Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Note from the Principal

I would like to thank everyone for helping us to meet our Jog-A-Thon goal this year!  I enjoyed coloring my hair pink, and so did the students.

I would also like to thank all of the parent volunteers for the month of September.  Compared to the volunteer hours from September of 2009, we have DOUBLED our volunteer hours!  If you are unable to volunteer during the day, don't forget to stop by our P.T.A. meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Your input and ideas are always welcome.

Just a reminder with Halloween coming soon, both staff and students do not wear costumes at our school. Some classrooms will have Harvest/Fall parties to celebrate the fall season. Teachers will let parents know party details in their classroom newsletters.

Thank you!
Brian Crain

It’s getting that time of year again for colds and the flu. Please follow the guidelines outlined in this weeks Newsletter  for when to keep your child at home.

You can find the Newsletter in the Tuesday folder or at the following links:

Monday, October 18, 2010

PTA Meeting - Principals Report

At every PTA meeting the Principal gives an overview of what has been happening at the school and the overall success of the students. If you have questions about the principals report please contact Principal Crain or attend the next PTA meeting on November 10th at 7PM.

P.T.A. Principals Report - 10/13/10

Safety
•2 Fire drills in September

•Fire alarm covers 
Fire Prevention 10/11 
Safe Kids Starts on 10/26
 Student Achievement 
In-class Assessments 
    –Class Reviews 
    –Common Formative Assessments 
•Math and Writing 
OAKS-Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 
    –Round 1 Reading (Nov.15-Dec.17) 
    –Round 1 Math and Science (Feb. 1-18) 
    –Round 2 Reading/Math/Science (April 4-15) 
    –Round 3 Reading/Math/Science (May2-19) 
School Report Card (Handout)

 School Climate 
Purple Hand Pledge Week 
    –10/18-10/22 
Leadership Groups 4th/5th 
    –Green Team 
    –Announcements 
    –Photographer 
    –Campus Crew 
    –Doodle Dudes 
    –Rocking Readers 
    –Power Team 
4th/5th Choir 
Behavior & Attendance

Other 
November 5th 
    –½ Day for students early release 
November 8th 
    –4th Grade Writing Presentation to the Board 
Giant Pumpkin Estimation Contest 
School Site Council 
   School Improvement Plan 
Yamhill County Museum

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

State Report Cards

Every year the State of Oregon publishes State Report Cards and an Adequate Yearly Progress Report.  They released the latest reports earlier this month.  Check them out for yourself and see the amazing job that our students and staff have been doing.

The 2009-2010 report cards published in October 2010 can be seen at the following links:

2009-2010 Wascher State Report Card
2009-2010 Wascher State Report Card - Details
2009-2010 Wascher AYP Report

The official state run web site for archives and viewing of all report cards for all schools can be found at http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/Reports.aspx.

Friday, October 1, 2010

2010 Joh-A-Thon

Thank you to everyone who helped raise funds for this years Jog-a-thon. The kids were excited and the music was loud. Mr Q set up the sound system outside and the Wascher students ran their little hearts out while oldies music filled the air:)


After running laps, the kids sat down for a treat of go-gurt as names were drawn for each class prize. We are still waiting on the final tally of money raised. Does Principal Crain get Pink Hair????

Thursday, September 23, 2010

2010 Open House

We had a great turn out for the 2010-2011 Open House! Students and parents were directed to the cafeteria where several informational booths were set up. Parents could chat with a representative or grab some info on the local Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, KOB, SMART Program, Walk to School Wednesdays, the PTA, and more.


The library was open for perusal and was offering free books for the kids to take home. Wascher students love to read!


The students' classroom were open as were the gym and music room. Teachers and Staff were there to introduce themselves and answer any questions.

The evening ended with a presentation in the gym given by Principal Crain. He highlighted his goals for Wascher Elementary, did a quick update on the scheduled events coming up and led the students in the new school cheer.


Thank you to all who attended. Let's make this a stellar year at Wascher Elementary!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Annual Jog-a-thon

Did you check your child's back pack today? The jog-a-thon paperwork came home with the students for the up and coming annual fundraiser. Start calling, emailing, and texting all those relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to support your child as they run and run and run! The Jog-a-thon is scheduled for Friday, October 1st and pledges and paperwork must be turned in by the event.

