Since we are not able to meet as a group for our annual end of the year celebrations, we wanted to share the updated plans with our community. Senior Scholarship and Awards will be posted to the Ithaca Facebook page at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29th. There will be a YouTube video included showing each student's "Senior Picture" along with future plans, awards and scholarships. Again, that video will premiere Friday May 29 at 9:00 AM. The Senior Graduation Video will also include the Scholarships and Awards video and will be debuted on Sunday, June 7th at 1:00 p.m.
Don't forget tonight's Summer Send Off! Staff will line Hwy 58 from the Community Gym to Willow Creek Road (the homecoming parade route) from 6pm until 7pm. Drive by, say hello, and wave! Stay in your vehicles and maintain highway safety. Both lanes of traffic will be used. It will NOT be one-way traffic. Also, send Mrs. Diane Clements off into retirement! Thank her for all her dedication and commitment to Ithaca students.
From Mrs. Schoen:
The school year is its the final stretch. We sincerely appreciate how you have worked with your student and the teachers as we worked through so many unknowns.
This Friday, May 29,from 10am-6pm will be the final drop off of student work. There are items to be picked up as well--elementary art projects, leftover items found in lockers or desks, etc.
Chromebooks and chargers are to be returned Friday, May 29 between 10am and 6pm. If your child needs to keep the chromebook over the summer, the Chromebook Use Agreement remains in effect through the summer months. When school resumes, if the chromebook is damaged or unusable, you will be responsible for the replacement cost before another chromebook may be issued.
When returning textbooks and class books, write the student’s name in the book and place on table beside the teacher’s tote (MS/HS) and in the tote (elementary)
All library books should be returned at this time.
Anything borrowed from a teacher should be well labeled and returned.
A final reminder that this is last week of the 2019-20 school year so all assigned school work must be completed and turned in to your teacher by Friday, May 29, 2020.
If unable to make the Friday drop due to family circumstance, call and ask for either Mrs. Schoen or Mr. Lechnir to arrange an alternative time June 2nd or 3rd. . The building remains closed due to the order by the State Dept of Health Services.
As before, up to 10 will be allowed in at one time so as to maintain social distancing and other Covid safety measures. We are requesting only one (1) adult /student in the building per family.
Elementary parents: If you have not already, please pick up 4 free books for each elementary-aged child. Mrs. Zorea has many, many to choose from .
Free lunches and breakfasts will continue through the end of June. Weekly sign up surveys are found on the Ithaca website. Everyone is encouraged to participate.
And finally, your family is invited to drive through Ithaca from 6-7pm as the teachers line the streets for the Ithaca Summer Send Off! Drive slow and wave to the staff who will be there to wish their students well as the 2019-20 school year ends.
Take care!
Ithaca, along with 30 other schools, participated in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Region 4 Leadership Conference on February 1 in Baraboo. We are proud of how the 18 Ithaca students who participated in the FBLA RLC represented our school and community. Out of the 18 students, 14 students placed in the top eight. Eighth through fourth place finishers are
8th place Erica Steinmetz: Intro to Business Objective Test
7th place Brooklyn Freestone: Intro to Business Communications Objective Test
6th place Emma Schoen: Organizational Leadership Objective Test
5th place Maddie Richards and Lexi Stowell: Social Media Campaign
4th place Erin Louis: Business Communication Objective Test and Elise Newkirk and Alana Nelson: Intro to Business Presentation.
Students that placed in the top three qualified for the State Leadership Conference. These students include:
3rd place awards - Zach Nelson: Agribusiness Objective Test and Talena Sprecher: Intro to Public Speaking
2nd place awards - Ellie Crook, Noelle Crook, and Shelby Funk Publication Design and McKenna Muckler: Electronic Career Portfolio
1st place awards - Audrey Newkirk and Ryan Lee: Broadcast Journalism and Aaron Feryance: Computer Problem Solving Objective Test.
Congratulations to everyone on their hard work!
Congratulations to Audrey Newkirk who was elected as the FBLA Vice President of Region 4. Not only are we excited for Audrey’s new position, but a requirement of the office is hosting the FBLA Region 4 Leadership Conference at Ithaca next year on February 6, 2021. We’re looking forward to hosting this event and showing the region our wonderful community.
The 66th Annual FBLA State Leadership Conference was canceled due to COVID-19. The National FBLA Conference that was scheduled to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, was also canceled. The FBLA Board of Directors opted to develop a virtual format. Seven students from Ithaca will participate in the Virtual National Leadership Conference. McKenna Muckler and the team of Audrey Newkirk and Ryan Lee will participate in their presentation events. Aaron Feryance, Erin Louis, Zach Nelson, and Emma Schoen will participate in their objective test events. Ellie Crook, Noelle Crook, and Shelby Funk also qualified for the competition. Good luck to all of the participants! Competitive medals and prize checks will be sent to the winning competitors between July 10 and July 15.
Thank you to everyone who supported the students and helped them prepare for these events. A huge thank you to our Ithaca FBLA advisor, Mrs. Burnley, Mr. Adam Hess for his technology expertise, and Mrs. Julie Prouty for supporting the FBLA program.
We have "Reese"-ently heard there are special wishes due today, May 26th. Happy Birthday to Reese Richards!
Traditional celebrations for Memorial Day are different this year. The reason we honor this day remains the same. Remember our fallen servicemen and women who gave all for the protection of our freedoms, the freedoms of others in the world, and the rights of humanity. We invite you to find your own way of honoring the fallen this Memorial Day.
