Message from the Principal
Thanks to all parents and relatives that attended the Units of Study reading celebration for Grade 4. Other grade level celebrations will be coming up. Students were very excited to share their learning with an authentic audience and display their soap carvings.
At John Muir we are focused on growth throughout the school year. Each student should be reading at least 20 minutes a night to improve skills and build reading stamina. Teachers will be using iReady with students and tailoring small group instruction to meet the needs of our students. Be sure to contact your child's teacher if you have concerns about your child's progress and they will keep you updated on their achievement. PT Conferences had to be moved to later this fall so we are able to share Act 20 screening information with parents. Classroom teachers will be sending out conference sign ups for conferences on Nov. 14 and Nov. 19
November is a time for appreciation as well. Thanks to all our parents for your support and all you do for your student(s) and our staff. Thanks to our hard-working staff members who respect and build relationships with students to help them achieve and gain confidence in their learning while holding them accountable and encouraging them to do the right thing, especially when no one is watching. Students are selected regularly to be Warriors of the Week and congratulations to students who have been chosen so far exemplifying respect in their words and actions.
Working toward improving belonging and our social emotional learning, we are instituting Buddy Family activities quarterly with our students across grade levels. Nov. 1st was our first buddy family event and we did leaf rubbings. We will be doing a couple Buddy Family events with Woodridge Elementary as well during the year. Making connections and building community across grade levels helps support our students in making friendships and cooperating with others. Older peers have a chance to model for younger peers. Students enjoy these activities and they are very engaging.
Principal,
Angie Gulrud
Contact Information-
Email : gulruda@portage.k12.wi.us
Phone: 608-742-5531, ext. 2001
Behavior Tips : Common Language at School and Home
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING -
The first month of school will be focused on helping students feel welcome, safe, and confident at school. Staff will run morning meeting activities in which students get to know each others' names, connect through common interests, and build community within their classroom and grade level. This year at Muir in addition to our Warrior Way that we pledge in announcements daily (We are respectful, responsible individuals on task, ready to learn, and safe.), we will be working on routines and procedures in all settings that follow these ideals - take care of yourself, take care of others, and take care of this place.
Sometimes words like responsible and respectful can be confusing for students as they aren't concrete terms, so breaking down what being responsible and respectful look like will help students understand.
Each grade level will use these rules and you can use the following rules at home as well so students have common language between home and school:
1. We listen to each other.
2. Hands are for helping, not hurting.
3. We use I-Care Language.
4. We care about each other's feelings.
5. We are responsible for what we say and do.
EMOTIONAL REGULATION-
Helping students identify and voice their feelings is really important to emotional regulation. We will work on this as well. When students identify or name their feeling, then they can use a strategy (if needed) to regulate that feeling. For example - I feel "angry" when you try to budge in line in front of me. Adult can prompt, what are your strategies when you feel angry? Student can share the strategies and adult can urge the student to use a strategy to cope with anger.
This takes patience and practice. It is also something all people (children and adults) need as a life skill. It is really great for adults to model for their children as well. Talk out loud about the thinking process going on within your mind (which teachers call a "think aloud") and this will provide modeling for your student.
"I am really angry that that car just pulled so close right in front of us. In the moment it really made me feel scared and worried for our safety. I am going to do some deep breathing right now and turn down the radio for a few miles to calm my body and keep driving safely."
Mrs. Jahn, Dean of Students
Did You Know?
Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
Students can still fall behind if they miss just 1 or 2 days every few weeks.
Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
Attending School regularly helps children feel better about school-and themselves. Building these habits early on so they learn right away that going to school on time, every day is importance. Eventually good attendance will be a skills that will help them succeed in high school and college.
What You Can Do
Set a regular bedtime and morning routine
Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
Develop backup plans for getting to school it something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor or another parent.
Try to schedule medial appointments and extended trips when school isn’t in session.
If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors and other parents for advice on how to make your child feel comfortable and exited about learning.
*Adapted from AttendanceWorks.org: Help Your Child Succeed in School: Build the Habit of Good Attendance Early
Contact information ~
Karissa Jahn
Email: jahnk@portage.k12.wi.us
Phone: 608-742-5531, Ext. 2002
Warm Clothing Necessary
Thunderbird Youth Hockey Sign Up
Market Box Sign Up
We are excited to offer this great opportunity to our PCSD families and need to see how many families would like to participate!
The MARKET BOX will contain both perishable & non-perishable food. There is NO COST to participate and this program is open to all PCSD families. Here's the link: 2023-24 Market Day Box Sign-Up.
MARKET BOXES may include:
Eggs
Bread
Fresh Fruit
Fresh Vegetables
Frozen Meat
Boxed dry goods (Breakfast items/snacks/lunch options)
MARKET BOXES will normally be available for pick up on the THIRD WEDNESDAY of each month. The November MARKET BOX pick up is scheduled for November 20 from 4:30-5:30.
Families will need to pick them up from JOHN MUIR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
If there is a change in the day or time for pick-up, we will notify families of the change.
