DeForest Area School District

DASD

News

Students in the early childhood program
Students in the early childhood program "trick or treated" through the Holum Education Center.
 For friends of the DeForest Area School DistrictNovember 2011

Greetings! 

 

Below is the second edition of DASD News for the 2011-12 school year.  Check out updates from the school board (2011-12 budget/tax levy and new board member Dan Choi), athletic facility improvement project (and raffle!), our foodservice program, and recent donation of AEDs, as well as important dates from now through January.   

 

Speaking of donations, a special thank you to DMB Community Bank for sponsoring the annual Lend a Hand program. Thanks to many generous donors in the community, students in our school district will get the supplies they need to succeed in school.  A big thank you to DMB for contributing $1,000 and an anonymous donor for $3,000!    

  

The Community Holiday Gift Giving program is underway.  If you or your organization would like to sponsor a family for the holidays, please contact DANN President Darlene Skafe at 846-8826.  More information is included in this issue (see below). 

 

DeForest Area High School will again be a site for College Goal Wisconsin on February 19, 2012. This event in held throughout Wisconsin for families to get free, professional help in completing the FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  All families looking for college financial assistance need to complete this form.  Volunteers are needed for the event, from 1:15-4:00 pm.  If interested, please contact me at 842-6581 or [email protected].  More information about College Goal Wisconsin is available at http://www.collegegoalwi.org/.

 

The 2012-13 school calendar is now posted on our DASD websiteAs always, if you have any questions or comments, please contact me.

 

Debbie Brewster

School/Community Relations Coordinator 

News from your school board
Board establishes tax levy

 

D Logo At its October 24th business meeting the Board of Education made the final approval for the 2011-2012 budget and local tax levy. Three pieces of information were needed before the final budget and tax levy could be adopted: enrollment, state aid, and property values.  
Enrollment increased over the Annual Meeting estimate. Much of this is due to the 4K program, which is experiencing strong support from families and the community. In addition, the kindergarten class size shows that the District may have reversed the trend of declining enrollment.

 

Early state aid estimates were very close to the actual amount the District will receive, a reduction from the prior year of approximately $1.5M.

 

Property values have declined for the second year resulting in the calculation of a higher mil rate while the tax levy increases less than one percent.

 

The Board of Education adopted the recommended tax levy of $21,697,911 in support of the students and educators of DASD.  Read more 
 
Dan Choi appointed to school board 
Dan Choi was appointed to the DeForest area school board at a special meeting held on Monday, November 7. Choi fills the vacancy representing the Town of Burke left by Glenn Olson, who passed 
away on May 11, 2011.
 
The appointment runs through April, 
at which time Mr. Choi may run in the
spring election to complete the two 
remaining years of the three-year term. 

Mr. Choi, his wife, and two children (ages 5 and 2) moved to the District in 2010. His educational background includes earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University and Master of Business Administration 
from the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. He 
is currently employed with McKinstry, an energy and facility services company.
Foodservice earns "A+ in Local"  

The DeForest Schools Foodservice Department was
recently among a few Dane County Schools to earn 
an "A+ in Local" by the Institutional Food Market (IFM) Coalition. According to the IFM Local Sourcing E-Newsletter, October is National Farm to School Month and three Dane County schools were recognized by the organization for offering fresh produce from local sources. Becky Terry (Foodservice Supervisor) and Tammy Braun (Production Coordinator) were recognized for purchasing local apples from Lapacek's Orchard in Poynette.

According to Terry, staff are working with two local farms, Lapacek's Orchard and Schroeder's Farms. Students from all grade levels have the opportunity to eat whole apples, green and red peppers, heirloom, grape and cherry tomatoes from these local sources. 

Terry sites several reasons for buying local produce.  Read more

District teams up with Lions Club for athletic facility fund raising      

 

The DeForest Area Lions' Club has partnered with DeForest Area School District to hold an athletic facility raffle. The first and second prizes are 2 tickets to the December 25 Packers vs. Bears game at Lambeau Field, donated by First Student Inc. Third prize is 18 holes of golf for 4 with carts, donated by Lake Windsor golf course. Fourth prize is a DASD family athletic pass for 2012-2013. Fifth prize is a $50 chamber certificate, and sixth prize is a press box tour and seats at the 50 yard line for the first home game of 2012.

