“Be Kromrey” Assemblies Held on Jan 24th to Celebrate the Kromrey Community and Focus on the 2nd Semester Theme of Kindness
With the band placed front-and-center, all 5-6th and 7-8th graders enjoyed an hour of music, “positive shout-outs”, an entertaining “name-that-tune” competition, recognition for “positive referrals”, and a sneak preview of entrants in the upcoming Poetry Slam event scheduled for March 18th.
Mr. Luebke emphasized the progress the students made with “Be Kromrey’s” 1st semester theme of Community and he encouraged everyone to embrace the 2nd semester theme of Kindness.
Specifically, Mr. Luebke encouraged the students to consider three things:
Each of us can contribute to helping make someone else’s day great
Each of us can notice other people around us
Each of us can take action to be kind to others in ways that helps them in that moment when they need a boost
For more details on the Be Kromrey program, please see the website here: https://sites.google.com/a/mcpasd.k12.wi.us/kms-pbis/
If you have questions about PBIS or have ideas on how you can help please contact Bill Luebke by email at bluebke@mcpasd.k12.wi.us.
Wednesday, February 19 at 6:30 pm
Dr. Beatriz Aguilar from Edgewood College “Youth Empowerment; Bridging Gaps”
Please join the PTO on February 19th at 6:30 pm in the Kromrey Middle School auditorium for a presentation by guest speaker Dr. Beatriz Aguilar from Edgewood College. Dr. Aguilar will talk about the value of pursuing higher educations and the importance of planning before going to high school. Then she will lead a panel discussion with MHS students about their own experiences and the barriers they’ve encountered in this process. The event is held in collaboration with the Latino Student Union advisor Alejandra Vasquez. All students and families are invited to attend!
Kromrey PTO Sunshine Committee Extends its Partnership with MOM
The PTO Sunshine Committee is embarking on an exciting new partnership with Middleton Outreach Ministry (MOM) and Nichole Carlisle, the Kromrey school social worker. A small group of representatives from MOM and the PTO, along with Ms. Carlisle, met to determine where PTO and MOM resources overlap and how to best leverage those resources to meet the needs of Kromrey students and families. The group discussed pooling available resources to provide snacks for students in need and to stretch the limited resources of both organizations. They also discussed how to coordinate efforts to ensure the school supply drives at MOM and the PTO are optimized to best serve the student population. Finally, the group discussed how to coordinate around needs related to clothing and beds/bedding for students. We are looking forward to more collaboration with this group to identify and meet the needs of our Kromrey students and families.
The ”We Love the Kromrey Staff Appreciation Luncheon” is on Feb 12th, Just in Time for Valentine’s Day
It’s the PTO’s honor and privilege to recognize the great work our teachers are doing at Kromrey. As we’ve seen in prior newsletters, the commitment and performance of our Kromrey teachers, administrators, students, and parents is second-to-none. It’s always valuable to take a moment to acknowledge that our middle school, and all the schools within our district, either “significantly exceeded expectations” or “exceeded expectations”. We can always do better and we’re always striving to improve, but we also want to express our appreciation (and our Valentine’s Day Love) to the teachers who make it happen all day, every day. Thank You!
The Kromrey Music Teachers Partner with the PTO to Encourage a Flourishing Music Program
By Darlayne Coughlin, Kromrey Band Teacher
The Kromrey Middle School Music Department would like to greatly thank the Kromrey PTO for supporting our fees to be a part of the Wisconsin School Music Association. The biggest event supported by this association is the District Solo and Ensemble Festival that is coming up at Middleton High School on Saturday, February 22nd. Kromrey will have 36 small ensembles (groups of 2-5 students from band, choir or orchestra) performing at the event. Five special large ensembles of students, included a clarinet choir, flute choir, saxophone choir, woodwind choir, brass choir and double reed ensemble will also perform at the event. In addition, a large number of 6th-8th grade students will perform solos: 107 solo events at the Class B & C levels. Most noteworthy are students taking on the challenge of performing Class A, the most difficult level of music. At this level, there are 2 choir soloists, 4 piano soloists, 7 string soloists and 16 band soloists. Should the student's performance earn a starred first, they will be granted the opportunity to advance to the State Solo and Ensemble Festival at UW-Platteville in late April.
