Coyote Connection
October 2025
Home of the Coyotes
- Visit us on Facebook, click here
- Visit the Creekside school website, click here
THIS NEWSLETTER CAN BE TRANSLATED
¡Este boletín se puede traducir!
Primero, haga clic en el enlace "View it in your browser" en la parte superior del correo electrónico (si lo está viendo desde su bandeja de entrada). Luego, desplácese hasta la parte inferior de la página donde dice "Translate" y elija su idioma.
Principal Note
Dear Creekside Elementary Families,
We’ve had a wonderful start to the school year! Our focus these first weeks has been on building a strong, caring community and being clear with behavior expectations across all settings. As we move into October, we will continue to support students in making good choices, especially during recess, so that everyone can be safe, kind, and have fun.
🍂 Cooler Weather
With fall settling in, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the changing weather. Jackets, hats, and warmer layers will help them stay comfortable as we continue outdoor activities throughout the season.
📅 No School – Monday, October 6th and Friday October 24th (conferences)
There is no school for students on Friday, October 4th. Teachers will be engaged in professional development and planning to support impactful instruction. Thank you for your understanding as we invest in meaningful learning experiences for all students.
🤝 CAFE Meeting – October 14th at 6:30 PM
All families are invited to join us for our next CAFE (Parent-School Organization) meeting on Tuesday, October 8th at 6:30 PM. This is a great opportunity to connect, share ideas, and continue building our positive school community.
🗓️ Caregiver Conferences – October 23rd & 24th
Mark your calendars! Conferences will be held on October 23rd and 24th. These conversations provide an important opportunity to check in on your child’s progress and strengthen the partnership between home and school. Classroom teachers will share more details soon.
🎉 Stay Connected on Dojo
Keep an eye on ClassDojo for details about upcoming community fun nights and other events. These gatherings are a wonderful way to come together as a Creekside family.
💤 The Importance of Sleep
A full night of restful sleep helps students stay focused, learn effectively, and manage emotions throughout the day. Please help your child build consistent bedtime routines so they can come to school ready to learn and grow.
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we are creating a safe, connected, and thriving Creekside community!
Warmly,
Katie Mould
Principal, Creekside Elementary
Morning Drop Off Reminders
School Hours: 7:40 am-2:40 pm (M, T, W, F) 7:40 am-1:30 pm (TH)
Student safety is our top priority during drop-off and pick-up. Please help us by following these expectations every morning and afternoon:
Single File Line – stay in one line only.
Students Exit and Enter on the Passenger Side – this keeps kids safely on the sidewalk.
Drop Off and Pick Up Only in the Unloading Zone – do not let students out early.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Before 7:30am there is no supervision for students dropped off outside the front entrance.
- Scholars dropped off at 7:30am-7:40am may go right to their classroom or the cafe if they need breakfast.
- Scholars dropped off at 7:40am and later will need to report to the office. Here they will check in with our office staff, get a pass, get breakfast if needed and head to their classroom.
- Morning Meetings will begin promptly at 7:45am. Our school goal is that all students attend their classroom morning meeting to build our Creekside community.
Thank you partnering with us to ensure all of our Creekside Scholars have their needs met and build an amazing classroom community!
Treats for Birthdays and Classroom Celebrations
We love to help celebrate your student(s) on their special day(s) and are crushed when we have to send beautiful homemade treats home. Please see the Wellness Policy, that we need to follow, below.
When thinking about what to send for a treat, we appreciate single serving treats like cupcakes or cookies, that allows more time for celebrating and less time preparing.
Wellness Policy/Procedure JHK-R
"Baked goods that are served or provided in the classrooms must be purchased, not homemade, and be in a wrapper which contains nutrition information and expiration date"
Visitor & Volunteer Protocol
We are excited to see you!
The safety of our students, employees, families, and visitors continue to remain our overriding priority.
To volunteer or visit our schools, an online background form must be filled out prior to your visit. Always remember to bring a photo ID when checking into the building.
Background Check Application
(English) (Spanish)
Thank you for your interest in volunteering or visiting us at Creekside.
