THE LEVI LEDGER. Levi Leonard Elementary School. Upcoming Events. December 15. Popcorn Day. December 25. Winter Break Starts.

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1 THE LEVI LEDGER Levi Leonard Elementary School 401 South Third Street Evansville, WI A Message from Mr. Schwartz We have put a large focus on positive behavior over the first quarter of this school year. Behavioral expectations have been taught in hallways, bathrooms, the lunchroom and on the playground to both individual classrooms of students and the entire student body in our Little Blue assemblies. The words safe, respectful and responsible are used to describe the behaviors exhibited among our Levi students every day. Rewards for positive behaviors are frequently offered at Levi Leonard. Entire classrooms of students can be awarded for their collective efforts toward safe, respectful and responsible behaviors with Little Blue Boosters. When a classroom of students has earned five Little Blue Boosters, they collaborate with their teacher to determine a whole-class reward. Upcoming Events December 15 Popcorn Day December 25 Winter Break Starts January 3 Students Return to School Little Free Library Individual students are also rewarded for positive behaviors with Levi Loot tickets. These tickets are passed out by adults throughout the day in any areas of the building or playground where individual student behaviors are deemed safe, respectful and responsible. Students put their names on the Levi Loot tickets and turn them into classroom teachers to be entered in a drawing for positive behavioral rewards that differ from one classroom setting to the next. Reward systems are tailored to the culture of each classroom. Thanks to our K-8 PTO for all their efforts making our Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree (JOJ) a success. Thank you to all families that contributed to silent auction baskets and those that attended the JOJ supporting our PTO. The second grade silent auction basket raised the most funds this year so these students will have the opportunity to pie me at our next Little Blue assembly. This assembly will focus on reviewing all the safe, positive and respectful behaviors our students have learned over the past few months. They will get up and move with some music and have a chance to visit with Little Blue himself. The assembly will culminate as the second graders pie the principal. I wish all our students, families and staff the happiest of holidays. Enjoy your time with friends and family as we prepare for the coming new year. Happy Holidays, Mark Schwartz

2 The Wahlin Foundation, Inc., Awards Grant to the Evansville Community School District By Deb Fritz, Elementary Reading Specialist The Evansville Community School District recently received a grant, More Books Needed for Little Free Libraries, from The Wahlin Foundation, Inc., made on behalf of Stoughton Trailers, LLC. The Wahlin Foundation s goal is to fund projects in the locations where Stoughton Trailer manufacturing plants are located. Levi Leonard Reading Specialist, Deb Fritz, has spent the past three years shopping numerous community garage sales for children s books to replenish the Little Free Libraries (littlefreelibrary.org) in Evansville, because she noticed that children were consistently taking more books out of these popular, little book boxes than they were putting back into them. In the past, she has also requested book donations from the community through the Evansville Review and through school newsletters. The Eager Free Public Library has also donated discarded children s books for the Little Free Libraries several times. Unfortunately, there is still a need for more children s books for the nineteen Little Free Libraries throughout the community of Evansville. One of the most successful ways to improve the reading achievement of children is to increase their access to books, especially at home (McGill-Franzen & Allington, 2009). Consequently, Deb Fritz will use this generous grant of $1000 from the Wahlin Foundation, Inc., to purchase both fiction and nonfiction children s books from garage sales, used bookstores, and book warehouses that offer substantial discounted prices. These high-interest books will be at a variety of guided reading levels so that every student in the Evansville Community School District will be able to find those just-right, good-fit books to read throughout the school year and over the long summer breaks when students are not receiving formal reading instruction. The Wahlin Foundation Executive Director, Betsy McClimon, spent several hours in September touring the Evansville Community with Deb Fritz to learn the locations of some of the Little Free Libraries. She also helped organize and restock some of the Little Free Libraries herself. Thanks to Betsy McClimon and The Wahlin Foundation, Inc., hundreds of children throughout the Evansville Community will soon benefit tremendously from this exciting, new grant! This grant will inspire a love of reading, build community, and spark creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges with children living in and around Evansville.

