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/MDEBears
Twitter: @MDEBears

Monday, October 10 - Madison Monday (Wear your favorite Madison shirt)

Monday, October 10 - 4th Grade Musical 6:00 - Doors open at 5:30.

Tuesday, October 11 - PTA Fundraiser Pick Up 4:00-6:00 pm

Wednesday, October 12 - No School, Family/Teacher Conferences 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

Wednesday, October 12 - Madison Night at Papa John's, 5:00-9:00

Thursday, October 13 - No School, Family/Teacher Conferences 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Friday, October 14 - No School

Madison Elementary Lunch Menu

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 #3

Tuesday - Specials Day #4

Wednesday - No School

Thursday - No School

Friday - No School

With the season of fall officially here, we enjoy fall football games, see evidence of leaves beginning to change as well as feel the cooler temperatures during the day. This time of year also marks a time where we begin to wrap up one quarter of the school year and head into the second part of this semester. This is also when we have the opportunity to carve out time to collaborate with you, our families and partners in education, to ensure we best serve your child each and every day. To that end, we are beyond excited to host Family-Teacher conferences next week! If you have not done so, please contact your child’s teacher to schedule a conference time.

We look forward to collaborating with you next week, and I want to remind our families there will be no school for students next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. School will resume for all students on October 17, 2022.

A message from the Madison PTA -

Thank you all for your fundraiser donations and orders. It's almost time for pick up!

Please plan to pick up your items CURBSIDE in the Front Parking Lot of Madison Elementary School on Tuesday, October 11th between 4-6pm. We do NOT have room to store refrigerated items, so please do NOT forget! We hope to have the easiest fundraiser pickup event YET!

Please follow the regular car rider parking lot guidelines. Please pull ahead to an adult volunteer to give your student’s/students’ information. Please wait in your car until volunteers bring your order(s) to you. Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: This event is NOT during school dismissal time. We cannot distribute fundraiser items to students or families during school dismissal time.

Helpful Hints

1. Please stay in your car.

2. Please be ready to tell us your student’s/students’ first and last names, their

teacher’s/teachers’ names, and their grades.

3. Please be patient. We are working hard to make this year the best fundraiser

pick-up event YET!

4. We can place items in your open trunk or inside your vehicle. Whichever you are

most comfortable with!

5. We cannot keep any orders because there is no storage space available. If you

are unable to make PTA Fundraiser Pick-Up, please make arrangements for

another family member, friend, or neighbor to pick up your items during this time.

***Please note --- fundraiser prizes will be in the bag of items and included at the curbside pickup event.

***If only ONLINE orders were placed, then the student's prizes will be shipped to the school. You do NOT need to come to pick up their prizes on October 11th, but you can. All fundraiser prizes NOT picked up will be delivered to the student's classroom where you can collect either at Family Teacher Conferences or the following week.

***If you have any questions, then please email: madisonbearpta@gmail.com.

We are excited for our 4th grade "Pirates 2! The Hidden Treasure" on Monday, October 10th! Please have your child bring their costume to school to change into for the afternoon dress rehearsal. Doors open at 5:30 and students will arrive in costume between 5:30 and 5:45 PM and report directly to their classrooms. The show begins at 6:00PM. You can find the original information HERE, And this is the costume guide. We can't wait to see their performance!

Please join us for the Madison PTA Fall Fun Night on Monday, October 17. The book fair will be open for families to shop together from 4-6 pm. The east side parking lot will host a Trunk or Treat from 5:30-6:30 pm with lots of candy, drinks, music, games and more. Costumes are welcome but not required. Please do not bring any costume weapons (ie, swords, guns, knives...) to this event. To sign up for this event, please visit the link - http://tinyurl.com/madisonbearsfall

Family/Teacher Conferences are right around the corner, and we are excited to meet with you to discuss whole child progress, the goals and dreams you have for your child, and how we can best partner together to ensure a successful year. This fall, we will offer families the opportunity to meet in person or have a conference via Zoom. The feedback from across the district last year informed us that utilizing Zoom for conferences was an effective and efficient way for some teachers and families to connect. This method of connecting allowed parents to remain at work, limit travel time as well as secure child care for elementary and younger-aged children.

We will continue to utilize an online signup system as a convenient way for you to schedule conferences for your child(ren). When you sign up, please note if you prefer an in-person or zoom conference. You can access the online signup here.

Madison's Family/Teacher conferences will take place during the following times:

• Wednesday, October 12 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
• Thursday, October 13 8:00am - 4:00 pm

At Madison, it is our goal to hold 100% of conferences, and we value your partnership!

