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“Our
Spring Valley Elementary
Newsletter
November 2011
Spring Valley Elementary Newsletter
“I Love America”
2011 Dinner Theater
This year’s 2nd & 3rd grade
dinner theater theme, “I
Love America,” rang proud
and clear throughout the
elementary gym Thursday
night, November 3rd. Since
the show included powerful
patriotic songs and messages, it was strategically
scheduled to fall between
the 10th anniversary of the
9/11 tragedy and Veteran’s
Day.
Following an all American
“picnic” dinner to 530
guests, our local past and
present hero members of
our military, police, ambulance and fire department
were asked to stand for applause and cheer in appreciation for their service.
Some local heroes had arrived in uniform, demonstrating a very powerful
allegiance amongst all
forms of heroes.
The audience continued to
be aweinspired as
the performers went on
to recite the
“Preamble”
Mrs. YB face paints on Sara Pelzel
and sing patriotic songs such as,
“Fifty Nifty States,” “You’re a
Grand Ole Flag,” “American Heroes” and the delightful “Yankee
Doodle.” Those little voices continued to bring out a range of
emotions as it was unlikely you
found a dry eye during the 9/11
tribute light show to Alan Jackson’s, “Where Were You When
the World Stopped Turning.”
This production also included
two slide shows, one featuring
military friends and family and
the other displaying images of
the 9/11 tragedy. We were fortunate to have 5 high school students as guests, who 10 years
ago performed an American
themed dinner theater themselves. Among them was Jayden Ottinger who in her own angelic voice sang, Sarah McLachlan’s, “Angel” during the 9/11
candlelit slideshow. Of course
another favorite was the teachers’ performance to “Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy” in old- style
army attire.
One could only have a complete
appreciation of all the planning
that went into this event if they
took the time to stroll around
and look over the booths. The
Americana themed booths included face painting, cotton
candy, American snacks and
candy, red, white and blue head
The teachers Boogie Woogie
and the students cheer!
bands, bandanas and hair extensions. A few people won
door prize packages and Rachel Traynor was the lucky
grand prize winner of the
homemade quilt.
The show closing was a heartwarming, audience sing-along
to Lee Greenwood’s, “God
Bless the USA.” Pride for our
country, honored service
members and for the youth of
our community resonated
through the hearts of everyone who was witness to this
spectacular event.
Spring Valley Elementary staff
and students are continuing to
show their gratefulness for
area military service men and
women this November by donating a portion of the proceeds from this show to purchase items and assemble
care packages
to be shipped
to our local
troops.
Jim Christenson, SV ambulance
and Alan Windsor, US military
Holiday Concert 2011
The Elementary 5K-6 grade Holiday
Concert is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 14th. The concert will take place in the elementary
gym and will include songs by grades
5K-6 and instrumental selections by
our 5th and 6th grade band students.
This year, we are grateful to have an
experienced videographer film the
concert. Dave Hanson, who you may
remember filming the Dinner Theater,
will film and edit DVDs. Order forms
for the DVDs will be available the day
of concert.
Parking is always a bit tricky during
big events at the elementary school.
Please be prepared to park a few
blocks away.
The concert is expected to be completed around 2:30. We look forward to
another great show!
Also, please remember, elementary
gym doors will not open until NOON.
Sorry, there is no reserved seating.
Admission is FREE, however, we will
be accepting food shelf donation
items!
Wait! It doesn’t stop there! The 4K
performance will also take place in the
evening at 6:00.
Ten minutes after the conclusion of
the program, parents will be able to
pick up their children in the classrooms. Please remember to send a
note with your child if you anticipate
taking your child after the concert.
“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,
and we are better
throughout the year
for having, in spirit,
become a child
again at Christmastime.”
~Laura Ingalls
Wilder
Preschool Screening Date Set
“Children are world’s most valuable resource
and its best hope for the future.”
~ John F. Kennedy
Attention: Parents of
Preschoolers !!
On Friday, December 2nd, the
Spring Valley School District will be
conducting pre-school screening for
all 3 and 4 year old children who are
not attending 4 year old kindergarten.
Each child will be screened in the areas of social development, speech/
language, cognition, motor development, and vision & hearing. The
screening will take approximately 45
minutes. There are still many times
available for scheduling If you or
someone you know would like to make
an appointment, please call Spring
Valley Elementary office at 7785602.
Snow Day Information
As the possibility of winter weather
and snow days approach, please be
certain to have your Inclement
Weather family form updated and
turned in. Information about school
closings or delays can be found by:
1. Radio- tune in to AM radio stations 830, 1360, and 1590; or FM
radio stations 92.1 and 107.1.
2. TV- channels 4, 5, or 11
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3. Phone- call the ‘school closing hotline’ at 778-6675 after 5:30 a.m.
