PES Family Blog February 2025

  Poynette Elementary School Staff are:

"Leaders in providing a positive, successful, and safe environment for ALL"

so our students can say,

"We are Pumas! I am learning and growing every day."

___________________________________________________________________________________

New Safety Procedure Going in Effect On Monday, February 10th

On Monday, February 10th we will be instituting an new safety procedure. We have installed a camera on the outside doors to our main vestibule that will be used to buzz visitors in. As a reminder, visitors should only be attempting to enter our school through the front doors. During school hours, visitors will need push the doorbell and an office staff member will ask your reason for needing to enter the building. They will then buzz the vistor into the main vestible and then into the office. The safety of our students and staff is paramount at all times and this new procedure further supports that. We ask for your patience as well roll this out. When the fob swipe is red, you will need to push the button and speak to an office staff member. If the light is green, as shown in this picture, you will be able to enter the builing with out being buzzed in. Thanks again for your cooperation in keeping our students and staff safe.

Conference Information 

• We do have conferences coming rather quickly on Thursday, March 6th.
• We are again using the District Google Document for sign-ups. Please watch for an email next week with the Teacher Calendars' linked so you can sign-up.
• If you would like a conference please sign-up, and our teachers will honor it.
• If a teacher has requested a conference, we would really encourage you to attend.
• If you have any questions or need assistance with signing up, please call the school office.

Scholastic Book Fair During Conferences

The PAD Parent Club will be bringing the Scholastic Book Fair back to our Elementary and Middle Schools from Monday, March 3rd to Thursday, March 7th.  Stop by the book fair at the Elementary School from 3:10-7:00PM Monday through Wednesday, and at both the Elementary and Middle Schools during conferences on Thursday from 1:30-7:00PM.  We receive 50% of all sales to be used through Scholastic to buy books for our libraries, classrooms, and students.  Your support is very much appreciated and makes a big impact on getting books in the hands of our children. 

Upcoming Spring Concerts!

Please join us at Poynette Elementary School for Spring Concerts! Here is some more information:

• Students should report to their classroom at the arrival time.
• All concerts will be held in the elementary school gymnasium.
• Each concert will run roughly 30 minutes. We ask that the gym is cleared as quickly as possible.
• We will be utilizing both parking lots and door entrances to accommodate this system.
• There will be a letter coming home with even more information.

Grade	Date	Student Arrival Time	Concert Start Time
1st	Tues., March 11	5:45pm	6:00pm
2nd	Tues., March 11	7:00 pm	7:15pm
3rd	Tues., March 18	5:45pm	6:00pm
4th	Tues., March 18	7:00 pm	7:15pm

Upcoming Protective Behaviors Unit in Guidance Class

• As we do every year, our Second Step SEL program has a protective behaviors unit.
• This unit will be occurring in the last week of April and the beginning of May for all grades K-4th grade.
• The topics are similar for each grade level, but the examples used are age appropriate. 
• If you would like to see the lessons prior to your child participating please reach out to the school office.
• We will be sending home a letter in the middle of March that will have more details and like always, if you have any questions or concerns please call the school office.

How to handle student illness? 

It is that time of year, when we see an uptick in illness around the state and our school.  Here is some great information from our district nurse, Mrs. Newell, about how to navigate this tricky time.

A child who is sick will not be able to perform well in school and is likely to spread the illness to other children and staff. We suggest making a plan for childcare ahead of time so you will not be caught without a comforting place for your child to stay if he/she is ill.

I would like to remind you of some guidelines about when to keep your child home from school.

When should I keep my student home from school?

• Common cold – irritated throat, watery discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, chills and/or general body aches. Keep your child home if symptoms are serious enough to interfere with your child’s ability to learn. Seek care from the doctor if symptoms persist beyond 7-10 days, fever or cough producing phlegm develops, or nasal discharge becomes yellow or green.

• Vomits two or more times or has diarrhea in the last 24 hours

• Oral temperature equal or higher than 100 degrees (before taking medication such as Tylenol or Advil) Must be fever free for 24 hours without the aid of a fever reducing agent before returning to school.

