Ithaca School District

PRICE REDUCTION!! Didn't get your Rural Route 1 popcorn? All yours got gobbled up over the holidays (no judgement!)? The Ithaca PTSO still has the following RR1 flavors available for $8 each: butter microwave, kettle corn microwave, caramel sea salt, cheddar cheese, jalapeno cheddar, and white cheddar. Also available for $10 each are: white gold, mud puddles, peanut butter cup. If you are interested please reach out to Samantha Hilby at hilbsam@ithaca.k12.wi.us.

Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow Announcements: Wed, Jan 3, 2023 Today is a Day 2 Lunch for today - First Choice: Philly Chicken Sub, Second Choice: Hot dog, Baked beans, pineapple,yogurt, milk From Ithaca-Weston Wrestling Club: Prem’s Brat Fundraiser forms can still be turned in today, Jan 3rd. Middle School wrestlers can turn them into Mrs. Thompson. High School wrestlers should turn theirs in to your coaches. Youth wrestlers should turn theirs in to coaches at practice on Thursday. No late orders will be allowed after Thursday. Also a reminder to youth, middle, and high school wrestling families that volunteers as well as donations are needed for our annual High School tournament on Saturday, January 13th at Weston. To sign up, use the link to view, then contact Jessi Brandt via TeamReach or message the Ithaca-Weston Wrestling Facebook page. From Ms Durkin: There will be a student council meeting tomorrow Thursday, January 4th in the art room during ATTACK. From Mr. Andresen: There will be a math competition at 8th hour and ATTACK on Wednesday, Jan 3rd. Also, a reminder that concessions are January 8th and 9th next week. Attendance is crucial for the continuation of various opportunities here at Ithaca. From Mrs. Stellner and Mrs.Pluemer: Sources of Strength students, remember to wear your Sources of Strength t-shirts this first Friday of the month, Jan. 5th. From Forensics Coaches: We will have a meeting during ATTACK time on Monday, Jan 8th in the LMC. Students should have selections made or drafts started by then. If you would still like to join, see Ms Schmitt, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Zorea, or email Mrs Murphey. From PTSO: Our next PTSO meeting will be January 9 at 3:45pm in the LMC. We hope to see you there! From PTSO: Popcorn Friday will be next Wednesday, January 10. Elementary students, your classroom teacher will take your order and money. Middle School and High School students you will be able to purchase yours during breakfast, at the end of your hallways. Cost is $0.50 per bag, limit 2 bags per person. Help support the 4K class! From PTSO: PRICE REDUCTION……We still have the following RR1 flavors available for $8 each: butter microwave, kettle corn microwave, caramel sea salt, cheddar cheese, jalapeno cheddar, and white cheddar. We also have the following RR1 flavors available for $10 each: white gold, mud puddles, peanut butter cup. If you are interested please reach out to Samantha Hilby at hilbsam@ithaca.k12.wi.us. From Mrs. Behrens: High School Band Students - Your final payment for the Florida trip is due on Monday, January 8. From Mrs.Behrens: Band students who will be participating in Honors Band Festival this Friday and Saturday: Please turn in your permission slip and Subway form to Mrs. Behrens today (Wednesday). Word of the Day: A raconteur is someone who excels in telling anecdotes. A bona fide raconteur, Paola can turn even mundane experiences into hilariously entertaining stories. This day in history: On January 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signs a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state. Birthdays: none

On December 19th, Ithaca's National Honor Society chapter met with the Kindergarten class for a Christmas and winter themed program. The National Honor Society students read the book, If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff aloud. Then, they led the Kindergarteners in a math sequencing activity using the coding bee bot robots that the Kindergarteners had learned to use earlier this month in their Library classes. It was a great afternoon to build relationships between grade levels at Ithaca.

