Community Connections - Oostburg School District

[Pages:8]Community Connections

School District of Oostburg

410 New York Ave. PO Box 700100

Oostburg, WI 53070 (920) 564-2346

oostburg.k12.wi.us

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Jim Swart Terry Lemkuil Wendy DenBoer Rick Hartman Nate Voskuil Deb Harmeling

Greg Dirkse

SUPERINTENDENT Mr. Kevin Bruggink

HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Mr. Scott Greupink

MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Mr. Steve Harder

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL Mrs. Ann Steenwyk Mr. Kevin Bruggink

School District of Oostburg Newsletter

The mission of the School District of Oostburg is to prepare students to be productive and positive contributors to our society and the world.

OMS Musicians Perform in Madison

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Volume 14 Issue No. 1

Fall 2013

Four OMS 8th Gr. Band students per-

formed at the State Music Teachers

Conference in Madison on October 25,

2013. Paige Bruggink (flute), Jared Jar-

vis (trumpet), Makenna Ley

(percussion), and Henry Vandevelde

(trombone) were nominated last fall and

selected to be part of the 2013 Wiscon-

sin Youth Band Directors Association

Honors Band. The theme for this year's

concert was "Literacy in Music" and

featured compositions inspired by historical documents, poetry, fiction, and other forms of literature.

The 75 piece band made up of students

From left: Sergeant First Class Shane Ley, Makenna Ley, Paige Bruggink, Jared Jarvis,

and Henry Vandevelde

from across the state performed for parents, music teachers and administrators in the Grand

Ballroom of the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Special thanks to Sergeant First Class

Shane Ley, Makenna's father and a member of the 410th Medical Logistics Company in

Milwaukee, for presenting our nation's colors prior to the playing of "The Star Spangled

Banner" at the opening of the concert. Rebekah Mueller and Jill Hanes, OSD instrumental

music teachers, each conducted one piece on the program and are very proud of the four

OMS musicians for their hard work and contributions to the success of

the concert. It was a special day of music for everyone involved!

To see more photos from the concert, please visit the Oostburg Parents

Music Club link on the OSD Homepage or the OPMC Facebook page.

DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL /

BUDGET Mrs. Kris DeBruine

DIRECTOR OF BUILDINGS /

GROUNDS Mr. Peter Scheppmann

From left: Mrs. Jill Hanes, Makenna Ley, Paige Bruggink, Jared Jarvis, Henry Vandevelde, and Mrs. Rebekah Mueller

In this Issue...

~ Lakeland College Math Competition ~ OSD Honors Veterans ~ National Merit Semifinalist Named ~ OCEF & PTO Strong Partners ~ OSD Awarded Technology Grant ~ OHS Courtyard Project ~ Financial Aid Information ~ New Staff at OSD ~ OES Needs Chairs

Thank You

On behalf of the Oostburg School District we would like to thank those who responded to our recent community survey. School Perceptions Inc. provided an overview of our survey results in early October and those results are now available on our District's website at oostburg.k12.wi.us. Our district's Long Range Planning Committee has started the process of reviewing the survey results and will be developing recommendations for our school board based on the responses you provided.

We encourage you to follow our board agendas at each public posting site: Oostburg State Bank, Oostburg Library, & the School District main entrance. Further information can be found on our district website.

Oostburg School District School Board, Administration and Long Range Planning Committee

Financial Aid Meetings Set for Juniors and Seniors

A financial aid meeting for juniors and their parents will be held January 6th at 6:00pm at the Cedar GroveBelgium High School, Room 102. Representatives from the UW public university system and the Wisconsin Technical Colleges will be present to speak to parents and students about programs and admission requirements. Students and parents are encouraged to attend. Scholarship and planning information will also be presented.

A financial aid meeting for seniors and their parents will take place on January 20th at 6:00pm at Oostburg High School. The FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid) Form that college bound seniors will need to fill out and send in will be explained. We encourage both students and parents to attend.

Scholarship information for seniors can be found on the Guidance Section of the OHS Web Site at

Oostburg School District Honors Our Veterans

Veterans' Day provides the Oostburg School District community the opportunity to honor local veterans with special programs throughout the day. Our high school student council, under the leadership of Ms. Szyman, hosts an early morning gathering where our students prepare a full breakfast to start this special day. Shortly after breakfast, Veterans are invited to join our elementary school students and staff for a special program in the OES gym. This program, led by Mrs. Hand, Mrs. Hoffmann, and Mrs. Rychtik, includes student speeches, slide presentations, and music. Following this program, veterans are encouraged to share stories with our elementary students in their classrooms. This year, our elementary program included a lunch for veterans after their classroom sharing. The day continues with a very special evening in our high school gymnasium led by Mrs. Mueller, Mrs. Howell and our high school band and choir. We are grateful for the sacrifices our veterans have made and appreciate the opportunity to spend a day where students, staff and veterans across our school district come together. Thank you veterans!

