Newsletter-Our Week In Review- January 11-14th

 

Dear Families,

The story this week was Tacky the Penguin.   While listening to the story, students were working on the strategies of visualizing, retelling, inference, making connections, and stating their opinion.  Ask your kindergartner what he/she liked in the story.

Here is a video link to the story to enjoy!

In writing, we are continuing to work on our How-To writing.  We learned how we start each step with first, next, then, and last.  We also learned that when we write, it is important to talk directly to the reader.  We can do this by using the word "you"

Reminders:

Students should be bringing snow pants, boots, coat, hat, and mittens.  We go outside for recess twice a day.  It is important for our friends to have proper winter gear.

Students should bring two snacks for the day!

Thank you so much!

Wear Packer Gear Tomorrow!

 

Wear your Packer gear tomorrow to cheer the Pack on to victory!

No Packer gear? Wear green or gold!

From The Thorson Office

 

All Things Thorson!! January 14, 2021 Go-Pack-Go Friday    A Note from the Principal Dear Thorson Families, Each year, we are excited to share the results of our most recent DPI school and district report cards.  Due to the pandemic and school closure last year, state testing was not done, and therefore new school report cards are not available.  However, we would like to reshare the results from our most recent school report card, which is based on assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.  Please see this letter regarding our school report card. As we continue on with the unique circumstances surrounding this year, I would like to again clarify some items regarding virtual and remote learning.  Virtual learning is the term that we use for our students who have selected to be taught at home for the semester.  These students have been permanently placed in a virtual learning environment that has been purposefully planned and structured. Conversely, there are occasions where students need to be home temporarily due to quarantines or symptoms.  These are temporary situations whereby students will learn via remote instruction.  This is different from virtual instruction.  Please remember that at the elementary level, we are not set up to stream instruction in all classrooms at all times. This means that if your in-person child is out for a day or two, and are well enough to continue learning, they can attend school remotely.  In these instances, students will follow the instructions for learning on their teacher’s Canvas page and complete any work assigned.  If there are students who will be out for more than three days, teachers will stream pieces of their core content for those students who are out.  Please remember also that remote learning is reserved for students who are out due to symptoms or because they are quarantined. If your child will be out for one of these reasons, please be sure to communicate with the school office and your child’s teacher regarding their absence and how they can engage in remote learning. The 4K and 5K student registration process for the 2020-2021 school year has begun.  Due to the pandemic, the registration process will be done online this year.  If you know of anyone who has a student of 4K or 5K age that is not currently enrolled in the district, please spread the word that the registration process has started.  Current 4K families do not need to register for 5K.  That is an automatic process.  If you have any questions, please contact the school office or visit the district website for more information (links to this information is posted below). Have a great weekend! Sincerely, Angela Little, Principal Upcoming Dates: 01/22- NO SCHOOL 01/25- 2nd Semester Begins!  SNOWMAN Day 02/5-Early Release Day 1:45 p.m. 02/12-100th Day of School 02/15-Wear Red Day Important Info: Chromebook Support Form Thorson Celebration Rock PTO Membership 4K Registration-  4K Registration is now open for the 2021-22 school year!  Enroll new students online any tine prior to February 9, 2021. Follow instuctions on the district website to enroll, or for more information, contact your child's school DESSA Please see the attached letter about a tool we use to make sure we are meeting the students’ social and emotional needs.    Masks Just a reminder to make sure to send with your student several extra masks to school each day.  Due to playing in the snow, masks are often wet from recess.  It is helpful to have a Ziploc bag with a spare in their backpack daily. Lost and Found Lost and found will now be located inside the lobby of Thorson.  Early Release Days Please make sure to review the CSD Early Release Days.   Absent/ Late Arrival- If you are going to be late or absent, please call the Thorson attendance line at 262-376-6766 before 9:00 a.m.  Please state your students first and last name, teacher, and the reason for the absence.If your student will be taking hot lunch they will need to login to their Google form to make their lunch choice or notify the office. When reporting your child absent due to illness, please describe their symptoms, this information is critical for our district health staff and tracking purposes.  PAWSitively PTO Green Team In lieu of a Spring fundraiser over these next few months, the PTO has decided to implement a Spring service initiative to flood our Thorson community with positive vibes to combat this rather challenging pandemic year.  It begins with founding our very own “Green Team” to revitalize and restore the Thorson Woods/outdoor classroom area located on the East side of the Thorson grounds.  Thorson parents, Leah and Adam Voltz will be chairing our Green Team and are in search of team members to assist with their efforts.   Please email leahvoltz@gmail.com if interested in joining Thorson’s fabulous new Green Team! Parents, students, scouts, families, etc. are all welcome! Give a High Five Show your appreciation for a Thorson staff member by giving them a written HIGH FIVE and support the PTO at the same time! For as little as $5, submit a written HIGH FIVE--a shout out, compliment, or thank you--that will be posted to our Thorson PTO Facebook page on Fridays as well as on display in the Thorson Elementary staff lounge. Fill out the simple Google form and follow the link to pay through PayPal! Google Form: https://docs.google.com/.../1ORKqtACV1nI1ERq_D.../edit Additional information can be found on the PTO website at http://www.thorsonpto.org/give-a-high-five.html Boxtops There have been a few changes to the collection process of boxtops this year with Covid and the discontinuation of the clipping process of boxtops. The Boxtop Collection is now done through the Boxtop App on any smart phone or device (see this link for a video on the app ( https://youtu.be/Hh94b2BvFK4). Once you upload the app and enter your information you can choose “Thorson Elementary” as your school to donate to.  Once the app is accessible you scan your receipt after each visit to the store to accrue box tops for your family to donate to our school.  You have up to 14 days from the day you did your shopping to scan the receipt before it is no longer able to be used.With our limit in a reward system this year, due to Covid and the precautions, we have decided to offer an extra recess to all classrooms should we meet a school wide goal of $300.00 boxtops scanned by each of the following three dates:  December 11th 2020, March 12th 2021, and May 28th 2021.Once you get the app set up it is fairly easy to use.  Please make sure to refer the app to families and friends to help with our program!If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me.  Thank you for your time, Dayna Biernat  Giving Tree The Thorson Giving Tree has been created by the Thorson PTO to give parents/community an opportunity to give a classroom item to a teacher member any time of the year.  Please click on this link as often as you choose.  It will be updated from time to time, so please check in often.  Thank you! Next PTO Meeting: February 8, 2021 PTO Agenda Meeting Minutes  YMCA before and after school programs At our before and after school programs, we focus on building relationships, getting active, completing homework, and having fun! This year, we will of course be focusing a lot on health and safety, as well. Please be sure to look over brochure through the link below. To get to the brochure, follow the link below, select the desired location, and then click on the link below the Program Location heading. Please be thorough, as things like pricing, procedures, locations, billing methods, etc. may have changed.  We also have many of our new health and cleaning procedures listed here. Click Here for Information on our Before and After School Programs From the Cedarburg School District:  Wisconsin Adult School Crossing Guard Recognition Week is Monday, January 11 through Friday, January 15, 2021. Please be sure to show your appreciation for our wonderful CSD School Crossing Guards!

