Wilson Family Newsletter

Dear Parents, Families and Caregivers,

As we wrap up Quarter 1, I am excited to share all the amazing learning that has taken place this term. Not only have our students made significant strides in their academic growth—excelling in subjects like math, literacy, and science—but they have also developed valuable social-emotional skills, including conflict resolution and problem-solving.

We proudly celebrated Unity Day as a school, embracing and honoring our unique differences within our community. This event served as a powerful reminder of the strength that comes from our diversity and the importance of empathy and understanding.

Additionally, our PAWS ticket initiative has been a fantastic success, reinforcing our Wilson Skills of self-regulation, accepting direction, and fostering positive interactions. We have distributed hundreds of PAWS tickets, celebrating students who exemplify these skills. To further engage our students in this initiative, we’ve started a graph to visualize the number of tickets earned by each grade.

Currently, our grade totals are:

K--290

1st--375

2nd--377

3rd-- 982

4th--1009

5th--562

It has been wonderful to witness the excitement as students work together to earn PAWS tickets and celebrate their achievements.

As we look forward to the upcoming weeks, we appreciate your ongoing support and partnership in your child's education. Your involvement plays a critical role in fostering a positive learning environment, and we encourage you to continue discussions about what your child is learning at school.

As a reminder, the end of the quarter is on October 31, and there will be no school on Monday, November 3, for a teacher work day.

We wish you a wonderful break and look forward to more incredible learning experiences in Quarter 2.

Warm Regards,

Cassie Mitchell

Principal

507-444-8400

cmitchell@isd761.org

Fall conferences are a great opportunity to connect with your child’s teacher and check in on how the school year is going. We encourage all families to attend with their student(s)! Please use the link below to sign up for a time that works best for you:
👉 https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/Wilson_Elementary

Let’s Bowl! 🎳
We’re celebrating all the hard work students did during Quarter 1 with a fun field trip to the bowling alley on October 31st! It’s a great way to recognize their effort and success this quarter. Be sure to connect with your student about the day and celebrate their accomplishments!

We’ve noticed an increase in concerning behaviors reported on bus rides to and from school.

If your student rides the bus, please take a moment to talk with them about safe and positive bus behavior. We will also be reviewing safe bus procedures with all students before our field trip to the bowling alley this Friday, 10/31.

To ensure a safe and respectful environment for all students on our buses, we want to reinforce our expectations:

1. Remain seated at all times; face forward always.

2. Keep your hands to yourselves.

3. Use inside voices only; no yelling or screaming.

4. Be respectful towards everyone on the bus.

5. Keep the aisle clear of all personal belongings.

6. No food or drinks will be allowed unless earned through positive behavior.

Students who struggle to adhere to these rules may face further discussions and could lead to suspension from riding the bus. The bus is a privilege not a right.

Thank you for partnering with us in reinforcing positive behaviors and expectations regarding bus conduct with your child.

As a reminder:

• Morning supervision begins at 7:45 AM. Please do not drop off students before this time, as there will be no adults available to supervise them.

• Students are dismissed each day at 2:40 PM and must be picked up by 2:45 PM. We are unable to provide supervision for students after this time.

If you require additional care beyond 2:45 PM, we encourage you to consider enrolling in our School Age Care (SAC) program. For more information, please reach out to Kayla at 507-444-7922.

Below you will find the avenues through which Wilson sends out communications as well as common phone numbers utilized throughout the school year.

Below is the October At-A-Glance District Calendar. Please note, November 25th will be a 2 hour early release. This is a recent addition to the calendar.

• Oct. 28 - Levy Informational Meeting @ McKinley Elementary 6:00 PM

• Oct. 31 - End of Quarter 1 - Quarter 1 Celebration!

• Nov. 3 - No School - Teacher Work Day

• Nov. 5 - WSL Meeting

• Nov. 6 - Wilson Fall Festival 5:30 to 7:30 PM

• Nov. 10, 13, & 14 - Fall Conferences & Book Fair

• Nov. 18th - PTO Meeting - 5:00

Owatonna residents will vote on an operating levy increase of $700 per student (approximately $3.7 million annually) to help sustain the high-quality education our community values. The increase is needed to maintain class sizes, retain staff, continue Career Pathways programs, and support fine arts, athletics and co-curricular opportunities.

Please vote on Tuesday, November 4. Polls will be open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Find your polling place.

Early voting is available!

Steele County Property Tax and Elections Office, located at 630 Florence Avenue in Owatonna.

Early voting hours:

• Monday-Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm

• Saturday, November 1, 9:00am to 3:00pm

• Monday, November 3, 8:00am to 5:00pm

Find more information about the levy at isd761.org/levy.

Thank you!

Illness

One of the goals of health services is to assure a healthy environment. Many students and families are frequently concerned about when students should stay home or attend school. The following information is intended to help with this decision.

• If student has a fever of 100 degrees or more, the student should stay home for 24 hours after the temperature returns to normal (without fever reducing medicine).
• If the student has vomited or had diarrhea, the student should stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
• If student has any rash that may be disease-related or the cause is unknown, check with the family physician before sending the student to school.
• If student is ill at home, please call the school attendance line daily to report the reason for the absence. It is helpful to report specific symptoms and/or diagnoses. 507-444-8405

Communicable Disease

In order to track communicable conditions within the schools, it is helpful if parents notify the school health office when a student has a communicable condition (i.e. chickenpox, head lice, strep throat). It is recommended to regularly check your student's hair for head lice.

Please note: Medications for students need to be dropped off in the nurse's office by a parent or guardian. Students may not transport them.

For more information, please use the following link: Health Services

General Attendance Line: 507-444-8405

Please call between the hours of 7:00 - 9:00 am with a child's absence reason. After 9:00 am, please call the main line, 507-444-8400.

We have already seen a large number of absences this year. Per our attendance policy and what the state will require, students are allowed 10 excused absence during the school year. After the student has exceeded 10 absences, future absences will be marked as unexcused unless they are accompanied with a doctor's note. For more information on attendance, please use the following link: Attendance

Reminder: If a student is going to a medical appointment (doctor, dental, orthodontist, chiropractor, therapist, etc.) please ask your provider for a doctor's note. When that note is presented to the office, the absence will be marked "medical" which is an exempt absence and does not count against the child's overall attendance in any way.

Note: We will reach out to families via TALKING POINTS (text or app) to confirm student absences as well as make phone calls.

School Lunch Menus

Wilson Homepage

Nondiscrimination Policy

Owatonna Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or expression, or socio-economic status. Students with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education that includes general education, special education and/or related aids and services. Direct reports or concerns to the Title IX Coordinator. More information can be found on the district website: isd761.org/nondiscrimination

Title IX / Nondiscrimination

Owatonna Public Schools is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for all students and staff and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, in its programs and activities, as required by Title IX and MN Human Rights Act (MHRA). This includes prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, gender-based violence, and unequal access to extracurricular activities.

Any concerns related to Title IX should be reported to Chris Picha, Director of Human Resources & Title IX Coordinator, at 507-444-8602 or cpicha@isd761.org.