5k seminars are sew cool - Pewaukee School District

FOCUS AND INSPIRATION Spring is a time for plans and projects

WELCOMING NEW PRINCIPALS PHS and ACMS will have new leaders this July

5K SEMINARS ARE SEW COOL Students are self-selecting seminar topics like sewing

OPENING THE DOOR TO EACH CHILD’S FUTURE

FOCUS & INSPIRATION

SUPERINTENDENT

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.” - Leo Tolstoy I think I share the disposition of many of you when I say I am happy to see the calendar change over from winter to spring. This time of year can be exciting and in my experience, there is often a welcome sense of renewed energy and purpose that comes following spring break. The combination of increased sunshine, greener landscapes, more time outdoors, and the final steps toward the culmination of another year of learning for our students provide focus and inspiration. This is also a time when we get closer to wrapping up work with annual goals for improvement and engage in planning to ensure we are prepared for the next school year. I would like to speak to some of the things we are doing to ensure a strong finish, as well as the future success of our students.

FACILITY MASTER PLANNING Thank you to all members of our community who took the time to participate in our focus groups and/or community facility planning survey. Over the course of this past year, we held listening sessions with staff from all of our schools and four focus group meetings with members of our community in an effort to engage as many community members as possible in conversations on the future needs of our school campus. We are pleased that nearly 1,200 members of our community completed the facilities survey providing outstanding feedback to the Board of Education. These results will be shared with the community in the next few weeks. The board and administration will consider all of the feedback in determining the next steps for district facilities.

SCHOOL SAFETY Unfortunately, it has been a troublesome year in regards to safety threats to schools across the United States. These events have enhanced the focus on the complex issues of safety and security in our society. In the Pewaukee School District, it is our highest priority to do all we can, in partnership with law enforcement and emergency services, to provide the safest environment we possibly can for our students, staff, parents, and campus visitors. This includes an ongoing and systematic effort to evaluate and improve all aspects of safety including efforts to address the social and emotional health of students, working to ensure the physical security of our campus, providing training to staff and students so we are prepared for emergency situations, and improving communication and collaboration with law enforcement. This past year, we have trained 100 percent of our staff on a more progressive, decision-based response to any active threat through our adoption of the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) model and we will provide developmentally appropriate student training later this spring. In addition, we recently completed a comprehensive analysis of the security needs of our campus and created a prioritized list of improvements to be implemented in the coming months. Again, this will be an ongoing effort as we work systematically to make our campus as safe and secure as it can be.

LEADERSHIP CHANGES

Brian Sniff

Jeanne Witthun

Anthony Pizzo

Dacia Hopkins

Ron Frea

We have been fortunate as a district to have enjoyed great stability in positions of leadership, which have helped the district maintain improvement efforts. We are now at a time of transition with some key leaders retiring or moving on to new roles. We feel very fortunate to be a district of strong interest for high-quality candidates and are pleased with the hiring of Mr. Brian Sniff as our new PHS principal and with the promotion of Mr. Anthony Pizzo as the new ACMS principal. As I write, we have also narrowed a competitive field of applicants down to two finalists to become the new activities and athletics director for the district. I am also pleased to report we have nearly 100 applicants for the associate principal position at Asa Clark. Although we will miss the leadership of the outstanding individuals who are moving on from these key positions, I am excited by the talent we have been able to recruit to fill these roles. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate board members Ron Frea, Jeanne Witthun and Dacia Hopkins on their re-elections this month. The leadership and stability of our Board of Education has also been a great asset to the progress we have experienced in our district.

STRATEGIC PLANNING The district has been engaged in our annual strategic planning efforts with students, staff, and community members over the past six weeks to support our ability to set short and long-term improvement goals. This has included more than 50 participants representing community members, parents, students, and staff at our evening sessions March 21 and April 12. When we consider our 4K students will graduate in the year 2031, it is vital to plan for the future needs of our graduates as we strive to prepare them to be productive citizens. The multiple perspectives represented at these planning sessions help us do this work more effectively.

WATCH VIDEO

We look forward to a great finish to the school year over these next few months as we also look ahead to the longer-term needs of

our school district. As we consider both the short and long-term, we feel confident we will be sending off the Class of 2018 well-prepared for their future lives and are optimistic we can set a course that will meet the needs of future graduates.

Dr. Mike Cady | Superintendent of Schools

growing better together STUDENTS CREATING MOSAIC WITH HELP OF KIWANIS GRANT This year, the art club received a $500 grant from Kiwanis Club of Pewaukee to create a mosaic for the front office. The mosaic, made of purchased glass tiles as well as student-made ceramic tiles, features a flowery scene with the words “Growing Better Together” on the bottom. On their first night of art club, students spent time designing the mosaic. Art teachers Julie Purney and Katie Kostopoulos looked through their designs and pulled ideas to create a cohesive piece with ideas of growing, animals, plants and flowers in many designs, along with designs highlighting the PLE community. The teachers decided combining many student images would be the best way to go. “The two of us drew out the final design on a large piece of brown paper, then I painted in the different sections to create a finalized design,” said Kostopoulos. “At the second meeting, the students began to create the ceramic tiles.” Students took slabs of clay that had been rolled flat, smoothed them out and used cookie cutters and clay knives to cut small pieces. Students then glazed the tiles using a variety of colors and assembled the mosaics by laying out clay and glass pieces to create a unified motif. After they were arranged, students glued them down and added grout around the pieces. The third grade art club students began the mosaic and the second grade art club students will finish it. “As we told the Kiwanis Club of Pewaukee, we are so excited this project is impacting so many students,” said Kostopoulos. “It truly is collaborative and a work of community art.”

