IMMS Family Flier

Dear Indian Mound Families,

We are so proud of the strong start our students have made to the school year! Over these first two weeks, our Spartans have done an excellent job following our universal expectations and helping to create a positive, respectful school community.

We are also very proud of the effort students showed during the FastBridge assessments. Their focus and determination provided us with valuable information that will help guide instruction and support student growth throughout the year.

Thank you for your continued partnership—we’re looking forward to all the learning and growth ahead!

In Service,

Jamie Thomas, Principal

Brett Jondle, Associate Principal

😀 Save the date for Family Conferences: October 28th and 29th

😀 Picture re-takes Sept 22. See more information below.

😃Family Information regarding student learning

Daily Schedule

Daily Announcements

Day A/Day B Schedule

Student Services Support Contacts

McFarland School District Website

McFarland School District App

McFarland Youth Center Website

McFarland RADAR (Relevant Alcohol & Drug Awareness Resources) Coalition Newsletter

Oct. 12: Boys Basketball Registration 6:30

Oct.12-13: Timber-lee - 6th Grade

Oct. 14: 6th Grade No School

Oct. 26: Boys Basketball - First Day of Practice

Oct. 28: Family Teacher Conferences 3:30-7

Oct. 29: No School - PD Day

Oct. 29: Conferences 2:30-6:30

Oct. 30: No School

Looking ahead:

Nov. 4: 7th/8th Band Solo Festival 4:15-8:00 @ IMMS

Nov. 5: 6th Grade Band/Choir/Orchestra Concert 7:00

Nov. 18: Choir/Orchestra Solo/Ensemble 4:15-8:00 @ IMMS

Nov. 25-27: No school - Fall Break

Dec. 3: 7th-8th Orchestra Concert 7:00 @ PAC

Dec. 16: Choir Concert IMMS/MHS 7:00

Jan. 13: 7th/8th Band Concert 7:00

IMMS Staff will be working with your scholar to continue to take ownership in their responsibility around schoolwork, homework, and assessments. Families play a key role in supporting their student in this process by allowing their child to take the lead in this important part of being a successful student. Although our hope is that students take the lead, IMMS has some resources for families to stand side by side with your student through this process.

1). Grade Level Hub (See Clickable buttons below): This is a tool for you and your student to see a weekly summary of their academic week (assignments, upcoming projects and assessments). Students can also use this resource if they are absent.

2) Infinite Campus (aka "I.C"): This is where you will find information on academic performance (ie grades and missing assignments". This is NOT something for families to check daily.

3). Canvas: This is for STUDENTS to use for detailed lessons and assignments and is most helpful if a student is absent. If you are interested in checking out Canvas, ask your scholar- they can show you the ropes

Here are some helpful tips and videos that may be useful:

• How to log-in to Infinite Campus (38 second video) or HelpDoc

• How to check your scholar’s missing assignments (2 min. video) or HelpDoc

• What are Conduct and Effort Scores? (2.5 min. video)

• How to check your scholar’s Conduct and Effort Scores (3 min. video) or HelpDoc

• IMMS Standards Based Grading Presentation

One of the most exciting things about IMMS is that we have multiple clubs and activities for students to be a part of. Check out our Daily Announcements LINK for clubs and co-curriculars. Try something that interests you!

⛺Camp Timberlee

Our 6th grade students will have an outdoor education experience at Camp Timber-lee on October 12 and 13 . We will be spending one night at Camp Timber-lee! We will leave school on the morning of Monday, October 12th, and return to school in the evening on Tuesday, October 13th.

The 7th grade teaching team has noticed that scholars are having difficulty getting to class on time during certain passing periods. Since this is a new schedule for our 7th graders this year, we are paying close attention to how passing times are working and where adjustments may be helpful. Last week, we closely tracked tardies in Infinite Campus to help us make those decisions.

We know that being marked tardy can be concerning when our scholars are genuinely trying to arrive on time. We reassured students that these tardies were collected for data-gathering purposes only, and we want to reassure families that any tardies recorded for 7th graders during the week of September 8–11 will be excused.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through these minor schedule adjustments!

Dropping off a student lunch at school? Please enter IMMS' main entrance (A Doors), and there you will find the "Lunch Cart" (image shown to the right). Please use a provided tag to label the lunch, and your student will be able to pick it up in the cafeteria at lunch time!

The first two home games have been outstanding with fan participation and student behavior! To ensure Friday nights continue to be fun, safe, and memorable for all of our families, student athletes, please take a moment to review our stadium expectations with your child before heading to the gates.

Stadium Entry & Seating Guidelines

• Accompanied by Adult: To ensure safety, all middle school students must be accompanied by an adult to enter the stadium.

• Where to Sit: Middle schoolers attending with an adult are welcome to sit together in the designated top section of the student bleachers or sit directly alongside their accompanying adult

• Stay in the Action: All students are expected to enjoy the game from the stadium bleachers cheering on our team! The concessions and restrooms are available throughout the game, but we ask that students return to their seats once finished.

