Kegonsa Family Newsletter

Happy Friday, Kegonsa Families!

Even with a short week of school, we packed in plenty of fun and learning! Our week began on Monday with a full day of professional learning for staff—always a valuable time to grow and reflect as educators. By Tuesday, we welcomed students back to school and got to celebrate Earth Day, together! We were lucky to have some fantastic guests from the Stoughton High School Environmental Club join us to talk with students and lead some engaging activities focused on taking care of our planet.

To wrap up the week, our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classrooms took a field trip to Madison to see Black Violin perform at the Overture Center. What an amazing opportunity to experience the powerful blend of classical music and hip-hop live on stage! Today is Arbor Day, and we’re reminded of the importance of trees, nature, and the beauty that surrounds us—especially during spring in Wisconsin. And speaking of movement and rhythm, our PE unit is currently focused on dance! We’ve seen some impressive moves in the gym lately—these Blue Gills know how to groove!

Looking ahead, this weekend should bring mild temperatures and sunshine, perfect for enjoying some time outside as a family. Next week, we’re expecting a few showers and possibly a thunderstorm or two, but we’ll finish strong with sunshine and highs in the 60s.

Thank you for your continued support, especially surrounding our drop off and pick up procedures. We hope your weekend is restful and joy-filled! 💙 Erin

During the week of April 28, classroom teachers will be reviewing with our students what to do if there is an emergency. For our littlest learners, we introduce these concepts through the book “I’m not scared. I’m prepared!” The information we provide is brief and offers them reassurance that there are many adults here to protect them. For our 3-5 students, we work through the ALICE protocol in a child-friendly, informative and non-threatening way.

Safety drills help us evaluate our emergency operations plan, improve our response skills and prepare our students and staff in the event of an actual emergency. At the close of the drill, we will send out a message to families informing you that the drill is complete.

If you would like resources to talk with your children at home, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) offers a number of excellent resources for talking with children about school safety.

Working for Kids needs your help to celebrate Kegona's phenomenal teachers and staff. Through Staff Appreciation Week, we'll provide meals, games, and fun events.

Please sign up HERE to help supply staff meals, supplies and/or volunteer your time to help with setting up and cleaning up — WFK committee members will be there to help guide you.

Feel free to grab as many slots/items as you like — thank you so much! *Any non-perishables can be dropped off in the front office as early as Friday, May 2nd.

Good news, free COVID tests are back! You can now order up to 4 free tests per household, tests will ship directly to your home. Get yours ordered today! https://special.usps.com/testkits

Lesson: Gratitude

We learned what gratitude is, why it is important and how to improve our gratitude skill. Each student then spent time thinking about what they are grateful for. Our goals was to think of at least five specific things that we are grateful for in our lives.

Lesson: Offering Kind Acts

In this week’s lesson, your child will learn and practice two types of kind acts: offering to help someone and inviting someone to join.

Try This at Home - Help your child think of a kind act they can do for someone involving offering to help or inviting them to join. Support your child in carrying out the kind act

Lesson: Empathy in Action

In this week’s lesson, your child will practice having empathy to come up with kind acts they could do for others in different situations.

Try This at Home - Ask your child how having empathy can help them know how to be kind.

Lesson: Kindness & Friendship

In our latest 3rd grade lesson our students learned how empathy—the ability to understand and feel how someone else is feeling—and kindness can help build new friendships.

Try This at Home - Ask your child what kind things they could do to build a friendship with someone.

Lesson: Rethinking

In our latest 4th grade lessons students learned what it means to rethink a situation and how it can help them calm strong emotions. Rethinking requires us to slow down and reflect on our thoughts. We learned about the Cognitive model and how our thoughts impact our feelings and behaviors, so if we are able to reshape our thoughts to be more positive and understanding we are likely to feel better and make better chioces.

Try This at Home - Tell your child about a time when rethinking a situation, or thinking about it in a different way, helped you feel better. Encourage your child to talk about times in their lives when rethinking could have helped them.

Lesson: Stress

In our latest 5th grade lesson students identified their signs of stress, situations that can cause them to feel stress, and strategies they can use to manage feelings of stress.

Try This at Home - Ask your child what their body feels like when they’re stressed and what things cause them to feel stress. Share your own experiences with stress and what you do to manage it.

The Shining Gilly Award recognizes students who go above and beyond to show exceptional care for others or our school. These students exemplify the qualities we strive to nurture in all of our little citizens—kindness, responsibility, and a positive impact on their community. Whether it's an individual or a group of students, those who receive this award truly reflect the values we hold dear at our school.

Congratulations to Henry (3rd) and Hanna (2nd) 🥳

During the week of April 28, classroom teachers will be reviewing with our students what to do if there is an emergency. For our littlest learners, we introduce these concepts through the book “I’m not scared. I’m prepared!” The information we provide is brief and offers them reassurance that there are many adults here to protect them. For our 3-5 students, we work through the ALICE protocol in a child-friendly, informative and non-threatening way.

Safety drills help us evaluate our emergency operations plan, improve our response skills and prepare our students and staff in the event of an actual emergency. At the close of the drill, we will send out a message to families informing you that the drill is complete.

If you would like resources to talk with your children at home, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) offers a number of excellent resources for talking with children about school safety. Click here to read more.

We are highlighting three events in April!

1. Autism Awareness Month,
2. World Autism Awareness Day
3. Arab-American Heritage Month.

The LMS team has compiled the following resources for your review with your children this month.

Resources are sorted in two parts:

• Elementary students
• Middle & high school students

At Kegonsa, we value your input as we thoughtfully build balanced class rosters for next year. If you’d like to share insights about your child’s learning needs and the environments where they thrive, please complete this form. Please note that this is not a teacher request form.

May 1, 2025

Kindergarten Informances - Kindergarten and their families are invited.

Kegonsa Gym

Meyer 8:00-8:30

Reed 8:30-9:00

May 16, 2025

3rd Grade Syttende Mai Opening Ceremonies

Under a tent at S. Division and Main Streets

6:00-6:30 pm

June 5, 2025

5th Grade Concert

Kegonsa Gym

8:00-8:30 a.m.

Link to SASD Music Performance Schedule Sheet

First Semester: August 5, August 23, September 1, September 6, September 13, September 20, September 29, October 4, October 13, October 18, October 24, November 1, November 8, November 17, November 22, November 26, December 6, December 13, January 5, January 10, January 17, January 31, February 7, February 14, February 21, February 27, March 10, March 14, March 21, April 4, April 11, April 17, April 25

Ms. Conrad, Principal (877-5201)

Mrs. Nelson, Dean of Students (877-5222)

Mrs. Southern, Front Office Admin Assistant (877-5202)

Mr. Schultz, School Counselor (877-5229)

Mrs. Menon, School Psychologist (877-5276)

Mrs. McDermot, School Social Worker (440-0270)

Mrs. Hart, Health Assistant (877-5204)

Email: erin.conrad@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: http://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/page.cfm?p=619
Location: Kegonsa Elementary School, Vernon Street, Stoughton, WI, United States
Phone: 608-877-5202
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonschools/
Twitter: @WeAreStoughton