A big thank you to the Hamburg Volunteer Fire Department 🔥 From now until the end of the year volunteers from the fire department will come to MGCS each week to read with our learners! They sponsor our “Fired up Read” program with helping to encourage reading to our young readers. They also sponsor a fire truck ride, pizza party, and a new bike to some very lucky winners who meet their reading goals at the end of the school year! The kids get so excited to be able to read with a “real” firefighter/paramedic:) We are grateful for their support!
The School District of Athens will be closed tomorrow January 19, 2023 due to inclement weather. There will be no afterschool activities or athletic events.
Please welcome Kelly Steidinger to our MGCS Governance Board. Kelly came onto the board in November this year and we are excited to have another community member on our board! Here is a little bit about Kelly...
Hello Maple Grove & Hamburg/Athens Community Members,
I am excited to serve on the governance board to help the Maple Grove Charter school grow and flourish in the new year!
I am a Communication Instructor at Mid-State Technical College on the Stevens Point and Marshfield campuses for the past eleven years teaching English, communication, and psychology courses. I have also taught communication courses at SUNY-Fredonia, Winona State, Augsburg, and UW-Stevens Point Universities over the course of the past 16 years. I earned my Master of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2007 and will be finishing my Master of Arts in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Human Development and Learning in Summer 2023 at Ball State University. I am looking forward to using the educational knowledge I have acquired and the skills I have developed from volunteering in various non-profit organizations, as a governance board member. For more information about my professional and non-profit experiences, feel free to review my LinkedIn Profile. In my free time, I work with my husband Bruce to raise 50-head beef cattle and cultivate a large garden on Schoolhouse Lane.
I am joining the board to “pay it forward” to the next generation of learners because I know that those in the past have contributed to providing me with a valuable public education. I look forward to meeting everyone and to “paying it forward” in 2023!
Sincerely,
Kelly Soczka Steidinger
Maple Grove’s 3rd Graders had another amazing time at the Merrill School Forest with Mr. Noland and his crew. Students learned about the different attributes of animal footprints and how that can determine if the animal is a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. They also were able to try cross-country skiing and of course, the ever famous trash bag sledding.
Kindergarten students at MGCS enjoyed planning & building an outdoor shelter to withstand various weather conditions. 🌦 They have been creating their own weatherproof shelters in the classroom, and this experience will help them revise their mini models as they go! A huge thank you goes out to Draeger's Dairy Farm for the donation and delivery of the straw bales. We appreciate the community support of our outdoor learning!
The results are in on Maple Grove's Wearable Art Challenge! Congratulations to First Place winner Melody (3rd Grade number 13), Second Place Charles (5th Grade number 2) and Third Place Gauge (5th Grade number 15)!!
Well done learners and thank you to all the parents who helped out and the people who voted!
At the end of December, the first grade class from MGCS were able to spend the day at the Merrill School Forest. Students began the day with studying the “right” tool for the job in terms of a birds beak. They were given the job of using tools to eat out of different habitats as a bird would. Different shaped tools such as pliers, a strainer, tweezers, and grilling tongs.
Lunch is always a blast spent eating in the cabin with pack lunches and chaperones adding to the excitement! The afternoon was busy to say the least. Right after lunch we hit the trails on snowshoes. Watching 21 first graders bind their snowshoes and go out on the fresh snow covered trails… priceless😆 they flop with their feet like new ducklings. The time left in the afternoon, up until the minute the bus had to leave, we spent sledding on Mr. Nolands spectacular man made snow hills. Students found out how much fun old school sledding is! Nothing is like hitting the hills on a black garbage bag☺️. Thank you to Mr. Noland and all the chaperones that were able to make this day the memorable experience it was!
Happy Holidays from Maple Grove Charter School! Thank you to Windy Hill Christmas Tree Farm and Lori Studinski for the donation of the beautiful garland for all to enjoy!
The School District of Athens will be closed tomorrow December 22, 2022 due to inclement weather. There will be no afterschool activities or athletic events.
A huge shout out to The Nook in the Woods for our new Maple Grove Charter School “merch!” Such great designs! Love seeing them around school and at parent pick-up!
The 3rd, 4th & 5th graders at Maple Grove who are part of the Artastic Club were given a challenge to create wearable art. They began with a plain garment and then were instructed to make it more interesting using any materials/methods they'd like. Parents were encouraged to help. The winner of this challenge will receive a $25 Michaels gift card. Please vote for your favorite by January 1st!
The beauty of fresh fallen snow was vibrant at Maple Grove Charter School! Learners got to explore the beautiful woods during labs and play in its fluffiness during recess ❄️
Board Meeting Update. Monday's School Board meeting will be moved up and start at 5:30 pm at the Middle/High School Library.
The School District of Athens will be closed tomorrow December 15, 2022 due to inclement weather. There will be no after school activities or athletic events.
The School District of Athens will be closed today, December 14, 2022 due to inclement weather. There will be no after school activities or athletic events.
The past few weeks, 5th grade students at MGCS have been gathering data on their school forest, including the pH of the soil, soil type, density of trees, and biodiversity, among other measures. With this information, students will determine the overall health of the forest and decide how to improve it, if necessary.
First grade students at MGCS were able to apply there CRISP traits to the outdoor labs on Friday. Stewardship, Perseverance, and Craftsmanship were at the highest priority when constructing bird feeders to help the birds surrounding Maple Grove make it through the winter with limited natural food supply. Students were given the resources of recycled paper towel rolls, roping, milk jugs, old pencils, and produce mesh bags to build bird feeder stations. The first graders will be responsible for maintaining the food supply of peanut butter, bird seed, and cranberries. We will be carrying this over into our math by graphing observations made throughout the day, including bird sightings, most common time of day for feeding, and amount of food used throughout the week. Students were so proud of their final product!
MGCS staff and families had a great time ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Fleet Farm and Walmart in Merrill. Even Maple the Fox 🦊 joined in!
Such a fun 3-5 concert tonight at MGCS! Our learners rocked it and put everyone in the holiday spirit! Thank you to Mrs. Matz who wrote and directed “The Best Gift!” They truly spread the message of “Share your goodwill.”
Thank you again to the MGCS PTO for the traditional Christmas bags and the MGCS Foundation for the generous gift!
Our hearts are full! It was a packed gymnasium tonight at MGCS! What a great way to get into the holiday spirit with our K-2 concert tonight. They did a fantastic job!
A shout out goes to Mrs. Matz for putting together such a great program! To our learners for their hard work and perseverance. To our PTO for the gift of Christmas Bags for every child and to the Maple Grove Charter School Foundation for your generous gift for the kids and staff! We appreciate you all!
