School District of

Oostburg

410 New York Ave.

PO Box 700100

Oostburg, WI 53070

(920) 564-2346 www.oostburg.k12.wi.us

BOARD OF

EDUCATION

Harris Draayers

Jim Swart

Bill Rood

Terry Lemkuil

Wendy DenBoer

Rick Hartman

Nate Voskuil

SUPERINTENDENT

Mr. Jack Lewis

HIGH SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL

Mr. Scott Greupink

MIDDLE SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL

Mr. Steve Harder

ELEMENTARY

SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL

Mr. Kevin Bruggink

DIRECTOR OF

PERSONNEL /

BUDGET

Mrs. Kris DeBruine

DIRECTOR OF

BUILDINGS /

GROUNDS

Mr. Kevin Dulmes

Community Connections School District of Oostburg Newsletter

The mission of the School District of Oostburg is to prepare students to be productive and positive contributors to our society and the world.

“There is no

substitute for

excellence.”

~ Students Design Battle Bot

~ American Math Competition

~ Open Enrollment Notice

~ OES Family Fun Fair

~ New Buildings & Grounds Director

~ Market Day Chairperson Needed

~ ACT Success at OHS

~ OES Round-Up

In this Issue...

Volume 12

Issue No. 2

Winter 2012

OnLine Grades Available

for OMS & OHS Parents, we remind you that you can view

grades/learning progress for your middle

school or high school student online with our

Homelogic system. Contact your child’s of-

fice if you need contact information (High

School 564-2346, Middle School 564-2383).

Geography Bee The Geography Bee is sponsored by the

National Geographic Society and Google.

The OMS school-wide competition was

held in January. Each grade had three fi-

nalists. The Geography Bee champ was

Kayla DuMez, an 8th grader at OMS. The

runner up was 7th grader Morgan Dulmes

and Justin Mentink, an 8th grader, was

third. Congratulations, Kayla, on winning

this Geography Bee.

From left: Justin Mentink, Kayla DuMez

and Morgan Dulmes

Lakeland College

Math Meet Twenty-four students from Oostburg Middle

School participated in the Lakeland College

Middle School Math Competition on Monday,

November 14. The following is a list of the

students: (8th grade) Jacob Gross, Jordan

Leaman, Jon Leitzke, Alex Malueg, Justin

Mentink, Cole Nelson, and Janeese VerVelde;

(7th grade) Alec Arndt, Marissa Herro, Claire

Hoffmann, Breanna Isken, Ben Kretz, Olivia

Krueger, Tommy Montemayor, Nick

Schinner, Dayton Schreurs, Ben Turner, Jared

VanderWeele, and Mitch VerVelde; (6th

grade) Paige Bruggink, Brent Greupink, Tia

Stubler, Sierra Thein, and Dawson Wilterdink.

The three teams competed against other

schools from Sheboygan County. Each Oost-

burg Middle School team must include at least

one sixth grade student and no more than four

eighth grade students. Our three teams fin-

ished 6th, 23rd, and 37th out of 53 teams.

Cole Nelson received recognition for being

9th place out of 410

participating stu-

dents. Congratula-

tions to everyone

who participated in

this competition.

Cole Nelson

www.oostburg.k12.wi.us “There is no substitute for excellence.” 2

From the Superintendent's Office We have had a busy and productive first half of the year. As many of you know, I recom-

mended in December that Kevin Bruggink, our elementary principal, be hired as superinten-

dent. I watched the administrative team work together over the first part of the year and found

Kevin's skill sets as most desirable to continue the educational mission of focus on READING

and MATH that the district is working towards. All of the other administrators have strong

skills as well, but Kevin seems to fit this area the best. The board has accepted this recommen-

dation and has asked me to stay on to "mentor" Kevin until the end of June. I also recommend-

ed that the superintendent share one of the other administrative positions thus reducing the

number of administrators in the district. This should result in some cost savings for the district

as we prepare for the 2012-2013 school year. Kevin will remain as the elementary principal for

the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year. Between now and the end of June, we will decide

as to whether he will remain the elementary principal/superintendent or move to the middle school which has fewer stu-

dents and staff in 2012-2013.