PTO & OCEF ? Strong Partners in Student Achievement

The Oostburg Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), along with The Oostburg Community Education Foundation (OCEF), partner with our district in a variety of ways, providing opportunities for students that may not otherwise be possible. Over the past five years, PTO has donated over $55,000 in funding to support everything from student technology needs to professional training for teachers. OCEF has played a similar role in supporting our schools, contributing over $108,000 since 2005.

Both of these organizations have a very direct and essential role in helping us grow students. We encourage you to support the leadership and members of both organizations as they give countless hours to raise funds for education in Oostburg. If you have questions about how you can assist these groups, please contact PTO President, Melissa Leaman or OCEF President Eric Hesselink.

oostburg.k12.wi.us

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"There is no substitute for excellence."

National Merit

Semifinalist Named

Last October, many of our juniors took a standardized

assessment called the National Merit Scholarship Quali-

fying Test, otherwise known as the PSAT. Nearly 1.5

million students in over 22,000 high schools that enroll

US citizens in the United States and its territories and

countries around the world took this test and less than

1% are recognized as scoring high enough to be consid-

ered a National Merit Semifinal-

ist. OHS senior Joey Kretz was

one of only 300 students in Wis-

consin to be honored with this

award. When taking into con-

sideration students just in this

state, Joey scored in the top

99.5%. Joey has completed an

additional application to be a

National Merit Finalist. Con-

gratulations, Joey, on a wonder-

Joey Kretz

ful accomplishment and a truly

outstanding achievement!

Please Help Us Save...

~ Campbell's Soup Labels ~ Box Tops for Education ~ Used Ink Cartridges ~ Milk Caps

Drop off locations at Oostburg State Bank, Mentink's Piggly Wiggly or any of the Oostburg schools.

Winter/Spring ACT Test Dates

Test Date February 8th April 12th June 14th

Registration Deadline January 10th March 7th May 9th

Register online at:.

We are encouraging all sophomores and juniors to take the test in April. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Cole in the HS Guidance Office at 564-2346 x1007 or via email at josh.cole@oostburg.k12.wi.us

OES Welcomes New Staff

Mrs. Faith Mentink is the new administrative assistant at OES. She lived in Sheboygan before moving to Oostburg her freshman year of high school. Mrs. Mentink graduated from OHS in 1991 and from NWTC in 1993 with a Physical Therapist Assistant degree. She worked at Sheboygan Orthopedics Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy for the past 20 years. Mrs. Mentink and her husband Brian live in Hingham with their 4 children; Justin (15), Riley (11), Gabrielle (8) and Delainey (4). She describes herself as a true "soccer mom" with 3 of her 4 children playing soccer. Her family loves camping and Mrs. Mentink enjoys sewing, crafting, walking and traveling.

Chairs Needed for OES Art

Project

Every January, the 5th graders work in groups to paint a wooden chair in the style of a famous artist. This lesson is great for learning to work in groups and is a great fundraiser. Ms. Helmied, the OES Art Teacher, has had an extremely difficult time collecting chairs this year! If you have a wooden chair available for donation (or even a metal folding chair), Ms. Helmied and the 5th graders would definitely appreciate it! She plans to start the chairs right after winter break, so her deadline for collecting them is Friday, December 20th. If you have a chair you would like to donate, please bring it the OES office or Art Room as soon as you can.

Mrs. Regina Hartman joins our district with extensive experience in childcare program development and management. Mrs. Hartman coordinated Oostburg's after school care when that service was offered through the Sheboygan Falls YMCA, then moved from that role to create Orion Energy's childcare program. Mrs. Hartman and her husband Rick have two children in the Oostburg School District and have been active in a variety of school organizations. She serves as an intervention specialist, moving into the position Stephanie Hilbelink held prior to moving into a 1st grade classroom. Mrs. Hartman is also reinventing our after school care program, now referred to as our "Dutch Bunch."

"There is no substitute for excellence."

3

oostburg.k12.wi.us

Oostburg School District Welcomes New Staff Members

We extend a warm welcome to all of our new staff and hope you have a chance to meet them as the year progresses.

