Madison Staff Bulletin

Happy New Year, Madison Family, and welcome back as we kick off what is sure to be an awesome spring 2023 semester at Madison Elementary. I hope each of you had a restful, meaningful break filled with time with loved ones and a happy holiday.

In this season of gratitude, I would like to extend my/our appreciation to all of our parents and families who have supported our Madison community and the wider Warsaw community in numerous ways so far this year, including volunteering, participating in the PTO, making donations (supplies, canned goods, and more!), and supporting your students at home as valued partners in education as we continue to partner on your children's learning journey as we work toward the WCS mission to "inspire and equip all students to continuously acquire and apply knowledge and skills while pursuing their dreams and enriching the lives of others."

Let’s be real - transitioning back to school after a long winter break can be challenging for all of us!

At school, we will be doing a spring “reset” this week whereby teachers will be re-introducing schools-wide expectations for our common areas (bathrooms, cafeteria, playground, and hallways). We ask that you support this at home by reinforcing those expectations at home, available HERE on pages 17-19.

Below you can find additional pro tips for things you can do to help your student successfully transition back to school after our long break:

• Return to your regular morning and bedtime routine (or establish a new one if need be!). Having a morning routine and bedtime routine (i.e. laying clothes out, getting backpack ready the night before) can be extremely helpful

• Plan something to look forward to! Returning to school after a fun-filled winter break can feel a little disappointing. Help soften the blow by organizing something special to celebrate the completion of their first week back!

• Prepare for big emotions. Remember, this is normal! Your children may shed some tears when returning back to school from break. This new challenge may surprise some parents, and they wonder why this is happening so late in the school year. This is totally normal! Remember to keep your goodbye brief to help with separation anxiety. A goodbye ritual can help! (i.e. a high five, a secret handshake, a saying you and your child share). After school, create a predictable after school routine, including a snack and some downtime. And when your child does have a meltdown, stay close and stay calm. The storm will pass, and then we can help them work through the emotions behind it.

HERE is a great resource for setting up routines, a back to school checklist, how to handle a first tough day at school, etc.

As we dive into the spring semester, please be on the lookout for more information regarding our Madison spring musical (grades 1-3 this year), state testing, spring activities (robotics, spring sports), and more. It is sure to be an action–packed second semester!

As always, my door is always open by appointment (to make sure I'm available!), email, or phone call. I am always available to hear about concerns, listen to feedback, answer questions, and offer support for students in any way that we can.

Onward and upward to a wonderful rest of the year!

In Partnership,

Francesca Hoffmann, Principal

Please click HERE for a Madison Family Calendar for the month of November. *Please note, events may be added, as needed. A copy of the full WCS Calendar is available HERE.

At this point in the school year, we are low on several important items. If you have any extra or could spare to send some to school with your student to their classroom teacher, we would be extremely appreciative!

As we continue to make our way through the colder months, it is important to remind all families that students generally go outside to recess unless the windchill drops below 20 degrees. Please make sure your student comes to school prepared for outdoor recess with a coat, hat, and gloves. If you are unable to get a coat, hat, or gloves at this time, please contact us.

We also ask that you please also familiarize yourself with Madison's snowy recess expectations to kindly help reinforce them at home:

• students are not permitted to throw snow at recess (out of safety for all students)

• students must be dressed in boots, snow pants, gloves, hats, and a coat to play in the snow

Please take a moment to review our attendance policy HERE on pages 15-16 (including our vacation policy). In order to ensure we're helping your students reach their full potential, school attendance is vital. Help us help your Cardinal by ensuring they get to school (except when they're sick!) and on time (in seat by 9:20 a.m.)

As we continue through a rough time of year for sickness (flu, RSV, COVID), please remember that students must be fever-free for 24 hours without medication to return to school. Please see the graphic below provided by the Indiana Department of Education as a reference for determining if your child is too sick for school.

As a mid-year reset, we respectfully ask that you please take a moment to re-familiarize yourself with our end of day procedures (i.e. pick up, car tags, etc.). See below for a reminder from our "Back to School Breakdown." Full procedures are available HERE on pages 13-14.

*Importantly, as explained below, no student may be picked up through the front office at the end of the day unless they are being picked up prior to 3:15 p.m. for an appointment or by special pre-arrangement with school approval.

We will not have school next Monday, January 16th. In recognition of Dr. King's emphasis on service to others and in line with WCS's mission to serve our community, we encourage you to help your student find a way to do a small act of service that day! Help a neighbor, volunteer at a local organization, or do something as small as letting someone you care about know how loved they are.

Elizabeth Eckman (6th) was crowned Madison's spelling bee champion for the 2022-23 school year. Anna Jones (5th) took second place. We are proud of all of our individual classroom champions! The WCS Elementary Spelling Bee will be held in the Lakeview MS auditorium on January 17th at 6 p.m. Come on out and support our Madison representative, Elizabeth, as she competes on behalf of Madison!

We are so proud of all of our Cardinals of the Month for November! These Cardinals exemplified what it means to be a Madison Cardinal for the month of November. December Cardinals of the Month will be recognized at the end of this month due to winter break.

• Aubrey Jones
• Oliver Weinhorst
• Cameron Peacock
• Rheidan Riner
• Eden Vargas
• Ivan Nunez
• Daphne Vaughan
• Parker Heckaman
• Julian Ibarra
• Aleihna Riner
• Annabel Finley
• Randell Boyd
• Hadley Whittenberger
• Raela Loe
• AnnaLee Walters
• Jose Cervantes
• Reegan DeMange
• Nateri Lampkin
• Johnny Shoue
• Mia Smith
• Erika Shimasaki

As you all know, we have a whole-school gathering in the gym every other Friday (to save instructional time!), whereby we will recognize students who win our "Cardinal Kindness Coupon" drawing for the week, review expectations (as needed!), and generally celebrate together. As a reminder, our "Cardinal Kindness Coupons" are a new initiative this year to celebrate student kindness. When a student earns a "Cardinal Kindness Coupon" for being caught in the act of being kind, the student places their coupon in a grade-level bucket in the cafeteria. Students' names are drawn each week, and the reward for our winners varies.

We are also so proud of our cardinal kindness winners and those who received Cardinal Kindness Coupons during Fall 2022. Please continue to help us by encouraging your cardinal to continue to show others acts of kindness! #KindnessAlways

To date, students have received over 1,000 Cardinal Kindness Coupons at Madison Elementary since the beginning of the school year.