WMS - Weekly Wauna Know

December 18, 2023

WINTER BREAK - NO SCHOOL

DECEMBER 25, 2023-JANUARY 1, 2024

Message from Jeff

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Greetings WCMS staff,

As we navigate our final week of school prior to winter break, I have a couple of things I would like to address.

First, please be sure to connect with your focus students and their families this week (see email from 12/14). We have some kids who are really struggling, and letting our students and families know that we want to partner with them to get their kids back on track can be real positive heading into the break, and also help us to build some positive momentum at the end of first semester so we can get off to a good start second semester.

Additionally, if you are not already doing so, please be sure to read through the newsletter thoroughly. Your colleagues are putting some great thoughts and ideas out there in the PLC spotlight, coaches corner, tier 2 updates, culture and climate committee updates, etc. The PLC spotlight this week - super powerful, and something we should all read weekly for the rest of the year if we truly want to create the culture we desire at WMS.

Finally, thank you for all of your hard work this first part of this school year. Teaching has not become any easier, and to do the job well requires a great deal of time and effort. I appreciate all that you continue to do during the school day, and outside of the school day, to ensure that our students have a great middle school experience. I hope you are able to take some time away for work this coming break to relax and do whatever you need to do to recharge a bit before we dive into 2024.

I hope you have a wonderful end to 2023, and that 2024 kicks off with some excitement and anticipation for a wonderful year with our students, families, and colleagues. Happy holidays!

UPCOMING DATES TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR

January 4 - Staff Meeting - 7:30am-8am

January 15- No School - Staff Development Day

January 18 - Staff Meeting - 7:30am-8am

January 19 - First Semester Ends

January 22 - No School

Middle School Sports Schedules

To check the most updated schedule for wrestling and boys basketball, please click

Waunakee Middle School Sports Schedules for the week of December 18-22, 2023. Make sure you check it frequently for any changes.

This Week in Sports

Monday, 12/18

Wrestling vs. Multiple Schools @ WMS Gym, 4:15pm

Welcome Dr. Monica Kelsey-Brown - our Next Superintendent

Waunakee Community School District Board of Education Announces Dr. Monica Kelsey-Brown as the Next Superintendent

Please see the attached press release regarding the approval and hiring of the next Superintendent for Waunakee Community School District.

Our New School Resource Officer

Meet our New School Resource Officer.

Spotlight on PLC

Intentions - Adam Houzner

Driving home from work, I caught myself thinking about how I spend my time. This was spurred by the memory of an amazing infographic/article about “The Tail End”. In this emotional piece, the author has a stark realization that the quality of time we spend, specifically with our loved ones, is incredibly important. Quantity is unknown, quality we can control. I won’t ruin the article for you. You should check it out.

Despite my best efforts each year, the holidays can feel like a spin-cycle. I over-schedule. I over-commit. I wind up spending my time on things that don’t matter. I get so tired that when I have time with my loved ones, precious time, I am too exhausted to feel much of anything. I complain a lot and inevitably get into an argument (with my Dad). I get so frustrated with myself. This issue arises because I lose track of the essentials. The non-negotiables. I let my brain get crowded with extraneous noise. Then comes the New Year, a symbolic opportunity to start over and make changes. Thinking about this article, I have some changes that need to be made.

I then started thinking about work and what changes I need to make here to be more intentional. How can I make sure I work with integrity? How do I determine where to place my attention? How do I block out the noise? In the spirit of vulnerability and understanding that you are more likely to keep resolutions made public, here are my teaching resolutions for the New Year:

Commit to learning best practices in the classroom - collaboration, student voice, learning targets, etc…
Infuse these best practices into my lessons and share them with my team
Continue to build real relationships with students - in the words of a professor of mine “you have to Maslow, before you can Bloom.”
Interrupt slander and backbiting overheard at the staff level - I am guilty of this and I need to change - lots of us do
Purposely work to build community using my passions and experiences as a catalyst

Please hold me to these. Please ask me how they are going. These resolutions connect to the work of building a PLC Culture here at WMS. It starts with individual mindsets. It snowballs to teams. It washes over a school. Relationships improve. The work becomes easier because it is more intentional, productive, and fun. Everyone benefits.

I hope the holiday season treats you well. I hope you find joy in the presence of family or in the memory of those who can’t be with you. I hope you have time to rest, reflect, and set your own intentions. I am excited to continue this work alongside each of you. Happy Holidays.

WMS i-Ready Data

Below is a snapshot of some i-Ready instructional data from the whole school

Upper left is the percentage of lessons passed as a school by subject. Alerts will show up in the i-Ready dashboard if a student is not passing the same lesson topic multiple times.
Lower left is the total time and lessons passed as a school so far this school year, let’s see how big we can get them this year (could be fun to show your homeroom)!
Right side is a quick graph of how many students met their minutes goal for a previous week (i-Ready sees the best growth if students are above 30 minutes per subject per week). These percentages were calculated in a new way to more accurately reflect the percentage of students meeting goal minutes.

