NORTH WOODS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL N2541 Sablewood Road La Crosse, WI 54601

Phone: (608) 789-7000 Fax: (608) 789-7010 Sandra Brauer Principal

Supervisor of World Language & Social Studies

NOVEMBER 2019 NEWSLETTER Happy November Everyone! Thanks to all of you who attended Parent Teacher Conferences in mid-October. Our teachers deeply value your partnership in the education of your child/ren, and PTC's are an important component of that partnership! Watch also for your child's first quarter Report Cards which will be going home on November 8th. Please note, in addition to district report cards information, we are sending inserts on students' Spanish Skills and IB Attributes, due to our status as an IB Candidate school. In other IB news, we recently received the good news from our visit from the IB consultant last month, that we have been given permission to SUBMIT THE IBAPPLICATION IN APRIL!I am incredibly proud of each and every staff member at NWI for this accomplishment. Additionally, our 3rd grade team will be hosting the first IB Expo of the year! The 3rd grade IB Expo will begin at 5:30 on November 7th with dinner, and presentations at 6pm in the LGI. See page 5 for other grade level IB Expo days! It was fantastic to see so many special adults at our Grandparents Day. What a special day for all of us - young and old alike. Special thanks as well to all of you who participated in the Sweet Lou's Fund Raiser on October 17th, raising money for our playground for the 'youngers' at NWI. We are hoping to meet Trust Point's 'matching funds' challenge and reach our goal of $6000 through our TEAM sponsored 'Pints for the Playground' event tentatively planned for late February/early March. As we turn the calendar to November, it is an exciting month for us as an internationally focused school, as November 8- 15 is Global Initiatives Week. I am very proud to say that North Woods International is once again hosting the Kick-off Event at our school from 4-7 PM on November 8th. This is a wonderful family event, with free samples of different types of international foods, informational booths and give a-ways from many different organizations in La Crosse with international ties. There will also be presentations by the La Crosse Enduring Families Group and international dances and music, including a traditional Chinese dance including our very own ELL teacher, Hong Xu. Please check out the Global Initiatives Week website for complete information and details about the kick-off, and other events that week, including International Explorations presentation by Winona State students at North Woods on Friday, November 8th. Also, our school will again be a part of “Read for the Record Day” on November 7th, by participating in a book walk in our field behind the school. We will be reading Thank You Omu! by Oge Mora, with a page from the book, in each stand along the book walk. We are grateful to be able to offer book walks at our school, thanks to a grant from the La Crosse Public Education Association. Our book walk combines the pleasure of reading a wonderful children's book with all the joys and benefits of walking together outdoors. Also, hope to see many of you at our annual Veteran's Day celebration on November 11th, beginning at 2:15 PM in the gym. Finally, we wish safe travels and all the best to North Woods kindergarten teacher, Hannah DeYoung. Ms. DeYoung was selected from the district to participate in the international teacher exchange with La Crosse's sister city school in Luoyang China from October 23rd through November 29th. Ms. DeYoung will be teaching in Luoyang, along with another teacher from our district, Becky Brueggen. What an exciting opportunity for Hannah and for our school. You may wish to follow her blog by clicking on the following link: https://hannahgoestochina517195771.wordpress.com/ Have a great November everyone! I hope to see many of you at our annual Veteran's Day celebration on November 11th, beginning at 2:15 PM in the gym. Remember there is no school on Wednesday November 27-29 for fall break. In partnership,

Sandy Brauer North Woods International Principal

Date:November 11th, 2019

Join us for our Veteran’s Day Celebration on Monday November 11th, 2019 at 2:15pm in our gym!

North Woods students have prepared a program to honor Veterans. There will also be a

presentation following the program, featuring relatives of North Woods students and staff who

have served in the military.

We invite you to join us on November 11th for this celebration.

If you would like to send in veteran photo’s please send them with your student in their folder. We

ask that photos are submitted by November 6th to ensure time to place the photos in the

presentation.

Fri. Nov 8TH: Global Initiatives Kick off! (4pm-7pm see information on page 9) Sun. November 3RD: Daylight Savings! Fri. Nov 8th: Report Cards Sent Home Mon. November 11th: Veteran’s Day (2:15 PM) Wed. November 13th: Picture Retake Day November 27,28, 29th: No School! Mon. Dec. 9th: Title 1 Science Night! See below Fri. December 20th: Gift of Giving December 24-Jan. 2, 2019:

No School Winter Break

Join us on December 9th, 2019 for “Dynamite Dinosaur Family Night” sponsored by Title 1 and

North Woods TEAM!

