Jefferson Elementary Newsletter
Patriot Press
Newsletter - May 15, 2026
Principal's Message 🍎
As we head into our final round of i-Ready testing this week, we encourage families to help students tap into their “super powers” by making sure they are getting plenty of sleep, eating breakfast, and arriving at school ready to do their best. We are so proud of the growth our students have shown this year and know they are ready to shine!
We are also excited to celebrate Jefferson’s 140th Anniversary with a school parade on May 22nd from 2:25–2:40 p.m. Families are invited to line the sidewalks, similar to Fall Fest, to cheer on our students as we celebrate this special milestone together.
Our make-up Recess with Relatives event from February will take place on Wednesday, May 20th. We look forward to welcoming families back into the building for this special time with students.
As the weather continues to warm up, please help students come prepared for outdoor play by wearing shoes that are safe for running and playing. If students choose to wear sandals, Crocs, or other shoes not ideal for recess and PE, we encourage them to bring a spare pair of athletic shoes to help limit injuries and keep everyone safe.
Please also join us for Coffee with the Principal on Wednesday, May 27th from 7:30–7:50 a.m. by the school sign on Minnesota Street. I’d love the opportunity to connect with families before the school day begins!
Warmly,
Lady Jones
Upcoming Events 📆
🌷May
- 5/20 - Recess with Relatives (Rescheduled from February)
- 5/20 - CARE Days!
- 5/21 - 4th Grade Paine Art Field Trip
- 5/22 - All books checked out from Jefferson's Library are due back to school
- 5/22 - 140 Years of Jefferson Celebration
- 5/25 - No School | Memorial Day
- 5/27 - Parent/Guardian Coffee with the Principal
- 5/28 - 4th Grade Boys and Girls Brigade Field Trip
- 5/29 - Kindergarten South Park Field Trip
🌞June
- 6/2 - Second Grade Field Trip to South Park
- 6/2 - Field Day
- 6/3 - 5th Grade Promotion and South Park Field Trip
- 6/3 - 4th Grade South Park Field Trip
- 6/4 - 1st and 3rd Grade South Park Field Trip
- 6/4 - Field Day Rain Date & Last Day of School for students! 🎉
- 6/4 - 5th Grade Walk Out @ 2:30 pm
🍕July
- 7/27 - Pizza Ranch Dine-Out Fundraiser from 4-8 PM
🏫August
- 8/25 - Jefferson Back to School Open House and Community Resource Carnival
2026-27 School Year Registration🎒
It’s time to look ahead to another wonderful year of learning and growth! Online Registration (OLR) / Annual Student Update for the 2026-2027 school year opens April 1 for all returning Oshkosh Area School District K-12 students and new 4K students.
To secure your child’s spot and ensure they are ready for the fall, please log in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal beginning April 1 to register and verify your information.
What You Need to Know:
Streamlined Forms: We’ve made it easier! Universal field trip permissions, athletic forms, dental care, and digital GO Transit access are now built directly into the online process.
Busing & Transportation: If your child is eligible and requires busing, you must complete the transportation questions within OLR by August 16 to guarantee service for the first day of school.
New 4K Students: Enrollment for our free 4K program also opens April 1! Current families can simply add a new 4K student while completing their annual update in the Parent Portal.
In-Person Support: If you need language assistance or computer access, join us for Centralized Registration Day on August 5 at Vel Phillips Middle School.
How to Register: Log in via the Infinite Campus website or the "Campus Parent" mobile app (available on the App Store and Google Play). Click “More” on the bottom left, then select “Online Registration.”
👉 Read our 2026-2027 Online Registration Guide for the full update and instructions!
Need help with a password reset or creating an account? Please contact our school office for immediate assistance.
⭐Spotlight⭐
🌟Celebrating 140 Years of Jefferson Elementary 🌟
Jefferson Elementary School is celebrating its 140th anniversary on Friday, May 22nd! Students will enjoy a special presentation during the school day and will participate in a small celebratory parade inside the school’s fence line at 2:25 PM.
