Hamilton School District students will begin classes Sept. 1. The district has compiled information to assist parents and students in preparation for the big day.
Registration — People who are new to the district may register their children at the school they will attend. Call the individual schools to learn their office hours. School phone numbers are:
• Willow Springs Learning Center (4-year-old kindergarten), (262) 255-6190;
• Lannon Elementary, (262) 255-6106;
• Maple Avenue Elementary, (262) 246-4220;
• Marcy Elementary, (262) 781-8283;
• Woodside Elementary, (262) 820-1530;
• Templeton Middle, (262) 246-6477; and
• Hamilton High, (262) 246-6471.
If you are unsure of your school attendance area, call the district’s Public Information Office at (262) 246-1973 x1100.
Kindergarten — The district offers kindergarten programs for students who are four and five years old. The program for 4-year-olds is at Willow Spring Learning Center, and the program for 5-year-olds is at neighborhood elementary schools.
To be eligible for the optional 4-year-old kindergarten program, a child must be four years old by Sept. 1. The program runs a half day — an 8:45 -11:15 a.m. morning session and 12:45 – 3:15 p.m. afternoon session. Willow Springs Learning Center will have a brief K-4 orientation Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. for morning kindergartners and at 6:15 p.m. for afternoon kindergartners to familiarize them with riding the bus. School buses will pick up kindergartners at their home schools and travel to Willow Springs. The school will mail letters with specific times to K-4 parents. Classes at Willow Springs begin Sept. 4. The school will be holding Transition to Success conferences with students and parents Sept. 1-3.
Each elementary school offers a kindergarten program for children who turn five years old by Sept. 1. Most 5-year-olds participate in the full-day program that follows the same schedule as elementary grade school students. Some parents choose to enroll their 5-year-old in kindergarten for only the morning half of the school day.
Transportation — The bus company sends yellow postcards notifying bus riders of their routes. Postcards will be mailed the week of Aug. 24.
Breaks and last school day — Students will not have classes: Labor Day – Sept. 7; teachers’ convention – Oct. 29 and 30; Thanksgiving break – Nov. 26-27; winter break – Dec. 24-Jan. 1; staff in-service – Jan. 21-22; break – Feb. 15; staff in-service – March 26; spring break – April 2-9; and Memorial Day – May 31. Their last day of school is June 10.
School hours — Elementary school students in grades 1-5 and full-day kindergarten begin school at 8:35 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m.; Templeton hours are 7:25 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.; and the high school runs from 7:20 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.
Immunization — Two different vaccine requirements were recently added to the Wisconsin Student Immunization law. These changes, which began in 2008-09, will be phased in for all students over the next several years. For the 2009-10 school year, students entering grades 6, 9 and 12 are required to have one dose of the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertusis (Tdap) vaccine. Students entering 5-year-old kindergarten and grades 6 and 12 are required to have two doses of the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine.
Wisconsin law requires parents to provide updated records on their children’s immunizations including DTP, MMR and polio. The Hepatitis B (Hep B) and varicella vaccines are required for all students pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
School lunch program — Hamilton food service staff members are committed to producing quality meals that are nutritious and appealing to children. Lunches consist of five food items — meat, bread, two or more servings of fruit or vegetables, and milk. To reduce waste, children are offered an entire lunch but may refuse one or two items. The price for lunch remains the same whether a child takes the entire lunch or refuses an item.
Lunch menus will be listed in school newsletters, local newspapers and on the district Web site. Parents are asked to go over the lunch menu with their children to help them decide what to eat each day. Children should be encouraged to take at least a portion of an unfamiliar or unpopular food item.
Lunch prices for 2009-10 are: $2.10 for elementary students; $2.50 – middle school and high school students; $3.25 – adults; and 30 cents for milk.
Fees —
The following are fees for the 2009-10 school year:
Pre-kindergarten and half-day kindergarten — $19*;
Elementary grades, full-day kindergarten and ungraded — $35*;
Middle school — $45*;
High school — $60*;
High school padlock — $5;
Drivers’ education behind-the-wheel training and theory-simulation — $150 each;
Templeton sports — $20 per sport ($60 family maximum);
Hamilton sports — $30 per sport ($90 maximum);
Templeton extra- and co-curriculars — $10 and $20;
Hamilton extra- and co-curriculars — $15 and $30;
Retake ID (during the school year) — $3;
Technology fee — $20 per student ($40 family maximum); and
Parking — $90.
*Maximum of $150 per family for these student fees.
Parents may pay all their children’s school and lunch fees through the E-Funds for Schools Web site and LunchBox. Links to E-Funds for School and LunchBox are on the district Web site.
District Web site — The district Web site is at www.hamilton.k12.wi.us and is updated often with supply lists, newsletters, calendar, lunch menus, news releases and other information.
For more information about the Hamilton School District, contact the individual schools or the district’s Public Information Office at (262) 246-1973 x1100.