3 School District of Evansville Receives Evansville Fund Grant: Little Free Library Fixer-Upper By Deb Fritz, Levi Leonard Elementary Reading Specialist The School District of Evansville (Levi Leonard Elementary School) announces that it has received an $800 grant from the Millie Tait Charitable Fund of the Evansville Fund and the Evansville Fund Special Projects, components of the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, Inc., to support their project entitled Little Free Library Fixer-Upper. Those of you who watch HGTV s show, Fixer-Upper, with Chip and Joanna Gaines, might find this grant project to be just as exciting as the TV show! In 2013, the Evansville Community School District received an Evansville Fund grant to buy materials and construct 14 Little Free Libraries in the community of Evansville. Since 2013, the community presently has 19 Little Free Libraries that are in need of some fixing up so that they last through the Wisconsin winters for many more years to come. Levi Leonard custodian, Louie Pomplun, will volunteer his time to fix up any Little Free Libraries that are in need of some routine maintenance. He and Deb Fritz will consult with each property owner before each Little Free Library receives a face-lift. This routine maintenance will include such things as painting, staining, re-shingling, wood repair, door latch tightening, etc. In the spring, this project could also potentially partner with high school juniors interested in adopting a Little Free Library Fixer-Upper to work on for their senior project. At the end of this grant period, the entire community of Evansville will be better off because all the Little Free Libraries will look amazing. The Little Free Libraries will be all fixed up and will be better able to withstand ongoing, frequent usage and unpredictable, inclement weather. The books in the Little Free Libraries will stay dry and protected, and readers will be able to access these books easily without worrying about a latch not latching or a door missing due to occasional, random vandalism. For more information about this program, please contact Deb Fritz at fritzd@evansville.k12.wi.us or at The Little Free Library Fixer-Upper grant is made available from the Community Foundation s Evansville Fund and the Millie Tait Charitable Fund of the Evansville Fund. The Evansville Fund and the Millie Tait Charitable Fund of the Evansville Fund are a resource for area nonprofit organizations whose programs and services are working for the betterment of our communities. Grants from the Evansville Fund and the Millie Tait Fund of the Evansville Fund have supported the arts, education, environment, health and human services, and historic preservation. For more information about how you can impact your community through the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, please call Jane Maldonis at or , or visit the website at The Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin serves nine Wisconsin counties: Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, and Walworth. For good. For ever.

4 The LMC is a busy place. Students are eagerly checking out books of choice and are doing a great job of bringing their books back on their scheduled LMC day. Thank you parents. The LMC also has many opportunities for students including technology and makerspaces. Perhaps you have heard about makerspaces or heard the word in conversation. What is a makerspace? Makerspaces are collaborative spaces where people gather to get creative with DIY projects, invent new ones, and share ideas. Our students have the opportunity to get creative in the LMC with our Keva plank makerspace. They are given a variety of project designs to choose from and a goal of working together to create the design. Students have done a remarkable job of creating unique designs, but the most exciting part is seeing them work collaboratively to solve a problem and accomplish a goal together. We encourage you to ask your student if they have used the Keva planks and discuss their creation. - Mrs. Beyerl, K-12 Library Media Specialist and Mrs. Hamilton, Library Clerk Health information Please remember to report all communicable diseases such as chickenpox, strep throat, head lice, impetigo, pink eye, ringworm and hand foot and mouth to Ms. Leann. Students will be sent home for the following reasons: fever of 100 or higher, vomiting, diarrhea or serious injuries. Please send a doctor s note if your child is to remain inside the building during recess. Leann Haegele, Health Clerk Abbey Tway, District Nurse

5 MUSIC NOTES from Mrs. Swiecichowski-Fettig (Mrs. Ski) Second Graders impressed their audiences with their morning and evening concerts The Building Blocks of Music! While watching the video recording, they have reflected on the concert from the perspectives of both a performer and an audience. We have celebrated by playing The Wolf Game. Students took turns performing harmony on the bass bar and bass xylophone while the rest of the class sings and plays in the wolf s garden. When the singing ends, the children freeze to pretend they are trees, the bass xylophone players improvise, and the wolf tries to find a child by detecting movement or laughter. First Graders have been developing their ability to perform and read notation for pitch, beat, and rhythm through singing the T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U song. Just before break, students practiced writing and rhythm notation for the first phrase of the refrain. They learned that a phrase is a music sentence. They also practiced writing a Thank you for. sentence to their families. First graders used temple blocks to play a steady beat pattern with a partner that included a silence). (or one beat of Students played a whole note for the bass note of each chord for the opening of At the Hop by Danny and the Juniors (1958) on the bass xylophone, then enjoyed watching and dancing along with the YouTube video. Minor tonality, phrasing, following a conductor, and slow/fast movement were reviewed using the song Falling Leaves. Grade 1 Concert Thurs Mar 8, :45am and 6:30 EHS PAC Kindergarten students explored music concepts and developed skills through the songs Round and Round the Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Growing, Falling Leaves, Goodbye October/Welcome November, Let Us Chase the Squirrel, and Turkey Turkey Go Away. They experienced the contrast between slow/fast, high/low pitch, and loud/medium/quiet. Kindergarteners have pretended to be pumpkins, leaves falling, trees, squirrels, and turkeys as we have played games while learning the songs. They have played bass xylophone using two hands at the same time to match the words on the ground in the Pumpkin Growing song, improvised using D and A stair bells during the Falling Leaves song, and identified and performed the rhythm for parts of a turkey on a tubano drum. Kindergarten Concert Thurs Apr 26, :45 am and 6:00 LLE Gym