The fundraiser will help purchase additional equipment for the playground and the goal amount this year is $5,500.00. If we hit that goal, Principal Crain will die his hair pink and spike it! What a great motivational image for the kids:) So go and get started collecting pledges!

PTA Meeting Notes

As promised we will be posting the meeting minutes from the PTA Meetings.  We now have the minutes from the first meeting online and available.  You can read them by following this link.

McMinnville School District News

Many of us who use the internet to get the majority of our information rely on sites that use RSS or Atom feeds to pump that information directly to us.  I personally use Google Reader to put all the latest bits of news and information in one place.  I get technology reviews, updates on blogs that I follow (including this one), latest promotions from my favorite stores and now I can get the latest from our school district.

The McMinnville School District has added an RSS feed for all their latest news.  This is something that I had been asking about last year and over the summer they got it in place.  It is great to see that the school district is implementing new ways to keep everyone informed.  If you are a user of any feed readers then point it over to http://www.msd.k12.or.us/rss.xml and subscribe for the latest and some of the most important news that we as parents need to hear.

Friday, September 10, 2010

First PTA Meeting

This past Wednesday night was the first PTA meeting of the year.  There was a great turnout with 18 parents and staff members in attendance.  Discussions quickly got underway about all the plans and goals that the PTA has for the upcoming year.  Topics discussed included the upcoming Jog-a-Thon, fund raising ideas, what color to dye the Principles hair, potentials for increasing school programs and many other fun and important areas.  We will have complete meeting minutes posted shortly.

The PTA is excited about the new school year and as always encourages every parents support and participation.  If you are interested in learning more about this great organization you can attend the next meeting on October 13th at 7:00 PM in the community room at Wascher or you can contact PTA President Erica Bailey at wascherpta@yahoo.com.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

New School Web Site!!!!


The staff at our great school have been working hard this summer to get everything ready for the new year.  As all the parents and students know Wascher has a new principle, Brian Crain.  One of the many projects that Mr. Crain has been working on is improving the school web site.  I am happy to announce that the new version is now live and is looking great!!  Like all great works this is still a work in progress but knowing the staff at Wascher I know that it will only get better.  
At the moment the old links and web address are still pointing at the old web site.  Hopefully this will be resolved in the next few days.  In the meantime you can visit the new web site at the following address:

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school Wascher Wildcats! I watched parents and kids alike pile into the school this morning with excited chatter and happy smiles. The teachers and staff are ready and the school itself is decorated and festive. The start of school is here!

Remember, the first PTA meeting is tomorrow, September 8 @ 7 pm. Please join us and take an active part in your child's education.

Another reminder, the first of the year open house will be held on September 21 @ 6:30 pm. This is a great time for the whole family to come and take a look at the school, the staff, and the environment in which are children learn. Mark your calendars.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Which class is your child in?

The classroom assignments have been posted on the front window of the school. Make sure to run by and check which class your student is in before Tuesday so they are ready to go!

The 2010 - 2011 school year starts this Tuesday, September 7th and 8 am. Pack the lunches, gather the school supplies and send them on in!

The first PTA meeting of the year will be taking place this Wednesday, the 8th at 7 pm. Join in to help make the school year great for your children!

The 2010 - 2011 school year is here!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

School Supply Lists

The district has posted this year's school supply list. It can be found here:

http://www.msd.k12.or.us/district/school-supplies

It's time to get our children ready for the 2011 school year!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Growth of Wascher

Call me a little odd but I am a person who likes to look at numbers.  I typically find that numbers give me the best representation of a given situation.  Over the past couple of months I have been looking at some of the numbers for Wascher Elementary and two simple numbers came to the top: How many Students attend Wascher and How many Teachers provide instruction for those students.

I decided to look back through the state report cards and ODE reports to gather the following information for the past 10 years.  (Unfortunately I have not gathered the information for the current school year yet).


What I see in these numbers is that number of students has increased by 37.5%, growing from 277 in 99/00 to 381 in 08/09.  However, the number of full time teachers has nearly doubled!  In 99/00 there were 13.1 Teachers (FTE) by 08/09 this number increased to 27.5, that is an increase of 96.2%. 

What does that mean for our students?  As you can see the Student per Teacher ratio has dropped from 21.2 down to 14.8.  Lower Student/Teacher ratio translates to more individual instruction and an overall better learning environment for our children.

