The Evergreen Explorer

WELCOME BACK EAGLE FAMILIES

🍎Welcome from the Principal…

Happy August! My name is Amanda Thoma and it is truly an honor to begin my first year as principal at Evergreen Elementary. From the moment I joined this school community three years ago, I have been inspired by the dedication of our staff, the enthusiasm of our students, and the incredible support of our families. Prior to this principalship, I was the Evergreen Student Support teacher, and before that, I spent nine years as a classroom teacher. My husband and I reside in Wausau with our three children. You will most likely see us on the local soccer fields or the dance studio tagging along as our children participate in the activities they enjoy! If you see us out and about, be sure to say hi! The connection and collaboration between home and school is very valuable. I believe that schools thrive when we work together, and I look forward to partnering with you to make this a year of growth, joy, and success for every Eagle in our nest.

The beginning of August starts the back-to-school excitement. Please take some time to review our monthly newsletter to help us all make preparations for the 2026-2027 school year. The Evergreen Explorer Newsletter will be emailed to all parents at the beginning of each month, as well as linked to the Evergreen homepage on the D.C. Everest School website.

At Evergreen, we believe every child can SOAR. Together, we'll build a year filled with curiosity, kindness, perseverance, and celebration. Thank you for trusting us with your children. I cannot wait to welcome everyone back on Tuesday, August 25th and begin an amazing year together!

Please make sure to review our handbook for valuable information. Our handbook can be found on the Evergreen website by clicking here.

For students that ride the bus, Lamers Bus Company will mail out bus confirmation letters with your child's transportation information in mid-August. This letter will include your child's pick up and drop off times, bus stop location, and bus route number.

If your child did not ride the bus last year but requires busing this year, please complete a New Student Bus Registration Form. Please remember that all daycare busing arrangements must also be renewed each year by completing the form linked above. Address changes can also be submitted on the Request for Transportation Form.

If you have any questions or concerns about busing, please contact Lamers at 715.298-6110.

If you have not updated your authorizations and permissions in Infinite Campus, please take a moments to complete this. Your child will not be able to go on field trips until this is complete. Thereafter you will be able see you child's Teacher.

When dropping off your students before school, please use the lane farthest from the building to drop off your children, as the lane closest to the building is the bus drop off lane. When dropping off your children, please remain in your vehicle while students exit the passenger side of the vehicle and proceed down the median sidewalk to the cross walk and into the building. Drop off begins at 8:20 AM.

Please do not drop off your student any earlier than this, as the front doors are locked and there is not adult supervision prior to 8:20 a.m. Students are expected to be in their classrooms and ready to start the day when the tardy bell rings at 8:45 a.m.

If you are arriving after the start of the day (8:45 AM), please bring your student to the main doors and press the doorbell, as all other doors are locked after school begins. An office member will assist you in getting your child checked in.

For Pick-Up time, all families will be assigned a family number. Placards can be picked up at open house, or they will be sent home on the first day. These placards will be used at the end of day pick-up time. Please pull forward as far as possible in the pick up lane and have your Placard visible. Please make sure your child knows their pick-up number and is able to enter the vehicle and buckle up independently. Practice makes perfect. Please see map of pickup route below.

If you are picking up prior to the end of the day, please come to the main doors and press the doorbell. An office member will let you in, so you will be able to sign your child out on the sign-out sheet located in the front office. An office member will call down to your child's classroom to have your child released.

Morning:

8:20 AM Drop off begins and buses arrive.

8:45 AM School begins

Lunch times:

• Kindergarten @ 11:20 AM
• 1st Grade @11:35 AM
• 2nd Grade @ 12:00 PM
• 3rd Grade @ 12:40 PM
• 4th Grade @ 12:20 PM
• 5th Grade @ 11:50 AM

End of Day:

3:35 PM Pick ups, walkers, and bikers dismissed

3:40 PM Buses load.

ATTENDANCE: When a student is absent, a parent should call school by 9 am to report their child’s absence @ 715-359-6591, press 1 for attendance voicemail or email EVE-Attendance@dce.k12.wi.us. For doctor, dentist, counseling etc. appointments, please bring a slip from the Doctor's office to have the absence considered as a medical excuse. Regular attendance is a requirement under Wisconsin State law for all students K-5.

iPADS & TEXTBOOKS: All iPads and textbooks needed for the education of your child will be furnished by the school district. These items, and all other school property, are to be handled with extreme care by the students to ensure long use. Any property that is damaged by a student will be replaced by that student at his/her expense.