DO YOU HAVE A CHILD WHO WILL BE 3 OR 4 YEARS OLD PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 1, 2024? This is an opportunity to gain information about your child’s development and community resources. A group of professionals will screen your child to determine how to support them best academically. You will also have the opportunity to register your 4-year-old child for 4-year-old kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year. If your child was already screened at 3 years old in the past, please register and sign up for them to be screened again. Please have your registration completed and screening appointment secured by Friday, January 12, 2024. Once these tasks are completed, you will be sent a packet with more information to complete and return at your child’s screening appointment. If your child is younger than 2 1/2 and you have concerns about his/her development, please talk to your pediatrician about a referral to the Richland County Birth to Three Program.

Congratulations to the Ithaca-Weston High School wrestling team on a very successful Bi-State Classic at the LaCrosse Center last weekend. This tournament hosts some of the very best wrestlers in Minnesota and Wisconsin in all divisions. Highlights include a 2nd place finish for Kaylee Manning in the first all-girl tournament. Logan Anderson and Nolen Waldner qualified to continue on to Saturday’s session. Mac Neefe placed 8th out of a 49-man bracket. Catch them in action this Saturday at the Sauk Prairie Eagle Invite.

Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in the annual Ithaca Passages Food Drive. We collected 75 boxes of food and non-perishable goods. Your generosity was incredible, and you helped many in need during the holiday season. Congratulations to the 4th grade who raised 22 boxes and won the Pizza Hut party. Thanks to our staff, students, and community for making our Passages "food and non-perishable goods" drive another HUGE success!!

Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow Announcements: Tue, Jan 2, 2023 Today is a Day 1 Lunch for today - First Choice: Quesadilla, Second Choice: Hot Turkey Sandwich, Corn, applesauce, WG roll, milk Congratulations to the Ithaca-Weston High School wrestling team on a very successful Bi-State Classic at the LaCrosse Center last weekend. This tournament hosts some of the very best wrestlers in Minnesota and Wisconsin in all divisions. Highlights include a 2nd place finish for Kaylee Manning in the first all-girl tournament. Logan Anderson and Nolen Waldner qualified to continue on to Saturday’s session. Mac Neefe placed 8th out of a 49-man bracket. Catch them in action this Saturday at the Sauk Prairie Eagle Invite. From Ithaca-Weston Wrestling Club: Prem’s Brat Fundraiser forms are due today, Jan 2nd. Middle School wrestlers can turn them in to Mrs. Thompson. High School wrestlers should turn theirs in to your coaches. Youth wrestlers should turn theirs in to coaches at practice on Thursday. No late orders will be allowed after Thursday. From Ms Durkin: Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in the annual Ithaca Passages Food Drive. We collected 75 boxes of food and non-perishable goods. Your generosity was incredible and you helped many in need during the holiday season. Congratulations to the 4th grade who raised 22 boxes and won the Pizza Hut party. From Mr. Andresen: There will be a math competition at 8th hour and ATTACK on Wednesday, Jan 3rd. Also, a reminder that concessions are January 8th and 9th next week. Attendance is crucial for the continuation of various opportunities here at Ithaca. From Forensics Coaches: We will have a meeting during ATTACK time on Monday, Jan 8th in the LMC. Students should have selections made or drafts started by then. If you would still like to join, see Ms Schmitt, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Zorea, or email Mrs Murphey. Birthdays Elementary: Alex Toussaint MS/HS: Peyton Brown Staff: none

"Life's not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it's about doing, being and becoming." Mike Dooley What will you do, be, become? Happy New Year from all of us at Ithaca Public Schools. A reminder that we will see everyone back at school tomorrow, January 2nd!

We won't be having a white Christmas, but Ithaca Public Schools wish that your days will still be Merry and Bright. Happy Holidays to all our students, families, staff, and community.

Fourteen of our interested Ithaca High School students attended a tour at Richland Patterns, Inc. Here they make and develop foundry patterns. They are a CNC machining job shop, including CAD programming, advanced model creation & custom fabrications. The students were very informed and learned about metal and plastic industrial patterns. Thank you Richland Patterns, Inc for the opportunity to explore this career pathway.

