December 2014

Message from the Superintendent

The first threemonths of theschool yearpresent manyopportunities tocelebrate theElmbrookDifference.

September’srelease of the State Report Cards ratedElmbrook as Significantly ExceedingExpectations, the highest rating andthird-highest score among K-12 districtsin Wisconsin.

We celebrated 34 National MeritAward winners, a perfect ACT score, andadded over 1,300 technology devices thisFall to support personalized learning.

Our varsity sports teams earnedsix conference and four sectionalchampionships, with the East Boys Soccerteam winning a state championship.

The 2nd annual Central-East Gold Out,Veterans Day ceremonies, Stuff the BusFood Drive, and United Way campaignprovide students and staff withtangible ways to make an impact inour local community.

Finally, extremely high participationrates in our parent-teacher conferencesremind us that the Elmbrook Differenceis strengthened by a collaborativepartnership between our teachers,students and their families.

Service Learning Impacts Local Community Elmbrook students have a passion to serve others. Participation in community service

organizations such as Key Club and Interact is an integral part of many students’ high schoolexperience and a large percentage of 9th-12th grade students actively participate in one ormore service clubs at both high schools.

Ronn Blaha, Brookfield Central Key Club advisor explains, “Community service exposeskids to people with different needs than their own. They gain an understanding of their rolein the larger community or the world. Sometimes, students find a passion for service thatbecomes the focus of their life as a result of their high school service experience.”

Central’s Key (Kiwanis Educating Youth) Club is one of the largest clubs in the nation,with 400 members performing over 5,000 hours of community service each year. Clubprojects are often student-initiated with local, national and international reach. “Weserve community meals, collect food for local pantries and pack food boxes for globalorganizations,” said Blaha.

Students at Brookfield Eastalso contribute thousands ofhours of community serviceeach year. Interact “is avolunteer club for high schoolstudents sponsored byRotary International,”Student President and juniorLisa Browne explained.“With over 50 members, werespond to local communityneeds and internationalinterests such as raising money for End Polio Now, a core interest of our sponsor.” Interactalso supports yearly events at New Threads of Hope and The House of Peace in Milwaukee,in addition to running the Geography Bee Club at Burleigh Elementary. Browne adds,“Overall, helping others reminds members of how we are all connected, and is a positiveway for students to interact and be involved in both the school and larger community.”

Elmbrook students at both schools are making a difference. “The students’ efforts havebeen fruitful,” said Interact Club Advisor Laura Avissato, “from providing funds and food tolocal charities, to assisting a French-speaking refugee family from the Congo adjust to lifein Wisconsin. Our students are capable of doing amazing things and by connecting them toarea service organizations such as Kiwanis and Rotary, they are exposed to adults whoshare an interest in serving others. This partnership can lead to powerful results for our localand global community.”

Inside this edition:• Service Learning Impacts Local Community• Computer Science Opportunities• Middle School Students Celebrate Veterans• High School Musicals Showcase Talent/Commitment• Dixon Receives Title 1 School of Recognition Award• Celebrate Success!

Mark Hansen, Superintendent

Brookfield East Interact Club members partnered with Interfaith toperform yard cleanup for senior citizens and adults with disabilities.

Computer Science Opportunities Prepare Students for Future CareersWith a focus on the future, the School District of Elmbrook is equipping

elementary, middle and high school students for careers in the field ofcomputer science through a variety of courses and activities.

Ryan Osterberg, a Brookfield Central Computer Science teacherexplained, “The computer sciencecourses offered at the high schoollevel are designed to exposestudents to topics used in thefields of Web Design, Video GameDevelopment, and ComputerProgramming.” As a result ofengaging curriculum and studentinterest, the District boasts oneof the largest enrollments incomputer science courseworkacross the state.

Success breeds opportunity,and in response to large numbersof high school underclassmenperforming well on the traditional capstone Advanced Placement ComputerProgramming exam, the District partnered with Marquette University tooffer a dual-credit course called Data Structures for Engineering. Open tostudents at Brookfield Central and Brookfield East, this college-level courseis delivered through web video and chat, allowing students to interacttwice a week with the college instructor and Marquette students.

“This is truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the students of Elmbrook,”said Osterberg. “Both students and parents were ecstatic when they learned

of this opportunity, knowing our students are well-prepared to tackle thisrigorous college course.”

Interest in computer science is blossoming at the elementary andmiddle schools as well. Middle school students are exposed to computer

science careers and programming conceptsin 7th and 8th grade technology classes,establishing both a foundation and aninterest in pursuing the high school curricu-lum. In addition, opportunities such asthe newly formed Coding Club atSwanson Elementary are being developedin response to student and parent interest.

In its first year, over 30 studentsparticipated in the six-week club thatutilized free, online programming tools.

With support from parents andBrookfield Central student volunteers,Swanson’s 4th and 5th graders wereable to code their own stories, games

and animations.Tyler VanHaren, a student advisor to the programming club at Swanson

and a senior at Brookfield Central, enjoys the opportunity to connect withyounger students and share what he has learned. “I definitely feel mycomputer science classes have prepared me for programming courseworkin college and a future career in the field of computer science. It is also veryfulfilling to support the students at Swanson as they explore the tools andprograms that attracted me to programming when I was their age.”

Middle School Students Celebrate Veterans

A 4th grade student shares the code he wrote with other members of the Coding Club at Swan-son Elementary.

