credit. The coupons can be found on our blog (http://www.leopoldpfo.org/ leopold-pfo-blog) or you can pick one up on the school office. Shots are covered by most insurances; cash price is $29.99. The fundraiser runs through December 31, 2014. Open Schoolhouse Continues Come to Leopold from 6pm-7:30 on Tuesday nights. Partnering with various nonprofits in the area, Open School House will now offer at least four separate opportunities for students and families to participate in. These classes will run for three week sessions, focusing on either Physical Activity, Education, Life Skills, and Leopold Family Sessions, an opportunity to interact with principals, teachers, and help guide the direction of our school. At the end of every set of sessions, we will host a large Party Night for all the families, before starting a new set of sessions. This month's programming includes: Basketball Camp: Fitchburg Rec is hosting four weeks of basketball drills and games appropriate for all elementary-age children. Parents are welcome to participate as well. Learning While Playing Together: The Fitchburg Public Library will hold family-based learning activities to help students gain new tools for literacy, math and science. Exploring Your Natural World: Ex;lor, learn how to care for and interact with the outdoor world. Build bird feeders, learn how to identify wild life and more. November 18th Culture Night Questions regarding Open Schoolhouse can be sent to Josh Miller at [email protected] or Pat Smith at [email protected]. Girls on the Run founder, Molly Barker, is coming to Leopold! This year marks Girls on the Run of Dane County's 10th Anniversary and Molly Barker is coming to help us celebrate. She will be arriving in Madison on Thursday, November 6th and will be visiting our practice before heading downtown for a presentation. Molly will be arriving at Leopold in time for our final practice session from 2:45 - 4:15. She will also be in attendance at the GOTR final 5K on Saturday, November 8th in Waunakee. We are so excited about this wonderful opportunity for our girls and coaches! Molly Barker founded Girls on the Run in 1996 in Charlotte, North Carolina. A four-time Hawaii Ironman triathlete, she used her background in social work, counseling and teaching, along with research on adolescent issues, to develop the program. Today, there are Girls on the Run councils in over 210 cities across North America serving over 200,000 girls and women each year. Communication This weekly email is prepared in English and will be posted in both English and Spanish on our blog each week (http://www.leopoldpfo.org/ leopold-pfo-blog ). Este correo electrónico semanal se prepara en Inglés y será publicada en Inglés y Español en nuestro blog cada semana (http://www.leopoldpfo. org/leopold-pfo-blog ). Have a great week! Kris -- Kris Aman, President Leopold Parent Faculty Organization Encouraging Kids. Connecting Families. Serving Leopold.
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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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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. 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:
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 [email protected]. 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. Hello Leopold Families. Sorry for the late weekly email, the time got away from me! Here's what's going on at Leopold:
Leopold Book Fair The Leopold Book Fair is coming up. The book fair will be held in our school library. All students will get a chance to visit the book fair with their class, and bring home a list of books they are interested in. They can bring money back to school to purchase the books, or families can visit the book fair together. The book fair will be held: January 27 from 8 am to 1 pm January 28 from 8 am to 7 pm January 29 from 8 am to 7 pm January 30 from 10:30 am to 12 pm Please keep an eye on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LeopoldPFO) for changes or cancelations to due weather. As part of the book fair, volunteers are needed to help students select books and check out. Mrs. Conner will show you what to do if you are new to the book fair. This is a fun way to help out at Leopold! Please see the online sign up here to find a time that works for you to volunteer: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084AACAE2CA13-book1 Restaurant Night Fundraisers Thank you go everyone who has attended any of our restaurant night fundraisers. Most recently, we made $103 from our Qdoba fundraiser and $101 from our Buffalo Wild Wings fundraiser. Our next restaurant fundraiser will be at Culver's on February 17, from 5-7 pm. We will need five volunteers to help run food to tables. Fourth of fifth graders would be great for this job, as would middle school Leopold alums, particularly those would like to perform, or are in need of community service hours for various groups. If you know someone interested, you can email me. Thank you to those of you who shopped at amazon.com by entering through the Leopold link. We made $41.40 in October, $75.95 in November and $88.35 in December. You can continue to use this link at any time during the year, as the PFO will receive a portion of all purchases through amazon.com, including Prime movies and more! You can find the link here. Box Tops Our next BoxTop contest deadline is February 18. An ice cream