Kindness
Dear Families,
February is probably best known for Valentine's Day, a holiday dedicated to love and often celebrated with such tokens as cards, flowers, candy hearts, and chocolates. Another celebration related to love falls on February 17 — Random Acts of Kindness Day, a kindness movement promoted by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.
Unlike chocolate, love and kindness are things we could use larger servings of in our lives. Scientific evidence shows there are positive effects of being on the receiving end of loving acts as well as when doing them for others. Just witnessing an act of kindness can be uplifting. It can make you smile. It can make you feel good. It can give you hope.
What if at least once a day we made the effort to go slightly out of our way to spread love and kindness?
In his book Born for Love, Leo Buscaglia notes that just like we “learn” to be human, we must also learn to love. It's something that must be “acted out and acted upon” in order for it to be realized. Buscaglia crafted what he termed a “Love Quiz”, a kind of litmus test to assess how you think you're doing at life and at love. I encourage you to take the quiz and self reflect on your relationships with yourself, your extended family, and most of all your children.
• Is anyone a little happier because I came along today?
• Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of my love?
• Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive light?
• Did I help someone to feel joy, to laugh, or at least to smile?
• Have I attempted to remove a little of the rust that is corroding my relationships?
• Have I gone through the day without fretting over what I don?t have and celebrating the things I do have?
• Have I forgiven others for being less than perfect?
• Have I forgiven myself?
• Have I learned something new about life, living, or love?
Love and kindness require connectedness. Let's look for ways to strengthen existing connections with the people in our lives, including those with whom we don't have a great kinship. Let's look for ways to build new connections with people we've admired from afar. And most of all, let's make love and kindness intentional in our daily lives.
Love is the life soul. It is the harmony of the universe.
Together we are better,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
P.S. Don't forget you can share in the appreciation for all of the good things that are going on in the District. Visit our Celebrate GSD! page to read the notes of gratitude we've gotten so far — and to share your own.
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I hope your break was safe and restful and that everyone had the chance to relax and enjoy some quality time with family during the holidays.
Along with the requisite resolutions, the start of a new year means we can flip our focus to fresh starts and new beginnings. And after the year we just experienced, I'm sure we're all eager to do just that. But before we completely turn the page on 2020, I'd like to pause and give a giant “thank you” to the entire Germantown School District community for the commitment and support that you continue to provide to our students, our families, and our staff.
While the new year may still present us with adversity in addition to opportunity, I know that when we work together we truly are better. We will continue to encourage one another. We will continue to celebrate one another. And we will continue to take pride in the accomplishments of all members of our greater GSD family. It's acts of kindness, whether large or small, that move us forward despite the obstacles and challenges that can get in our way.
Help us shine a light on the positive things happening in and around the Germantown School District. If you have an inspiring school-related story, a “shout out” to someone amazing, something special that inspires joy, we'd love to hear about them, even if we're not able to share them all. Send your anecdotes to celebrate@gsdwi.org and let's remind one another that we have much to be thankful for as we start 2021.
Together we are better,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
Dear Families,
Last night the Germantown School Board voted to pivot from the current Hybrid Model at Kennedy Middle School and Germantown High School to a more traditional five days per week in-person learning starting third quarter (January 26, 2021). The fully virtual option will remain available to any student who wishes for that model. Due to this recent change, we are providing families an opportunity to resubmit their choice for in-person or virtual for the third quarter. Parents and students will be able to change their option for fourth quarter.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
In-person Learning — Starting January 26, 2021, the in-person model will be five days per week. As before, if a student would like to switch to virtual learning at any point in the quarter they may, with the understanding that they are in that model until the end of the quarter.
Virtual Learning — Fully virtual students will tune into each class as it is happening live. This model will not change for third quarter if your child chooses to remain fully virtual.
HIGH SCHOOL
In-person Learning — Starting January 26, 2021, the in-person model will be five days per week. As before, if a student would like to switch to virtual learning at any point in the quarter they may, with the understanding that they are in that model until the end of the quarter.
