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!

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

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:)

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

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!