The Walker Howler
Preparation for Back to School
Class Placement Notification
Families will get an email message from their child's teacher by the end of the day on Thursday, August 27th notifying you of your student's class placement for the 2026-27 school year. We are so excited to see you all soon!
New Second Chance Breakfast Coming to Walker!
Oregon Breakfast After the Bell has been made available to our students due to grant funding from the Student Success Act! This "second chance breakfast" gives your student the opportunity to eat a free breakfast after the school day has started. If your student does not eat the free breakfast provided before school starts, they are eligible to sign up for a "second chance breakfast". If and when your child signs up, these meals will be brought to their classroom between 9:15 and 9:45 each morning. Students who eat a free school breakfast before school, would not be eligible for this second breakfast so please help us communicate this to your child each morning as they head off to school. This will help alleviate disappointment when these second breakfasts arrive in the classroom. If your child does eat breakfast before the bell rings, we encourage you to send a snack with your child so they have something to eat while their classmates are eating.
Kindergarten Soft Start
We are so happy that you are joining our community! The beginning of kindergarten is a very exciting and important time in your child’s education and we want to do everything we can to get our students started out right. Molly Shenandoah and Kathleen Mateas, our wonderful kindergarten teachers, will be reaching out to you next week to schedule family meetings that will take place on Friday, August 28th and Monday, August 31st. This is a wonderful opportunity for your kiddo to meet their teacher and see their new classroom.
Kindergarten School Start Schedule Week of August 31st:
- Friday, August 28th & Monday August 31st: Kindergarten Meet and Greets for students and families (to be scheduled with the classroom teachers)
- Tuesday September 1st: 12:30 Dismissal
- Wednesday September 2nd: 1:30 Dismissal
- Thursday September 3rd and Friday September 4th: 2:50 Dismissal
For the rest of the school year, class begins at 8:20 each day and students are released at 2:50 each day except Wednesdays, which end at 1:30 each week. Students may arrive at school as early as 7:50 in the morning and can choose to go out and play on the playground or eat breakfast in the cafeteria (free!). The first bell rings at 8:15 and students are expected to be in their classrooms at 8:20.
Pick Up & Drop Off Routines
STUDENT ARRIVAL/DROP-OFF Procedures:
- All students not riding the bus should use the front entrance to the school. Families driving their students may use the drop off loop out front.
- Please pull all the way to the front of the loop to make room for other families to drop off their students behind you so that we don't get traffic backed up.
- For everyone's safety, try not to get out of your car in the drop off circle. Make sure your child exits on the right side of the car and is ready to get out when you stop.
- If your child needs assistance for any reason with their seatbelt or managing their things, please park your car to help them and walk them over to the sidewalk.
- Students arriving between 7:50-8:15 will enter through the courtyard gates. They will have some free choice/recess activities before the bell rings to go to class.
- Students arriving at 8:15 can report directly to class through either the front doors or the courtyard.
- Students arriving after 8:20 will need to report to the office to check in. They will need to ring the doorbell to be let in the building.
STUDENT PICK UP PROCEDURES:
- Students in Grades K-1 will be picked up inside the school at your child's classroom.
- Students in grades 2-5 will be picked up in the circle in front of the main entrance to the school.
- Siblings will go to the location of the youngest sibling's grade.
- School is over at 2:50. That means your student will not be available to be picked up until after 2:50. Please do not arrive to the front loop earlier than about 2:47 at the earliest to pick up your child. This causes traffic to back up on the street and gridlock in the parking lot that is not fun for any of us. Traffic flows freely once the students are outside and ready to go. If you aim to arrive right at 2:50, that will probably work best, after that traffic is flowing!
A Word from our PTO
Dear Walker Families,
On behalf of the PTO board, I am thrilled to welcome you to the 2026-2027 school year! We are so excited to partner with you and Walker teachers, staff, and our interim Principal, Lindsay Gates, to make this a wonderful, fun, fulfilling and educational year.
Our PTO’s mission is simple: to support our school through volunteer efforts, fundraising, and events that bring families together. Whether it’s organizing fun activities, providing classroom resources, or celebrating our amazing staff, we believe that when families and schools work together, great things happen.
