Week of March 23, 2015

I'd like to share some classroom highlights with you.  Wonderful learning experiences are occurring at all grade levels!


K5 - Students just finished opinion writing and will be moving on to "how to" and "all about" books after break.  They have been talking about weather and it's changes.  In math children are working on number stories and simple addition problems.
1st Grade - Children are immersed in reading and writing.  They are leaning more about how words work, through the Words Their Way Program. 

2nd Grade - Second grade started a new writing unit. Students are writing opinion letters about books with strong characters. Students are writing to convince others to read the book and agree with their opinions. Everyday math brings us the world of fractions and measuring with a variety of tools.

3rd Grade - Third graders have been working hard in Writer's Workshop learning about editorial biographies.  They have been researching a famous person and writing about his/her contributions to society.  Students have been drawing conclusions about the lessons they themselves have learned from these famous people.  In math, third graders have just started learning about fractions.  They are learning to shade in parts of a whole, equivalent fractions, as well as working to find mixed fractions.  The Smarter Balanced Assessment/Badger Exam is quickly approaching, so third graders have been completing various practice tests and reviewing important math and reading strategies that will help them to be successful with this important test.

Week of March 2

Our annual "Green Eggs and Ham" breakfast was a HUGE success!

 

Willow Glen served almost 500 students, parents and community members a Seussful feast.  Thank you to everyone who made this special event such a wonderful success!

 

Please take a look at the Twitter page for some pictures.

 

 

In other news...

Our third grade students are preparing for the new state assessment, called the Badger Exam.  Information on this assessment was in the last school newsletter.  If you have a third grade student, and would like additional information, please feel free to contact either myself, or your child's teacher.  We'd be happy to chat about it!

 

Second grade children have been enjoying learning about animal habitats and creating Google slides to represent their learning.

 

First graders completed their non-fiction writing unit and are moving into writing reviews and opinions.  They are continuing to gain competence in counting combinations of coins.  And much like Grade 2, first graders are also learning about animal habitats!

 

Kindergarteners have been having fun with Dr. Seuss books and exploring the wonderful world of rhyming!

 

4K children have become paleontologists.  All their activities have focused on dinosaurs!

Additionally, they have learned all about dental health and keeping their teeth healthy.



 

Week of February 9

During this week filled with sentiment and "love",  I'd like to share two
POINTS
     OF
         PRIDE
with the Willow Glen School community...

1)  Among the 10 area elementary schools in our area, including South Milwaukee and Cudahy, Willow Glen scored the highest on the Wisconsin Accountability School Report Card.  We have the highest performing school... We are Exceeding Expectations, per the Department of Public Instruction!

2)  Since implementing Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), we have acknowledged students for showing great behavior and making good choices, over 5000 times!  We keep data on how many Gator Gotcha's that we give out, and are extremely pleased with the outcomes.

We have a wonderful school...Pass it on!

Week of February 2, 2015

Students celebrated the 100th day of school on Friday!

Below, you will find an interview with a first grader, regarding this special day.

Principal:  "What does it mean to celebrate 100 days of school?"
Student:  "I think that it means that it is our last day of school."
Principal:  "Hmmm....Can it mean anything else?"
Student:  "Oh yeah!  It means that we have been here for 100 days!"
                (insert child giggling)
Principal:  "What are you doing to celebrate?"
Student:  "We are doing lots of fun activities."
Principal:  "Can you tell me more about the activities?"
Student:   "This morning we wrote numbers up to 100.  It was kind of easy because I know
                  how to write my numbers up to 1000.  After that, we went to the gym and used
                  our bodies to make the number 100.  Our class was the 1, Mrs. Coplan's class
                  was a 0, and Mrs. Cogburn's class was a 0.  We got the best number!  The
                  teacher's took pictures of us.  We wore really silly glasses that were shaped like
                  the number 100."
Principal:  "That sounds like a great morning!  Are there things planned for the afternoon?"
Student:   "Well, we were supposed to bring in a collection of 100 things to eat.  Lots of kids
                 brought bags of cereal with 100 pieces in it.  They will get to eat this later today. 
                 My dad thought that we were supposed to bring in a collection of 100 things, not
                 food.  So I brought in 100 rocks."
Principal:  "Oh my!  Those aren't going to taste very good, are they? (more giggling)  Maybe
                 a friend will share with you."
Student:  "That's ok. Someone brought a birthday treat in today, so I will just eat that,
                 instead."

Happy 100 day to everyone!  Thank you for sharing your child/ren with us, these past 100 days!

Week of January 23

MAP testing is nearly complete in grades K5-3.  Parents can expect reports to be sent home mid-February.  We look forward to seeing how our students have grown in reading and math, since September!

Please take an opportunity to access our school's website and learn more about the proposed calendar for the 2015-2016 school year.  We are in the process of developing a school calendar that will meet the needs of our students, teachers and families.  We are interested in your feedback, as we move through this process.  

Week of January 12, 2015

Children are busy learning at Willow Glen!
Here are some classroom highlights:

K5 - Kindergartners are learning about word families, vowel sounds, winter animal adaptations, and they are writing "All About Animals" books.

Grade 1 - First graders are learning about biographies and autobiographies.  In math, they are adding and subtracting, and they just completed a unit on food chains in science class.

Grade 2 - Second graders are writing "gripping fictional stories"!  They are learning to describe characters, and are beginning a new unit on food chains/predator/prey.

Grade 3 - Third graders are learning how to blog.  They are also working on their Native American projects and building displays.

All grade levels will be participating in MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) testing this month.  We assess students 3X per year in the areas of reading and math, using this online assessment tool.  Teachers use the data to plan for instruction, in an effort to meet the needs of all their children.  If you would like more information on this, please visit our school website, or contact your child's teacher..

Also, please know that we are very focused on safety at Willow Glen.  Just a friendly reminder to stop in the office and get a visitor pass, if you would like to walk your child to his/her classroom (or pick them up).  We have precious children in our building, and want o ensure safe visiting practices for all!

Our next PTO meeting will be held on January 21.  Watch for more information in your take-home folders!

Week of January 5, 2015

Welcome to 2015!

While it has been a chilly start to the new year, Willow Glen students have been busy in the classrooms.  This week has involved all the regular instructional routines, including readers workshop, writing, math, social studies, science and health.  We all look forward to continued daily learning opportunities in all of these areas!

Over winter break, our computer lab was updated with Chromeboxes.  This will allow the lab to run more efficiently, and respond to common programs/learning and assessment websites, that are a part of our curriculum.  Staff will be trained on this new system on January 14, and students will be using the lab beginning January 15 with the start of winter MAP testing. 

Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports (PBIS) continues to have a positive impact on the culture within the building.  The staff acknowledged students, with Gator Gotchas, nearly 3000 times during the month of November (We are still calculating December data.)!  It is clear that children understand the expectations at Willow Glen, and are living up to being awesome students and friends to others!