• Coughs almost constantly or complains of difficulty breathing or rapid breathing

• Sores on skin or mouth that are crusty, yellow, or draining(Impetigo)

• Symptoms of a contagious illness such as hand,foot and mouth disease,chicken pox, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough). May return as directed after evaluation by healthcare provider

• Constant runny nose with green or yellow discharge

• Unexplained skin rash (any location on body) unless evaluated by a healthcare provider with permission to return to school

• Skin rash with a fever

• Red eye(s) with crusting or green or yellow discharge drainage

• Diagnosed contagious illness (such as, but not limited to, strep throat or pertussis) until antibiotics are taken for 24 hours or as otherwise directed by healthcare provider

• Chicken pox – all lesions must be crusted over – no draining lesions

School Safety Information

Poynette School District participates in the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS) SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT  program. This threat reporting system is available 24/7 and is free to all. Students, parents, school staff and community members can submit a school safety concern by downloading the SUSO app (Android and iOS), visiting speakup.widoj.gov or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. Resource Center staff work around-the-clock to respond to reports and to deploy a response. Please click on the link below if you have a safety concern that you would like to report anonymously. You can report the following concerns:

• Bullying, harassment or intimidation
• Student self harm concern
• Alcohol, drug, or weapon concern
• School safety concerns including all threats
• Report a concern by visiting this link to SUSO at https://speakup.widoj.gov/  or  1-800-MY-SUSO-1

Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Student Events Coming Up!

FEBRUARY KINDNESS MONTH 2025

Teacher information/checklist

Weekly themes:

Week 1 - Feb. 3-7 - KINDNESS TO OUR COMMUNITY (family, school, etc) Introduce Food Pantry Collection & Valentines with Reading Buddies

Friday, February 7 - “Shine Bright for Kindness” - Wear Neon Colors

Week 2 - Feb. 10-14 - KINDNESS TO OTHERS (Feb. 11 - 100th Day of School Celebration - School-wide & Valentine’s Day card exchange in individual classrooms)

Friday, February 14-  “Dress to Impress” Red & Pink Dress Up Day

Week 3 - Feb. 17-21 - KINDNESS TO SELF - Character traits like being respectful, responsible, following our rules to stay safe, celebrating diversity (Heart with a kind note to self to be put in cubby)

Friday, February 21 -  “Cozy up to Kindness” Wear PJ’s 

Week 4 - Feb. 24-28 - KINDNESS TO OUR WORLD - Caring for our environment, celebrating diversity

Friday, February 28 - Puma Pride dress up day

• Assembly on Friday morning- food pantry donation, staff activity. 

March

• 6th - Second Trimester Ends (4K-4th); Early Release all grades @1:15 p.m.; P/T Conferences (1:30-7:00 p.m.)

• 7th - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development)

• 10th - 👕 Primary Color Day (Wear red, blue, and/or yellow)

• 11th - 👕 Secondary Color Day (Wear orange, purple, and/or green)

• 11th- 1st and 2nd Grade Spring Concerts

• 12th - 👕 Neutral Day (Wear brown, black, and/or white)

• 13th - 👕 Monochromatic Day (Wear as many shades of one color as you can!)

• 14th - 👕 Pattern Day (Wear as many different patterns as possible); No 4K Classes

• 18th- 3rd and 4th Grade Spring Concerts

• 21st - No 4K Classes

• 24th - 28th - NO SCHOOL (Spring Break)

April

• 4th - 👕 Puma Pride / School Spirit Day; No 4K Classes

• 11th - No 4K Classes

• 18th - NO SCHOOL

• 21st - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development)

• 25th - 4K Classes attend on Friday

• 30th - 👕 Tie Dye Day 

PES Family Blog, November/ December 2024

  Poynette Elementary School Staff are:

"Leaders in providing a positive, successful, and safe environment for ALL"

so our students can say,

"We are Pumas! I am learning and growing every day."

___________________________________________________________________________________

WE DID IT AGAIN!