Attendance Reporting Guidelines
TO REPORT AN ABSENCE
Call 608-834-7700 #3102 or my direct line 608-834-7702
- If you email your student's teacher please include kajanss1@sunprairieschools.org
- Your child’s absence will be considered UNEXCUSED if we do not receive a call or call back regarding your child's absence.
- It is important to keep your contact numbers up to date in case of an emergency and for safe arrival calls.
SAFE ARRIVAL CALLS
Please call the attendance line before 8:30 AM any morning your child will NOT be in school. If we don’t hear from you by this time, we will contact you at home or work. We want to make certain of every child’s safe arrival. We will call every number on your child’s emergency contact list until we can reach someone. Please make sure these contacts stay up to date.
Students leaving for appointments or personal reasons during the school day
Please call the attendance line/office to let us know when to have your student ready for you and code their attendance properly. Whenever it is possible please get an excuse letter for your students appointments. Please see the new attendance policy HERE.
Nurses Corner
Hello Caregivers!
Welcome to another exciting school year. It's so good to see all your students, how they've grown and matured over the summer. I hope for a fun-filled and healthy year ahead.
A few reminders:
Wondering if your ill child should stay home or come to school? The district follows the State of Wisconsin recommendations, which can be found here:
Childhood Communicable Disease Wall Chart
A vaccine clinic is coming up on October 1. See more information that is attached.
PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports)
PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) is off to a strong start here at Creekside. Our Coyotes are working 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.
Our September theme was “I belong.” At Creekside, every student is a valuable member of our school community. We recognize and celebrate the uniqueness each Coyote brings to Creekside and we know our school is a better place because they are part of it. Staff and students work hard to ensure that every child who walks into Creekside feels like they matter and are loved.
October’s theme is “I am a scholar.” Our students will be continuing to learn and practice the Coyote Way and ARROW to be the best learner, classmate, and friend that they can be.
Finally, a reminder to all families to review, complete, and return the Parent/Caregiver Agreement with their student. We appreciate the amazing partnerships we have with our Creekside families. Your guidance, teamwork, and support is invaluable. We can’t do what we do without you!
Music with Mrs. Wisz
Our school year is off to a great start! All Coyote musicians have been reviewing and practicing expectations and etiquette in the music room as we sing, move, play, and listen to music. We have also been reviewing the types of percussion instruments we play and different ways to group them. Here’s what is in store for each grade:
K: Kindergartners will continue to practice steady beat, and learning how to play different instruments and take turns playing and being quiet. We will talk about the different voices we use, and start to experience musical opposites.
1&2: First and Second Graders are reviewing and reinforcing what we learned last year, and building on our previous experiences. We are also getting ready for our first visit with the musicians from Up Close and Musical. (see below)
3-5: Our older Coyote musicians have been reviewing key concepts through activities and games. We have been focusing on un-pitched percussion, but will quickly be branching out into other types of instruments. 4th grade, in particular, is getting ready to start playing recorders in the next few weeks; caregivers, keep an eye out for an email with details coming soon.
Up Close & Musical is one of two amazing collaborations that Creekside has with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. It is an opportunity for Creekside 1st and 2nd graders to have musicians and their instruments in classrooms, giving presentations, answering questions and playing the music we studied in music class. Here is a description from the MSO website:
Up Close & Musical brings the power and beauty of classical music into the classrooms of elementary schools throughout Dane County. The curriculum is guided by the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance model and academic standards for music, bringing the Hunt Quartet into elementary schools four times each year. School visits take place in October, November, March, & April. Individual quartet members visit separate classrooms to conduct exciting and interactive lessons that send students on a hunt for the concepts of melody, rhythm, expression, and form. The full quartet then demonstrates these concepts in a mini concert for all participating classrooms. These school visits are free thanks to generous donor support.
There are so many wonderful things happening in music class, we’ve started the year out strong, and I can’t wait to see and hear the amazing music we are going to make this year!
Ms. Wisz (kmwisz@sunprairieschools.org)
Physical Education With Mrs. Anderson and Mr. Faulk
Welcome to a new school year! We are excited to support your kiddos through some really important, healthy movement this year! We have the most incredible line-up of units planned for this year and can’t wait to share them with you! We are excited this month to dive into some Soccer, Cardio Drumming and Fitness activities! We will wrap up the month with the famous heart course that we would LOVE our caregivers to experience! You can learn more about us HERE!
