A reminder that next week Monday and Tuesday from 5-7pm, PEHS is hosting a Youth Volleyball Camp in the High School and Middle School Gym. All girls should meet in the HS Gym at the start of each day. Please wear appropriate clothing, shoes, etc.
2021 Interpretive Reading Winners
Students at Eagle Elementary took part in the Dr. Seuss, Read Across America Day. This week has been filled with wonderful activities for the students and spirit days for the whole school.
Here are the winners for the Interpretive Reading Contest:
1st grade-Evelyn Corey
2nd grade-Alise Hayssen
3rd grade-Eleanor Bennett
4th grade-Mila Sockrider
5th grade-Maddy Anton
Each of these students received a certificate and blue ribbon. Each winner also read their book over the intercom and these videos are on the District Facebook page for you to view!
Second Quarter Honor Roll
Second Quarter Honor Roll! Congratulations to the following Panthers for making it onto the 2nd Quarter Honor Roll!
Recently, we’ve heard about the Band Boosters and their fundraising efforts, but not a lot about what happens with that money. Well last fall, the band purchased a Musser Marimba M300, an instrument that they had been needing for many years. Our Percussion Ensemble would head to State, but would be unprepared to play on the Marimba as we didn’t have one for our school. In order to fund this purchase, the band found the money in a variety of places. First, about 1/3 of the cost was covered by the school's Band Budget and there was also money in our Band Activity Account, which was earned from student fundraisers and working concessions. Lastly, we had asked Band Boosters for help, which they had approved to help pay for a large portion. After collecting all of this, our band was finally able to pay for this wonderful instrument. The Palmyra-Eagle Band thanks the community for their donations that led to the purchase of the Marimba!
Palmyra Teen Receives Meritorious Action Award
Christian Eddy, son of Michael and Lisa Eddy of Palmyra, was recently honored by the Potawatomi Area Council of Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The ceremony on February 6, 2021 presented Christian with a Certificate of Merit “in recognition of a Meritorious Action demonstrating Scoutings best traditions.” This ceremony was previously delayed due to Covid precautions and recognized action taken by Eddy in 2019.
Christian has been in Scouts since the 1 st Grade and is a member of Boy Scout Troop 54 in Eagle. As a young Scout, he earned his “Arrow of Light” award – the highest award given in Cub Scouts. He is currently a “Life Scout” and is expected to achieve the “Eagle Scout” rank later this year. (Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America. Only about four percent of Scouts earn this rank.)
Eddy is also a senior at Palmyra-Eagle High School – where his older sister, Julia, graduated from in 2020. All together he is involved in many activities, including Scouting, football, basketball, baseball and more. Eddy also works part time laboring at Oak Ridge Contracting and is currently taking classes at Waukesha County Technical College through the “Start College Now” program at Palmyra-Eagle High School. While he keeps a pretty busy schedule, he is known for always taking time to help out teammates and fellow students – whether they need a ride to or from practices or need some encouragement to face a challenge – Eddy is there with a smile and a helping hand. It is no surprise for
those who know him, to learn he was recognized by BSA for a “specific and notable act of service and exceptional character using Scouting skills and ideals.”
In July of 2019, Eddy was mowing grass for a 92 year old Palmyra man. During the course of his mowing, he happened to notice the door on the house was open, but he could no longer actually see the man who had been holding the door and that caught his attention. Concerned, he immediately jumped off the lawn mower to discover the man had fallen, was seriously hurt and unable to get up or summon help. Eddy also noticed a bleeding gash on his arm. He then quickly put his first aid training to work- taking off his own shirt and using it to wrap the injured arm to stop the bleeding and also ran to
call 911. The paramedics arrived within minutes to assist and transport the man to the hospital. The elderly man had suffered a broken hip in addition to the wound on his arm and required two weeks in the hospital and special care to recover. The paramedics that arrived on scene indicated if Eddy had not helped when he did, “the man more than likely would have died.” One relative of the injured man, Helen Carlson, was extremely grateful Eddy was there that day and said “Chris is an amazing young man. Caring, respectful and honest.”