State Report Card Score of 83.6- Significanly Exceeds Expectations

We hope that all is well with you and the days keep flying by. I thought it was appropriate to share the great news of the District and School report cards. The Poynette School District continues to score very well and our school has exceeded many schools in the surrounding area. It is the second year in a row that we have been in the top category and our score continues to go up.

Along with that, goes the picture of our staff continuing to work hard and get better every day! They have been taking a Literacy KEYS Training this year and continuing to put the best practices for teaching literacy into place. Our school is awesome and scores well because of the amazing staff we have here. Go Puma Nation!

School Screeners

We try to limit the number of formal assessments, but at the same time this information is essential in providing our students with the best education. We have some assessments that are required by the state like AIMS Web+ (Grades 4K-3rd) and also the Forward Exam (Grades 3&4). We also have district screeners that we have our students take. We use the following screeners:

AIMS Web+ Literacy (3 times a year)- This is a new state required assessment by ACT 20. It will be given two times this year, but 3 times a year moving forward. We will be communicating a lot more about this new screener and there are timelines that we need to follow as well. This screener will help us determine support and interventions in the area of literacy for our students.

Fastbridge Math and Literacy (3 times a year)- This assessment allows us to determine what supports and interventions that our students may need. These supports could include working with Mrs. Yanna, our literacy interventionist, or Mrs. Wallace, our math interventionist.

Fastbridge SAEBRS (Social, Academic, and Emotional Risk Screener) (3 times a year) This assessment allows us to form small groups or individual supports to help students be successful in their classroom. These supports could include working with Ms. Sisco, Mr. Hausser, Ms. Ary, our school psychologist or Mrs. Matush, our guidance counselor in a small group or individual setting.

IXL for Math and Literacy in 3rd and 4th grade- This assessment is the same one that is used at the middle school. Our teachers can identify and students can work on individual skills to improve in both math and literacy. We also use this screener to help with determining interventions and supports for our students during Puma Pounce Time.

 If interested, more information can be found at Illuminate Education.

Report Cards
With our trimester ending on November 26th, we will be reporting our grades to our families. The grades will be available in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal on Monday, December 9th. We will be mailing out the report cards starting on December 9th so parents can see both the marks and the teacher comments. Please let us know if you do not receive your child's report card in the mail.

Drop Off and Pick Up Procedures

The other day we had rain during pick up time and it prompted us to write a reminder. It was pouring rain and the pick-up line seemed to move flawlessly. One of the reasons was we did not have very many parents that were parking in the lot or leaving their cars. No one really wanted to get wet (except Mrs. Schuster and Mrs. Doebert who did an awesome job facilitating the line), and so the cars were all in the line. We ask that you continue with this practice and what has been a goal of ours - that we only use the crosswalk by the front entrance for parents who are coming into the school for after school meetings. Our hope and goal is that we can have very few, if any, parents/guardians standing on the sidewalk or under the front entrance overhang. We would like the cars to be in the line and able to move in and out of the parking lot quite quickly. Again it takes us about 13 minutes to clear the building. If you come at 3:16 like some parents, you can just whip right through.

Unfortunately, we have had some close calls this year with either staff, students or parents almost getting hit by cars or in the parking lot that were not following our procedures. We do not want any more of these kinds of unsafe situations and again if we use the rain model, then we should not have any issues at all. We are also looking at restructuring our parking so there are more spots near the front of the building for visitors. We are anticipating sharing some information after the December Holiday break. 

PAD Parent Club School Directory

Another service that our PAD Parents' Club who does great work for us, offers is a student directory each year. If you would like your contact information to be available to other parents for birthday parties, playdates, etc., then you will want to get your name in the school directory.

• You can view the directory at any time at this link: Poynette ES & MS Directory
• If any changes are needed at any time you can email poynetteparentclub@gmail.com, we would be happy to update the directory. 