5k students use seminars to answer life’s wonders The ability to question life’s wonders is surpassed in importance only by our continual zest to not only find the answers, but to do it as a community so we learn and grow together. How do I make ice cream? How are puppies cared for? How do I sew? The want of asking leads to the euphoria of exploration and discovery. Kindergarten students at Pewaukee Lake Elementary are discovering the answers to any question they can dream up via unique seminars as part of their Writers’ Workshop blocks. The ideas begin with “I wonder wall” questions they post on sticky notes. Teachers follow their lead, choosing new topics every three weeks, allowing students to attend two or three of their top choices.

in their natural habitats SECOND GRADERS WORK HARD TO TURN ROOMS INTO NATURAL HABITAT LEARNING CENTERS Pewaukee Lake Elementary second grade students recently worked on a project-based learning unit about habitats with each room turned into a different habitat - pole to pole, wetlands to deserts and everything under the sea. The students presented their habitats to room-touring first graders, then parents made an after-school visit and our school was packed with learning for all ages!

FAMILY NIGHT

PEWAUKEE LAKE RECEIVES $500 KIWANIS GRANT FOR SUMMER SCHOOL BACKPACKS! Pewaukee Lake Elementary received a $500 mini-grant from the Kiwanis Club of Pewaukee to assist with summer school backpacks. “The Kiwanis members appreciate the initiative to get books in students’ hands over the summer,” said Associate Principal John Vitale, who accepted the check on PLE’s behalf. “We are very grateful for their continued support of our schools.”

WORLD LANGUAGE APR 26 | 6-7 PM AND CULTURE PLEASE JOIN US

“Seminars are one of the most popular times of our school day - the children cheer and clap with enthusiasm when it’s time to pick a new area of study!” said 5K teacher Katie Rumohr. “The students self-select topics of interest and we use the first part of the time to educate and demonstrate how to research further, then encourage questioning. The demonstrations are often hands-on and we have found experiments are very popular seminar selections.” A recent seminar found students in the outdoor learning center making and eating home-made ice cream while others were sewing, learning about dogs (with a furry visitor!) and creating a tornado in a two-liter bottle. The seminars are a great tool to help teach, create excitement about writing and blend it with personalized learning. “One of the greatest assets to this time was incorporating additional staff from our school district,” said Rumohr. “We have our technology coach teaching the students how to code on a computer and our literacy coach teaching the kids how to make books. Our associate principal did a seminar on football and our librarian has taught a seminar weekly and used the time to introduce the children to different parts of our school library. We have built a sense of community and the students have built important relationships with adults outside of our classroom.” The best part about 5K seminars is the wonders will never cease.

COLOR RUNS

LESS iS M RE COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING REDUCES HORIZON CAFETERIA’S LANDFILL WASTE BY 70 PERCENT HORIZON STUDENTS AND STAFF BEGAN COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING AND ARE CONTRIBUTING 70 PERCENT LESS WASTE INTO OUR LANDFILLS! CHECK OUT THESE DAILY NUMBERS: Just three garbage bins (10 previously); 5-6 compost bins; increase in recycling to three bags; just one bucket of liquid (milk, juice, etc.). Associate Principal Jodi Swanson explains the genesis of the program, where it’s at now and what it means to Horizon and its larger community.

WATCH VIDEO

PTO Hoops Night

raises over $10k?? ?! Horizon’s staff team defended their title with a convincing win over PLE’s team at the PTO’s second annual Hoops Night March 23 at Pewaukee High School. The event, which featured games, raffle items, face painting, food, basketball and fun for more than 2,000 attendees, raised over $10,000 to support our Pewaukee schools. Thanks to the PTO and everyone who participated!

Why did Horizon begin composting? Various staff members had done some research around composting and recycling and we formed a committee to work on how we could do this in our outdoor classroom space we are working on implementing. This discussion linked us with a parent in the district who wanted us to look at composting and recycling. She too had done lots of research and was willing to help us, as well as write a grant. We combined our efforts with John Stangler, our Director of Buildings & Grounds and Safety Coordinator, and our Horizon composting/recycling initiative began. Taking better care of our planet and resources is important. Teaching kids how to do it will make a big difference for our future.

