September Newsletter

The vision of Kewaskum Elementary School is to guide our students to be respectful, hopeful, compassionate, and responsible individuals who recognize and take ownership in their educational journey.

The mission of Kewaskum Elementary School is to develop the whole child by providing an engaging and nurturing environment through high-quality teaching and learning.

We are excited to share some insight into how we teach reading in our classroom! You may have heard the term “Science of Reading” in the news. While it sounds technical, it is actually a very exciting body of research that helps us understand exactly how a child’s brain learns to read.

What is the Science of Reading?

For a long time, people thought reading was a natural skill—like walking or talking—that children would "pick up" if they were just surrounded by enough books. However, science has shown us that reading is not natural; it must be taught.

The Science of Reading is based on decades of research from neuroscientists and educators. It tells us that the brain learns to read by "wiring" together the parts that handle sounds with the parts that handle visual symbols (letters). To help this process, we focus on five key pillars:

1. Phonemic Awareness: Identifying the individual sounds in spoken words (e.g., knowing "cat" is made of /k/, /a/, and /t/).

2. Phonics: Connecting those sounds to actual letters.

3. Fluency: Reading accurately, quickly, and with expression.

4. Vocabulary: Understanding the meaning of the words being read.

5. Comprehension: Putting it all together to understand the "big picture" of a story or text.

The Power of Nightly Reading

While we work hard on the "mechanics" of reading during the school day, your support at home is the "secret sauce" to your child’s success. Reading for just 15–20 minutes every night offers incredible benefits:

● Brain Workouts: Reading is to the brain what exercise is to the body. It strengthens the neural pathways we are building in class.

● Vocabulary Growth: Books often use "rare" words we don't use in everyday conversation. Exposure to these words helps children understand more complex subjects later on.

● Bonding and Stress Relief: Nightly reading is a wonderful way to wind down. It lowers stress and creates a positive emotional connection to books.

● Background Knowledge: Every book—whether about dinosaurs, space, or a trip to the market—builds a child's knowledge of the world. This makes it easier for them to understand future texts.

We want to thank all of our families for your patience and support as we continue to fine-tune our dismissal process. The first weeks of school always bring a few adjustments, and we truly appreciate your cooperation in helping keep things running smoothly and safely for our students.

As a reminder, for the safety of all children, please do not walk across the playground during dismissal. Using the designated pick-up areas helps us keep students safe and ensures that our dismissal process remains orderly.

Thank you again for your partnership in making each day a safe and positive experience for our students!

Hi KES Families!

I’m Jenni Frank, the library paraprofessional here at Kewaskum Elementary, and I’m so excited to share the love of reading with your children this year!

Each week, your child will get to visit our library to check out new books. To help keep those books in tip-top shape, please tuck a plastic bag into your child’s backpack. It’s a simple way to protect library books from leaky water bottles, lunchbox mishaps, and those sneaky snack crumbs.

Also, a quick reminder: books and snacks don't mix! Please help your reader remember to keep food and drinks away from their books at home.

Thank you so much for your help in keeping our library books clean, dry, and ready for the next reader. If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out:
jfrank@kewaskumschools.org

Happy Reading!
–Mrs. Frank

September

Tuesday, September 8: Picture Day

School Picture Order Form

Tuesday, September 8: Start to PTO Fundraiser-Clubs Choice

Tuesday, September 15: PTO Family Night-Mini Golf

October

Thursday, October 15:Snacks with KES Leadership(4:00-5:00 PM)

Thursday, October 22: PTO Fundraiser-Clubs Choice pickup(3:45-5:30 PM)

Friday, October 23: PTO Trunk or Treat(6:00-7:30 PM)

Thursday, October 29: Parent-Teacher Conferences(4-8 PM)

Friday, October 30: No school, Parent-Teacher Conferences(8-10 AM)