 

Raffle tickets are $10 each and can be purchased from a member of the Lions' Club of DeForest, at the DAHS Athletic office or the DASD Administrative Center. The drawing will be held on November 18 at the high school athletic office.


Funds raised through the raffle will support the high school athletic facility project. Currently the project plan calls for improvements to the home side bleachers at Stalder Field in order to bring the district into compliance with current safety codes and increase seating capacity. The fund raising campaign will allow for additional enhancements including a tennis storage building, additional parking, restroom expansion, and accessibility improvements.


For more information about the athletic facility improvement project, including design drawings, visit the DASD website. Contact Athletic Director Mike McHugh or Business Director Diane Pertzborn for more information or questions about the facility project. Please contact Mike Koltes at 608-842-6571 for more details about the raffle. 

AEDs donated by Joel Marino Memorial Fund

The DeForest Area School District is pleased to announce that the Joel Marino Memorial Fund, established through the Madison Community Foundation, donated $5,400 toward three new automated external defibrillators (AEDs), one each at Windsor Elementary School, Eagle Point Elementary School, and the Holum Education Center. Thanks to this donation and other previous donations, there is now one AED in each DASD facility.  
 
This grant originated with a request from DeForest graduate Jenny Olesen. Olesen, along with Shannon Freeman and Amanda Miller, friends of Marino's, have helped with fund raising efforts for the Memorial Fund.
 
Read more (p. 4)
CommunityCommunity holiday gift giving program looking for sponsors
 
Holiday giftsThe DeForest Area Clergy Association, in conjunction with the DeForest Area Needs Network, Joining Forces for Families (JFF), and DeForest Area School District are organizing the annual Holiday Gift Giving Program, helping deliver Christmas cheer for children from low-income families in the DeForest Area School District. The group helps identify needy families with children in the school district who are then matched with sponsors who purchase the family gifts.
 
Businesses, individuals or groups interested in adopting one or more families may contact DeForest Area Needs Network President Darlene Scafe at 846-8826.
 
The group is also looking for volunteers to help with gift distribution, which will be held on Tuesday, December 20, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm at Windsor United Church of Christ (4434 Second Street, Windsor).
In This Issue
School board
Foodservice earns A+
Athletic facility raffle
AED donation
Community holiday gift giving
School news
Events calendar
School News
 
Check out photos and information in this issue
of DASD News

Middle school "Courage Retreat"

 

High school students "pledge to be drug free"

 

Hands-on history lesson for YES students

 

WES students "stomp out" bullying

 

Imagine . . . "Whirled Peace" (photo of MES students)

 

EPES/HEC PTO sponsor annual family picnic

 

Like us on Facebook  Stay connected with DASD  

 

Snow Days 101 

 
 
 
Events Calendar
 

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

EPES/HEC - Nov. 10 & 15

WES - Nov. 8 & 10

YES - Nov. 8 & 10

DAMS - Nov. 10 & 15

DAHS - Nov. 7 & 14

 

November 10-12

Almost, Maine

DAHS Student Play

DAHS Performing Arts Center, 7 pm

  

November 10

Veterans Day Assembly

DAHS Gym, 10 am

 

November 15

One-Act Play - A Graveyard Where Dead American Playwrights Go

DAHS Performing Arts Center, 7 pm

 

November 23-25

No School

 

December 6
DAMS Band Concert
6:30 & 7:45 pm
 
December 8
DAHS Band/Choir Concert
7:00 pm

December 10
DAHS National Honor Society Parents' Morning Out, 9 am-1 pm

December 12
DAHS Jazz/Swing Choir Concert, 7 pm

December 15
DAMS Choral Concert
6:30 & 7:45 pm

December 22-January 2 No School
 
 
 

Check out these
DASD website links:
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
        
 

  

Thank you!

Click here to download a PDF version of this DASD News issue (and previously versions).
Thank you for your support of the DeForest Area School District. 
Contact Information

Please contact me if you have any questions or if I can assist you in any way . . .
 
Debbie Brewster, School/Community Relations Coordinator
DeForest Area School District
520 E. Holum Street
DeForest, WI 53532
(608) 842-6581 phone
(608) 842-5492 fax
[email protected]
www.deforestareaschools.org