Locks of Love event collects 189 pony tails. Pewaukee High School senior Brooklyn Basche led a Locks of Love event where 34 students and other community members in the district donated 189 pony tails, a minimum of eight inches of hair per person. The hair was sent to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which creates wigs for cancer patients and provides them free of charge.

What has been the reaction from staff, students and parents? The staff is very excited and supportive. Our custodian and kitchen team pitched right in to help make this work in our lunchroom. Teachers have been so supportive and motivating with students. We all read a class book “What’s Sprouting In Our Trash?” on composting and have watched several helpful videos provided through Composting Crusaders. Students are doing well! I am so proud of those who have stepped up to be a part of the Green Team Crusaders, which helps at the recycle/waste station each day to help fellow students correctly sort and discard trash. Students compost at tables and we rarely have any contamination (plastic, etc.). Students are making this succeed. Parents who visit our lunch room or hear about it are pleased by the work.

WE ARE SEEING A

Horizon’s Riley C. and Ella J. are shown here getting their hair cut by volunteer stylists. Thank you to all who participated and helped people in need!

HUGE CHANGE in how we recycle and throw away garbage

How has the process evolved? What are the plans moving forward? We compost in a bucket at each lunch table. At the end of lunch, students sort their lunch garbage - food and paper compost, recyclable items in blue recycle garbage, liquids poured into a bucket and their containers are recycled. All other garbage goes into our grey landfill garbage. As we dismiss, our Green Crusader Team goes to the waste stations. Tables are sent to one of three stations while one person at each table brings the compost bucket up to the large green compost container. An adult monitors to be sure it’s only filling with compost items. The buckets go through the dishwasher to be cleaned and ready for the next lunch. What is the biggest challenge? The biggest challenge is embedding the new practice and retraining how we throw away “garbage.” Another challenge is having students eat more of their lunches! Many are great eaters and finish most or all of their lunches. However, we still see lots of mostly-full trays of food, whole sandwiches and other wasted foods thrown into compost. What is the biggest change? We are seeing a HUGE change in how we recycle and throw away garbage - our efforts are having great results! We have reduced our waste by two thirds. We have about five gallons of liquid waste for all three lunch groups. We now have 1-2 composted bags of garbage at each lunch which goes right into the composting container, which is picked up each Saturday and taken to Blue Ribbon Farms in Caledonia to be processed. We have greatly reduced our landfill garbage from 5-6 bags at each lunch, which equaled 15-18 bags, to 3-4 total bags for landfill. We have also tripled our recycle amount from one bag a week to 3-4 bags a week!

Jump Rope For Heart raises over $18,000 Horizon Elementary students celebrated the finale of their Jump Rope For Heart fundraiser March 28 with various PE activities followed by a healthy snack donated by parents. Over $18,000 was raised to support the American Heart Association and help fund research on heart disease and heart health. Horizon will receive $850 in US Games certificates, which can be used to purchase more physical education equipment!

Horizon Pirates are Division II Fifth Grade State Champs! Horizon’s fifth grade boys basketball team won the Wisconsin State Invitational Division II Championship March 25 at Kimberly High School with a 38-27 victory over Holmen. Congrats to our state champs! Back row left to right: Coach Nick, Coach Kevin, Luka M., Connor H., Isaiah R., Chase L., Coach Jeremy; front row left to right: Jackson S., Wesley C., Jake P., Owen D., Karson O., Caleb C.

Fire Fighters Auxiliary donates to Camp Whitcomb. The Pewaukee Fire Fighters Auxiliary presented a check for $1,000 to Horizon Elementary Associate Principal Jodi Swanson for Camp Whitcomb. “The Fire Fighters Auxiliary is so generous, each and every year,” said Swanson. “On behalf of our school and all our Camp Whitcomb campers, we thank them for their generosity and support!”

Five district students were named Patriot’s Pen essay contest winners and received their awards Jan. 17 at the Pewaukee VFW post! Asa Clark’s Khadijah D. and Horizon’s Faith H., Ryan K., Emily S. and Josephine W. were recipients of the VFW-sponsored youth essay contest, which had “America’s Gift To My Generation” as its annual patriotic theme. The students posed with their teachers: Mrs. Reuter and Mrs. Reagles.

ASA CLARK MIDDLE SCHOOL

DR. RANDY DAUL TO RETIRE AFTER 14 YEARS AS PRINCIPAL OF ACMS 27 OF HIS 31 YEARS IN EDUCATION HAVE COME IN PEWAUKEE Dr. Randy Daul, principal at Asa Clark Middle School for the past 14 years, will be retiring at the end of the 2017-18 school year. This year marks number 31 in Dr. Daul’s distinguished education career, which includes 27 years in Pewaukee schools as both a teacher and administrator. “I am grateful and proud to have been a part of the continuous improvement efforts in the Pewaukee School District as well as the transformational changes to teaching and learning practices taking place in education,” said Daul. “ I feel blessed to have worked with the dedicated and talented students, parents, staff and community of Pewaukee and I’m confident the future of the district is in very good hands as we continue to prepare students to dream big. My family and I are lucky to have grown up in Pewaukee, been a part of the School District, and be able to call it our home.”