Virtual Learning — Fully virtual students will tune into each class as it is happening live. This model will not change for third quarter if your child chooses to remain fully virtual.
Click on this link to register your child’s choice. The deadline to register is January 5, 2021.
Sincerely,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
Dear Parents,
We are changing our transportation policy for the 2021–2022 school year and will be requiring parents to fill out a survey indicating that they would like their child to be transported via school bus to and from our schools.
Starting on January 15, 2021, an online form will be available for you to fill out in Skyward Family Access. We will be sending a tutorial on how to fill out the form shortly before that date. In order to be added to a bus route for the 2021–2022 school year, you must fill out the form before July 9 for each student.
New to the district students, including new Kindergarten students and incoming parochial students, will fill out the form when they enroll and do not need to fill it out a second time.
If circumstances change, and you initially do not need transportation but need to be added to a route and it is after July 9, the change will be made within five business days.
Dear Germantown School District Parents and Guardians,
The following information explains in detail the Germantown School District's decision-making protocols for determining if there will be a weather-related school cancellation or delay.
Communicating emergency school closure/delay information
Extreme weather is unpredictable and the decision to close or delay the start of school is communicated as rapidly as possible in consideration of families who need time to make proper arrangements. On occasions when weather is forecasted that might impact the safety of student arrival, we are actively assessing the situation by 4:00 am; we strive to make a decision on any cancellation or delay before 5:30 am.
When the decision is made to close or delay school due to inclement weather, the District will send an automated message to all families and staff. To ensure that you are informed of school closings or delays, please inform your school office(s) if you have had any changes to your contact information since summer registration. The District also posts school closure information at www.gsdwi.org and major news radio and network television stations.
Making the decision to close or delay due to inclement weather
In addition to weather conditions, the decision to close or delay is based on factors such as road conditions, bus operations, and building and site conditions. We consult with a variety of resources — local meteorologists, neighboring superintendents, local highway officials, Riteway busing, and the District's buildings & grounds teams — to make an informed decision. Please note that decisions made are based on district-wide weather and conditions to ensure the safety of all students and staff. Closings may or may not occur in nearby districts regardless of the conditions in our immediate area.
A note on dangerously cold temperatures
Snow and ice cause most weather-related school closings and delays, but there are times when school days may be affected by severe cold. If air temperature and wind generate a Wind Chill Warning (defined by the National Weather Service as –35°F sustained wind chill) we will close for the day, or if it occurs during student travel times, we will consider a delayed start. We will hold school during a Wind Chill Watch or Advisory.
As parents and guardians, if you feel conditions are unsafe and school is open, you have the option of not sending your child(ren) to school. Please communicate this absence with your school office if you make this decision.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about weather related delays/cancellations. Best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful holiday season.
Sincerely,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
Dear Families,
It's hard to believe we are closing in on the end of 2020 and are just weeks away from the end of first semester. With the next semester on the horizon, it's time again for families to choose either the in-person or virtual learning model for their students. Please note this decision will be for the entire second semester (quarters 3 & 4 — January 26–June 10). Below is more information regarding each of our school divisions.
Elementary School
Sign-up Link
In-person Learning — Current in-person students are assigned a dedicated teacher for face-to-face instruction at their "home" school. These assignments will not change for second semester if you continue in-person learning.
Fully Virtual Learning — The District's goal of providing a dedicated virtual learning teacher for those families that chose the virtual option has had its challenges, at times combining students from different schools into one class.
Please understand that depending on second semester numbers, there may be the need to reassign students from their current virtual teacher in order to balance class sizes across the district. For example, a loss or gain of five or more students in a class impacts how we can best serve the students at current staffing levels, which can result in reorganizing student and staff placement. Please note that the choice for second semester is for quarters 3 & 4 in order to minimize student/staff disruptions for the remainder of the school year.
