Dear Parents and Guardians,

Peace be with you.  The second week of Advent gives us the opportunity to seek, understand and embrace peace. Peace with each other, peace of mind and peace within our hearts of our worries and fears.  Understanding peace and living in peace bring us closer to each other and our Lord.  At SMSA, in partnership with all stakeholders we strive for peace in our community of learners.  

One way we do this is the Principal Pen award.  Each week approximately twelve students receive recognition for living the Ledger Way.  They are noticed for the good actions they choose and how they influence others around them in a positive way.  

Our school counselors, teachers, staff and administration are committed to guiding students to understand themselves and the world of relationships around them.  They seek to understand and guide students through issues students encounter and grow through as they learn about themselves and each other.  It’s a complex world as each student goes through developmental stages in understanding relationships.  

Finally, the LLC (Ledger Legacy Club) was initiated this year.  The LLC gave the opportunity for our eighth grade students to join this club and learn leadership.  The LLC is charged with reflection, empathy and service to the community.  We meet weekly on Monday. The spirit in these student leaders is captivating and energizing.  

Thank you for taking this amazing journey with us and choosing us as a partner in developing leaders of tomorrow.  May you find peace this Advent season. 

School Safety/Supportive Resources

Click here for a link to support Ledgers at SMSA.  It may also be found on our website.

Bullying is defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems. 

In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be aggressive and include: 

• An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people. 
• Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once. 

Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

Parents will be notified if/when incidents of bullying occur. Repeat incidents of bully type behavior will result in a team meeting of parent/s, school staff members, and administration to design a plan of action to curb inappropriate behaviors.

School Safety/Upcoming Initiatives

Every Ledger’s safety is the top priority for all who serve at the Springs.  As such, SMSA takes responsibility to establish and conduct various safety audits and drills throughout the school year.  Parents  likely remember fire and tornado drills from your previous school days.  As required by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and in partnership with local and regional educational leaders and first responders from healthcare and law enforcement, SMSA is developing additional plans and drills to help our school community be better prepared for a variety of emergency scenarios.  We believe that by establishing, communicating, and then practicing a comprehensive set of safety drills, SMSA will be best prepared to manage potentially difficult situations more effectively. 

Later this month and school year, SMSA leadership shall communicate new versions of emergency plans and safety drills with parents.  We plan to practice these best approaches with students, faculty and staff.  Please watch for more detailed communications about safety plans and drills, and for new resources designed to help parents effectively discuss safety with their children. 

At SMSA, we take school safety seriously, and strive to provide a healthy school culture and positive learning environment.  We fully understand the important role parents play as our partners to accomplish this goal.  It really does take everyone staying alert and working together to keep our Ledgers safe.  As always, if you or your child become aware of a potentially dangerous situation that may threaten campus safety, we urge you to contact the Fond du Lac Police Department.  To report life threatening urgent matters, please dial 9-1-1.  To report concerns that may not be urgent, please call 920-322-3700.  You  may also call the elementary school main office at 920-322-8046. 

Elves R Us

A big thank you goes out to all those who supported the eighth grade class with Elves R Us.  The younger students were excited and loved to discuss their experiences.  The eighth grade class has grown through the experience as well.  It’s awesome to see them star in their roles as leaders and servant leaders in various roles within the Elves R Us project.  

Thank you for your continued partnership with SMSA.  Together we create a path for tomorrow’s children to achieve amazing dreams. 

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Please select the following six links to see the box set of SBG at SMSA.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC85kS-z_Mk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tecnwN4dXLU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7ejwOMhkAg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7jww2J7RJs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQO1AVjoMJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1jIyS7wso0

Tuesday, December 14th – K-4 Christmas Program, 12:45 pm Rehearsal Program,  6:30 pm in Hutter Gym

Wednesday, December 15th – Preschool Nativity Christmas performance on December 15th at 8:15 in the chapel for preschool families to enjoy, grades 5-8 Christmas Concert, 1:00 p.m. rehearsal program, 6:00 p.m. evening program in Hutter Gym.  Please feel free to come to the Rehearsal Programs and/or the Evening Programs

Come and enjoy an evening of holiday selections at the High School Music Department’s Christmas Concert. This concert will take place on: Monday, December 13th at 7:00 p.m. at Holy Family Church. It will feature the: Vocal Jazz ensembles, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Concert Choirs, and Modern Band ensemble. All are welcome to attend in person or view the livestream from the Holy Family Facebook page.

Tuesday, December 14th at 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm in Hutter Gym

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Middle School Music Department is getting ready for our first concert of the season! Christmas is not too far away, so we wanted to reach out with some important information for the upcoming performances.