ASA CLARK ROBOTICS TEAM BRINGS HOME DESIGN AWARD FROM STATE COMPETITION. Congratulations to the ACMS robotics teams on their performances at the state championship. The team of Connor D., Elyse G., Khadijah D., Ryan B., Soli K. and Sophia G. (shown above) were on the number two alliance and took home the Design Award. The team of Ava Matz, Owen Plewa, Paul Scarberry, Rithvik Konda, Ryan Clousing and Will Gergen had the highest ranking of all Pewaukee teams in the qualification rounds. The team of Alex Eidem, Carson Biebel, Colin Looysen, Diego Zibell, Sam Pease and Sanshray Vallecha did an amazing job working through adversity. All teams should be very proud of their extremely hard work!

During his time as principal, Asa Clark has consistently produced excellent academic results and has come to be recognized as one of the most innovative middle schools in Wisconsin. The search for a new principal at Asa Clark included staff, parents, students, administration and the Board of Education. See the story on Anthony Pizzo below! ASA CLARK CAPSTONE STUDENTS FIND SUCCESS (AND EXPERIENCE) MAKING AND SELLING THEIR PRODUCTS! Asa Clark Middle School Capstone students showcased their culinary, design/fashion and technical products in the cafeteria this February. The two-day showcase and sale included avocado hashbrowns, umbrella smoothies, breakfast kabobs, monkey bread, donuts, wooden puzzles and more! Best of all, profits generated from sales will be donated to a local service or charitable organization.

“The Pewaukee School District thanks Dr. Daul for his many years of service to the students and families of our community,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mike Cady. “His impressive tenure is a testament to the dedication Mr. Daul has to his community and tenacity to constantly improve our learning process. We will miss him, but wish Mr. Daul well in retirement!”

ANTHONY PIZZO NAMED NEXT ACMS PRINCIPAL ASA’S ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL SINCE 2015 TAKES OVER JULY 1 Pewaukee School District has named Anthony Pizzo the next Principal of Asa Clark Middle School (ACMS). Pizzo has served as ACMS’ Associate Principal since 2015 and replaces long-time Principal Dr. Randy Daul, who is retiring after 14 years in the position. “Pewaukee has been my home these past three years and there is nowhere I would rather be,” said Pizzo. “I look forward to continuing to work with the students, staff and families to create a great middle school experience and ensure students are future-ready.”

Congratulations to the ACMS Drama Club on their incredible production of “Disney’s Mulan, Jr.” - a true crowd-pleaser!

SEVENTH GRADER NICK F. ADVANCES TO STATE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY BEE IN MADISON! National Geography Bee finals took place at ACMS in December and seventh grader Nick F. was Asa’s top finisher. Nick then took a written test and recently found out he qualified to compete in the State of Wisconsin’s National Geography Bee in Madison April 6. Congratulations, Nick!

ASA CLARK INTRO TO BUSINESS PRESENT THEIR NEW PRODUCTS/BUSINESSES. Seventh and eighth grade Introduction to Business students at Asa Clark Middle School were recently tasked with developing a new product and/or business, creating a researchbased business plan and one marketing tool (websites, videos and beta products were produced!) they might implement for promotion. The students then “showcased” their work (top-secret patents are pending), giving 4-5 minute presentations to classmates and PHS Insight students, who evaluated the ideas and asked questions to spark further exploration and learning. Kudos to our future entrepreneurs!

Pizzo graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2006 with a major in Broadfield Social Studies and History. He began his career as an educator at Arrowhead High School in 2006. In 2008, he began teaching for CESA #1, working with educational programming that created partnerships with education, business and community entities to support student learning. Pizzo earned his masters degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University in 2013 and worked as Assistant Director at CESA #1 and Associate Principal at Fond du Lac High School. In 2015, Pizzo was named Associate Principal of ACMS and has also assumed the roles of Summer School Principal and K-12 Response to Intervention Coordinator. “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to promote one of our own to lead Asa Clark Middle School,” said Dr. Mike Cady, Superintendent of Schools. “In the past three years, Mr. Pizzo has demonstrated his readiness for this position through his work as associate principal and principal of our large summer school program. He was the clear top choice of all involved in the rigorous hiring process. I look forward to Mr. Pizzo working with his wonderful staff to continuously improve the performance and innovation of ACMS.”

LT. GOV. KLEEFISCH CALLS INSIGHT A “BEST PRACTICE” Lt. Gov Kleefisch was truly wowed during her visit to Pewaukee High School’s off-campus Insight classes. Kleefisch visited with staff and students in the first-of-its-kind state program in January. She walked away impressed by the work teachers, administrators and the community are doing to provide real-world experiences and one-toone professional mentoring for all 100 students in the program.

