Stoner Prairie News

Thank you for a successful 2025-26 school year. Partnering with you to make memories for scholars, families and everyone in our Stoner Prairie community has been rewarding beyond measure. It is with sincere gratitude that I lead our beloved Stoner Prairie.

Last week we welcomed the graduating class of 2026 to our school. We high-fived, cheered and clapped for our fellow wildcats. I hold true gratitude for your tireless partnership throughout this school year. We also enjoyed our final all-school assembly on Wednesday. Strut the flamingo from Forward Madison SC congratulated Hannah Cuplin on winning the design-a-flag contest. She shared her flag that flew over the Forward Madison field! We also had pies flying in faces - Pictures below. Thank you to our amazing PTO for sponsoring this fund raiser and gratitude for our educators who joined in the fun.

This summer, there will be two family newsletters shared, one in July and another in August. On August 7th, your scholar will receive a welcome letter for class placement for the coming year. School Supply Lists will be coming to our Back to School Information website by July 1st. Thank you to those families who shared information for placement. I have confirmed receipt via email. If you shared information but did not hear from me earlier today, please reach out. Your voice matters!

Lastly, I wanted to share that there will be a a few staffing shifts based on our enrollment. The following is our current roster:

K - 4 classrooms (Gerlach, Holland, Reed, Roetker)

1st - 3 classrooms (Fahl, Funke, Schulz)

2nd - 3 classrooms (Baumann, Durnen, Klingbeil)

3rd - 4 classrooms (Jenkins, Minter, Moll, Sweet )

4th - 3 classrooms (Davidson, Nesheim, Skibba)

5th - 4 classrooms (Caithamer, Gratz, Knoll, Peterson)

The above reflects the following shifts: Ms. Link who currently teaches second grade, has accepted a position at Glacier Edge teaching kindergarten (a grade level that she has a passion for teaching), Ms. Jenkins was hired as a third grade teacher (she was a long-term substitute for Ms. Gratz earlier this year and was also our substitute for special education this year), and Ms. Gratz has agreed to move from fourth grade to fifth grade based on our enrollment (thank you!). Families are still accepting open enrollment seats through July 1st, so please know that as we monitor our enrollment, there may be shifts. I will share more in summer newsletters. It is going to be a great 2026-27!

In this edition of Family News:

Assembly Photos, Donations needed

Classroom newsletters: Click on your scholar's teacher link for specific information

Upcoming School Events: Last day dismissal at 11:30, 5th Grade Send-off

PTO: Updates

Community Events: Library Reading Programs, Futura Spanish Sign up for 2026-27, Popsicles in the Park

Weekly Reminders: Attendance, The Scoop, and more

Please find your teacher’s photo for their weekly classroom update. As always, reach out if you have any questions!

Ms. Wilfer is seeking the following donations - please keep an eye open and donate this week or when we return:

• youth size 6 sweatpants: with stretchy waist and these solid colors (black, grey, navy blue)
• youth size 8 sweatpants: with stretchy waist and these solid colors (black, grey, navy blue)
• boys underwear brief-style size 6, 7 and 8

Each year our 5th graders make their last loop through the Stoner Prairie hallways and we send them off to middle school with lots of energy! If you are picking your student up on the last day, feel free to greet our 5th graders on their way out of the front doors for the last time. We expect them to come out of the front doors at 11:25am after they parade down the hallway.

Thanks for a great year!
Thank you to everyone who supported the PTO this year. Through volunteering, fundraising, attending events, and serving on committees, our PTO community helped make this a fantastic year for students, staff, and families.

This year we started with hosting Kindergarten playdates, sold t-shirts at back-to-school night, catered a buffet breakfast for all staff as they prepared for school to start, gave t-shirts to all Stoner Prairie Staff, supplied a remodel of the staff lounge, and chalked messages of support…all before school even started.

In the fall we held our largest fundraiser, the Fun Run, provided free t-shirts for the entire school, organized the Scholastic Book Fair, catered meals for teachers at parent-teacher conferences, harvested the garden, purchased tone chimes for music classes, replaced the gym microphone, celebrated what we’re grateful for at our glow night party, fundraised via the Rusty Dog coffee/tea sale and served a holiday luncheon for staff.

We hosted dine-out fundraisers at Chocolate Shoppe, Hop Haus, Tapatios, Noodles, and Panera as well as a soccer fundraiser with Forward Madison. it was great to see so many of you at these fundraisers!

In the spring, we had five days of fun meals, snacks, and prizes for Teacher Appreciation Week, raised money through our spring auction which included gift cards, “pie a teacher” experiences, and more, hosted a coffee truck serving staff, stocked the staff lounge twice with tons of snacks, planted the garden with help from all Stoner Prairie classes, contributed to bus costs for field trips, sponsored the giant inflatables for Field Day, and served 60+ pizzas and 600+ popsicles at our Party on the Playground.

We reimbursed $100 in teacher-purchased supplies for each classroom. We also funded two small playground additions for students to enjoy at recess which should be installed this summer, amended and re-certified our PTO bylaws, and voted in our board for next year.

We accomplished all of this (and probably a few more things I missed) with about $16,000 revenue and countless volunteer hours. We're proud of how efficiently we were able to stretch those resources to support our students, staff, and school community. Thank you all so much for your involvement!

Stoner Prairie Garden Committee Update
We are looking for families who can help us adopt the garden for a week throughout the summer into early fall. Tasks including watering, weeding, and harvesting, all done at the guidance of the garden committee. No experience required!

Learn more and sign up here to adopt the garden for a week.

Forward Madison
SP PTO is again partnering with Forward Madison for a fundraiser night this season! Join us on Saturday, September 12th at 5pm for a game vs the Sarasota Paradise. $5 per ticket goes to support the PTO. Get your tickets here!

Fun Run Business Sponsors

It’s time to start thinking about next year’s Fun Run! Do you own a business or have a close connection to a business that would like to sponsor the Fun Run in exchange for advertising on t-shirts? Sponsor levels are available for $700, $500, $300, and $100. Reach out to stonerprariepto@gmail.com with questions or to commit to being a sponsor.

Save the Date:

7/7 – Summer PTO meeting (6:30pm, Hop Haus - Fitchburg)

8/7 (10-11am), 8/9 (1-2pm) – Kindergarten Playdates

9/29 – Fun Run 2026

Visit our website at www.stonerprairiepto.com to learn more about the PTO. Join our e-mail list and Facebook page to get the latest updates. Reach out to stonerprairiepto@gmail.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Last week Librarians from the Fitchburg Public Library came to visit our students and talk about their summer reading program. You can pick up a form at the library to earn prizes (no sign-up needed). This is a great way to keep your child reading over the summer!

Fitchburg Library Summer Reading Program

Verona Summer Reading Program

(note: There is no supervision prior to 7:15 or after 2:35 )

Please, for your safety and the safety of everyone, do not get out of your vehicle before or after school in our parking lot.

To report an absence, you may:

- Call 608-845-4203 (English attendance line) or

608-845-4200 (main line with Spanish option)

- Email sp-attendance@verona.k12.wi.us (English and Spanish) with all attendance changes

- Text (608) 371-9399

Please contact the attendance office directly NOT your classroom teacher. Notes on see saw, email, or via backpack may not be read in a timely manner.

Our school office may not be staffed and we are unable to address your immediate concerns. Thank you.