March 7 District Solo Ensemble—Instrumental March 8 Daylight Saving Time Begins—Turn Clock Ahead 1 Hour March 12 Parent-Teacher Conferences—4:00-7:00 March 19-21 JRG Spring Musical March 20: Student-Staff Basketball Game

Early Release—11:20 March 23: WIT Wisconsin—Microsoft Girls Event—JRG LMC 4:00-6:00 March 27 End of Quarter 3 April 10-14 No School April 23 SoundScape at Timber Rattler Stadium—6:30 PM May 4 Spring Band Concert—7:00 May 18 Spring Choir Concert—7:00 May 25 No School June 2 8th Grade Recognition—6:00-8:00 June 4 Last Day of School

Please See the JRG Website Calendar of

Events for Specific Sports and Club Dates and Times

March 4

2020

Learning, Leadership and Laughter…The JRG Journey

Gator News

J.R. Gerritts Middle School • 545 S. John St. • Kimberly, WI • 920-788-7905

JRG

At A Glance

Race Around the Recycling Bin In the 8th grade elective class, Robotic Design, students learn how to program and construct Lego EV3 Robots using Lego Mindstorm Software. The students began the quarter learning how to make their robot move forward and turn. To put their skills to the test, the students were challenged to Race Around the Recycle Bin, modifying their construction as well as their programming to be the quickest and most efficient. Congratulations to our First Place Winners: Emily McCarthy and Addie Behling and our Second Place Winners: Kyler Jansen and Allan Lamer!

Next up: Adding interactivity to their robots through the use of Color Sensors, Touch Sensors, Gyro Sensors and Ultrasonic Sensors! Studying how the use of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence is changing our lives, students will end the quarter by designing, building and programming a robot to solve a problem or perform a task in which they believe a robot would be more efficient or safer than a human!

March Events Our spring Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on March 12 from 4:00-7:00 PM. This is a one-night event (as opposed to the two nights of fall conferences). Please join us if you can. If you can’t attend but have questions about your student’s progress, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our teachers via email or phone. One of the primary reasons for JRG’s success is our amazing and supportive families, so thank you for all you do to support your child at home. 8th Grade students will be participating in College Tours on March 24 and 25. Students will have the opportunity to explore Fox Valley Technical College, UW Green Bay, and Marian University. Detailed information and permission forms will be provided in the coming weeks.

Ask Your Student About Their TLC Raffle Basket The JRG Student Council is hosting our annual student-staff basketball game on March 20th to benefit the YMCA’s Annual Campaign. Every year, our goal is to raise over $1,000 to benefit the local Heart of the Valley YMCA which helps many of our students in need and their families. One way that we’re asking JRG families to help out is to contribute to their TLC's Raffle Basket. Each TLC has chosen a theme and is gathering items or money to support that theme. The baskets will be raffled off during the game on Friday. Please ask your son/daughter about his/her basket theme. Thank you in advance for your support of the YMCA!

Student / Staff Basketball Game The Student / Staff Basketball Game will be on March 20th, and with that, we will also run a study hall for students with two or more missing assignments. Please note the following timeline: March 17th (Tuesday): Students must have work turned in by 3:00 pm. March 18th (Wednesday): Teachers enter the names of students with any missing work into spreadsheet. March 20th (Friday): Students with one or fewer missing assignments will receive a free raffle ticket and can attend the game. Students with more than one assignment will report to the mandatory study hall to complete missing work during the game.

Mr. Hoerth’s Exploring Technology: Printing and Photo

Photo of the Week Winners

Week 2: Abigail Wolfe (Black and White) Week 3: Sophia Girard (Nature) Week 4: Hannah Butler (Sports)

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JRG Students Succeed At Regional Spelling Bee 41 school-wide spelling bee winners from 11 school districts were invited to Lawrence University on February 11 for the regional competition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The Spelling Bee competition is for students in grades 4 through 8. The Bee helps students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage. Aanya Kasera, Riley Matz, Colton Pozniak, Tyler VanGompel represented JRG in a glowing fashion placing first, second, and third! Please click here for more detailed information about the event and pictures or our participants and winners.

