HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM DOWNSVILLE

STAFF AND STUDENTS!

SCHOOL VACATION

BEGINS ON MONDAY,

DECEMBER 23 AND SCHOOL

RECONVENES ON

THURSDAY,

JANUARY 2, 2014.

MUSIC PROGRAM DVD’S

If you would like to purchase a copy of the

music + DVD, please contact the school office

and request one. The price will be $10.00 each.

WINTER CLOTHING NEEDED!!

Now that winter has truly arrived please be

sure you are sending your child dressed for

outside weather. They need to have a WARM

COAT, BOOTS, SNOWPANTS, HAT, and

MITTENS. Students are required to go

outside at recess time when the

temperature/wind chill is 0 degrees or above!

They need to wear all winter attire for

recesses.

UP-COMING DATES/EVENTS

Dec. 20 School Sing-along, 1:00

21 1st Day of Vacation

Jan. 2 School Reconvenes

14 Girl Scouts 3:20 – 5:00 PM

20 NO SCHOOL, STAFF

DEVELOPMENT

20 PTC Meeting, 5:30 PM

29 Early Release, 12:45

Feb. 11 Girl Scouts 3:20 – 5:00 PM

17 PTC Meeting, 5:30 PM

18 Parent-Teacher Conferences

4-7:45 PM

20 Parent-Teacher Conferences

4-7:45 PM

21 NO SCHOOL!!

26 Early Release, 12:45

28 5TH

Grade Ski Trip (tentative)

Mar. 7 End of Second Trimester

11 Girl Scouts 3:20 – 5:00 PM

12 Report Cards go Home with

students 13 Spring Pictures

17-21 SPRING BREAK!!

NO SCHOOL!!!

Downsville tiger tales

December 2013

Downsville Daily Schedule:

The daily schedule for students is 8:30 AM to

3:20 PM. We ask that children who walk to

school or are brought to school by their parent

not arrive at school earlier than 8:15 AM.

School Office Hours are 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM

daily. Please call the school secretary before

9 AM if your child is going to be absent.

Please provide a written note when your

child/children returns to school.

When students arrive at school after 8:30 AM

or must be excused before 3:20 PM a note

needs to be provided to the Office and you

must either sign in or sign out your child. A

child needs to check into the office if coming

to school after 8:30 AM.

Illness: With the cold and flu season upon us children

will become ill from time to time. If your child

has had a fever they must be fever free for 24

hours without medication (Tylenol, Motrin,

etc), before returning to school.

WRITTEN EXCUSE

We must have a written excuse from you

when you child returns to school after an

absence. This is a requirement from the

state!! Thank you

SCHOOL SUPPPLIES

Now is the time that many of the children have

depleted their original school supplies from the

beginning of the year. Please check with your

child as to any needs they may have for pencils,

erasers, paper, etc. to get them started after the

New Year!! Thank you!

SKATING RINK

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers – the

skating rink will be available over break and

also when we come back for use.

If you are able and willing to volunteer during

our lunch break to tie skates (especially for the

little tikes), or even help supervise the rink,

please contact the office (715-664-8546) with

your name and phone number. This way we

may be able to contact you when the weather is

ideal for skating to see if you are available.

DOWNSVILLE PARENTS AND

VOLUNTEERS ROCK!!

3rd, 4th & 5th Grade Physical Education News

Submitted by: Mrs. Munoz

3th, 4th & 5th grade physical education classes will be roller-skating January 9, 14, 17, 23 and 28. Vision Quest Entertainment Center will be providing the

rollerskates and will help students learn how to skate.

The students will learn how to get up and fall down safely. Students will also learn how to stay balanced, skate and stop. This is an amazing opportunity for the

students here at Downsville! Happy Skating!

Title Corner

Reading-

As the Winter Break approaches, keep encouraging your child to read every day, even when

school is not in session. Here are some great gift ideas to keep your child reading:

Buy your child a magazine subscription. This is a gift that will continue to give all year! There

are so many publications available from sports, nature, fashion, current events and more!

A Personalized Journal or Diary. Journals help develop and encourages children to express

ideas, opinions, and allows them to show their creative side.

Activity Books. Challenge your child by providing them with crossword puzzles word

finds, MadLibs. This will help promote and develop their spelling and vocabulary. Also check out

number puzzles like Sudoku!

Comfy Chair. Provide your child with a comfortable place to read. Look for a cushy chair that

they can place in a quiet spot.