Tara LeRoy is a Palmyra parent of a child who has also benefitted from Eddy’s kindness in the past and says, “Christian is an admirable young man who works hard, is a good role model, and enjoys helping others. I see him go out of his way to help students get the opportunity to participate in activities they love and I admire that. It was not a surprise to learn he was being honored for helping to save a life.”
As proud parents, Michael and Lisa credit the training and skills their son learned through scouting to enable him to respond calmly in an emergency situation. His experience in team sports also likely played a role – where life skills such as leadership, respect, and making split second decisions are also learned. Lisa adds, “Without Christian’s prior experience and training, the outcome that day could have been very different. As parents we are extremely proud that he was able to rise to the occasion and take appropriate actions in an emergency situation.”
PEASD is very proud to have a student like Christian!
National Merit Scholarship
After making the Semi-Finalists for the National Merit Scholarship in the fall, our very own Lane Scheel, son of Michael and Sara Scheel and oldest of three, has made it to the Finalists. Finalists are narrowed down to 15,000 from the top 50,000 students who scored the highest on the PSAT/NMSQT. Lane was given a Certificate of Merit to commemorate becoming a finalist. From March until mid-June, they will narrow it down to about 7,500 winners who will receive one of three types of scholarships. National Merit® $2500 Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, or College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
Lane has had quite a busy schedule over the last few years while attending Palmyra-Eagle High School. He took two courses at UW-Whitewater last semester, and is taking two more this semester along with being in AP Stats, AP Psych and AP Literature. He participated in wrestling from Middle school until 10th grade, ran in track and played football until he injured his ACL last year. He is in Choir, NHS, performed in the play as the lead role last year, does math tutoring, has over 200 hours in community service all while maintaining a part-time job as a cashier at the Walmart in Mukwonago. After COVID-19 ended up cancelling his original internship, he was led to a 10-week internship at UW-Madison with Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
While he has worked hard to get where he is, he also wants to thank those that helped him get here. “Accomplishing what I have requires a fair amount of internal drive, no doubt. However, I believe even more so in the fact that it takes a supportive, hardworking, and inspiring community to nurture that drive within an individual. That being said, as delighted with myself as I am, I am beyond proud to be able to stand as a testament to the quality of education, caring teachers, and close-knit community of the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District.”
Inspired by a 3 a.m. viewing of Saturn at the age of 12, Lane decided then and
there that he wanted to spend his life researching the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, and sharing his knowledge with everyone. Kari Timm, Principal of Palmyra-Eagle High School and Middle School says that, “Lane is a student with an academic record that speaks for itself but his determination to further his knowledge and reach his goals is unmatched. We are unbelievably proud to have him representing the Palmyra-Eagle Area School District and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes in the next phase of his life.“
What’s next for Lane? He hopes to earn his PhD in Astrophysics, become a professional researcher, and then take his knowledge to a college campus and become a professor. We at the Palmyra- Eagle Area School District are so proud of Lane and no matter the outcome, he’s a winner in our books!
PEASD: Open For Learning
Nearly a full year post denial of a proposed district dissolution, due to financial uncertainty, PEASD has bounced back to reveal a solidly performing district echoing successes of student performance, community engagement and school management. The district continues to maintain and improve financial stability and has a bright future ahead.
Throughout the first part of the 2020-2021 school year, despite the uncertainty facing a pandemic, PEASD continues to highlight the unique advantages of our small, yet mighty school district and learning community. The small size has truly been beneficial as everyone navigates proper learning while being safe, as students and teachers are better able to socially distance. As a result of this advantage, PEASD is one of the only public schools that has been continually open for in-person learning 5 days a week, across the district since the start of the 2020-21 school year.
The district’s smaller class sizes also allow our students more opportunities for extra-curricular activities. It also creates an environment where teachers are better able to work individually with each student and spend more time helping each student be successful.
PEASD 4K program is all-day, but has an option for half-day if that’s what a parent prefers. Early enrollment begins February 1st, and there are two information sessions coming up on February 11th at 5:30 p.m. and March 9th at 1:30 p.m. More information from Eagle Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Robertson can also be found on https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VbISnfWwYYJGICezkYkeTBL2jqK-a9EC/view for those who cannot make the information sessions. PEASD also offers affordable wrap-around care for all students provided at both our Eagle and Palmyra campuses.
