Madison Elementary School Newsletter

5 December 2022 (What? December already?)

Dates for Your Calendar

• Every Monday at 8:20am, Madison Coffee Hour for Families
• Every Wednesday is Early Release at 1:55pm (Students dismissed at 1:55pm)
• Every Friday is “Show Your School Spirit Day” (Wear a Madison Tee Shirt, Hoodie, or anything blue.)
• December 12th - 16th        Madison School Spirit Week (See blurb)
• December 13th        Winter Sing-a-Long at 2:00pm - (Parents invited)
• December 14th        Kindergarten “Gingerbread Man Run” w/DSK
• December 15th        Madison Holiday Store

        (Students “shop” for gifts for their family members)

Every Friday is Show Your School Pride Day

That’s right, every Friday students, staff, and volunteers can show Madison school spirit by wearing a Madison logo tee shirt or sweatshirt, or by simply wearing something blue. Madison will have special Madison School Spirit stickers to wear for those who don’t have anything blue to wear and would like to join in with the school spirit!

Searching for Madison’s Facebook Page?

It has come to our attention that there is an unofficial facebook page for Madison. The page is populated with photos and events when people unwittingly “check in” to it by referencing that unofficial page. Madison does not maintain this unofficial page, nor does it post to it. The official Madison facebook page can be found by searching for “MES Lion Cubs” or navigating to https://www.facebook.com/MESLionCubs. Check-ins should also be done at “MES Lion Cubs”. We are attempting to work with facebook to merge the pages/content so as to avoid confusion for anyone searching for our school on facebook.

Help! I’ve Just Received an Attendance Letter!

As your building principal I know that many of our families have been struggling with post pandemic illnesses and have been keeping their children home with any Covid like symptoms. You do all you can to protect your child and others, yet you still receive an attendance letter about your child’s absences. What’s going on here?

By state law, districts are required to send out attendance letters at certain absence thresholds. The district automatically generates these form letters and sends them. Knowing how alarmed and concerned many of our families have been upon receipt of these letters, I have personally called each family who received one. I have attempted to reassure them that the school is aware of their child’s absences due to illness, and to think of the letters more of an FYI as to the number of absences their child has to date. I have also asked families to make sure that they call in every absence so we can enter them into the system as EXCUSED.

Absences that are not called in are marked as UNEXCUSED and will certainly count against a family in the event attendance becomes an issue. In some cases where a child has an excessive number of absences, the school will likely request a meeting with the family to offer support or help develop an attendance plan.

Here are some things to keep in mind about attendance:

• We know that attendance is an important factor in school success.
• If a child is sick and should stay home that day, then they stay home.
• All absences should be called into the office to avoid the absence being recorded as UNEXCUSED. (Student Absence / Tardy Line >>> (360) 596- 6303)
• If you have ANY questions about attendance or illness, please call the school. We are here to support you in any way we can.

Sincerely

Domenico Spatola-Knoll (Mr. DSK)

Principal, Madison Elementary School

Madison Holiday Store (Thursday, December 15, 2022.)

The staff at Madison is excited to be bringing back the Madison Holiday Store this year! This is a long-time tradition at Madison that we have not been able to do during the pandemic. For those new to Madison, the Holiday Store is where students can “buy” small holiday gifts for family members using the Madison Dollars they have earned at school for expected behaviors. The Madison Holiday Store is also an opportunity for families to volunteer or to make small donations in support of the event. Please read the details below.

Part 1: Gift Drive

We are looking for items appropriate for all family members ranging from infants to adult men and women. Suggestions for items are small toys, stuffed animals, jewelry, books for all ages, knick knacks, kitchenware, key chains, perfume, cologne, lotions, hand tools, sport items, crafts, etc. - NEW or slightly used items in excellent condition. Check your closets and basements for any unwanted items that may fit the bill! Donations can be dropped off at the Madison School office or brought to school by your child.

Part 2: Volunteers

We also need volunteers for various activities to support the Holiday Store event. If you can help on December 14th, 15th, or 16th in any of the ways below, please email or call the office at [email protected] or (360) 596-6300 and let us know how you would like to help.

• Setup items and decorations for the Holiday Store (December 14)
• Gift Wrap Helper, Personal Shopping Assistant , or Cashier (December 15)
• Clean up (December 15 and maybe December 16th)

If you haven’t already done so, please complete the volunteer form at:

https://osd.wednet.edu/community/volunteer.

Thank you!

The Madison Staff

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Madison Elementary GIVING TREE

Madison Elementary School is pleased to coordinate our 3rd annual Giving Tree gift card program.
Open to all Madison families, the Giving Tree program supports families during the holiday season.

Participating families will receive gift cards from places such as; Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart or Amazon, to assist them with their holiday meals and shopping needs. This is all dependent on the donations received.

Families seeking support from the Giving Tree program are encouraged

to complete a confidential Giving Tree Request Form You may also email

Angelina Wood, Madison Family Liaison at [email protected] or

call 360-596-6321 with any questions about the program.

GIFT CARD DRIVE – Madison families and community members are invited to support our program with gift cards! Please consider purchasing a $25 gift card for Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart, or Amazon. You are welcome to drop gift cards off at the Madison Elementary school office or mail them to the school.

*If mailing, please address to Madison Elementary Giving Tree, 1225 Legion Way SE, Olympia, WA 98501

We kindly ask that all donated gift cards be received by Wednesday, December 14th in order to ensure families can receive the support by Thursday December 15th. Our school’s last day before Winter break is Friday December 16th

Please contact Angelina Wood at [email protected] or 360-596-6321 with questions about gift card giving or receiving. Thank you so much for your support!