STUDENT ARRIVAL: Students who walk to school or are driven by parents should plan to arrive to school no earlier than 8:20 am. Doors will remain closed until that time. Students will not be permitted to go to the classrooms/playground earlier since, prior to that time, teachers are not available to provide necessary supervision.

ALTERNATE PICK-UP PLANS: Please be sure to send a physical note to your child’s teacher if there will be a change in transportation for your child after school. For last minute changes please call the main office. It is difficult at the end of the day to contact teachers and students for last minute changes. All students will be put on their regular bus at dismissal time unless they have a note or advanced phone call to the office with alternate instructions.

D.C. Everest administrators and staff have been proactively working with law enforcement, first responders and our Superintendent’s Office in Wisconsin to update our Comprehensive School Safety Plans and put into place effective drills that will help prepare us for incidents, emergencies or disasters that may occur at school or within the community. Below is important safety information we encourage you to review prior to the start of the school year.

Talk to Your Student About Safety

It is crucial for parents/guardians to be aware of the safety protocols at their child’s school. Engaging in conversations with your child(ren) about safety drills taking place at school is vital to helping them prepare for emergencies that may take place at school or elsewhere. By helping your student understand the District safety protocols (found below), you can help reduce fear and build a student’s trust in the systems we have in place. Open dialogues between parents, teachers, support staff and students strengthen our processes and emergency response plans. Below are the District safety protocols to review with your student.

Be Alert

“If you see something, say something!” This proactive approach is encouraged among students, parents and staff to ensure safety concerns are reported immediately to school administrators or appropriate first responders, especially if there is a potential for imminent danger.

Drills and Preparedness

All schools will continue to conduct regular fire, lockdown and safety drills as required by state law — including unannounced drills to evaluate readiness. Our first drills will occur within the first two weeks of school.

Run, Hide, Fight (Take Action)

We use the Run, Hide, Fight (Take Action) protocol, a nationally recommended strategy endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security:

• Run – Get away from danger if safe to do so.

• Hide – Stay out of sight and remain quiet.

• Fight (Take Action) – As a last resort, attempt to stop the threat if your life is in immediate danger.
  
  

Emergency Procedures

• Fire – Evacuate and wait for clearance to return.

• Lockdown – Secure your location based on the threat.

• Shelter in Place – Remain indoors during outside hazards.

• Reunification – If students must be relocated, families will receive instructions via School Messenger, our website and social media.

For your safety and the safety of students, staff and first responders, please:

● DO NOT REPORT TO THE SCHOOL — procedures are in place to safely and efficiently reunite students with parents/guardians.

● Ensure you have persons authorized to pick up your student(s) LISTED ON YOUR STUDENT’S EMERGENCY CARD in Infinite Campus (you can find more information linked HERE). No student will be released to any other adult, if not listed on the current emergency card.

● Have your photo ID with you at the reunification site; it will be required at the time of pickup​.

Communication During an Emergency

During an emergency at a D.C. Everest school, communication is distributed through the School Messenger all-call system, the district websites and our social media channels. To ensure you receive timely alerts, please update your emergency contact information. Please visit the DCE Safety and Security webpage to update your contact information in Infinite Campus.

Parents are advised to:

• Remain at home/work and monitor our communication channels (website, social media, email, texts) for updated information.

• Avoid sending repeated texts or phone calls to students’ personal cell phones; doing so may alert intruders to your child’s location and may tie up the cellular systems, potentially delaying a safe and effective response.

• Refrain from proceeding to the site of the emergency — doing so may block roads and prevent first responders from responding in a timely manner; only proceed to the site if advised to do so by the District or law enforcement

• Avoid posting unverified information to your social media channels — this can lead to mass confusion and misinformation.

For any concerns or questions, please contact your building principal.

• For purposes of understanding: A “visitor” means an unpaid person who attends a district-sponsored event or activity. As part of D.C. Everest Board Policy 8410 school safety plan, all doors to the school are locked during the school day. Visitors will need to press a call button located near the center of the front doors to enter the building. All visitors are required to register in the school office.

  • “Visitor” is typically a parent/guardian/family support person attending a school event, sporting event, theater production, class choir, or school family event OR is a parent/guardian dropping off/picking up their child from school.

  • Visitors attending school events shall report their presence and sign in at the school office, using Visitor Aware (bring your ID), if the visit occurs during the instructional day; but may not be required to sign in if the event or activity is after the instructional day.

  • Visitors dropping off/picking up their child from school outside normal drop/pickup times will press the call button located near the center of the front doors to enter the building and drop off/pick up their child in the office lobby area.

