FROM THE DESK OF THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL………………

Greetings to all!

The days are gradually getting longer. It’s nice to be arriving at school with more than just the streetlights to guide my path, and to arrive home before darkness settles in. We hope your family is having a successful start to the second half of the school year. We are enjoying the year so much that we’ve decided to add extra school days: Monday, March 10th, from 7:45-11:30 and a full day on Monday, April 14th! All kidding aside, please remember that these days will serve as make-up days for our several weather-related cancellations this year.

In the coming weeks, you should be seeing your student’s results from this fall’s Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE), along with a letter explaining the results. You may remember from last year that the state has “raised the bar” on this test, resulting in lower scores than in previous years. The change in scores didn’t represent a decrease in student knowledge or skills, but were a reflection of the higher standard for proficiency. Johnson Creek students continue to perform strongly compared to other schools.

Raising the bar is a good thing, because it reinforces our need to be constantly improving student achievement. Next year, the state will replace the WKCE with a new test called the Smarter Balanced Assessment that looks like it will raise the bar even further.

Although much of the focus at the state level is on measuring student achievement, elementary school is about more than just putting a number on student learning. Our students spend a lot of time and energy focusing on their social and emotional growth, and our Second Step and Steps to Respect and Blue Jay Buddies lessons provide a great opportunity for students to try new things and interact with their classmates in new ways. We always look forward to it, and our students are excited that they can participate in these activities.

Thank you for all the support you provide for your students! We are looking forward to longer days, warmer weather, and new learning challenges.

Some important dates to mark on your calendar for the month of March are . . .

Friday, February 28th	FAMILY FUN NIGHT 6-7:30 PM
Monday, March 3rd	Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Celebration 6:30 PM Informational Meeting in the HS gym on the School Referendum
Sunday, March 9th	Daylight Savings Time (Spring forward)
Monday, March 10th	7:45AM-11:30AM Weather Make-Up Day 1-8 PM - Student Led Conferences
Thursday, March 13th	Market Day Friends of Our School Meeting @ 6:30 PM
Wednesday, March 19th	STEP assembly 9:30 AM
Friday, March 28th	EARLY RELEASE DAY Students dismissed at 11:30AM-No Lunch Served

11:30- no lunch served

LET’S STAND UP AND CHEER!

ATTENDANCE- This month, Johnson Creek Elementary School was invited by the Milwaukee Bucks to have students strive for Perfect Attendance for the month of February. Whether in the classroom, on the basketball court or in any other activity, attendance matters. Johnson Creek Elementary students met the challenge and over 175 students had perfect attendance in February. For their efforts, they can receive a free Bucks game ticket and will have the opportunity to shoot a free throw on the Bucks court! Congratulations to all of the winners!!!!!!!!!

Southern Lakes Anthology

The Southern Lakes Anthology is a collection of prose, poetry, illustrations and cartoons that relate to the theme of “Figure It Out”. These projects are carefully selected as the most creative and best drawn or written pieces from hundreds of pieces submitted representing 25 different schools in the Whitewater Talented and Gifted Alliance. As a district, we can only send 24 pieces to the judging from all of our entries from grades 3-8. Mrs. Braunschweig works closely with the student and classroom teacher to introduce the theme to all students in the elementary building. This year, Johnson Creek Elementary had 24 entries. Of these, 10 were selected to be part of the Anthology Project.

The selected were:

Brianna Caito	Poetry
Olivia Ott	Cartoon
Raegan Zastrow	Cartoon
Joey Barganz	Art
Brianna Bixler	Cartoon
Jacob Constable	Art
Isaac Hartz	Poetry
Amber Kieckbusch	Poetry
Denalyn Siewert	Poetry
Hannah Constable	Art

Congratulations to all of JC winners. They will be honored in a reception at UW-Whitewater in May!

FAMILY FUN NIGHT

Under the direction of Angie Hoffman, our Reading Teacher, and Trent Probst, our Physical Education Teacher, JC Elementary is holding a reading and fitness night on February 28th. We are focussing on the Olympic theme. Various classrooms will be set up with games and activities for reading. Mr. Probst will set up the gym for Jump Rope for Heart Activities, Zumba and Dancing. Friends of Our School will also host the Basket Raffle, so come in and bid on some fun-themed baskets! All proceeds go to Friends of Our School for field trips and playground equipment!

MOVIN’ AND MUNCHIN’

In our effort to get and keep our students in a healthy form, Trent Probst, our Physical Education Teacher, has developed a Fit Club. He also wrote a grant to help our efforts. Daily, students start their day with 10-15 minutes of exercise.On May 28th, all of Johnson Creek Elementary will travel to UW-Whitewater for an all-school indoor track meet. We will have various track and field activities for students to participate in. All students will be asked to bring in a sack lunch for this trip. More details will be coming from your child’s teacher. If you are interested in helping with this event, please call Mr. Probst or leave a message in the Elementary Office.