I have been impressed with the dedication to learning that the teaching staff has shown. Their desire to see your stu-

dents succeed is very evident when you take the time to watch them in the classroom. We have taken steps to improve

ACT test scores by offering a preparation class after school as an option for those wishing to take the test this spring.

We will continue to look at ways to improve learning and work towards the focused goals in reading and math.

In addition, Kevin Dulmes has joined the staff as director of building and grounds. Recently he has prepared and de-

livered a staffing plan and a long range building capitol improvement list for the board. He has been an excellent addi-

tion to the staff and we will gain much from his experience as director of maintenance for the Aurora Health Systems.

“We are all blessed with wonderful opportunities, disguised as an impossible situation.”

This phrase is one of Kevin Dulmes’ favorite sayings and is how he looks at life. Kevin

Dulmes is currently the Building and Grounds Coordinator for the Oostburg School Dis-

trict. He started his new role the beginning of December 2011 and has enjoyed getting to

know everyone associated with the school district. He has been happily married to his

wife Shelly for the past 17 years. Shelly and Kevin both grew up in the Oostburg School

District and now have the wonderful experience of having their 4 boys go to the same dis-

trict. Their sons are: Jacob, a sophomore; Zachary, an 8th grader; Chase is in 5th grade;

and Levi is in 3rd grade. This makes for a busy household. The boys enjoy soccer, soft-

ball, football, basketball, trapshooting, horseback riding, snowboarding, hunting, fishing...

anything outdoors. That leaves Kevin and Shelly to maintain schedules and keep sani-

ty. As a family they enjoy church activities, 4H, making maple syrup, ...again anything

outdoors, and working on their small hobby farm, where they raise registered Boer

goats. If you are wondering what a Boer goat is, please feel free to check out their website at http://

dulmesfamilyboergoats.weebly.com/index.html.

Prior to accepting the position at Oostburg Schools, Kevin was employed by Aurora Healthcare. His most recent posi-

tion was in the Mid-Market where he was manager of Environmental Services for the Grafton Hospital, Medical Office

Building, Cancer Center and the manager of Environment of Care, Hazardous & Pharmaceutical Waste Coordinator for

the above facilities and also the Mayfair Surgery Center. Before moving to the Mid-Market, he was with the Sheboygan/

Calumet market where Kevin was the Plant Service Supervisor for 11 clinics from New Holstein to Cedar Grove. His

duties included overseeing Maintenance, Housekeeping, Custodial and some Loss Prevention. From 2004-2006, Kevin

and his family had a wonderful opportunity to move to Michigan and participate in camp ministry at Cranhill

Ranch. This really introduced him to facilities management where he had a small staff and many volunteers to work

with and coordinate work for. As a family, they really enjoyed camp ministry and continue to look for ways to get back

to visit or volunteer.

Kevin is looking forward to this opportunity and is thankful to be working in this school district. He believes that this

is one of the best communities to raise children, and, in his short time here, is continually amazed at the amount of com-

munity support that is present. The school is definitely a center of activity for the entire community and if you ever have

any questions or concerns that relate to the facilities, please feel free to contact Kevin.

Kevin Dulmes

OSD Welcomes New Buildings and Grounds Director

Jack Lewis

www.oostburg.k12.wi.us “There is no substitute for excellence.” 3

American Mathematics

Competition The seventh and eighth grade students participated in

the American Mathematics Competition in November.

The competition consisted of 25 problems that were given

over one class period. The following is an alphabetical

listing of the top 21 students:

Thomas Mon-

temayor was the

overall school cham-

pion. Congratula-

tions to Tommy and

everyone else who

participated in this

contest.

