Willow Wind News

Fall has arrived and the end of last week brought lovely weather. The tomatoes are sweet, the pears are ripening and the flowers are beautiful!

The Welcome Back Picnic was lots of fun –Willow Wind families came and celebrated the return to campus. Thanks to the WWCA, Ashland Firefighters and District 5! Because of your efforts, it was a wonderful evening. Last week the Willow Wind students wrote "thank you" notes for the firefighters. Special thanks to Stephen Lanning and Jill Smedstad for taking the lead on this event.

The Chickadees (6th graders) went to Camp Grey for Outdoor School at the OMSI camp near Newport and had an amazing experience exploring the beach and wooded areas as well as enjoying bonding with their classmates and teachers. Thanks to the parents who went along to help with supervision.

In October we will celebrate fall with the Willow Wind Pumpkin Festival, have Picture Day and welcome volunteers to launch our first ever bike safety classes for all 4th and 5th graders.

Order Forms for Homegrown Lunch are also included in this newsletter. We will have seasonal meals this year and are asking families to sign up for all three meals at the same time.

Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas. Have a great weekend -

October 3 .............. First Friday Bike Bus

October 3............... Community Friday - Indigenous People's Day

October 10..............No Classes - Inservice Day

October 13 ............. No Classes - Indigenous People's Day

October 14 - 17........Picture Days!

October 17............... Community Friday - Sing A Long

October 17............... Pizza Friday

October 24............... Community Friday - Fun Run

October 30............... Pumpkin Festival (details below)

October 31............... Community Friday - Buddies

Bryon DeVore will be here to take pictures of the Willow Wind students on Oct 14-17. These photos will be used for the 2025-26 Willow Wind Yearbook and will be available to families for purchase. (details will follow from Bryon) Class pictures will also be taken!

The daily schedule for pictures will come out in the Friday Notes on October 10.

The annual Pumpkin Festival is scheduled for Thursday, October 30th 1:00-2:30pm. Change into a costume at lunch, bring a pumpkin to carve, make fall crafts, play games, and have FUN, FUN, FUN! Debbie will be organizing the activities and would love to hear any ideas you may have. This is always a fun day at Willow Wind. Please remember—no masks or scary costumes!

Family service volunteers designated to assist with the festival will be contacted soon via email. All volunteers will need to be on the Approved Volunteer List through the Ashland School District. If you have not already submitted your paperwork, please do it right away. It often takes several weeks to be approved.

Join us for our three seasonal “Homegrown Lunches”. We will celebrate our harvests from our School Garden Classroom to make a big community meal. All three of these recipes are kid tested and approved!

November 6th: Three sisters garden chili (corn, beans, and butternut squash)!

February 12th: Willow Wind homemade grape jam and sunflower butter sandwiches with edible flower petal “sparkles”!

May 21st: Fresh spring rainbow garden salad with black beans and rice. The salad will feature a 6th grade designed salad dressing!

*All recipes will have a gluten free option. All recipes will be vegan with cheese optional on the fall and spring meal.

The Parent Council is comprised of parents of enrolled students and the administrator. Membership is open. All decisions made at the meetings are by consensus, with the understanding that those with a conflict of interest will excuse themselves from the consensus process.

Parent Council meets quarterly - We will meet at 1:30 on the following dates:

• · November 10th
• · February 9th
• · May 4th

The Council discusses Willow Wind business and stays updated on Ashland School District. We work together to problem solve any issues we see arising in the community. Please submit ideas, questions or concerns to Debbie via email or bring them with you to the Council meeting. Help shape the direction of our program by attending Parent Council.

For the first meeting, we will:

• Look at information from the Youth Truth Survey
• Revisit ideas from our May 2024 meeting about other ways to collect suggestions and questions
• Share visioning work done with teachers in August and collect input

Hope to see you there!

Once again this year we will partner with the Rotary and ACCESS to help with the weekend food program. Many of our Willow Wind families are struggling due to the loss of jobs, income, child care and stable housing. Willow Wind and the Willow Wind Community Association are coordinating an effort to support our families with a weekend food program. Families can also continue to get sack lunches for children through the Ashland School District, separately from this effort.

If you are a family that could benefit from the Weekend Backpack Food Program, please complete the form below. The program will start the end of September. Information will go directly to our principal, Debbie Pew

Two Willow Wind students - Lily Staha and Beatriz Lee - were recognized by the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation for their winning art work for their 2025-26 Calendar. Congratulations!

Please remember to check the Lost and Found if your child is missing clothing or a water bottle. The Lost and Found is growing........Come take a look!

Ashland’s Favorite Costume Family Fun Event!

Join the 17th Annual Monster Dash

Saturday, October 25, 2025

Presented by

Lithia4Kids
Ashland Kiwanis Club
Ashland Schools Foundation

The Monster Dash supports grants in the Ashland Public Schools, and YOU (and your family, and friends, and neighbors…) can help us make this year’s Monster Dash bigger than ever. Get ready for a ghastly good time!

Five years ago, as I prepared to teach third grade online, I was looking for creative ways to give students real learning experiences and real connections with each other while attending school on zoom.

I was inspired by the book How to Teach Nature Journaling by John Muir Laws. Each week we would individually set out into nature with an idea to notice something or look at things in a different way. We would record our noticings in our nature notebooks and then come back to share our experiences through our notebooks.

When we returned to the classroom in person, this activity remained a relevant and accessible activity that we could learn through and gain connection. Over the years it has proved its enduring quality as an activity that can be adapted to many settings, many learning styles and many curriculum topics and skills.

Again this year, we go out together as a 2nd and 3rd grade class to observe, draw, write, map, and connect with nature and each other.

Email: debra.schaefferpew@ashland.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/o/wwclc
Location: 1497 East Main Street, Ashland, OR, USA
Phone: (541) 488-2684
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Willow-Wind-Community-Learning-Center-100146758840089