Here are some new, hot books:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney

The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet (Book 4 of Origami Yoda Series) by Tom Angleberger

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Let's Go For a Ride by Mo Willems

Oh, No! By Candance Fleming

No Fits, Nilson! by Zachariah OHora

Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Knock Knock: My Father's Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty

Wait! Wait! by Hatsue Nakawaki

Math Riddle: Why did the coach go to the bank?

~~If you know the answer, make sure you tell Ms. Swiontek, so

LIBRARY NEW!!

Here’s what the students have been learning during library media time:

Kindergarteners have been reading books by Jan Brett and working on

their mouse skills in the computer lab.

First graders have learned four of the parts that are part of all stories:

characters, setting, problem and solution. They also found out about

different versions of folk and fairy tales like Cinderella.

Second graders learned the Big 3 (steps of research) and learned about

interesting animals in the world. They also have gained dictionary skills.

They can practice more by going to the guide word websites off of the

second grade links.

Third graders read as many Caldecotts as they could, experimented with

different art media (making Caldecott Cornucopias) and having a game

show to show what they’d learned. Now, it’s on to the Wonders of

Menomonie Unit.

Fifth graders began designing book trailers (iMovies promoting one of

their favorite books). They’ve watched several good examples, planned

with a storyboard, used Soundzabound to get copyright-free music,

scanned images and learned to use Safe Search on Google to find images

for their project. They are taking a couple of weeks during December to

study similarities between Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and will

return to the book trailers in the new year.

The fourth graders did a brief

unit during library media time

where they identified the ethnic

groups who first lived in our part

of Wisconsin and used Almanacs

to see what the percentages of

groups of various ethnicities is

now. As a culminating activity,

they made ornaments

representing the Ojibwe,

German, Norwegian and English.

The ornaments were displayed

(along with those made at

Downsville and River Heights) at

the Rassbach Heritage Center as

part of their tree decorating

contest.

Our library has been

gifted with books

donated by the

Downsville Sportsman

Club. $200 worth of

books about

conservation, hunting

and fishing were

selected to update the

school’s library

collection.

Pictured here are Library Media Specialist Ann Salt, students Jarod Shetler,

Samantha Hein, Jonah Jensen and Bryce Wittig, and club members Annette

Knutson, Jim Ness and Kris Widmar.

Minutes for PTC Meeting on December 16, 2013

Kami Ayres opened the meeting at 5:45 PM.

Attendees: Heather Obenberger, Geraldine Carlson, Jane Hulett, Katie Wittig, Rhonda Paul, Kami Ayres,

Angie McWithey, and Mary Henry

Minutes: November minutes read and approved. Katie made motion and Rhonda 2nd

.

Treasurer’s Report: Current Balance= $3,998.54

Recent Deposits= $118.10 Downsville’s Culver’s Night profit

$134.00 Downsville School Clothing Sales

Old Business:

A. Santa Visit Update

Scheduled for Friday, December 20th

at 1:00 PM

B. Level Books Fundraiser/Cookie Walk Update

December 10th

cookie walk was a success with a profit of $288.30 raised towards the $758 goal

to purchase level reading books for the school. A second cookie walk will be held December

17th

to raise additional funds toward this goal. Fund request made by Rhonda Paul for

reimbursement in the amount of $23.50 for cookie walk containers. Kami made motion, Katie

2nd

, voted on and approved.

New Business:

A. Election of New PTC Secretary

Rhonda nominated Kris Hoff who has expressed interest in the position. Kris Hoff elected

as new PTC Secretary.

B. Downsville Family Skate Night at Vision Quest

PTC will look into scheduling this for January, February, or March, with the possibility of

sharing a skate night with Knapp School.

C. Ice Skating/Winter Party

This is tentatively scheduled for Friday, January 31st from after school until 5:00. PTC will look

into getting hot chocolate and string cheese for this event.

D. Book Fair

PTC is hoping to schedule the book fair during the week of Feb.17th

to coincide with student

conferences.

Principal’s Report: Minor school day schedule changes (in regards to school day start time and lunch/recess

schedule) to begin following winter break. Look for a note coming home with students prior to winter break for

more information regarding these changes.

Next PTC Meeting: Due to no school on Monday January 20th

, the date of January’s PTC meeting has

been changed to Tuesday, January 14th

at 5:30 PM.

Meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE FIRST GRADERS!!