It was a Secret Santa gift exchange featuring the Ithaca 6th Grade Band, MS Band and HS Band. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Thanks to Mrs. Newkirk and Mrs. Kitsembel for setting up a wonderful opportunity for students to keep learning AND reading over the Winter Break. Ithaca offered students free books from "Books 4 Schools" for students to take home. Each student could pick out 2 books. Merry Christmas and Happy New BOOK!

On the 11th day of Kindness the 5th grader had to read to someone younger than them. So we traveled up the hall to 1st grade and the room was a buzz of 1st and 5th graders reading to each other! We even stayed 5 minutes longer because they were having such a great time!

Christmas spirit AND PJ Day…what could be better? Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Ithaca district!

Here is our wonderful December newsletter from Julie Severance, Farm to School Specialist at The Ithaca School District. This month we have a recipe and our students learned about CARROT FARMERS - ENJOY!

Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow Announcements: Fri, Dec 22, 2023 Today is a Day 2 Lunch for today - First Choice: Chicken Parmesan, Second Choice: Turkey Wrap, Peas, Apples, WG roll Today is an Early Release for Winter Break. School resumes for students and staff on Tuesday, January 2nd. The district buildings will also be closed during break. From Ms Durkin: Congratulations to the high school students on their creative decorating of the gym doors this past week for Christmas. The winners of the doors are as follows: 4th place sophomores, 3rd place seniors, 2nd place freshmen, and first place winners are the juniors! From Ms Durkin: The annual Passages Food Drive is underway and the 4th grade is currently in 1st place with 14 boxes collected! The 1st is in 2nd place with 8 boxes. We have collected a grand total of 55 boxes and today is the last day! The class that collects the most boxes will get a Pizza Hut pizza party hosted by the student council. Student council please meet in the band room at noon to help load boxes to be delivered to Passages. From Ms. Sprecher: Concessions today is Student Council. From Ms. Durkin: Student council, remember the game is early tonight. JV is at 4:30 so please remember to get here a half an hour early to help with the concession stand. Word of the Day: Visceral something coming from or triggering an instinctive emotional (as opposed to intellectual) response. In medical contexts it means “of or related to internal organs of the body.” Although she is best known for her film and television roles, Sabrina much prefers the visceral excitement of acting on stage in front of an audience. This day in history: On December 22, 1956, a baby gorilla named Colo enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, becoming the first-ever gorilla born in captivity. Weighing in at approximately 4 pounds, Colo, a western lowland gorilla whose name was a combination of Columbus and Ohio, was the daughter of Millie and Mac, two gorillas captured in French Cameroon, Africa, who were brought to the Columbus Zoo in 1951. Before Colo’s birth, gorillas found at zoos were caught in the wild, often by brutal means. In order to capture a gorilla when it was young and therefore still small enough to handle, hunters frequently had to kill the gorilla’s parents and other family members. Birthdays Elementary: Landyn Reese - today, Asher Penfield (Dec 23), Malakai Tauaalo (Dec 27), Avery Montes (Jan 1), Vivian Pulvermacher (Jan1) MS/HS: Darwin Eldred (Dec 24), Micah Salisbury (Dec 25), Kailey Newkirk (Dec 26), Jewel Grosskopf (Dec 28), Wyatt Hilby (Dec 31), Livia Pickel (Dec 31), Ethan Stowell (Jan 1) Staff: Mr. Hess (Dec 27), Mr. Herbst (Dec 29)

The Spanish program at Ithaca is EXCELENTE! Thank you Ms. Pope!

Christmas is about creating GREAT memories, and our festive staff did just that! Merry Christmas from the teachers and staff at The Ithaca School District.

Ithaca Public Schools wishes our students, families, staff, and community a very joyful holiday season. As a reminder, Friday, December 22nd is a scheduled Early Release. Elementary students will begin releasing at 12:15pm and the final Middle and High School bell is at 12:34pm. The Ithaca Public Schools buildings will be closed, students and staff will be on winter break until Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Any urgent or emergent needs should be communicated to District Administration via email.

The 10th day of kindness was to make a Thank You card to their bus driver or to whoever brings them to school! The 5th graders have done such a great job so far! Just 2 days left!