The D.C. Everest School District continues to create academic and social-emotional support systems linked directly to the assessed needs of our students. This system, known as the Everest System of Supports (E.S.S.), provides all students with timely and targeted instruction and intervention based upon the data-driven results of universal screening tools.

The primary purpose of universal screening is to help all students be successful. By identifying students who are in need of more specialized academic or behavioral interventions, we can provide assistance and preventative measures as early as possible. Likewise, by identifying students with higher reasoning skills and talent potential, we can provide them with opportunities to participate in the Gifted and Talented Magnet program or other enrichment opportunities appropriate for the individual student. In addition to universal screening tools, specific grade levels participate in annual assessments required by the state of Wisconsin.

Universal Screening Tools:

• The universal screening tool aimswebPlus includes assessments (grades K-5) for math and reading to help determine where students might have gaps in knowledge and skills and need assistance. The assessments are administered in fall, winter, and spring. In the area of literacy for grades K-3, aimswebPlus is the universal screening tool required in Wisconsin as a comprehensive assessment of young children's knowledge of literacy foundational skills that are predictive of future reading success.

• aimswebPlus universal reading screening data will also be used to determine which students would benefit from continuing in the screening process through use of informal, diagnostic, individually administered assessment tools in the areas of phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and spelling. This will help us identify students who display risk factors associated with dyslexia/related difficulties. The results from these assessments are not intended or designed to diagnose dyslexia; their purpose is to identify children who are experiencing reading difficulties that may require extra support and ensure that support is targeted to each student’s areas of need.

• The 7 Mindsets Insights Assessment helps measure student perceptions across the seven mindsets—Everything is Possible, Passion First, We Are Connected, 100% Accountable, Attitude of Gratitude, Live to Give, and The Time is Now—with results highlighting growth areas for individual students, classes, and our building. The assessment is administered two to three times per year.

Wisconsin State Assessment System:

• In spring, the Wisconsin Forward Exam will be administered to all students in grades 3-5. The Wisconsin Forward Exam is designed to gauge how well students are doing in relation to the Wisconsin Academic Standards. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in order to be college and career ready.

• Students in grades 3-5 will take the English language arts (ELA) and math portions of the exam.

• Students in grade 4 will also be tested in science and social studies.

Thank you for supporting the D.C. Everest School District’s efforts to build a system of student supports linked directly to data. This initiative will ensure each of our students has the opportunity to receive the assistance they need to achieve academic and social-emotional success. Please do not hesitate to contact your building principal if you would like to discuss any of the assessment processes or the options of opting your child out of a specific assessment/survey.

As part of its Directory Data Notice, and in compliance with specific federal Acts and state Statutes, the D.C. Everest Area School Board is required to define specific student information as “directory information”. At D.C. Everest, directory information includes:

● Student name

● Student photograph(s)

● Officially-recognized sports and activities the student participates in

● Student height and weight, if a member of an athletic team

● Graduation date

● Degrees and awards received

If families prefer the above-noted student information not be shared, they must inform the District — in writing— which of the directory information items they refuse to permit the District to designate as “Directory Data” for their student. For example, if a parent/guardian decides photos of their student should not be released, then the student’s photo will not appear in the yearbook, in team photos, in photos shared on social media and with the media, etc. The Board defines “personally identifiable information” in its Directory Data Notice. (For a complete list of the “personally identifiable information” data, view the DCE Directory Data Notice online).

The District is required to release specific personally identifiable information — the name, address, and telephone listing of a student — upon request from a military recruiter or institutions of higher education without prior written parental/guardian consent unless parents request in writing that their student’s name, address and telephone number not be released to military recruiters or institutions of higher education without prior written parental consent. This specific request must be submitted to the Student Services Secretary.

The above-noted written requests should be submitted to the student’s school Administrative Assistant to the Principal at the elementary level and the Student Services Secretary at the secondary level.

The complete D.C. Everest Directory Data Notice is available online.

Some food products can cause an anaphylactic reaction if a person eats, touches, or breathes in the protein. Anaphylaxis means that the immune system over reacts to a particular protein found in that food. Each reaction is unique and symptoms range from mild to life threatening with each exposure. The eight foods most commonly responsible for the majority of reactions are: cow’s milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat. Examples of non-food related anaphylactic allergens are latex, medication, and insect venom (i.e. bee stings).