STUDENT’S SUNDAE TO BE FEATURED AT OSCAR’S Pewaukee High School students presented menu ideas to Oscar’s Frozen Custard as part of a speech class with the winning presentation being featured in April. Brooklynn R.’s Very Dairy Nutty Berry Sundae (fresh raspberries, Oscar’s vanilla custard with Nutella swirls, salty crushed nuts, whipped cream and two chocolate-covered strawberries dipped in nuts) will be featured at all locations in April and $1 of every sale will be donated to Brooklynn’s non-profit choice American Red Cross. Congrats to Brooklynn!

ROBOTICS TEAM POWERS UP WITH TWO STRAIGHT REGIONAL VICTORIES

“They have taken both the needs of the economy and the needs of its future workers into what has become a really cool context for both education and worker training,” Kleefisch said of the program, the first of its kind in the state when it began three years ago. “It’s unique...a best practice for Wisconsin.”

WATCH FINAL

WHAT A RIDE

WATCH CBS58 Segment on Insight now

15 STUDENTS PICKED FOR WI HONORS ENSEMBLES Fifteen Pewaukee High School music students were selected as either participants or alternates for the Wisconsin School Honors Ensembles. This year, over 1,400 students auditioned for one of the 428 spots in the Honors Project. It is a high honor for these students to be selected and we are extremely proud of them! Selected students will work with professionals from all over the country at a camp this summer, then perform in the Overture Center in Madison this fall. Congrats to: Gabriela Apold, Alternate - Treble Choir; Nedda Besharat, Alternate - Mixed Choir; Claudia Biebel, Alternate - Treble Choir; Jamie Davis, Alternate - Band/Orchestra; Anthony Desidero, Mixed Choir; Lydia Heinen, Alternate - Band/Orchestra; Cole Hicks, Alternate - Mixed Choir; Allison Honl, Alternate - Treble Choir; Miriam John, Treble Choir; Emily Kading, Treble Choir; Eamonn O’Day, Mixed Choir; Christal Phelps, Mixed Choir; Noah Schwab, Alternate - Band/Orchestra; Mackenzie Sherman, Treble Choir; Kendall TerHaar, Mixed Choir. The boys basketball team had a season to remember, finishing with the second-best record in school history at 23-3. The Pirates finished one game short of making it to the state tourney in Madison, losing to Milwaukee Washington 77-67 in a WIAA Division 2 boys basketball sectional final at West Allis Central. Division one recruits Grant Basile (Wright State) and Jack Gohlke (Hillsdale) led a balanced and tenacious Pirates team, whose fans helped packed gym after gym the entire season. Basile was an all-state unanimous First Team choice and Gohlke earned an Honorable Mention nod. “If you didn’t get the opportunity to watch the Pirates on a regular basis you missed some of the most exciting basketball ever,” said PHS Athletic Director John Maltsch. “The energy and electricity returned and it was awesome to once again see capacity crowds - when the Pewaukee community decides to get behind a team, they are second to none.”

PHS WOMEN GET AWARD FOR ASPIRATION IN COMPUTING Pewaukee High School students Swati Dalmia and Tea Goodmanson have been selected as 2018 National Honorable Mention (NHM) recipients of the The National Center for Women & Information Technology Award for Aspirations in Computing. There were over 3,600 applications for the 2018 Aspirations Award and the NHMs represent the top 10% of all applicants, so this is a huge honor and we are so proud of Swati and Tea!

Pewaukee High School’s Team 1259 Paradigm Shift won the FIRST Robotics Wisconsin Regional March 22-24 in Milwaukee! They also brought home their second Innovation in Control Award for their use of autonomous vision processing. The team had previously taken first in the Minnesota Regional. In the team’s 15-year history, this is the first time they have claimed not one first-place blue banner, but two! The students and their mentors thoroughly enjoyed the triumph, but are now busy preparing for the FIRST World Championship held in Detroit April 25-28.

ACADEC IS D2 STATE CHAMPS Pewaukee’s Academic Decathlon team is having a record-breaking year. At the Local Competition in November, they shocked even themselves taking second in state, the best a Pewaukee team has ever been ranked. In January, they won the Regional Competition, which secured them a spot at state and maintained their second-place overall status.

SIGNINGS Pewaukee High School senior Calista Bulacan signed to play soccer at St. Cloud State and senior Josh Swanson inked to play football at the University of Sioux Falls. Congrats to Cali and Josh!

WOWS Wow, did you know...

The Waukesha Wings co-op hockey team, with two players from PHS (Brennan Moore and Thomas Knoke), won the Classic 8 title and made it all the way to the state semi-finals in Madison!

The wrestling team went undefeated to claim the Woodland Conference title! The Pirates are 85-3 since entering the league in 2007. Pewaukee High School Drama Club’s 2018 production of “Les Miserables” earned a school record 17 Tommy Award nominations!