Ms. Rachel Harder is a 2007 Oostburg High School graduate who went to UW ? Milwaukee where she received her undergraduate degree in Art Education K-12. While attending UWM, she was able to spend a semester abroad traveling throughout Europe and attending the University of Limerick in Ireland. Ms. Harder student taught a variety of grade levels at Elkhart Lake ? Glenbeulah School and Riverview Middle School. Following student teaching, Ms. Harder was the Response to Intervention aide at our Middle School. Rachel spent this past year teaching 4 and 5 year olds at an English immersion school in Beijing, China. As an artist, Rachel has a passion for found object sculpture, metal smithing, and ceramics using handbuilding methods.

Ms. Cathy Vandoske is teaching our eighth grade students. She describes herself as a small town girl, born and raised in Howards Grove. Ms. Vandoske grew up on a 200+ acre hobby farm and worked for her dad's engineering company. She graduated from Howards Grove High School, attended UWSheboygan and then Concordia-Mequon, majoring in education with minors in Spanish and ESL. Ms. Vandoske was an assistant for Head Start, a T/A for Upward Bound and then taught English and Spanish at Racine Lutheran, bouncing between courses over four years. Cathy has been dating Jon for five years, most of it long distance since she was living in Racine. Cathy likes running, traveling, cooking, reading, watching movies, spending time with friends and family, and watching the Brewers and Badger basketball/football games.

Ms. Kristin Glodosky is the new kindergarten teacher at OES. She was born and raised in Sheboygan, attended Sheboygan North High School and graduated from UWOshkosh in 2012. Ms. Glodosky`s first job was teaching kindergarten in Watertown. She is excited to be back home and teaching kindergarten now in Oostburg since she loves spending time with her family. In her free time Ms. Glodosky enjoys dancing, lifting weights & biking with her dad, playing the piano, baking, and watching movies. Ms. G (as the kids call her) LOVES to travel and has visited Italy, Vatican City, England, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Egypt, Australia, Spain, and Greece.

Mrs. Nan Gabrielse joined OHS this fall as the library aide. Mrs. Gabrielse has been a member of the Oostburg community all of her life. She and her husband, Travis have been married for 22 years. They have been blessed with three children: Parker who is 18, Brittany 16, and Brooke is 11. Whether it's watching a movie or cheering them on at their sporting events, Mrs. Gabrielse enjoys spending as much time with them as possible. Their favorite family time is spent camping and spending time outdoors. Mrs. Gabrielse's favorite hobbies are cooking and shopping.

Mr. Ben Koepsell was helping in the middle school and elementary school guidance areas as he completes an internship requirement for his degree. He graduated from Cedar Grove High School in 2008 and then attended Lakeland College majoring in Psychology and Sociology. Mr. Koepsell played soccer for 4 years at Lakeland and is currently 3rd in career goals and 5th in points. He is currently attending Concordia University for a masters in school counseling. He enjoys soccer, basketball and golf.

Mr. Bryce DeRoos is the district's new school psychologist. Mr. DeRoos grew up in Sheboygan. He went to Calvin College for undergrad, Marquette University for community counseling and UWEC for school psychology. Mr. DeRoos has worked for the last 10 years at Stanley-Boyd. He has been married for 9 years to Holly and has three children; Conor-5, Luke-4, Ella-1. Mr. DeRoos enjoys being active and likes to participate in a variety of sports.

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"There is no substitute for excellence."

Oostburg School District Welcomes New Staff Members

Mrs. Jenna Howell graduated from Kiel High School and will be graduating from Lakeland College in May 2014, after her extended student teaching experience here at Oostburg. She is currently student teaching within the Band and General Music programs, as well as teaching vocal music. Mrs. Howell's main instrument is bassoon, but she also spends much of her time singing and playing Classic Rock in piano bar settings, as well as in jazz groups. She performs mostly in Sheboygan County and has spotlighted with the Generations Big Band. Mrs. Howell is also involved in equestrian sports, and volunteers with local Equine Therapy organizations. Atop her gallant steed, MacGyver, she plays competitive Polo Crosse in the summer. Her husband, Dave, works at Bemis and spends his free time as lead singer and percussionist in his local rock band, Sugarnova. They enjoy their noisy house alongside their two dogs, Fender and Moses.

Ms. Colette Veldhorst is our new chemistry teacher at OHS. She is a 2004 OHS graduate. Ms. Veldhorst continued her education at Northwestern College in Orange City, IA, completing a semester abroad in New Zealand and majoring in biology with the middle school and secondary education endorsements, graduating in 2008. The following year Ms. Veldhorst student taught and substitute taught in the Sheboygan County area. For the past four years, she has been at The Milton School District in south central Wisconsin teaching 8th grade life science and biology classes and coaching various sports. Beyond her education, Ms. Veldhorst has a passion for travel, ministry, and the outdoors. For example, for a month in the summer of 2012, she was in Kenya helping at various schools and orphanages, and this past summer, she spent time in Central America.

