Bear Facts

Email: billingsm@usd231.com
Website: https://www.usd231.com/o/madison
Location: 800 W Madison St, Gardner, KS, United States
Phone: (913) 856-0400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadisonElementaryBears/
Twitter: @MDEBears

Monday, August 14 - First day for early childhood

Monday, August 14 - Madison Monday (Wear your Madison shirt with pride)

Wednesday, August 16 - School Information Night (5:30-6:00 and 6:10-6:40)

Just a reminder... Weekly balance reminders are sent to families whose students' account balances fall below zero due to purchases.

In an effort to avoid classes missing the same special on days of the week due to not being in session, we will continue to utilize a specials schedule that is on a 5-day rotation versus a day of the week rotation. Having this rotation, we will avoid the same specials always being on the same day of the week and avoid not having specials due to days off or snow days.

For a specific class schedule, please refer to the classroom information provided by the classroom teacher.

Monday - Specials Day #2

Tuesday - Specials Day #3

Wednesday - Specials Day #4

Thursday - Specials Day #5

Friday - Specials Day #1

What a great first few days for our kindergarten through fourth-grade students. As I walked around and visited classrooms and talked with students, there was a vibe of excitement and enthusiasm. Our staff has worked tirelessly to prepare for the start of the year and their hard work is evident in the classroom designs and the community feeling at Madison. Beginning on Monday, we will ask that students walk down to the classrooms by themselves and we will have staff members throughout the building to help our students find their classrooms if needed. We are also excited for our early childhood Bears to join us beginning on Monday and their arrival will allow our entire learning community to be together once again.

Thank you to you, our families, for your support and encouragement for these first few days. Your partnership with us will allow our students to learn in a safe and healthy environment while being engaged, supported, and challenged.

We are looking forward to a wonderful year of inquiry and learning at Madison Elementary.

Take care,

Mrs. Fleming

On Wednesday, August 16th, the Madison Elementary staff will host our Madison families for a School Information Night as we prepare for the 2023-24 school year. Adults are encouraged to attend either at 5:30 or 6:10 pm. Each classroom teacher will share personal introductions, provide an overview of the grade-level curriculum, share classroom expectations, highlight behavior plans/incentives, and other essentials for a successful school year. Both sessions will share the same information so feel free to come to the session that works best for you and your family’s schedule.

We know many families are experiencing financial challenges so we wanted to make sure everyone is aware of some of the awesome resources in our community! Please contact Mrs. Sleeper, school counselor, if you would like additional resources, more information or to utilize any of these resources.

Joy Closet-

975 E. Lincoln Lane, Gardner

Hours: Mon 10-7, Tues 10-7, Wed 10-4, Thurs 10-7, Sat 10-2

This is a low cost thrift store in Gardner and they have generously provided us with vouchers for FREE clothing, shoes, linens, books, and small household items. Each voucher is good for 20 items of clothes, shoes, and bedding PLUS 10 books per household! If you would like a voucher, please email Mrs. Hodson at hodsonj@usd21.com.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace-

This is an organization of amazing volunteers in Gardner who build, assemble, and deliver top-notch bunk beds and new bedding to children and families in need.

BackSnacks-

Harvesters’ BackSnack program provides a weekly sack filled with nutritious, child-friendly food for school children to take home over the weekend throughout the school year. Mrs. Hodson will deliver these to students at the end of the day on Fridays, putting them straight in their backpacks. We will start this in October so please sign up your children by emailing Mrs. Hodson at hodsonj@usd21.com.

Hope Market-

This is an awesome food pantry in Gardner!

233 E Main St., Gardner

Hours: Tuesdays 5pm-8pm; Saturdays 9am-12pm

They don’t have any requirements other than to have a need for food.

See additional USD 231 Family Resources

Thanks to our PTA, every student will receive a t-shirt on Meet the Teacher Night. If families want to purchase a matching shirt or sweatshirt, they can use this link through September 6.

Our year-round spirit store will be running a special on all purchases. To visit this store, please visit this link.

• Sale Dates: August 8th - September 7th
• Savings: 30% savings sitewide. Free shipping over $60. No coupon code necessary.

The Madison Elementary health room is available if your child becomes ill or injured while at school. Please familiarize yourself with the USD 231 Parent Handbook with details of our Health Services guidelines and procedures. Kansas law requires all students to have on file evidence of required immunizations prior to attending school. The Medication Authorization Form must be completed and signed by the parent or guardian for all medications given at school. It is recommended that medication NOT be sent to school with children. Parents should bring the medication to the health room (8:15 am to 3:45 pm).

A student will be sent home from school with any of the following:

• Temperature 100 degrees or greater, or with incidents of vomiting and/or diarrhea.
• Symptoms related to a possible communicable disease.
• Excessive drainage from eyes, ears, persistent earache, constant cough, or painful sore throat with enlarged lymph nodes.
• Students with acute infectious disease or parasite

Mrs. Angie Serrano, Madison Elementary’s Health Room Nurse, is available to answer any additional questions you might have and you may contact her directly at 856-0450.

This year, birthday treats can still be brought to school and we encourage them to be store-bought or pre-packaged items (think Little Debbie type snacks) to help our students celebrate in a safe and healthy way. In addition, the USD 231 Nutrition Services department offers birthday catering options. Please see the information below for more information about these services.

Did you know your Amazon purchases can benefit the PTA? AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same products, prices, and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. Simply go to smile.amazon.com and select Madison Elementary Gardner to find our school!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter - @MDEBears and on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MadisonElementaryBears. We will use our twitter and Facebook accounts to share information, pictures, and classroom happenings throughout the school year so you can have a window into the classrooms and experience the learning with your bear.