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HUEGEL HIGHLIGHTSMARCH 2016

MARCH 2 - Grades 3-5 Music Concert 2:30 p.m. Families invited

MARCH 6 - Huegel Spirit Gear sale ends

MARCH 8 - Early Release @ 11:35am

MARCH 8 - Parent Teacher Conferences

MARCH 15 - Parent Meeting @ 6:15pm

MARCH 15 - Parent Latino Night @ 6pm

MARCH 18 - Spring Fling @ 6:30pm

MARCH 19-28 - No School - Spring Break

MARCH 31 - As Easy As Pie Fundraiser Ends

APRIL 6 - Pump It Up Fundraiser

APRIL 8 - Movie Night

UPCOMING EVENTS

A MESSAGEfrom Ms. Potter-Davis

Happy March! It was great to see many of you at Read Your Heart Out and Literacy/Math/Pizza Night. These events would not be possible without the amazing parent volunteers we have. There are so many different ways you can be involved at Huegel, from helping out at PTO events, or popping pop-corn for our monthly Popcorn days, to joining your child for breakfast or lunch and checking your child’s boomerang folder every day. We love welcoming parents into our school and appreciate all your support to make our school the best it can be.

In February our Positive Behavior Focus (PBS) was attendance. Looking at our attendance data we noticed that February is the month when attendance dips. As a school we reviewed the importance of being at school when you are not sick so that you don’t miss out on valuable learning time. For the last week in February we challenged our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders to meet our district attendance goal, which is 94%. I’m very happy to share that we met our goal!

As much as the students have enjoyed the snow at recess, we are all hoping for an early spring. Believe it or not we are already starting to plan for next year. Sometime in the next few weeks you will receive a “Parent Input Form,” which will help us make the best classroom placement decision for your child for next year. Please take some time to fill out this form and return it by March 18. Thank you!

As you read the rest of the newsletter you will find some useful information about attendance, and also our art program. As a school we work hard to provide a well-rounded curriculum that exposes students to many different areas. You will also learn more about all the great things our hard-working PTO is working on this year.

Take good care,Abby Potter-Davis

RAY W. HUEGEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL : 2601 PRAIRIE ROAD : MADISON, WISCONSINHT TPS://HUEGEL.MADISON.K12.WI.US/608.204.3100

2 HUEGEL HIGHLIGHTS

BY Kate Olsen Birner, Art Teacher

My goal as an art teacher is help each student find their own creative voice. It is my belief that we are all good at making things, we simply need to figure out what our creative strength is, and tap into it. I teach problem solving, it just happens to be in a visual format. The problem solving skills we learn in the art room can be applied to the rest of the school day, and to life in general.

In order that each student can be successful in the art room, I teach as many different media as my schedule and budget allow. For example, we explore tempera paint, watercolor paint, cake tempera, acrylic, cray-pas, pastels, crayons, colored pencil, paint sticks, clay, fiber, collage, mixed media, printmaking, markers, sharpies, foil repousse, water based cray-pas, oil based clay, recycled cardboard, and glaze, to name a few of our art supplies.

We also work in both two and three dimensions, as some children excel in one and struggle in the other. This of course, enables all students to be successful in the art room. All of our units meet or exceed the MMDS art standards.

Fortunately, I was able to obtain the Ceiling Tile grant again this year, so each third grader will be able to paint a tile for permanent display in our hallway. The State Journal is doing a story on our art gallery this year! If you are the parent of a third grader I ask that you have your child wear old clothes for this project, as we will use acrylic paint on the ceiling tiles, and while we wear smocks, if any paint gets on your child’s clothes, it will likely not come off! I will ask classroom teachers to include this suggestion in their weekly newsletters once we are ready to begin that unit. Thank you in advance for your help with this matter.

ART HIGHLIGHT

TECH UPDATEOur teachers continue to explore new and creative ways to integrate technology into teaching and learning. Several teachers have started using “Google Hangout” to video conference with classrooms from other parts of the country, and in some cases other countries. What a great way for our students to learn with and about students from other places!

We have also introduced many of our students to coding, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Check out code.org for more information on the importance of young students learning to code.

3MARCH 2016

FUNDRAISER

DONATE BY CHECK OR ONLINE UNTIL MARCH 31!

Student’s Name ___________________________________ Teacher ___________________________________________

EASYAS PIEHuegel’s PTO is raising monies

for ART CLASS!

For each $10 donation your name will be added to a drawing for:

1ST PRIZE: 5 Papa John’s Large Pizza Certificates2ND PRIZE: 3 Papa John’s Large Pizza Certificates3RD PRIZE: 2 Papa John’s Large Pizza Certificates4TH PRIZE:$15 Gift Card to Benvenuto’s YOUR DONATION IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE

EACH SCHOOL YEAR...

Huegel’s art budget for an entire school year is approximately only $4/student

Each student spends approximately34 hours/school year in art class

$4/student

34hours

Write check to “Huegel PTO” OR donate online:https://sites.google.com/site/huegelpto/fundraising/easy-as-pie

4 HUEGEL HIGHLIGHTS

ART APPS

Let’s Create! Pottery LiteThrow the clay on the wheel, release

all your artistic talents and take benefit

of dozens of materials available in

order to create your own design!

Color CarnivalThe child learns to recognize colours

namely Red, Green, Yellow, Blue, Brown,

Black…a total of 10.

Mandala Coloring Pages100 Mandala coloring pages for adults

and kids. Both easy and complex

mandala’s for everyone. Become

relaxed and zen!

Stick DrawAn animation maker app! It’s super

easy to learn/use.

TinkerplayWith Tinkerplay you can easily design

and 3D print fun characters, scary

creatures or anything else you can

imagine using the built-in part library.