Let's Get Our Discovery Board Filled!

Our board is looking good. Let's get more pictures on the board!

Staff Shout-Outs

Shout out to…

Adam Houzner for his hard work on PLC Committee and being supportive of all staff and students.

All of the Special Ed para educators for being so awesome, helpful, flexible, amazing and doing it all with humor. I appreciate all of you!

Breydis Slinger-Sevilla for being such an awesome addition to the middle school team! Her passion for each and every student is unmatched and she always does her best to ensure that they succeed.

Brooke Kinney for always being so positive and friendly in the hallways to students and staff. Thank you for always having a smile on your face. It really is noticed.

Erica Schauf for working tirelessly on creating new curriculum while taking into account every science teachers' input. She also is so kind and respectful to all her students. She goes out of her way to make the students feel important and able to learn.

Jamie S, Rachel Z, Aaron C, and Jessica S for the large amount of work and coordination to put on high level music concerts for the students, families, and community.

Kayse Lavin for spending a great deal of time making our Amplify more accessible for our students. Additionally, she lets other teachers use her room every day during 1st period. She helps students feel comfortable in her space by being warm, inviting, and endlessly patient.

Lynn Stenroos for being such a phenomenal teammate. She is always ready to support others any way she can. Lynn is a wealth of knowledge and has always been willing to share her expertise to guide others in utilizing high leverage instructional practices.

Patti Coffren for working so hard to keep the office organized and creating a warm welcoming environment at the middle school. She is the creativity behind many of the beautiful bulletin boards throughout the building to add color and fun and she is also behind so much of the activities planned for staff to build the culture and morale.

Sallie Piotrowski for being so wonderful to teach with! She has the students as a first priority in every decision she makes, is open to new ideas and works as a team player.

Sarah Seidschlag for being so flexible and so uplifting.

Tammy Willborn for seeing about 30 students in the health office each day. She works hard to stay organized by prioritizing the student's health needs and cares for those who are ill, injured and those with chronic medical needs.

Zach Holler for doing a wonderful job teaching the Math 7A classes! He brings a calmness to his classroom and works to connect with everyone in his class. I know the students appreciate this, especially while working on skills that are really challenging for them.

Coaches Corner

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Take a Break - Literally

We have been going steady at high speed since school started in the fall. Our days have been filled with planning, teaching, assessing, grading, caring, nurturing, listening…a never-ending list of “ings.” Winter break is now within reach, and I suggest we all pause and break up with “busy.” Our minds and bodies need respite, and we need to slow down. We need restoration and renewal.

I’m sharing John Spencer’s video, Treat Your Winter Break as a Real Break, to remind you of the importance of permitting ourselves to really take a break. You deserve it!

The Coaches Corner will resume in 2024, but for now, I’m taking a break.

I wish you all the best in the new year.

Bingo Numbers for This Week

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BINGO

Each week you will receive 2 numbers. When you get a regular bingo (across, down, or diagonal) bring your card to the office for a prize. Look for your card in your mailbox. Good Luck.

Congratulations to our Bingo winners:

Bonnie Helt

Jonathon Wild

Kathy Kennan

This week's numbers:

G 52, G 59

AM/PM SUPERVISION

AM/PM Supervision Reminder - Week of 12/18-22

Jeschke--- AM**Flagpole - Direct students to the playground

Puntney ----AM**Bus Loop - Direct students to go to the back of the school to enter

Kinney---- AM**West Door #7 OR Entryway outside Gym (inclement or cold weather days)

Schauf--AM **West Door #7 OR Entryway outside Gym (inclement or cold weather days)

Marsh---AM**West Door #6 OR Cafe (inclement or cold weather days)

Zarzyski---- AM**West Door #6 OR Cafe (inclement or cold weather days)

Smith --PM**Bike Racks

Piotrowski----- PM**Bus Loop (near where the second to last bus lines up)

Burgard---PM**Bus Loop (near the fire hydrant)

PIlsner---- PM**Flagpole (outside the main entrance)

Please Submit Pictures For Our Yearbook

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Did you take a Great Picture? We'd Love to Use it in our Yearbook!

Attention Teachers,

If you are taking pictures of students in your classroom or attending school events and have a great picture, please use this QR Code to submit them to us for review and possibly use in our yearbook! We'd greatly appreciate it! Submit photos via the QR code or clicking on this link.

TEACHER CHALLENGE

90 DAY CHALLENGE

Please fill out this form each time you visit a colleagues classroom! Thanks for taking part in promoting a culture of learning for staff and students!