STEP PROGRAM

Fifth grade students across Wisconsin are learning to be ready for disasters and emergencies through a new program.

STEP (Student Tools for Emergency Planning) is designed to teach students how to prepare for various emergencies, including tornadoes, flooding and storms and encourages them to share the information with their families and to develop their own family emergency plan.

Here at Johnson Creek Elementary the fifth grade along with At&T, local emergency management, and area representatives will be showcasing the program and what they have learned at an assembly to be held March 19 at 9:30 a.m. Invites guests are: Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, Rep. Joel Kleefisch, Jim Wolfe, Johnson Creek Fire Department, Police Chief Bleeker, Johnson Creek and other emergency agency representatives.

You are welcome to join us for this assembly.

DR. SEUSS CELEBRATION

On Monday, March 3rd, Johnson Creek Elementary will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday in the form of Read Across America Day, when people (big and small) will be digging into their favorite Seuss stories. Although they’re primarily written for children, the author’s tales were smarter than most and often contained hidden meanings with satirical, political messages and profound humanistic meaning. His characters are the devices that bring it all to life, so we’ve chosen to spotlight a few favorites in order from best to worst and have local ‘celebrities’ come and read to our students. We hope you join in the fun at home and share your favorite Dr. Seuss book with your family And…. maybe for dinner, serve some Green Eggs and Ham?????

MALLARDS LIL' DUCKS READING PROGRAM

Johnson Creek Elementary and the Madison Mallards would like to inform you that your child is going to be participating in Maynard’s Lil’ Ducks Reading Program this year. In coordination with our school the Mallards have set-up a program to help encourage your son or daughter to increase the amount of time they read. The Mallards will be giving a free hot dog, soda, and game ticket to all students who complete the reading program for their schools Family Fun Night out at a Mallards game this summer. The teachers will set the reading goal for your child ( 500 minutes)and we ask that you help work with them so they can accomplish this goal and complete the program. We all know the importance of establishing strong reading skills during a child’s youth and hopefully we can do so by implementing this program.

Our school has already selected a Family Fun Night at a Mallards home game this summer on Wednesday, June 18th, 2014 at 7:05 pm. Your child’s reading program ticket will be Valid for this game only, and discounted tickets are available to all family members for this game only. Tickets will be discounted to $9 for family members and friends, and are only available prior to the date of your school’s Family Fun Night. Your child’s free reading program ticket, as well as the discounted tickets, will be ordered through the order form provided to your child by the school. Fill out the order form and return it via the instructions listed on the order form or the instructions given to you by the school. All order forms must be returned to the school by Monday, April 14, 2014. If you have any questions or if you need tickets after the ticket order form has been turned in, please Contact Garrett Notstad in the Mallards ticket office at (608) 246-4277.

Parents, we will be tabulating reading minutes through the end of March and awarding the tickets and other prizes as your child ‘rounds the bases’. Please help your child keep track of minutes at home and return sheets to your child’s teacher.

LOVE AND LOGIC

After a difficult and frustrating day at work, don’t you wish your spouse would greet you with the following?

Honey, I got an email from your boss. She says that you haven’t been working up to your potential. She also mentioned that your reading is really poor and that you’ve had a bad attitude about completing your projects. That’s why we are going to sit down together and work on some practice samples. Now…I’m only doing this because I love you.

My guess is that few readers would vote for this treatment as an effective way of promoting deeper marital intimacy and improved work performance!

Far too many children struggle all day long with reading…and other subjects. Then they face even more frustration when they get home. When this happens, their reading performance rarely increases, but their disdain for books does!

In my travels across the country, I see families torn apart by this stress. Kids get angry and upset. Parents get frustrated and depressed. Instead of being an island of calm from the tense world, the home becomes part of it.

May I suggest another approach? What if this strategy saved your relationship with your child AND helped him or her develop a much better vocabulary, understanding of language structure, and attitude toward reading?

Read to them, and have fun doing it. Do this even if they’re in high school! Do it as often as possible. Don’t stand over them and force them to read. Don’t nitpick their reading performance. Just enjoy your time together as you read…to them. Take the pressure off!

-----written by Jim Fay, from the Love and Logic Institute

As you can see, February was a busy month at JC Elementary, but we sure did learn a lot and had fun in the process! As we continue to insure that we have the smartest students, March will also be filled with exciting things too. If you have any questions, please contact me. Thanks for your continued support.

Kris Blakeley

Elementary Principal

Director of Special Education