Cushing Elementary
December
Sat, 2 - Breakfast with Santa & Craft Fair @ KMHS
Wed, 6 - 1st & 2nd Grade Concert, 6:00
Wed, 13 - FIELD TRIP: 1st & 2nd Grades - First Stage
Tues, 19 - FIELD TRIP: 1st Grade - Milwaukee Zoo
Fri, 22 - WINTER BREAK BEGINS
January
Tues, 2 Classes Resume
Mon, 15 NO SCHOOL
Wed, 17 KM4K Info Fair. Details to come.
Mon, 22 NO SCHOOL
Thurs, 25 FIELD TRIP: 2nd Grade - The Domes
Hi families, I hope you all had a wonderful, long holiday weekend.
As we begin the second quarter of our school year, I wanted to share the importance of encouraging your child(ren) to read at home. Whether reading independently, with a grown-up, or with a sibling, regular reading has been shown to enhance language, vocabulary, and comprehension skills in children; we work on these same skills here at Cushing!
Check out THIS VIDEO with some of our very own Cushing Stars for a few ways you might integrate reading into family time at home.
Star Slip Winners!
Winter Gear Rules
All Grades: Please make sure all outdoor clothing is labeled with your child(ren)'s name. Lots of students have black snow pants. :) Bringing hats, mittens, and gloves every day is a good idea, too.
Snow Gear MUST go home every day. We need to keep the hallways clear for our evening cleaning crew. Plus, wet snow gear doesn’t dry well at Cushing (it can get smelly, too).
5K-3rd Grade: Snow Pants AND boots must be worn to play in the snow. If a student forgets their snow gear, they will stay on the blacktop for recess. This can cause lots of tears, so please remind your student to bring their snow gear to school every day once the snow starts falling.
4th & 5th Grade: Boots are required, Snow Pants are optional for recess.
Lost & Found
We have a lot of Lost items waiting to be Found. If your student is missing something, there’s a real good chance it’s our Lost & Found. The next time you’re at Cushing, swing by to see if anything belongs to your family. Parents seem to have the magic touch with finding lost items.
**Anything left by the time we head out for Winter Break will be donated.
Laser Locker
Friday, December 1: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Saturday, December 2: 8:00am – 2:00pm (Craft Fair/Breakfast with Santa)
Tuesday, December 5: 3:00pm – 7:00pm
Wednesday, December 6: 3:00pm – 7:00pm
Thursday, December 7: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Friday, December 8: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Tuesday, December 12: 9:00am – 6:00pm (ALL DAY shopping)
Wednesday, December 13: 9:00am – 4:00pm (ALL DAY shopping)
Thursday, December 14: 9:00am – 4:00pm (ALL DAY shopping)
Friday, December 15: 9:00am – 4:00pm (ALL DAY shopping)
Wednesday, December 20: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Thursday, December 21: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
**The LASER LOCKER will be closed from December 22 – January 2.
School Report Cards Released
We have had a great start to the 2023-24 school year, and we look forward to the many opportunities for your student(s) to learn and grow here at Cushing. Our school report card has recently been released from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and we feel that sharing this information helps parents, educators, and the public hold schools accountable for successfully educating and preparing all students.
The overall goal of Wisconsin’s accountability system is to help identify areas of strength to build upon, as well as areas needing improvement so that all students graduate from high school ready for their next steps.
At the foundation of the report cards, there are four priority areas. Schools and districts receive a score for each priority area:
Achievement - proficiency in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the annual state assessments
Growth - year-to-year progress in ELA and math achievement
Target Group Outcomes - outcomes for students with the lowest test scores: the Target Group.
On-Track to Graduation - reliable predictors of how successfully students progress toward completing their K-12 education.
The current school report card is based on last year’s performance during the 2022-23 school year.
Here’s some information we’d like to share from Cushing’s school report card priority areas:
Achievement: 81.9
Growth: 65.1
Target Group Outcomes: 71.6
On Track to Graduation: 91.2
We are pleased to share that Cushing Exceeds Expectations with an overall score of 79.8. It is essential to note that the 0 to 100 accountability score is not a “percent correct” measurement. Based on its score, a school or district receives one of five rating categories, from Fails to Meet Expectations to Significantly Exceeds Expectations, as well as corresponding one to five stars.
I want to share these results with you because they help illuminate some of our successes and help pinpoint areas of focus in our school. But as DPI stresses, these report cards are just one source of information about our school. The report cards don't capture how happy the students and staff are, how much support is given to students and staff, or the strides any particular student has made; we are proud of all of our successes and are happy to share them with you throughout the year.
School and district report cards can be accessed online at http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards, along with resources that explain the report cards.
Please let me know your thoughts and questions as they arise. I look forward to working with you in partnership to make 2023-24 a successful school year for your student(s)!
-Mrs. Rach
Deadline Approaching! We're here to help simplify the holiday season of giving for you. We have an easy and efficient way to help solve your "What should I get for my favorite teacher or staff at Cushing" question.
Program runs until Thursday, December 7th.
All information can be found by clicking the link below.
Did you know the Cushing PTO has a website? It’s a one-stop shop to find out about everything PTO-related - movie nights, winter event, Dine for Cushing, our celebrations that bookend the school year, Decathlon, PTO meetings, books fairs and more! It’s a great resource.
Visit us at https://sites.google.com/a/kmsd.edu/cushingpto/
The pancake breakfast will be held in the cafeteria from 8:30-11:30am. Tickets can be purchased with the QR code (found in the below graphic). Tickets are $7 for kids under 10 and $12 for adults.
The craft fair is FREE and runs from 8:30am-1pm. There are about 50 crafters participating. KMSD music groups will play holiday music throughout the morning. The KMHS band will have activities for kids. Santa and his elves will also be there for photos!
We also rent space and are happy to facilitate your events, courses, or activities.
Softball Camps Offered in December
A wide variety of softball camps are being offered by the high school coaching staff. Areas of focus include hitting, pitching, fielding and more. Open to U8-U16 Players. Visit https://kmsd.revtrak.net/rwcommunityeducation/ for more information and to register.