School Safety Information

Poynette School District participates in the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS) SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT  program. This threat reporting system is available 24/7 and is free to all. Students, parents, school staff and community members can submit a school safety concern by downloading the SUSO app (Android and iOS), visiting speakup.widoj.gov or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. Resource Center staff work around-the-clock to respond to reports and to deploy a response. Please click on the link below if you have a safety concern that you would like to report anonymously. You can report the following concerns:

• Bullying, harassment or intimidation
• Student self harm concern
• Alcohol, drug, or weapon concern
• School safety concerns including all threats
• Report a concern by visiting this link to SUSO at https://speakup.widoj.gov/  or  1-800-MY-SUSO-1

P.A.A.W.S. Program  (Poynette Area Adults Working with Students)

We are excited this year to again roll out this program that will encompass our school’s mentors, tutors, WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) and field trip volunteers.  We are really hoping to a lot more adults participate this year! We can set up volunteer plans that are flexible, weekly, or day-long that will support our students.  Volunteers will have a T-shirt to wear for the day and also access to a free school lunch depending on your volunteer plan.  We have the saying on a wall in our school of “Strong Schools, Strong Communities”.  We would love to add your picture on our wall this year.  If you are intrigued by these offers or interested in volunteering at our school, please contact Mr. Hausser at 635-4347 ext. 100 or at jhaus@poynette.k12.wi.us.

In order to volunteer at our school or participate in a field trip, you need to pass our district background check.  These checks need to be completed every three years. Some of our parents/guardians will need an updated background check. If you are unsure of your status, you can contact the school office at 635-4347 ext. 107 or 109 to receive that information. The background check form is located on our website, here is the direct link:  Criminal Background Check for Volunteers.  We will seek additional volunteers in the Spring; continue to watch for communication updates.

What's for Breakfast or Lunch?

Breakfast/Lunch Menus

Student Events Coming Up!

November

• 27th, 28th, 29th - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

December

• 6th - 👕 Flannel Friday; No 4K Classes

• 13th - No 4K Classes

• 20th - 👕 Pajama Day or Festive Holiday Clothes; No 4K Classes

• 23rd - 31st - NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

January

• 1st - NO SCHOOL

• 2nd - Classes Resume

• 3rd - 4K Classes Attend on a Friday

• 10th - 👕 Puma Pride / School Spirit Day; No 4K Classes

• 17th - No 4K Classes

• 20th - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development)

• 24th - 4K Classes Attend on a Friday

• 31st - No 4K Classes

Pictures

Veteran's Day Celebration

4K Literacy Night

Therapy Dog Visits

Wearing Pink to Honor Mrs.Schmudlach!

Fire Station Visits

PES Family Blog, October 2024

 Poynette Elementary School Staff are:

"Leaders in providing a positive, successful, and safe environment for ALL"

so our students can say,

"We are Pumas! I am learning and growing every day."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Conferences on Thursday, Oct. 10th and Friday, Oct. 11th

We are excited to inform you that our second round of Family Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 10th from 1:30-7:00 p.m. and on Friday, October 11th from 8 a.m.- 12 p.m. These conferences provide a valuable opportunity for you to meet with your child's teachers and discuss their progress and areas of growth. 

To make the sign-up process convenient for you, we will be using the same online sign-up system as we have been. Please keep an eye out for an email from the district office with the links to your child's teachers and you can find the link below. Additionally, if you would like to schedule a conference with Encore teachers, feel free to sign up for them as well.

Here is the link to our: October Conferences Sign-Up

PAD Sponsored Scholastic Book Fair During Conferences

Our wonderful Parents' Club is hosting our Fall Book Fair. It will be next week Tuesday through Friday, Oct 8-11th.  Tuesday and Wednesday will be from 3:10-7PM and on Thursday and Friday it will be during conferences.  They will also have a small version of it at the Middle School during conferences on Thursday and Friday with Middle School aged books there. This is a great opportunity to purchase books and to also support reading in our schools. 

Halloween Dance

Our school's Halloween dance is scheduled for Saturday, October 26th from 5:30- 7 p.m. in our Gym and Cafeteria. Please note that the dance is only for Kindergarten through 4th grade students, as organized by the PAD Parents' Club. We will be having our Dress-Up as your Favorite Book Character Day on Thursday, October 31st. Please make sure that the students only wear appropriate cosutmes and bring props that are appropriate for school. If you have any questions, please contact the school office.

