We were honored to have our Veterans with us at MGCS on Friday 🇺🇸 Learners prepared poems, essays, artwork, thank-yous, and music to show their appreciation to our past and present men and women who have and are serving our country. We learned about what everything on the "Missing Man's Table" represented and witnessed the Three Volleys and playing of Taps. Thank you to all who made this possible!
We are streaming all of the Veteran's Day programs today. Maple Grove at 9 am, Athens Elementary at 9:30, and Athens Middle/High School at 10. You can watch us honor our Veterans on our YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/@schooldistrictofathenswisc604?si=s2BF4TRAPgMrwJEJ
Fat Bear Week was a favorite topic during the month of October for Mrs. Zamzow's 4th grade Outdoor Labs class. Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating the success of brown bears in preparing for winter in Katmai National Park in Alaska. We were excited to vote for our favorites and were excited when Grazer was declared the winner! Students also learned about salmon and their importance to both bears and humans in Alaska. October also found the 4th graders marking their maple trees for spring tapping, learning about the importance of beavers in Wisconsin, and making beautiful leaf mobiles. On our Fridays with Mrs. Benton we checked out where our future pollinator garden will be and then with Mrs. Bunkelman we explored pumpkins and their seeds. We can't wait to see what November brings!
We can't wait to see you there!
Kindergarten students at MGCS enjoyed an agriculture-based lab lesson led by Mrs. Bunkelman and her student, Kaydin. We compared the texture, colors, and the amount of seeds in different pumpkin varieties. Afterwards, we brought our learning back into the classroom for a fun craft! 🎃
October is Fire Safety month and our wonderful Hamburg Fire Department came in today to educate our learners about fire safety, show them how to stop, drop, and roll, talk about all the equipment the firefighters wear to stay safe, and answered all the learners questions! Thank you again Hamburg Fire Department, we appreciate your time and sharing all your knowledge with us!
Ms. Etten's first graders have been busy at Maple Grove Charter School.
During EL Module, learners were proposed the question, “Why do we need tools?” The overall consensus of learners was that tools make our lives easier by helping us to do work. Tools help us create things! Learners were to use habits of character such as perseverance and collaboration to work throughout module. The end goal of the students learning was to create a magnificent thing that would fulfill a need within the classroom. Learners worked through the process with making drafts, reading books such as The Little Red Pen and The Most Magnificent Thing, and lab opportunities with different tools, inclined planes, wagons, levers, pulleys, and various recycled materials to create their magnificent thing. Creations included a book buddy shelf, classroom mailbox, bird house, prize box, tic-tac-toe, book shelf, candy dispenser, and more. The learning opportunity was extended on a field trip to the Merrill School Forest where Mrs. Benton worked with learners to operate many different pulleys, create levers out of broken down trees, and overall be creative thinkers of how perseverance and collaboration is possible in the outdoor environment!
After-school pick up kids at Maple Grove Charter School once again met their goal of receiving over 95 Fox Tails for displaying their CRISP traits while they wait for their families. They celebrated with a Drop Everything and Draw or Color activity. Thanks to a wonderful donation, we had plenty of Crayola crayon boxes for this creative experience and also for Art class.
Enjoying the beautiful fall weather at MGCS in a variety of ways at recess🍁🦊
Third grade students from Maple Grove Charter School recently went on a field trip to the George W. Mead Wildlife Area. Thanks to Miss Sam and Mr. Ryan, students learned about the balance or imbalance of a trophic cascade, about the 21 WI snake species; two of which are venomous and about birds and macro invertebrates of a pond wetland habitat. They are looking forward to going back soon with their own families.
Hope to see all our MGCS Families at our PTO sponsored Fall Festival!
Each month Maple Grove Foxes choose a monthly reading goal that is just right for them through a conversation with their teacher. This is a goal that they work to achieve at home with nightly reading. Learners who meet their goal at the end of each month are rewarded with some type of whole school reading incentive! This month we celebrated with painting pumpkins that were donated by the Nicklaus Family founders of Incredible Bank! We were thrilled to hear that 100% of our 4th and 5th graders meet their monthly goal! Way to be great role models and CRISP leaders!
Our littlest foxes at MGCS worked together to create a nature loom during labs! They sorted items found in the trail and garden by the following attributes: color, shape, texture, and size. After discussing and testing what could be easily weaved within, their masterpiece was complete! 🍂
Please feel free to hang out after you pick up your child/children for our PTO meeting in the gym! We would love to have you!
Grades 1-3 at Maple Grove Charter School enjoyed some wonderful learning opportunities on their field trips to Rock Ridge Orchard and to Red Door Family Farm. It's really great to have community partners that help extend our outdoor lab learning to real life. Plus, did you know that the owner of Rock Ridge (Mrs. Knetter) is a past Maple Grove alumni? #fullcircle
Ms. Etten’s 1st grade class
dressed for a special occasion on Thursday. They hosted a wedding for the letters of Q and U. Attendees included 1st grade learners, staff, and cards delivered from other classrooms congratulating the letter couple! During EL skills block learners are working on Qu which is taught as a type of digraph or blend in that the Q is always followed by the vowel U. This is often a very challenging concept for students to remember and produce in their writing. The special learning experience was just what was needed. The reception included juice, cake, and QU activities. Craftsmanship was applied to make a wedding quilt gift. All quilt squares began with Qu vocabulary and pictures💕
Last week MGCS started hammock check out for all of our learners! Learners were taught how to check out a hammock, set up and take down a hammock, and how to safely sit or lay in one. We are hoping students enjoy a relaxing outdoor experience!!
Maple Grove Charter School's 4th grade Outdoor Lab students have had a busy September! They are learning how to write and draw high quality journal entries, have learned about habitats, spent some time picking our garden produce and used it to make salsa, have learned about wildflowers as well as observed pollinators and pollination in action. We are so lucky to have the forest on our school grounds so we can not only learn about these topics, but observe them in real time!
There's nothing better than the fresh smell of popcorn 🍿 in the air! That is exactly what Maple Grove Charter School students and staff smelt throughout the school today thanks to the Maple Grove Foundation and Cindy Artus for volunteering her time to pop enough popcorn for all the learners and staff🍁! The Foundation has graciously donated the supplies to have a popcorn day once a month along with Mrs. Artus being the master popper! We are grateful!
Benvenuto! Fifth grade learners in Ms. Szutkowski's class enjoyed a "book tasting" where they sampled some of the finest literature, enjoyed popcorn, and watched movie trailers of the books in this selection. Learners now have a list of personally-vetted fiction to enjoy for the rest of the year. Bon appétit!