We wish you well and look forward to connecting with you soon!

Our fall book fair is right around the corner - October 17-21. This year we are having a Literati Fair. Literati is affiliated with Follet who we use to order books for the library. Classes will shop during their regular library specials time. We are also having a family night on the 17th from 4:00-6:00. With this company there is a companion fair that runs online and Mrs. Schmuhl has included the link below it is already up and running. Mrs. Schmuhl has also attached the link for volunteers to sign up. All volunteers get a 20% discount when they shop in person at the fair. The library makes 30% of all sales and that money goes towards new books.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4CAEA82EAA8-book2

https://efairs.literati.com?school=madison-elementary-school-gardner-ks

This week, several students received positive office referrals for taking care of themselves, taking care of others, and taking care of this place. We are proud of these outstanding Bears!

Ever wonder what your student is eating for lunch? Review their meal purchases in your MySchoolBucks account to stay in the know! This option is available for ALL families even if you pay with cash or check.

Log in through your PowerSchool parent portal or create your FREE account today: https://hssk12.co/2BF7qWx

Questions about your student's account? Email us at nutrition@usd231.com. We're here to help!

Hey parents and caregivers!

Parenting is hard! We get it! We all have been through collective trauma with the pandemic and stress is at an all time high for many families.

You are not alone! There are many resources to help. Here are a few!

KCSL parent helpline https://www.kcsl.org/contact/

Conscious Discipline-free resources for parents and webinars https://consciousdiscipline.com/free-resources/

Children’s Mercy Workshops for parents https://www.childrensmercy.org/your-visit/family-support/social-work/care-workshops/

Assistance Programs: Potential options to help you cover expenses and work through challenges:

• Medical Benefits

• Cash Assistance

• Nutrition Assistance Programs

• Home Energy Cost Assistance

• Housing Assistance for Homelessness

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out if we can do anything to support your kiddo or are needing specific resources! IT TAKES A VILLAGE!

With big hearts,

Jackie Hodson, social worker

hodsonj@usd231.com

913-856-0409

Allison Southerland, counselor

southerlanda@usd231.com

913-856-3313

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.

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 image above or this link 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!

Hello MDE families! We’re looking forward to the return of our Bears for the 2022-23 school year!

Madison Elementary PTA Executive Board Officers

President: Leah Bates

Vice-President: Jessica Grimes

Treasurer: Heather Musselman

Secretary: Andrea Satterfield

Membership Chair: Diane Owen

Madison Elementary PTA Meeting Dates 9/6, 10/3, 11/14, 12/12, 1/9, 2/13, 3/20, 4/10, and 5/1. All meetings will occur in the Madison cafeteria at 7 pm

Email us at: Madisonbearpta@gmail.com Like us on Facebook "Madison Elementary PTA Gardner, KS"

Interested in the Madison PTA Happenings? Stay in the know!

We invite everyone to join the Madison PTA Facebook page. By searching Madison Elementary PTA Gardner, KS under Pages, you will be able to join the group and receive updated PTA information.

If you are interested in joining the PTA, please see the membership form.

Nominate a Deserving Student or Employee Today!!!

The GESD recognition program has been established to recognize students and employees who exceed expectations.

"Gardner Edgerton Students of Distinction" (GESD) nominees can be any current student in the Gardner Edgerton School District who exemplifies traits of outstanding character and serves as a positive influence on their peers and the community-at-large.

"Great Employees Serving the District" (GESD) nominees can be any certified or classified employee in the Gardner Edgerton School District who exemplifies traits of outstanding customer service and is a positive influence on students, parents, co-workers or members of the community. The award will be presented on a weekly basis.

Answers to a few questions you may have:

• Nominations from previous years have been removed from the database.

• Even if a student or staff member has been selected as a GESD in previous years, they are again eligible.

  
  

We will recognize our first student and staff member sometime in September. This will allow time for nominations to be submitted.

Nominate a deserving STUDENT by clicking HERE.

Nominate a deserving EMPLOYEE by clicking HERE.

Little Blazer Cheer Clinic -- Students in Grades K - 6 grade

GEYCP Theater Academy Presents: High School Musical Jr -- Students in Grades 5-8 grade

Youth Experience: Volleyball with the GEHS Blazers -- Students in Pre-K-2nd grade

Youth Experience: Basketball with the GEHS Blazers -- Students in Pre-K-2nd grade

GEHS Boys Fall Basketball Academy -- Students in 3-8th grade

GEHS Girls Fall Basketball Academy -- Students in 3-8th grade

Fall 2022 USD 231 Driver Education – Students must be 14 years of age on or before September 17.

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.