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” in our classroom. The first

graders will deck our classroom with beautiful wreaths, and decorations! As you pass our room you may hear bells jingling and the happy voices of children singing the traditional Christmas carols just for fun. This group of first graders really likes to sing!

During this month, we will study Christmas traditions of children around the world. Of course, the students will continue their practice of addition, subtraction, tens and one, and problem solving skills. The students are working hard on their reading and writing skills as well. They are constantly acquiring new word attack skills, increasing fluency and increasing their sight word vocabulary.

In the spirit of Christmas, the first graders have written two wishes; one is a wish they have for themselves, and the other is a wish they have for a special person in their life or the world…

MY CHRISTMAS WISHES

Jonathon – I wish for a blade wheels. I wish for a play cash register and a toy microphone. I wish for my grandpa to feel better. Cyrus – I wish I had a million dollars. I wish for a black BB gun. I wish for a dirt bike and an I-pod. Chad – I wish for a football. I wish for a car. Parker – I wish I had $20,000. I wish my gram would feel better. Autumn – I wish for my grandma and grandpa to come visit me. I wish my dad could see better.

Masyn L. – I wish I had a million dollars. I wish I had tickets to see the Packers. I wish my mom had a million dollars. Elliana – I wish for my grandma to get better. I wish good things for the world. Kaiden – I wish for my dog to have babies and for tickets to the Packers. I wish for my family to be closer. Josh – I wish for some money. I wish for a John Deer tractor. Mason W. – I wish for my family to have another four wheeler. I wish for Santa to bring my family presents. Karlen – I wish my family had money. I wish I could fly. I wish nobody would die. I wish I lived by Chicago. James – I wish for a ticket to the Millionaire. I wish for mom to have a baby. Sam - I wish to have tickets for the Packers. I wish for my grandpa to feel better. Michael – I wish for a dirt bike. I wish for Star War’s legos. Blake – I wish my snuggy was alive. I wish my grandpa was alive.

CAN YOU NAME THE THIRD GRADE BOY?

In October, we taught you about our

amazing girls. This month we’d like

to tell you more about our wonderful

group of boys. Match the description to

the choices on the left. The answers are

on the bottom. Good luck!

Choices Description Answer

You may

use each

boy only

once.

Zachery

Brett

Matthew

Joey

Garrett

Justin

Luke

Kolyn

Rosko

Mitchell

Mr.

Hayden

1. I love playing all sports, including going hiking and canoeing.

I love reading books and spending time with my family. I have

two pets, Juno (cat) & Blacky (dog). Who am I?

Mr.

Hayden

2. I am the youngest sibling. Mr. Hayden taught my older

brother about ten years ago. Louis Sachar is one of my favorite

authors. I have a clever sense of humor. Who am I?

3. I have a brother in fourth grade. I have a cousin who is in first

grade at our school, too. I like to play chess and strategy games.

I also like to read. Who am I?

4. I like playing football and sports at recess. I am the only child

in my family. I tend to be quiet, but I have lots of friends and

enjoy playing with them. Who am I?

5. Mr. Hayden says I am like Tigger. I have lots of energy and

am a very happy boy. I love to draw. My older brother is in 6th

grade. Garrett is one of my good buddies. Who am I?

6. I also like playing football and sports at recess. I am polite and

helpful. Mr. Hayden loved my memoir about my fat cat, which I

met when I was out hunting. Who am I?

7. I like playing video games. I am quiet most of the time, but

get a bit more outgoing when I am with my pals. Matthew in

fourth grade is a good friend of mine, too. Who am I?

8. I am the only one in my family who attends Downsville, but

next year I’ll have a brother who will be in Kindergarten. I am a

great friend to Joey, Matthew, & many others. Who am I?

9. I am the oldest sibling. I have a younger brother who will be

in kindergarten next year. Mr. Hayden says that I am the

“posterchild” for an outdoor boys magazine. Who am I?

10. I love drawing. I also love exploring and digging for rocks.

One of my favorite games is Minecraft. I have a good sense of

humor and am very kind. Who am I?

11. Mr. Hayden says that he thinks I am a “cool kid” because I

am nice to everyone and very easy to be around. I have a nice

sense of humor and am very helpful. Who am I?

Answers: 1.Mr. Hayden 2.Luke 3.Zach 4.Brett 5.Matthew 6.Justin 7.Joey 8.Garrett 9.Mitchell 10.Rosko 11.Kolyn

FIFTH GRADE NEWS!!!!

