Bus Driver Appreciation
Back by popular demand, it is the ABC countdown of the WPNE school year! Tomorrow, April 17 we will have 26 days of school left. It is a bittersweet time to cherish. We start our first learning days with the ABCs and we want to come full circle and end our time here at WPNE right where we first started. Please see the picture that has a day for each letter. This list was created with input from students and staff. Let's keep motivated and learning right to the end with a little ABC fun!
Look at all these boys reading so much all the time! Becoming an effective reader takes practice. They have made it all way around the world. Every 15 minutes of reading is 250 miles. And one has made it around twice and is now on his third trip. Toby Lewis has read more than any other student here at WPNE. Way to read Toby! Thank to all the parents and caregivers who are reading with their students and filling out their reading logs so we can become the best readers possible.
Happy Birthday Mrs. Johnson
Students are working hard to prepare for their Spring Fine Arts night. Monday, April 28th we will share our music and art with our families and community. PreK - 2nd grades will perform at 6:00 and 4th - 6th grades will perform at 7:00
Happy Birthday Mrs. Shipman!
Happy Birthday to Mrs. Ryner
Thank you so much to all our families that helped us fundraise for our playground. We were able to bank $5822 from our Pastry Sales. 38% of students and their families participated in this fund raising project. We want to recognize a few special people who made it so successful. Diedre Lewis, along with her boys Toby and Liam, volunteered to pass out the products on delivery day. Mrs. Lewis also helped during our skating unit! Mrs. Butler jumped right in to help parents pick up what they sold too. Our top sales went to Shyann 3rd, Graham 2nd & Lane 1st. Hopefully, everyone enjoys what they purchased. We are excited to have some playground improvements happen!
Happy Birthday Mrs. Moore!
Our frozen pastries will be delivered tomorrow. If your student sold any please make plans to pick up between 2:00 and 5:30. Thank you to everyone who helped to raise money for our playground.
We gave 9 more kids filled in passports for going all the way around the world. They take a series of trips to make this happen, stopping in all the world's most traveled cities. They have to a total of 56,344 minutes of logged reading to accomplish this. Thank to all the parents who are helping by reading and logging at home. And, Mrs. Dean has almost all of her 2nd grade students all the way around - Good Job Mrs. Dean! 2 students are not pictured.
WPNE is so very appreciative to MTC and Rachel Kerns for providing positive recognition and funds for so many things. It truly takes a village to make our school successful. Our 3rd quarter MTC winner was Tainsley Durham. She got pizza from Gelsosamos, Ice Cream from Full Scoop and tickets to WIU athletics. Thank you MTC for providing this fun drawing for our students. Her name was drawn from the hat of all the students who received HATS OFF awards during 3rd quarter. HATS OFF slips are given anytime a student reaches a really tough goal or surprises a teacher with their level of responsibility, respect and kindness. We are now collecting the HATS OFF slips for the last 4th quarter drawing.
While the big kids are taking tests, the Pre-K students are enjoying the chilly but sunny weather.
3rd grade is researching ocean animals. They are reading books on sharks, jellyfish, penguins and more! They were working on research question #1. Our students are persevering through interesting writing projects so they can learn how to share information they learn.
Our paraprofessionals work hard and are here being champions for our students every day! We appreciate them every day not just on Paraprofessional Appreciation day but what a great opportunity to highlight their importance in our school!
How do you do well on the state assessment? Look at what these students do. They read a lot, know their math facts fluently, listen in class and do their work with great effort. And, they persevere thinking long and hard when they are learning something new. The practice you put in on a daily basis makes you ready for the big test. We are proud of our students who previously did so well on the IAR and we are looking to them as examples of how to do well.
Next week is the big game! STATE TESTING! And, we are pumped up to do our best. Mrs. Wilson organized a fun filled IAR pep rally today! The students enjoyed minute to win it games! The WP Jr. Sr. High band brought the pep band and all the fun cheer songs. The lower grades made banners for the upper grades who take the test to run through. Everyone agrees that it was a blast and a great way to prepare and take the test seriously, like a BIG GAME where we can show what we know and can do. We recognized all our student Champions who met or exceeded on last year's test with certificates and applause! It was good time to be together as one big school to rally together for our big test.
Do you know any children in our area who are going to turn 5 before September 1st? If you do, get them to kindergarten round up. We want to get prepared and be ready for the 25-26 school year.
Next week we are working to get our students excited about the IAR - Illinois Assessment of Readiness. We are utilizing a sports theme to get thinking about it like a big game, a chance to show all we know and can do. We are going to tackle the test, hit a homer and do our best! Please note the dress up days we are including.
We are taking donations of snacks for testing week. Please send in granola bars, fruit snacks, and mints! It is always helpful to have a few extra calories for a big test/game!
Here are more pictures of a doggone good day!
