Sandhill E-News
Week of 2/3/2025
A Message From Mr. Johnson:
Hello Sandhill Families,
What a difference a week makes! We wrapped up this week with warm weather, a stark contrast to last week's bitter cold.
This week, we also held another Golden Stella Assembly to celebrate all the positive behavior in our school. Attached is one full group photo, and we’ll be sharing more photos next week!
Looking ahead, Sandhill will be hosting SASD’s Legislative Day on Monday February 3rd, 2025. This year, we will welcome more than 24 city, state, and federal representatives to visit our school as part of this annual event. Led by building principals and District Administrator Dr. Dan Keyser, Legislative Day is an opportunity for local government officials to observe our schools in action and engage in discussions about the strengths and challenges facing education. Your children may mention seeing some special visitors in the building that day!
Thank you for your continued support, and have a great week ahead!
Bob / Mr. Johnson
Child Protection Unit
Dear Families,
As you know, we are using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom. The Second Step program teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe and supportive place where everyone can learn.
To help make our school even more safe and supportive, we are also going to use the Second Step Child Protection Unit. In these lessons, students will learn three types of skills:
- Personal Safety. Students will learn important safety rules, such as safety with guns, sharp tools, and fire, and when riding on wheels or in cars. They will also learn ways to help them decide if something is safe or not.
- Touching Safety. Students will learn about safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches, and rules about touching private body parts. They’ll also learn to say no to unsafe or unwanted touches, and to tell an adult if someone breaks rules about touching private body parts.
- Assertiveness. These lessons will also give students a chance to practice asking an adult for help, telling an adult about an unsafe situation, and being assertive to get out of unsafe situations.
Your child will bring home Home Links to help you understand what he or she is learning about safety at school and to give your child another chance to practice safety skills.
To keep your child safe and protected, everyone at school needs to be involved. So all our staff will get special training in how to:
- Recognize and report suspected child sexual abuse
- Respond to and support children who have been abused or who are facing other challenges
- Use strategies that promote a safe and supportive school climate
If you have any questions about the Child Protection Unit or the Second Step program, please contact me. If you do not want your child to participate in these lessons, please complete, sign, and return the bottom portion of this letter. For more information on our school’s child-protection policies and procedures, check our school website or contact the school office.
Go online to SecondStep.org and log in with the activation key CPUK FAMI LYGK to get more information about what your child is learning in the Second Step program. Thank you for helping us to make our school a safe and supportive place where everyone can learn.
Sincerely,
Bob Johnson
Principal
BOUNCE BACK FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS
Bounce Back is a school-based group intervention for elementary students who have been exposed to stressful events. With 20-50% of American children experiencing stress within their families, at their schools, and in their communities, it is essential to support children in their resilience. This group teaches students ways to cope and bounce back from stressful experiences.
Each elementary school in Stoughton will implement this 10 week program with select students in the 4th grade. Every 4th grade student will complete the screening process next week unless parents/guardians choose to opt them out. From there, select individuals will complete an additional interview process with the student services team to determine if they are a good fit for the group. The Bounce Back group will begin in February, meeting once a week at school. Please respond to this newsletter or reach out to one of our team members to opt out of this screener.
Battle of the Books
Calling all 4th and 5th Graders! We will be taking part in the Statewide Battle of the Books this year! Battle of the Books is designed to promote a love of reading among our students. It encourages students (groups of 3-4) to read a variety of books and remember information about the plots, characters, and settings of the books. Every question asked in a battle is answered by the title and author of the book. It is a fun, academic-based online reading competition that has been very successful in school districts throughout the state in encouraging students to read!
2025 Pops Concert
Get ready for a night of amazing music!🎶The 2025 SHS Pops Concert is happening Monday, February 10th at 7 pm in the SHS PAC!
🎼This showcase features the combined choirs and 21 solo acts accompanied by a professional house band.
🎟️Get your tickets now: https://cur8.com/23157/project/129119
24-25 Sandhill Yearbooks on Sale
You can order a 24-25 Sandhill Yearbook from Lifetouch now until April 6th. Here is the link.
https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob
Our Yearbook code is 13445125. They are $12 each.
Antiracism Project: Educating for Equity, January Resources
WFK Updates
Paint Night - Tuesday, 2/4
Mark your calendars and join us on Tuesday, 2/4 for a Paint Night! There are 28 spots available, and the cost is $30/pair. Creative Canvases with Sara provides the supplies and helps students create a fun piece of art. Each child must be accompanied by an adult. Please see the sign up for more information. Sign up for Paint Night
Volunteer for Staff Snacks - Friday, 2/7
We REALLY appreciate all our amazing staff! They show up every day for our kids and go above and beyond for them. As a token of our appreciation, we provide yummy snacks in the TEAM Room on the first Friday of every month. Please take a look at the sign up if you would like to help out with Staff Snacks! Our next Staff Snacks is Friday, February 7!