Battle Of The Books Battle of the Books is a state book trivia competition run by the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA). Every year, students across the state read from a list of 20 books chosen by WEMTA and memorize as many details as possible from those books. Then, they compete to see who knows the most trivia about those books. This year, nine JRG students chose to take on the Battle of the Books challenge. Students have been reading from the booklist since October, and then began practicing trivia questions in January. In early February, in order to form our representative team of four, the students competed against each other to determine who knew the most about the books. This year, JRG’s team of four, which includes Natalie Conrad, Gwen Hughes, Colton Pozniak, and Kailtyn Schmidt, proved that they knew the most trivia about the list of 20 books. During the last week of February, those four competed against other students in the state to show how much they remember about the books. Though state results aren’t revealed until late March, we can be sure that all of our book warriors from JRG id a phenomenal job, demonstrating amazing reading recall and comprehension and outstanding teamwork sills. What a fabulous Battle of the Books year we had! Thank you to all students and staff involved!

Youth Art Month March is when we celebrate Youth Art Month! Several pieces of JRG student art is on display at the James Siebers Memorial Public Library in Kimberly throughout the Month of Marth. Artwork from Mapleview and Woodland are also included. Hope you get a chance to visit the library to view the many talents of out Kimberly students!

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Another Successful Year of Mini-Courses Here's a sampling from our annual Mini-Courses, held February 11 and 12. Over the past several years, we have adjusted the focus of our Mini-Courses to support Academic and Career Planning (ACP). All courses include a focus on at least two aspects of Career, College and Life Readiness. Plus, they are a blast and our kids (and teachers) look forward to them every year.

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Parking in the Circle Driveway We ask that parents refrain from parking or standing in the circle driveway in front of JRG when picking up students after school. This area is intended for appointments during school hours, deliveries and emergency vehicles. Thank you for your help and understanding.

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Appointment and Extended Absence Procedures Students who have appointments during the day are asked to come to the main office in the morning to receive a pass. Please send them with a note in the morning indicating the time they will be picked up. We write the pass 5 minutes earlier than the indicated time to ensure your student is here to meet you when you arrive. It is then their responsibility to be aware of what time they are to come to the office to meet you. With approximately 800 students at JRG we prefer not to interrupt learning any more than absolutely necessary by having to call a classroom to remind students of their appointment time once they have received a pass. For safety purposes, we ask that a parent or guardian come in to the main office to sign their student out. When returning, we do not need a parent to accompany as students can sign themselves in. If your student will be missing school for an extended period of time, please call or send a note for the Main Office. We will then provided a pre-arranged absence form for your student to gather any work that will be missed during that time. We ask that the top half of form is returned to the main office to keep attendance accurate. Thank you for your support in creating a great learning environment at JRG

Chromebook Care and Responsibility Lost or misplaced Chromebooks have been on the rise recently. To help return Chromebook to their proper owners, we ask that students and parents help in a few ways: * Ensure your student’s name is on the Chromebook, the Chromebook case, and the charging cord. * Students should not use a friend’s Chromebook if they have misplaced or forgotten theirs. * If a Chromebook is left behind in a classroom, please allow staff to turn it in to the LMC or Main Office, and they will return it to the proper person. If your student is using a loaner Chromebook from the LMC at any time, please remember that they are not covered by your protection plan, so any damages while on loan to your student will be charged to you.

Boys and Girls Track and Tennis Begin in April

Boys and Girls Track will begin Monday, April 6 and will continue into May. Practices will be held daily from 3:10 until approximately 4:30. Participants will receive a schedule during practice with more detailed information about meet dates and times. This year, coaches will be using the Remind App to stay connected, however it is not a requirement for your child to have a phone. Boys and Girls Tennis also begins in April. Dates and times will be available soon. Please see Ms. Swanson in room 224 with questions. Please make sure you have all of the proper paperwork on file the office. You can find the JRG athletic form on our website by clicking here.

