A Letter from the Health Office - New School Year 2025/2026

Susan Martin LPN/Health Assistant and Liz Lynch, BSN, RN, NCSN

Hello Jefferson School families! We are excited and looking forward to a great school year! If your student has a change in their health or has a healthcare need at school, please contact   Susan Martin susanm.martin@oshkosh.k12.wi.us or Liz Lynch elizabeth.lynch@oshkosh.k12.wi.us

Beginning of the Year Medication Information:

If your student will need to take medication during the school day, please have your child’s provider fill out and sign the appropriate form below. These can then be returned to the office or faxed by the provider to: 920-424-7583.

• Over the Counter Medication Form *parent signature only required*
• Prescribed Medication Form 
• Inhaler/Asthma Action Plan  
• Epipen/Allergy & Anaphylaxis Form

REMINDERS:

Directions on the medication bottle/box must match the written order on the medication request form.

• Stock Epi-pens do NOT go on field trips. 
• Please fill out an Emergency Epi-Pen/Anaphylaxis Plan even if you don’t have a personal Epi at school.
• PRN medications (Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Tums etc.) must come in a new and unopened bottle.
• Is your child up to date with their immunizations? Please contact the doctor for physicals and immunizations! All students at Jefferson are required to have their Tdap, Polio, MMR, Varicella and Hep B! Please check with your doctor to see what wellness requirements are needed for your child.

Phy-Ed Update from Mr. Schneider 

We’ve had a great start to the year in gym class! Over the next few weeks, students will begin with cooperative teamwork games to help build communication and collaboration skills. We'll then move into activities focused on passing, catching, and practicing both underhand and overhand throwing. For our K–2 students, we’ll also be introducing (or reintroducing) key locomotor movements and spatial awareness—an exciting and important step, especially for our new Kindergartners as they explore movement and space in a structured setting.

Sincerely, 

Mr. Schneider

Music Update from Ms. Noll

Welcome to Music Class with Ms. Noll! September is all about learning names and our classroom expectations! We have been doing activities such as "Jump In, Jump Out" and reading stories about being welcoming. These stories include "All Are Welcome" and "Your Name is a Song. While we learn our classroom expectations, we learn what we need to do in class to stay safe and make the best learning environment to learn music in. Stay tuned for the October newsletter with a recap of what we learned in September!

Art Update from Ms. Keefe

Welcome back artists! It was a lovely summer break and now we are back in the art room finally! In the beginning of this year we are learning old and new expectations in the art room. We are also getting back to the basics with each grade and really diving into proper care and use with each of the art mediums and materials we use each year. Before even starting a lesson we are relearning how to sit like an artist, how to hold and treat materials like an artist and most importantly how to think like an artist. Learning those basics really gives us the freedom and understanding so we can feel safe enough to get the most out of each art lesson and really broaden our creativity this year!

Media and Technology Update from Ms. Kese

We are excited to welcome students back into the library.  There are a couple of new things this year.  One, is that students in K-3 will only be coming to the library with their classes every other week.   This is due to curriculum minutes.  In order to have time for students to exchange books we will be open during Tuesday and Thursday lunch times for students to be able to return and make other book choices.  The second thing that is new is that digital citizenship lessons will  take place during the media center time this year.  Common sense media has updated their digital literacy curriculum, attached are the lessons that I will be choosing from for lessons. 

School Counselor Update

Jefferson Elementary is still interviewing for a counselor position. Check back next newsletter for updates!

Math Update from Mrs. Bauer

All K-5 classrooms have already started teaching and learning from our universal curriculum, Bridges in Mathematics Third Edition. Students are already engaging in rich math talks, using math tools, and solving problems. If you are a new or existing Bridges math family, you may notice that your child may represent math thinking with different models or pictures and you may notice that your child may share more than one strategy to solve. This is what deepens our students’ conceptual understanding of math that in later grades, deepens their understanding of how a procedure/algorithm works. Bridges allows for multiple entry points into a problem so that all students can engage in math learning and growing. Consider checking out the Math Learning Center Site where you will find grade level resources such as “Math at Home,” “Math Apps,” and other information about the Bridges curriculum. https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/curriculum/family-support

Literacy Update from Mrs. Boettcher and Mrs. Vollbrecht 

What is Amplify CKLA?

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is a language arts program for grades PreK–5 that combines a multi-sensory approach to phonics with rich texts carefully sequenced to build content knowledge—all in support of students simultaneously learning to read and reading to learn.

Every day in grades PreK–2, Amplify CKLA students complete one full lesson that builds foundational literacy skills, as well as one full lesson that builds background knowledge. In grades 3–5, students start to master the skills of reading, further opening up their worlds.

How you can support your student at home:

• Read with your student daily. Even 15 minutes of reading together each day can have a huge impact.
• Read sections of the text aloud together. If your student struggles, you might try reading the text to them with expression, then having them read it aloud back to you. For additional practice, watch the recorded Read-Alouds with your K–2 student or have your student in grades 3–5 use the Vocab App.
• Find moments to discuss what they’re reading and learning. Examples of questions you could ask: What stood out to you from what you read today? What did you learn that you didn’t know before? Were any sentences or words confusing? What do you think the writer was trying to say? Do you agree with the writer’s ideas or descriptions? What connections can you make between what you’re reading and your own life?
• Ask your student to read their written responses. You could also have them share with a friend over video chat.

Source: Amplify.com