In this Issue

February 24, 2017

Message Board 2 Calendar 5 Book Fair 9 After School Activities 11

Eagle Express

Horace Mann Middle School 3101 N. 13th Street Wausau WI 54403

horacemann.wausauschools.org

Main Telephone: 715-261-0725 Attendance: 715-261-0735 Guidance: 715-261-0740

Fax: 715-261-2035

Office Hours 7:30 am—4:00 pm

Principal

Dr. Julie Sprague

Associate Principals Dr. Rob Phelps Connie Zebro

Wausau School District

wausauschools.org

On February 4th, 8th Grade Band students from Horace Mann were chosen to participate in the Wisconsin Valley Conference Honors Band! Students were selected on their outstanding abilities. Ten students from HMMS were selected to participate! Congratulations for your hard work and dedication to perform instrumental music at it's highest level! -Mr. Farmer The students who were chosen to participate were: Danika Monarski Ashley LaPorte Molly Anderson Lilliana Irmischer Kassandra Bargender Isabella Grieser Saylee Crawford Randy Vargas Katherine Kronberger Audrey McNamara Mae Sann

Kudos to the Horace Mann VIOLISTS who participated in Saturday February 18th's "Viola Jamboree" at UW - Eau Claire. Over 100 violists from all across the state, from middle school students to college students came together for a day of making music, learning new things and generally enjoying All Things Viola. Congratulations to Autumn Drake-Dabler, Audrianna Hackbarth, Michaela Kroll, Serina Zelenka, Kylah Smith, Hailey Kluck, Ana Baez, Brianna Havlovick, McKenzie Liddy, and La Ni Lor for doing a great job representing Horace Mann

and themselves with distinction!

The Wausau School District does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability. Federal law prohibits discrimination in education and employment on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or disability. Anyone who believes that the Wausau School District has inadequately applied the principles and/or regulations of Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act, may file a complaint with the WSD Equity Director at the Longfellow Administration Center, 415 Seymour Street, Wausau, Wisconsin 54402-0359, or by telephone at 715-261-0500.

IMPORTANT!

School begins at 7:35 am.

Students are allowed in the building at

7:30 am and should be in homeroom

ready to listen to announcements at

7:35 am.

If your child will be out of school for the day or late, please call our attendance line by

9:30 am at 715.261.0735.

You can leave a message 24-hours a day.

Thank you!

NO SCHOOL DAYS

March 27-31 - Spring Break

April 14 - Non-contract Day

May 26 - Staff Inservice

May 29 - Memorial Day

Message Board

Are you interested in ordering Horace Mann gear?

horacemann.wausauschools.org

For Parents - Order Horace Mann gear.

Horace Mann gets a percentage of all sales.

We need Scholastic Book Fair Volunteers!

Parents we are in desperate need of Scholastic Book Fair Volunteers! We need helpers to

man the cash register (you will be trained) Friday, March 3 and the following week Mon-

day, March 6 through Friday, March 10th. We need volunteers from 8 am until 3pm on

those days. Do you have an hour or two to spare? Please, let me know so we can sign you

up. Click on the link below and you can also sign up through our district’s O.N.E Volun-

teer Network. We can’t run the book fair without you! Mrs. Engel (Library Media Special-

ist) 715-261-0728!

Update your Family Information It is very important that we have accurate contact information for our families. If we have a student who is sick or injured, it is crucial to be able to contact the parent/guardian. Please make sure that we have updated cell and home phone numbers for all parents, guardians and emergency contacts. Emails would be beneficial as well. Also, please let us know if your home address or place of work has changed as well. Thank you for helping us keep your information as accurate as possible!

Message Board

8th Grade Attendance The 8th grade continues to strive to improve student attendance practices. Arriving to class on time is an 8th grade focal point. Starting the week of February 27th, the 8th grade will implement Period 11. Any student who accumulates 3 tardies during a week will be issued a Period 11 intervention. Students will be notified on Monday, and will serve a 15 minute make up time starting at 3:00p.m. on Tuesday. Failure to complete the Period 11 intervention will be considered an unexcused absence and will prevent a student from attending the end of quarter incentive. Additionally, a BTF will be written and the office will be notified. Any student unable to attend Period 11 will need to return their Assignment Notice with a parent signature to one of the 8th grade team leaders who will work to coordinate a lunch time intervention for the student to make up the missed class time.

