2025-2026 September Family Communication

 Dear Middle School Families,

Here we go!  The 2025-2026 school year is here and we are excited to work with your student and with all of you.  Believe it or not, school years seem to fly by and we encourage everyone to be present and enjoy the journey.  If by chance you have questions throughout the year, please don’t hesitate to contact me:

Dr. Jeff Eichelkraut, Principal

608-527-5514 (office phone)

jeff.eichelkraut@ngsd.k12.wi.us

We hope everyone has a great year at NGMS!

Drop-Off and Pick-Up At The Middle School

Parents or guardians who are dropping off or picking up students will need to park across the street by the Sports Complex. Students will then need to cross the street in the crosswalk. There will be an adult crossing guard to assist students in safely crossing the street before and after school. The driveway in front of the school is reserved for our school bus drop off and pick up.

Arrival time for Middle School students is 7:45-8:00, students will enter through the main middle school doors and go straight to the MPR for morning announcements. Students will be dismissed from school at 3:30. Please note, school starts at 8:00, any students arriving after 8:00 will be considered tardy and will need to check in through the middle school office prior to going to class.

Attendance-

For this year, we will continue to focus on strong attendance.  The biggest reason for good attendance is that we truly miss our students when they are gone.   Every class and every part of our school is better when all students are in attendance.  We look forward to seeing everyone in the new school year!

Breakfast-

This year, students will have breakfast between 1st and 2nd period.  At the end of 1st hour surveys, students will stop by the Commons on their way back to 2nd hour for breakfast.  Students can grab their items and take them to their 2nd hour classroom to eat.  We thank the Taher staff for always making sure our students are fed and ready to learn!

Second Step-

In effort to ensure all of our students are college and career ready, we will be providing additional lessons using the Second Step program for all students.  These lessons will be part of 6th-grade Health and 7th and 8th-grade Social Studies.  The lessons are once per week and will take approximately 20 minutes.   The lessons include ways to help students communicate, collaborate, solve problems, make good decisions, set and meet goals, and process their emotions.  

iReady Diagnostic Assessment-

Students in the Middle School, as well as the Elementary School, will start their beginning-of-the-year i-Ready Diagnostic during the week of September 15th.  The i-Ready Diagnostic provides meaningful data about the instructional needs of students and connects them to an i-Ready math and reading Personalized Instruction program that is proven to raise student achievement. The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your student’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. i-Ready Personalized Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual skill level and needs, so your student can learn at a pace that is just right for them.

Canvas-

Parents that are interested in viewing their student’s progress can do so through Canvas.  Parents can sign up to observe their student’s account at Canvas for Parents, which will always be available as a link on each monthly update.  For a tutorial on how to navigate Canvas, please go to Navigating Canvas.

ALICE Review For Students and Families-

During the first week of school, I will be reviewing our ALICE protocols with students.  ALICE is our response to any violent intruder emergency.  ALICE stands for:

A- Alert

L- Lockdown

I- Inform

C- Counter

E- Evacuate

This is not a linear progression, but rather a menu of options for students and staff in case of emergency.  These will all be reviewed with students and staff on Wednesday, September 3rd.   Additionally, all students and staff will walk to the rally point, which is the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church on Friday, September 5th.

After School Adventures-

Once again, we will be offering After School Adventures for students, grades 5-12.  After School Adventures is a program where teachers offer and teach fun classes after school starting the 4th week of each trimester.  The courses, which will be shared with students and families the week of September 8th, will run from 3:35-4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and are free to students.  After School Adventures will start on Wednesday, September 24th and run through Wednesday, November 5th.  Please watch for registration and course information coming in a couple of weeks.

Bridging Brighter Smiles-

Bridging Brighter Smiles is returning for the 2025-2026 school year to provide preventative dental care at New Glarus Schools. Bridging Brighter Smiles will be at New Glarus Middle School on Thursday, September 11th for student visits.

Families may simply go to enrollment.bbsmiles.org to complete the form right from a smartphone, or a computer.  The form is also available through the Bridging Brighter Smiles website at www.bridgingbrightersmiles.org/forms. When families hit "submit" the form is then directly transmitted to the Bridging Brighter Smiles operational office.

Fall Picture Day-

Fall Picture Day will be held for all Middle School students on Tuesday, September 16th. Orders can be placed online at Lifetouch.com using the Picture Day ID EVTXS8JDS. Please note, this code is specific to the Middle School. To receive photos upon first delivery, please be sure to order prior to the event online. Otherwise, you will receive a proof sheet of your student’s portrait which photos can be ordered.

New Glarus Middle School & High School Yearbook-

We’re thrilled to kick off the creation of this year’s New Glarus Middle and High school yearbook - and there are some exciting changes in store! This year we are partnering with a new company, Treering, to bring a modern, customizable yearbook experience. Here is what you need to know: We are combining the memories of MS and HS students into one amazing yearbook! The price is yes $38.00, order early and get 10% off with the Early Bird Discount. Order now through this link: New Glarus High School and Middle School yearbook.  

NGMS Blog-

Stay up to date with events at New Glarus Middle School by going to newglarusmiddleschool.blogspot.com.  

New Glarus PTO-

The PTO has planned fun events to support our students, families and teachers. We invite you to participate. Stay tuned for additional calendar events and details.

September

8th: Clubs Choice Fundraiser (through 9/29/25)

9th: PTO meeting (6:30pm) @ ES cafeteria

October

7th:  PTO meeting (6:30pm) @ ES cafeteria

15th-24th-  Scholastic Book Fair- open during PT Conferences

30th:  Clubs Choice pick up Times

Would you like to learn how you can join or support the PTO?  Contact us at newglaruspto@gmail.com.  Find us on FACEBOOK Search “New Glarus School PTO” 

Mark Your Calendars-

Monday, September 1, 2025 Labor Day; No School

Tuesday, September 2, 2025 First day of school

Monday, September 15, 2025 iReady Testing this week

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Picture Day

Monday, September 19, 2025 iReady make-up testing this week

*Looking ahead - Please note that there is No School for students on Friday, October 3rd due to a Staff Inservice Day.  There is also no school on Monday, October 20th.  Middle School Parent-Teacher conferences are Wednesday, October 22, 2025 (more information to come).

Helpful Links For Parents

- New Glarus Middle School Volleyball Calendar

- New Glarus Middle School Cross Country Calendar