The Minnesota Science Museum challenges curious minds to think like a scientist while

investigating Deinoychus bones!

Interested in joining the fun? Return the RSVP form sent in your child’s folder by December 3rd!

Dinner: 5:30-6:00pm (included!)

Presentation: 6:00-7:00 pm

What is the LGI? The LGI is our Large Group Instruction room! It is located down the hallway on the way to our cafeteria and gym. It has a stage and large windows!

This year the Gift of Giving will be held on Friday,December 20th, 2019. Students will have the opportunity to purchase gifts for family members for the holiday season. All items will be sold for $.25, students will wrap the gifts and bring them home with them. Do not send more than $1.00 with your child. We allow students to purchase 2 items to wrap. Additional items can be purchased (up to 4) if enough donations are available.

Donations of new or gently used items such as books, jewelry, games, household items, toys, holiday decorations, or other useful items may be sent to school starting Monday, December 3rd through Thursday, December 19th (we are tight on space this year so we would like to wait to have donations come in until December). More information coming soon from TEAM!

Interested in being Santa’s Helpers (Volunteers)? Sign up here: https://volunteersignup.org/PAQTB

Oktoberfest Parade Great job to all those who walked in the Oktoberfest Parade for North Woods

International.

jones

Daylight savings ends on November 3rd! Make sure to set your clocks back an hour! An extra hour of

sleep over the weekend will make for a great Monday!

Bring in canned food items October 21st-November 1st for our school food drive! Donations brought in will be sent to Logan High School for their iFeed program on November 2nd! Protein rich items are preferred but all items are welcome! The grade level with the most food wins a prize!

Jell-O is also being collected for our annual Jell-O Drive! The Jell-O will be brought to the Salvation Army. Any brands and flavors are accepted. Our goal is 300 boxes!

The Jell-O drive runs for the month of November!

Congrats to Markus Brown, Maemi Urzrua & Livie Decker-Scott! These students won the peace pal drawing! Each month all the peace pals earned are entered into a drawing for a special prize! Congrats!

P200 Club Congrats to our Principal 200 club winners! We have been very proud of our students these first few months of school. Great job! Keep it up! Principal 200 club winners so far have won:

*P200 Club water bottles *Super Hero sunglasses

*Flavored chapstick! *Snap braclets *Rubics cubes

Keep up the great work! Thank you to McDonalds for their coupon

donation! Kaeli was inspired

during her classrooms discussion on being “caring”! She painted

rocks for each member of her third

grade class and surprised them with

the rocks!

Great job Kaeli!

Unity Day was October 23rd! We loved wearing

Orange to show our unity! A special thank you

Matthew Gabrielsen who designed our “Taking Care

of each other” t-shirt!

Great Job Matthew!

Check out more Unity Day Pictures on page 9!

IB News: We have now had time to focus on three out of the ten learner profile attributes as a whole

school. November, we will focus our learning on how to be a “risk-taker”. IB’s definition of a Risk-Taker is: “Approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the

independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. You are brave and articulate in defending your beliefs.”

Encourage your child to be a risk-taker. Please ask your child to explain what they have learned about the learner profile attributes.

Attribute of the Month: September - Caring

October - Inquirers and Communicators November - Risk-Takers December - Principled January - Open-minded

February- Balanced March - Thinkers

April - Knowledgeable May - Reflective

Upcoming IB events/Save the dates: November 7th- 3rd grade IB showcase night from 5:30-6:30

Please join us for a sub meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

November 19th - 2nd grade IB showcase night from 5:30-6:30

Please join us for a meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

Dec. 5th - Kindergarten IB showcase night from 5:30-6:30

Please join us for a meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

January 28th- Kinderprep (4K) IB showcase night from 5:30-6:30

Please join us for a meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

February 11th - ⅘ IB showcase night

Please join us for a meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

February 27th - 1st grade IB showcase night

Please join us for a meal and student presentations of their learning More information will be sent out closer to the event

Title Tips: November 2018

Creating Reading Routines Studies show that we learn best from repetition. Developing reading routines is a great way to work

on learning to read.

Below are some routines that you could do with your child while reading:

Picture walk - look at pictures before reading Ask questions before, during, and after reading Set aside independent reading time each day Explore books of choice Visualize what is happening in the story Read a variety of print each day (magazines, e-books, newspapers, apps, chapter books,

picture books) SAVE THE DATE – On November 11th 4th

and 5th grade students will be performing at the UWL Field House for the Veteran’s Day Breakfast! Families are welcome to attend!