Keeping the Stands Safe & Clean

• Outside Items: To keep our facilities clean and safe, no outside drinks (bottled, canned, or fountain cups), footballs, frisbees, or similar items are permitted inside the gates.

• Game Day Safety: For everyone’s safety, pickup football games, running, and throwing objects are prohibited inside the stadium.

• Playground & Equipment: Please note that all playground and recess equipment is closed during game day/evening events. We ask that all students stay off the equipment so everyone can focus on staying safe and supporting the team!

Spartan Sportsmanship

We take immense pride in our school culture. Let’s lead by example and show top-tier sportsmanship to our guests and athletes:

• Show Respect: Stand quietly and respectfully during the National Anthem and our School Song.

• Keep It Positive: We cheer for the Spartans! Let’s show great respect to the officials and opposing team members, never booing or yelling at officials' calls.

• Bring the Energy: Bring your loudest, most positive Spartan pride to every quarter of the game!

Thank you for all you and your child have done to help us create a safe, high-energy environment for our players and fans. Go Spartans!

😀Opportunity to Support IMMS Staff Through Coffee Donations: Parents will often ask for ways to support the staff here at IMMS. If you are someone wishing to do just that, we have a great idea for you. Please consider providing caffeinated ground coffee or K-cups for our staff. You can either pick some up and drop it off at the main office at school or purchase it off of our registry on Amazon. Here is a link to our Staff Coffee Donations List on Amazon.

Thank you in advance.

😀 State Issued ID or Driver's License required: A quick reminder that all visitors to our buildings must have a state issued photo ID card or a valid driver's license with them the first time they register on the campus' Visitor Aware system. If a visitor does not have either form of identification, they will not be allowed into the building. Please keep this in mind as you visit any campus of the McFarland School District.

😀Making a course change: It was discovered that information about steps to take to drop band, choir, or orchestra was inadvertently omitted from our 2026-27 IMMS Family Handbook. Please review the information shown below and reach out to your school counselors or band/orchestra/choir teachers with questions!

Students and parents/guardians are asked to make their course selections carefully. Course Correction Request forms for Performing Music Ensembles (Orchestra, Band, Choir) can be obtained from the music teacher of the class(es) in which the change is being requested. Course Correction Request forms for other Elective/SET classes can be obtained from the Student Services Office.

• Course changes are made at the request of the student and parent/guardian.

• Requests related to a change in placement in one of our Performing Music Ensembles can only be made during the first 2 weeks of each semester and will include a consultation with the Ensemble Teacher(s) (Band, Orchestra, Choir).

• Requests related to a change in placement for other Elective/SET classes can only be made in the two weeks before and the two weeks following the start date of a new academic quarter. Any course correction requests made in the last two weeks of the first, second, or third quarters would become effective at the start of the next quarter.

Requests for course changes made outside these time frames require the recommendation of the Pupil Services Team (School Counselor, Special Education Department, Student Intervention Teacher) and the Principal or Associate Principal.

Every school in Wisconsin is required by law to report their student’s vaccination status to the local health department 30 days after the start of school. See WI Student Immunization Law by Age/Grade Requirements (Spanish). Your student’s school health assistant will be sending out legal notices at that time if the school has no record or if your student’s immunization status is noncompliant. If you are not sure if your student is up to date with immunizations, you can contact your doctor's office/My chart, view on Infinite Campus, or look them up on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry. If you need access to a waiver (for personal, religious or health reasons) for any vaccination, please utilize the student immunization record (English, Spanish) see step 4 and return it to your student’s health office.

Vaccine Clinics: Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with neighboring School Districts to offer vaccine clinics to get and keep students up to date on their school vaccines. These clinics will take place at the below dates and times.

• Tues, Sept. 29th: 4:00-7:00 pm: Sugar Creek Elementary, Verona

• Tues, Oct. 6th: 3:00-7:00 pm: Sun Prairie Professional Learning Center, Sun Prairie

• Sat, Oct. 10th: 10:00-2:00 pm: Savannah Oaks Middle, Fitchburg

• Sat, Oct. 17th: 10:00-2:00 pm: Holtzman Center, Madison

• Sat, Oct. 19th: 8:00-12:00 pm: Holtzman Center, Madison

To find out more information and to schedule an appointment, see the attached flyer, or visit publichealthmdc.com/schoolclinics.

If your child will need medication administered during Timber-lee camp, a medication consent form needs to be completed and medication turned in by Monday, October 5th.

• Prescription medication requires a physician signature and a parent signature.

• Non-prescription medication requires only a parent signature.

• Any medication already at school that your child receives during the school day (emergency, daily, as needed) will be brought from school and does not need an additional consent form. Medication not currently at school/outside the school day requires completion of the medication consent form.

• Medication must be sent in the original labeled prescription or over-the-counter container. Turn medication into the front office, health office, or a Unit 6 teacher (exact amount needed). Only emergency medication (EpiPens/Inhalers) and over-the-counter vitamins/melatonin may be self-carried and administered by the student, although a medication consent form is still required if not already on file.

