Ithaca School District

Greetings Ithaca administration, staff, students, community members and graduating seniors. Since we are unable to meet as a group for our annual commencement celebration at this time, we would like to share the following links (Ithaca Website, Vidyard and YouTube) to view our virtual graduation ceremony. We have included a PDF version of the "Commencement Paper Program" in on our launch document. This program will be featured throughout our video graduation as well. On Monday, June 1 our graduating seniors, participating staff and administration came together in the Ithaca High School Gymnasium to present speeches, commencement rituals and the presentation of diplomas to be recorded and debuted at the regularly scheduled graduation date and time of June 7, 2020 at 1:00 PM. At this time we are proud, honored and humbled to present to you the commencement ceremony of the Ithaca Class of 2020. (please visit the following document for all of the video launch options) https://docs.google.com/document/d/14EoaVcGZ5tg8ub6QZt7NrINWBeWxLq-jH8P8r1OGqZU/edit?usp=sharing You may also click on any of the following direct links to the video - https://www.ithaca.k12.wi.us/o/ithaca-school-district/page/graduation-2020--16 or https://share.vidyard.com/watch/UtuZ9KpQTBMGWj3CnXrD6b? or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghZGpJDtBas&feature=youtu.be

Before the weekend is over, we can't miss sending birthday wishes out. Happy Birthday to August Ringelstetter today, June 7th!

Athletic Director Mr. Thome received this message from the WIAA who asked him to share: Greetings, We are well aware of a news item posted on the WNFL radio website yesterday that misrepresents the existing reality with regard to football and fall sports. No new announcement was made from our office about the status of fall sports, and an excerpt from an interview with a different media outlet was taken out of context and used as the source. Safety and health continue to be our biggest concerns. More accurately, we are optimistic and hopeful that our schools will be able to provide fall sports. But it will ultimately come down to local and state health leaders who are the experts determining if our schools can provide sport opportunities to their student-athletes. We have been involved in some very detailed and intensive communication with the DHS, DPI and the governor's office - near daily - as we work with our sport medical advisory to develop summer contact guidance for our members should they be able to reopen and offer sports. However, it is not finalized yet. We will be discussing the potential opportunities with our committees beginning with the Sports Advisory on Monday. We have been keeping WADA informed of our efforts to develop guidance. We know and understand the interest in all of this and have been working hard to get it right. We hold out hope that our student-athletes will have opportunities in July and in the fall. In regards to fall sports, what we are sharing with anyone who asks: 1. At this point nothing has been canceled. 2. That status can change as other virus developments might emerge. 3. We HOPE kids might return to their schools come fall, and if they do and if schools reopen, we will do our best to have a plan and guidance that our members might choose to use - along with input from state and local health authorities - to decide locally if they can resume their sport and activity programs. Respectfully, WIAA Executive Staff

Thank you to all the families who have used our Food Service Pick Up program! You've made it a huge success. There is still time today to sign up for next week's program. ALSO, the surveys for the remaining weeks are now open. Complete them all now or up until the Friday before the following week. Find all the surveys on our website under the "News" tab in the "Food Service Survey" article. Each week has it's own survey. Links will also be listed in a Facebook post going out today. Sign up for this FREE service for all children in your home who are senior students and younger.

If the forecast is right, it's a beautiful day to celebrate a birthday! Today, June 6th, we wish Lorenzo Bell a very Happy Birthday!

REMINDER - This Sunday, June 7 at 1:00 PM is our virtual commencement ceremony. We will be sharing information and the links to the ceremony just before 1:00 PM on Sunday. We will send them via email, Twitter, Facebook, our School APP and will post it on our website. We encourage you to make this an event that your graduating senior will remember, forever. Have a nice lunch before the ceremony, talk about fun times at school through the years, take pictures of your senior in cap and gown, have grandma and grandpa (if distancing acceptable) over for the viewing party. We stand with you in this unprecedented and challenging time. Congratulations to the Ithaca class of 2020, and remember to join us this Sunday at 1:00 PM for our virtual graduation ceremony.

Wisconsin families are invited to join the Mission: Healthy Kids Summer Healthy Family Challenge. It's a free and fun way to work on some healthy habits together this summer. Complete the Challenge, and you'll be entered into a drawing to win one of five family prize packages that include for Fitbit Inspire fitness trackers and a $100 Home Chef gift card. Visit missionhealthykids.org for details and to get started on the Challenge!

Join WRCO-FM 100.9 and at https://wrco.com this evening at 7 for "Rewind, Press Play!". This rewind "sports broadcast" program will feature an Ithaca Softball match-up from June 5, 2014 (6 years to the day!) Phil Nee has the play-by-play call of the Sectional Championship featuring Ithaca vs. Argyle. During the broadcast, enjoy Phil's interview with Todd and Jordan Cockroft as they reminisce about that game. Again, it will be broadcast on WRCO-FM 100.9 and WRCO.com tonight at 7:00 PM.

A big round of applause and Congratulations to Ithaca Honor Roll students. These High School and Middle School students were on the Honor Roll 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters of this year. So much to be proud of! Keep up the hard work, Bulldogs!

Ermagersh! More birfthdays to celebrate. Today, June 5th we wish Happy Birthday to Chase Keller and Olivia Menne!