I have not given you a graph for it but if you go back and read the report cards you will see that student performance has increased at Wascher.  I would make a bet that the lower class size plays a big part in that.
 

Friday, May 14, 2010

Weekly Events - May 16 - 22

As the school year starts wrapping up and the sunshine starts getting brighter life always seems to get a little bit busier.  To help keep ourselves on track it is always a good idea to take a quick look into the future.  Below you will find a list of events that are scheduled for next week along with a little bit of information about each one.

May 17 - Author Visit
Wascher PTA has arranged for authors to come to our school!  This year it will be sister/brother team of Laura and Rob Sams better known as Sisbro. They will be doing 3 presentations in the gym....one for grades K-1, one for grades 2-3, and one for grades 4-5.

May 18,  6:30 PM - Family Literacy Night

May 20 - 5th Grade Field Trip to Portland

May 21 - 4th Grade Field Trip to the Yamhill Historical Museum

May 21 - Last Day of KOB/PH
The Kids on the Block and Power Hour programs for the year are coming to an end on Friday. Please be sure to make arrangements for your student’s after school care during this time.  For additional information on the KOB/PH program check out this link from the Oregon Department of Education.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

PTA Meeting

Just a quick reminder to everyone that the last PTA meeting for this school year will be tomorrow March 5th at 7PM.  Final plans for this years carnival will be made along with selections for next years PTA officers.  I encourage every parent of a Wascher student to attend and get involved in the PTA.  The students are our children and their education is our responsibility, take the time to get involved.

I hope to see you all there!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Appreciation for our Teachers

Today marks the beginning of the National Teacher Appreciation Week with Tuesday May 4th designated as Teacher Appreciation Day!  I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to let the teachers in your life know how much they mean to you.  There are many ways to show your appreciation.  You can send a simple e-mail or hand-written note, bake some of their favorite cookies, give a gift-card for the coffee shop they frequent,  the list could go on and on.  The simple bottom line is give the teachers a big THANK YOU for all that they do.  We are blessed with amazing teachers at Wascher and we need to let them know.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tux4Kids - Free Educational Software


How many parents are looking for good educational computer games for our children?  There happens to be a group of developers creating such games and best of all they give them away free for anyone to download!  Tux4Kids has been around for quite a few years and have produced three great games for children:

Tux, of Math Command, AKA TuxMath, lets kids hone their arithmetic skills while they defend penguins from incoming comets, or offers them a chance to explore the asteroid belt with only their factoring abilities to bring them through safely!

TuxTyping - Tux the penguin is hungry, and loves to eat fish. But Tux can only catch the fish if you type the right letters in time! Can you help Tux?

Tux Paint. - New Breed Software and Tux4Kids bring you Tux Paint. This remarkable drawing program empowers kids to be creative in an environment complete with magic tools and sound effects.

All of these program can be fun and challenging for children of all ages.  My 3 year old can match up simple letter and numbers on the keyboard to falling comets or fish, our 6 year old can do the same by typing in words or solving simple adding and subtraction problems that fall from the sky. Keep in mind that these games are not only great for our kids but also for us.  I usually consider myself pretty good at math, however, after working through 30-40 levels of TuxMath I just couldn't keep up.

I would highly recommend checking out Tux4Kids, there are versions for Windows, Mac OS X and many flavors of Linux.  So no matter what kind of computer you have you can have a great time.  

Monday, April 12, 2010

Congratulations to Wascher Readers!!!

As you may have been hearing for a while there has been a Battle of the Books team from Wascher that has been doing quite well.  Last Saturday the team of Ashton Walters, Abe Thornburg, Will Schnepps, Nathan Leid, and alternate Kyle Hampton represented Wascher at the State Battle of the Books Championship.  This group of fifth graders came prepared and were rewarded by walking away with 3rd place!

If you are like me then you may have never heard of the Oregon Battle of the Books, so here is a little bit about the program...

It was created in 2006 and is run completely by volunteers in cooperation with the Oregon Association of School Libraries.  The first competition was during the 2007-2008 school year and 168 schools participated.  This year (2009-2010) the numbers have almost doubled to 334 schools!  You can read more about the history, get the latest book lists or find more resource for helping get involved with the program at their official web site: http://oboblsta.pbworks.com/

Check out the Battle of the Books and get ready for next year!!!

