Ellsworth Elementary School

🚸 Back-to-School Reminder: School Bus Safety First! 🛑 As our kids head back to school, let's all do our part to keep them safe. Remember these important tips: 🚍 STOP for school buses when the red lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended—it's the law! 🚸 Slow Down in school zones and near bus stops. 👀 Stay Alert for children crossing the street or waiting at bus stops. ⏰ Be Patient and allow extra time for your commute during school hours. Let's work together to ensure a safe and happy school year for everyone!

🚀 Welcome Our Newest Custodial Team Members! 🚀 We’re excited to introduce Yanin, Jason, and Areli as the newest additions to our custodial team at ECSD! 🧹✨ Yanin – EES 🏫 Jason – EHS 🏫 Areli – EHS & EMS 🏫 Our custodial team is the backbone of our schools, working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. We couldn’t do it without their hard work and dedication! 💪👏 If you see them in the hallways, make sure to say hi and thank them for all they do to keep our schools beautiful and clean. 🌟🙌

🧮 Welcome, Michelle Jansen! 🧮 We’re thrilled to have Michelle Jansen join us as our new Math Instructional Coach at ECSD! 🎉 Position: Math Instructional Coach Hometown: Richfield, Minn./Prescott 🏞️ Education: University of Minnesota, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Walking my dogs, hiking, being on the river, reading, and puzzles 🐕🌲📚🧩 Family: My husband Chris, and our two grown children, Carter and Marissa ❤️ What are you most looking forward to this year? Sharing my love of learning and making math fun and engaging for all students. Can’t wait to get started! ✨📐 Math Joke of the Day: Why was the equal sign so humble? Because it knew it wasn’t less than or greater than anyone else! 😄

🌟 Welcome, Marisa McDaniel! 🌟 We’re excited to have Marisa McDaniel join our EES team as our new Math/Reading Teacher Assistant! 📚 Position: Math/Reading Teacher Assistant Hometown: Tomah 🌳 Hobbies/Interests: Outdoors, gardening, exploring new places, family, and friends 🌿🌻🌍👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are you most looking forward to this year? Sharing the joy and satisfaction of accomplishments with students and staff. 🌟📚

📚 Welcome, Stephen Kennedy! 📚 We’re thrilled to welcome Stephen Kennedy to our High School staff as our new English Teacher! ✨ Position: High School English Teacher Hometown: San Mateo, Calif./Hudson 🌟 Education: Iowa State University 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Distance running, reading, hiking, camping 🏃‍♂️📚🏞️⛺ Family: My wife Judy from Janesville, and our daughter Ainsley, a senior at ISU 👨‍👩‍👧 What are you most looking forward to this year? Making connections with my students. 🌟📚

🎉 Welcome, Lexi Dvorak! 🎉 We’re excited to have Lexi Dvorak join our 3rd grade team at EES! 🌟📚 Position: Third Grade Teacher Hometown: Polk City, Iowa 🌽 Education: UW-River Falls 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Going for walks, crafting, and singing 🎨🎤 Family: I moved to Hudson this summer with my fiancé Logan and our Golden Retriever, Samson 🐕💍 What are you most looking forward to this year? I am excited to get to know all of my students and work together with the staff here at Ellsworth! 📚🎨

🎉 Welcome, Becky Hicks! 🎉 We’re thrilled to have Becky Hicks join our ECSD team as Support Staff! 🌟💼 Position: Support Staff Hometown: Menomonie 🌳 Education: UW-Stout, UW-Madison, UW-River Falls 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Reading, hiking, and travel 📚🚶‍♀️✈️ Family: I have four grown children and 12 wonderful grandchildren 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦👶 What are you most looking forward to this year? Excited to be back in Wisconsin and meet new people. Can’t wait to get started! 🌟🌲 Panther Pride

🎉 Welcome Back, Grace Groh! 🎉 We are excited to welcome back EHS alumni Grace Groh as our new Special Education Case Manager at EES! 🏫💙 Position: Special Education Case Manager (EES) Hometown: Ellsworth 🌟 Education: UW-Eau Claire 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Reading, running, and podcasts 📚🏃‍♀️🎧 Family: Just moved back to Ellsworth with my fiancé and our cat 🐱 What are you most looking forward to this year? I’m excited to meet my students, their families, and reimmerse myself in the community. 🏡📚 Panther Pride

🎉 Welcome Back, Taryl Graetz! 🎉 We are thrilled to welcome Taryl Graetz, an EHS graduate, as our new Sixth Grade Social Studies Teacher! 📚🌟 Position: Sixth Grade Social Studies Teacher Hometown: Ellsworth/River Falls 🌟 Education: UW-River Falls/UW-Eau Claire 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Exploring the Great Lakes and national parks 🌲🏞️ Family: Blessed with a loving family including my husband Trevor and our two kids 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are you most looking forward to this year? I’m excited to work with sixth graders, who will be silly and curious. Looking forward to fostering a love of learning in my classroom! 📖✨ Panther Pride

🌟 Welcome to ECSD, Elijah “EJ” Dorsey! 🌟 Position: High School Science Teacher 🔬 Hometown: Redmond, Wash. 🌲 Education: University of Washington (BS Chemistry) 🧪, Pacific Lutheran University (MA Education) 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Writing ✍️, crochet 🧶, learning to code 💻, and video gaming 🎮 What are you most looking forward to this year? I can’t wait for hands-on labs and real-world applications of science concepts! It’s fun to view the world through a scientist’s eyes and mind. 🔬🌍

🎉 Welcome to ECSD, Megan Feist! 🎉 Position: School Psychologist (Middle and High Schools) 🧠 Hometown: Elk River, Minn. 🌲 Education: Bachelor’s from Minnesota State University Moorhead; Master’s from UW-La Crosse 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Hiking 🚶‍♀️, fishing 🎣, cooking 🍳, baking 🍰, gardening 🌻, and completing puzzles 🧩 Family: Living with my boyfriend of eight years and our two cats, Waylon and Dino 🐱🐱 What are you most looking forward to this year? Building relationships with students, staff, and families, and fostering a supportive environment. Go Panthers!