Please fill out this form. Only submit ONE response per family/household per school year, even if you have multiple children attending the district by September 18th, 2023.
School Counselor
It’s Turkey Time!
Thanksgiving is not just the start of the holiday season, it is a time for loved ones to come together…eat delicious food...and to take a moment to reflect upon something they are thankful for. While being thankful is something that we feel in the moment, being grateful is a mindset. When you practice gratitude you make sure to appreciate all that life has to bring; good and bad. In life, we all will face difficult times at one time or another, but it is in those times where you can learn and grow from the experience and become more resilient. One way of expressing gratitude is to volunteer or donate to a cause you believe in and give back to those who may need an extra helping hand.
One such cause that was made known to me recently is Box of Balloons-Columbia County. This local program creates custom birthday boxes for any child under age 12 that is in need. The birthday boxes include everything that a parent/guardian would need to provide a birthday celebration: balloons, decorations, party supplies, a dozen cupcakes/candles, and a gift that the parent/guardian can provide to the child for their birthday. The program takes into consideration the child’s favorite colors and interests when creating the custom birthday box. How amazing is that! If you are interested in learning more about the program, and/or are interested in donating, please check out below link:
https://www.boxofballoons.org/columbiacounty-wisconsin
For those that are interested in receiving a birthday box for their child, please reach out to me at shierj@portage.k12.wi.us for more information.
**For additional ways to practice gratitude with the entire family, please check out the below PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) link for some fun gratitude craft activities you can do with the kids.
https://www.pbs.org/parents/practicing-gratitude
2nd & 3rd Grade SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Update:
For the past month your child has been receiving guidance lessons on a weekly basis covering topics such as personal/general/digital safety and Bullying. The month of October is Cybersecurity Awareness month and is a good time for all of us to reflect on what we are doing to make sure and keep our personal information and data safe. The students in 2nd and 3rd grade also reflected on this during Digital Citizenship week. During these guidance lessons we discussed ways to keep our personal information safe on the web and what to do when we encounter unsafe or inappropriate content and situations. We also discussed bullying and cyberbullying and how to speak up when we either see or experience bullying.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!
Jennifer Shier is designated Grades 2 & 3
Contact Information
Email: shierj@portage.k12.wi.us
Phone: 608-742-5531, ext. 2454
School Counselor
Hello Muir Families!
Our recent 4th and 5th grade guidance lessons focused on friendships, positive self-image, and reputation, and how these all come together, because we find that in the classroom, in the cafeteria, out at recess, on the bus and in our neighborhoods, kindness to others is not only a matter of importance, it's necessary as human beings.
A book we discussed in depth was My Secret Bully by Trudy Ludwig, a story about a long friendship that turned into a pattern of bullying, and which the victim, Monica, kept it all secret until she couldn't keep it secret any longer. Monica's mother really listened to her, not blaming her for being bullied, and not giving her the unhelpful message that "that's just the way girls are, so you better get used to it." She helped Monica find the words to say to her secret bully, without sounding like a bully herself. Monica found the courage to stand up to her secret bully and say, "Katie, does it make you feel good to make me feel bad? Because friends don't do that to friends."
This is the message we should be sharing with our own children, and I encourage you to have an honest talk as a family about the positive qualities that are important to our children in a friend. We did this as an activity in the classroom, and students thought about, wrote down, and shared the positive qualities that were important to them in a friend. We also turned the activity around to think about the positive qualities we each have in ourselves and wrote them down in the form of My Positive Messages, a reminder that we have positive qualities even if we don't typically think about them.
Finally we looked at reputation, and defined it as 'how others see us by the way we act over and over again'. We discussed what kind of reputation we thought Katie, the secret bully from the story, might have at her school based on the things she did to Monica, and whether we thought she might be mean to other students at school if she treated her own friend that way. The activity culminated with a 'reputation graffiti wall' handout on which students added words to describe the person they wanted others to remember them as.
Mike Meyers is designated Grades 4 & 5
Contact Information
Email: meyersm@portage.k12.wi.us
Phone: 608-742-5531, ext. 2454
Community Events during the Holidays
Holiday Lighted Parade and Tree Lighting
When: Friday November 24th, 6-7:30pm
Where: Downtown Portage, parade will be on hwy 33 (cook street)
Tree lighting happens in the commerce plaza immediately after the parade
Wreath Decorating Workshop Edgewater Greenhouse, 2957 Highway CX, Portage, WI
What: decorate a fresh evergreen wreath, staff will help you step by step.
When: Saturday, November 25th
Time: 10am-12pm
Fee: based on materials used
Meet Santa’s Real Life Reindeer
Where: Commerce Plaza in Downtown Portage
When: Saturday November 25th, 11am-3pm
Get pictures with Santa’s reindeer
Fee: $20 fee per photo with reindeer
Need to be in line by 12:30pm to get a photo taken
Cookie Walk
When: Saturday December 2nd, 9am-12pm
Purchase a cookie box for $5 at the Portage Chamber of Commerce 104 West Cook Street, then proceed to various businesses downtown and pick up a cookie at each business.
