Maple Grove Charter School - One Town. One Team. One Dream.

Today was a day filled with extra fresh air for those that met last months reading goals. Goals are set by learners with their classroom teachers. While the snow caused some changes to the plans, it was a wonderful morning filled with flag football, fort building, and ice skating on the frozen patches of pavement! The Hamburg fire department that comes to read with learners on Friday mornings provided book marks that were paired with a cookie treat. It is amazing to see so many learners meeting their goal each month! Keep up the reading and let’s aim for 100% one of these months😀

Thank you to our wonderful PTO who sponsored our movie night🍿 🎥 at MGCS! A shout out to our families and staff members who attended our family event. It was a great way to wind down the day!

I don’t think anyone is going to be able to wipe the smile off of the faces of Ms. Etten's 1st grade class at Maple Grove Charter School. Learners got an intergalactic experience that brought the science lesson to real life. Learners were actively engaged in studying the constellations within the StarLab. It was an absolutely outstanding learning experience that not only helped them understand the constellations, but also presented them with a new love and interest in exploring the night sky! Some of the key takeaways of the experience were regarding the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Many tales are associated with the Little Dipper and being able to hear the tales while surrounded by the constellations was "unimaginably exciting" (to quote a first grader). The Little Dipper is located in the northern hemisphere There are seven stars that form the Little Dipper asterism, and they are Kochab, Urodelus, Yildun, Polaris, Pherkad, Ahfa al Farkadain and Anwar al Farkadain.

Thanks to Cindy Artus and her family, grades 3-5 at Maple Grove Charter School were able to attend the Call of the Wild performance at the Grand Theater. She also sponsored a reserved lunch space for us in the Great Hall. For some students, this was their very time at this building or their very first time seeing an out-of-district live show. Their takeaways were: "Wow, what comfy chairs." Or "Look at this luxurious bathroom." Or "How is that performer doing this show all by himself?"

Reminder: Monday, January 15th, is a Staff Inservice day, so it's a non student day. Stay warm.

The kindergarten class at MGCS has been engaging in a literacy unit titled "Weather Wonders". We learned how to prepare for various types of weather, what it's like around the world, and also how weather can affect people. To celebrate our new-found knowledge, we welcomed back meteorologist Justin Loew from WAOW to speak about his profession. We thank him for sharing his expertise! 🌤❄️

The School District of Athens will be closed tomorrow January 12, 2024 due to inclement weather. There will be no after school activities or athletic events.

Fifth grade learners at Maple Grove have been busy this winter! Before break, we celebrated the winter solstice by making ice luminaries with balloons and bowls, and learned why winter solstice occurs, as well as what is going on in the rest of the world during this time. We also learned the finer points of birdwatching by learning proper use of binoculars and bird field guides.

Maple Grove Charter School offers a once a month afterschool Artastic Club to our 3rd-5th graders, taught by Stephanie Kohli. Learners were challenged to create their own "Wearable Art." Please vote for your favorite. Voting ends Feb. 10!

Fourth graders at Maple Grove Charter School recently had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some animals that they were interested in. Mrs. Elizabeth Bloch brought in one of her rabbits and one of her chickens, and taught students about them during their outdoor labs class. Students had the opportunity to ask questions as well as touch the animals. Thank you for sharing your expertise Mrs. Bloch!

This season is always filled with excitement- especially in a classroom! Kindergarten learners at MGCS celebrated the last day before winter break by decorating 2D gingerbread houses. 🎄 Happy Holidays!

Even MGCS chickens had a Merry Christmas with their new "Chicknic" table and new hats!

The Brook Trout at Maple Grove Charter School recently received a couple of early Christmas presents. First, an automatic fish food feeder arrived just in time before Winter break. This will allow the trout to continue to feed on a specific amount of protein powder three times a day automatically. The second gift received was the release from the breeder net into the large tank. This was made possible because the Brook Trout have now entered their third life stage: fry. This means that their egg sacs have absorbed into their bodies so they now swim up to the surface looking for food. They are also about one inch long and have their black bands/stripes. The students caring for the trout have mixed emotions at this moment. Some are so excited for this progress and others are so sad that the trout are growing up too fast. This sounds like the same struggle that all parents experience.

Mrs. Zamzow's 4th grade Outdoor Lab class recently had the opportunity to spend the day at the Merrill School Forest. Mrs. Sandy Benton led us through a fun day of outdoor learning. We did some experiments about retaining heat in cold weather, looked for evidence of deer, found many tracks that we tried to identify, and pretended to be deer browsing for food. What a fun and educational day we had!

Did you know that the land that Maple Grove Charter School is on was once part of the Ojibwe and Menominee tribes’ ancestral land? This is just one interesting fact that the 4th graders learned during their study of Native Americans and the Fur Trade. The outdoor lab students also learned many fun facts about cranberries when Mrs. Bunkelman came and taught a lab class and made them a special cranberry treat. Whitetail deer was another recent area of study for the 4th graders. They learned about the different ways that deer communicate with each other by using vocal, visual, and chemical communication. They then spent time searching the school property for evidence of deer. They were excited to find deer tracks, evidence of where deer had browsed for food, as well as deer urine and scat!

On Monday, December 11th, Ms.Etten's first grade class was fortunate enough to go to the Merrill School Forest for one of the most memorable days of the school year hosted by the one and only Mr. Noland! Learners experienced birds eating right before their own eyes, about 3 inches in front to be specific. Mr. Noland challenged learners to become "bird whisperers", earning the trust of the birds. The birds had to be trusting enough to land on a twig, attached to a plastic plate, attached to goggles worn by learners😂 quite a sight! I truly do not have a name for the contraption, but know that we had two successful bird whisperers. Black cap chickadees eat birdseed right from the face plate. When over that excitement, the use of binoculars helped us see birds that were not as trusting and remained farther away. Learners then engaged in lessons with experimenting bird features and behaviors. Specifically their habitat when using tools as representation of their beaks. In the afternoon, we were active outdoors exploring more animal adaptations. Thank you to Mr. Noland and Ms. Nancy for their dedication in making the day a memorable and education filled day! Thank you to the chaperones that enjoyed the day of learning and got to experience a first grade bus ride and class lunch filled with much excitement in their voices. I could continue on telling about the excitement, but often times pictures do more justice!

Another Polar Express Day at MGCS is in the books! A huge thank you goes out to community member Cindy Artus & Family for preparing this magical experience for our kindergarten and 5th grade foxes 🚂🎄

Two more events on our YouTube Channel tonight. Maple Groves Christmas Concert 3-5 starts at 6pm. Wrestling also at 6pm. https://www.youtube.com/@schooldistrictofathenswisc604/streams

Two events on our YouTube Channel tonight. Maple Groves Christmas Concert K-2 starts at 6pm. Boys basketball VS Stratford, Varsity at 7pm.

Our kindergarten foxes had a "berry" exciting activity brought to them by the Agriculture team! Mrs. Bunkelman led us through various observations about our state fruit.  Not only did we watch fresh cranberries float in water, but we also discovered four air pockets within each one. After a quick taste test, learners were then challenged to build 2D and 3D shapes.  We are so grateful for these lab experiences!