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THE CHÁVEZ COURIER
A newsletter of César Chávez Elementary School
3502 Maple Grove Drive
Telephone
Madison, WI 53719
Para Español
Linda Allen, Principal
Safe Arrival Number
Kelly Lawler, Asst. Principal
Fax
442-2000
442-2050
442-2085
442-2100
Home of the Chávez Cheetahs!
March - April 2015
Dear Chávez Parents and Community
Members,
There are still two and a half months to go
until the end of the current school year, and
four months to go before we embark on our
journey for the 2015-2016 school year.
Nevertheless, we are beginning to plan for
the year ahead. One of our biggest tasks in
this planning process is assigning students to
new classes. As principals we oversee the
class placement process, however please
know that the final class rosters are the
product of input from all teachers and
support staff.
The District’s Elementary School Instructional
Design guide provides a structure within
which class placement decisions are made.
Our efforts are to provide classrooms that
meet the needs of individual students and
that are balanced across three key aspects
as identified in the Instructional Design
Guide. The three key class placement
criteria are:
1. Instructional needs of the student,
2. Peer relationships, and
3. The Social/Emotional needs of the
student.
With the exception of specific criteria
regarding special education students and
English Language Learners (ELL), these are
the only three aspects that can be
considered when balancing classes. We are
aware that there can be special
circumstances in which additional parent
input into an individual student’s placement
is important. For these special circumstances
a form is available via request from the
principal. We cannot, however, guarantee
placement based on parent input alone, nor
are we able to base class placements solely
upon family history of having children in a
particular teacher’s class.
Please keep in mind that your
communication with your child’s current
teacher and other school staff members
over the past school year has helped to
shape the decision making process with
regard to your child’s placement for the
2015-2016 school year. We ask for your
support as we work to provide the best
possible class placement for all students.
Sincerely,
Linda Allen and Kelly Lawler
Principal
Assistant Principal
MORNING DROP OFF
Please remember that the school's
supervision of your children does not
begin until 8:15 a.m. Please drop your
student off at school between 8:15 and
8:25. This allows them to filter into the
school, put their belongings away and
prepare for the start of the day which
begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. Thank you
for your assistance!
WINNERS FOR THE CANDY MAKEOVER
PATROL LIST 2014-2015
Fifth Grade students from MMSD schools
participated in an art contest for
Madison Family Dental Associates.
We want to acknowledge the great job
of the Safety Patrols this year. We
appreciate their dedication of keeping
the children of Chávez Elementary
School safe. We would also like to thank
the Chávez PTO for generously
sponsoring a second person to go to
Washington, DC and for the end of the
year field trip to Ten Pin Alley. It will be a
great reward for the hard work.
Madison Family Dental Associates asked
kids to ditch their Halloween candy, and
collected over 500 pounds of Halloween
candy. Students were challenged to
"upcycle'' or makeover candy into
artwork that expressed what it means to
have a "Healthy and Lasting Smile".
Ms. Welles fifth grade classroom won the
challenge and students in that class will
receive an individual ticket to the
Kalahari Water Park as a prize. The art
room won a $200.00 gift card. The
artwork for this project is on display near
the library, and can be seen online on
the Facebook page for Madison Family
Dental Associates. The artwork that had
the most votes is "The Gym" by team BTY
(Better than you). Second place is Ms.
Hayes class, with "The Magical Candy
Garden". Awesome job to all 5th
graders!
Thanks to Charlotte Cummins for taking
on this special project.
SAFETY PATROL TRIP TO DC
Congratulations to Jack Barden (Welles)
and Tyler Schmitt (Velden) for being
selected to attend the Wisconsin Safety
Patrol trip to Washington, D.C. from April
22 -26, 2015. They are commended for
their service come rain or shine or -50
wind chill weather, with smiles on their
faces.
