December
Sat, 6 - Breakfast with Santa & Craft Fair @ KMHS, 8:30-1:00
Mon, 15 - Holiday Spirit Day: 100% That Grinch
Tues, 16 - Holiday Spirit Day: Festive Socks
Wed, 17 - Holiday Spirit Day: Holiday Hair
Wed, 17 - Winter Concert: 1st & 2nd Grades, 5:00
Thurs, 18 - Holiday Spirit Day: Wear Velvet, Plaid or Flannel
Fri, 19 - Holiday Spirit Day: Candy Cane Lane
Mon, 22 - Holiday Spirit Day: Winter PJs
Tues, 23 - Holiday Spirit Day: Holiday Sweater
Tues, 23 - FIELD TRIP: 1st Grade - Milwaukee Zoo
Wed, 24 - Winter Break Begins

January
Mon, 5 - Classes Resume
Fri, 16 - Family Movie Night
Mon, 19 - NO SCHOOL

Hi Cushing Families,

I hope you’re staying warm during these chilly days! This week’s Cushing Connection includes updates on our ongoing work with Life Skills and our School Culture Goals, highlights from the KMMS band performance, and a celebration of our Star Council’s success with the Santa in a Shoebox drive. You’ll also find important upcoming dates both in this video update and in the section below.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend; go Stars!

Mrs. Rach

Star Slip Winners!

Holiday Spirit Days!

Monday, December 15 - 100% THAT Grinch
Wear as much green as you can and rock the Grinch look

Tuesday, December 16 - Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
Wear your festive socks

Wednesday, December 17 - Holiday Hair, Don’t Care
Antlers, Santa Hats, Elf ears…

Thursday, December 18 - Smooth as Velvet, Mad About Plaid
Wear your winter velvet, favorite plaid, or flannel

Friday, December 19 - Candy Cane Lane
Wear red & white

Monday, December 22 - Long Winter Naps
Wear your holiday PJs

Tuesday, December 23 - Sweater Weather
Wear your craziest holiday sweater/shirt

Cold Weather & Recess
If you’re wondering if you should still send snow gear to school during COLD weather...The quick answer to that is YES.  Here are the reasons:

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. 

Bike Rack
There have been a few bikes hanging out at the bike rack since the beginning of the school year.  If any belong to your family, you might need to bring a shovel when you take them home.

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 in 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 on Winter Break will be donated.

Magee Bucks Day - January 23
All KM Elementary students & families are invited to join in the fun for the Magee Bucks game on January 23.  The first 80 to purchase tickets from THIS LINK will be able to participate in a post-game free throw experience.

We have started our Bullying Prevention unit for all students in grades 5K through 5th grade in Student Services! During this unit, students will learn to recognize bullying, report to a trusted adult, refuse to participate, and use their bystander power to be upstanders. Being an upstander means speaking up when someone is being mistreated, inviting a child who was treated unfairly to join a game or sit with them at lunch, or helping by telling a trusted adult.

Check out your child’s grade level Home Link to learn more and continue the conversation at home! Home Links: K5  1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th

Students will participate in a special Bullying Prevention Assembly, where they will watch a play performed by KM High School students and sing an anti-bullying song they will learn in music class. 

To reinforce this learning at home, all families are asked to review and sign an Anti-Bullying Pledge with their child, which will be printed and sent home for every student. Together, we can keep Cushing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive school where every child feels respected, valued, and supported.

If you’d like to connect about your child or learn more about our school counseling supports, please reach out to Ms. Walker at  walkerd@kmsd.edu.

**DEADLINE EXTENDED! Staff Giving Runs Through Saturday, December 6**

The PTO coordinates an optional Holiday Gift Card Program to say "Thank You & Happy Holidays" to all of our Cushing teachers, staff and bus drivers. The program is meant to help simplify your gift giving should you choose to participate. This is not a fundraiser.

Here’s how the program works:

You make a monetary contribution to the teacher/staff members and bus driver of your choice. Your child’s gift is then combined with all other contributions for that particular staff member and the staff member will be presented with one BIG gift card to the stores of their choosing. The gift cards will be presented in a Thank You card that contains the names (NOT the amounts!) of all the families who contributed to the gift.

THIS IS A 2 STEP PROCESS - THIS AMOUNT SHOULD MATCH WHAT YOU ENTERED ON THE GOOGLE FORM!

