Creekside Elementary

Dear Creekside Community,

Welcome back, and Happy 2026! We are excited to start the new year together and help students transition back into their routines. During these first weeks, our staff will intentionally review expectations for being safe, kind, and responsible - the foundation of the Coyote Way. We’ll also continue our strong focus on literacy and math, helping every student grow as a learner.

AIMSweb assessments will begin during the first week back from break. These screenings help us understand what students have learned and will help guide future instruction. A good night’s sleep and encouraging your child to try their best will make a big difference.

As a reminder, students will continue to go outside for recess, even in cold weather. Please be sure to send warm coats, hats, gloves, and any other winter gear so they can stay comfortable and safe.

We’re grateful for your partnership and excited for all that 2026 will bring for our Creekside Coyotes!

Warmly,
Katie Mould
Principal, Creekside Elementary

Happy winter break everyone!

A few reminders from the nurse's office as we start a brand new, shiny year!

Vision screening for all kindergarten, 2nd and 4th graders will be Jan. 20. Kindergarteners also have their hearing screened.

Winter illnesses are here!

Reminder, if your student has a fever (temp 100.4 or higher) they can return to school once they are fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medication.

The school district follows the State of WI recommendations for when to keep your child at home. Here is the link for you to check out: Childhood Communicable Disease Wall Chart

Celebrate Smiles will be returning sometime in the early winter months. Watch this space for more information as dates become known.

Take Your Caregiver to PE Week 2.0 is coming up Monday, 12/15 through Friday, 12/19. If this week doesn’t work for you, no problem, we have skates all of December! You are welcome to pop in any of our other PE classes. CLICK HERE to access your scholar’s PE Schedule. Check below for more specifics on how to volunteer/attend an event at Creekside. You do not need to sign-up or contact us (unless you have questions!) We’d love to see you!

Volunteering/Attending an Event During the School Day at Creekside: All you have to do is make sure you have your ID to check in the front office and a current background check completed with our district. Click English & Spanish to complete a background check. Background checks are good for 3 years. If you are unsure of your background check status, please contact Kirsten Janssen (kajanss1@sunprairieschools.org/608.834.7702)

As always, please let us know if you ever have any questions! Mrs. Alison Anderson (ajander@sunprairieschools.org) teaches 4th & 5th Grade Health, ALL 3rd, 4th and 5th Grade PE, as well as 2nd Grade Wangelin, 2nd Grade Thao, 1st Grade Mitchell and Kindergarten Garvey! Mr. Michael Falk (mcfalk@sunprairieschools.org ) teaches 2nd Grade Langum, 1st Grade Kramer, 1st Grade Lakatos, 1st Grade Brimmer, Kindergarten Vang and Kindergarten Pierce.

As we head into the busy winter season, please help your child remember to return their library books each week. When books come back on time, every scholar gets the chance to explore new stories, discover new interests, and continue their reading adventures!

Coding in the Library Lab!
December and January are all about coding in our Library Media Center Lab! Students across all grades will get hands-on opportunities to become creators, problem-solvers, and digital thinkers. This year’s coding experiences include:

Web-Based Coding (Coding.org)
Students will participate in engaging activities designed to build foundational coding skills in a friendly, age-appropriate way.

Robotics Coding
Our older students will bring code to life through robotics! They’ll explore programming with Sphero and Dash, learning how to sequence, debug, and problem-solve.

Early Robotics for Younger Learners
Our youngest scholars will explore Sphero Indi, which teaches early coding concepts without the need for a device. Students use colored tiles to program Indi’s path—perfect for hands-on learninThank you for supporting our library program. Let’s make this winter a warm and wonderful season of learning and creativity!

Thank you for supporting our library program. Let’s make this winter a warm and wonderful season of learning and creativity. Go Coyotes!

Mr. Brandt and Ms. Engle

At the beginning of December, I sent home Artsonia login information on a slip of paper. In the Art LAB, we use http://www.artsonia.com, a website that serves 3 purposes.

• It is an online portfolio of your child’s progress.

• You can share photos with friends & family.

• It is an optional fundraiser for our art program.