Ms. Velden - Tyler Schmitt, Molly Buxton,
Katherine Mentel, Ally Smythe, Kaden
Cassata, Cesar Samaniego, Emily
Finkelmeyer, Jada Hinton, Abby Elson,
and Paul Baeseman; Ms. Welles - Aaron
Jungers, Sydney Weier, Bella Gonzales,
Cole Wissinger, Payton Frisch, Alyssa
Moore, Jack Barden, Veronica Carran,
Ellie Spychalla, Grace Mentel, *Cheme
Gagyapontsang, Grace Ferstl, Laura
Gacharna, Genesis Woodards, *Rees
Horman, Diana Schwichtenberg, Leah
Kulas, and Isabel Morris; Mr. Wells - Grace
Runo, Mohamed Siad, Josh Torres,
Brandon Wohlrab, Julia Dobson, Lydia
Lenz, Maesa Werkheiser, Isabella Oebser,
Logan Castaneda, Sana Mujanni, Alycia
Contreras, and April Albarran; Ms. Hayes
- Arianna Riano, Alexa Schaefer, Nikhitha
Balijepalli, Brandon Jones, Afrisia Rafols,
Olivia Wendler, Piper Schwantes,
Madelyn Wimmer, Ella Graper, Robin
Zillmer, and Fiona Cork. (*) Captains
Special Thanks to Suzanne Welles for
being the Patrol Supervisor.
CHEETAH CHASE 5K FUN RUN AND 1-MILE
WALK SAVE THE DATE!!!
The 2nd annual Cheetah Chase will be
held on Saturday, May 30th. Please
watch your child's mail for flyers and
registration forms or visit our website at
www.chavezcheetahchase.blogspot.com
Make sure to get your registrations in
early for this family friendly event! Hope
to see you there!
CHÁVEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BENEFITS FROM ADOPT-A-SCHOOL
PROGRAM
One of the goals of the Foundation for
Madison’s Public Schools is to develop
supportive relationships between the
schools and community that enrich the
education of children. To that end, the
Foundation developed the Adopt-aSchool Program.
Adopting a school consists of a wide
range of activities depending on the
specific needs of a particular school and
which of those needs the adopting
partner is able to address. Adopting
partners provide a combination of
human, material and financial resources
to the school to which they have made
a minimum one-year commitment.
Chávez is pleased to have developed
partnerships with two different
organizations and looks forward to
maintaining the relationships for years to
come.
Chávez was adopted by Redeemer City
Church in December, 2014. Redeemer
City Church members have supported
Chávez students, families, and staff in a
wide variety of ways, providing a
combination of human, material and
financial resources. Activities include
providing food for families in need,
participating in Family Empowerment
events at High Ridge Trail, giving each of
the staff a yearly holiday gift, supporting
the Toy Drive & Distribution, sponsoring
Chávez' annual Cheetah Chase,
providing food for Teacher Conferences,
and networking Chávez with other
businesses to further support the students
and staff. Redeemer City Church has
also been an instrumental partner in
propelling future outreach and
engagement efforts to families residing
on High Ridge Trail. Redeemer City
Church is also looking to assist Chávez
with the resurfacing of their playground
in the future and assist with other needs
as they may occur.
Chávez was adopted by Fitchburg
Hy-Vee, in February, 2015. Hy-Vee
provided cookies and bottles of water for
the Gently Used Toy Drive and donated
a ball inflator and balls to be utilized by
the Positive Behavior Support Team in
some creative ways for students. Hy-Vee
employees participated in the March 2
Dr. Seuss Read Across America Day, and
will work with the school to find different
opportunities to support the School
Garden. Chávez students provided
drawings of themselves with their favorite
animal for a fundraiser Hy-Vee
conducted to benefit the Dane County
Humane Society.
Thank you, Redeemer City Church and
Fitchburg Hy-Vee for your support!
If you have questions about the Adopt-aSchool Program, please contact Mary
Bartzen, Foundation for Madison’s Public
Schools Community Partnerships Director
at mbartzen@fmps.org or 608-237-7723.