Mrs. Diane Clements, a paraprofessional at our district, is retiring after 7 years of working with the students at Ithaca. Within those years, Diane has worked with our smallest Bulldogs all the way to our graduates. To thank Mrs. Clements for her years of service, she will be stationed at the end of the "Summer Send Off" parade route tomorrow from 6pm until 7pm with signs and balloons. Any family planning on participating, please feel free to make signs for Mrs. Clements to read as you drive by.
Not only is it Memorial Day today, May 25th, but there are birthdays today, too! Happy Birthday to Lucas Pluemer, and to Carrie Morris we wish a very special Happy Birthday!
Tomorrow Bower-Gunnill-Dalton VFW Post 2267 will still hold a public Memorial Day service at the St. Mary's Cemetery in Richland Center beginning at 10:30am honoring our area fallen servicemen and women. It will also be live streamed from on the Richland Center Tourism Facebook page for those of us choosing to attend from home. Please find a way to honor our fallen, as they have given all so that we may have so much.
From the VFW Post 2267 Facebook Page,
"According to legend, Memorial Day-type remembrances began a year after the end of America’s Civil War. Shops in Waterloo, N.Y. closed for a day in 1866 to honor soldiers killed in that four-year war. The day of remembrance eventually spread to places such as Richmond, Virginia, where flowers were put on the graves of soldiers and, by 1868, a ceremony was added in which the dead were honored with songs and flowers. The annual ceremony began to be called Decoration Day. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. Memorial Day celebrations include flags and bunting, eagles and other symbols of America’s hard-fought wars and fallen soldiers.
Postcards were one way to express the emotions of Memorial Day and to honor those who had died for their country. They are great collectibles, with their bright colors and sentimental pictures and words. This 1911 postcard with the words “Lest We Forget” was published by LR Conwell."
Don't forget to sign up for the Food Program pick up next week. Due to Memorial Day, there is no pick up on Monday. The survey is still open today if you'd like to sign up. Go to our website or app on the "News" tab and open the article "Food Service Survey" to find the link.
A very Happy Birthday goes out today, May 23rd to Annalynn Webster! Have a very special day.
As we head into the long weekend, today, May 22nd, we have birthdays to celebrate. Happy Birthday to Nathan Drone and Mr. David Klang!
Ithaca Summer Send Off!
Join Ithaca staff as we send off students for the summer!
Tuesday, May 26 from 6-7pm
Rain Date: Wednesday, May 27 from 6-7pm
Staff will be along the sidewalks of Highway 58 from the Community Gym to Willow Creek Road (the Homecoming parade route).
All social distancing guidelines will be followed.
We ask that you maintain highway safety.
Do not get out of your car; just drive by, wave, and say hello.
Both lanes of Highway 58 will be used. It will NOT be one-way traffic.
See you Tuesday!
"Lettuce" celebrate birthdays! Today, May 21st we send out a big Happy Birthday to Elise Newkirk, Taygan Ryan, Jed Scallon, and Rebekah Weitzel.
The Food Program survey for next week is now open. Sign up by completing the survey on our website and app under the "News" tab in the Food Service article or on our Facebook page. Complete a new survey for each week. Next week, the program runs from Tuesday through Friday. There is NO pick up on Monday, May 25th due to the Memorial Day holiday.
Does your student want to join our new group of beginning band students? If so, please click on the following link and go to "Instrument Matching Tool". Students should do the listening activity and then click on "submit". This is the first step in the process of choosing an instrument. Please do this by June 5th. Also included on this website are videos of all of the band instruments playing so that students can hear what the instruments sound like and start thinking about what they might like to play. (Link is also found on our website and app in the "News" tab.)
https://www.bepartofthemusic.org/group/index.php?id=3162
Mrs. Boland’s students are working with numbers in different ways to use the same mathematical concepts. They made a meal for their family, converted the recipe to new measurements, and graphed 2 ingredients to keep equivalent proportions. Yummy!
The Krouskop Park Fence along Highway 14 has been transformed in to an awesome display to honor the graduates of the area schools. Each of the Class of 2020 students are featured on a beautiful sign with their name, photo, and an image of their school mascot. Schools represented (in alphabetical order) are Eagle, Hillsboro, Ithaca, Kickapoo, Richland Center, Riverdale, and Weston.
A huge thank you to Southwest Partners, Richland County Bank, Walsh's Ace Hardware, Wallace Cooper & Elliott Insurance, Erie Insurance, and Rotary Lights for their help in making this wonderful display to honor our area graduates.
If you can come to Richland Center and take a look at the fence that is great, but if not, here is a video of the entire fence for you to enjoy - https://share.vidyard.com/watch/i5q7Kihxyy3uE5ubVMX6XM?
#Classof2020
The Richland County Mental Health Coalition is partnering with Ithaca and Richland School Districts to promote mental well-being of our students. Hortonville Area School District in northeastern Wisconsin is part of N.E.W. Mental Health Connection https://www.newmentalhealthconnection.org/, and is our mentor school. They, along with Prairie du Chien Public School, are guiding our districts in screening students to identify topics and individuals who need more focused attention. By screening students, we can better serve their needs. This video shows how Hortonville Area School District decided to utilize screening and campus-based visits to help promote healthy mental well-being for all their students. Hortonville was the first high school in Wisconsin to implement Sources of Strength in 2015. Since then 42 high schools and two middle schools implemented Sources of Strength. Together, we work toward teaching Hope, Help and Strength.
https://dpi.wi.gov/news/dpi-connected/mental-health-video
Like other graduates before them, this year's graduating seniors face a future of uncertainty. Unlike other classes, the Class of 2020 will be able to say they encountered challenges like no other. We wish them congratulations, as does the US Department of Education.