A Call for Military Veterans

If you or a family member is a military veteran and would like to help our students out please contact the school office at 635-4347 ext. 4 or email Mr. Hausser at jhaus@poynette.k12.wi.us. We are looking to create a Veteran's Day experience on November 11th for our students. We are looking to have it be more informal and more of a question and answer format. Don't worry we will answer all of your questions prior to you committing. We will also spend time to prepare you for the experience. 

PAD Parent Club School Directory

Another service that our PAD Parents' Club who does great work for us, offers is a student directory each year. If you would like your contact information to be available to other parents for birthday parties, playdates, etc., then you will want to get your name in the school directory.

The Student Directory

• You can view the directory at any time at this link: Poynette ES & MS Directory
• If any changes are needed at any time you can email poynetteparentclub@gmail.com, we would be happy to update the directory. 

School Safety Information

Poynette School District participates in the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS) SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT  program. This threat reporting system is available 24/7 and is free to all. Students, parents, school staff and community members can submit a school safety concern by downloading the SUSO app (Android and iOS), visiting speakup.widoj.gov or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. Resource Center staff work around-the-clock to respond to reports and to deploy a response. Please click on the link below if you have a safety concern that you would like to report anonymously. You can report the following concerns:

• Bullying, harassment or intimidation
• Student self harm concern
• Alcohol, drug, or weapon concern
• School safety concerns including all threats
• Report a concern by visiting this link to SUSO at https://speakup.widoj.gov/  or  1-800-MY-SUSO-1

October

• 4th - No 4K Classes

• 8th - Picture Day Make-Ups

• 10th - Early Release all grades @ 1:15 p.m.; 4K-12 Family-Teacher Conferences (1:30-7:00 p.m.)

• 11th - NO SCHOOL; Family-Teacher Conferences (8:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.)

• 18th - 👕 Badger / Favorite team dress-up day; No 4K Classes

• 24th - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development)

• 25th - NO SCHOOL

• 26th - PAD Halloween Dance for K-4th grade students (5:30- 7:00 p.m.)

• 31st - 👕 Book Character Day 

November

• 1st - No 4K Classes

• 8th - No 4K Classes

• 15th - No 4K Classes

• 22nd - No 4K Classes

• 26th - 👕 Pajama Day; 1st Trimester Ends

• 27th, 28th, 29th - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

December

• 6th - 👕 Flannel Friday; No 4K Classes

• 13th - No 4K Classes

• 20th - 👕 Pajama Day or Festive Holiday Clothes; No 4K Classes

• 23rd - 31st - NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

January

• 1st - NO SCHOOL

• 2nd - Classes Resume

• 3rd - 4K Classes Attend on a Friday

• 10th - 👕 Puma Pride / School Spirit Day; No 4K Classes

• 17th - No 4K Classes

• 20th - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development)

• 24th - 4K Classes Attend on a Friday

• 31st - No 4K Classes

P.A.A.W.S. Program  (Poynette Area Adults Working with Students)

We are excited this year to again roll out this program that will encompass our school’s mentors, tutors, WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) and field trip volunteers.  We are really hoping to a lot more adults participate this year! We can set up volunteer plans that are flexible, weekly, or day-long that will support our students.  Volunteers will have a T-shirt to wear for the day and also access to a free school lunch depending on your volunteer plan.  We have the saying on a wall in our school of “Strong Schools, Strong Communities”.  We would love to add your picture on our wall this year.  If you are intrigued by these offers or interested in volunteering at our school, please contact Mr. Hausser at 635-4347 ext. 100 or at jhaus@poynette.k12.wi.us.

In order to volunteer at our school or participate in a field trip, you need to pass our district background check.  These checks need to be completed every three years. Some of our parents/guardians will need an updated background check. If you are unsure of your status, you can contact the school office at 635-4347 ext. 107 or 109 to receive that information. The background check form is located on our website, here is the direct link:  Criminal Background Check for Volunteers.  We will seek additional volunteers in the Spring; continue to watch for communication updates.

We are so excited for the new school year and to see the learning and growth that will occur each and every day.  As always, please contact the school office if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you and Go Puma Nation!

1st Watch D.OG. of the Year- Thank you Mr. Tester!