Have a relaxing,
      safe, fun, Memorial Day 
                                   Weekend!

8 more days of school and we plan to finish strong!

Week of April 18

Classroom Highlights

K4 - Students are learning about seeds, plants and butterflies.  They are also working on a special Mother's Day surprise!

K5 - Kindergartners completed a research project on animals using computers.  They are in the process of putting together animal books.  They are also focusing on "Writing for a Reason", and serving as critics on topics involving restaurants, movies and toys.

Grade 1 - First graders just wrapped up a unit on geometry and are getting ready for fractions.  They are also learning new comprehension strategies.

Grade 2 - Second grade students are learning about money and making change.  They will be having a guest speaker to talk to the children about banking.  They are also working on Google slide presentations involving habitats.

Grade 3 - Third graders are working in cooperative groups exploring inventions.  They are planning a field trip to see Tom Sawyer next week.

Family Movie Night

Save the Date...

Willow's Glen's Second Annual Family Movie Night

Featuring The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Friday, April 29

Hope that you can join us!

More info will be coming.

Week of March 14

Important Dates for Next Week...

Spring Break begins on Friday, March 25

PTO Dinner on March 28 - Please watch your Take Home folder for more information!

        

   

DID YOU KNOW...

The St. Francis School District has the highest performing 3rd graders in reading and math, as compared to our two, neighboring school districts?

BE PROUD OF OUR SCHOOL!!!

Week of February 29

It has been a busy week at Willow Glen!

Thank you to all who attended our Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast on Wednesday.  We served nearly 400 guests!

Third grade students celebrated their Fairytale Writing Unit with families. 
We welcomed more than 50 family members to hear great  stories, eat delicious treats, and enjoy the friendship and sense of community at Willow Glen School!!

Week of February 22

Each blog, I share highlights of the students' week, including grade level activities and new learning.  Today, I would like to share with you some highlights involving what our teachers are learning and doing, which positively impacts your child...

PBIS Tier 2 Training

Several times this school, our PBIS Team is meeting in Waukesha to grow our skills and knowledge with PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports).  Willow Glen and Deer Creek staff members join PBIS Teams from districts across our area, to develop plans of implementing Tier 2 interventions for our students.  As you may be aware, both schools were awarded the honor of being "Schools of Merit" for their success with the first tier of implementation of PBIS.  Currently, we are learning about deeper, focused strategies for reaching some of our more reluctant students.  After each PBIS meeting, we return to Willow Glen and put our new learning into practice.  The students are benefiting from this adult professional development, and we have enjoyed watching the climate improve at WG, with fewer behavior incidents and happier children!

Leadership and Coaching for RtI (Response to Intervention)

We have a team of educators from across the district, who gather in Oconomowoc a few times per year, to learn more about the impact of coaching on student achievement.  In these sessions, we are introduced to the tools needed for teacher leaders to coach other educators.  These gatherings have been of high value, as we grow to understand the process of coaching, with immediate, actionable ideas to take back to our buildings. Together, we are creating a coaching vision, and developing a work plan.  

Early Literacy Service (ELS)

More than 10 teachers have been formally trained in ELS.  This is a full year program, offered in the evenings, which addresses researched-based strategies for supporting our struggling readers.  Select students at Willow Glen are receiving this intervention on a daily basis.  We have seen students excel to meet and exceed grade level benchmarks, as a result of their participation in this program.

WILLOW GLEN TEACHERS ARE LIFE-LONG LEARNERS AND DEDICATED TO PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES!

Week of February 8

Valentine's Day activities abound at Willow Glen!

Graphing conversation hearts, writing poems, sharing stories, exchanging cards, and many, many treats...

Traditional, festive, holiday activities infused with lots of learning!

Week of February 1

                     Happy 100 Days of School!

      100 days of learning, friendship, and community...

             Please follow me on Twitter for pictures of today's celebrations!

Week of January 18, 2016

Classroom Highlights

GREAT learning activities are taking place in all classrooms!  Here are a few tidbits from each grade level...

K4 - Children are engaged in snow-related activities.  They had indoor snowball fights (using paper) and have even ice-skated across the classroom (also with paper!).  K4 students are learning about the letter P, which is Mrs. Picciolo's favorite color!  In math, they are working on story problems, focusing on penguins.

K5 - Kindergartners are working with word families.  They are ready to start a new science unit titled, "Materials in Our World", and they are skip-counting up to 100.

Grade 1 - First graders are completing their non-fiction book during writing class.  They are working on number scrolls up to 1000, and they are learning all about "heroes".

Grade 2 - In Science class, second graders are starting a new unit called, "Solids, Liquids and Gases".  They are learning subtraction strategies and are ready to publish their non-fiction books.

Grade 3 - Third graders are showcasing their Native American Dwelling Projects.  They learned how to use Google Draw to create pictures about the water cycle.  In math, they are learning about place value and decimals, all the way into the millions!

Continue to stay warm as we enter the last week of January!

Welcome to 2016!

A few tidbits as we begin 2016...

MAP testing has begun and will continue through the end of the month.  Please encourage your son/daughter to do their best, as they embark on this benchmark assessment in reading and math.  We can't wait to compare the fall student data with the winter data...We are expecting much   G R o w T H !!!

Be sure send your child with warm jackets, hats, mittens, snow pants and boots.  The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly supports outdoor recess every day!