Families are invited to join the fun by lining the sidewalks along Minnesota and 11th to cheer on our Jefferson students as they parade by. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with our school community!
📢Jefferson Elementary Library Book Return 📚
Attention! All books must be returned to the media center no later than Friday, May 22nd!
Back 2 School Fair – Support for OASD Families
The Oshkosh Back 2 School Fair helps families prepare for the new school year by providing free backpacks, school supplies, one outfit, a shoe voucher, hygiene kits, and possible haircuts for students in 4K–12.
This year’s event will be held at Vel Phillips Middle School on August 12–13. See the flyer for full details.
Families who qualify based on income can apply now for the 2026–27 school year:
Back 2 School Fair Application
Questions? Email caseyk@uwosh.edu.
The fair is made possible by the Haliburton Family Foundation, the Oshkosh Community, and many community partners.
Help Shape the Future of Early Learning in Oshkosh
Are you a parent or guardian of a young child? Help shape the future of early learning and four-year-old kindergarten (4K) programming in Oshkosh! A series of community conversations are being held to hear your feedback on how to best meet the needs of our youngest learners and families.
[Click here to view the event flyer]
These sessions are open to family members, friends, and champions of children who are enrolled in, have completed, or will soon be enrolled in early learning programs (preschool or 4K). You do not need to have children currently enrolled in the OASD to participate; community members and representatives from local organizations are also welcome.
RSVP: Please complete this RSVP form so organizers know when to expect you and if you need any support to participate.
Why attend?
Share your needs and ideas for early learning
Food and Gift Cards will be provided to all participants
Childcare, transportation, and translation are available upon request
Dates and Locations:
May 4: 5:30 – 7:00 PM @ Copper Hall
May 17: 1:30 – 3:00 PM @ Oshkosh Public Library
May 18: 5:30 – 7:00 PM @ Menominee Elementary
May 20: 5:30 – 7:00 PM @ Carl Traeger Elementary
Questions or Support? If you need childcare or transportation to attend, please email admin@sepoishope.org.
This outreach is being facilitated by SEPO, in collaboration with the Oshkosh Area School District, and funded through a grant from the Basic Needs Giving Partnership.
Recess with Relatives
Our last recess with relatives for the year is Wednesday, May 20th. Hope to see you there!
5th Grade Walk-Out Celebration
On Thursday, June 4th, our fifth graders will walk the halls of Jefferson Elementary School one last time to “Pomp and Circumstance,” beginning at 2:30 PM.
We invite all Jefferson families to help us celebrate! Please form two lines outside Door 1 to create a cheering tunnel for our 5th grade students as they walk out. If you’re able to join us, please begin lining up at 2:35 PM on the blacktop.
Let’s send our 5th graders off with pride and support!
Jefferson PTO 🤝
Jefferson Elementary PTO Needs YOU! 📢📢📢
Our Jefferson Elementary PTO plays a huge role in creating the fun, supportive, and memorable experiences our students enjoy. From special family events to helping fund field trips and providing resources for our teachers.
At the end of next year, several of our dedicated PTO parents will be moving on as their children advance grades, which means we need new parent voices and helping hands to keep the PTO going. Without fresh members, many of the activities our students love may not be able to continue.
Here’s the good news:
Being part of the PTO is simple, welcoming, and low-pressure.
- Minimal commitment - attend a monthly meeting when you can in person or virtual
- Stay in the know about what’s happening at your child’s school
- Support our students through simple fundraising events like our dine-out nights at local resturants and fun school events
- Help shape experiences that make Jefferson special like bike or walk to school day and field day
Whether you can give a little time or a lot, your involvement matters. Even one new parent makes a big difference.
If you’re interested in joining or learning more, we’d love to have you! Let’s keep the Jefferson Elementary spirit strong for all of our students. 💛📘
Check out their Facebook page here.
Notes from the Office📄
5th Grade Promotion Visitor Check-In
Parents/Guardians attending 5th Grade Promotion must sign-in and receive a visitor badge prior to entering the gymnasium.
iPads and QR codes will be set-up in the front lobby that you can use to sign-in. Visitor badges will be pre-printed. Please take one and have it visably displayed on the front of your shirt.