The 7th grade would like to recognize how great students have been! We had 100 kids with five or fewer Redirects in the month of January on team 7-1! It’s always tough to come back from a long break, so we’d like to recognize those students that came back ready to learn and succeed in being respectful, responsible, and safe. We are now on to incentive criteria for the March 24th reward day. Students were given incentive criteria in their homeroom earlier this month. Please ask your child to see this, if you haven’t already to see how they can make sure they get to participate in our incentive day on March 24th!

Within the next month we have a few exciting things happening. On February 27th, a member of the

Selma-Montgomery Freedom March, Lynda Blackmon Lowery will be coming to speak as part of the Walk In

Their Shoes presentation. On March 2nd and 3rd Wisconsin Public Service will be coming to do a presentation

called “Path to Ground” where they will demonstrate electrical safety. Both Earth Science classes will be

attending this event.

Team 6-1 will be going to the Planetarium at Wausau West on Friday, March 3rd for a program called, "The Reasons for the Seasons."

Calling all Track Athletes! Track practice will start on Monday, March 20. There will be an optional practice the week of March 13 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm. Paperwork will be handed out soon.

Horace Mann 8th Grade Softball We will be starting practice on Monday, March 20. We will practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the first week. Practice will continue on April 3. Practices will run from 3:05 - 5:00 pm each night. Practices will be at Horace Mann. Girls should be prepared to practice the first day, March 20, so they should have shorts, t-shirts and gym shoes since we will be inside. Athletes MUST have a current physical card on file to be able to practice. Paperwork will be handed out soon.

Varsity Coach Tourtillot and the GridIron Club would like to come speak with you about the op-portunities that are available to you throughout the summer and into the fall football season. We ask both a parent and player attend this meeting. We will meet March 13, at 6:30 pm in the Cafetorium at Horace Mann Middle School. We look forward to seeing you there. Please spread the word and encourage all who will be playing football to attend. This meeting is open to current 7th and 8th graders.

CLASSICS from the 80’s - AND MORE!

The Horace Mann Vocal Music Department is proud to present “80’s Classics” as their theme for this year’s Variety Show. Students in the 7th & 8th grade choir will be featured, as well as select solos and duos that auditioned in January. The performances will take place on Thursday and Friday, March 16th and 17th, at 7:00 pm at Horace Mann. An additional performance for the HMMS students will take place during the day on Friday, March 17th. Admission for the evening shows will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. Children age 5 and under are free. Participants in the Variety Show will have two rehearsals where all the choirs will practice. These rehearsals are very important to attend, since the choirs are not able to rehearse together during the day. These rehearsals will be Tuesday, March 14th (3:00 - 5:00 pm) and Wednesday, March 15th (3:00 - 4:30 pm). These rehearsals will take place in the Cafetorium. Please contact Mr. Larson in the Vocal Music Department with any questions or concerns about this year’s show, as well as the 7th and 8th grade vocal music students’ responsibilities and expectations for this year’s performances.

February 25 Solo Ensemble at DC Everest Middle School

March 2 & 6 Parent Teacher Conferences, 3:30 - 6:30 pm

March 10 7th Grade Fun Night , 6:00 - 8:00 pm

March 16 & 17 Variety Show at 7:00 pm

March 24 3rd Quarter Ends

March 27-31 NO SCHOOL - Spring Break

April 7 Think Spring Spirit Day

April 14 NO SCHOOL

April 21 6th Grade Fun Night, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

May 2 Eastside Band Concert (Grades 7-12), 7:00 pm at Wausau East

May 4 Destination College for all 8th Graders

May 5 Inclement Weather make-up day, if needed

May 9 6th Grade Musical, 7:00 pm

May11 7th & 8th Grade Orchestra Concert, 7:00 pm

May 12 Twin Spirit Day

May 16 6th Grade Band & Orchestra, Jazz Band, & Chamber Orchestra Concert, 7:00 pm