Native American Projects This year in fifth grade we created native american projects. We picked from the

Tlingit

( kl-ing-it ) tribe, the Iroquois ( ir-i-coi ), the Hopi, and the Lakota. We all had to pick

one tribe which ranged from about 2 to 3 kids doing each one, but we had to do the

projects by ourselves.

We all had to write an oral report, put together an artifact, make visual

presentation, and do a written report which included a bibliography. We all organized

and looked up the research at school. We had a choice to pick things to write about so

our teacher gave each of us a sheet that said what we could write about. These are the

categories that we had to pick from: region, basic necessities, and culture. We picked 2

things from each category and there were 6 choices within each category we could write

about “you can always do more but never less” is what Ms.Graham always says.

We all worked hard on our projects at school but we had to make our artifacts at

home so we worked hard on them at home. When it was the day that we had to present

them some of us who had not yet finished our final drafts all got inside and we worked

hard to get them done. When everyone got there we all got a pep talk from Ms.Graham

and we got up there and told everyone about our tribe. We showed them our slideshows

and our artifacts and then when we were done we got to take our artifacts home. Then

Ms.Graham told us we did great!

We worked so hard to make them and present them. It’s something to look

forward to when you get into fifth grade!

Here are some pictures:

By: Shaelee Paul

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade present . . .

Winter Wonderland

Welcome to our Christmas Concert Article! This is all about our concert we had.

Just recently we had our Christmas Concert. The concert featured 3rd, 4th and 5th graders

singing and playing recorders. We took a long time to get ready for the concert. It was fun, but hard

and required lots of practice and concentration. We each had our own songs. Here are the list of songs,

their solos, and their reading parts:

● Snow Day:

Read by Shelby Tuschl

Sang by everyone

Snow Day is about having a Snow Day and what you would do. What is your ritual on a

Snow Day?

● Winter Walk:

Read by Maysa Maraia

Sang by 3rd grade

Winter Walk is about the scenery we see at this time of year, and how beautiful it is.

Even though sometimes we dislike this season, Winter Walk reminds us this

season is one of the most beautiful seasons we have.

● World Chimes:

Read by Evelyn Johns

Played on the recorder by 4th and 5th grade

World Chimes is a recorder cover of a song composed of the bells we often hear during

this season.

● O Come Little Children:

Read by Zander Franks

Sang by everyone

Recorders played by Zachary Foslid and Zander Franks

Solos: Evelyn Johns, Klara Knospe, and Shaelee Paul (Klara couldn’t make it)

O Come Little Children asks all of the children of the world to come and enjoy this time

of year and it’s joy.

● Snow Angels:

Read by Shaelee Paul

Sang by 3rd grade

The song Snow Angels show that this is the one season we can make snow angels and

how cool they look. They are a great addition to the beauty of this season.

● A Perfect Winter Day:

Read by Zachary Foslid

Sang by 4th grade

A Perfect Winter day is a time that people have a love/hate relationship with winter! 4th

grade sing this in two groups, the grumpy, and the happy.

● Jingle Jive:

Read by William Ockler (who couldn’t make it and was replaced by Sean Greer)

Sang by 5th grade (and the audience)

Did you know that Jingle Bells was actually originally a Thanksgiving song? This song

puts a jazzy twist on the classic hit winter song.

● Light the Candles All Around the World

Read by Chloe Styer

Sang by everyone

Solos: Maysa Maraia and Shelby Tuschl

This song admonishes us that everyone is different and should not be judged. But, the

question is, what if everyone in the world stopped what they were doing and

everyone lit a candle, so everything would be peaceful?

Our concert was very fun to learn and practice. We had to learn a lot of lyrics and notes! Huge thanks goes to Mrs.

Poquette who directed us and taught us everything we knew at the concert. Once again, thank you Mrs. Poquette!

Thank you Mrs. Poquette!!! - by Zander Franks & Zachary Foslid

D.A.R.E. Graduation By: Devin Radle

D.A.R.E is a program that teaches kids about drugs, alcohol,

and smoking. D.A.R.E. teaches kids to not smoke or drink alcohol.

It covers ten lessons. The fifth graders’ D.A.R.E. officer is Deputy

Rod Dicus. The fifth grade students are graduating from D.A.R.E.

on Friday, Dec. 20 at 10:00 in the library. They will be getting a

certificate after they recite their D.A.R.E. essays. The fifth graders

learned a lot!

Thank you Deputy Rod Dicus!