Photos with Santa at Edgewater Home and Garden, 2957 County Highway CX Portage, WI
When: Saturday December 2nd, 10am-1pm
Shelby Glasgow, Social Worker
Contact Information
Email: glasgows@portage.k12.wi.us
Phone: 608-742-5531, ext. 2107
Resources for Families within the Portage Community:
River Haven Shelter: 108 East Pleasant Street, Portage, WI (608)742-7687
St. Vincent de Paul Society Thrift Store: 1311 W. Wisconsin Street, Portage, WI (608) 742-5513
Aspen Family Counseling: 2639 New Pinery Road, Suite 1 Portage, WI (608) 742-5020
McKinney-Vento Act: https://dpi.wi.gov/homeless
Portage Food Pantry: 405 East Howard Street Portage, WI (608)742-3774 Hours vary, open Wednesday through Friday
Family Resource Center: 2946 Red Fox Run Portage, WI (608)742-8482
Vision screening to begin Fall 2023!
According to Prevent Blindness Wisconsin, 1 in 4 school aged children has a vision problem. Vision problems are difficult to detect in children because they do not realize they are seeing things differently than others. Good vision is important for learning and success at school, because most learning happens visually for children. If children struggle to see well, they will likely struggle to learn and likely fall behind in school.
Starting in late Fall, the school nurses will begin routine vision screenings at school for students in preschool, first, third, fifth, and seventh grades. Any student may be referred for a vision screening by staff or families. Portage Community School District nurses are Prevent Blindness Certified Vision Screeners and use Prevent Blindness Wisconsin vision screening protocol for distance visual acuity. If your child does not pass their vision screen, the school nurse will contact you to discuss the results and the importance of taking your child to an eye doctor for a complete eye exam. The school nurses would like to stress the importance of following up on vision screening referrals in the event your child does have a vision problem. If treated early, many vision problems can be improved dramatically. Unfortunately, untreated vision problems can result in permanent damage to your child’s vision.
It is important to note that school vision screenings are not complete eye exams. If your child does not have vision insurance or needs financial assistance for an eye exam or eyeglasses, please contact the school nurse, as there may be vision resources that can be of assistance. Please visit Prevent Blindness Wisconsin for additional information about children’s vision and vision screenings. Here are signs of possible vision trouble in children.
Valerie Hon, MSN, RN, LSN, NCSN
Pronouns (she/her)
District Nurse & Safety Committee Chairperson
Portage Community School District
305 E. Slifer Street
Portage, WI 53901
608/742-4867, extension 4022 or
PHS 608/742-8545, extension 1156
Fax 608/742-3989
Volunteering at John Muir!
Volunteering to help at the school or go on field trips is a wonderful way parents can stay connected to their student's school activities. To become a volunteer, the district asks that a background check be completed prior to participating. Here's the link to the district web page. It will take about five working days to process. Please keep in mind, this process must be completed prior to getting involved in your student's school activities. It cannot be completed the day of the activity as we will not yet have the approved results. The background checks are required to be done annually, i.e. if one is done in October, 2023, it will be good until October, 2024! It can be completed at any time during the school year.
We hope to see you at school!
Bus ID's
Bus ID's are here! Students will be using their bus pass to ride the bus again this year (even students who normally don't ride a bus as we use these for field trips, too). The pass is scanned and allows the system to track who is on the bus.
The Here Comes the Bus App is a free app that enables the user to see the location of your child’s school bus on a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. The app allows families to see real-time updates of where a bus is along its route, to create a custom notification for when the bus reaches a certain point in its route and to receive notifications if there has been a schedule change. If you wish to sign up for scanning notifications of when your child scanned on and off the bus, the district code is 29776.
The app is available from the App Store or Google Play. Download instructions and additional information can be found at www.herecomesthebus.com.
Lost and Found
The lost and found is located in the office space across from the school office. We have a lot sweatshirts/jackets and several lunch bags. Items either lost in or around the school or left on the bus can be hopefully found here. While Riteway does its best to ensure lost items from the bus are returned to the right school, if your lost item is not at John Muir, you might want to check with one of the other schools. They might have what you're looking for!
School Lunch and Breakfast 2023-24
The meal prices for students and adult visitors are as follows:
Milk: $.50/carton
Breakfast: $2.00
Lunch: $3.10
Reduced Breakfast: $0.30
Reduced Lunch: $0.40
Adult Breakfast: $2.75
Adult Lunch: $4.50
Please visit the PCSD Food Services webpage for additional information. Click the image below for the Free and Reduced Lunch Application.
Can't remember your lunch pin? Sign in to your Infinite Campus account, your lunch pin is the 5-digit number under your picture. Monthly breakfast/lunch menus are sent home with your student at the beginning of each month. You can also access the menu through our website by clicking on the lunch bag in the upper right corner.