Although the district cannot guarantee an allergen free campus, DC Everest Policy 5335.01 provides an anaphylactic aware environment (K-12) for staff and students by taking measures to minimize the risk of an exposure and educate staff to respond to life threatening reactions. During classroom projects and activities, common food allergens, as well as latex, will be avoided.

For the safety of all students, nut products or products containing nuts are only allowed in the cafeteria during lunch from students who bring cold lunch. Items for snack should not contain nuts as they cannot be consumed in the classroom. Birthday or party treats are welcome, but must be purchased (not baked at home), in original packaging, and cannot contain nuts.

The food service department will make dietary substitutions in accordance with USDA regulations 7 CFR Part 15b, when the "Medical Statement for Children with Disabilities Requiring Special Foods in Child Nutrition Programs" is correctly completed by a physician and returned to the Supervisor of Food Services.

A reasonable effort for school operated programs will be made to not serve or purchase food products that contain nut ingredients. Nut containing products will not be served in grades K-5. All students may pack a cold lunch containing nut product to be eaten in the cafeteria only.

The parent/guardians will supply a physician signed and completed Anaphylactic Action plan to the school and indicate if the student should sit at an allergy safe table and notify staff if there are any changes in the student’s health.

The Marathon County Health Department will be conducting Vision and Hearing Screenings for all Evergreen Elementary students in grades K, 1st, 3rd, and 5th. Please note, 2nd and 4th grade students are not screened unless there is a concern.

If you do not want your child screened for any reason, please contact our health assistant, Victoria Buelow, at 715-359-6591 ext. 5223.

August:

8/19/26 - Open House @ 4:00-6:00 PM

8/24/26 - Bridge to Kindergarten

8/25/26 - First Day of School

September:

9/4/26 - No School

9/7/26 - No School

9/8/26 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

9/8/26 - Picture Day

October:

10/5/26 - No School

10/6/26 - Grade 4 to the Little Red School House

10/7/26 - Grade 4 to the Little Red School House

10/8/26 - Grade 4 to the Little Red School House

10/13/26 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

10/21/26 - Picture Retakes

10/27/26 - Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 4:00-7:30 PM

10/29/26 - No School

10/29/26 - Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 11:30-7:30 PM

10/30/26 - No School

November:

11/2/26 - No School

11/10/26 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

11/25/26 - No School

11/26/26 - No School

11/27/26 - No School

December:

12/14/26 - Kindergarten Winter Program @ 5:30 - 6:00 PM.

12/14/26 - Grade 2 Winter Programs @ 6:30 - 7:00 PM

12/17/26 - Grade 1 Winter Program @ 5:30 - 6:00 PM

12/17/26 - Grade 3 Winter Program @ 6:30 - 7:00 PM

12/23/26 - No School

12/24/26 - No School

12/25/26 - No School

12/28/26 - No School

12/29/26 - No School

12/30/26 - No School

12/31/26 - No School

January:

1/1/27 - No School

1/12/27 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

1/18/27 - No School

February:

2/9/27 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

2/16/27 - Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 4::00-7:30 PM

2/18/27 - No School

2/18/27 - Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 11:30-7:30 PM

2/19/27 - No School

2/22/27 - No School

March:

3/9/27 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

3/15/27 - Grade 4 Spring Program @ 5:30 - 6:00 PM

3/15/27 - Grade 5 Spring Program @ 6:30 - 7:00 PM

3/19/27 - No School

3/22/27 - No School

3/23/27 - No School

3/24/27 - No School

3/25/27 - No School

3/26/27 - No School

April:

4/13/27 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

4/23/27 - No School

May:

5/11/27 - PTO Meeting @ 6:00 PM

5/23/27 - No School

June:

6/2/27 - Bounce Houses

6/3/27 - Last Day of School

Evergreen Elementary

Website: https://evergreen.dce.k12.wi.us/
Location: 1610 Pine Rd. Rothschild, WI 54474
Phone: 715.359.6591

Phone 715.359.6591

Press 0 for the main office

Press 1 for attendance

Fax 715.355.3722

Lamer's Bus Company 715.298-6110

School Hours 8:45 a.m - 3:40 p.m.

Students may begin arriving at 8:20 a.m.

Office Staff

Amanda Thoma - Principal - Ext. 5222

Kristel Marquardt - Administrative Assistant to the Principal - Ext. 5221

Victoria Buelow - Health Assistant - Ext. 5223

Melissa Meyer - School Counselor - Ext. 5226

Brandon Kranz - School Psychologist - Ext. 5236

Heather Schlagenhaft - School Social Worker - Ext. 5668

Katie Wochinski - Student Support Teacher - Ext. 5228