5th

GRADE POEMS

HOT CHOCOLATE BY: Evelyn Johns

The wind whips, the trees blow, the snow envelops me head to toe.

I fight the cold and try to warm I can barely see the cop standing in a uniform

The house I live in with the smoke wafting from the chimney and light bursting through the windows

I can almost smell the hot chocolate burning The dark creamy chocolate and the marshmallows floating to the top

Thunk, thunk, thunk went the door and there standing looking cold the cop begging for some hot chocolate.

We gladly took him in and handed a swig of the melted gold in the goblet in exchange for his story,

it starts with a little girl named Tori...

The Snowman

The snowman standing there tall and high

I just might wonder why, why, why.

Standing there all day and night

The wind is blowing not so light

As I stand there watching him

I got an idea I’ll bring him in

I hustled out into the cold

I grabbed his stick hand and pulled pulled pulled

As I went in the living room I felt something wet

It was the snowman not looking the best.

By Shelby Anne Tuschl

THE SNOWFLAKE

On a cold winter day all I could see

was a little snowflake falling on me

but that little snowflake fluttered away

so now there is no snowflake falling on me

so I followed the snowflake as far as I could see

but it never came back and sat on me

and after that it started to snow

so it was impossible to find my snowflake

as the sky got darker I started to cry

I thought I would never find my snowflake

but then

I found my snowflake far away from my house

sitting on a hill with the sun shining brightly

on my snowflake

as I reached out my snowflake started to melt

as I sat there sadly without a doubt

the sun started to come fully out

and after that I was down as I walked home all cold and wet

I started to sob and throw a tantrum.

By Shelby Anne Tuschl

Christmas/Winter Break

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

from the Downsville 5th Grade Tigers!

The break starts Saturday, December 21, 2013 and ends Wednesday,

January 2, 2014.

My name is Will and for Christmas break I’m going spend time with

my family and have a nice feast with my family at my grandma’s house

and at my house.

Hi my name is Sean and over Christmas break I’m spending time with

my family and playing with my brothers and I am going to play with my

presents.

Sean and I interviewed a couple students and staff members and

asked them what their plans are for Christmas/winter break. We asked

Devin and he said he is going to hang out with his sister, spend Christmas

with family, relax and play outside. Zander is going to Illinois for

Christmas and spending it with family and playing with his new bird Andy

and presents.

Ms. Graham is going to Wisconsin Dells with her mom, dad, brother,

nephew, and herself for Christmas. She has never been there. Mr. Mike

our custodian is going up north snowmobiling over Christmas break. Mrs.

Peplinski our 1st grade teacher is going to have fun with her family over

Christmas break. Mr. Hayden our 3rd grade teacher is going to stay in a

cabin with his family over Christmas break.

Hope you enjoy your Christmas/winter break!

Christmas jokes By: Devin Radle

1. Why did Rudolph the Reindeer look at Santa’s emails?

Because he is nosey.

2. What does Santa say when he walks backwards?

“oh oh oh”.

3. Where does Frosty the Snowman deposit his money?

The snow bank.

4. Why was Santa’s little helper depressed?

Because he had low elf esteem

Ice Skating

Hello Parent/Guardians, this article is about the Ice Skating rink. Every year Downsville

Elementary School is very lucky to have such wonderful people to build a skating rink

for Downsville. The school will fit your child for skates and if you decide you want to

get your child their own skates then go ahead and get some but once again the school

will provide them too. The school does not require helmets and knee pads and elbow

pads; they are optional. If you want to bring your own you can. Parents/guardians can

skate with their children if they let Kay Wolf know. Parents can go on the rink without

skates if they don’t have any but we recommend winter boots if you do go on it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are willing and able to tie skates at lunch, please sign the form below. We could

really use the help!

A. I can tie skates on B. I cannot tie skates.

__Mondays __Thursdays

__Tuesdays __Fridays

__Wednesdays

Parent Name (Print)_______________________________

Parent Signature __________________________________

We would like to have a Mentor Reading Program this year. The goal for our program is to form relationships with students who need an extra boost with their reading. Volunteers would work with a small number of children every week for 15-30 minute sessions. How do I get to be a volunteer? Fill out the bottom of this sheet and return it to school. Our district does require a background check for any individuals volunteering at a school. When do we start? A teacher will contact you to discuss the date when you would like to start.

Name: ___________________________________________________________ Time and day(s) available to help:__________________________________ Contact number and/or email:______________________________________

We look forward to working with you!