Wildcat News

Thanks for a great start to a great year! A few reminders:

~ Attendance: Thank you for everyone's efforts in trying to achieve our attendance goals for the 2025-26 school year! We will be providing families with updates on our goals at the beginning of each month. As a reminder, these goals are:

Goal #1: Washington Elementary will increase our student attendance to 92% of students having consistent attendance for the 2025-26 school year.

Goal #2: By the end of the 2025-26 school year, Washington Elementary will decrease the number of students who are chronically absent from 45 students to 30 or fewer students.

When your child has a doctor or dentist appointment, or if they miss school due to an illness that required a doctor's visit, please provide verification of the appointment. This helps us accurately mark your child's attendance. This applies to all appointments, even recurring ones.

~ Walk-A-Thon: Envelopes and information came home with your child this week. Please help us reach our goal of $15,000 (rumor has it I may be sleeping on the roof again!!!). All the details you need to know are below AND came home with the envelope and letter. You can certainly return your donation sooner than October 3, but they are officially due on Friday, October 3. If you have further questions, please reach out to Diane in the office.

~From the School Nurse: There have been confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in our school. Please read the information at the bottom of this newsletter regarding HFMD. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Rachel Mariner, RN, LSN at rmarin2@isd77.org.

Thanks for a GREAT start to the year! Go Wildcats!

Ann

Ann Haggerty

Washington Principal

ahagge1@isd77.org

What do the students at Washington call you?

Mrs. Krueger

What is your job at Washington?

I am the MLL teacher. I teach English language development to multilingual students.

How long have you worked for Mankato Area Public Schools?

10 years

What is one of your favorite things about your job?

One of my favorite things about my job is being able to witness my students’ growth year after year.

Tell us about your family.

My husband (Toni), daughter (Emily-21), and son (Michael-19) are from Barcelona, Spain. We speak Catalan. My husband works for a costume company, my daughter is a ballerina, and my son is studying finance at the U of M.

Where did you go to elementary school?

I went to elementary school in Delano, MN. I spent my summers around the Washington neighborhood with my grandparents, and I was born here.

Anything else you would like to share with families?

I feel privileged to be a part of the Washington community. After working in the stock market for 15 years, I went back to grad school to get my teaching degree because working with multicultural families is something I am passionate about.

September 2025

Dear Mankato Area Public School Families,

We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. Mankato Area Public Schools values input from our community – and we need to hear from your child or children! Students are important partners as we work to improve our communication, academic program and overall experience for everyone.

In order to learn more about student experiences at school, we will be asking for your child’s feedback via an online survey they will be completing at school. The survey shouldn’t take more than 20-30 minutes to complete.

We are asking that all of our students participate in the surveys, as their feedback will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. The responses to these surveys will be completely confidential. We are partnering with a third-party vendor to support us in administering these surveys.

Our students have many qualities and skills to succeed both in school and in everyday life now and in the future. Qualities such as humility, curiosity, empathy, resilience, and self-awareness often aren't measured through traditional methods. By administering SEL screeners and seeking to understand how students feel about themselves, we are valuing student voice and emphasizing the importance of supporting them in their development. It’s essential that we hear from our students.

Please notify us if you would like your child to opt out of taking the survey by filling in your name and your child’s name below and returning it to school by September 26, 2025. You can call for a paper copy if that's easier for you. We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 507-345-3059.

Thank you once again for your collaboration.

Best regards,

Sincerely,

Ann Haggerty, Principal

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I do not want my child to participate in the survey.

Student Name: ______________________________________________________

School Name: _______________________________________________________

Grade: _______

Guardian Name: _____________________________________________________

Guardian Signature: __________________________________________________

Dear Parents/Guardians and Staff,

There have been confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in our school. Please read the document below regarding HFMD. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Rachel Mariner, RN, LSN at rmarin2@isd77.org.

Thank you,

Rachel Mariner, RN, LSN

Excellence, Equity, Empowerment. Every student, Every day.

Email: ahagge1@isd77.org
Website: https://we.isd77.org/
Location: 1100 Anderson Drive
Phone: 507-345-3059