Mrs. Gretchen Thomes has accepted the position of Accounts Payable/Purchasing Specialist that was vacated by Jill Brasser recently. Mrs. Thomes has two adult children, Adam and Lindsay, and a Boxer named Lucy. She worked for the Sheboygan Area School District for 25 years before retiring on June 30, 2013. Mrs. Thomes spends a lot of time working in her yard and working on her home when she is not travelling. Photography is one of her hobbies, along with kayaking and swimming. Mrs. Thomes' bucket list includes visiting every National Park in the United States and going on safari in Africa. Mrs. Thomes appreciates that everyone here in Oostburg has been so friendly and made her feel welcome to the district.

District awarded $50,000 with more possible

Last year, the School District of Oostburg was awarded over $50,000 in grant funding from the Wisconsin Technology Initiative to help reduce the financial barriers of integrating instructional technology into our classrooms. As a District, we were able to build on the significant donations from OCEF and PTO, equipping 15 additional classrooms with interactive white boards and peripherals from SMART Technology. Level 1 and 2 training was provided to all classroom teachers who benefited from the grant. Eight certified staff are currently taking part in a two-year E3 academy (explore, engage, empower) that focuses on expanding the scope of technology integration into our learning environment. Additionally, two staff members have acquired their Smart Certified Trainer certifications allowing the district to host professional development internally or externally in direct relation to this technology.

Technology Coordinator, Lucas Allen, is again spearheading the intensive grant application process for a similar amount in hopes of expanding the technology opportunities for our students. This year's application is focused around telepresence technology, a WTI area of focus. Telepresence allows small, rural schools to collaborate on and provide additional courses, college credit, virtual field trips, etc. through technology. We see this technology as an exciting opportunity to address some of the concerns revealed by our district survey, particularly broadening our course offerings, maintaining our current class sizes and better preparing students for college and career.

Special thanks to Lucas Allen along with Meredith Herrera (High School Math) and grant writer Stuart Gavin for their leadership in advancing this grant request.

"There is no substitute for excellence."

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oostburg.k12.wi.us

OHS Courtyard Gets Makeover

For the past several months, the Advanced Physics and Engineering class has been redesigning the unused courtyard space in the high school. Supervised and directed by Mr. Terry Hendrikse, the class has spent the majority of the year thus far creating the plans.

The courtyard, for those unfamiliar, is the empty, grassy space that was sealed off when the new science and technology wing was added onto the high school. Originally planned to be a simulated "prairie," the space was not maintained properly and has since become an eyesore in the building.

After receiving generous donations from both the PTO and OCEF, the Advanced Physics and Engineering class began the process of designing a usable and well-utilized space. A survey of student and teacher interest showed that a high percentage of students would eat lunch in a renovated courtyard space at least once a week in the warmer months, with most teachers agreeing to supervise them during lunch times. All art and shop teachers said they would be able to teach their students meaningful skills by helping with the construction of the courtyard and its various elements.

The students of the class were split into four groups, which were all tasked with creating their own version of the space with regard to timeliness of construction, student and faculty use, and, most importantly, budget.

After months of planning, the groups came together, bringing the best ideas to the top. As a class, Advanced Physics decided what elements of each design would be the best choices for the courtyard. The final ideas underwent a stage of detailed research and consideration.

The courtyard's design is nearly complete. The space will feature ample seating for students at lunch, as well as recreational areas featuring yard games and tetherball. The lunch tables will be constructed by the Woods department of the school, and the yard games made by metals classes. A mural by the art classes will decorate on wall.

Student cookouts will also find a home in the courtyard, as two grills will be designed and built for the space by the Metals department. Parties will be filled with music projected from the weather-proof speaker system installed in the

finished space. The noise This image shows the won't grow too loud, howproposed layout of the ever, as two vine walls will

courtyard project. occupy the borders of the courtyard to cut down on the residual sound. The spaces within the courtyard will be separated by multiple means. The first of these is a series of raised planter boxes. These boxes will provide a space where vegetables for nutrition classes can be grown or roots for art dyes harvested. The spaces will also be separated by stepping-stone pathways made by middle school students. The courtyard presents many promising projects for the school's fine arts and shop departments. The space will continue to grow as the years pass so that it may better accommodate the students that inherit it. From beginning to end, the courtyard has been a truly student -driven endeavor. Original article by Matthew Stokdyk, OHS student.