7th Grade Health Presentation Helps Students Understand Sexual Harassment For the past several years, JRG has hosted a presentation by the Sexual Assault Crisis Center of the Fox Cities (http://www.sacc-foxcities.org) in our 7th Grade Health classes. This quarter, the presentation will occur on March 26. The presenter helps students to understand and define sexual harassment, and leads a discussion on how harassment can affect a person’s health. This presentation covers Learning Target #5 of our Human Growth and Development Unit. (Explain the difference between acceptable, respectful physical contact and sexual harassment). If you have questions or concerns about this presentation, please feel free to contact Ms. Steif, Mrs. Berger, or Mr. Chalupny.

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Emergency Medications Please be aware that emergency medications that are provided for use during the school day will not be accessible after school hours. Parents and students plan ahead to have emergency medication available during after school activities such as clubs and sports. If an emergency arises and a student does not have their emergency medication available, 911 will be called.

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Weather Cancellations and Delays If weather conditions dictate that there will be no school or a delayed start, a decision to keep the schools closed is usually made by 6:00 a.m. Parents with students in school receive a direct call, text and/or email from our auto-call system through Infinite Campus since that is the fastest way to communicate with thousands of parents at one time. As a reminder: If you have a new phone number or email address, please update your information in the Infinite Campus parent portal or contact your school’s secretary to update the portal. Announcements are also sent to local T.V. and radio stations, please tune to local stations such as these rather than call the school directly: WAPL-105.7FM, WIXX-101.1FM, WHBY-1150AM, WKFX-104.9FM, WEMI-91.9 FM, WTAQ-97.5FM/1360AM, WWWX-96.9FM and WGEE-93.5FM; and WBAY-TV2, WFRV-TV5, WGBA-TV26, and WLUK-FOX11. If other school events, such as concerts or sporting events are also cancelled because of weather, they are typically communicated through these stations as well. The District’s website and Facebook page are not our primary way to communicate school closures, so we ask parents to listen to the auto-call messages or tune in to the radio and T.V. stations listed for the timeliest updates.

District Notice Concerning The Public Nature of School Events The Kimberly Area School District strives to offer a broad array of opportunities for student enrichment. As part of this effort, students have the opportunity to engage in many activities, through both the District’s regular curriculum and co-curricular offerings, which allow students to share their talents with the broader school community. Examples include concerts, theatrical performances, academic and athletic competitions, and many similar events. These events, often held on District property during or after regular school hours, are generally open to family, friends, and members of the public. While the District takes measures to ensure the safety of its events, it does not typically regulate who may attend. Nor does the District regulate the use of photography or video/audio recording at such events. As a result, it is possible that members of the public, including media, will take photographs or recordings of those attending the events. Such photography and recordings are generally for the purposes of celebrating and/or reporting on the events. However, the District recognizes that there may be occasions when this type of attention is unwanted by some families based on safety concerns particular to their family situation, or for other reasons. If, for any reason, you or your student have concerns regarding participation in District events because of the event ’s public nature, please contact your school’s administration to discuss whether your student may need to opt out of participation in the event, or if there are other measures that can be taken to address your concerns.

Les and Dar Stumpf Youth Arts Scholarships The Les and Dar Stumpf youth arts scholarship was established to provide financial assistance to area students in grades K12 interested in an art discipline. Scholarship applications are due April 1, 2020. Recipients will be selected at the discretion of the Stumpf Scholarship Selection Committee. Award amounts will vary, but are limited to no more than $500 per child per year. Scholarship checks are made payable to the provider of the service. Please visit www.cffoxvalley.org/scholarship for detailed scholarship information and application.

The Kimberly Area School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, (including limited English proficiency), ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, homelessness status, sex, including transgender status, change of sex or gender identity, disability,

age (except as authorized by law), military status or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability in any of its student programs or activities.

J.R. Gerritts Middle School * 545 S. John Street * Kimberly, WI 54136 (P) 920-788-7905 (F) 920-788-7914 (E) JRG@kimberly.k12.wi.us

Collecting Homework Due to Illness If your student is missing school days due to illness and you would like to gather their homework, please have your student check their Google Classroom for assignments or have them email their teachers directly. Teacher email addresses consist of the teacher’s first initial, last name@kimberly.k12.wi.us (eg. Joe Smith would be jsmith@kimberly.k12.wi.us). If you expect books or paperwork to be brought to the office by your student’s teachers, please call the office first to ensure the work is available.