🌟 Welcome to ECSD, Shelly Larson! 🌟 Position: Special Education Teaching Assistant/PKC Hometown: Bay City/Hager City Education: Hastings Beauty School Hobbies/Interests: Traveling to Jamaica 🌴, spending time with friends on the river 🛶 Family: Married for 19 years 💍, with a stepdaughter, stepson, and two grandchildren 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are you most looking forward to this year? Learning my new role as a teacher’s assistant and meeting all the kids! 🎓😊

💜 Panther Pride! 💜 📣 Introducing Myah Olson Position: Fourth Grade Teacher Hometown: Hammond Education: UW-Eau Claire Hobbies/Interests: Being outdoors, spending time with family and friends, reading. Family: Living in Hammond with my fiancé Alex and our Golden Retriever, Rubee. Expecting a little girl in January! What are you most looking forward to this year? Getting to know my students and their families, and building relationships with my coworkers. 🎉📚

📣 Meet Samantha Hunter 👋 Position: Teaching Assistant/PKC Staff Hometown: Red Wing, Minn. Education: CVTC-Eau Claire 🎓 Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with family and friends, traveling ✈️, reading 📚, and learning 🧠. What are you most looking forward to this year? Getting to know the staff and students and watching the students grow and learn throughout the year. 🌟

What an exciting time of year! The anticipation of a new school year, new learning opportunities, new friendships, and more provide the positive energy as we return to learn. Thanks to the Chamber of Commerce, we were able to honor the ECSD staff at the Salute to Educators celebration. This is a wonderful way to show gratitude and appreciation for our staff! The focus on students returning to school begins the last week of August with three interim days. The focus of these days is to establish and cultivate positive relationships between students and staff, conduct team building activities, provide time for students to reacclimate to the school environment, and provide a runway to excellent learning opportunities throughout the year. There is much to be thankful for as we prepare for students to return. I am grateful for all the work that was completed over the summer in preparation for the 24-25 school year. Our buildings look fresh and clean thanks to our custodial crew. Our transportation fleet is ready to go and has been getting students to and from summer school. The office staff in each building have been working to ensure supplies, materials, schedules, and so much more are in place for enrolled students as well as for students and families new to the district. Many teachers have worked on curriculum improvements and professional learning community practices. Our PKC staff worked tirelessly all summer to provide a positive and caring environment for kids. The IT Crew worked to ensure up-to-date technology tools were in place for all staff and students that needed it. The Food Service crew provided a fantastic lunch for all staff during Inservice. The District Office staff on boarded new hires, enrolled new students, overhauled the business software, and made sure all licensing requirements were met during the summer months. There is so much more, and without missing out on anyone, I want to shout a huge “THANK YOU” to everyone who had a part in the projects that were completed and the preparation to make the ECSD a great place to learn, work, and grow. Brian Nadeau Superintendent nadeaub@ellsworth.k12.wi.us

📚 EES Open House Reminder! 🎉 Join us for the EES Open House & Pictures 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 from 2pm-6pm! Bring your best smiles 😁 because we’ll be taking school pictures too! 📸 Let’s kick off the school year with some fun and capture those memories! We can’t wait to see you there! 🎒✨

📚✨ We are thrilled to welcome back around 350 amazing employees for our school in-service day today! We also welcomed a few new faces to our team, and we couldn't be more excited to kick off the 2024-2025 school year at Ellsworth Community School District! 🎉 As our new Superintendent, Mr. Nadeau, beautifully said, "My hope for you is that you have the best year yet, that you feel inspired and honored to be able to serve students, and that on the days you don’t feel inspired, you have a support network to lean on so you can lean into the work. I’m humbled and honored to be here with you, doing the work that matters so greatly to our kids and community. Let’s make it an incredible week and the best year yet! "💜🤍🚀 LET'S GO PANTHERS!!!! #ECSDPantherPride

📚 Back-to-School Open Houses Reminder! 📚 We’re excited to welcome everyone back for the new school year! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our upcoming Open Houses and Orientations. 🎒✨ 🏫 EMS Open House 📅 August 20th 🕓 4pm-7pm 🎒 New Student Orientation at 4:30pm 🏫 EHS Open House 📅 August 20th 🕠 5:30pm-7:30pm 🎒 New Student & 9th Grade Orientation at 6pm 🏫 EES Open House & Pictures 📅 August 21st 🕑 2pm-6pm We can't wait to see you there! Let’s make this school year the best one yet! 🎉

💜 4YK Open House Fun! 💜 Yesterday, our littlest Panthers had an exciting day at their Open House! They got to meet their teacher, explore the school, enjoy a fun scavenger hunt, and even take their very first school picture! 📸 💜We can’t wait to see our youngest students back in the classroom very soon. It’s going to be a great year! 🎉✨ #ECSDClassof2038

For families that are registered please remember to pick up your school supplies today!!