Dear Parents and Guardians,

I would like to thank Thaden Colwin, a fifth grade student, for being an amazing “Principal for the day on Wednesday, October 27th.  He received this opportunity through the Ledgerfest auction.  We spent the day in various meetings, making decisions, visiting classrooms, having lunch, meeting with President Akay, leading leadership meetings with prayer, making a PA announcement and supporting the crossing guard duty.  He did a wonderful job and made the most of the day we experienced together.  I’m proud of the way he presented himself to students, faculty, leadership and parents.  He truly is the LEDGER WAY in action.  He inspired me and many others along his journey of his day.  Thank Thaden for being an amazing and inspiring Ledger. 

God Bless,

Mr. Kelnhofer 

Halloween Party – October 29th

The “spooktacular” classroom Halloween parties are coming the afternoon of Friday, October 29th, 2021.  SMSA is asking for each classroom teacher to collaborate with the room parent(s) to organize the festivities.  As we allow parents and volunteers onto campus for this event, we do so with the Ledger Way core values on our minds and in our hearts.  The Ledger way guides our decision making. We are asking a maximum of three volunteers per classroom.  We are asking for volunteers only to come into school if you are feeling 100% healthy and have not been exposed to COVID-19 in the last ten days.  Please follow these guidelines to keep in person learning fully functioning for the greater community.  We ask this as well as other holidays are soon to follow.  Thank you for your understanding and partnership as we continue to keep learning happening on the Ledge. 

Halloween Dance

Grades six through eight will be having a Halloween dance on Friday, October 29th from 4:00 to 6:00p.m.  Look for communication from the classroom/homeroom teachers for more information regarding the festivities.  

MAP Testing

The autumn MAP testing window has been completed for grades 2-8 in the areas of math and reading.  Teachers use MAP data to guide their individual instruction for the students they teach in real time throughout the school year.  MAP scores support learning and measures growth throughout the school year.  Look for scores to be coming home through backpacks next week. 

First Quarter Ends – November 5th

The first quarter comes to a completion on Friday, November 5, 2021.  Please be mindful of Skyward as our avenue to communicate student progress throughout the quarter and school year between home and school.  It has features to get alerts right to your cell phone as you see fit for your family.

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

God Bless,

Steven Kelnhofer

skelnhofer@smsacademy.org

Elementary Principal, SMSA

Standards Based Grading

The objective of the video series is to educate parents in short videos to unpack Standard Based Grading.  The series intends to deliver an education and mindshift to understand Standards Based Grading, why Standards Based Grading is best practice, and how Standards Based Grading functions with the parent and teacher supporting the student’s journey.

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

Friday, October 29th – Afternoon Halloween classroom parties

Friday, October 29th – Halloween MS dance 4:00 to 6:00 in Baker gym

Monday, November 1st – All Saints Day

Friday, November 5th – End of the First quarter

Monday, November 8th –  No School, Teacher in-service

Trunk or Treat is back! We are very excited to celebrate Halloween with our SMSA family in a safe and fun way! Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 28th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. This event will take place in the upper green parking lot. Students will dress up in their Halloween costumes and trick or treat to each car. Make sure to bring lots of candy and decorating your car is encouraged.

Click here to view the flyer.

All students in grades 6-8 are welcome to attend a Halloween Dance on Friday, October 29th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. There is no admission, but please let your homeroom teacher know by Friday, October 22nd if you plan to attend. 

Bring your costumes to school and get ready for an evening of music, games, and pizza!  All students who attend are expected to stay until 6:00 p.m. unless a parent has contacted Christa Lewis at clewis@smsacademy.org or Lisa Holz at lholz@smsacademy.org to arrange plans.

We are excited to bring back this SPOOKY event!

Please watch for more information on this fun dress up day!

The High School Placement Test for 8th grade students will be held on Saturday, December 4th, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The test will be administered at SMSA. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Mueller at kmueller@smsacademy.org. 

Thank you!

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

Wednesday, December 15th at 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Hutter gym

Last week, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee released a new publication for school leaders, reinforcing Catholic Social Teachings and other key resources of the Church in light of their importance to Catholic education.  Specifically, this valuable new resource focuses on four main contemporary challenges and their relevance for Catholic schools today: culture, racism, civic participation for the common good, and economics. The Guidebook is designed to provide educators with clear guiding principles for Catholic social responsibility, Catholic theological resources that correspond to the four contemporary challenges, and alignment of Catholic Social Teachings to current Archdiocesan curriculum, policies, and accreditation standards.

In each age, the Church and its schools have responded to the signs of the times with a renewed proclamation of the Gospel, often adapted to the language and needs of the era.  Parents are invited to review this document, now uploaded to the SMSA Website.  The Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook will provide all teachers with one stop shopping and the appropriate context for living out their vocation as educators in a Catholic school.  CatholicSocialResponsibilityGuidebookforCatholicSchoolsFinal9.22.21.pdf

As a reminder, please only sell and/or purchase the BLUE and WHITE BMR tickets for the Friday, January 14, 2022 drawing. Please throw away any pink tickets that you may still have.

We appreciate your support in selling and/or purchasing the new blue and white tickets and returning them to school on or before Friday, January 14, 2022. Your participation is vital to the success of this fundraiser and reaching our goal of raising $100,000 for our school. We cannot wait to pull the $20,000 winning ticket on Friday, January 14, 2022 at noon.

Please contact Kristin Zitlow at kzitlow@smsacademy.org or 920-322-8006 with any questions.

Click here to read the October Specials Newsletter.

None at this time.

No news at this time.

Would you like to get more involved as a parent at SMSA? On supply drop off day, you will be receiving a Parent Connectors Volunteer Form. Please fill out this form with the ways you would be interested in helping and return it to school by Friday, September 17th. You will then receive emails regarding upcoming events and ways to assist throughout the year. Thank you so much! We couldn’t do this without our amazing volunteers. If you have any questions, please reach out to Andrea Nuss, alnuss@charter.net.