Reporting Student Attendance 💛
To help us support your student’s success and safety, all attendance notifications need to come through the school office. This includes:
✨ Absences — Please let us know each day your child is out, especially if they’re sick for multiple days. You may email doctor's notes to the school secretary or send them to school with your student.
✨ Late Arrivals & Early Pick-Ups — Inform the office so we can properly record the day.
✨ Extended Vacations - Please fill out the Pre-Planned Absence Form (link is located at the bottom of the newsletter) and return it to the office with your student.
✨ Attendance may be reported to the office via phone, secretary email, or via Infinite Campus Parent Portal under "more" and "absence requests".
📧 Email: katie.ascher@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
📞 Phone: 920-424-0165
Important!: If someone other than a parent/guardian will be picking up your student, please notify the office ahead of time. For everyone’s safety, the person picking up must show a valid ID at pickup so we can confirm they’re approved to take your child. Changes to student pick-up information must be reported to the office by 2:30 pm so that the office can send your student a note before the end of the day.
Thank you for staying connected and helping us ensure every student’s day is safe, smooth, and successful!
🚗 Morning Drop-Off & Afternoon Pick-Up Reminder
📍 View the official Jefferson Elementary Traffic Flow & Parking Map:
👉 Jefferson Traffic Flow/Parking Map (official)
Where you can park & walk:
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11th Ave (from the end of the bus loading zone down toward Oregon St.) — Street parking is allowed. You may park, exit your vehicle, and walk your student to the blacktop.
Surrounding streets: 10th Avenue, Oregon Street, and other designated green areas on the map.
Where you cannot park:
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Minnesota Street (along the school) — Loading zone only. Pull up, drop off or pick up quickly, do not park and exit your car here.
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Blacktop in front of the playground (11th Ave) — Bus zone only. No parking or loading here.
Safety reminder:
Please keep traffic heading north on Minnesota Street. Stopping in the middle of the road to drop off creates a safety hazard with oncoming cars.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
⏰ Morning Routine
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The playground is not open for play in the morning before school to ensure everyone's safety.
Supervision on the blacktop begins at 7:30 AM. Students should not arrive before 7:30 AM.
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At 7:30 AM, students will come inside the building and report to their indoor recess locations. Staff will be at the front doors letting students in.
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The first bell rings at 7:40 AM.
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Students are expected to be in their classrooms and ready to learn by 7:45 AM when the second bell rings. Students not in their seats at this time will be marked tardy.
If your student arrives after 7:45 AM, please drop them off at Door 1. They will enter through the office, check in, and receive a late pass. Parents/guardians may say goodbye to students outside at Door 1.
🚶 Dismissal — 2:45 PM
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Students are dismissed at 2:45 PM.
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Adults picking up students should stay on the blacktop, behind the painted pink lines near Door 1, and not stand on the pavement pad next to the door.
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Teachers will bring students to their blacktop line-up spots to meet you safely.
Students must be accompanied by an adult on the playground after school. Students may not stay and play on the playground without going home first or accompanied by an adult.
🚪 Visiting the School
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If you need to visit the building, please ring the doorbell at Door 1 to be let in. This includes before or after school.
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Do not enter the building while students are arriving or leaving.
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Parents/guardians may not walk students to their classrooms.
Visitors must have an approved background check and receive a visitor badge upon entering the school.
Specialists Corner 🎉
A message from Ms. Keefe
In art for the last few weeks of school, we are working on finishing our clay projects, painting them and sending them home.
Kindergarten and first grade have sent home their Native American inspired Pinch Pots and are now working on a project called Mixed Media Mushrooms. They are experimenting with paints and oil pastels.
For students who are in second through fifth grade, as they finish painting their clay pieces, they will work on an oil pastel radial collage, experimenting with oil pastel and cutting shapes to create abstract designs.