Newsletter-Our Week In Review- January 4-8th

 

Dear Parents,

This week we talked about the word families ug/un/ut.  We worked at reading these words and writing words like bug, tug, bun, fun, nut, and shut.  We also learned the sight words "this" and “was”. We reviewed these words in the stories, poems, and writing we did this week.  We continue to review all words and assess through the year! Please continue to work on these words with your child.

The story this week was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  While listening to the story, students were working on the strategies of visualizing, retelling, inference, making connections, and stating their opinion.  The children really loved looking at the beautiful illustrations in the book.

Here is a video link to the story to enjoy!

In writing, we have started our new writing unit!  We are working on How-To stories.  Students are asked to be able to write about something they know how to do.  For example, how to put on winter clothes, how to make a necklace, or how to make breakfast.  We are working on adding transition words to the start of our sentences.  First, Next, Then, and Last.  

Reminders:

*Bring extra mittens/gloves. 

*Label snow gear

*Early release tomorrow!  

Thank you so much!

From The Thorson Office

 All Things Thorson!!

January 7, 2021

*Early Release Tomorrow at 1:45p.m*

**Wear Your Favorite Football Jersey/Shirt**

 

A Note from the Principal:
Dear Thorson Families,

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all!  We have enjoyed getting back into the school routine with both our virtual and in-person students this week.  

As we kick off in 2021, there are many things to be thankful for and many things to look forward to.  We also acknowledge that there are still many challenges that we face in our community.  At Thorson, we are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for our staff and students.  We will continue to be vigilant about mask-wearing, social distancing, and hand-washing to keep ourselves as healthy as possible.  We will also continue to focus on building and maintaining a positive school culture.  Kindness, respect, and citizenship are key.  Thank you for reinforcing the importance of Jaguar Pride and our focus on these character traits at home.