STEP 1:  Fill the Google Doc Staff Giving Form 2025 and  please make sure to complete your child/children's first and last name (EXAMPLE: JANE SMITH) then select the teachers you'd like to give to and list the dollar amount (MUST be WHOLE dollar increments - no change please, $1, $3, $5, $10, $20, etc.).

Then total up your order.

STEP 2: Copy this GIVE BUTTER LINK (https://givebutter.com/CushingHoliday2025 ) to pay your total. Click "Donate" and select/enter the amount that matches your google form. These orders will be compiled, and gift cards will be distributed to each individual.

Any amount is appreciated!

*EXTENDED DEADLINE: Program runs through Saturday, December 6th*

If you have any questions, please email elizabethschoene@gmail.com or borrus45@gmail.com

Tuesday, December 16 - Thursday, December 18 during lunch/recess!

We are hosting our second annual Season’s Greetings Workshop! Let’s spread some Cushing Stars holiday cheer!

We will be converting the Design Lab into a festive Season’s Greetings Workshop. During lunch recess, students will have the opportunity to make handmade greeting cards for our community and their loved ones.

We’d love your help in creating some holiday magic! We’re collecting craft supplies to bring our workshop to life! If you’re able to donate, we’d really appreciate items like cardstock, envelopes, stickers, ribbon and washi tape. Bonus if they’re winter or holiday-themed! Here’s a wish list with some craft supply ideas.

Donations can come to school with your child any time during the week of the workshop. Every little bit helps. Thank you so much!

We are also looking for some helpers during the workshop. If you can lend a hand (or just cheer on the kids), here is the SignUpGenius link. We’d love to have you as a helper elf!

Questions? Please feel free to email leticia.daley@gmail.com. 

If you are shopping at Sentry Delafield this holiday season, please save your receipts and drop them in the drawer at the school entrance. Cushing earns 1% of all receipts turned in within 6 months of purchase.  

Shopping at Walmart instead? Download the Box Tops for Education App and connect it with your Walmart account to help us earn additional support for Cushing. 

All meeting dates are now available on the Cushing school calendar and can be synced to your phone. Meetings take place in the Cushing Activity Center

Meeting summary and minutes can be found HERE

OR visit us at http://kmsd.edu/cushingpto for more information 

December 6  |  8:30am-1:00pm  |  KMHS
The pancake breakfast will be held in the cafeteria of Kettle Moraine High School from 8:30-11:30am. The craft fair is free and runs until 1pm. KMSD music groups will play holiday music throughout the morning. Santa and his elves will also be there for photos! The district will also host a FREE t-shirt decorating station in the cafeteria.

Click HERE to get your breakfast tickets now. 

Friday, Dec. 5  |  Noon – 6:00pm (LASER LOCKER LATE DAY SHOPPING!)

Saturday, Dec. 6  |  8:00am – 1:00pm (BREAKFAST WITH SANTA & CRAFT FAIR!)

***CLOSED WEEK OF DECEMBER 8th - 12th***

Tuesday, Dec. 16  |  Noon – 4:00pm

Wednesday, Dec. 17  |  10:00am – 2:00pm (LASER LOCKER EARLY HOURS!)

Thursday, Dec. 18  |  2:00pm – 4:00pm (LASER LOCKER SANTA SAVINGS!)

Friday, Dec. 19  |  Noon – 4:00pm

Tuesday, Dec. 23  |  Noon – 3:00pm

Please be sure to visit the website often for updates and new programs. For program information and registration forms, visit www.kmsd.edu/communityed.

We also rent space and are happy to facilitate your events, courses, or activities.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE!

Weight Training Grades 5-8
Weight training for grades 5-8 will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays at the high school weight room with high school coaching staff members.  The session will run 12/2-3/6 on school days from 4-5pm  Join us when you can!  Sign up today at https://kmsd.revtrak.net/rwcommunityeducation/

KM Lacrosse Registration 
Spring is around the corner; let's get ready early.  Lacrosse is open to both girls and boys, youth and HS students. The season runs from March 10 through May 30, 2026. Youth players will practice twice a week and games on selected weekends.

Register now and catch the early bird discount, if you register before 12/31/25.

Events/opportunities listed on our Community Flyers page are not endorsed by the Kettle Moraine School District. They have been approved for electronic sharing. Visit https://www.kmsd.edu/page/km-community  to see the full list of current flyers.