Great Job Wildcats!!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

NewLafayette.org

NewLafayette.org has just added a new section to their website specifically for Josephine Wascher Elementary and our Wildcats!  I would like to thank the organizers at NewLafayette for including, what I feel is the most important aspect or our community, our children.  You can find the new section under the Community Interest menu at the top of their site.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

BoxTops Update

A quick update on this years Box Tops
earnings by our Wildcats: $439


Great Job Wascher!!! 
Lets keep it up!

You can keep up on the progress at the Box Tops site.

Time for a Book Fair!!

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Wascher this week!  Come and check out the great books and pick up something for the readers in your family.  The Book Fair will be running from tomorrow (4/7) through next Thursday (4/15).  Reading is a wonderful way to spend time with your child, whether you are reading to them or they are reading to you.  The Scholastic web site is a great source of information on how to help your child become the greatest reader they can be. Their web site can also help you determine what books are appropriate for your child's age and reading ability.

Book Fair Schedule:
4/7 - Wednesday 2:30-3:30
4/8 - Thursday 2:30-3:30
4/9 - Friday 11:30-12:00
4/12 - Monday 2:30-3:30
4/13 - Tuesday 2:30-3:30
4/14 - Wednesday 2:30-3:30
4/15 - Thursday 12:00-8:00

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Family Math Night 2010


This years annual Family Math Night was held on March 16 in the cafeteria, and organized/run by Ms Shilhanek's fifth grade class. There was a large turnout, including students, parents and siblings.

Great Job Ms Shilhanek and Class!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Bringing Experiences Into the Classroom

We recently went on vacation and brought home a freshly picked pineapple for our daughter to share with her classroom. Her teacher turned it into a wonderful hands on learning experience.


The students used their five senses to describe the fruit using sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste.


After they all sampled the fruit, they used these descriptive words to write their own poems, beefing up their writing skills in the process.


It was such a simple and easy action to grab a little something from our trip to take to the class, but the joy and knowledge they received was unmeasurable. You don't have to go on a tropical vacation to bring variation to your child's classroom. Share your heritage, your knowledge, or your experiences with the students, you can't imagine what these young minds can glean from something as simple as a piece of fruit.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Success!

The students at Wascher Elementary School were successful in raising over $5000 in their Jog-A-Thon! The annual Jog-A-Thon took place on Thursday, January 28th in the school gym with all the school kids participating.


Kids, parent volunteers, and school staff made uncountable revolutions around the gym floor with the sole goal of earning enough donations ($5000.00) to have Principal Donovan dye her hair green. They succeeded and the green haired Mrs. Donovan dutifully visited each classroom while the kids crowed with delight at their success.



Great Job Wascher Students!
Soon you'll have those new benches to enjoy!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

School Report Cards

You may have noticed that in the Tuesday Folder you received a copy of the Wascher and McMinnville School District's 2008-2009 Report Cards.  These report cards give us a snapshot of how well our schools are providing for our children and how well our children are responding.  I would encourage every parent to take a few minutes and read over the reports.

The first bit of information I noticed was that Wascher was ahead of the state in all three core areas: Reading, Math and Science.  The school also showed significant improvement in Science raising from 55% to 87%.  These high scores help to prove that Wascher Elementary has an exceptional group of teacher, staff and students.

You can directly view the report cards for Wascher at the following links:
2008-2009 State Report Card   
2008-2009 State Report Card Details
2008-2009 AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress)

If you are interested in learning more about these report, where they come from, how they are scored, etc you can visit the Oregon Department of Education web site or go directly to one of the following:

ODE Reports - Top level index of popular reports including Assessments, Financial & Funding, District and School comparision.

ODE AYP Information -  Information, Reports and FAQ for the Adequate Yearly Progress

AYP and Report Card Search and Download - Search and download PDF's of current and past reports for any school in the state.

Note From the Principle

If you missed this weeks newsletter you can view it here English / Spanish

The following was the "Note From the Principal…"

Teachers are beginning to assess students again for the end of the second quarter. It’s exciting to see the growth your child has made since November. There will be no school on January 29 for students. Teachers will be preparing report cards on that day.