With all of the progress PEASD has made, we look forward to continuing to enrich the lives of our students and help them achieve their best. Our future is bright and we appreciate the trust our community continues to have in our small but powerful district!
Youth Volleyball Camp
Attention 3rd - 8th Graders interested in Volleyball! Youth Volleyball Camp is coming up! March 8th & 9th from 5-7 p.m.
Since the weather cancelled school events for Tuesday, January 26, Click here for a narrated presentation about our 4K program!
Elementary Yearbooks
Attention Elementary parents! Interested in ordering a yearbook for this year?
Click HERE to place your order! Orders must be placed by March 22, 2021.
Band Booster Meeting
Reminder to Band Parents: Tonight is the monthly Panthers Band Booster Association meeting. It takes place in the 8th grade commons at 6:00 p.m. If you cannot make it in person, join in at https://meet.google.com/fur-gwee-aan?authuser=0&hs=122&ijlm=1611100335788.
Band Boosters Lifetime Friends
Our district couldn't be successful without the help of our community. Recently, we had two businesses in the community make large donations to our Panther Band Boosters Association. The Panther Band Boosters Association is a group of parents dedicated to work together to promote and support the Palmyra-Eagle High School and Middle School band programs through fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer activities. Part of that fundraising is done through donations from our community, or “Friends” of the Band Boosters. There are different tiers based on the donation, and recently we received TWO “Lifetime Band Booster Friends.” We owe a huge thank you to both V and the “Save for Kids” program at the Lower Spring Lake BP in Palmyra and Standard Process have made generous donations to support our band program at PEHS! These incredible donations will be used for things like new instruments and will benefit our band students for years to come. Thank you so much to Lower Spring Lake BP and Standard Process!
If you are interested in becoming a friend of the Band Boosters, see the attached for more information!
5th Grade Band Tryouts!
Attention parents! Do you have a fifth grader who may be interested in band? You can sign up starting Friday, January 15 and tryouts are Jan 22-29 and Feb. 1. Mr. Hein keeps band fun, exciting and safe! See the attached flyer for more information. Feel free to contact Mr. Hein with any questions.
4K Information Sessions
PEASD is proud to offer all day 4K, with enrollment beginning February 1st. Join us in person, or virtually, at one of our informational sessions to learn more about our all day, play based, 4 year old kindergarten programs on the following dates:
1/26 @ 5:30 p.m.
2/11 @ 5:30 p.m.
3/9 @ 1:30 p.m.
Questions? Contact Elementary Principal Katie Robertson 262-594-2148 krobertson@peasd.org
Elementary Lost & Found
Attention EES parents! Are you kids missing any winter items or masks? Check out our Lost & Found in the elementary office, it's quite full! To avoid having to check in the office, please be sure to label your child's items so they can be swiftly returned. Thank you!
Social Media Concern
12/29/2020- Palmyra-Eagle Area School District administration was notified of a video on social media involving students and staff. We assure you that we do not tolerate this type of behavior and we work very hard to prevent it. We plan to investigate this incident fully involving all necessary outside parties and those who participated in this behavior will face consequences. This is not the type of interaction that we expect in our district and we are working to get to the bottom of this promptly. Thank you for your concern for our students and happenings in our school buildings, and also for any assistance you may provide in getting to the bottom of this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact PEASD administration with further questions or comments.
Honor An Educator - Mrs. Muth
Mrs. Muth, our 1st/2nd teacher at the elementary school has been honored by John and Alyssa C., for being so incredibly supportive and helpful during these uncertain times. Evelyn, their daughter, loves having Mrs. Muth as her teacher. We are very lucky to have you, Mrs. Muth!
1st Quarter Honor Roll
First Quarter Honor Roll! Congratulations to the following Panthers for making it onto the 1st Quarter Honor Roll!