party and free passes to Pump It Up with go to the winning class! Forms were sent home some time back, but feel free to send them in a baggie if you don't have a form. If you'd like to print a new form, it can be found here. Be sure to label them with your student's classroom teacher so their class can get credit. We have amazing participation in BoxTop collection, so keep up the great work and let's work toward our goal of filling in the MineCraft creeper in the lobby! Open School House Schedule High Five Night Date Change PBS team has decided to postpone High Five Night to Feb. 4th instead of tonight. MLK, Jr. Celebration Leopold will be holding an Open Schoolhouse event to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy on January 21st from 6-8 pm. The evening will consist of poetry, dance, and music performances by students and parents, followed by a family art activity inspired by Dr. Kings, "I Have a Dream" speech. Food will also be provided. Please RSVP by filling out and returning the yellow flyer that was sent home or by contacting Delia Watkins at 608-204-4336 or [email protected]. January 22 and 23rd, 6:30-7:15 - How to Build Your Student's Self Esteem January 28, 6:00 - Math Night 4K Family Night Since we didn't cover our 4K families in our original round of Get to Know Each Other Nights (sorry - we didn't know there would be 4K at Leopold when we planned these events), we will be holding a 4K Family Night, with dinner provided by the PFO, on Tuesday, February 18, from 6-7 pm in the school cafeteria. Flyers will be sent home to 4K families. Kindergarten Registration Kindergarten registration for families with students who will be entering kindergarten next fall, and who do not currently participate in MMSD 4K, need to attend kindergarten registration on Monday, February 3 from 1-6 pm at Leopold or your neighborhood elementary school. For more information, visit mmsd.org/kinder All children who are four years old on or before September 2, 2014 and live in the MMSD are eligible to participate in 4K. 4K is not required and is tuition free. Registration for this program is also February 3 from 1-6 pm at Leopold or your neighborhood elementary school. For more information, visit mmsd.org/4K ExxonMobil Educational Grant Through the efforts of a local Kelley Williamson Company Station, Leopold School has been awarded a $500 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance grant. The money will be used to provide materials and supplies for student use. Funded by the ExxonMobil Corporation, the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to provide local Exxon and Mobil dealers with an opportunity to invest in the future of their community through educational grants to neighborhood schools. We appreciate this generous support of our school community! NO SCHOOL January 20 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There is no PFO meeting in January. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, February 11 at 7 pm. We are still looking for volunteers for the following fun positions at our school:
Saris Poster Contest The Wisconsin Department of Transportation posted this announcement in the WisDOT’s Safe Routes To School Newsletter. The poster contest is open to 5th graders and first prize is a new bike! http://www.sarisparking.com/why-saris-parking/advocacy-efforts/poster-contest/ Thanks everyone. Have a great week! Hi Leopold Families. Sorry fro the delay in my weekly email. Here's an update on things going on at Leopold:
Get to Know Our Get to Know Each Other Nights continue next week with Grade 3. We have had a great turnout for these events and we look forward to meeting even more of you in the upcoming weeks. If you have not already RSVPd through the handout or email, please let me know if your family will be attending any of the following: October 1 - Third Grade October 8 - no Get to Know night - come to all-school open house and stop by the cafeteria for ice cream from the PFO! October 15 - Fourth Grade October 22 - Fifth Grade An Apple Affair Flyers have been sent home with all students this week for an exciting upcoming event. The Leopold PFO will hold An Apple Affair - an event to raise money to purchase iPads for Leopold, at Lilliana's restaurant on Monday October 7, from 6-8 pm. This is adults-only event for Leopold families and anyone in our community who would like to enjoy socializing, great food and drink, and exciting raffle prizes. You do need to purchase tickets for An Apple Affair. You can visit the PFO webpage for the event here: http://www.leopoldpfo.org/an-apple-affair.html Harvest Fest Excitement for our first-even Harvest Fest is growing. We are looking forward to many interactive experiences for our families. Classes will participate in pumpkin decorating ahead of the event and Harvest Fest activities will include a pumpkin launch, hay rides, cake walk, face painting, prize drawings, dunk tank, live music, food booths and more. Flyers with more details will be coming home soon, including information on how to purchase wrist bands and donate for the cake walk and grade-level prize baskets. Picture Day School picture day is next Thursday, October 3. Order forms are going home now if you would like to purchase pictures of your child. We need some parent volunteers to help get kids in line and ready for their pictures. This is a fun and easy way to volunteer at Leopold. The online sign up for volunteering