Options Virtual Charter School

Due to the current conditions we will call school off for today, Thursday, February 23, 2023. We will be able to have buildings available for school activities and community use by 2:30 p.m. Please check your email for more information. Stay safe!

Congratulations and welcome to Devin Gatton, who has been selected by the Elkhorn Area School District Board of Education to fill the vacant seat on our School Board. Thank you to all of the candidates who applied to serve our community. Your willingness to volunteer your time and expertise is what truly makes us 1Herd! Mr. Gatton has been appointed to serve on the Board of Education until April 21, 2024.

Happy National School Resource Officer Day to Officer Termaat! Thank you for all you do for our students, staff, and community!

The EASD Resiliency Coalition invites you to join the conversation on Wednesday, February 15, at Jackson Elementary School. This month's conversation will focus on raising a lifelong learner. Find out what makes your child want to learn, how to keep them engaged, and how to know what makes them happy. Staff from Jackson Elementary will share their expertise with you. Register to attend this FREE event online at https://forms.gle/bBBKJeZzJwJwxJtz7.

EASD is looking for substitute teachers to join our team! Visit tinyurl.com/EASD-Sub to learn more. Substitute teachers earn $125 per day and enjoy flexibility in scheduling.

Calling All Three-Year-Olds! Elkhorn’s Playgroup is looking for you! This program is a playgroup consisting of five students with special needs and five typically developing students. It meets twice a week for two hours a day at Jackson Elementary School in Mrs. Kitzmiller’s classroom. During this program, play-based learning will expose students to literacy, gross and fine motor, and language development activities. This model allows for enrichment for all children who participate in the program. Research shows that these blended classrooms provide benefits for all children who participate. To be eligible to attend: Children should be age three by September 1, 2023, and toilet trained. Registration is limited to five students per session, and a lottery system will be utilized to determine placement. The lottery will be held on May 15, 2023, and families will be notified by May 19, 2023, if their child is selected to attend. Families of peer models will need to provide their own transportation to and from school. Playgroup Sections: Tues/Thurs 9:00-11:00 am Wed/Fri 9:00-11:00 am Tues/Wed/Thurs 1:00- 3:00 pm Register online at tinyurl.com/playgroup-23-24 Please contact Jill Kitzmiller at kitzji@elkhorn.k12.wi.us if you would like further information.

EAHS Cheer is excited to offer another Youth Cheer Clinic! Sign up today for this March 11, 2023 clinic. Participants will receive 3 hours of instruction, a t-shirt, and will perform at the halftime show during the WIAA Regional Varsity Basketball game! Sign up at tinyurl.com/march-cheer!

Calling all four-year-olds! 4K enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is now open! If your student will turn four on or before September 1, 2023, they're eligible to enroll! Visit tinyurl.com/Elkhorn-4K to learn more about 4K programming in the Elkhorn Area School District and to start the enrollment process.

Interested in Lacrosse? Now that the WIAA has approved Lacrosse as a high school sport, you'll want to get the skills needed to play! Indoor practices are happening in the Agility Center now. Visit elkhornlacrosse.com to register.

Just a reminder that the Love to Read Event & Options Scholastic Book Fair Love to Read Dress Up days is this week!! Thur., Feb 2nd 4-6 PM Please be sure to Sign-up , https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXB0WbJm9-tAJ5pEpXb_Ovk4MeUvj7tuRKcar3MJPofUy7Wg/viewform, we want to be sure to have enough supplies & surprises for all the students attending! Book Fair will be open from 4-7pm, Feb 2nd Come join the Options staff and have a fun filled evening of reading, activities , and the Scholastic Book Fair! Can't come to the Book Fair - NO PROBLEM! You can shop online or set up a wallet for your student to shop while at school. check out the link below! OPTIONS VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOL, 534 SUNSET DR, ELKHORN, WI 53121, FAIR DATES Feb 2 - Feb 9 BOOK FAIR ONLINE LINK, https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/options All purchases through the Book Fair benefit our school. Thanks for supporting our kids! Happy reading!

Plans on the 4th? Join Dr. Ryan Brower for Walk with a Doc! Saturday, February 4, 8:30-9:30 a.m. at Elkhorn Area High School. Meet at the main entrance. Walk at your own pace and distance. Learn about Whole Health Reflection Exercise and connect with a health professional in a relaxed setting. Meet new friends and have fun!