Palmyra-Eagle Area School District is pleased to announce the hiring of Brad Warner, our new District Office Executive Assistant and Board Secretary. Brad comes to PEASD with lots of experience from his former position as Business Office Support Specialist/Admin Assistant for Brown Deer School District. Born in Chicago where most of his family is from, he grew up in Pewaukee and graduated from Pewaukee High School in 2008. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from West Virginia University with a degree in History/Communications. He’s always had a passion for coaching, and is currently the head Varsity baseball coach at Cudahy High School. He has coached baseball for the last 13 years, 11 at Pewaukee High School. He is a huge sports fan as well, and when weather permits he loves to golf. He currently resides in Wauwatosa with his girlfriend Danielle, her kids Dalton and Desi, and his dog Rizzo. We are excited to have him here and he says, “I'm excited to start my new journey with Palmyra-Eagle Area School District and help this district grow and become a big part of this school and community. I look forward to meeting and working with everyone here as I begin this new chapter. Go Panthers!”
A Message to Our Community from PEASD Administration
A Message to Our Community from PEASD Administration:
We know the idea we are bringing to the board of opening a $2 million dollars line of credit has caused some concerns in our community. This is not a loan to operate the district. It is simply a temporary ‘back-up’ line of credit in the event our expected primary revenues come in later than expected due to various factors impacting state aid and local property taxes. The $2 million line of credit, if needed, would cover two months of the district's average expenditures should it be needed in the event of delayed revenues and is 25% or 1/4 th of our revenues. Short term borrowing needs to be repaid by November 1st of the next year and this is in no way a long-term line of credit. We would have by November 1st all the funds we would need to fully repay any amounts still outstanding.
Although we have a healthy fund balance reserve of $3.5 million, there may be short times of the year where expenses exceed the cash balances while waiting for revenues to come in. Our district's expenditures, on average, equal slightly more than $1 million per month, every month. Our district's revenues on the other hand come in much more unevenly and sporadically, throughout the fiscal year, meaning that there could be a slight chance that for very short periods of time, our expenditures will exceed our cash balances. Certainly our good fund balance that we have will help our cash flow situation and it's very likely we may not need to access any of this line of credit. However, it is financially prudent to be prepared if the timing of revenues come in later than planned.
Many other districts around the state face this same cash flow situation. To deal with this these districts may take out temporary loans called TRANS (tax & revenue anticipation notes). This requires those districts to pay interest on these notes, even if they did not need the entire amount to cover any temporary cash deficits. The other less-costly option is using a temporary 'line-of-credit' where the district only would borrow if it was needed and only for a very short period of time. The district would only pay interest on the amount needed and for that very short time we borrowed it to cover any temporary cash deficits. Some districts with very stable finances and good credit do this as a precaution as it actually protects their high credit ratings from getting downgraded due to unexpectedly running out of money.
The potential problem we face with the timing of revenues this year is two-fold: 1. We know that DPI will be delaying some amounts of our state aid which is paid in various phases over the fiscal year. That may mean less revenues earlier in the year as expenses mount. And 2. Property tax revenues which are first received in mid-January may be down, and most likely paid later during the fiscal year. Consider that with the IRS S.A.L.T. deductions limitation, there may be no urgency for people to get the full property tax payments in by December 31, and in fact then taking advantage of the installment payments from late January through May. Adverse economic conditions may also make the property tax installment plan more attractive.
Further discussion and a possible decision will be held publicly at the upcoming board meeting this Tuesday, 11/10 at 7:00 p.m. We hope to have the support of the community and understanding that we are working hard to get this district to be as efficient as possible. PEASD is financially healthy and this line of credit in no way shows any kind of weakness, but rather reflects the administration’s ability to anticipate short-term issues that may happen to the district and protect its operation.
Free Lunch Update
On October 9, 2020, the USDA extended the opportunity for schools to offer free lunch to every child
under the age of 18, living in our school district, through the end of the school year (June 2021). It is not
mandatory, but we are very excited to be able to choose to participate. There are no forms to fill out and
no income requirements. The free lunch program includes "lunch only" and does not include any a la
carte items. If you have any questions, please contact the Food Service office at 262-495-7101 ext. 2414
or akozlowski@peasd.org.
2020/21 School Calendars
The calendar for 2020-21 school year has been set. Click the links for the Family Calendar and the Calendar at a Glance.