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My Child Doesn’t Feel Well While at School—What Should They Do? If your child is at school and does not feel well, our health room is located in the Main Office. There they will be asked to complete a brief form to indicate their concerns. Students will then be evaluated by the Health Assistant or an office staff member. We ask that students not contact home on their own without first being evaluated in the health room. For most concerns, 10-15 minutes of rest helps tremendously and the student is able to return to class for the remainder of the day. All students are encouraged to carry a water bottle with them to stay hydrated throughout the day. JRG is equipped to offer certain stock medications in pill form only. These medications include regular and extra strength acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and Benadryl. To dispense these medications to a student, we need to have a form completed by a parent indicating which medications we can provide as well as the dosage. You can find this form on our website under Forms and Documents. If your student needs cough drops, Tums, or non-pill forms of pain relieving medications, you may provide them from home in their original containers. They will be kept in the health room for those times your student needs them. Our main goal is to help students return to class and continue learning. If their temperature is over 100 degrees or other symptoms dictate, parents will be contacted by the health assistant, office staff, or permission will be given to the student to call. Please take a moment to discuss this process with your student. If you have any questions about this process, please call the office at 788-7905.

Please Help JRG Be Fragrance-Free: Fragrances, Essential Oils, CBD Oil Due to student and staff health issues, JRG is attempting to limit fragrances in our school. We currently have approximately 130 students and at least one staff member with health conditions that can be negatively impacted by products with fragrances. Fragrances such as cologne, aftershave, perfume, scented lotion, fragranced hair products, essential oils and/or similar products can be a trigger to debilitating health conditions for these students and staff. By reducing exposure to these triggers, symptoms will also be reduced. We are asking our families for any and all the help they can provide in reducing fragrances coming into JRG. Your assistance in minimizing or eliminating fragrances can help not only this teacher, but also other students who have sensitivities and allergies related to fragrances by improving indoor air quality (please see the American Lung Association for more information on indoor air quality). In addition, essential oils and CBD oil continue to grow in popularity and are often perceived as having medical benefits. We discourage students from bringing these products to school, and they will be handled like any other non-essential, non-school related item if they become a distraction in the learning environment. If you feel strongly that your child needs these products at school, we ask that you work with our school nurse and your child’s healthcare provider to develop a plan. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. We appreciate your support! Eric Brinkmann, Principal Kathy Verstegen, RN, District Nurse

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JRG Club Information Student Must Be a ROCKS Member to participate Dates are also listed on the JRG Events Calendar

Alliance Club—3:00-3:45 Contact: Ms. Startup, Room 105 (mstartup@kimberly.k12.wi.us) or Ms. Stupka (rstupka@kimberly.k12.wi.us) Meetings will be the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month.

Art Club—3:00-4:00 Contact: Ms. Dagesse, Room 436 (rdagesse@kimberly.k12.wi.us) March: 2, 9, 16, 23 April: 6, 20, 27 May: 4, 11

Chess and Board Game Club—3:00-4:00

Contact: Mr. Kortenhof (tkortenhof@kimberly.k12.wi.us) Meetings will be held on Tuesdays

Computer Science Club—3:00-4:00 Contact: Ms. Froze, rm 111 (afroze@kimberly.k12.wi.us) March: 2, 5, 9, 16, 26, 30 April: 6, 9, 16, 23, 27, 30 May: 4, 11, 14, 18, 28 June: 1

E-Sports Club—3:00-4:00

Contact: Mr. Bumgardner, Student Services (mbumgardner@kimberly.k12.wi.us) Meetings will be held on Tuesdays

Junk Box Wars—3:00-4:00 (new members welcome at any time) Contact: Mr. Jansen, Room 217 (jjansen@kimberly.k12.wi.us March 2-3; 9-10; 16-17; 23-24

Robotics Club—3:05-4:00 Contact: Mr. Billings (abillings@kimberly.k12.wi.us) or Mr. Hoerth (bhoerth@kimberly.k12.wi.us) . Meetings will be held each Tuesday thru February 25