The annual Elkhorn Autism Support Team (EAST) Chili & Soup Cook Off returns on Thursday, February 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Elkhorn Area Middle School. Over 30 soups and chilis will be available. $10 all you can eat, kids 12 and under eat for $5. Hot dogs and to-cups also available. The EAST online auction will start one week prior to the event. Stay tuned to event.gives/2023eastchili for updates.

Tuesday, 1/17/23, we were fortunate to have two librarians, Andrea Rohloff & Jessica Dowling, from Matheson Memorial Library come to Options with a mobile library. Each month, they will bring a small mobile library and a craft to do with the Options students grades 4K-5th. Participation is optional and will occur during lunch recess. The books that the students select can be brought back to Options or dropped off at Matheson Memorial Library. Andrea & Jessica will be back at Options on the following dates 2/14, 3/14, 4/11, 5/9. Thanks ladies for stopping over at Options, the kids had a great time!

The Elkhorn Benefit Boutique is collecting clean, slightly used Prom, Snowball, and Homecoming dresses this Friday, January 20 from 4-7 p.m. at Elkhorn Area High School. If you need a dress for any occasion, come back to EAHS on Saturday, January 21 between 8 a.m. - noon! Dresses will be priced between $5 and $15. All proceeds benefit the Junior Class Prom.

SAVE THE DATE! The annual Elkhorn Autism Support Team (EAST) Chili & Soup Cook Off returns on Thursday, February 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Elkhorn Area Middle School. Over 30 soups and chilis will be available. $10 all you can eat, kids 12 and under eat for $5. Hot dogs and to-cups also available. The EAST online auction will start one week prior to the event. Stay tuned to event.gives/2023eastchili for updates.

ONE WEEK AWAY! Join the EASD Resiliency Coalition for our first conversation of 2023! On Wednesday, January 18, we'll head out to Tibbets Elementary for a conversation on how to Cheer Kids on With Confidence! Register for this FREE event at https://forms.gle/LS8Zpf7CfeiG7E8i7 In this conversation, you'll learn how to boost your child's self-esteem by embracing their growth mindset in different ways. Clay Peterson from Walworth County Health and Human Services will be on hand to share his expertise on growth mindset and how it can help teach children what to do in uncertain circumstances.

Students have been working on many experiments this year. Not only are they having fun, working as a team, and learning a lot! Students are researching, collection data and making hypotheses! BUILDING THE TALLEST STRUCTURE Students were challenged to build the tallest structure with 8 pieces of construction paper and tape to support a hard covered book. Each team was given part of the class period to design, construct, and test to see if their structure could support a hard covered book. Students learned the strengths and weakness of their designs and how to make needed improvements.

Join the EASD Resiliency Coalition for our first conversation of 2023! On Wednesday, January 18, we'll head out to Tibbets Elementary for a conversation on how to Cheer Kids on With Confidence! Register for this FREE event at https://forms.gle/LS8Zpf7CfeiG7E8i7 In this conversation, you'll learn how to boost your child's self-esteem by embracing their growth mindset in different ways. Clay Peterson from Walworth County Health and Human Services will be on hand to share his expertise on growth mindset and how it can help teach children what to do in uncertain circumstances.

Students have been working on many experiments this year. Not only are they having fun, working as a team, and learning a lot! Students were working through the “Infection Detection” PLTW module. Through this activity, students read through various symptoms students were experiencing in a fictitious school. We are charting the symptoms to narrow down what communicable disease was spreading throughout the school. Students were working through a PLTW challenge. After learning about simple machines, they used the Engineering Design Process to build a model that incorporated two simple machines and could lift and safely remove a tiger out of a moat at a zoo. Students pulled and released a car pushed back against a rubber band from different points. They would then measure the distance the car rolled to understand the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.

Students have been working on many experiments this year. Not only are they having fun, working as a team, and learning a lot! Students are researching, collection data and making hypotheses! Students were given the challenge to build a Self Watering Plant System. Students were challenged to design and build a model that can self water plants for two weeks. They tested different materials to see how fast water was absorbed and which materials worked the best. Students monitored and logged their results. The Kindergarten students worked through a PLTW Sunlight and Weather Module. Their challenge was to build a model that will block the harmful sunlight from their pet. They, first, researched material that would work best to block the sunlight and how to build an upright structure.