In early February we will be reviewing the academic progress of each student in our school. We want to be sure all students are growing academically and working toward meeting grade level standards.
Many students have asked if I am really going to color my hair green if we reach our jog a thon goal. I’ve told them, “of course I will!” They are all quite excited to see their principal with green hair! I’m just hoping it will wash out!

Thank you,
Kyra Donovan

Thursday, January 14, 2010

It's time for the Jog-A-Thon!

Did you notice that your student was sent home with the pledge envelope for the the yearly Jog-A-Thon in Tuesday's envelope? If not, take a moment to fish it out of your child's backpack and take a look. The Jog-A-Thon is taking place on Thursday, January 28 and pledges need to be turned in at that time. It's simple, have your child collect sponsors and keep track of the checks/cash received and then send it all back to the school in time for the event. Ask your family, your co-workers, and your neighbors if they'd like to support your child's education, collect their donation and you've helped the school!

The PTA has a goal of $5000 raised and Mrs. Donovan (the principal) has committed to dying her hair green if the students succeed in reaching this! Lets all help the kids make this a memorable fundraiser, green hair and all!

Vounteering in Your Child's Classroom is Easy and Fun!

I recently had the opportunity to volunteer in my daughter's first grade classroom for the first time. If you are anything like me, I've been saying that I was going to take the time to volunteer for the last year, I just hadn't gotten around to it. I'm so glad that I finally did! What an experience!  It was fascinating to see her interact with the other students, with her teacher, and to tackle the day's activities. The whole process was easy, I filled out a background check form prior to that day, signed in using the computer in the office, grabbed a volunteer tag and I was on my way. I did some simple tasks such as copying and filing, decorated the bulletin board, and then was able to help in the classroom during the writing assignment and reading time. I must admit I was quite interested to see how my daughter fit into her class, reading and writing level wise. After helping the other kids, I now know what we need to work on at home to make her a stronger learner.

I ended up spending over 5 hours at Wascher and from that time and experience, I've gained more respect and admiration for the staff there. I know that teaching isn't my thing and I feel so thankful for the wonderful teachers that make it their passion and mission to teach our youth. The classrooms are well run atmospheres for learning.

I would strongly encourage you to consider taking some time to volunteer in your child's classroom. The teacher will benefit from the extra help, your child will love having you around and showing you off, and you will be able to get a good perspective of what your child does every day. Everyone benefits.

I've already let the school know when I'll be there next to help out, I'm excited to see what other opportunities for service arise while I'm there. Maybe I'll see you there:)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Place for Information

One of the advantages of being online is the ability to get information out quickly and to provide a place where people can access information when the need or want to.  This blog is one way that we are attempting to do just that.  Another site that we are starting to put together is an actual web site where we can keep more static information.  This information will contain documents, photos, reference information, etc. 

Currently there is an archive for newsletters and a section for PTA information.  We know that right now there is not much but it is a starting place.  If you have any ideas for what you would want to see or there is information you are looking for and cannot find then let us know.  We will do our best to track it down and post it.  If you are looking for something chance are that someone else is too.

Newsletter

The first newsletter of the year is out.  You view the complete newsletters along with past news letters at the following link http://sites.google.com/site/wascherelementary/home/newsletters.  The following was taken from this weeks newsletter:

Note From the Principal…

Happy New Year and welcome back! Teachers and students are rested, refreshed and ready to teach and learn! The progress your children will make between now and spring break is always amazing to me!
We have scheduled a presentation for parents regarding Gang Awareness. Officer Cummins, the SRO officer at Patton will present this information January 6, at 6:30pm in our school library. Our PTA meeting will follow the presentation. The information Officer Cummins will present is extremely important for parents. He will go over signs to watch for and a general awareness parents should have. The more information we have the better prepared we are to support our children. I hope to see many of you at the presentation.
See you at Family Movie Night on Friday!
Thank you,
Kyra Donovan

Monday, January 4, 2010

Parent Information Night and PTA Meeting

Wascher will be holding a Parent Information Night this Wednesday (Jan 6th) at 6:30 PM in the library.  Officer Cummins, the SRO officer from Patton, will be giving a presentation on Gang Awareness.  Immediately following his presentation there will be a PTA meeting.  You will be receiving an automated phone call later today with more information.

I hope to see everyone there!