Kimberly High School February 2025

Dear KHS Families,

As we dive into the second semester, we know this time of year is both exciting and uncertain—especially for our seniors. Through it all, I want to remind you that we’re in this together and here to support and uplift one another. I’ve included important dates to note below. Please reach out with any questions.

General information and important dates to note…

• Students will be finishing and finalizing course selections for the 2025-26 school year during our Career Planning time on February 11th. Please encourage your child to contact their school counselor if they have any questions on course selection.

• Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for February 19th. Conferences will be held virtually. Additional information is included in this newsletter. Sign up begins today!

• Juniors will be taking the State required ACT Test on March 11th. Only juniors need to report to school that day. We have had great participation in our ACT Prep Program. I am proud of our staff and students for all the time and effort they are putting in. Please check out the opportunities to prepare for the ACT test that were shared via emails and newsletters.

• Freshmen and sophomores will be taking the PreACT Secure on March 18th. Juniors and seniors will not report on this day, and testing will be divided into AM and PM sessions. Please see our testing schedule within the testing update section of this newsletter for specifics regarding times and bussing.

• Seniors–We are rapidly approaching deadlines for many scholarships. Please be sure to check in Student Services and check your email, as new scholarships arrive weekly. There will be a graduation meeting for all seniors on March 25th during our Career Planning time. Parents, we will be sending out our Senior Parent Letter following this meeting. This letter will contain important dates and information leading up to graduation.

In addition, starting in the 2025-2026 school year, we will be introducing a flex period each school day. The school day will continue to begin at 7:40 AM and end at 3:00 PM. The flex period will be a 30-minute period that takes place between the first and second blocks of the day.

What is a flex period?
The flex period provides students with daily time to:

• Receive academic support from teachers

• Make up missed assessments or assignments

• Participate in school-wide activities such as safety drills, class meetings, surveys, and career planning.

• Attend club or activity meetings

Why are we making this change?
Currently, students have only one dedicated day per week (Wednesday's ELT) to meet with teachers. Due to this limited availability and students’ demanding schedules it often becomes challenging for them to find additional time within their day to seek academic support. By introducing a daily flex period, we aim to provide students with more consistent opportunities to receive academic assistance, work on assignments, and get their questions answered. This change will ensure that students have regular access to the help they need, fostering a more supportive and effective learning environment.

What will the daily schedule look like?

• We will have the same bell schedule every day of the week, which means there will be no late start or afternoon extended learning on Wednesdays.

We hope this change creates more balanced and productive school days for all students. Thank you for your support as we make these improvements!

Finally, I want to take a moment to celebrate a significant milestone—787 of our students have signed the pledge to be a PromiseMaker! This commitment speaks to the strength of our school community and the importance of making positive choices. At the same time, we must continue having open and honest conversations about alcohol, drugs, and other substances. The pressures our students face are real, and ensuring that our school remains a safe, substance-free environment is a responsibility we take seriously. As both a principal and a mother, I understand how difficult these discussions can be. However, our kids are growing up in a world very different from the one we experienced. Now more than ever, they need our guidance—to help them set boundaries, build trust, and feel confident that they can be honest about what they see and hear. Most importantly, they need to know they have caring adults who will always support them.

Prevention and education are key to this effort. In the coming weeks, we will conduct another drug-dog search as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe learning environment. Additionally, we will be administering a school-wide risk behavior survey in March. This anonymous survey will provide valuable insights, helping us better understand our students' needs and create meaningful support systems for them.

Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our students safe, supported, and empowered to make positive choices.

With Great Papermaker Pride,

Mrs. DePeau

Principal

February:

14 - Early release

19 - Parent teacher conferences

22 - Spree dance

March:

7 - Early release

11 - ACT test day - Only juniors report on this day - Grades 9, 10, 12 do NOT have school on this date.

18 - Pre ACT Secure - Only grades 9 & 10 will report on this day. Grade 9 will test in the AM and grade 10 in the PM. Juniors and seniors do not report on this date.

KHS SUMMER SCHOOL 2025

SAVE THE DATES: June 9 - June 27th

KHS will offer Drivers Education and Physical Education as well as several Credit Recovery Courses for students in need. These classes will all run the first 3 weeks of June between the hours of 8:00am - 12:00pm.

Please save the dates for those- more information and registration links will be coming soon!

Please visit the KASD website to access the Notice of Educational Options for children who reside in the Kimberly Area School District.