Seventh Grade

Mikayla Burmesch

Wyatt Ecclestone

Travis Hendrikse

Claire Hoffmann

Ben Kretz

Ben Lemkuil

Thomas Montemayor

Ben Turner

Jared VanderWeele

Mitch VerVelde

Mitchel Weinert

Eighth Grade

Abby Blok

Matt DeMaster

Ben DeVrou

Kayla DuMez

Keri Hartmann

Thomas Kolocek

Jordan Leaman

Haley Marman

Justin Mentink

Cole Nelson

Thomas Montemayor

Students Design Battle Bot Students from Oostburg High School’s Design and

Engineering course have taken on the challenge of par-

ticipating in this year’s BOTS I.Q. Competition. You

may be familiar with a similar term for the contest called

Battle Bots. For this contest, the students are in the pro-

cess of building their own fighting robot from scratch

and researching and assembling each component on their

own. They will compete later this semester at the Dis-

covery World facility in Milwaukee. Matt Asselin, Sam

Krueger, Daryl Moehrke, Seth Opgenorth, Grant Roeth-

el, Matt Theune, Cody VanGinkel, and Alex Wynveen

are participating in the project. They are still looking for

sponsors to support them and would love to thank the

generosity of those who have already sponsored. If you

are interested

in learning

more, or mak-

ing a contri-

bution to the

effort, please

contact any of

the students,

or Mr. Poppe,

and they

would be hap-

py to tell you

about it.

ACT Success at OHS Five teachers at OHS have formed a committee with a specific goal of increasing student ACT scores. To meet this

goal, OHS will offer an ACT study class to help students better prepare for the ACT. The Spring 2012 ACT Class will

meet during the intervention period on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks. The class is open to any student in

grades 9-12. This class is offered at no cost to the student. Students must sign up in the high school office by February

20, 2012 so that the staff can prepare appropriate space and materials.

Students should plan to take the ACT during or before the first semester of their junior year. Prior to the test, students

should prepare by taking several practice tests and participate in the OHS ACT Study Class. Students are encouraged to

take the test at least two or three times as many students show an increase in scores on subsequent tests.

There is a high correlation between ACT scores and success in college. Higher scores can increase the probability of a

student being accepted into a more highly rated college or university. A higher score can increase the potential to be

awarded merit scholarships, or to receive private scholarships.

Students should plan now to be part of this study class. Specific dates are listed in the full brochures available in the

high school office. Contact the High School Office at 920-564-2346 or e-mail Scott.Greupink@oostburg.k12.wi.us with

questions about this class.

Important Test Registration Dates ~ April 14 ACT registration deadline is March 9. ~ June 9 ACT registration deadline is May 4.

Register online: www.actstudent.org.

Front Row, From Left: Grant Roethel,

Cody VanGinkel, Seth Opgenorth,

Daryl Moehrke

Back Row, from Left: Matt Asselin,

Alex Wynveen, Matt Theune,

Sam Krueger

“There is no substitute for excellence.” www.oostburg.k12.wi.us 4

Open Enrollment Notice Information is now available for application in the

Oostburg School District for the Open Enrollment Pro-

gram (school choice) for the 2012 - 2013 school year.

Applications can only be accepted between February 6 -

April 30, 2012.

Forms are available at http://dpi.wi.gov/

sms.psctoc.html. Additional information can be ob-

tained at any of the three school offices as well as the

Oostburg District Office.

2012 “Round-Up” Fun Fair Coming to OES

When: Friday, February 10 from 5-8 pm at Oostburg Elementary School.

Who can attend: Public is welcome.

Cost: Tickets are 4 for $1. Tickets cover food and drinks plus family friendly games.

Play the games to earn tokens toward fun prizes.

Use the tickets for a chance to win one of over 40 raffle baskets. Basket themes include: Family Game Night, Science

Discovery, Bath & Body, Camo, Outdoor Play, Ice Cream, Winter Warmth, Relaxation, Trading Cards, Coffee Lovers,

We bought a Zoo, Arts and Crafts, Chocolate Lovers, All Boys, Gardener's Delight, Books, Movie Theme and Oostburg.

Check them all out at the Fair!

Silent Auction items include: Night with OHS boys or girls basketball team, OHS Dance Team birthday party, NERF

night with the OHS Wrestlers, Wilderness Resort stay, Coach sunglasses, VIP parking for OES spring concert, gift cer-

tificate to Jumping Country, Road America tickets, golf at The Bull, Photo session, W.O.W. Ski Camp registration, Sa-

lon SASE spa package, Vera Bradley and much more!

RED HOT RAFFLE returns! Buy a $5 ticket for the chance to win “McKenna” - the American Girl doll, an IPOD

Touch or a Sheboygan County Stay-cation.