A message from Ms. Noll
Thank you to every Jefferson musician for making this such a great year! I have enjoyed getting to make music with every single student! During this last portion of the year, this is what we are working on:
4th and 5th grade will be continuing to learn recorder. Ask them to play a song for you over the summer or take out their music packet to practice over the summer if they have a recorder at home!
3rd grade is growing their ukulele knowledge! They are continuing to get comfortable playing the open strings as well as learning basic chords that can be played along with their favorite songs.
K, 1st, and 2nd are doing a mix of activities during the end of the year including learning some dances, some camp songs, and various instrument playalongs.
I can't wait to make music with all the Jefferson musicians next year! Stay tuned to hear all about it!
~ Ms. Noll
A message from Mr. Schneider
Hello Families,
As we wrap up another great year in Physical Education, we have a few important updates to share!
First, we are once again looking for volunteers for Field Day on Tuesday, June 2nd! If you are interested in helping, please contact Mr. Schneider or Katie Ascher in the office. All volunteers must complete and be approved through the school background check process prior to the event. Katie can assist with any questions regarding the background check, so please reach out to one of us if you are interested in volunteering.
In PE classes, we will be closing out the school year with a variety of fun activities, including 4 Square and practicing our Field Day games so all students know the expectations and activities before the big day arrives.
This school year has been incredibly rewarding, exciting, and full of fun. It has been a pleasure working with your children and watching them grow in their skills, confidence, teamwork, and sportsmanship throughout the year.
As summer approaches, we encourage all students to get outside, stay active, and explore activities and interests they enjoy. Whether it’s biking, swimming, hiking, playing sports, or simply spending time outdoors, staying physically active is so important for both physical and mental health.
Thank you for all of your support this year!
A message from Mrs. Boettcher and Mrs. Vollbrecht
June 10 – August 7
Raise the curtain for the 2026 Summer Reading Program!
How to Participate:
Pick up your Playbill at the library or print one.
Mark off the activities on your BINGO card as you complete them. If you’re also tracking your progress in ReaderZone, mark the activities as “Yes” for complete there, also. When you complete all 5 activities in a straight line (up, down, or diagonal), you have a BINGO! Come to the library to collect a small prize and a raffle ticket. Enter the raffle of your choice!
Each player can complete the BINGO card one time.
A message from Mrs. Bauer
😎Do you want to know how you can keep your child’s math-brain growing over summer break?
💻Check out thought-provoking math activities, games, and practice pages at Bridges Math at Home. Or scan the QR code below or use this LINK. Click on any grade level and get ready to talk math with your child using these slides that can even be seen from your cellphone!
🥣Bring math into the kitchen. So much of cooking involves math! Following a recipe uses concepts like sequencing and counting. Baking requires precise measuring, and scaling a recipe requires multiplication or division. Start with something simple, like a smoothie recipe. Once your child is comfortable following a recipe, ask them to double it, which requires thinking proportionally.
🎲Play math-based games. Any board or card games that use money, keep score, or require strategy, such as Monopoly®, blackjack, Scrabble®, chess, and Blokus®, are math-based games. There are also plenty of fun games to play when you’re traveling. Playing games can improve your child’s numerical fluency, logic and probability skills. It’s also a great way to spend time together!
🎶Listen to music. Music is inherently mathematical. The familiar patterns in your favorite songs follow a mathematical structure. Find out if your community has free summer concerts in the park. See what summer music activities are offered to children in your area. Listen to music together at home. Clap to the beat. Talk about the repeated patterns. Get up and dance!
⚽Watch sports and do the math. Incorporate math when you’re watching sports together. Encourage your child to keep statistics on their favorite baseball team or player. Keep track of how much time passes between goals when you’re watching a soccer game. Compare football players based on touchdowns, yardage and tackles made. If your child plays basketball in the backyard or at a nearby court, they can take measurements and compare them to an official-sized court.
🍋Start a business. Summer is the best time to earn some extra spending money. Encourage your child to start a business doing yardwork, babysitting, or walking dogs in the neighborhood. It’s a great way to learn about accounting, calculating expenses and managing profits.