can be found here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084AACAE2CA13-picture1/1062747 Upper Grade Academic Events and Celebrations Dates for this year’s important academic events and celebrations have been set. Our Geography Bee is scheduled forDecember 20, at 1:15PM in our cafeteria and will include the top four finishers of each fifth grade classroom competition. Our Spelling Bee will be held on January 16, at 1PM also in our school cafeteria and will include the top four students from each classroom spelling bee competitions in grade five. Fourth and fifth grade student teams for the annual Book Bowl will begin forming just prior to winter break. Students will be responsible for indicating interest in participating on a team. The school Book Bowl events are schedule to take place in mid-March. Our fifth grade Science Fair is scheduled for May 23 at 1:00PM and our fifth grade culmination ceremony will be on June 10 at 1:00PM in our cafeteria. Pick Up, Drop Off, and Parking at Leopold I've had some questions regarding parking and pick up at Leopold. Here is a brochure from the school that explains things. The brochure is posted on our website. http://www.leopoldpfo.org/uploads/1/2/5/5/12555908/leopoldtrafficsafetyplanbrochure20112012.pdf Ongoing Fundraising Efforts Remember all the easy and helpful ways to raise money for Leopold: Target RedCard BoxTops for Education Campbell's Labels for Education Mabel's Labels My Coke Rewards Amazon.com You can find details on these programs here: http://www.leopoldpfo.org/activities-and-fundraisers.html Hello Leopold Families. I can hardly believe it's the final week of school. I know that those of us with 5th graders feel like just yesterday was the first day of kindergarten for our kids.
Last Day of School If you did not already mark your calendars, please note that the last day of school, Thursday, June 13, is a FULL DAY. Originally scheduled as an early release, this is make up time for winter snow days and kids will not get out until 2:32. PBS Recognition I am please to share with our families that the Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction has again selected Leopold as a Wisconsin PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) School of Distinction. Leopold was one of 87 schools statewide to be recognized as a School of Distinction for the 2012‐13 school year. Congratulations to our staff for their hard work on this initiative. Summer Garden Help Jennifer Compton, Leopold VISTA, is looking for families to adopt the garden this summer! Ten volunteers are needed to adopt the garden for a week at a time. It can be as little work as watering it a few times during your week and as much fun as taking your family out every day for picnics, weeding, watering, etc. The dates are: 6/17-6/23, 6/24-6/30, 7/1-7/7, 7/8-7/14, 7/15-7/21, 7/22-7/28, 7/29-8/4, 8/5-8/11, 8/12-8/18, 8/19-8/25, 8/26-9/1, 9/1-9/8 (or every week Mon-Sun. starting June 17 and ending Sept. 8.) Jennifer will send a reminder e-mail to families the day before their week starts with a full set of instructions/information. Please contact Jennifer at (608) 204-4334 (o) or [email protected] to sign up! Bake Sale Leopold's UNITY Group will be holding a bake sale on Tuesday, June 11 from 7:20-8:30 am and 12:15-2:45 pm in the Leopold lobby. If you would like to make a donation or volunteer for the bake sale, please contact Billie Johnson at 658-4196 or Myra McNair at 204-4336. Mallards Game If you want to join Leopold families at the Pepsi Tailgate party at the Madison Mallards game on August 10, you can still order tickets. Please fill out the order form and return to school this week or mail with payment to: Leopold PFO Attn: Kris Aman / Madison Mallards 2602 Post Road Madison, WI 53713 If you need a form, please email me and I will send you one. Fundraising Please continue to support our school over the summer months! Remember:
You can find more details on all of these programs here. Summer Communication I do not have plans to send regular communications over the summer. I'm sure you're all ready for a break from me! I will drop those families from our mail list that have only a 5th grader at Leopold, but if you no longer have a student at Leopold and continue to receive my emails, please email me to let me know and I'll remove your address from my list. If you know of any incoming kindergarten families, please send them my way, I'd love to get names added as we can and welcome those new families to Leopold. PFO Board The PFO would like to welcome Sara Dawkins to the Board! Sara will work with Jill in transitioning into the Vice President role. We are so excited to have Sara join us. We are working on transitioning our treasurer position as well, and we will let you know when that is finalized. Our PFO Board has worked very hard this year to do great things for our school. We hope that both families and staff find our efforts beneficial. Just last week we added some new furniture to the school lobby to give it a warmer and more welcoming feel. We welcome any feedback you have and we look forward to another fun year ahead. Thank you! Kris Hi Leopold Families. Are your kiddos counting down? Just 9 days of school left! Where did the time go? Here's what happening this week at Leopold:
*A document from MMSD regarding enrollment for the 2013-14 school year is attached.* Leopold Multi-Cultural Night Tuesday, June 4th, 6-7:45 pm. Bring a dish and recipe to share from your family’s heritage. Have fun with a potluck dinner and music from around the world. Recipes will be put together into a “Cultures of Leopold Cookbook.” Spend the night connecting to other Leopold families and celebrating students’ and families’ diverse backgrounds! Sign up below with your name, the name of the dish you will bring, and the country or region your dish represents! Please send your name, dish, and country or region represented to Jennifer Compton at [email protected] DLI Family Potluck DLI families end of the year potluck on Wednesday, June 5th from 6:00-7:15 in the cafeteria. Yearbooks Our delivery of yearbooks has arrived. If you have not yet ordered a 2012-13 yearbook, there are extra copies available. Please go here to find out how to order this year’s yearbook or yearbooks from past years. 5th Grade Graduation and Class Picnic 5th grade graduation will be held on Tuesday, June 11, at 1:15 in the school cafeteria. The ceremony will start promptly at 1:15 and conclude by 2:00. Students will be able to briefly celebrate with their families in the cafeteria after the ceremony and then dismissed for the day at 2:30. Casual dress is recommended. Each graduating child will be allowed only 2 tickets per family. The 5th grade field trip and picnic will be held the following day, on Wednesday, June 12. Students will travel by bus to Milton House in Janesville. Following the field trip, the buses will take students directly to McKee Farms Park Shelter for a picnic, rain or shine. Permission slips will be sent home within the next few days. Families will be asked to contribute $15 to cover the cost of the field trip ($8.00) as well as for picnic supplies and a class gift ($7.00). Within the next few days permissions slips will be sent home with students with additional information regarding food donations. Parents wanting to help with the picnic can sign up HERE. For additional information, please contact Jess Lathrop. Mabel’s Labels As a way to target the problem of lost belongings and a large lost and found closet, LEOPOLD ELEMENTARY is fundraising with Mabel's Labels, a company with all types of labels that are colorful, indestructible, easy-to-use and fun! Iron-Ons, Stickies, Bag Tags, Allergy Alert labels & more! Personalize your labels with names, nicknames, initials - whatever you choose. Cool icons help even little ones identify their own belongings. Dishwasher, microwave, laundry & kid tested! Dispatched within 24 hours! Visit LEOPOLD ELEMENTRY’S fundraising page, www.leopold.mabelslabels.com to place your order while helping our school! About Mabel’s Labels: We are moms who were frustrated by the amount of stuff that left our houses, never to return. After lots of research and testing we created the perfect fun, durable labels for the stuff kids lose! Our sticky labels and clothing labels, which are dishwasher, microwave and laundry safe, are not only practical, but also designed to be very special to each child. The labels are customized with a child’s name, favourite mix of colours and an icon (animal, symbol, etc.). We have also expanded our product line to include personalized stationery products, ID wristbands and household labels.” We strive to continuously design innovative labels for babies, kids and grown-ups alike. You’ll be amazed at what you can label!” Leopold Spirit Wear There are a few remaining Leopold Spirit Wear Items for sale: (2) Adult Size Medium sweatshirts (these run pretty big) -- $33 each If you would like to purchase one of these items, please reply to this email to let me know. You can send payment in with your child and I can send the item home with your child. Pop Tabs If you’ve been saving pop tabs this year, please be sure to deposit them in the large bottle in the school lobby. We will be ending our pop tab collection at the end of this school year. Trample Pictures Pictures of the Timber Wolf Trample, taken by Lola Mae photography, are now posted on the Leopold PFO website. http://www.leopoldpfo.org/timber-wolf-trample-fun-run.html Thanks everyone, have a great week! Hello Leopold families. I hope everyone was able to enjoy some sunshine this weekend. Too bad our weather wasn't quite that nice for the Timber Wolf Trample, but we had an amazing, fun and successful event anyway! Here's some info:
We are so thankful for the kids who participated with amazing effort, raised money, and supported their school; the volunteers who helped at the run, before the run and after the run; staff who encouraged kids to participate and those who volunteered at the event; and our community partners who supported us in many, many ways. This is a fun, community-building event that we are proud to continue at Leopold. If you have feedback, please feel free to let me know. If anyone would still like an event t-shirts, we have a limited number available for $15. You can reply to this email with the size you'd like and we'll get it make arrangements. If you contributed to this year's Trample, either through a business sponsorship or by donating to your own choice, Leopold's Tax ID # is 39-1583370. This was wrong on some of our material, so please note the correction. We are excited to use these funds to support our school and our staff. The main focus of the PFO right now is on technology for our school. We will solidify some ideas over the coming weeks and we look forward to share those with you and getting feedback! We also had a student-led assembly on fitness and a really fun Spirit Week leading up to Trample. If you haven't seen pictures of these things, please check them out on our Facebook page. Leopold Night at Dairy Queen Tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 21, is Leopold Night at DQ on Fish Hatchery Road! Come in between 4-10 pm for dinner or a treat (or both!). 