The school and District's 23-24 school report cards are also available online.

When dropping students off at the start of the day in the font of the school or picking them up in the front of the school at the end of the day please remember the following:

• Please don’t utilize the left lane to pick up or drop off students. This will help with backups within the parking lot and create a safer environment.

• Please be patient as a large number of new drivers with limited driving experience are entering and leaving the parking lot.

Our parent teacher conferences this Spring will be held virtually on Wednesday, February 19th.

Here is the process to sign up:

· Sign up begins on Wednesday, February 5th @ 7:00 am

· Go to www.myconferencetime.com/kimberlyhs

· Click on the name of your student’s teacher

· Select the desired time for your conference by clicking on “Sign Up.”

· Submit the requested information.

Please make sure that you complete all the necessary information such as email and phone number because we will need those to complete the virtual conference process.

Complete this process for every teacher you would like to meet with. After you reserve your time, the selected teacher will create a “Google Meeting” and you will be emailed a “Google Invitation” that will have a link attached to it. You can either select the computer link, or the telephone link if you don’t have computer access. These are the links that you will have to use the evening of your conference with the teacher.

The time allotted for each conference is 5 minutes. If you feel like you will need longer than 5 minutes, please communicate with the teacher to set up a longer conference

Emily O'Brien - February

Graduation Celebration is the time-honored drug and alcohol free Post Grad Party. Seniors should register now for the best after party filled with food, games, prizes and fun!

See the instructions to purchase this on Infinite Campus through the school store here.

Parents of Seniors- graduation will be here before you know it! Please join us starting in January to help plan the best Post Grad party around for the Class of 2025. Meetings will be help in the KHS LMC from 6:00-7:00 pm on January 8, February 5, March 5, April 9 and May 7. Please contact Kelly Jansen kjansen@kimberly.k12.wi.us to sign up!

Optional Senior Submission: Like last year, we will be devoting a few pages in the yearbook to photos of seniors as children. We would like to create pages that showcase seniors as babies and toddlers. Submission is completely voluntary and space is limited. We hope to cover as many students as possible. Yearbook is collecting photos of seniors as babies and toddlers (ages 0-3). If you would like to participate, please send a digital copy of your chosen image(s) to Mrs. Yunk at syunk@kimberly.k12.wi.us. We are collecting these photos through the end of February.

March 11, 2025 is ACT day!

The ACT is a challenging three hour test that covers English, Math, Reading, and Science. The scores matter for college admissions (technical, two-year, and university programs), military scholarship, educational scholarship, even the workforce.

The KHS ACT Preparation Program is a FREE opportunity for all 11th grade students at KHS to understand the test, analyze their performance, set appropriate goals, and train for the ACT. Check the calendar and get registered for the upcoming events to prepare for the ACT test in March.

See the attached 2025 - ACT Pre-registration poster for more information.

All KHS 11th grade students took the PreACT test on September 27.

Once the scores come in, our work begins!

Join our Google Classroom

View our program calendar

Career Planning

During the upcoming months, students in grades 9-11 will be using their time to navigate the KHS coursebook, learn about the courses offered at KHS, and put together a schedule for the following school year. Our hope is that students will look at all of the options available to them and find classes that fit their interests and educational goals and needs at KHS. Please have a conversation with your student(s) as they work through the scheduling process.

All students in grades 9-11 will have a conference with their advisor to discuss their class options and goals for their future. This will allow students and advisors to communicate and discuss courses to take, things to be involved in and next steps as they continue to plan for the future. Students will be submitting their course requests during Career Planning on February 11th.

Seniors will be sharing their goals for the future and what their plans are post-graduation. We will continue to help prepare them for the next step after high school.

Juniors and Seniors: Use the checklist to serve as a planning guide as you continue through junior and senior year. Reach out to your counselor with questions. (As a reminder, be sure to check with colleges on individual deadlines, etc.)

Scholarships

Please plan ahead when applying for scholarships. Apply as early as possible and allow the counselors a minimum of three days to complete any evaluations. Some evaluations are quite lengthy and require a great amount of time to complete. When requesting letters of recommendation, please allow the recommender a minimum of two weeks to complete your letters. It is your student’s responsibility to mail scholarship applications and to meet the deadlines.

Now is the time to work on scholarships! A scholarship presentation is linked to this to give you details on how to apply to certain scholarships.

