Mill Valley Weekly

As we head into spring break, there is a buzz of excitement in the air—dreams of sleeping in, family adventures, and maybe even a little extra sunshine! We hope this time provides a wonderful opportunity for rest, connection, and making special memories together.

While we are excited for the break, we are equally excited to welcome our students back, refreshed and ready to make the most of the final stretch of the school year. The last few months of school are filled with important learning, growth, and opportunities to shine, and we know our students will return prepared to finish strong.

That strong finish goes beyond academics; it’s also about celebrating the character, kindness, effort, and positive choices our students show each day. Our staff is intentional about recognizing these moments—whether it’s through classroom celebrations, paw print winners, recess royalty, post cards in the mail, minute to win it games, Golden Awards, personal phone calls and emails home or those small but meaningful interactions that let students know they are seen and valued. As we move into the final part of the year, we look forward to continuing to lift up our students, celebrate their achievements, and create a school environment where everyone feels proud to be part of our Mill Valley family.

In Partnership,

Allyce Harris

MV Principal

Soon, we will begin to look at class placement for our students next year. Teacher teams will begin to plan for 2026-27 class rosters in April and May. When preparing classroom placements for next year, our staff carefully considers the match of student and teacher and the blend of students within a room. A process is used so that classrooms of the same grade are heterogeneous and balanced academically and socially. As we begin to construct class lists for next year, Mill Valley staff will consider many factors including parent/guardian input on learning needs and styles.

We appreciate input from parents as we begin this process and encourage you to fill out the Student Profile Survey. This form will only be available until Friday, March 27th.

Please note that in order to make balanced class lists, we cannot accept teacher requests nor assume your family will have the same teacher you may have worked with previously.

Thank you for your partnership in making your student's testing days successful!

ALL testing will take place in the morning. Please avoid scheduling any appointment during testing times.

Please ensure your student...

• gets enough sleep each night
• has a healthy breakfast each day
• arrives to school on time everyday

Specials and lunch schedules will be adjusted to provide an uninterrupted morning testing window.

Soon, our 3rd and 4th grade students will be taking the Wisconsin Forward Exam. Please note that there are strict guidelines stating that personal communication devices are not permitted in the testing environment. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, smart watches, and all other similar electronic devices.

ALL students and families should be familiar with the school’s Personal Communication Devices & Electronics guidelines, which are outlined below and in the school handbook:

While elementary and middle school students may possess personal communication devices (PCDs) in school, on school property, during after school activities (e.g., extra-curricular activities), and at school-related functions, they must be kept out of sight and off during the instructional day (from the bell at the beginning of the day until the dismissal bell at the end of the day). For purposes of this policy, "personal communication devices" (PCD) include computers, tablets, electronic readers, cell phones, smartphones, MP3 players, handheld games, and/or other web-enabled devices of any type. The school is not responsible for these items if they are stolen. Given that our lockers are unlocked throughout the day, we ask that electronic equipment as described above is not brought to school. See Board Policy 5136 for more information.

If you need to contact your student during the school day, please do so by calling the school office.

It’s been an action-packed week in the gym! Our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders have been working on their basketball skills. We’ve been focusing on the fundamentals, including dribbling, shooting, passing, and even some defense. Our Kindergarten and 1st graders also joined the fun, doing a fantastic job controlling the ball and aiming for those hoops! To wrap up the week with kindergarten and 1st grade, we took a break from the court for some high-energy parachute activities.

Beyond the physical skills, we’ve been diving into the "madness" of the season by learning how brackets work. To put our new knowledge to the test, the students participated in a "Favorite Cookie" voting bracket. After several heated match-ups and tough decisions, Oreo emerged as the grand champion!

Each year, students in kindergarten through fourth grade receive instruction in human growth and development. We recognize that you too are providing one-on-one instruction related to your child’s human development and find it a privilege to partner with you in this endeavor. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of this up-and-coming instruction and to afford you multiple opportunities where you can learn more about the content of these lessons as well as to view the accompanying resources we will be using.

The lessons developed are the result of the efforts of our district’s human growth and development instructional team with the oversight and input of the district’s human growth and development advisory committee.

On the back of this letter, you will find an outline. If you would like to review the materials used for these lessons, you can do so by selecting one of the two options listed on the next page.

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or myself, if you have any additional questions. If you prefer your son/daughter not receive instruction in one of the lessons listed, please contact your child’s teacher in advance so that another accommodation can be made when the lesson is taught.

Sincerely,

Allyce Harris

Principal

Mill Valley Elementary

Please share information with anyone living outside our community who is interested in joining our schools and becoming 1Warrior! Use the following links for more information; DPI Open Enrollment Muskego-Norway Open Enrollment

Mill Valley PTO is looking for enthusiastic parents to join committees for the upcoming spring events. If you are interested in lending your time and skills to help plan and organize these community-building events and meet other parents, please sign up HERE!

Upcoming Events Include:

• Spring Fundraiser

• Dance

• Staff Appreciation

• Art Night

Click here for the Parents United website and click here for the 2025-26 brochure of all events. Below are flyers for the next five exciting upcoming events:

• April 21 (Supporting Children’s Success with Self-Determination)

• May 20 (ROUTINES RULE!)

To view current support staff job vacancies, click HERE

Email: allyce.harris@muskegonorway.org
Website: muskegonorway.org
Location: W191 S6445 Hillendale Dr, Muskego Wi, 53150
Phone: 262-971-1830
Facebook: facebook.com/millvalleyelementary