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:

• 105 kids participated in this year's fun run (right on track with past years)
• Sponsorship fundraising brought in about $6500 (slightly up from past years)
• Kids fundraising brought in about $7500 (slightly down from past years)
• The PFO spent about $3000 on event costs (significantly down from past years)
• The Bridge Madison provided food to feed 500 people, probably around 350 actually came and at with us (first year for the picnic)
• The event was wrapped up by noon (much earlier than past years)

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

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. As spring is hopefully getting closer, we are looking ahead to a busy and exciting time at school.

Come help pick our t-shirt contest winner - TIME CHANGE
Please join fellow parents, students and the PFO board tomorrow evening, March 12, at 6 p.m., in the Leopold library to review and vote for you favorite Timber Wolf Trample t-shirt design contest entries. This will be in lieu of a regular PFO meeting, so please stop when you can between 6 and 7. 

The REAP Farm-to-School program, a supporter of our Fresh Fruits and Veggies Program, will also have a table set up so you can learn more about the healthy programs they are supporting for our students.

At the same time (Tuesday, 6 p.m.), a meeting for families with incoming kindergartners will also be held in the cafeteria.

Timber Wolf Trample
The t-shirt design contest is the kickoff to lots of fun and exciting stuff leading up to our 2013 Timber Wolf Trample. Additional events will include a pep rally, Spirit Week and more. We encourage you to use this opportunity to talk to your kids about the benefits of exercise and healthy habits. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the one-mile fun run/walk! This year's Trample will be followed by a picnic for all families so we hope to see everyone there and excited to get out and move.

We are still hoping to have willing parents to step up and help with a couple of simple pre-planning tasks including food organization, and learning the ropes of volunteer coordinator. Our amazing volunteer coordinator, Tiffany, is "graduating" out of Leopold this year and it would be great to have someone learn from her while they can. We are now using Sign Up Genius to fill most of our volunteer spots, so gone are the days of dozens of phone calls. Please let me know if you would like to assist (with much help and guidance) for either of these important roles.

Yearbooks
Order forms have gone out for the 2012-13 Yearbooks. Please return those in the next few weeks. We are still in need of pictures to make this year's yearbook as memorable as can be. Please send pictures you have to Jana Olson.  Ideas include pictures of FunFest, field trips, classroom activities and more. If your order form is lost, extra forms are available from Emily in the office.

Spirit Wear
Back by popular demand! Leopold Spirit Wear order forms are coming home this week. There are a couple of new items this time around. Return your form and payment to school or order online here.

School Schedule
Please note that this Thursday, March 14, is an early release day. Kids will be done at 10:45 Thursday morning.

Spring Break is March 25 - April 1. Classes will resume April 2.


Additional Announcements
MSCR Learn to Ride

Is it time for your child to break up with their training wheels?   Learn easy, innovative techniques to get your child riding solo on two wheels!  This approach teaches youth ages 4+ how to balance, pedal, stop and steer on a closed course. Each participant will receive a free bike helmet and should bring their bike.  Call us if you need to reserve one of our practice bikes (limited supply).  All participants must be accompanied by a companion 16+ years.  In collaboration with MSCR and Madison  Department of Transportation.  PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED.  MMSD resident/non-resident: $7/$10.50 per child.  www.mscr.org      608-204-3000.  Find a location near you.  Everyone welcome!  

School Date Time Course #

Elvehjem Sun. 5/5 10am-12pm 42343

Olson Sat. 5/11 10am-12pm 42338

Falk Tue. 6/18 5:30-7:30pm 42340

Mendota Thu. 6/20 5:30-7:30pm 42341

*Leopold Wed. 7/10 5:30-7:30pm 42342

*Spanish speaking staff available


Westside Lacrosse Club
The Westside Lacrosse Club is developing both a 5th/6th grade team and a 3rd/4th grade team for the Spring 2013 season.  Tim Prince will be coaching the 5/6 team and Mark Frey will be coaching the 3/4 team.
 
The season will run from mid March - Mid June.  The first 3-4 weeks will be indoor practices once a week and once we can get on the outdoor fields (~April 15th) we'll practice twice a week.  We will likely hold practices 5:00 to 6:30 in the evening.  I am leaning toward a Monday/Thursday schedule and hoping to hold 3/4 and 5/6 practices at the same time.

Registration is open online at http://westside.uslaxteams.com/ and we'd love to have you sign up soon to help build our momentum!
 
Also, Westside LAX has field time reserved OUTDOOR at Keva for the 5/6 and 34 teams to have some pre-season practice/skills sessions.  Tuesday, March 19th from 5-6:30 and Thursday March 21st from 5-6:30.  

These will be full pads and gear - helmet, shoulder pads, arm/elbow pads, gloves, stick and cleats (no metal cleats).  Athletic shoes can work, but cleats are best option.  We have a limited number of equipment items available to borrow.

If you have any questions please contact: 
Tim Prince
852-3520 (cell)
[email protected]