Juniors/Seniors (who plan to play sports in college)

If you think that you might play sports at an NCAA Division I or II college, you must start by registering for a Certification account with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Colleges cannot give you athletic scholarships until you have completed this process and are cleared by the NCAA. Students who plan to play sports at Division III colleges do not have to do this. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Allison Baerenwald.

Seniors attending a 2 or 4 year college: Apply for your FAFSA.

Each academic year, the deadlines for FAFSA remain relatively similar: Applications open on December 1 and close on June 30. Even with that window, it's a good idea to submit your FAFSA as early as possible because many schools distribute funding on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to apply.

UW JOURNEY/UW HELP

UW Journey guides potential students on their venture to college. The goal is to inform prospective students and their families of the tremendous opportunities that exist at our UW campuses. Prospects can find the UW campus that best fits their individual needs, navigate the application process, and explore options to pay for college. UW Journey enables users to view and compare all campuses’ offerings, including both academic and campus life characteristics, to create the most informed choice about which campus to attend. Finally, UW Journey guides prospects through the entire college process, showing the steps to take, and enabling further direction in the form of reminders, checklists, and calendar events. Click here for more information.

Assessments/Exams:

UW Placement Testing: Most University of Wisconsin System campuses require students to take placement tests. The majority of students will take the exams the spring before their freshman year during the Regional Testing Program. Regional Testing registration begins in Mid-March each year, and various testing dates are offered throughout spring and summer. Students who don't test during the Regional Testing Program must make arrangements with the campus they are attending to take the test at other times of the year. Please refer to your admissions letter or contact the campus you plan on attending for information about which placement tests you are required to take. Click here to determine which tests you will need to take and how to sign up for your test date.placement tests you are required to take.

KHS 2025-26 Scheduling Process

Scheduling for the 2025-26 school year is well underway! All students have been given time to attend a scheduling presentation and obtain important information. Additionally, an email with scheduling resources was sent to families the same day of their presentation.

Course Book and Scheduling Resources:
All scheduling resources are located on our website. Also, there are a limited number of copies of the Course Book in our office. If you need a copy, please have your student stop in Student Services for a copy.

Reviewing Course Options:
We encourage both students and parents to review the course book and explore the available courses for the 2025-26 school year. The 4-year plan in Xello is a helpful tool to guide students in their academic planning. Also, be sure to check prerequisite requirements when selecting courses including your Alternates.

Important Dates:

• Feb. 5th ~ KHS Scheduling Help Session (2:10 – 3:00 PM): Students can stop by Student Services to ask questions and get help with course selections.

• Feb. 11th ~ Submit Day during Career Planning: All students in grades 9-11 will meet with their Career Planning Advisor to finalize and submit their course selections.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Student Services at (920) 687-3024, Press #3.

Thank you for your continued support throughout this important process!

Kimberly Area School District is seeking support from our community. Make a difference and consider becoming a substitute teacher or a substitute paraprofessional

Flexible and Rewarding

• Earn extra income while your child is at school.
• Turn your volunteer hours into a paid position.
• No prior teaching experience is needed.
• Maintain a flexible work schedule.
• Help students succeed.

Apply here today!

Pertussis Update

We want to let you know there have been cases of pertussis (whooping cough) reported in our community. The health of our students, staff, and families is a top priority, so we want to keep you informed.

What is Pertussis?
Pertussis is a contagious respiratory illness that spreads through droplets from coughs and sneezes. It can affect anyone, but young children and infants are especially at risk.

Symptoms:
Early symptoms may resemble a cold and last 1-2 weeks:

· Runny nose

· Sneezing

· Low-grade fever (between 99.5°F and 100.3°F)

· Mild occasional cough

Later symptoms include severe coughing fits, a "whoop" sound when breathing, or vomiting.

Preventive Measures:

1. Monitor Symptoms: If your child shows symptoms, please consult your healthcare provider and keep them home if symptomatic.

2. Hygiene: Remind children to wash hands frequently, cover coughs, and avoid close contact with the sick.

Below are the links for our Free and Reduced Lunch program. If you are approved for Free and Reduce lunch, and would also like to have fees waived, it is necessary to also fill out the Sharing of Information form.

Monthly Food Service Newsletter

Free and Reduced School Meals - Application

Free and Reduced School Meals - Information

Free and Reduced School Meals - Sharing Information with Other Programs