20% of the sales will be donated to Leopold!! We normally do not have to bring a flyer along for Dairy Queen, but if you've got it, it never hurts to bring it and be extra sure Leopold gets credit!! Leopold Spirit Wear There are a few remaining Leopold Spirit Wear Items for sale: (1) Lg Red Leopold Timber Wolves t-shirt -- $10 (2) Adult Size Medium sweatshirts (these run pretty big) -- $33 each If you would like to purchase one of these items, please reply to this email to let me know. You can send payment in with your child and I can send the item home with your child. Final Box Top Contest Winner Congratulations to Mrs. Sanders' second grade class, this session's Box Top contest winner! The class won a pizza and bounce party at Pump it Up, Mrs. Sanders gets a membership to Princeton Club courtesy of Pump it Up, one student from the class will receive a personalized since sac from Thirty-One Gifts and Mrs. Sanders will receive a lunch tote from Thirty-One Gifts. Thans to Michelle Barfield for coordinating the Box Top parties and donating the fabulous Thirty-One gifts! Leopold Night at the Madison Mallards Duck Pond Flyers went home last week for Leopold Night at the Madison Mallards Duck Pond on August 10. Reconnect with Leopold friends before school starts again at this fun outing. Tickets are $16 each and include an all-you-can-eat tailgate party before the game. The order form for tickets needs to be returned to school by May 31. 5th Grade Graduation and Class Picnic 5th grade graduation will be held on Tuesday, June 11, at 1:15 in the school cafeteria. The ceremony will start promptly at 1:15 and conclude by 2:00. Students will be able to briefly celebrate with their families in the cafeteria after the ceremony and then dismissed for the day at 2:30. Casual dress is recommended. Each graduating child will be allowed only 2 tickets per family. The 5th grade field trip and picnic will be held the following day, on Wednesday, June 12. Students will travel by bus to Milton House in Janesville. Following the field trip, the buses will take students directly to McKee Farms Park Shelter for a picnic, rain or shine. Permission slips will be sent home within the next few days. Families will be asked to contribute $15 to cover the cost of the field trip ($8.00) as well as for picnic supplies and a class gift ($7.00). Within the next few days permissions slips will be sent home with students with additional information regarding food donations. Parents wanting to help with the picnic can sign up HERE. For additional information, please contact Jess Lathrop. Leopold Resource Fair Leopold Resource Fair is tomorrow (Tuesday May 21st) at Open Schoolhouse from 6-8 pm. There will be dinner, summer fun baskets for raffle, and several community representatives from summer programs for kids, as well as services and resources for adults. The event is free and open to the public, so bring your neighbors and friends from other schools, too! Get Involved in Your PFO The PFO is doing some planning for next school year. If you have any ideas for projects or events that you would like to help lead, or if you would like to volunteer in any capacity - from helping with school pictures to joining the PFO Board, please let us know. We welcome and encourage the involvement, ideas and enthusiasm of all Leopold families! Mindfulness Workshop At Open School House on Tuesday, April 30, three dynamic teachers from the Holistic Life Foundation, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland, shared some mindfulness practices with students and families. Ali Smith, Atman Smith, and Andy Rodriguez have been working together since 2001 to nurture the wellness of children and adults. Nearly 50 Leopold community members came to take part in movement and breathing exercises that can help to calm the mind and improve focus. These types of brief but powerful exercises can be used by children and adults in school or at home. Some of the exercises we tried included: seated stretches, standing stretches, deep belly breath, taco breath, alternate-nostril breath, and breath of fire. After leading participants through short guided meditation exercises, Ali, Atman and Andy then responded to questions from participants. In the discussion about mindfulness practices and how to use them with children, one Leopold parent shared the title of a helpful book that incorporates steps to take at home: Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children by Linda Lantieri and Daniel Goleman. If you’d like to know more about Ali, Atman, and Andy and the Holistic Life Foundation, Inc., their website can be found at : www.hlfinc.org. If you have other questions about mindfulness at Leopold school, contact Lisa Thomas Prince, DLI program support teacher at Leopold ([email protected]). Thanks everyone. Have a great week and holiday weekend ahead!! Kris (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:
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! A little late this week, but here's some information about what's going on at Leopold!