In addition, 8th grade band, choir and orchestra students will be participating in the Beyond the Notes Music Festival at the Kalahari in late May. WSMA supports a Concert Group Festival Experience in which students perform as an entire ensemble for a panel of clinicians. The clinicians provide written and verbal critique for the ensemble and students have the opportunity to listen to other groups from around the state perform as well. The goals of this festival experience are to: 1) improve students' music performance 2) increase students' understanding of music literature and music concepts 3) motivate students to continue their study of music 4) establish standards of excellence in music performance and 5) provide opportunities for students to understand the relationship of music experiences to other life experiences. We are excited that for the first time ever, choir and orchestra are going to be part of this festival.
Lastly, WSMA offers our students the opportunity to perform in the WSMA Middle Level State Honors Project. The project offers musically accomplished youth in 6th, 7th or 8th grades, the opportunity to rehearse and perform with nationally-known conductors in a professional setting. All Honors groups (Band, Choir and Orchestra) students who make the group receive their music in August and meet for the first time the day before their fall performance. In the Fall of 2019, Kromrey had 3 orchestra students and 7 band students selected to participate while 4 others were selected as alternates. Each year, around 1100 auditions occur for the 311 available positions in the Middle Level Honors State Music Project.
Spirit Night 2020 Will be Held on Friday, March 13th from 3:40 – 8:30
Spirit night is one of the most fun, festive, and exciting events of the school year! The goal of the event is to promote healthy choices for teens and a spirit of connectedness to Kromrey. The cost is $7.00 to pay for snacks, dinner, games, movies, prizes, tournaments, and a DJ for the dance. Spirit Night is open to all 6th-8th grade students. Please encourage your 6th-8th grade students to attend.
See link to the Kromrey website: https://mcpasd.k12.wi.us/kromrey/news/spirit-night-march-13th
Kromrey Poetry Slam is Coming on Wednesday, March 18th at 6:30 pm
The poetry slam is one of Mr. Ricks favorite events! He can't wait to join Kromrey's emerging poets in this artistic extravaganza! Please sign up here to perform your poem: https://www.kromreypto.org/poetry-slam
WHAT IS THE POETRY SLAM?
The Kromrey Poetry Slam is a non-competitive poetry reading event. Students may recite original poems or poems written by published authors. Take a few minutes to find a published poem that “speaks to you” or try to write your own poem. www.poetryfoundation.org is an excellent site for written poetry and poetry videos.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
Students: All Kromrey students are invited to participate in the Kromrey Poetry Slam. Families: All families are welcome to attend the Kromrey Poetry Slam as audience members to support and encourage the students.
WHAT IS A POETRY SLAM LIKE?
Students will recite their pre-approved poetry on the Kromrey stage for an audience of family & friends. The collaborative and non-competitive nature of the Kromrey Poetry Slam means that the audience listens, supports, and encourages the students. In keeping with the tradition of a typical poetry slam, audience members will snap their fingers instead of clapping. The atmosphere will be warm and inviting for everyone.
Online Donations to the Kromrey PTO
If you haven’t had the opportunity to donate, please follow this link to the PTO website and click on the red "PTO Donations" button. It’s quick, it’s easy, and your gift produces great results for your kids. Thank you!!! https://www.kromreypto.org/donate
Communications Tools and Resources
There are many ways to stay connected with everything happening at Kromrey:
eNews signup - https://mcpasd.k12.wi.us/kromrey/enews-signup
Kromrey PTO website - https://www.kromreypto.org/
Subscribe to the Kromrey PTO e-mail list - https://www.kromreypto.org/about
Kromrey PTO Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KromreyMiddleSchoolPTO/
PTO Monthly Newsletters - https://www.kromreypto.org/news
PTO Board Members
President - Danielle Boorstein
Treasurer - Sam Garlock
Communications – Chris Jones
Sunshine Fund – Melissa Dale
Events – Rebecca Charles
Fundraising – Fran Priddy
We'd love to hear from you! Please contact us at: https://www.kromreypto.org/contact