At Left: Students at Pilgrim Park honored Veterans in a very personal way on November 12th.Each Veteran was treated to a breakfast and participated in a classroom conversation abouttheir military service and experiences with 6th grade students. The morning concluded withthe Veterans joining the entire student body in a touching all-school ceremony. Thank you to allwho have served and particularly those Veterans willing to share their experiences with ourstaff and students!

At Right: Wisconsin Hills 7th Grade students had the privilege to meet and interact withretired Milwaukee Fire Battalion Chief Mark Fox and veteran Joe Campbell on VeteransDay. In 2011, Mr. Fox and Mr. Campbell journeyed to New York City to transport a piece ofWorld Trade Center steel to the Milwaukee War Memorial. Their trip later served as theinspiration for the children’s book “The Little White Truck with the Big Mission,” written byMollie Manhattan. Soerens Ford, who donated the white truck for the trip, served as theperfect backdrop for the students to honor active military, fire and rescue, and policepersonnel, as well as all Veterans who have served our country.

High School Musicals Showcase Talent and CommitmentYear after year, Brookfield East and Central students have brought

Broadway musicals to life at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for thePerforming Arts. Student performances dazzle audiences and this year’sproductions of Evita (Dec. 4-7) and Peter Pan (Nov. 20-23) are no different.

Before thecurtains aredrawn and thelights comeon, teachers,students andparents willhave spentmonthscollaboratingand preparingfor openingnight. JoshuaGrant-Konegni,Co-Director of East’s production of Evita notes, “Our collaborative planningprocess is year-round and involves staff members of the drama, band,orchestra, visual arts, and choral departments.” And yet, the dedicationdemonstrated by staffis exceeded only bythe commitment ofthe talented castof students.

Involving over100 students in eachproduction as actors,stagehands, orchestraand technical support, excellence is achieved by nurturing tremendous tal-ent through hard work. Peter Arndt, East senior and actor in Evita said,“Through the efforts of many we are able to create something truly stun-ning. Each cast member’s dedication to our performance adds so much tothe story we are able to share with our audience.”

Central’s production of Peter Pan continues a longstanding tradition ofexceeding audience expectations. In addition to a first-class live pit

orchestra, this year’s production adds unique technical elements such asflight to stretch the abilities of its actors and backstage crew. “Some of ourstudents have performed in school musicals since they were in 4th or 5thgrade,” said Tommy Lueck, Musical Director. “Through quality instruction,

countless hours of parent and volunteer support, and regularopportunities to perform in an outstanding venue at theSharon Lynne Wilson Center, our students are able to reachlevels of excellence seldom seen in high school musicals.”

While for some students the high school musical is aculminating experience, for many others doors are openedto college and career pathways. Former Central graduatesand Broadway actors, Chelsea (Krombach) Packard (’01)and Timothy Hughes (‘03) are among many alumni who havereturned each of the past four years to run a musical camp formiddle and high school students. Sharing their experiencesfrom roles in performances such as Wicked and Chaplin

with aspiringBrookfield actors,“The alumni placegreat value on thepreparation theyreceived in thePerforming Artswhile in highschool,” Lueckcontinued.Throughappreciativealumni, commit-ted volunteers,and dedicatedstaff, the nextgeneration oftalent atBrookfield Centraland East is in goodhands.

“Through the combinedefforts of many we areable to create somethingtruly stunning.”~ Peter Arndt, Brookfield East senior

Above: The cast of Brookfield East rehearse for their performance of Evita.

Above: Brookfield Central presented Peter Pan at the Sharon LynneWilson Center for the Arts in November.

Students at Dixon Elementary help celebrate the school's recognition as one ofeight High Progress and High Achieving schools in Wisconsin. This annual awardspotlights schools that have made significant progress on closing achievementgaps, and was presented to Principal Jeanne Siegenthaler at a special ceremony atthe State Capitol on October 13.

Dixon Receives Title 1 School of Recognition Award

13780 Hope StreetP.O. Box 1830Brookfield, WI 53008262-781-3030

Mark Hansen, SuperintendentTom Gehl, Board PresidentChris Thompson, EditorJill Kokta, Designwww.elmbrookschools.org

The School District of Elmbrook welcomes your feedback for continuous improvement. E-mail questions, feedback, and suggestions to feedback@elmbrookschools.org.

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and to succeed.

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Celebrate Success!

Brookfield East: Front row L to R: Manasi Mohan, Kalina Zhong, Apoorva Selvaraj, Leila GoodrumBack row L to R: Maxwell Zupke, Nithin Alexander, Linzheng Shi, Matthew Wolff, Noah Haselow,David Foster, Hantao Jing

Brookfield Central: Front row L to R: Tyler VanHaren, Amritha Jayashankar, Julia Schmidt,Veronica Daniel, Samuel Liu; Back row L to R: Tarun Jella, Advait Reddy, Adam El-Meanawy,Daniel Lee, Jason Hubler

National Merit Semi-Finalists: The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes the top 1% of the 1.5 million students who tookthe PSAT exam in 2013-14. In addition to state and national recognition, these high school seniors are eligible for many college scholarships andNational Merit Finalist status to be announced in the spring of 2015.

Brookfield East Boys Soccer Division 2 State Champions

At Right: Brookfield East Girls Tennis - Sectional Champions,reached the Quarterfinals at State

Lower Left: Brookfield Central Girls Golf - Sectional Runner-up,placed 7th at State

Lower Right: Brookfield Central Girls Cross Country - SectionalChampions, placed 6th at State

State Qualifiers