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Bus Drivers Needed: Apply Today!

Olympia School District is  looking to hire multiple full-time and part-time Bus Drivers to join the Olympia School District team.

If you are interested in driving a bus for the OSD contact Tommy Gallegos, Transportation Department Lead Driver Trainer at (360) 596-7702 or [email protected]. We hope you consider joining our team!

 

Here is a brief video of a few of our amazing bus drivers at the Olympia School District, talking about what brought them into this career and what makes it such an important and rewarding job. >>> Link To “Why Do You Drive a School Bus?" Video

 

Madison Winter Sing Along!

Winter Under the Salish Sea 

Art Class Update

Four different schools were invited by the Olympia Artspace Alliance to make window displays connected by the theme of Winter Under the Salish Sea.  Our5th grade display is called “Jelly Town” and is made of beautiful jellyfish that students created using the sunburst tie dye technique. It is open to the public and everyone is welcome to join us out in the cold on the corner of 4th and Capitol to celebrate.  The installation is in the windows of the abandoned Goldsberg’s building and will be up all winter. Be sure to walk by next time you are downtown!

Madison’s Art Teacher, Mr. Graeme Smith

Madison School Spirit Week! (Dec. 12th - 16th.)

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PTO Updates

Our next PTO meeting is coming up on Tuesday, December 13th Meetings will be once a month on the second Tuesday, 6:30-7:30 pm in the Madison library and childcare is provided. Don’t worry if you can’t make it - we post notes on our website afterwards, and you can always email us with questions!

Madison Movie Night
The Madison PTO is excited to host movie night? Friday, December 2, 6-8 pm in the Madison gymnasium. Movie night is free and for the whole family! We will be watching the Grinch and raffling off fun prizes. If you are interested in volunteering we could use your help - sign up here! We look forward to seeing you soon!

Note regarding the PTO Update section of this newsletter:

This is NOT a school-sponsored activity. The Olympia School District has neither reviewed nor approved the sponsoring organization or its program, personnel, and activities announced in this flyer. The sponsoring organization and participants agree to protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the District, its Board of Directors, employees, and agents, from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, expenses or rights of action, directly or indirectly attributed to the organization, or its program, personnel, and activities. Permission to distribute this flyer should not be considered an endorsement or recommendation of the program by the District.

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Preparing for Inclement Weather

The winter season is upon us. Inclement weather may result in changes to the regular operations of our district and schools. The Olympia School District uses a variety of notification systems to reach out to staff and families in the event of inclement weather. Learn more about these systems as well as Two-hour Late Starts and School Cancellations on our Emergency Information page.

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For information on our Emergency Snow Routes (East and West side of Olympia) please visit our Snow Bulletin page.

Please note that if you do not see your student’s bus stop listed on these routes, and are not directed otherwise, please have your student report to the regularly scheduled bus stop.

Should you have any questions, please contact our district office at (360) 596-6100.

Winter Gear Needed

Madison families. Winter is knocking at the door, and so fast! We would welcome and appreciate donations of cold weather items for students. Gloves, hats, winter boots of all sizes.  If you are able to donate, feel free to drop items off to the office and/or contact me anytime to coordinate drop off and for any questions. Thank you!

Angelina Wood - Family Liaison

360-596-6321

[email protected]

Madison Lion Cub YouTube Channel

Please consider subscribing to our Madison Lion Cub YouTube Channel at >>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSFyLclb_PnhkDK5MwbE7sQ 

Madison Lion Cubs Facebook Page

Please visit, like, and follow our Madison Lion Cubs Facebook Page.

Anonymous Tip Line

As a reminder, the Olympia School District has an anonymous tip line that allows students or families to report safety concerns to school officials 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Tips can be shared by phone at (360) 529-0938, as well as by text, email or on the Vector Solutions website. More information is available on flyers posted in OSD schools and on the OSD website.

Useful Links

OSD 2021-22 Calendar >>> OSD 2022-23 Calendar

Office Reader Board (Live feed) >>> Madison Office Reader Board

YouTube >>> Madison Lion Cubs

Facebook >>> Madison Lion Cubs Facebook Page

Website >>> https://madison.osd.wednet.edu/

PTO Facebook >>> Madison PTO Facebook Page

PTO Website >>> https://madisonlioncubs.org/ 

Transportation / Bus Info >>> (360) 596-7700

Family Resource Request Form >>> Family Resource Request Form

Amazon Wish List >>> Madison Amazon Wish List

Donate to Student Supplies Budget (Online) >>> Online Donation Form

Contact Info

School Address >>> 1225 Legion Way SE., Olympia WA 98501

School Office >>> (360) 596-6300

Secretary (Jodi Cox) >>> [email protected] 

Student Absence / Tardy Line >>> (360) 596- 6303

Staff Directory >>> Staff Directory

Counsellor (Denise Hammer) >>> [email protected]

Family Liaison (Angelina Wood) >>> [email protected]

Family Resource Request Form >>> Family Resource Request Form

School Principal (Mr. DSK) >>> [email protected]

Special Education (Heather Muske) >>> [email protected]

 

Proud to be a

Madison Lion Cub!

  

We acknowledge that Madison Elementary School resides on the traditional lands of the Cowlitz, Squaxin Island, and Nisqually people, who have lived on and cared for this land and water since time immemorial.