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. 

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

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


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

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

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

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

Here are the locations and dates:

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

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

If you have questions, contact Cristine Reid, MSCR Recreation Specialist at 608-204-4583 [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. Welcome back after a long, cold break! I hope you were able to enjoy some quality time with your family. The PFO is excited about lots of exciting things going on in 2014!
First and foremost, we are searching for some parents interested in stepping up some volunteer efforts in 2014. We have several needs, both PFO Board positions and other events that our PFO sponsors. These are all important to our active and vibrant Leopold community. We know many parents are hesitant to take on leadership roles for a variety of reasons. Our current Board and volunteer leaders are happy to train and guide new volunteers for as long as needed. I believe, however, that it is essential to any organization to have fresh ideas and perspective, so we need to be sure that our Board and volunteer positions change over regularly to keep our PFO strong and healthy! PFO volunteers can be moms, dads, grandparents, or anyone with a Leopold affiliation. Many of our Board members and volunteers have full time, demanding careers, own their own businesses, have very busy kids, have kids at multiple schools, have younger kids and older kids, and are overcommitted already (that's what makes them fabulous!). The diversity of ideas and experiences are an asset to Leopold and we encourage you to spend some time considering the importance of volunteering at our school and demonstrating the value of education and involvement for your kids. 

Here are some of our immediate needs, but we are always open to other ideas that you may have:

• PFO President for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 school years - The president works with an awesome PFO Board to help set the budget, organize committees and events, communicate on behalf of the PFO with parents and the school, plan and lead PFO meetings, and additional jobs as needed and allowed. Per our bylaws, we hope that board members can serve a two-year term. This job can be split between two people if you have someone to partner with. Training, guidance and support will be provided for as long as needed!
  
• PFO Secretary for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 school years - The secretary also works with the awesome PFO Board on many of these same things, takes minutes at meetings, as well as handles correspondence such as thank you notes, etc. on behalf of the Board. Training, guidance and support will also be provided for this role!
  
• Website / Facebook Coordinator - Currently, I handle all of the website and Facebook setup, updates and communication. I know there are some much more tech-focused parents out there who could do this behind-the-scenes job. It definitely requires some technical knowledge and the ability to make timely updates, but can be done at night from home, which is an appealing option for many parents. Ongoing training and support provided!
• Spirit Wear Coordinator - Works with spirit wear vendor for item selection, help set pricing, coordinate translation of order forms, copy and stuff teacher mailboxes with order forms and/or online order setup, order processing, and delivery. This is a relatively small job that takes place just once or twice a year and the timing is flexible. Our vendor separates orders and prepares them for individual delivery to students. Training is provided!
  
• Grounds Cleanup Coordinator - Historically, we have had a volunteer to organize a fall and spring grounds cleanup, including raking and bagging leaves, picking up garbage and sometimes some trimming of overgrown greenery. This happens at schools across MMSD and we like to show we are proud of our school and our neighborhood! The Coordinator works with the Board to pick the dates, makes sure we have the needed supplies, works with the PFO Board to communicate the event and find volunteers, and gives direction on the day(s) of the events. Training and information is provided!
  
• Yearbook Coordinator - Works with our yearbook vendor to provide photos and some layout work on our annual school yearbook. Also distributes and collects order forms. Currently we provide hard copy yearbooks for purchase to our students, but there is an options of preparing an online yearbook as well. Our current yearbook coordinator, Jana Olson, is happy to provide training and support over the coming year!
  
• Giving Tree Coordinator - Collects needs from staff and posts them in a google doc or similar to the PFO website. Coordinates the delivery of items to staff (which is very rewarding!), and removes items from list once they've been fulfilled. An annual visual, such as the "tree" in the lobby, is a great visual reminder, but not a necessary part of the program. Training and guidance is provided!
• Staples Schoolkidz School Supply Program - the PFO is working with Staples to provide an easy option for families to order one simple school supply kit with everything on the list for each child's grade. This coordinator would simple work with our Staples coordinator to provide school supply lists and coordinate the ordering of items by our families. This would be a relatively small job that happens just once per year! All information would be provided by Staples.

*If you would like more information about any of the above roles, or would like to attend a PFO Board meeting to learn more, please don't hesitate to email me. It doesn't commit you to anything!*

Giving Tree
Thank you to the many parents and community groups that supported our Giving Tree this year! Our staff was so appreciative for everything received. The Giving Tree will continue to be updated online, but the actual tree in the lobby will come down for now.

Martin Luther King, 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].


Leopold High Five Night
Leopold's High Five Night is scheduled to take place on Jan. 14th, during Open Schoolhouse. The evening will consist of workshop sessions on positive behavior support (PBS), morning meetings, and the Second Step program. There will also be a family scavenger hunt that incorporates positive behavior, and an art gallery inspired by the Leopold High Five. Open Schoolhouse Staff is looking for more volunteers to help with set up/tear down/serving food, etc. Please visit this online sign-up to volunteer for this fun event. 

MMSD Technology Plan
From MMSD...
We have made considerable progress in crafting the five-year Information & Technology Plan, including identifying central themes and preliminary recommendations.  Our website (mmsd.org/techplan) has lots of information on the plan and is continually updated with new resources and our latest thinking. Please visit this website to learn more about the plan and to offer your ideas via the online feedback form.  

We also encourage you to share this link widely so we can gather as much feedback as possible.  All the input collected will help us craft a stronger, more compelling plan that will push the district forward in the coming years to achieve our goals.

Remember to check the MMSD Community Events bulletin board for other activities and announcements.
https://pubinfoweb.madison.k12.wi.us/communityevents

Have a great (short) week and dress your kiddos warm for coming to and going from school!

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]