Middle School
Sign-up Link
In-person Learning — Currently a hybrid model (AA, Virtual Day, BB). Please note the possibility exists that the School Board will make the decision to return the middle school to five days per week in-person learning at some point during second semester.
Fully Virtual Learning — Currently fully virtual students are primarily in a synchronous model where they tune into each class as it is happening live. This model will not change for the second semester if your child chooses to attend fully virtual.
High School
Sign-up Link
In-person Learning — Currently a hybrid model (alternating A & B days). Please note the possibility exists that the School Board will make the decision to return the high school to five days per week in-person learning at some point during second semester.
Fully Virtual Learning — Currently fully virtual students are primarily in a synchronous model where they tune into each class as it is happening live. This model will not change for second semester if your child chooses to attend fully virtual.
Please click on any of the links to complete the survey for your student(s). The survey will close on Monday, December 21, 2020.
Sincerely,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
During the November 23, 2020, Board of Education meeting, the School Board voted to make a change to the district calendar that will impact two school days: Monday, January 25, 2021, and Friday, February 12, 2021. Originally these days were student days, however, they will now be district-wide professional development and teacher work days. In short, staff will report and students will not.
An updated calendar can be found on our website.
Sincerely,
Brett Stousland
Superintendent
Hello Germantown Families,
As we all know, the CDC has released new guidelines for the quarantine period for those individuals who have been identified as a close contact to a positive COVID-19 individual. We thank you for your patience as we worked through these guidelines with the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department.
Starting Monday, December 7, 2020, the Germantown School District will be following the new quarantine guidelines from the CDC, which have been reviewed and approved by both the WI Department of Health Services and the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department. The CDC still states that a ‘14 day quarantine is the gold standard’; however, the risk of infecting others after day 10 is dramatically reduced. Continued monitoring of symptoms on days 11–14 need to continue and be reported immediately to the school if anything develops.
Students that are currently in quarantine will be notified of a new return date on Monday, December 7. Please watch for detailed updates to our COVID-19 webpage located on the Germantown website next week.
For those that wish to get tested and come back earlier must be tested on day 6 or 7 of their quarantine, and have the following on their tests results:
- Date the test was performed
- Name of the individual tested
- Negative test result seen
All test results must be submitted to the student's school before they are allowed to return to the building. Please remember, that students who choose to get tested, may not come back until they receive their test results, which could take longer than their quarantine time.
You may contact me at tmamayek@gsdwi.org for any questions you may have.
Thank you,
Tammy Mamayek, RN BSN
Germantown School District Nurse
Dear Families,
In America, November is most widely associated with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving originated from the Pilgrims who wanted to give thanks for their new land and surviving a treacherous winter. In a completely different, yet similar way, all of us have been trying to survive 2020 for various reasons.
The world has changed since the days of Pilgrims’, however, the act of being thankful is still a valuable and timeless behavior. The following are reflective thoughts that may increase your thankfulness. The origin of these quotes are unknown but can be found in a variety of postings on the internet.
- If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week
- If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of five hundred million people around the world.
- If you attend a church, mosque, or synagogue meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture of death, you are better than almost three billion people in the world.
- If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
- If you have money in the bank, in your wallet or purse, change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% in the world.
- If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are richer because the majority of people can, but most do not.
- If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are special because you can offer a healing touch.
- If you can read this message, you should be thankful that you are not one of over two billion people in the world who cannot read anything at all.
I am thankful for the opportunity to work in a school district that has tremendously talented students and staff, and a parent community that values education. During the month of November, and future months, I encourage you to talk with your child about what they are thankful for in their lives.
Together we are better,
Brett Stousland
District Administrator
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Help us shine a light on the positive things happening in and around the Germantown School District. If you have an inspiring school-related story, a “shout out” to someone amazing, something special that inspires joy, we’d love to hear about them, even if we’re not able to share them all. Send your anecdotes to celebrate@gsdwi.org and let’s remind one another that we have much to be thankful.
Our staff & students are something to celebrate! Read some of the positive notes about our district.
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