This service is sponsored by
Spring Valley Telephone Company
* thanks again for being a great
school partner!
“Wherever you go, no matter what
4. Online-School District of Spring
the weather, always bring your own
Valley website:
www.springvalley.k12.wi.us
sunshine.” ~ Anthony J. D’Angelo
Muffin For Moms and Donuts for Dads
As another way to connect school and
families, the SVE Power of Positive
Students (POPS) Committee is again
scheduling two “breakfast gettogethers.” We have decided to
schedule the events in February and
March to help alleviate some of the
hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
‘Muffins for Moms’ Friday, March
2nd from 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. These
will be time to invite mothers and fathers of our students in for some special time with their children and staff.
If moms or dads are unable to attend,
please feel free to invite someone to
“fill in.”
With this being our 8th year hosting
these elementary events, we will
NOT be sending home RSVPs. Instead, we will order muffins and
donuts based on previous
year’s numbers. We expect
Muffins for Moms, March 2nd
‘Doughnuts for Dads’
February 3rd from
7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m.
and
Christmas Gift Program
West Central Wisconsin Community
Action Agency, Inc. (West CAP), located in Glenwood City, WI, coordinates a Christmas gift drive for lowincome families in the Spring Valley
and Glenwood City School Districts.
With help from individuals, groups,
and organizations in both communities,
West CAP is able to distribute gifts
to families that might otherwise go
these events
to again be VERY
well attended.
Please be
Donuts for Dads, February 3rd
mindful of
our limited
parking for these events.
These treat days are always a hit! We
hope all moms, dads, and guardians can
join our students and staff for a morning treat.
“It is Christmas in the heart
that puts Christmas in the air.”
~W.T. Ellis
without a Christmas. West CAP, with
assistance from other organizations,
identifies families in need of a helping
hand. Information is gathered about
the family regarding children’s ages,
clothing sizes and needs or wishes.
Sponsors receive this basic information about a child or adult and each
person is identified only by a letter/
number combination. All personal in-
formation is kept
confidential and no names are given
out. Families interested in receiving
gifts or sponsoring a child or family
should contact Sharon Cormican at
West CAP at 715-265-4271 or 1-800606-9227. Applications are also available from Mrs. Christenson in the
Elementary Nurse’s Office.
Winter Clothing
Living in Wisconsin, we
appreciate the change of seasons
by spending time outdoors. Parents and guardians, please help
students remember to bring their
hat and mittens in the morning for
school each day or have a set that
stays at school. For hygiene reasons, we are not able to “lend”
“Just hear those sleigh bells jingling
hats to students from our lost
and found. It is also important to Ring ting tingling too
Come on, its lovely weather
label clothing item’s with your
child’s name so that they can be For a sleigh ride together with you.”
~Sleigh Ride by LeRoy Anderson
returned to their owners.
Spring Valley Elementary Newsletter
Sleigh Rides
Free Sleigh Rides
Where: Senior Citizen Center
When: Saturday, December 10
Time: 10:00-12:00
Ross Keehr is providing the horses
and sleigh. Ross and Tim Gregg will
be giving the rides around town.
Enjoy milk, cookies, goodie bags &
a seat on Santa’s lap inside the
Senior Citizen Center!
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Wisconsin Child Passenger Safety Laws
Children must be properly restrained in a child safety seat until they reach age 4 (previous requirement), and in a booster seat until age 8 (new requirement). The law includes the following
four-step progression for effective child safety protection in vehicles.
1. Rear-facing child safety seat in the back* seat is required when the child:
*is less than 1-year-old or
*weighs less than 20 pounds
2. Forward-facing child safety seat in the back*
*is at least 1-year-old but less than 4-years-old
* weighs at least 20 pounds but less than 40 pounds
3. Booster seat is required when the child:
*is at least 4-years-old but less than 8-years-old
*weighs at least 40 pounds but less than 80 pounds
*is not 57-inches (4-feet, 9-inches) or taller
4. Safety belt is required when the child:
*is 8-years old or older or
*weighs 80 or more pounds or
*is 57-inches or taller
*Child safety seat must be in the back seat if the vehicle is equipped with a back seat.
For more information or answers to questions:
Contact the Wisconsin Information Network for Safety at its toll-free number 1-866-5119467 or web site www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS.
Elementary Food Drive
Mr. Lasure learned very early in
the year never to challenge this
year’s elementary students to
anything that
may involve his
own humility.
In association
with Red Ribbon week’s slogan , “I can, we
can be drug
free,” Mr.
Lasure challenged students to bring in over
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1,200 canned food shelf items and
if they did, the winning class could
spray paint his hair red. The students were very generous with their
donations as we collected 1,311
items for the food shelf! Mrs. Dykhouse’s class collected the greatest
amount overall, therefore she was
the lucky one to spray his hair while
her students stood in the background during an all-school assembly.