COME TO SCIENCE NIGHT TONIGHT FROM 6-8 PM! Ms. Kosterman says you don't want to miss out on your chance to walk on water (and cornstarch), learn about cells with superpowers, launch film canister rockets, build the tallest tower, watch dry ice in action and many more exciting hands-on activities. Come out for a night of excitement, exploration and ingenuity! CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. PERSIKE'S KINDERGARTEN CLASS, winners of our March Box Tops contest. They collected 494 Box Tops this round! Mrs. Persike's class will receive an ice cream party from Pump it Up, our Box Tops party sponsor. We collected more than 5,700 Box Tops this round. What a great job everyone is doing!! Watch for the next collection sheet in boxes in a few weeks with a deadline of May 13 for the final party of the year. YEARBOOK production is in full swing! Some important info on yearbooks... (1) Attention 5th Grade Parents - Sponsor the Yearbook! If you are the parent of a 5th grader at Leopold, sponsor the yearbook for only $15! Your donation includes a personalized message to your child (under their school photo) in the back of the yearbook. Sponsorship Forms are available here. (2) Book Bowl, Spelling Bee & Geography Bee Photos Needed! We are looking for group and individual photos for the yearbook from these events. If you took photos, please e-mail copies to Jana Olson ([email protected]). Thank you! (3) Field Trip & Classroom Photos Needed for the Yearbook! Did you take photos of a class field trip or class party? We'd love to include them in the 2012-2013 Leopold yearbook. Please send the photos to Jana Olson ([email protected]). Include the grade level of the children in the photos. Thank you! LEOPOLD SPIRIT WEAR is available for order through this week only. New items offered. Please visit here for a printable form or online ordering. THE TIMBER WOLF TRAMPLE T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST voting was held last Tuesday evening in our school library. We had 30 voters come through and view the 24 entries we received. Thank you to everyone who participated. Congratulations to the following students: K - Catherine Arnold 1 - Sandy Flores 2 - Kate Aman-Lavicky 3 - Jake Hansen / Divondre Hughes 4 - Isabel Kreger 5 - Joey Aman-Lavicky Overall winner of the t-shirt design: Joey Aman-Lavicky All of the entries are on display on the PFO bulletin board in the lobby and I hope to have them posted on our Facebook page soon too. THE TIMBER WOLF TRAMPLE is scheduled for May 11. In the next few weeks, registration forms and donation collection sheets will be distributed. Please note that you do NOT have to pay or collect donations to participate in the run, although we encourage kids to try. Collecting donations is a large part of the PFO's budget and a great way for neighbors, friends and families to support our students. Incentive prizes are offered for donations collected. More information on the event can be found here. THE PFO HAS BEEN WORKING ON SOME UPDATES TO OUR LOBBY. Next time you're at school, take a look at our gallery wall, which will change out on a regular basis and allow featured students to take home their framed artwork! We also have a wall honoring our namesake, Aldo Leopold. We are continuing to make updates to this space to make it warm and inviting for our families and guests. THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF A LOCAL KELLEY WILLIAMSON COMPANY STATION, Leopold School has been awarded a $500 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance grant. The money will be used for math and science materials. Funded by the ExxonMobil Corporation, the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to provide local Exxon and Mobil dealers with an opportunity to invest in the future of their community through educational grants to neighborhood schools. We appreciate this generous support of our school community! GET FIT IN FITCHBURG! Saturday, April 13, the City of Fitchburg will host a free health and wellness fair for Fitchburg Families at Leopold Elementary. Please visit the PFO blog here for a flyer with all of the details. Thanks to everyone for your continued support of our school and the PFO! Kris Hello Leopold Families! Lots of news to bring you this Thursday night!