6 News from the Gym December 2017 November Notes: In November Mr. Schwenn s classes spent a couple of weeks working on basketball and soccer skills while Mrs. Kundert s classes worked on basketball skills and cooperative games and team building activities. Sneakers Thank you for reminding your child to bring sneakers to school each day. The sneakers are required for your child to participate in gym class and should be designed for athletic use. Proper footwear helps enhance your child s overall physical development while also serving to provide for safe participation, and lasting gym floors. Did You Know? Research indicates that learning basic movement skills and knowledge in physical education helps your child feel good about moving, which in turn encourages them to be active and healthy. By gaining early success in the basic physical skills and concepts, your child will feel better about his/her ability to participate in recreational activities. Children will be more successful if they choose to compete in youth sports leagues and find it easier to lead a physically active, healthy life. What is Coming Up? In December, Mr. Schwenn s classes will finish basketball skills and begin to work on bowling and rolling skills. Mrs. Kundert s classes will begin to work on volleyball skills. Both groups will finish with some My Plate games and activities that promote healthy eating and activity choices. Keep Kids Active! A child should have at least 7 hours of physical activity each week. Our elementary students get 1 hour and 45 minutes each week in physical education class (3 classes of 35 minutes each). P.E. class only accounts for about 25% of a child s weekly activity time. As always, if you would like to speak to Mr. Schwenn or Mrs. Kundert our phone number is

7 A Holiday Gift to Honor Evansville School Staff, Students or Volunteers As the holidays approach, please consider making a contribution to the Evansville Education Foundation (EEF) in honor of a staff member, student, or volunteer. Community members contribute to the Evansville Education Foundation through our various fundraising activities. Please show your support by making contributions in honor of your child or your child s teacher. Complete the form below and return it to the Evansville Education Foundation. It s the perfect holiday gift and will help grow the Wish List Fund and the various Endowment Funds supported by the EEF, which provide funds for creative and innovative projects on an annual basis. What: How: When: Why: Contribute to the Evansville Education Foundation in honor of a staff member, student or volunteer. This is a great way to recognize and honor a beloved teacher or any staff member, student or volunteer. A lovely card will be hand-delivered to the honored person of your choice. The amount of the contribution will not be indicated on the card, only that you have made a donation to the Evansville Education Foundation in the person s honor. No amount is too small and no shopping is required! Complete the bottom portion of this form and mail it to the Foundation or send it to your school's front office, along with a check made payable to Evansville Educational Foundation or EEF. Please turn in your donation by December 15. The completed form and check can be mailed to EEF, 1 N. Madison St., Evansville, WI or to your child s school. It s a great way to honor an Evansville Blue Devil and support the Evansville Education Foundation! Every contribution, no matter the size, will help our teachers and our schools and provide an ongoing gift Evansville Education Foundation Holiday Honorary Gift Your Name (Donor): Student or Family Name(s) the Gift is from: Contribution amount: Address (for tax receipt): Phone number or (in case we have questions): This is in honor of Teacher/Staff/Student: Please indicate which school within Evansville District: Please enclose check (payable to EEF) and send with your completed form to EEF, 1 N. Madison St., Evansville, WI or through your child s school. Donations should be sent by December 15 in order to have the cards distributed before the start of winter break. Cards will be hand-delivered the week of December 18. If you have any questions, please contact Cecile David at c.david@eefsupport.org. Thank you. The Evansville Education Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) organization (Your contribution is deductible to the fullest extent of the law).