In PE we follow 4 basic rules: “I am responsible & safe”, “I am active and do my best”, “I respect everyone and everything” and “I have FUN, create FUN and am fun”. These help to create a safe, energetic and fun environment in the gym.
Mrs. Anderson teaches all 3rd-5th Physical Education classes. She also has Ms. Wangelin and Ms. Thao’s 2nd grade classes, Ms. Mitchell’s 1st Grade Class and Ms. Garvey’s Kindergarten class. Mr. Falk has Ms. Langum’s 2nd Grade Class, Ms. Brimmer, Ms. Lakatos and Ms. Kramers 1st grade classes and Ms. Pierce and Ms. Vang’s Kindergarten classes. If you have any questions, PLEASE email us. We have a presence on ClassDojo, but DO NOT use the chat option often. Email is definitely our best form of communication! From email we are happy to make a phone call, a google meet or a in person meeting if needed!
Want to check out a PE class? Our doors are always open! We would love for you to join any of our classes during our Bring Your Caregiver to PE Week 1.0 from October 27 through October 31st. CLICK HERE to access your scholar’s PE Schedule. 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).
We can’t wait to move with you this year!
Alison Anderson (ajander@sunprairieschools.org)
Michael Falk (mcfalk@sunprairieschools.org)
Art Lab with Mrs. Kudrle
September has been an incredible month. I’m so excited to be back at school with your scholars! We’ve been busy learning routines and procedures for how to use and care for our shared studio space. This includes caring for the people and the materials.
Stain removal instructions: Most of the time we use washable materials. Your child should wear an art smock in class when painting, printmaking, and clay, but sometimes there are still accidents. Here are some general guidelines on removing stains. Always consult the manufacturer label.
Crayons—spray with WD40, wash with detergent
Tempera paint—spot treat, scrub with fingernail or toothbrush, wash with detergent
Washable markers—spot treat, wash with detergent
Acrylic paint—scrub with Fels Napthal soap (a bar soap found in the laundry aisle of most supermarkets) or Kiss Off (found at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s Arts & Crafts) using your fingernail or toothbrush, wash with detergent, repeat as necessary
Clay or glaze—wash with detergent
Pen/ink—spray with hairspray, let soak, wash with detergent, repeat as necessary
Washable glue/glue stick—wash with detergent
From experience, cold water and a toothbrush work best for scrubbing.
Art Smocks: Your child will have art the same day each week. Please dress them accordingly. If you haven’t already, please send your child to school with an old t-shirt or apron. They may store this in their locker or designated place with their classroom teacher. I recommend that students always bring a smock to the Art LAB so that students have the freedom to use any media and protect themselves from occasional accidents. I have a basket of extra smocks for anyone to use during art class.
Library Lab with Mr. Brandt
We’ve had a wonderful start to the year in the Creekside Library! September has been filled with excitement as students began checking out books and diving into their reading adventures. Our checkout system is designed to grow with our readers—Kindergarten and 1st graders may check out 1–2 books, 2nd graders two, 3rd graders three, 4th graders four, and 5th graders five. Please remember to send library books back on your child’s library day so they’re ready to check out something new—this helps keep our shelves full and our readers happy! In the library lab, students have also been practicing how to take care of our shared space, learning important device guidelines, and beginning lessons in digital citizenship to build safe and responsible habits online. It has been such a joy to see their enthusiasm for both reading and learning, and we’re excited to keep the momentum going as we move into October!
If you need anything please do not hesitate to contact me, Andrew Brandt at atbrand@sunprairieschools.org
Student Services Corner
Our Coyotes have spent the month of September learning about how their brains and bodies work together to help them be the best learners they can be. Your student may have come home trying to teach you what happens when the frontal lobe, limbic system, or brain stem are in charge! They may have told you that THEY are in control of their brain! It is their job to keep their brain and their bodies doing the right thing throughout the day. Listening to their bodies and understanding which “zone” they are in can help them make adjustments to keep themselves calm, in control, and learning. You can learn more about the Zones of Regulation or use the graphics (and language) below to support your child in regulating their feelings and behaviors at home.