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"There is no substitute for excellence."

Lakeland College Math Competition

Twenty-nine students from Oostburg Middle School participated in the Lakeland College Middle School Math Competition held on Monday, November 11th. The following students participated: (8th Grade) Paige Bruggink, Brent Greupink, Peter Gross, Elizabeth Heinen,

Kennedy Jepson, Makenna Ley, Brenna Rauwerdink, Wolfram Schwarz, Willem Swart, Sierra Thein, Dawson Wilterdink; (7th Grade) Michael Beseler, Maddie Block, Brianna

Breunig, Jacob Brill, Lizzie Brill, Noah Ecclestone, Erin Fear, Isabel Fuentes de Rehm,

Madelyn Hendrikse, Ashley Huibregtse, AJ Miller, Nino Miosi, Halle Schwartz and Hannah TenPas; (6th Grade) Braden Dirkse, Jon Greupink, Mackena Hendrikse and Jacob Oppeneer.

The four teams competed against other area schools from Sheboygan County. Each team

must include at least one sixth grade student and no more than four eighth grade students. Our four teams finished 9th, 19th, 21st and 33rd place out of 38 teams. Sierra Thein received recognition for a 6-way tie in 8th place out of all of the students at the event. Congratulations

to everyone who participated in this competition!

Sierra Thein

Familiar Faces in Different Places

Mrs. Michelle Dulmes is the new Food Service Manager for the district. She is a class of '93 Oostburg alumni who lives in Hingham with her husband and two daughters. They enjoy vacationing, downhill skiing, hiking, canoeing/rafting, biking, watching Brewer/Packer games, and going to the girls volleyball, soccer, basketball & baseball games. Previously, Mrs. Dulmes was a stay at home mom for 6 years and owned her own home design/drafting business before she started working in the OHS kitchen in 2011. The Dulmes Family attends Hingham Reformed Church where Mrs. Dulmes helped with VBS props/artwork and was a bell choir member. With the added Food Service Manager position, Mrs. Dulmes is looking forward to a NEW challenge with all the food regulations and keeping our children eating healthy!

From left: Jessica Prinsen and Stephanie Hilbelink

Ms. Jessica Prinsen moved from teaching kindergarten to teaching first grade. Mrs. Stephanie (Stuckman) Hilbelink moved from serving as an intervention aide last year to teaching a fourth section of first grade.

Mr. Josh Cole has accepted the role as OHS's new Guidance Counselor. Over the last five years, Mr. Cole has served as a physical education, health and special designed educator. Mr. Cole is excited to begin this challenge. He would like to be a great resource for the students as they make decisions that will greatly impact their future. Mr. Cole is married and has one son.

No person may be denied admission to any public school in the district or be denied participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any curricular, co-curricular, student services, recreational or other program or activity because of the person's sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, handicap or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability in the educational programs or activities operated by the School District of Oostburg.

"There is no substitute for excellence."

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oostburg.k12.wi.us

Bits & Bytes

For school closing info you may be contacted by the district's Alert Now system. You can also listen to WHBL 1330, WJUB 1420 or WTMJ 620, TV Channel 4 or http:// closings..

Monthly school calendars are available on the Oostburg District website.

Check out past newsletters at oostburg.K12.wi.us/ district/newsletter/NewsletterIndex.html

Fitness Center hours: Check the current hours and available programs on the District website: oostburg.k12.wi.us

Keep track of the balance of your Oostburg Schools lunch account at: .

We invite your comments and suggestions. E-mail your thoughts to: Karen.Leitzke@oostburg.k12.wi.us.

Coming Up...

December 9 OMS Winter concert, 7 pm 16 OHS Winter concert, 7pm 18 District Early Release 20 No School - In-service day 23 Christmas Break Begins

January

2 School Resumes 15 District Early Release 15 School Board Meeting, 6 pm 23 End of 2nd Quarter 24 No School - In-service day

February

1 Snowball 19 District Early Release 19 School Board Meeting, 6pm 28 No School - In-service day

March

19 District Early Release 19 School Board Meeting, 6pm 24 - 28 Spring Vacation

Individually wrapped single portions from snacks to

meals. Easy to prepare.

Order online at

Market Day is available to everyone in the Oostburg School

District community.

For more information contact Heidi Vertz hidispidi@

School District of Oostburg P.O. Box 700100 410 New York Ave. Oostburg, WI 53070

Community Connections is published

for the residents of the School District

of Oostburg. Design & Layout

Karen Leitzke 564-6514

Local Postal Patron

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