Tomorrow is an Early Release day.  Staff will be busy collaborating and planning for continued instruction in this very unique year.  Staff will also be working on the transition to the second semester, with some students changing learning environments.  On Monday, communication will go out to families who have students that will have a change in environment for the second semester.  The changes are minimal and we have done our best to provide consistency for all.

Students in K-5 will be participating in the NWEA MAP assessment in the next couple of weeks.  This is a computer-based assessment that is focused on math and reading.  Based on our experience with MAP testing in the Fall, we have made some adjustments to the virtual testing procedure.  Your child(ren)’s classroom teacher will provide you with more specific information in the coming days. 

Finally, just a reminder that school lunch is FREE to elementary students for the 2020-21 school year.  The school lunch menus are always on our Thorson webpage and in the Thursday folder.  

Have a great rest of your week and weekend.  Stay safe and be well!

Sincerely,

Angela Little, Principal

Upcoming Dates:
01/08- Early Release Day at 1:45 p.m.
01/12- PTO Dining for Dollars New Fortune
01/22- NO SCHOOL
01/25- 2nd Semester Begins!  SNOWMAN Day

Important Info:
Chromebook Support Form
Thorson Celebration Rock
PTO Membership

DESSA
Please see the attached letter about a tool we use to make sure we are meeting the students’ social and emotional needs.   

Masks
Just a reminder to make sure to send with your student several extra masks to school each day.  Due to playing in the snow, masks are often wet from recess.  It is helpful to have a ziplock bag with a spare in their backpack daily.

Lost and Found
Lost and found will now be located inside the lobby of Thorson. 

Early Release Days
Please make sure to review the CSD Early Release Days.  

Absent/ Late Arrival- If you are going to be late or absent, please call the Thorson attendance line at 262-376-6766 before 9:00 a.m.  Please state your student's first and last name, teacher, and the reason for the absence. If your student will be taking hot lunch they will need to login to their Google form to make their lunch choice or notify the office. When reporting your child absent due to illness, please describe their symptoms, this information is critical for our district health staff and tracking purposes. 

From the Thorson PTO Dining for Dollars New Fortune 01/12/2021 from 4-9 p.m. Give a High Five Show your appreciation for a Thorson staff member by giving them a written HIGH FIVE and support the PTO at the same time! For as little as $5, submit a written HIGH FIVE--a shout out, compliment, or thank you--that will be posted to our Thorson PTO Facebook page on Fridays as well as on display in the Thorson Elementary staff lounge. Fill out the simple Google form and follow the link to pay through PayPal! Google Form: https://docs.google.com/.../1ORKqtACV1nI1ERq_D.../edit Additional information can be found on the PTO website at http://www.thorsonpto.org/give-a-high-five.html Boxtops There have been a few changes to the collection process of box tops this year with Covid and the discontinuation of the clipping process of boxtops. The Boxtop Collection is now done through the Boxtop App on any smartphone or device (see this link for a video on the app ( https://youtu.be/Hh94b2BvFK4). Once you upload the app and enter your information you can choose “Thorson Elementary” as your school to donate to.  Once the app is accessible you scan your receipt after each visit to the store to accrue box tops for your family to donate to our school.  You have up to 14 days from the day you did your shopping to scan the receipt before it is no longer able to be used. With our limit in a reward system this year, due to Covid and the precautions, we have decided to offer an extra recess to all classrooms should we meet a school-wide goal of $300.00 boxtops scanned by each of the following three dates:  December 11th, 2020, March 12th, 2021, and May 28th, 2021.Once you get the app set up it is fairly easy to use.  Please make sure to refer the app to families and friends to help with our program! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me.  Thank you for your time, Dayna Biernat  Giving Tree The Thorson Giving Tree has been created by the Thorson PTO to give parents/community an opportunity to give a classroom item to a teacher member any time of the year.  Please click on this link as often as you choose.  It will be updated from time to time, so please check in often.  Thank you! Next PTO Meeting: January 11, 2021 PTO Agenda Meeting Minutes  YMCA before and after school programs At our before and after school programs, we focus on building relationships, getting active, completing homework, and having fun! This year, we will of course be focusing a lot on health and safety, as well. Please be sure to look over the brochure through the link below. To get to the brochure, follow the link below, select the desired location, and then click on the link below the Program Location heading. Please be thorough, as things like pricing, procedures, locations, billing methods, etc. may have changed.  We also have many of our new health and cleaning procedures listed here. Click Here for Information on our Before and After School Programs From the Cedarburg School District:  Wisconsin Adult School Crossing Guard Recognition Week is Monday, January 11 through Friday, January 15, 2021. Please be sure to show your appreciation for our wonderful CSD School Crossing Guards!