Riding their positive momentum into state, the team took first in D2 and third overall behind D1 state champ Wilmot Union and runner-up Watertown. The state title catapulted PHS, for the first time in school history, to the online national competition April 5 (essay and art events) and April 20 (econ, music, science, social science, literature, and math). “The team wanted the win more than I wanted it for them and I believe that’s what made us so successful,” said coach Cathy Walz. “It wasn’t just me pushing them, it was them pushing, and at times, pulling each other. I’m incredibly proud of the work they put in and their commitment. These kids changed the face of Academic Decathlon at PHS forever.” Highlights include: Janie Xue is the first PHS students to break the 9,000 point barrier. She was the top scorer on the team and brought home individual medals for literature (3rd), art (3rd) and economics (2nd). Emily Willis, the team’s only junior, was the top-scoring scholastic student with individual awards for her scores in music (3rd), science (1st), social science (1st), interview (3rd) and art (3rd). Morgan Impola won a bronze medal in speech and Rudrani Suttar earned a silver medal in essay. Both are first-year competitors. In the Super Quiz event, the team had five of the nine individuals (Impola, Willis, Xue, Ian Reinke and Madelyn Postulart) get four of their five questions right, which catapulted the team to a third-place finish.

DISTRICT STAFF

VAN HULLE ENDING RUN OF 21 YEARS AT HELM LONG�TIME PIRATES PRINCIPAL HEADING TO DISTRICT OFFICE Principal Marty Van Hulle will transition from his current role at Pewaukee High School to Director of Learning and Leadership for the district starting July 1, 2018. He has served as high school principal for 21 years. In his new position, Van Hulle will help advance key strategic areas of focus, specifically improving innovation and instructional practice in the district’s emphasis on personalized learning, the profile of a graduate and the future-ready initiative, which aims to provide more authentic and real-world opportunities to students. He will also support the development of highly -effective leadership in the district and serve as a leadership coach.

BRIAN SNIFF TO LEAD PHS CURRENT MARSHALL PRINCIPAL EXCITED TO JOIN HIS NEW STAFF Brian Sniff, current Principal of Marshall High School, has been named the next principal of Pewaukee High School. Sniff will take the helm July 1 after long-time principal Marty Van Hulle transitions to the district office after the 201718 school year. “I am truly excited to join the administrative team and school staff in Pewaukee School District,” said Sniff. “This is clearly a highly-collaborative and innovative staff focused on high expectations for all students.” A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Sniff began his career as an educator in 1998 as a high school mathematics teacher in the Marshall School District. He was named principal of Marshall High School in 2010.

“It has been an honor to serve as a teacher and administrator at Pewaukee High School for the past 31 years,” said Mr. Van Hulle. “I have been blessed to work with a tremendous group of educators during my tenure and the support I’ve received from parents and students along the way has been humbling. While it will be incredibly difficult to no longer lead at PHS, I feel fortunate I am afforded the opportunity to continue to work in the district I love - with people I respect and care for.”

“We are thrilled to have a leader of Mr. Sniff ’s caliber and experience joining us and taking the reigns of PHS,” said Dr. Mike Cady, Superintendent of Schools. “Throughout this rigorous process, Brian consistently stood out in the eyes of staff, students, and parents as a great fit for Pewaukee High School. He brings great relational skills, a strong understanding of effective instruction, and a history of leading innovation and school improvement.”

RIGOR AND REWARD FOUR TEACHERS EARN NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION National Board Certification (NBC) is a voluntary, advanced teaching credential going beyond state licensure with national standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. Pewaukee School District is extremely proud of these exemplary teachers who successfully completed the rigorous three-year process: Lindsay Krueger, Scott Roehl, Rebecca Reagles and Cheryl Panka. To become a board-certified teacher, candidates must demonstrate advanced knowledge, skills and practice in their certificate area by completing four components: three portfolio entries and a computer-based assessment. With less than two percent of teachers certified in Wisconsin and one (Erin Heiman) who previously earned the distinction at PSD, our district is ecstatic to have quadrupled its lineup of staff members who are advanced in their invaluable field. Here’s what they had to say...

LINDSAY KRUEGER

I am honored to have received National Board Certification. When I began this journey three years ago, I knew this would be a new challenge to help improve my teaching and student performance. Working through the four components has been a rigorous process. I have positively reflected on my teaching, made changes to my practice and impacted student learning and achievement. Becoming National Board Certified in December was a gift I unwrapped and gave to myself. This gift not only benefited me, it also positively impacted the students I worked with throughout the process and will continue to work with in the future. It has helped me think critically about my planning and teaching to help meet the needs of students each day. While creating my portfolios and selecting artifacts to showcase my teaching and student learning, I was also writing extensive papers, analyzing student work, critiquing videos of my teaching, differentiating instruction, and reflecting systematically about my practice so I could improve in the future. I would like to thank Robin Wilson, John Vitale, Mike Cady, and JoAnn Sternke for all of their support and leadership throughout the process. Additional thanks to my family, colleagues, Julie Toole and Sandy Krukowski for helping me achieve this honor. I am proud to be Nationally Board Certified!