Selected student artwork will be posted here throughout the year. Please contact Mrs. Kudrle if you need assistance with your account.

Students in 2nd-5th grade learned about digital portfolios this month and are now able to document their own artwork in Artsonia using ipads and our light box. Students have the option to add titles and artist statements so that you can learn a little more about their artistic process and ideas.

In December, students in 2nd-5th grade began a learning unit called “Where do artists get ideas?” This unit is scaffolded for each grade-level. Because students can choose their own ideas in the Art LAB (most of the time), the very first step and sometimes the hardest step, is idea generation. The goal of this unit is to equip students with strategies they can use to work for an idea any time they do not have one. After learning/practicing these strategies, students are expected to utilize them in future art classes as needed.

Students in Kindergarten and 1st grade are working on similar units. The Kindergarten unit is called “Why do artists make art?” and the 1st grade’s unit is called “The Purposes of Art.” In both units, students engage in some guided practice to explore these concepts more deeply and reflect on their own artistic intentions. We explore some of these motivations for creating art:

• Identity–expressing who you are

• Process/Experience–learning by doing

• Decorative–making something beautiful or interesting to look at

• Express–showing ideas and/or feelings through pictures

• Functional–making something that is useable

Happy New Year Coyotes! At school, the student services team assesses student social emotional competencies multiple times per year. For our older students, we ask them specifically if they know how to set goals for themselves. Some Coyotes say yes and some say no. Research shows that goal setting is crucial to success because it provides direction, focus, motivation, and enables progress tracking for overall growth and development. Here are some things you can do as caregivers to teach your students how to set goals, which will undoubtedly lead to more success in your home, at Creekside, and our Sun Prairie community.

1. Start with Them

• Let them choose: Ask what they want to improve or learn, not what you think they should.

• Start small: Begin with achievable goals like finishing a book or a craft project to build confidence.

2. Make Goals SMART (Something we do hear with goal-setting at Creekside!)

• Specific: Instead of "read more," try "read one turtle book a month".

• Measurable: How will you know they've achieved it (e.g., pages read, points scored)?.

• Achievable: Is it realistic for their age and skill level?.

• Relevant: Does it matter to them? This fuels their "why".

• Time-bound: Give it a deadline or timeframe.

3. Create a Roadmap

• Break it down: Divide large goals into small, manageable "sub-goals" or steps.

• Write it down: Use a chart, sticky notes, or a goal journal. Make it visible!.

• Visualize: Have them picture achieving it. Ask guiding questions like, "What's one small step you can take today?".

4. Support & Encourage

• Model: Let kids see you set and work on your own goals.

• Check-in: Have regular chats to offer support and help problem-solve roadblocks.

• Praise effort, not just outcome: Celebrate progress and hard work along the way.

• Embrace failure: Frame setbacks as learning opportunities, not reasons to quit.

5. Build Independence

• Let them lead: Gradually shift from directing to facilitating as they gain confidence.

• Share & Connect: Encourage them to share goals with family or friends for accountability and camaraderie.

Your coyotes are sponges and will hear you as you verbalize your own progress, how you troubleshoot shortcomings, observe what you do/how you act when you fall short, and how you adjust your own goals and resolutions when you achieve them. I know that if we do this consistently that our whole Creekside community will all have an incredible start to 2026!

Throughout the year, Creekside focuses on using PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) to support our social and behavioral learning. Our Coyotes work hard to practice ARROW and the Coyote Way! They are Accepting of others, Resilient when faced with set-backs, being Risk-Takers in their learning, showing Ownership, and Working Collaboratively.

PBIS MONTHLY THEMES:

December’s theme was, “I am empathetic and kind.” Students practiced showing kindness and worked on perspective-taking to understand others, connect with them, and imagine how they might feel in their situation!

January’s theme is, “I am resilient.” Mistakes happen, things go wrong, and everyone faces frustration and disappointment at times. We do not expect students to be perfect; that is not realistic. Instead, we want to teach and develop skills that help them “bounce back” after a setback. These are the skills that will foster future success!

