Pops Concert scheduled for Thursday, February 28th has been cancelled

The music will be performed on the Tuesday, April 23rd concert instead. This is due to the conflict with the PdC boys sectional basketball game. The music department and building administration decided this was the best option in order to give families the opportunity to participate in both events if they so desire.

Governor recognizes Bluff View in budget presentation

Congratulations to all of our students, parents, and staff who have embraced high expectations!

"Next, I want to tell you about some of our top-performing public schools in the state. As of the most recent report card, 709 schools in this state exceed or significantly exceed expectations. They are schools like Roosevelt Elementary in Janesville, Bluff View Middle School in Prairie du Chien, Morgan Elementary in Beloit, Jefferson Elementary in Richland, Howe Elementary in Wisconsin Rapids, Longfellow Elementary in West Allis, Grant Elementary in Sheboygan, Grayside Elementary in Mauston, and Al Behrman Elementary in Baraboo. A majority of the students at each of these schools are economically disadvantaged and, yet, they are high performers".

See reference to Bluff View Middle School after 22:15 mark on video:
http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/home/budget-address/

Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare’s Health Note on Healthy Eating

During the summer and fall months eating fruits and vegetables is easy because of their abundance and full flavor. But come winter, all bets are off. Even though many fruits and vegetables are available in grocery stores year-round, they do not taste as good, are more expensive, or don’t seem as appealing during the winter months. You may think it’s a challenge, but fitting in fruits and vegetables during the dead of winter may not be as hard as you think:

• Eat what’s in season. Seasonal produce is more abundant and tastes better. Fruits in season this time of year include cranberries, citrus fruits (i.e. clementines, grapefruits, oranges, and lemons), kiwi, pears and pomegranates. Vegetables in season this time of year include root vegetables (i.e. carrots, parsnips, potatoes and rutabaga), Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, kale, snow peas and winter squash.

• Choose frozen, canned and dried. These fruits and vegetables count just the same as fresh ones and may be less expensive this time of year. If fruit is canned in heavy syrup, drain it well before eating, and if vegetables are canned with salt, drain and rinse before eating.

• Make it appealing. Many people crave warmth and spice during the winter months. Try baked pears or apples with a drizzle of honey and sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Add applesauce, bananas, raisins, or pears to oatmeal. Roast butternut squash, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and carrots, and season with your choice of herbs and spices.

From: Carissa Wiersma, Freelance Communication Specialist, Marketing Communications Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Healthcare, 700 West Avenue South La Crosse, WI 54601

mayoclinichealthsystem.org

Blackhawk Cheerleaders Compete at Regionals

Submitted by Coach Kelli Saxe:

The PDC Blackhawk Cheerleaders traveled to Wisconsin Rapids to the Northern WACPC Regional Cheer Competition last weekend. This was the first year the team has competed at cheer regionals. The team competed in the non-stunt division and the cheer dance division. The girls missed advancing to state by 2.5 points! Coach Kelli Saxe said that she is very proud of the hard work this group of girls has put into everything this season and is very proud of all of their accomplishments!

Members of the competition cheer team are : seniors-Kelsey Ohlert, Lexie Lenzendorf, and Anna DuCharme. Juniors-Ellie Antoniewicz, Becky Welsch, Nicole Mims, Kyler Prew, and Jamie Turner. Freshmen-Lindsey Ohlert and Stephanie Elmquist. This group was coached by Kelli Saxe and Amanda Hughes.

Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Celebration

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013, 6:30-7:30 P.M., St. Gabriel’s Library

We are all so excited to have this opportunity for our students in Early Childhood through Fifth Grade to participate in an evening of listening to Dr. Seuss stories and enjoying some birthday cake and milk. We will all meet in the library and then travel to four different classrooms to hear Dr. Seuss stories. After the last rotation, everyone will be invited to the cafeteria for cake and milk. There is no fee and families with younger brothers and sisters are welcome! Hope to see you all there on the 26th!

Also, to help the boys and girls celebrate and make this a special week; we will be having dress-up days February 25th-February 28th.
Monday--- Dress your Best day
Tuesday--- Western Wear day
Wednesday---Wacky Clothes/Mis-match day
Thursday--- Pajama day
Friday---NO SCHOOL

Click here to see invitation

Middle School play public performance is this Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 in the high school theater

Submitted by Director Dale Hanson: Please come and support the middle school drama students. This year's play is Show and Spell and is a comical look at a middle school spelling bee. It's FREE too! (although donations towards the drama club are appreciated) 

Area health promotion challenge

Gundersen Lutheran Clinic is sponsoring Minutes in Motion this spring. This is a six-week physical activity challenge that begins Monday, March 25. Improve your health and your attitude by getting 30 minutes of exercise a day. Be one of the first 2000 to register (see the links below) and your name goes in a drawing for a chance to win a $200 gift card.
Click here for more information
Click here to go the GL BalanceYour7 site to get more information and to register

No School at PdC today

Eastman Township pulled their plows off the roads. Sam Tesar reported in a text at 7:53 am that "Crews waiting it out. Just blows back in."

Can Breakfast Make Kids Smarter?

From Science Daily: New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has found that children who regularly have breakfast on a near-daily basis had significantly higher full scale, verbal, and performance IQ test scores.

Click here to read article

Dental Associates of Prairie du Chien is hosting it’s 18th annual Have a Heart Day

This is an opportunity for kids ages 4-18 years of age, who have not recently seen a dentist, to receive free dental work. The following procedures will be available/provided at no charge on Saturday, Feb. 13; Exams, X-Rays, Fillings, Extractions & Sealants.

Doctors will be providing dental services at:

Dental Associates
820 S. Marquette Rd.

Prairie du Chien, WI

Due to time and room constraints, Dental Associates may have to limit the number of patients seen. 

Call for an appointment! 608-326-6886

Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare’s Health Note on Motivation

By February, many people have lost that initial spark of motivation that they felt immediately after making their New Year's Resolution. Keep that inspiration alive by continuing to work on your goals, even after facing setbacks. If your current approach is not working, reevaluate your strategies and develop a new plan. Consider keeping a resolution journal, where you can write about your successes and struggles. Write down the reasons why you are working toward your goal so that you can refer to them during times when you feel uninspired and unmotivated. By sticking with it and working on your goal all year long, you can be one of the few able to say that you really did keep your New Year's Resolution.

By Carissa Wiersma; Freelance Communication Specialist

Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Healthcare

700 West Avenue South 

La Crosse, WI 54601

mayoclinichealthsystem.org

It looks like we will be moving to Infinite Campus SIS

Excerpt from wispolitics.com:

Today, the Department of Administration (DOA) issued a Notice of Intent to Award letter for the Statewide Student Information System (SSIS) project. DOA issued the letter to Infinite Campus, Inc., which was the highest scoring proposer in the SSIS competitive Request for Proposal process. The state will now move into contract negotiations with Infinite Campus for the company to establish and maintain DPI’s student information system for more than 440 school districts and non-district public charter schools in Wisconsin.

Click here to go to article

Employer Obligation to Notify Employees of Health Insurance Exchanges Delayed

To be honest, at this time we do not exactly know what we have to do or change as a result of the Federal Health Care changes - this is a major work in progress.  If you are interested in this topic, the following excerpt from WASB and the associated link provides more information.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended by the Affordable Care Act, requires an employer to provide each employee at the time of hiring (or with respect to current employees, not later than March 1, 2013), a written notice of (among other things) the existence of Exchanges. The Department of Labor announced that this requirement has been delayed for several reasons until it issues a rule describing how to comply with these requirements.

Click here for more information