All Things SLI

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year. We are so excited to kick off of what will be a fantastic school year. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Speaking of this school year, did you know it is our 15th Anniversary? Silver Lake opened its doors 15 years ago. It is going to be a special year indeed! Last year, our school and community did such a fabulous job of raising funds during our Un-Fundraiser. We raised $10,000 toward a new microphone and sound system for our gymnasium. This system is scheduled to be installed early October. However, we were unable to replace our existing gymnasium speakers and update our cafeteria sound system. We are hoping to raise funds this year to make one or both of those happen! Stay tuned for information about this year's Un-Fundraising efforts. Our staff and students are always so appreciative of the support for our school!

Safety at SLI is a priority. This week we spoke to students about Speak Up, Speak Out and our online concern form. Please see information in this newsletter about both.

Speaking of safety, we appreciate your patience in drop off and pick up. Your child should always use the crosswalk and wait for a crossing guard if he/she is being dropped off or picked up in the middle loop. Reminder that families should not be picking up their student in the staff parking lot. It is a busy time as students would have to cross through the bus lanes as well to get to that lot.

Thanks for a great first week of school. Looking forward to all the weeks and months to come!

All my best,

Jill Marr

SLI Principal

Please consider joining us at our SLI PTO Meeting this Tuesday, September 12, at 6:30 in our school library. We need parent/family involvement to support our great school! All are welcome!

In case you missed our Back to School Newsletter edition, it is included below.

SLI Spirit Wear

Here is the family technology presentation in case you missed it or were unable to attend during our Open House. If you want to know how to connect to your child's Canvas courses, utilize GoGuardian Parent App, or know about technology your child is using at school, check out our the presentation.

Emily Cornell, is SLI's technology coach. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to her cornelle@oasd.org.

Tech Presentation

In an effort to keep cell phones and air pods in school lockers to avoid the distraction from learning, it is important that students lock their lockers. We want those items as well as all student personal belongings to be protected from theft as much as we possibly can, so it is imperative that students actually lock their lockers. We are making a diligent effort to make school announcements reminding students to lock their lockers, locking lockers who locks are not closed, removing unauthorized locks, and asking families to purchase locks for those students who do not have one of their locker.

Per our SLI student handbook, A student assumes all responsibility for the contents of his/her locker. Never leave a locker unlocked, reveal the combination, or share the locker with another student. Students must use the locker assigned to them and the lock purchased at registration. Unauthorized locks will be removed. No locks will be permitted on unassigned or unused lockers.

Locks can be purchased through the SLI office for $7.

We appreciate your support in helping make our students feel safe at school by reminding them to properly use their school lock.

Want to see pictures of students and events happening during the school day?

Want reminders of upcoming events?

Follow SLI on Social Media! We welcome new followers.

As families start to plan for the upcoming school year, we wanted to share our new OASD attendance guidelines and process for absences. As you can see, when possible it will be very important for parents/guardians to get medical documentation when/if a child is absent for illnesses or other medical reasons.

OASD Attendance Guidelines and Absence Progression

Having trouble getting back into the school routine?

Here are some helpful tips as you and your family plan for back to school! We want students to be on time and present every day possible. It really matters!

» Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.

» Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.

» Find out what day school starts and make sure your child has the required shots.

» Introduce your child to her teachers and classmates before school starts to help him/her transition. Open house is a great opportunity to do that!

» Don’t let your child stay home unless he/she is truly sick. Keep in mind complaints of a stomach ache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home.

» If your child seems anxious about going to school, talk to teachers, school counselors, or other parents for advice on how to make her feel comfortable and excited about learning.

» Develop some backup plans for getting to school if something comes up. Call on a family member, a neighbor or another parent.

» Avoid medical appointments and extended trips when school is in session.

Speak Up, Speak Out (SUSO) is a threat reporting system created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety. This reporting system is available to students through ClassLink on their OASD Chromebook. It is also available to parents, staff, and community members for free, 24/7. You can report a threat through this system by downloading the SUSO app, by making a report on their website at https://speakup.widoj.gov, or by calling 1-800-MY-SUSO-1. SUSO Resource Center staff members review reports, respond, and contact school administration, school counselors, or law enforcement if needed.

This anonymous threat reporting system, or tip line, can be used to identify safety threats to our schools, but also to share concerns like:

• a student who might hurt themselves
• a student who has something dangerous happening in their lives
• bullying happening face-to-face or online
• a student who is struggling with depression or other emotional hurdles
• a student who may be using drugs or other dangerous substances

School staff members will share age-appropriate information about the types of threats that can be reported. They’ll talk about things like:

• The difference between snitching and speaking up when something is unsafe
• Sharing truthful reports, not false reports
• The importance of telling a trusted adult or reporting situations where students could be hurt
• Intermediate students will be encouraged to use the reporting system themselves or seek help from a parent or guardian in making a report

OASD elementary and high school students will also learn about SUSO this fall and will hear more detailed examples of the types of concerns they can report, still personalized to their age-level. Families can find more information and an FAQ about the program on the Speak Up, Speak Out website.

This reporting system is another way that our district partners with local and state-level law enforcement agencies to keep our students and staff safe.

Students can access Speak Up, Speak Out on their Chromebook through Class Link or on our website.

While Speak Up, Speak Out is 24/7 serious concern reporting staffed by a resource center, Silver Lake also uses a student concern reporting form both in paper form and online. The paper copy is available in the school office. The online form is available on their Chromebook through Class Link, our website, and in this newsletter. Students can always report any concerns directly to an adult in our building. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to learn more about how Silver Lake keeps our students safe.

The 8th graders in Mrs. Schneller’s health and wellness class were challenged with building the tallest freestanding paper tower within a 15 minute timeframe. The only material they could use was paper. I’d say they did pretty well! They stuck to the challenge, tried several different ideas, had to keep starting over but eventually accomplished their task because they persevered! Go teamwork! #sliconnectexploresoar

8th grade students worked on our new VNPS (Vertical Non-Permanent Writing Surfaces)! They are learning how to work together as a team.

Students are collaborating on the word respect. They recorded ideas and then viewed others ideas

Go Riteway is looking to hire Oconomowoc bus drivers! We appreciate our bus drivers for safely transporting our students around our district for the school day and also driving students to athletic, academic and numerous other events. They truly keep our district running! Click here to apply: https://bit.ly/3KxDdYS

Our school needs more short-term substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, and custodians - can you help?

As a short-term sub, you have the flexibility to choose which school you would like to work at, and what schedule works best for you. Use this online form for a fast and easy application process if you’re interested in joining the OASD as a short-term substitute.

Long-term substitute teacher, paraprofessional, and custodian positions are also available at all of our OASD schools. You can apply online through WECAN for a long-term position by creating an account, then searching for Oconomowoc Area School District in the support staff section.

Please consider working for the OASD and making a positive impact on our school and students!