Sunshine, clear sky, beautiful weather... Sounds like the perfect day to celebrate birthdays. Happy Birthday today, June 4th, to Miranda Franzen, Kydyn Mueller, and Spencer Nelson.

Recently, students of Ms. Durkin's Art Program completed projects dedicated to our local health care professionals and their tireless commitment as front-line workers. Please enjoy the following video of that art work, as we are pleased to be able to share it with our Ithaca community. https://share.vidyard.com/watch/psEdF6rZ3qduQxr2cC3LHb?

Parents, if you registered your young writer for the Hidden Valley Reading Council's Young Authors Workshop for students in grades K-5 that was scheduled for June 11th on the UW-Plattevill/Richland campus, that workshop has been cancelled. Registrants should have received an email. Check your spam folder if you missed a notification.

Temporary food benefits for children who usually get free or reduced-price school meals: Since schools are closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, children who usually get free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program can instead get temporary food benefits. These benefits are called Pandemic EBT or P-EBT. Children can get these benefits in addition to any other school meals they are getting. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is automatically providing these benefits to most children who usually get free or reduced-price school meals based on information they have on file. If the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is able to verify your information, the benefits will automatically be provided on your QUEST card if you have one or on a P-EBT card you will get in the mail. You can use these cards like a debit card to buy food. You will get a letter in the mail letting you know if you are automatically getting the benefits. You may also get an email in addition to the mailed letter. See more information about these benefits and how you will be notified at dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/forwardhealth-foodshare.htm If the Wisconsin Department of Health Services does not have your information or is not able to verify your information, you will need to apply for the benefits. If you have not been notified that you are automatically getting these benefits by May 20, please complete the application at access.wi.gov/s/pebt?language=en_US. You must apply for the benefits by June 30. It is very important that the information you provide for each child who usually gets free or reduced-price school meals exactly matches the information your school has on file. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services will look at that information to make sure you can get the benefits. If you apply and your information cannot be verified, please check with us to make sure your information is correct. You can contact us at 608-585-2512. We will work with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to make sure the correct information is on file.

SWCAP recently learned we will be receiving WI Rental Assistance Program (WRAP) funds, resulting from the CARES Act. The purpose of these funds is to help those who were negatively impacted by COVID-19 and are struggling to pay rent or security deposit. The SWCAP program will provide funding to eligible individuals residing in the Wisconsin counties of Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette and Richland. In general, an applicant must be an adult resident of Wisconsin, with a household income at or below 80% of the county median income in the month of the application or the prior month. For those eligible, the program may provide direct financial assistance for rent owed and/or security deposits. The program will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, and the program will expire once CARES funding is exhausted. ----> PLEASE NOTE: SWCAP is not yet taking applications. We will post application instructions and contact information online, once the program is operational, on or about June 8, 2020. We are excited and relieved to have these funds available to eligible residents of Southwestern Wisconsin. We do not currently have any programs that provide similar assistance with mortgage payments. If you are struggling with mortgage payments due to COVID, you may wish to contact Neighborhood Housing Services of Southwest Wisconsin or Wisconsin Rural Housing at https://www.wisconsinruralhousing.org/ to talk with them about programs and services that may be able to help.

Join WRCO-FM 100.9 and at https://wrco.com this Friday evening at 7 for "Rewind, Press Play!". This rewind "sports broadcast" program will feature an Ithaca Softball match-up from June 5, 2014 (6 years to the day!) Phil Nee has the play-by-play call of the Sectional Championship featuring Ithaca vs. Argyle. During the broadcast, enjoy Phil's interview with Todd and Jordan Cockroft as they reminisce about that game. Again, it will be broadcats on WRCO-FM 100.9 and WRCO.com this Friday at 7:00 PM.

Our school's food service program has received funding to continue to offer the Food Service Pick Up Program past the last day of school. Find the form on our website, app, or Facebook page to sign up for next week - June 8th through the 12th. As before, this service is available to ANY minors living in your household, to include seniors that just graduated. If you open enroll and live outside the district, you still qualify for Ithaca's food program. If you live in the district but open enroll to another district, you still qualify for Ithaca's food program. The survey must be completed each week and must be submitted by the Friday prior to the week. This week, the survey should be completed by Friday, June 5th. To find the survey on our website and app, go to "Explore" from the main page, and click on "News". From there, open the article titled "Food Service Survey". The link is embedded in the article and listed at the end. Sign up your household, pass the word along, and encourage others to participate!

Sunday, June 7 at 1:00 PM is our virtual commencement ceremony. We will be sharing information and the links to the ceremony just before 1:00 PM on Sunday. We will send them via email, Twitter, Facebook, our School APP and will post it on our website. We encourage you to make this an event that your graduating senior will remember, forever. Have a nice lunch before the ceremony, talk about fun times at school through the years, take pictures of your senior in cap and gown, have grandma and grandpa (if distancing acceptable) over for the viewing party. We stand with you in this unprecedented and challenging time. Congratulations to the Ithaca class of 2020, and remember to join us this Sunday at 1:00 PM for our virtual graduation ceremony.

It's gonna be a hot one today! Stay cool and celebrate. Today, June 2nd, we wish Happy Birthday to Branden Debeukelar!

Attention Ithaca Families: If you were unable to return books, Chromebooks, and turn in final school work, please do so Tuesday, June 2 or Wed, June 3 from 9AM-4PM.