SCOTT ROEHL

The two words I would use to describe the process are grueling and rewarding. The gruelling comes from the daunting task of taking a content-based test and submitting a portfolio that reflects who I am as an educator. I had to tear down a lot of walls and critically analyze my teaching craft and my educational philosophy while taking a risk knowing such a large percentage of teachers don’t pass their first attempt. It was rewarding because my reflections on my teaching, pedagogy and professional aspirations helped me grow as an educator and helped bring me back to why I went into teaching in the first place - the kids. The certification re-energizes me. It validates the hard work that I’ve put in and it provides context for my work as an educator of science. And I would like to thank a fellow educator - Rebecca Reagles. She and I worked together in a support group through the entire process. Having someone with me providing assistance, context and encouragement was incredibly valuable. I would also thank Cheryl Panka, who was able to get any and all questions regarding the process answered. Her knowledge and resources were invaluable.

LIFELONG PIRATE RETIRING

REBECCA REAGLES

This was a lot of work! For the past three years in particular, I have been reflecting on my practices with a critical eye, constantly questioning and tweaking my methods to become better at my craft. I am so honored to have earned the certification. To me, the certification validates the hard work I put into my teaching craft and my colleagues and I put into our practices with the students. I am so fortunate to have a supportive, forward-thinking department and the work we do fits right into the NBCT expectations.

JOHN MALTSCH SPENT LAST 21 YEARS AT PHS A lifelong Pirate and the driving force behind a successful and prideful Pewaukee High School athletics program for 19 years, John Maltsch will retire at year’s end. It’s difficult to imagine Mr. Maltsch NOT standing in his usual spot on the gym floor during basketball games or on the track Tweeting football scores on Friday nights come fall, but we’re extremely happy for him. And, most importantly, we thank him for embodying everything we wish our student athletes to be.

I’d like to thank my language arts department. We are always pushing each other to be on the cutting edge of what’s best for kids, always striving to tweak our program and our craft. These are incredible people to have on your team. Also, I’d like to thank Scott Roehl, my NBCT partner in crime, whose competitive edge is infectious and kept me striving to be at the top of my game.

A lifelong Pirate and the driving force behind a successful and prideful Pewaukee High School athletics program for 19 years, John Maltsch will retire at year’s end. Maltsch, who graduated from PHS in 1979 as a multi-sport letter winner and returned for good 21 years ago, received a framed Pirate varsity letter in a special ceremony before the Feb. 9 boys basketball game. “John has been an outstanding athletic director, passionate about the success of his programs and an enthusiastic supporter of his coaches and student athletes,” said PHS Principal Marty Van Hulle. “So much of John’s work is done behind the scenes with regard to scheduling, facilities management and the supervision of games and events - regularly 60-70 hours a week - to ensure smooth running of all school activities. Simply said, John bleeds Pirate red.” It’s difficult to imagine John NOT standing in his usual spot on the gym floor during basketball games or on the track Tweeting football scores on Friday nights come fall, but we’re extremely happy for him. Congrats and thank you for all you’ve done for Pewaukee students, staff and families!

CHERYL PANKA

The process was daunting work with limited feedback to know if you were attending to the expected content and teaching strategies, yet through the process the reflection and re-planning of lessons based off of student strengths and needs benefited the students and their academic growth. It helped me understand more deeply why I choose particular strategies and supported my mission of reaching all students and giving them what they need through choice, goal setting and reflection. When all was said and done, it was hard work but rewarding and made a difference in my teaching and my students’ learning! It takes a supportive learning community to be able to persist so I thank Sarah Torbenson for lending me her students for my portfolio work, my cohort friends for the questions and positive reflective feedback, and to Mike Cady for giving me the initial push to get started and the continued reasons to finish. It’s exciting! It’s validation the work I do with students does make a difference. I feel proud to be a part of such powerful work!

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GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY G9 FUNDRAISERS BENEFIT CHILDHOOD CANCER COMMUNITY PSD staff examine items in the exhibit

PEWAUKEE SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN FUNDRAISERS TO SUPPORT GOLD IN SEPTEMBER (G9), a local non-profit in Delafield dedicated to increasing funding for childhood cancer research and initiatives by growing awareness that inspires action to help every child, everywhere. G9 - a combination of gold (G) as the national color for childhood cancer and September (month 9) as the recognized National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - funds early-phase trials, accelerating the newest, most-promising treatments. Utilizing a noble model of turning the world gold to raise awareness and meet the mission, G9 directly benefits the entire childhood cancer community with gold alliance, resulting in increased funding and support for all childhood cancer initiatives.

Sandi Lybert shows staff how kids hide substances in various cans

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“Childhood cancer hits close to home in our classroom and we were proud to participate!” said 5K teacher Katie Rumohr, whose student Eli was diagnosed with stage IV high risk neuroblastoma in April 2016 at the age of four.