Sign Up for Staff Snacks - February/March
Sign Up for Staff Snacks - April/May
- If you are interested in helping, but would rather not bring in items, please consider donating through our PayPal account and use an emoji or leave a comment to indicate your donation is to be used for Staff Appreciation. Donate to Sandhill Elementary Working For Kids
February WFK Meeting - Monday, 2/10
Please consider joining us Monday, February 10 for our monthly WFK meeting. We will be meeting in the school library at 6:30pm, and free childcare is provided. Agenda items include our upcoming events and fundraisers. Throughout the school year, we are super busy supporting our students and staff and planning events, and it takes a lot of volunteer time to make it all happen. If you are interested in helping out in any way, please let us know!
*We will also have board positions opening up at the end of the school year, so please reach out if you have any questions or would like more information on how you can get involved!*
3rd Annual Sock Hop - Friday, 2/21 - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Mark your calendars and plan on joining us on Friday, February 21st at 5:30 pm for our second annual Sock Hop! There will be a DJ, so wear your crazy socks and be ready to break out the dance moves! Pizza, bottled water, and cupcakes will be available for purchase.
To help make this event happen, we need volunteers! Please check out the sign up genius if you are interested in helping with set up, by handing out pizza and cupcakes, or clean up. Sign up to volunteer with the Sock Hop!
Staff Dinner during PT Conferences - Wednesday, 2/26 - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Our fabulous Sandhill staff always work hard for our students and their families. But, during conferences, they really go the extra mile and don't have much time to refuel. That's where WFK comes in! It is our tradition to provide dinner for the entire staff to enjoy on the first day of conferences.
Please consider signing up to donate a food item, help set up, or help clean up as a way of showing our Sandhill staff how much we appreciate them!
Winter Conference Dinner Sign Up!
If you would like to help support our awesome teachers and staff but prefer not to have to worry about ordering food, preparing food, or delivering items to school, feel free to donate directly to WFK through our PayPal account. Please use an apple emoji or clearly specify that your donation is intended for teacher and staff support!
Here is the link for persons interested in donating with ease! :)
Donate to Sandhill Elementary Working For Kids
ON-GOING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteer for Staff Snacks!
We REALLY appreciate all our amazing staff! They show up every day for our kids and go above and beyond for them. As a token of our appreciation, we provide yummy snacks in the TEAM Room on the first Friday of every month. Please take a look at the sign up if you would like to help out with Staff Snacks! Our next Staff Snacks is Friday, February 7!
Sign Up for Staff Snacks - February/March
Sign Up for Staff Snacks - April/May
- If you are interested in helping, but would rather not bring in items, please consider donating through our PayPal account and use an emoji or leave a comment to indicate your donation is to be used for Staff Appreciation. Donate to Sandhill Elementary Working For Kids
Volunteer for Lunch & Recess!
If you are looking for an easy way to help out at school and spend some time with our students, consider volunteering during lunch and/or recess duty!
Sign up for January Lunch/Recess Duty
Sign up for February Lunch/Recess Duty
Sign up for March Lunch/Recess Duty
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
Did you know we're on Facebook? We post information about upcoming events and other information about what's going on at Sandhill. You can find us @sandhillwfk. Tell your friends and family too!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
January 24 / Early Release @ 11am
February 3 / ButterBraid Fundraiser Kicks Off!
February 7 / Staff Snacks
February 10 / Monthly Meeting
February 21 / Sock Hop!
February 27 / Early Release @ 11am
February 28 / No School!
If you know of any families new to our school, we would appreciate it if you would forward them this email or let us know so we can add them to our list.
Thank you!
-Your Sandhill WFK Board
- Kelsey Gleason, Chair
- Maria Wopat, Secretary
- Maggy Adams, Treasurer
- Wesley Thompson, Event Coordinator
- Ali Zietsma, Staff Liaison
- Bob Johnson, Principal
Past Newsletters
September 9, 2024 September 16, 2024
September 23, 2024 September 30, 2024
October 7, 2024 October 14, 2024
October 21, 2024 October 28, 2024
November 4, 2024 November 11, 2024
November 18, 2024 November 25, 2024 December 2, 2024 December 9, 2024
December 16, 2024 January 6, 2025 January 13, 2025 January 20, 2025
Contact Information
Mr. Eilbes - Dean of Students - 877-5422
Ms. Plank - Administrative Assistant - 877-5402
Mrs. Holverson - Health Assistant - 877-5404
Mrs. Dybevik - School Psychologist - 877-5410
Ms. Lawrence - School Counselor - 877-5406
Ms. McDermot - School Social Worker - 877-5423
Email: Bob.Johnson@stoughton.k12.wi.us
Website: https://www.stoughton.k12.wi.us/sandhill-elementary-school
Location: 1920 Lincoln Avenue, Stoughton, WI, USA
Phone: (608) 877-5400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonschools/
Twitter: @WeAreStoughton