May 18 Jazz Band & Chamber Orchestra Tour

May 19 8th Grade Farewell Dance, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

May 22 7th & 8th Grade Spring Choral Concert - 7:00 pm

May 26 NO SCHOOL - Staff Inservice

May 29 NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

May 30 ID to School Forest

May 31 8th Grade Awards Ceremony at 7:00 pm

May 31, June 1-2 7th Grade to School Forest

June 6 NO PM Classes - Students last day (Tentative due to recent snow day)

There will be a MANDATORY meeting on February 27 at 5:30pm for all students attending the DC/NYC trip. Students must attend with a parent/guardian. The meeting will include, but is not limited to: 1. revealing the Broadway show and baseball game, 2. medical/emergency forms, and 3. roommate sign-up. Students: Please communicate with your group of four and be ready to sign up together at the meeting. Please email Ms. Grubba (agrubba@wausauschools.org) with any ques-tions!

Before School Student Drop-off

In order to continue offering a safe drop-off, we would like to review our morning procedures.

Please drop off students in front of the building at the drop-off area off of 13th Street. We have

two staff members on duty from 7:10-7:30. One staff member is stationed by our first

crosswalk. This staff member monitors traffic moving forward and assists students/staff who

cross in that area. If traffic by the front entrance is heavy, this staff member will stop traffic. The

second staff member is stationed by our main entrance crosswalk and assists students/staff

who cross in that area. Both staff members attempt to move traffic along as quickly as possible,

yet at the same time, move students and staff toward the school in a safe manner.

As someone who drops off a student in the morning, please follow these procedures:

Drive slowly through the drop-off zone and follow the staff members’ directives (stop or slow

sign).

Drive up as far as possible before dropping off the student.

Be prepared for a safe drop-off. Please have students exit the car door closest to the curb.

Be prepared for a quick drop-off. Please have all conversations finished before dropping off

and have items ready.

If more time is needed for drop-off or you need to enter the building, please park in the

parking lot and proceed to a crosswalk.

Thank you for maintaining a safe drop-off for everyone. If you have any questions, please

contact a Horace Mann administrator.

Nutrition News

Substitute Positions Available in Nutrition Services

~ Apply Now ~

Flexible Schedule: Choose your days, hours, and schools.

Most work shifts are from 9:00 or 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.

Work around your students schedule. Be home when they are home.

Work with a great team!

Enjoy interacting with our students!

Consider applying for a permanent position in Nutrition Services.

If any of these points piqued your interest, apply online on WECAN (Wisconsin Education Career Access Network) by clicking here or you can find the link on the Wausau School District website (www.wausauschools.org) under Employment (Support Staff or Substitute Support Staff). Please call Karen at 715-261-0805 for more information.

From the Guidance Office

Reese Nowinsky & Kyra Bleese Team 6-1

Nina Ottman & Una Harnprakhon Team 7-2

8th Grade Awards Ceremony

The Horace Mann 8th Grade Awards Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. All parents, whose 8th grade child has earned an award, will receive an invitation by mail in early May.

We look forward to this special night when we honor 8th grade students who have achieved at a high level in academics, leadership, or citizenship.

The following areas will be recognized during our awards ceremony:

Presidential Achievement and Improvement

(recognizes students with a 3.5 or above Grade Point Average)

Academic Top 15

Hall of Fame

(recognizes outstanding achievement in each subject area)

Citizenship

Jack Kalkoske Citizenship Award

Dennis Overland Make a Difference Award

American Legion Citizenship Award

If you have any questions regarding the 8th Grade Awards Ceremony, please contact the coun-seling office at 715-261-0740.

Bottom step: 6th Grade: Charlie Place, Aiden Dykstra, Reece Nowinsky, and Akaya Thao. Middle Step: 7th Grade: Jacob Schneider, Madisyn Krueger, Anthony Wanta, and Alayna Kuhnert. Top Step: 8th Grade: Thomas Euting, Mae Sann, Ashley LaPorte, and Bella Grieser.

All 6th graders went to NTC on February 17 for Think College. Students got to see first hand how “smart mannequins” help NTC students train for a nursing career.