There will be many opportunities for you to get involved this year! Please attend our Welcome Breakfast on Friday, September 11th at 8:30am in the Library to hear about all the exciting events and how parents and caregivers can provide support.
Though there are many ways to get involved, attending a PTO meeting is the best way to have your voice heard! We alternate evening and morning meetings so we can accommodate the most people. The meeting dates and times will always be listed in the Howler!
If you have any questions or ideas, please reach out to us at PTOWalkerWolves@gmail.com or catch any one of us in the hall. We’d love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Molly Peterson
PTO President
PTO Board:
- President, Molly Peterson
- Vice President, Rebecca Escobar
- Secretary, Lisa Rolfsness
- Treasurer, Bri Salcido
- Community Outreach, Noel O’Brien
- Communications - We are looking for someone!
We Need Volunteers!
Requirements:
All volunteers must complete an application and consent to a background check.
A copy of your driver’s license or ID card uploaded with the application.
Certification of Completion for Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student (not PSA) to be uploaded with application.
Certification of Completion for Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting: Full Course (Oregon Parent) to be uploaded with application.
Review Volunteer Responsibilities
Step 1:
Review Volunteer Responsibilities.
Step 2:
Sign up & click the green "Register" button
If you have already created an account, please go to https://ashland-or.safeschools.com/login to log in with your username.
Complete the course & save the Certifications of Completion (Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student) and Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting: Full Course (Oregon Parent)
Return to the district website https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/page/volunteer-in-the-schools
Go to Step 3 and complete the volunteer application.
Step 3:
Have a digital copy of your driver’s license/ID card & your Certifications of Completion for Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student (not PSA) and Child Abuse Mandatory Reporting: Full Course (Oregon Parent) ready to upload during the volunteer application process.
For safety, the application cannot be saved and, for this reason, you must complete and submit your application with the required documents at the same time.
To complete the online volunteer application, click here.
You must provide a valid email address so you can be notified about the status of your application and future communication. The same email address cannot be used for more than one individual. Don’t have an email address? We suggest you obtain a free email account through Google or Yahoo.
Background Check: after an application is completed and submitted, the system automatically transfers it to the ASD Human Resources department to be processed. The information you enter must match your driver’s license/ID card, including your full legal name. All information collected on the application will remain confidential and not be shared outside the volunteer program. Once you are cleared, you will receive an email. Please allow at least 2-4 weeks for processing.
Once you have passed your background check, you are cleared to apply to volunteer for any position throughout the school year. No additional background check is needed throughout the current school year; however, it is necessary to repeat this process at every new school year (July 1st-June 30th). You will receive a reminder email notification near the time of renewal.
Step 4:
Mark your calendar with the agreed upon days and times. Please note that certain positions require training and a time commitment. Make sure you can fulfill the volunteer commitments before agreeing to the position.
Be prompt and dependable. Please call ahead if you are ill or unable to keep your appointed times. When you commit to volunteering, people are depending on you.
Ashland School District Transformation Process
As you are probably aware, the Ashland School District is engaging in the process of transformation to make sure that our district is fiscally sustainable and meeting the needs of our students and families. There is a steering committee that is advising this process. All documents, including the timeline, and meeting notes can be found on the district website here.
Introduction Letter
It is with great excitement that I introduce myself as your interim principal for the 2026-2027 school year. My name is Lindsay Gates, and I am honored to join this wonderful school community!
I have been a part of the Ashland School District for more than 20 years, spending the majority of my career teaching third grade at Bellview Elementary. Those years in the classroom have shaped my belief that every child deserves to feel safe, valued, challenged, and inspired every day they come to school. I also had the privilege of serving as the interim principal at Bellview for 2 years, where I gained invaluable experience supporting students, staff, and families.
Throughout my career, I have believed that strong relationships are the foundation of a successful school. I value open communication, collaboration, and building partnerships with families because we all share the same goal: helping every child grow academically, socially, and emotionally.
As we begin this school year together, I look forward to getting to know each of you and learning what makes our school community special. My door is always open, and I encourage you to reach out, introduce yourself, share your ideas, and stay involved throughout the year. I am joining an incredible staff who work hard each day to create an environment where every student feels welcomed, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.
I am excited for the year ahead and all that we will accomplish together! I can't wait to meet your children and partner with you in making this a wonderful school year.