Ms. Leah (School Counselor) has been teaching these universal lessons at every grade. She will continue to work with students to help them understand and apply tools and strategies that can be used when our brains and bodies experience emotions, conflicts, or other situations that get in the way of learning.
Kia Sims (Ms. Kia)- Social Worker
A little about me: I live in Cambridge, WI with my Sneakerhead husband Nate and our three energetic kids — Stella (10), Max (8), and Rose (4). When I’m not at school, you’ll usually find me spending time with my family, planning our next travel adventure, cooking something tasty, or curled up with a great book.
At Creekside, my passion is helping students and families feel seen, supported, and connected. Whether I’m partnering with teachers and caregivers, leading student groups, or working one-on-one with kids, my focus is always on building strong social, emotional, and behavioral skills that help our learners thrive both in and out of the classroom.
I truly love being part of the Creekside community — and I hope you’ll come to love it just as much. If you ever need support, want to chat, or just say hello, don’t hesitate to reach out!
Ms. Kia
Leah Wilson (Ms. Leah)- Counselor
My name is “Ms. Leah” and I am the K-5 School Counselor. The 2025-2026 school year will be my 3rd year working at Creekside and my 18th year as an Elementary School Counselor. I live in Sun Prairie with my four children, Alanah (18), Imani (14), Montego (13), and Novielle (10). When I am not at school, I spend most of my time as a "mom-taxi" to my four children. They are involved in a wide range of sports and activities in the community and there is nothing I love more than sitting on the sidelines, in the bleachers, and in the audience as they pursue their individual passions. As a family, we love to adventure and explore new places. This often includes hiking, kayaking, and visiting museums and tourist destinations around the state.
My professional goal is to ensure every student feels safe, valued, and excited for their future. I devote much of my time to helping students build skills in the areas of resiliency, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation. I will be teaching in classrooms, working with individuals/small groups, and supporting families. Past students would tell you that I emphasize kindness, empathy…and being true to who you are! I can be reached by phone at 608-834-7709, text at 608-218-4588, or email at lhwilso@sunprairieschools.org.
Kevin Krivacek (Mr. K)- Psychologist
I’m so excited to be returning to Creekside Elementary this fall!. This is my 3rd year at Creekside and I have loved getting to know the families and community the last couple of years. I am passionate about getting every student exactly what they need to be their best version of themselves academically, socially, and emotionally. Former students, families, and colleagues would (hopefully) describe me as an advocate, passionate, warm, and welcoming.
Outside of school, I love spending time with my wife, three children (Delmar (4) ,Penelope (2) and Violet (6 months) along with my two golden retrievers (Ella and Betty). We enjoy hiking, camping, traveling, and spending time outside. I run the after-school soccer club and I can’t wait to teach the game to any and all Coyotes this fall. Please feel free to reach out to kakriva@sunprairieschools.org with any questions or concerns. Can’t wait to meet and serve you all!
Mr. Krivacek (Mr. K)
How Do I Order My Childs School Pictures?
Picture Day was September 23, 2025
You will receive an email from Empire Photography with your proofs and steps on how to order.
Click Here for the flyer
Picture Retake or Make-Up Day: October 29, 2025
Creekside's 2025-26 Clubs
Cellphone Policy
Our school policy with cell phones (and sometimes SmartWatches when they are distracting) is that they need to be off and in backpacks/lockers the entire day. All communication between home and school should be handled by calling the classroom teacher or the office.
Important Dates This Fall
October 6- No School (4K-12 Grade)
October 14- CAFE Meeting, 6:30pm
October 8- SP East HS Homecoming Parade, 6pm
October 15-SP West HS Homecoming Parade, 6pm
October 23-No School For 4K
October 23-24 - Creekside Book Fair
October 23- Fall Conferences, 4-8pm
October 24- No School (4K-12 Grade)
October 24- Fall Conferences, 7:30am-11:30am
October 27-31-Bring your caregiver to P.E. week
October 29-Picture Retakes
October 30- Creekside Family Fun Night, Trunk-Or-Treat, 5-7pm
October 31- Sun Prairie city wide Trick or Treat hours 5-7pm
NOVEMBER Important Dates
November 26, 27, 28- No School/Thanksgiving