West Kindergarten
September 2026
707 Center St.
Baraboo, WI 53913
Principal Stacie Wagner
608-355-3905 Ext. 5010
608-393-0251
Attendance: 608-355-3905
Text 608-416-1864
Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe September is already coming to an end! It has been a wonderful month of learning, exploring, and getting to know one another at West. Our students are settling into routines, building friendships, and discovering all the exciting things that happen at school. Thank you for sharing your children with us and for being such an important part of our school community. We are so happy to be learning, belonging, and growing together!
🌎 Quack Track: Where in the World Are We?
Our Quack Track adventures are off to a great start! We began close to home with a visit to Circus World right here in Baraboo. From there, we traveled all the way to Hangzhou Banshan National Forest Park in China, where we explored a forest of bamboo and learned a little about giant pandas. Most recently, we visited Munich, Germany, for Oktoberfest! Along the way, we discovered the home of Haribo gummy bears, viewed the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle, and learned about holiday traditions. Ask your child about the places our traveling duck has visited so far! You might be surprised by how much they remember. We can't wait to see where our adventures take us next!
🚒 Learning About Fire Safety
We are excited to partner with the Baraboo Fire Department to help our students learn about fire safety. On October 6, our kindergarten classes will take a walking field trip to the nearby fire station. On October 7, firefighters and a firetruck will visit West to spend time with our 4K students. These experiences will give our young learners an opportunity to meet local firefighters, learn about fire safety, and become more familiar with the people who help keep our community safe.
📚 Just One More Book
On select Sunday evenings, I host a live YouTube storytime where I’ll read a book (or maybe two!) to our students. Our next event of Just One More Book will be Sunday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m. Please join me using this link.
💜 The Purple Hands Pledge
West will also be joining other local elementary schools in participating in the Purple Hands Pledge, a reminder that our hands are for helping, caring, and keeping one another safe—not for hurting. We will be talking with students about using gentle hands, making safe choices, and treating others with kindness and respect. Families can help reinforce this message at home by reminding children that their hands can be used to help a friend, offer comfort, and show kindness.
Thank you for all you do to support your child's learning and our West community. I hope you enjoy the beautiful fall weather, and I look forward to another wonderful month together!
Kindly,
Stacie Wagner
Parent - Teacher Conferences are coming up soon. Next week, teachers will be sending out information about how to sign up. We look forward to seeing all of our families either Thursday, October 22nd or Wednesday, October 28th.
We hope your family is enjoying the start of fall and a great beginning to the school year!
This month, students have been getting to know me and learning about my role as their school counselor! We talked about how I am here to listen, help students work through problems, build friendships, manage big feelings, and feel successful at school.
We have also been talking about the importance of following school rules and how rules help keep everyone safe, respectful, and ready to learn.
Coming Next Month: Body Safety & Kindness
Next month, we will focus on body safety, personal boundaries, and kindness. Students will learn about respecting their own bodies and others' personal space, recognizing safe and unsafe touches, speaking up when something doesn't feel right, and ways to show kindness to others.
Thank you for partnering with us as we help your child grow into a safe, kind, confident, and caring learner!
Mara Blessinger
What’s going on in music, art, and physical education?
Our 4K and Kindergarten students have been busy learning, creating, and moving in MAPE!
In Music, students are exploring the elements of music, including steady beat, loud and soft, high and low, and fast and slow. They are also beginning to use musical vocabulary such as crescendo, decrescendo, forte, and piano to describe what they hear and experience.
In Art, our 4K artists have been exploring a variety of art materials while practicing the letters in their names. Our Kindergarten artists have been experimenting with shapes and lines and discovering how they can use these elements to create their own artwork.
In Physical Education, students are learning how to move their bodies safely while developing fundamental movement skills. They are practicing running, jumping, hopping, sliding, skipping, galloping, twisting, and turning. Students are also building their skills in kicking, throwing, and catching while improving their coordination, agility, and sportsmanship.
We love seeing our students explore new skills, express their creativity, and grow in confidence as they learn!
Please remember picture retake day for West is Wed. Oct. 28.
Detail will be coming soon.
Every student should have an extra set of clothes (pants, shirt, underwear and socks) to leave at school. Some students may need multiple sets of clothes each day. If you have not already sent these, please do so right away. Always mark all clothing with student's name on the label.
The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor Visitor Management System provides a consistent way to aid in keeping away people who may present a danger to our students. Therefore, all visitors to the school must be scanned in the system to obtain a visitor badge. Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present a valid state-issued ID, which will be scanned into the system. The visitor badges must be returned to the office at the conclusion of the visit. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding and support of enhancing school safety protocols in our district. If you are interested in learning more about the Raptor Visitor Management System, please visit the Raptor Technologies website (www.raptortech.com).
Together We Can Prevent Decay!
Public Health Sauk County's Dental Crew provides free dental screenings, education, sealants, and fluoride varnish applications in select Sauk County schools through the Seal-A-Smile Program. This program is done in partnership with Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers.
The Seal-A-Smile program has 3 main goals:
1) Prevent decay before it leads to long-term health issues
2) Strengthen daily oral health habits
3) Build life-long connections between families and their dentist for routine care
If you have not filled out and returned the form, please sign up here: Sign-up your child for Seal-A-Smile today!
Questions? Call, text, or email the Sauk County Seal-A-Smile (608) 963-9251