PBIS DATA REVIEW - HOME CONNECTION!

An area of focus at Creekside right now is playing appropriately outside in the snow. This Wisconsin weather has been fun and exciting for our students, but they have to remember to keep things safe and respectful. We have had some unsafe situations when students throw snow or ice, try to run on slippery surfaces, or play games that might involve pushing or wrestling on the snow mounds (“King of the Hill” is not allowed during recess play).

At home you can support your student by reminding them that “home rules” and “school rules” may be different for outside winter play. At home you may allow snowball fights or wrestling in the snow, but at school the focus should be on positive, respectful interactions with peers such as building in the snow or taking turns sliding down the small snow mounds.

Thank you for supporting these Creekside expectations and life skills at home!

When the cold weather season is upon us, we know you will be wondering how the school district determines if school is cancelled.

Click Here

Bus Delays and Emergencies

Please remember that buses may be slightly delayed when we are experiencing snow and icy conditions. Anything within 5 minutes of the scheduled arrival time is considered “on time.”

If your child’s bus is delayed and/or evacuated for any reason (bus breakdown, emergency, etc.) students must stay with the driver and wait for further instructions. If another bus is dispatched, students are to ride that bus and only get off at their assigned stop.

Understanding Your Child's School Breakfast

Did you know your school’s breakfast is a bit like a healthy puzzle? It has to fit specific pieces together every day to make sure your child starts the school day ready to learn!

The rules for school meals come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These rules aren’t just suggestions; they are national standards that help make sure all students get a balanced and nutritious start.

Here is what caregivers of elementary students should know about the school breakfast rules.

What Makes a "Reimbursable" Breakfast?

The official term you’ll hear is a "reimbursable meal." This just means the meal meets all the USDA’s healthy guidelines, which allows the school to get federal money to help pay for it.

For your elementary student’s breakfast to count, the school must offer at least four items from three main food groups, and your child must choose at least three items, one of which must be a fruit or vegetable.

🍎 The Three Required Food Groups

1. Fruit (or Vegetable): Students must be offered at least one cup of fruit or a vegetable every day. This is the most important item your child needs to take! The majority of children take a juice cup.

2. Grain or Meat/Meat Alternate: This is the main part of the meal—like a whole-grain waffle, cereal, or a breakfast taco with eggs and cheese.

• Grains: Most of the grains offered each week must be whole-grain rich (meaning they contain a lot of whole grains).

• Meat/Meat Alternate: This includes protein foods like yogurt, cheese, eggs, or peanut butter. Schools can offer these to count toward the grain group requirements.

3. Milk: One cup of milk must be offered daily. This milk is usually fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1% fat), and schools often offer at least one unflavored and one flavored option.

🤔 What is "Offer vs. Serve" (OVS)?

Many schools use a system called Offer versus Serve (OVS). This is a smart way to cut down on food waste! It means the school must offer all the required food items, but the students get to choose which ones they want.

• The Rule: A student must take at least three of the four offered items, and one of those three must be a full serving of fruit (or a vegetable).

• The Benefit: If your child dislikes milk, they don't have to take it, but they still get a reimbursable meal as long as they take a fruit and two other items (like a grain and a protein).

Why Does Breakfast Matter?

Research shows that kids who eat school breakfast are more likely to:

• Be more alert and concentrate better in class.

• Have better attendance and fewer visits to the school nurse.

• Have a better overall diet because they consume more whole grains, fruits, and milk.

By knowing the rules, you can encourage your elementary student to choose a balanced and complete meal at school to power up their learning!

Yearbooks will be on sale till April 1st

4K registration for the 2026-27 school year kicks off in February!

An email will be sent by the 4K elementary sites after winter break outlining the registration process and dates.
You can also visit the 4K webpage https://www.sunprairieschools.org/sp4k/enroll

January 1st and 2nd- NO SCHOOL
***First Day Back: January 5th***
January 9th- 4th Grade Swim FT, Day 1
January 13- 4th Grade Swim FT, Day 2
January 13- CAFE Mtg, 6:30pm
January 19- NO SCHOOL
January 26- NO SCHOOL