Scrapbooking Club—3:00-5:00

Contact: Ms. VanZeeland, Room 230 (kvanzeeland@kimberly.k12.wi.us) March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Strength Training—3:00-4:00 Contact: Mr. Chalupny (mchalupny@kimberly.12.wi.us) or Mr. Jochimsen (jjochimsen@kimberly.k12.wi.us) 8th Grade Boys will lift on Mondays and Wednesdays; 8th Grade Girls will lift on Tuesdays and Thursdays

JRG Athletics Student Must Be a ROCKS Member to participate

Dates and locations are also listed on the JRG Athletic Calendar

Wrestling

March 7—at Appleton North Invite March 10—at Menasha

Track and Field

April 6: Practice Begins May 4: Kimberly at Theisen April 27: Kimberly only May 7: Neenah at Kimberly April 30: Neenah at Kimberly May 12: Woodworth at Kimberly May 13: Kimberly at Menasha May 19: Kimberly at Kaukauna

Project Starfish Intended to Help Families in Financial Need Limited Financial Assistance is available for activities, events and programs at JRG Middle School through Project Starfish. In partnership with U. S. Ventures, Inc., JRG is proud to Continue its participation with Project Starfish. Project Starfish provides an opportunity for students to develop a plan to volunteer within the school community and "pay it forward" in an effort to make a difference to others. This could be anything from helping clean up school property; helping in the office, weeding, or an approved project the student may self select. Participants in Project Starfish remain confidential, must demonstrate financial hardship and must complete their volunteer work prior to the activity. Forms to participate in Project Starfish can be picked up in the Student Services office. Submission of a request does not guarantee assistance.

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Family Move - Outside of the Kimberly Area School District When a family moves outside of the Kimberly Area School District, students may continue to attend the school where they are currently enrolled if they qualify for a Tuition Waiver (obtained from the district office). Students who qualify for a Tuition Waiver are entitled to continue their enrollment through the waiver period. However, they are required to apply for Open Enrollment during the next Open Enrollment application period if they want to remain in the Kimberly Area School District after the Tuition Waiver has expired. For additional information, please contact Jen Bixler at (920)423-4166 or email her at jbixler@kimberly.k12.wi.us

Family Move - Within the Kimberly Area School District When a family move occurs within the Kimberly Area School District, students may continue to attend the school where they are currently enrolled even though their residence has changed to another Kimberly Area School District attendance area. Parents who wish to have their student(s) remain in the same school after a move within the school district must complete the School Request Form located on the district website under Student & Parents>Enrollment>Attendance and return it to the district office Attn: Sara Vogel. For additional information regarding school request contact Sara Vogel at (920)423-4122.

Are you on our mailing list? We want to ensure parents of young children (age 0-5) in our District are on our mailing list, so you can receive information relative to your child’s age group, such as early childhood screening information or 4K and 5K registration information. We also need to have information for all children age 0-21 for state reporting. Click on this link https://goo.gl/DFjSne to complete the census form, or complete and mail the census form found here https://goo.gl/TkNvX6. If you know of other families with children in our District that may not be in our system, please help us by sharing this information with them.

Follow JRG on Instagram, ‘Like’ Us on Facebook JRG can be found on Facebook at Facebook.com/JRGerritts. In addition, JRG is now on Instagram at JRGMSOfficial. These resources are used to provide occasional school-wide updates and for reminders about various upcoming events. Families also find it's fun to check out the hundreds of pictures of students participating in events, activities and other learning experiences at JRG.

Additional Opportunities Available on the KASD Community Events Page

While many community opportunities are included in our weekly newsletters, additional events and opportunities are also posted on the District webpage under Community Events, or by clicking here. Links to items such as Park and Rec opportunities, community dances, educational opportunities, speakers, and local festivals can be found there. Community Events will be posted here as they become available. Blanket Making Event for Aubree's Blankets for Veterans. March 8, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Babysitting Certification Class: April 14, 2020, Village of Kimberly Municipal Complex Heart of the Valley Poetry Contest, submit by April 15, 2020 Kimberly Parks and Recreation Department is Hiring for Summer 2020 *Free Admission to EAA for Youth 18 and under

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Rob DeLain KASD Homeless Liaison

920.788.7905

Kristine Nadolski 608.267.7338