During the school day:

• All students will wear their school uniforms
• 1:00 p.m. performance in Hutter Gym, parents and families invited
• Evening concert
• Students that are in band will report to the band room at 5:40pm
• Students who are only in choir will report to Hutter Gym at 5:40pm
• Please be prompt and allow travel time so students are at their appointed places on time

Concert 

• 5th & 6th Grade Band and Choir students-wear your “Sunday Best” or fancy Christmas attire (no jeans)
• 7th & 8th Grade Band students – Concert black (boys: black long sleeve button-up, black pants, black shoes. girls: black dress of appropriate length and coverage, or black shirt and pants, or black shirt and skirt of appropriate length. Please, no heels due to having maneuver risers, flats only
• 7th & 8th Grade Choir students–wear your “Sunday Best” or fancy Christmas attire (no jeans)

For a $3.00 donation the students in P3-8th grade will get to watch a movie, enjoy a bag of popcorn, and wear pjs (P3-5th) or sweats (6th-8th). They may bring in their own 20 ounce or less drink from home. All the proceeds from the movie and popcorn afternoon will go to help Mason and his family. All money needs to be turned in by Friday, December 17th. If a family is unable to contribute at this time, the student/s will still be able to participate. Please read below to learn more about Mason.

Mason, who is currently 9 years old, has a brain tumor. He began having headaches and vision issues in 2018, and after tests and an MRI, they found a mass near his pituitary gland. After attempting surgery to remove it, they found it was too risky as it was wrapped around nerves and blood vessels. They have been trying to shrink the tumor using chemo. Mason has lost almost all eyesight in his right eye, and now he is losing vision in his left eye. The tumor is also pressing on his pituitary gland, which is causing it not to work properly.

Have you turned in your BMR tickets yet? The BMR drawing is Friday, January 14, 2022!

Holiday get-togethers are the perfect time to sell your tickets. Take them to Christmas gatherings, or purchase one or more for that hard to shop for person on your Christmas list.

Tickets may be returned to school any time before the drawing at noon on Friday, January 14, 2022. Additional tickets are available at the North, South and Scrip offices or email kzitlow@smsacademy.org.

Thank you to all of the families who attended LedgerExpress last weekend! The Commons Area was transformed into a Christmas celebration filled with cookie decorating, holiday craft, hot cocoa station, raffle prizes and photo area with Santa! Then the gym hosted many Christmas themed games along with a bounce house and balloon guy! Fun was had by all! Watching the joy on the kids’ faces as they moved through each station was priceless! So wonderful to bring this event back this year!

Thank you so much to our committee who worked so hard on organizing LedgerExpress! Thank you also to all of the families who donated items for LedgerExpress. This event wouldn’t have happened without all of you. 

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas!

I want to reach out to our SMSA parents/guardians with an important change to the current tardy policy. Due to the highway 23 expansion project and the traffic backup that has resulted, we will no longer be recording tardies for the 1st hour.

With that said, I do expect students to arrive at a reasonable time and not take advantage of the change in policy. This change will become effective immediately and remain in place through completion date for the highway 23 project.

If your child currently has a tardy recorded for first hour and you would like their attendance record updated, please contact the South Office (Summer Anderson, Kelcy Steffes) and they would be glad to assist you!

God’s Blessings,

Ken Fisher, SMSA PreK-8 Assistant Principal

Click here to read the December updates.

Planning has begun for Ledgerfest – Luck of the Ledger – Saturday, March 19, 2022! The elementary Ledgerfest parent committee is excited to be collecting funds to put together themed class auction packages again this year to be used on our silent auction. The class auction packages are fast becoming our highest bid on items!

New this year, we are making it easier than ever for you to donate towards your child’s class auction package. Click here to make a donation online. Once you enter a donation amount and click next, please fill in your child’s name and grade level (if you are donating for more than one child, please list each name and grade level along with the amount for each child).

If you prefer, you may send cash or check (payable to Andrea Nuss) in an envelope marked: ES Ledgerfest/Kristin Zitlow. Please also indicate your child’s grade level on the envelope.

Any questions? Contact Kristin ~ kzitlow@smsacademy.org ~ 920-322-8006

This is a simple way to make your impact at SMSA!

WIN A $5,000 LANDS’ END SCHOOL STARBOARD SCHOLARSHIP

The Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship acknowledges and rewards students who display exceptional leadership skills. Up to five scholarships will be awarded to eligible Preferred School students in grades 8‑12. Please see full eligibility guidelines. The Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship Program was established to assist middle and high school students, currently in grades 8-12, who are enrolled at a Lands’ End Preferred School in the U.S. (SMSA Preferred School Number: 900157314)

2021-2022 Application now available. Applications will be accepted now through December 15, 2021 or until 1,000 applications have been received.

https://www.landsend.com/starboard-scholarship/

No news at this time.

If you are interested in helping with our Parent Connectors Group, please contact Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.  We appreciate the support of our SMSA Families!