Important Dates The 4K registration for MMSD residents is February 04, 2013 from 1:00-6:00 PM at all MMSD elementary schools except Lincoln, Randall and Marquette. Although Leopold is not a 4K site for next fall, students in our attendance area can register at our school for the program. I will post the full announcement for this on the PFO blog. If you have an incoming kindergarten student (like me!), kindergarten registration is March 4, 2013 from 1:00-6:00 PM. Please share this information with friends and neighbors. If you know someone who would like more information about Leopold, or to take a tour of our school, please have them call the school office at 204-4240. On March 12, 2013 Leopold will hold a meeting for all incoming kindergarten parents at 6 p.m. This will be an informational meeting to learn more about our school and the kindergarten options available (dual immersion, traditional classrooms, etc.). If you have a 5th grader headed to middle school next year, please join us on February 12 at 7 p.m. in the library, for a middle school informational night. Principals from Cherokee and Wright middle schools, as well as our COPS officer, teachers and a parent panel will all present. There is no school next Monday, January 21 in honor of MLK day. Report cards are scheduled to come out on February 1. Book Fair Leopold’s annual book fair will be open from Monday, January 28 - Thursday, January 31. We are looking for parent volunteers to help at the book fair. Volunteers help students identify books they like, and when open to families, help shoppers find books and check out. This is a fun and easy way to get involved at our school and there are shifts available at all times of the day. Please follow the link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084AACAE2CA13-2013 Leopold Night at Qdoba Qdoba Mexican Grill, located at 5401 Caddis Bend Road in Fitchburg, will host a fundraising night for the Leoopld PFO this Tuesday, January 22, from 5-9 p.m. For this fundraiser, you MUST bring a small flyer in to show you are from Leopold (saying you're from Leopold isn’t enough!). The brightly colored flyer will go home with students next Monday or Tuesday, and is also attached to this email and will be posted on the website. If you don't get one home from school, or want to give one to friends and neighbors, feel free to print on out yourself. We will try to have extras available wherever we can but we are prohibited from handing them out at the door. Box Tops and Fundraising Our wonderful BoxTop cutting extraordinaire, Jessica, submitted 11,554 box tops last time around (this is UP from previous reports!). Another collection is underway, with BoxTops due March 8. Congratulations to Mr. Langer's 5th grade class on their extraordinary collection last time around with 1,356 BoxTops collected! As a reminder, you can also visit the BoxTops marketplace (http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/marketplace/Default.aspx) to earn eBoxtops when you shop online. Another way to collect BoxTops is to visit http://www.boxtops4education.com/earn/clip/Projects.aspx for ideas on how to make a collection container to put in your office break room, church lobby, grandma’s senior center, or other place where others can stick their box tops for us! Please remember to apply for a Target RedCard, either credit or debit, to support our school; shop through the amazon.comlink on our PFO website; collect My Coke Rewards points and donate them to our school; and keep turning in Campbell’s labels and pop tabs. All of these are easy ways to use what we do anyway to easily earn money for our school! Timberwolf Trample Planning is underway for the 8th Annual Timberwolf Trample, which will be held on May 11, this year. We are still in need of many volunteers. As the time gets closer, you will be contacted for specific tasks, but if you are interested in helping with the planning or the fundraising, we very much could still use the assistance. Our PFO meeting this week generated some great new ideas, so the more fresh ideas we an bring to this event, the better it will be! We have some fun changes in store for this year’s Trample to both increase involvement and simplify the day. New this year - we will be holding a student design contest for our Trample t-shirt. All students are welcome to participate! We are finalizing details now, and we will get everyone involved in the fun of designing this year’s tee. Watch for more details to come. Thanks everyone. Kris |
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