Spring Valley food shelf coordinators were especially grateful for
our donations
as their shelves
have a reduced
amount of items
while at the
same time, they
are servicing a
larger number
of families. Due to the high demand at
our local food shelf, we plan to collect
food shelf items again during the Holiday concert on Wednesday, December
14th.
Debating Rhyme and Reason
The 6th grade girls are reading The
Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster.
In this book, Milo travels on a journey
through many fictitious lands in order
to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Milo
goes to Dictionopolis, the Valley of
Sound, Point of View, and Illusions
just to name a few. The people in
these towns are in disarray because
Rhyme and Reason have been sent
away. Milo meets all sorts of extraordinary people on his journey like
the Mathemagician (the king of numbers in Digitopolis), King Azaz (the
king of words in Dictionopolis),
Chroma (the conductor of color), and
the Sound Keeper (the keeper of all
sound). Each believes that their subject
is the most important.
We decided to hold two debates to try
to decide which subjects are more important. The first debate was sound vs.
color, and the second was numbers vs.
letters. The girls divided into four
groups and prepared their facts on notecards. Each girl had a chance to speak
from a podium using a microphone. While
two groups debated, the other two evaluated. All the girls received very helpful
information regarding the relevance of
their information, their tone of voice,
their speed, and their interaction with
the audience. It was a great experience.
They look forward to having future debates where they can improve upon their
public speaking skills!
Brittan Johnson partaking
in the debate
Veterans Day Walk
Spring Valley Elementary
School’s 2nd and 6th grade students participated in the “Spring
Valley Veterans Day Road March”
on Friday, November 11th in
honor of Veterans’ Day. At
8:45am students walked to the
Spring Valley Health Care Center
and joined local veterans and
supporters. Students were part
of the send-off, and walked to
Support Staff
Appreciated
Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Sorenson
and Mr. Madson
Spring Valley Elementary Newsletter
the west end of the walking trail.
The other
marchers
continued to
walk to the
Red Barn to
support and
honor our
troops.
“How important it is for us
to recognize and
celebrate our heroes and
she-roes!”
~Maya Angelou
The Spring Valley Elementary teachers and staff gave gift baskets to the bus drivers,
janitors, and cooks. Each basket was specific to their jobs. Our school appreciates
all they do to help make our school run smoothly everyday.
Mr. Donath representing the crew at the
bus garage.
Mrs. Mattison, Mrs. Sorenson and
Mrs. Sowatzke
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“Our Cardinal
Pride is School
Wide”
Spring Valley Elementary
200 Sabin Avenue
PO Box 249
Spring Valley , WI 54767
Phone: 715-778-5602
Fax: 715-778-5615
Schedule of Upcoming Events
December 02
Early Release 1:15
December 14
5K-6 Holiday Concert 1:00
4K Holiday Concert 6:00
December 22
Classroom Parties
December 23-Jan. 02
NO SCHOOL
January
03
School Resumes
January
04
Battle of the Books begins
January
10
D.A.R.E. Graduation in Elmwood @
1:00
February 03
elia’s art website!
Check out Ms. Rob
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Donuts for Dads
Spring Valley Elementary would like to
extend a big thank you to Cpt. Andrew
Johansen who so graciously came into
our school on Veteran’s as a guest
speaker.
Thank you, Captain Johansen!
National Children’s Book Week 2011
National Children’s Book Week is an
age-old tradition. Celebrated since
1919, it is devoted to spreading the
word about children’s literature and
encouraging the love of reading.
Annually, the week before Thanksgiving, Spring Valley Elementary
applauds books and reading through
stories and activities in which children discover the importance of
reading in their lives.
The week was filled lots of reading
fun for the second graders at
Spring Valley Elementary. On Monday students “Socked it to a Good
Book” by wearing crazy socks. They
also shared their favorite books
with the class. Tuesday was “Bring a
Friend to Read with” many stuffed
friends visited. Students also
dressed as their favorite book character. Wednesday they were
“Groovy for Books” dressing in hippie or tie dye apparel. Students
created brown bag book reports to
share with the class. Thursday,
Mrs. Dykhouse’s 2nd grade classroom.
dressed in sweats, they celebrated
Giddy-up!
Reading is No Sweat Day. On Friday
students showed they were “Wild
About Reading” by dressing like
cowboys & cowgirls and participating
in a book bonanza. Students were
busy reading and showing their love
of books. The highlight was revealing the number of books read during
the week as a grade level. The total
was 1,107 books!!! Wow, excellent
job!
The second grade reading together in
sleeping bags and cow boy/girl gear.