North woods staff update! Mr. Hein & his wife have welcomed their second child! Mr. Hein will be on paternity leave until mid-December. Mr. Werneke will be his long term guest teacher! Welcome Mr. Warneke! Ms. DeYoung has traveled to China for the Louyang Teacher Exchange program! She will return in December! Mrs. Solberg will be her long term guest teacher. Welcome back Mrs. Solberg!

Thank you to the volunteers who helped with our school garden on October 19th!

-Just a quick note from your NWI physical education teacher, Mr. Hein!

As the weather is turning colder, please know that we still like to use our outdoor space for PE (and recess). It’s really important to have your student dressed for outdoor activities every day. Additionally, if you have extra gloves, snow pants, or boots that you'd like to donate to North Woods, we would really appreciate it! These extra clothes and accessories are cared for and cleaned often so that all students can play outside and

stay warm. Thanks for all you do and be well! -Mr. Joshua Hein

PBIS Update: What does everything mean? Has your student ever come home and said that they went to the think spot? What about the refocus room? Below is what all of our break spaces are for students and when or how they can be used! Think spot: The think spot is a resource for students to use to help self regulate independently. Students may choose to go to the think spot to think about their behaviors or how they may change them. Students may take a think spot without being asked by a teacher. Teachers can also take think spots! Staff model what it looks like to take a think spot for students at the beginning of the year. A think spot is a space in the room that students know is a safe place to take a break and think. Hall spot: The hall spot is a place where students are directed to go by a teacher for a break after a think spot has been used. Students go to the designated area in the hallway for students to have a chance to calm and think about their behavior. The student may think, what was my behavior, why did I make the choice I made, what can I do differently next time? Students may stand or sit in the hall spot as every child’s body is different, but each classroom has their rules for the hall spot. The teacher must talk with the student before he/she returns to class just to discuss what the student may do differently next time. Buddy classroom: This is the final step before a student is asked to go to the refocus room or the office. Students go to the designated buddy classroom (decided by the classroom teachers) when their behaviors continue to disrupt the learning after a think spot and hallway spot have been utilized. In the buddy classroom, students may sit on the floor, on a chair, or stand in the appropriate location determined by the buddy classroom teacher. The student should not be a distraction to the buddy classroom. When the student is ready to return to class, the buddy classroom teacher or the student’s classroom teacher has a conversation with the student. Behavior support: This is used if all other options have been unsuccessful in helping a student become ready to learn. Students will go take a break, cool down, focus on appropriate social skills needed to be successful in class, and work on any assignments/instruction that was missed. This may look like entering the refocus room or sensory room. What is the sensory room? The sensory room is a room inside our library area that is devoted to helping students. In the sensory room, students may take a break, have a quiet place to focus, and work on any instruction that may have been missed due to behavior. A sensory break is part of a specific plan that is created for a student needing support to stay regulated and ready to learn. Inside the sensory room is also our Refocus Room. This is used for students to have time to help their bodies return to learning. Students are able to use the refocus room, or the sensory room, when they need a break.

For any questions regarding PBIS, please contact

Ms. Kelsie, Mrs. Stern, Mr. Hanson & Mrs. Brauer (PBIS Coaches!)

Grandparents Day Celebration! Thank you TEAM for sponsoring our first Grandparents Day Social

before the activities!

North Woods International enjoyed celebrating Grandparents Day!

Thank you to everyone who made the day one to remember!

Unity Day!!

2019-2020 School T-

shirts are in! Thanks for all the orders, and a big

thank you to all those who donated. We reached our goal! Every student at

North Woods has a shirt

for the 2019-2020 school year! These shirts will be

used for community days, field trips and special

events. On the last day of school,

students will be able to take them

home!

SAVE THE DATE! Festival of Nations has been scheduled for: Thursday March 19th (Grades K 6:00pm & 1 6:45pm)

Thursday March 26th (Grades 2 6:00pm & 3 6:45pm) and Thursday April 2nd (Grades 4 & 5 6:00pm)

National School Lunch Week!

Student Council Update!

Student Council has begun! 4th & 5th grade students have been planning great activities for North Woods!

Our first was Socktober! If you are still interested in donating socks, we will be

collecting through the first week of November!

Our current event is a Food Drive to benefit the Logan HS iFeed Program! In November, we will be hosting our Cocoa for Playground! This idea came from

two of our fifth graders- Hans Kratt & Ryan Thurman! Student council will be hosting a hot chocolate stand the week of November 18th-22nd in the morning

during drop off! Stop by for a cup of hot cocoa and donate to help raise money for student council to purchase new playground equipment for outdoor and indoor

recess! This event is super exciting, as it is led by our own students!