Dear Parents and Guardians,

What is your resolution this year?  What gifts do you have to offer the Lord all the moments of our days?  These two questions work in collaboration to welcome us to 2022, and celebrate the Epiphany on January 6th.  Both the new year and the epiphany offer gifts to us, as the Magi offered their gifts to Jesus.  The new year offers us the gift of opportunity to begin anew with a New Year’s resolution.  The Epiphany of our Lord is celebrated to reveal the Our Savior and announce His coming to the world.  The Epiphany gives us the question of what gift do I bring Jesus, as the Magi offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.   We have the gift of thinking about how we can use our God Given gifts to better ourselves, influence those around us and change the world. What are you going to do this year to make life a gift?

The second quarter is coming to its conclusion on January 20, 2022.  This leaves approximately two weeks to the conclusion.  Skyward is an awesome communication tool to keep up to date with grades.  Please feel free to take a look into Skyward and see where your child(ren) are being successful and may need some more growth.  Learning is a continuum of inquiring and applying knowledge and skills.  Thank you for being partners in the journey of learning.  

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. 

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

Standard Based Grading

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

January 20th:  Last day of the second quarter

January 21st: No School – Teacher Grading Day

January 24th – 28th: Grade 2 – Grade 8 (MAP testing) 

January 30th – February 4, 2022: Catholic Schools Week

Do not miss your chance at winning $20,000 on Friday, January 14, 2022 at noon!

All Big Money raffle tickets must be purchased and returned before the drawing on Friday, January 14, 2022. In addition to the grand prize of $20,000 an additional $10,000 in cash prizes will also be awarded! Additional tickets may be purchased from the North, South or Scrip offices at SMSA.

Who will be the big winner? Tune in to 97.7 on Friday, January 14th at noon to hear the winners announced live!

Don’t delay, return your blue and white BMR tickets today!

As we finish the second quarter on the Ledge, it is important that we continue to reflect on student learning and growth as one piece of our commitment to providing an exemplary Catholic education to all of our students. Part of this process includes having all students in grades 2-8 participate in the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests three times per year. The goal of this is to more accurately view a student’s progress throughout the academic year in the areas of mathematics and reading. These results assist in providing a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn. A combination of data from MAP testing, as well as formative and summative assessments in the classroom, makes it possible for teachers to tailor classroom lessons and set goals for students to address specific student needs at all levels.

Students in grades 2-8 will be participating in Winter MAP testing during the week of January 24, 2022. We are truly excited to focus on your child’s individual growth and achievement this school year. For more information about the MAP Growth test please visit: https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/family-toolkit/.

The class auction packages are fast becoming our highest bid on items on the silent auction during Ledgerfest! We need your help to ensure they are a huge success again this year!

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.

Ledgerfest – Luck of the Ledger – Saturday, March 19, 2022, invitations coming soon! Mark your calendar to attend this fun evening of fundraising for SMSA.

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

The following elementary students were honored at last week and at this week’s Principal’s Pen Award breakfast:  

Cooper Krug – Grade 8: Cooper is polite and patient.  He uses great manners.

Lara Elmazi – Grade 6: Lara greets others with a smile and makes them feel special.  She works hard to overcome adversity. 

Christian Flores – Grade 8: Christian did an incredible job during Elves, working really well with all the kids. 

Morgan Nachreiner – Grade 8: Morgan was excellent during Elves R Us.  She was always volunteering, always willing to help, and always doing the right thing. 

Hudson Burg – Grade 8: Hudson is a great friend.  He is always willing to help, always polite, and always has a smile.  He was also amazing during Elves R Us. 

Maddie Amadon – Grade 6: Maddie is recognized for the values of Learning and Respect.  She is always on task and truly respects each and every student on a daily basis. 

Sam Flood – Grade 6: Sam is always willing to help in and out of the classroom.  He is nice to every student and is a very hard worker!

Brooklyn Schneider – Grade 6: Brooklyn is recognized for the values of Learning and Respect. She is a very respectful student who gives her best effort and takes pride in her learning. 

Emerson Dreher – Grade 7: Emerson is being recognized for the value of Responsibility.  He is always respectful and a very diligent worker that will not give up until he is finished.

Zayne Wilson – Grade 7: Zayne is recognized for the values of Learning, Respect, and Community.  He cares about his work, jokes around and listens, and is a positive influence in the room. 

A HUGE heartfelt thank you to all of the 4th-8th grade students that created the beautiful Christmas cards, the generous families in PreK-8th that bought them, and donated to our movie and popcorn afternoon. Because of your amazing spirit of giving, we were able to present a check in the amount of $4,212.82 to the family of Mason Abraham. Mason is a local 9 year old boy, who currently has a brain tumor and is in treatment. We are grateful for your continued support. Please keep Mason and his family in your prayers. 

Click here to view the photo.

Click here to read the January 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 January 19, 2022 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!