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“His 16-month treatment included five rounds of chemo, surgery to remove the tumor on his adrenal gland, two stem cell transplants, radiation and six rounds of immunotherapy,” said Eli’s mom Jamie. “In August 2017, scans showed no evidence of disease! At that time he was enrolled in a trial out of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids with the hope of keeping him in remission so he can live a very long and healthy life! The trial involves oral medication twice daily for two years, along with check-ups and monitoring both in Michigan and locally at Children’s Hospital Wisconsin. At this time, Eli is doing well and really enjoying 5K and life outside the hospital where he can just be a 6-year-old boy!” Boys and girls of all ages in Pewaukee schools raised over $3,100 to support G9’s mission via penny wars at PLE, Horizon and ACMS and a pie-in-the-face-of-a-teacher event at PHS. Our schools’ participants were part of more than 18,800 from six states who helped raise over $65,000 this year to benefit this incredible organization, which was founded by Annie Bartosz, an 11-year old girl from Hartland who lost her twin brother Jack to cancer in 2012. Annie saw the world turn pink in October for breast cancer and became determined to unite the world for kids battling cancer through the color gold. “A lot of kids don’t realize they have the possibility to make a difference in the world,” said Annie. “G9 Penny Wars brings possibility to reality! Thank you to the Pewaukee School District for its participation in helping us raise awareness and money for childhood cancer!”

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With kids like Eli in our midst and such a huge part of our inspired community, the staff, students and parents of PSD will always rise to the challenge to help make the world a better place for all children.

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Pewaukee police educate staff on paraphernalia

EYE-OPENING WAKE-UP CALL EXHIBIT EDUCATES HUNDREDS ON RED-FLAG SIGNALS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE More than 250 people turned out for Your Choice To Live’s two-day Wake Up Call exhibit at Pewaukee High School in March. Parents and community members attended the presentation and walk-through of the life-sized teen bedroom containing more than 20 red flags signaling drug or alcohol use March 15, then PSD staff took part to start their professional development day March 16. In addition to learning about hiding spots (water bottles, stuffed animals, feminine hygiene products, lipstick tubes, etc.) and items indicating substance use (spoons, foil, straws, etc.), audience members learned about the signs and symptoms associated with alcohol and drug abuse, as well as parenting strategies. It was clear, by the continued reactions of participants, many eyes were opened to this important and urgent issue. The Lybert family’s eyes were opened long ago to the effects of drug abuse. Sandi, Rick, Ashleigh and Tyler Lybert are founders of Your Choice To live and work with families, speaking at schools about their experiences involving substance abuse. Tyler started using drugs in sixth grade as a way to make friends and fit in. His use escalated from alcohol and marijuana to pills and heroin. He was in and out of jail and his family life deteriorated from the stress of his drug use. During presentations, Sandi explains how she enabled her son to the point her marriage nearly crumbled. “I was the standard enabling mom. I protected him, I tried to fix him. I loved him to death,” said Sandi. “He stole, he lied and I didn’t tell Rick a lot of it,” she said. “And in every family we’ve met with, we always see that division. We are very fortunate. Tyler could have chosen to go the other way.” Tyler entered treatment at age 21 and has been sober since 2008. “Please, if you see something - as a parent or teacher, anyone - say something or give someone a call,” Sandi told the PSD staff. “I can’t tell you how badly I wish someone would’ve called me to tell me ‘I think your son may be doing drugs.’” Thanks to Your Choice To Live and the Village Of Pewaukee Police Department, who was on hand to display various tools of the substance paraphernalia trade, for joining us to help educate the community on this important issue. For more information and resources, please visit: yourchoice-live.org and villageofpewaukee.com.

BOARD PRESIDENT

CONTINUALLY MOVING OUR DISTRICT FORWARD I want to start by thanking the individuals who took the time to participate in our three focus group meetings, which looked at future facility needs as the district continues to grow in residential enrollment. Our direction forward is influenced by the feedback received in those meetings. Based on the focus-group discussions, the district also deployed a community survey and received broader feedback in order to develop a comprehensive Facility Master Plan. The Pewaukee School District has grown slowly, but nearly constantly, for more than 25 years. The district employs independent demographers to provide enrollment projects every couple of years. The most recent projections show the district’s residential enrollment continuing to grow. The Facility Master Plan is being developed to address both enrollment growth and to make sure our facilities support future academic goals. Those goals include personalized learning, authentic learning experiences and making sure all graduates are career and college-ready. We currently have a wonderful campus with great facilities. The district is very appreciative of the community support for our schools and the facilities the community has provided. Our Director of Buildings & Grounds and Safety Coordinator, John Stangler, the WASBO 2017 School Facilities Manager of the Year, helps us show that appreciation by keeping and maintaining the quality of our facilities. The school board has a history of looking into the future to anticipate the needs of our student population. There is a history of developing the campus to meet the needs of the district for 10 years into the future. That is what this Facility Master Plan is meant to do, look out 10 years in terms of our needs. This facility planning effort is just one part of our strategic plan focus areas. The district has been, and is still dedicated to, the strategic planning process. This spring, we are once again working on a revision and updating our plan. This involves stakeholders from the community including parents, students, community and business people, teachers and administrators. We appreciate your help in setting a course for the district’s future through the focus groups, survey and strategic planning. Thank you.

Brian Kammers | Board of Education President

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