📏DIY, together! When your child is involved with a home-improvement project, they are doing math as part of the process. Depending on the task, they will be working with numbers, spatial thinking, measurements, angles, calculating area and problem-solving. It’s a wonderful way to accomplish a goal as a team!
***suggestions from Mathnasium
A message from Ms. Schlueter
Hello! Here is an update on what your students are learning in their counseling classroom lessons this month.
Kindergarten/1st Grade- Students are learning about good sportsmanship and to be okay with failures, as well as personal safety rules to follow this summer.
2nd -5th Grade- Students are playing fun games to learn the importance of coping skills and how they can handle big emotions on their own. We will also be discussing the importance of digital citizenship and how to be safe online this summer.
Thank you!- Ms. Schlueter
A message from Mrs. Kese
Summer Reading
The Oshkosh Area School District is gearing up for summer break. While summer presents an opportunity to relax and enjoy the sunshine, we want our students to continue to find ways to learn while away from the classroom.
What better way to engage your student’s mind than through reading?
Sora Sweet Reads will be back with free 24/7 access to simultaneous ebooks and audiobooks You can explore the title offerings in Sora as they are predominantly displayed Use our district databases for audiobooks and ebooks all summer. Destiny Discover can be found on Classlink and your Destiny page. BookFlix, TumbleBook, Sora, and Pebble Go are all on your Destiny page
Health Office 🩺
A Letter from the Health Office
Susan Martin LPN/Health Assistant and Liz Lynch, BSN, RN, NCS
Magnificent May
Happy Memorial Weekend
Asthma Awareness:
Click the link below to learn more about ways to help reduce asthma with a healthy diet.
Be careful of Bees/Wasp Stings:
Heat Awareness:
Extreme Heat Safety and Preparedness
Play it Safe in May:
The weather is starting to warm up and the kids are getting more excited to play on the playground, riding bikes, rollerblades/roller skate/skateboards and playing various spring time games. It is extremely helpful, kind and safe to wait your turn when using the playground equipment.
Slides - Sit down when going down the slide and use the stairs to walk back up to slide down again.
Swing Sets - Sit down on the swing and watch when swinging that you are careful with holding on tight. Very important to wait until the swing comes to a complete stop to get off the swing. Give swingers plenty of room, so as not to get kicked or hurt.
Monkey Bars - When using the monkey bars please make sure you are all going one way and waiting patiently to take turns.
Climbing Equipment - It is important to take turns when climbing, everyone should go the same way and watch your step carefully.
Bikes/Rollerblades/Roller Skates/Skateboards - Make sure that your shoes are laced up, wearing a helmet when using your equipment helps keep your head and body stay safe.
If your student has a change in their health or has a healthcare need at school, please contact Susan Martin susanm.martin@oshkosh.k12.wi.us or Liz Lynch elizabeth.lynch@oshkosh.k12.wi.us
Medication Information:
If your student will need to take medication during the school day, please have your child’s provider fill out and sign the appropriate form below. These can then be returned to the office or faxed by the provider to: 920-424-7583.
Over the Counter Medication Form *parent signature only required*
Epipen/Allergy & Anaphylaxis Form
REMINDERS:
- Directions on the medication bottle/box must match the written order on the medication request form.
- Stock Epi-pens do NOT go on field trips.
- Please fill out an Emergency Epi-Pen/Anaphylaxis Plan even if you don’t have a personal Epi at school.
- PRN medications (Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Tums etc.) must come in a new and unopened bottle.
- Is your child up to date with their immunizations? Please contact the doctor for physicals and immunizations! All students at Jefferson are required to have their Tdap, Polio, MMR, Varicella and Hep B! Please check with your doctor to see what wellness requirements are needed for your child.
Event Reminders 📌
Save the Date - 5th Grade Promotion 🎓
🎓5th Grade Promotion
📅 Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026
🕕 8:30-9:30 AM, reception and kickball to follow
📍 Jefferson Elementary Gymnasium