• If you are a parent volunteering for a portion of the trip, please keep and administer medication to your student. No consent forms are needed in this case. For any medications needing to be administered by health office personnel outside of your volunteer hours, the above procedures and consent form apply.

• Over-the-counter medications (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Tums, cough drops, allergy eye drops) will be available and administered based on parent consent provided during 2026-27 online enrollment.

IMMS Health Office (608)838-4672 & IMMS School Nurse (608)838-4671

• Village of McFarland Comprehensive Plan

• McF Music Boosters Mums for a Cause Fundraiser - Place orders by 9/19

• McFarland Youth Softball - Registration Closes November 1

• E.D. Locke Library Back to School Storytime - September 17

• Futura Spanish Classes at WIS - Register by September 28

• Futura Spanish Classes at MPS - Register by September 30

• Autism Society Madison Area Football Camp at MHS - October 10

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 Crochet Club - 1st and 3rd Wednesdays

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 Un-Book Club - 1st Thursdays

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 Teen S.T.E.A.M. - 3rd Thursdays

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 Teen Hangout - 2nd and 4th Thursdays

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 Snack & Chat - Mondays

• E.D. Locke Library 6-12 - Volun-Teen Program

• E.D. Locke Library 3-5 Graphic Novel Book Club - 3rd Tuesdays

• E.D. Locke Library 3-5 Dungeons & Dragons Club - 4th Tuesdays

• E.D. Locke Library K-5 LEGO Club - 2nd and 4th Wednesdays

• E.D. Locke Library 3K and 4K Little Bodies Big Feelings - September-April

• E.D. Locke Library Magic Tree House Book Club - September-May

• Free Triple P Positive Parenting Online Program for WI Families

Thank You, McFarland!

We are so excited to see so many Spartan shirts making their way into our community! We’ve already received SO MANY shirt orders, plus we had even more shirts sold during Picture Day. Seeing our students and families showing their Spartan pride means so much to us!

A very special THANK YOU to the amazing PTO volunteers who helped organize orders, coordinate Picture Day shirt sales, sort shirts, and make this fundraiser happen. We truly couldn’t do it without the time and energy our volunteers give to our school community. Order form stays on our website and socials and will continue.

As a reminder, we have a new website and email address, so be sure to check your spam for anything from mcfpto@gmail.com.

SAVE THE DATES — PTO MEETINGS
All meetings will be held at 7:00 PM in the McFarland Municipal Center Training Room.

• September 8 (Tue): Trunk or Treat, WIS Family Fun, Fall Fundraiser — Coffee
• October 7 (Wed): Conference Meals
• November 12 (Thu): Open House Nights
• January 5 (Tue): Conference Meals
• February 3 (Wed): Open House Nights, Spring Fundraiser — Read-a-thon
• April 8 (Thu): Staff Appreciation, No Hassle
• May 18 (Tue): All Parent/Principal

Trunk or Treat is coming!

We’ll soon be looking for volunteers to help make this year’s event a fun and memorable night for our students and families. Keep an eye out for more details and volunteer opportunities coming soon!

Thank you for continuing to support the McFarland PTO and our schools. We’re so grateful for this community!

Go Spartans!

The next School District of McFarland School Board meeting is scheduled for September 14, 2026

Attendance Awareness Month

September is Attendance Awareness Month. Coming to school each day counts for a lot. Let's make sure we're here to learn, grow, and have fun.

Suicide Prevention Month

September is Suicide Prevention Month. This is a time to spread hope, share resources, and raise awareness. If you or someone you know is struggling or needs support, help is always available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

• September 7: No school- Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! On this special day, we celebrate all the hardworking people in our communities and the achievements of the labor movement.

• September 7-11: National Payroll Week

Thank you to our fantastic payroll and financial services staff!

• September 11: 9/11 Remembrance Day

9/11 Remembrance Day is a time to reflect and honor those who were lost and the heroes who emerged during this tragic event. Let's always remember the strength that comes from unity and compassion.

• September 15-October 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month

It's time to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! Learning about the histories, amazing cultures, and awesome contributions of Hispanic people from places like Spain, Mexico, and more is a fantastic way to discover how wonderfully diverse our world is!

• September 15: National IT Professionals Day

Thank you to our Technology Services staff for doing the critical and often unseen work keeping our networks, applications, and services running.

• September 16: Mildred Fish-Harnack Day

During WWII, Mildred Fish-Harnack became a spy and provided important secrets and information to the United States and Allied forces. Today we recognize her integrity and bravery.

• September 17: U.S. Constitution Day

Today we recognize the document that created the foundation for our country's laws and government.

• September 18: POW-MIA Recognition Day

POW-MIA Day recognizes those who were captured or went missing while in active military service. We always hope for knowledge or a safe return home.

• September 23: Wisconsin Bullying Awareness Day

Bullying negatively impacts student connection, engagement, and sense of self. Let's work together to create a school where everyone feels safe and respected.

• September 28: Frances Willard Day

Frances Willard was an educator and women's rights activist from Janesville, Wisconsin

The McFarland School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, sex, (including gender status, change of sex or gender identity), or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability (Protected Classes) in any of its student program and activities.