HUEGEL PTO FINANCIAL UPDATE(School Year To Date)Please support upcoming fundraisers including restaurant nights, Box Tops, Pump It Up, Silent Auction and more!

Income - Fundraisers Expenses - Events/Items

2911 Marketplace Dr | Fitchburg

5MARCH 2016

PUMP IT UP FUNDRAISERWed, April 6 | 5:30pm-8:30pm

Drop-off your kids at Pump It Up and raise money for Huegel!

REGISTER TODAY! http://www.pumpitupparty.com/event-calendar/4/0/fitchburg-wi

2 Hours of jump time in our inflatables plus 1 hour in the party rooms for pizza, drinks, and an activity or craft:

• $25 for the first child and $20 per sibling• 50% donation is made to Huegel once 20

admissions are paid.• There are only 70 spots available for this

evening of fun! First-come first-served. • Open jump passes and punch passes will not

be accepted for this event.

2911 Marketplace Dr | Fitchburg

Huegel Spirit Gear!The Spring Huegel Wear Sale is underway! Show your school spirit with a t-shirt, a hoodie or comfortable pajama pants. Huegel window clings are also available!

Check your child’s backpack for order forms, or visit our online site: https://goo.gl/9KaktV.

Online orders accepted until March 6th.

6 HUEGEL HIGHLIGHTS

SET IT, DON’T FORGET ITEach month, our Positive Behavior Support program presents a “Cool Tool” to the school that teaches a skill that prepares our students for college, career and the com-munity.

This month, our Cool Tool is called “Set it, don’t forget it!” and focuses on the impor-tance of attendance and arriving to school on time.

For our Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students, “Set it, don’t forget it” means setting out everything necessary for the next day, such as an outfit, backpack and home-work, so it is ready to go and cuts down on time and stress in the morning.

For 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, “Set it, don’t forget it” means setting your alarm and get-ting ready and getting to school on time!

We stress the importance of attendance for ALL students, because the data shows that students with good attendance in Kindergarten through Grade 2 have higher rates of reading and math proficiency in later grades. Additionally, a student’s social emotional well-being and sense of community can be affected by excessive absenc-es.

Because of this strong correlation between attendance and school performance, the MMSD school district focuses closely on attendance policies. The MMSD attendance policy states that all students will attend school on at least 94% of school days. To meet this goal a student should not miss more than 10 days of school per year, includ-ing both excused and unexcused days.

Absences will be excused for up to 10 days throughout the entire school year only if a student is unable to attend due to illness, observance of a religious holiday, serious illness or death of an immediate family member, medical appointment or inclement weather.

Your child’s success in school is a goal we all share. Numerous health conditions can be addressed at school with proper knowledge and medications. We have Student Services staff including a School Nurse, School Social Worker, and School Psychologist who are available to meet with you to respond to specific health needs. Please feel free to contact the school with any questions, or to discuss specific concerns about your student’s health.

If your child will not be attending school for any reason, please call the Safe Arrival line 204-3107 at any time to excuse that absence!!

Thank you for all you do to make sure your students are at school on time each and every day!

7MARCH 2016

AFTER SCHOOL STEM CLASSES!LOCATED IN HUEGEL ELEMENTARY

Junior Engineers: Chemical Engineering & Robotics: Amazing Mechanisms (8 Weeks) Dates: March 17, 31, April 7, 14, 21, 28, May 5 & 12Day: ThursdaysGrades: K - 1Time: 3:30 – 4:30 pm EFK Base Fee: $120Min/Max: 8/12Description: The Junior Chemical Engineering classes introduce our youngest engineers to fundamental concepts of solids, liquids, and solutions. Students investigate the properties of several crazy concoctions and make their own samples of bubbles, play dough, flub, and more. In the LEGO® WeDo™ Robots class students build a dancing bird, a smart spinner, and a drumming monkey. They also learn how to program and operate their creations using a laptop computer.

Aerospace Engineering & Game Design: Pong In Space (8 Weeks) Dates: March 9, 16, 30, April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4,Days: Wednesdays Grades: 2 - 5Time: 3:30 – 5:00 pm EFK Base Fee: $160Min/Max: 10/20Description: During the Aerospace Engineering classes, students use the explore a variety of flying machines. They construct a shock absorbing system designed to protect two marshmallow astronauts in a lunar vehicle, create their own air-powered rockets, and assemble a hot air balloon model that actually takes flight! They say that in space no one can hear you scream… with joy while playing your very own version of the classic video game, Pong—Pong In Space! We will use Clickteam Fusion 2.5® to bring our storyboard to life with programming. At the end of the program, everyone takes home a working Windows-compatible game.

REGISTER TODAY!www.engineeringforkids.com/

dane

10% OF ALL TUITION FEES

ARE DONATED TO HUEGEL’S PTO

8 HUEGEL HIGHLIGHTS

SPRING FLINGCome join us for our annual Spring Fling dance on Friday, March 18 from 6:30-8:00! There will be a DJ there, so bring your best dance moves. Parents are required to stay; younger siblings welcome!

MOVIE NIGHTSTAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS + THE PEANUTS MOVIE

join

th

e fu

n!

Free to Huegel Eagle Families

Friday, APRIL 8th

Doors open at 6:00pmMovies begin at 6:30pm

Huegel Gymnasium

WHO WHEN

WHERE

Chairs and concessions are available, but you are welcome to bring blankets and snacks from home.

Thank you to all who purchased Square1 items from our November fundraiser! We raised $2010!

THANK YOU...Thank you to all families and friends who ate at Buffalo Wild Wings in January for our restaurant night! We raised $214.90!

Thank you to Engineering for Kids of Dane County for donating to the Huegel PTO! $246 was donated!