Oostburg Community

Education Foundation The Oostburg Community Education Foundation

(OCEF) was developed to complement our already excel-

lent school system in Oostburg. We appreciate the local

board of volunteers that supports education for area stu-

dents. OCEF is in need of either your tax deductible do-

nation, or individuals or organizations that are willing to

give of their time and talents to sponsor, plan, and coordi-

nate fundraisers in which the proceeds will go to OCEF,

to benefit our schools.

Tax deductible donations can be sent to OCEF, PO Box

700094, Oostburg, WI, 53070.

If you have questions about this organization, please

contact one of the following board members: Carl Claer-

bout, Eric Hesselink, Brad Brasser, Joyce Eggebeen, Dar-

lene TeStroete, Rick Hartman, Tom Brill, John Daniels,

Gordon Oliver.

Needed: Market Day Chair PTO is looking for a Market Day Chairperson to take

over next year. This is a great time for someone to shad-

ow Tina Kaat, the current chair, and learn the ropes from

her. We would like someone to be available to take it

over this summer. Without a chairperson, the PTO will

lose this great fundraiser. Please contact Robin Dirkse at

564-2966 or Melissa Leaman at 564-6420 with questions

or interest.

www.oostburg.k12.wi.us “There is no substitute for excellence.” 5

OES Round – Up

I would like to thank those who have sup-

ported the various events and causes that

we have been involved with at OES in the

past several weeks. The generosity of our

community – even in difficult economic

times – provides a great example for our

children. We are thankful that we have

children who treat each other with kind-

ness and respect and we believe that the

modeling our children see from the adults

in their lives plays a large role in shaping

their interactions with others. Thank you

for supporting those in need and building

a foundation of empathy and compassion

in our next generation.

Kevin Bruggink

To Left: Mr. Bretall’s 2nd

grade students work on prepa-

rations for their annual Christ-

mas Around the World cele-

bration held in December.

Above and below: 5th grade students from Ms.

Helmeid’s art class show off their mask crea-

tions. Each mask was created using dot painting

modeled after native Australian art. Students

formed their own masks around a plastic mold,

designed the art work, and then added various

features to make each mask unique.

Left: Mrs. Prinsen’s class

is hard at work during a

recent reading lesson.

The 4th grade team,

along with Mrs. Vande-

Slunt from 1st grade,

have been piloting work

in several areas related to

language arts. The early

results have been very

encouraging.

Left: Ms. Pearson

leads her students in

square dancing

techniques during a

recent music lesson

with our 5th grade.

Above: Detective Manzl from the Sheboygan

Sheriff’s Department presents to our 5th grade

students as they learn about internet safety, cyber-

bullying, and the dangers of social media. Thank

you to Mrs. Woodard for setting up this visit.

Bits & Bytes Check out past newsletters at www.oostburg.K12.wi.us/

district/newsletter/NewsletterIndex.html

For school closing info listen to WHBL 1330, WJUB 1420,

or WTMJ 620, TV Channel 4 or

http://closings.620wtmj.com/. You may also be contacted

by the District’s Alert Now system.

Fitness Center hours: Check the current hours and availa-

ble programs on the District website:

www.oostburg.k12.wi.us

February 15 OES Early Release

17 No School

March 3 Solo/Ensemble

5 Top Ten Banquet

21 OES Early Release

23 End of 3rd Quarter

26 - 30 Spring Vacation

April 6 No School

12, 13, 14 Spring Play

18 OES Early Release

Coming Up...

We invite your comments and suggestions.

E-mail your thoughts to:

Karen.Leitzke@oostburg.k12.wi.us.

The School District of Oostburg provides equal opportunity regardless of sex, race, age, handicap, or national origin.

Community Connections

is published

for the residents

of the School District

of Oostburg.

Design & Layout

Karen Leitzke

564-6514

Individually wrapped sin-

gle portions from snacks

to meals. Easy to prepare.

Order online at

www.marketday.com

Market Day is available to

everyone in the

Oostburg School

District community.

For more information,

call:

Tina Kaat 564-6648

School District of Oostburg P.O. Box 700100 410 New York Ave. Oostburg, WI 53070

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 101

Local Postal Patron

Please Help Us Save...

~ Campbell Soup Labels

~ Box Tops for Education

~ Used Ink Cartridges

~ Milk Caps

Drop off locations at

Oostburg State Bank,

Mentink’s Piggly Wiggly

or any of the Oostburg schools.