Waltham Elementary School

As we close out the school year and students dive into summer break, I want to take a moment to thank you for helping make this another incredible year at Waltham School!

This year brought several exciting new initiatives, especially around our shared goals: Improving Attendance, Enhancing School Pride, and Student and Staff Safety. We focused heavily on encouraging positive attendance habits through targeted interventions, parent meetings, and—perhaps the most beloved addition—our monthly AttenDANCES! Thank you to everyone who donated prizes and helped celebrate our students for showing up and working hard. Your support made a big difference!

To build school pride, our PTCC gifted every student and staff member a “Hawk Pride” t-shirt—what a great way to unite our community! The addition of trailers for our junior high students, while physically separating us into two buildings, opened the door to meaningful conversations about our current space constraints. It also provided opportunities to showcase the creativity, flexibility, and pride that make Waltham School so special, particularly during the community tours we hosted throughout the year.

Safety, always a top priority, remained at the forefront. I had the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive training exercise with local law enforcement and fire protection districts to walk through a simulated crisis response and reunification process. It was both intense and enlightening, and it sparked important conversations we’ll continue with our local first responders. We already have many strong safety protocols in place, and we’ll be sharing our updated Standard Response Protocol for Parents again below—both as a refresher and as an introduction for new families.

We’ve also included some incredible attendance statistics from this year below—we had so much to celebrate!

Finally, we’re excited to invite all families to a special event hosted by our STEAM program—a Garden Dedication and Family Night happening this Monday! Please see the flyer below for more details. We hope to see you there!

Thank you again for your partnership, your involvement, and your commitment to our students and school. Please enjoy a restful and joyful summer! Stay connected through our social media, website, and TeacherEase announcements—there’s always something exciting happening at Waltham School!

With gratitude,

Mrs. Lukacsy

Our summer office hours are in effect!

We’re open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and closed on Fridays.

Office Phone: 815-667-4417

Office Fax: 815-667-4462

Mrs. Hewitt's email: shewitt@wesd185.org

Mrs. Lewis's email: tlewis@wesd185.org

Mrs. Lukacsy's email: mlukacsy@wesd185.org

Mrs. Eager's email: keager@wesd185.org

If you need in-person assistance, please plan accordingly. We hope you’re enjoying a safe and relaxing summer!

🌟 2025–2026 Waltham School Math Vision: Growing Confident Thinkers & Problem-Solvers 🌟

We’re excited to announce that we are making the switch from Eureka Math to Illustrative Math for the 2025–2026 school year. This high-quality, problem-based curriculum will help us bring our math vision to life by encouraging deeper thinking, stronger reasoning skills, and more meaningful classroom discussions. With Illustrative Math, students will engage in real-world problem-solving, develop confidence in their abilities, and build a lasting understanding of mathematical concepts.

Our Vision for Math Classrooms

Math classes will LOOK like:

• Students working together to solve challenging, real-life problems

• Tools like drawings, models, and number lines helping students make sense of math

• Classrooms filled with student ideas, strategies, and successes

Math classes will SOUND like:

• Kids talking about their thinking and learning from each other

• Teachers asking thoughtful questions to deepen understanding

• Everyone using clear math language and explaining “why,” not just “how”

Math classes will FEEL like:

• A safe place where mistakes are part of learning

• A community where all voices matter and all students feel capable

• A fun and curious space where students take pride in their progress

Working Together: Roles in Math Success Teachers will:

• Use strong, standards-based lessons that support different learners

• Encourage deep thinking and real-world connections

• Celebrate growth and help students believe in their math ability

Students will:

• Talk about their thinking and ask questions

• Try new strategies and keep going when problems are hard

• Support classmates and celebrate different ways to solve

Families can:

• Encourage a positive attitude about math at home

• Ask questions like “How did you figure that out?” or “What strategy did you use?”

• Join school math events or look out for math activities in newsletters

Together, we can help our children become confident, capable, and curious mathematicians ready for the future!

Illustrative Math Family Information ==>

https://curriculum.illustrativemathematics.org/MS/teachers/family_info.html

Now that students are off enjoying their well-deserved summer break, I want to take a moment to extend my heartfelt thanks to our incredible PTCC for organizing such a wonderful—and memorable—Field Day!

Even with the unexpected shift indoors, the day was filled with laughter, excitement, and fun thanks to their thoughtful planning and adaptability. From the perfectly timed activities to the impressive lunchroom flip between back-to-back lunch services, every detail was carefully coordinated to make the day run smoothly for students and staff alike.

A special thank-you goes to the outgoing PTCC Vice President, Melinda Magerkurth, and her Field Day committee for their outstanding leadership, as well as to our outgoing Treasurer, Kylie Mattioda, for keeping everything on track behind the scenes. Their hard work, organization, and partnership with the school made all the difference in making Field Day—and so many other events throughout the year—such a success.

To all the volunteers who pitched in: thank you for helping create such joyful memories for our students. Your time and energy do not go unnoticed.

Wishing you all a restful and joy-filled summer!

Join the STEAM team and students for this awesome fun-filled night!

Last Fall, our school adopted The "I Love U Guys" Foundation's Standard Response Protocol (SRP). Students and staff practiced the protocols throughout the year.

The Standard Response Protocol (SRP) is based on an all-hazards approach as opposed to individual scenarios. There is clear, common language used while allowing flexibility in protocol.

The premise is simple - there are five specific actions that can be performed during an incident. When communicating these, the action is labeled with a "Term of Art" and is then followed by a "Directive." Execution of the action is performed by active participants, including students, staff, teachers, and first responders. The SRP is based on the following actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter. Additional information is attached below.

We are thrilled to share the positive impact of this year’s attendance initiatives! As part of our schoolwide goal of Improving Student Attendance, we introduced monthly AttenDANCES, student and family incentives, and targeted interventions to support consistent school attendance. The results speak for themselves!

Compared to last year, significantly more students attended school regularly—with 35.9% of students missing only 0–4 days, up from 26.5%! We also saw a major drop in the number of students with chronic absenteeism—those missing 20 or more days fell from 8.8% last year to just 2.4% this year.

Thank you to our families, staff, and community members who helped make attendance a priority. Your support has helped create a culture that celebrates being present and engaged. Together, we’re building strong habits that support academic success and lifelong learning!

Our monthly AttenDANCE celebrations have become a favorite tradition at Waltham School—rewarding students for consistent attendance with music, fun, and exciting prize raffles! This initiative has been a key part of our success in improving attendance, and now we're looking for local businesses and families to join in the fun by becoming monthly sponsors!

We’re asking for a one-time $100 donation to sponsor one month of AttenDANCE prizes. With your support, we’ll purchase gift cards and student-approved incentives to raffle off at our monthly events.

Businesses may also choose to donate $100 worth of prizes directly—for example: 10 kids’ meals, 25 scoops of ice cream, or other fun gifts that kids love!

As a thank you, your business or family will be recognized and celebrated on our social media pages—and most importantly, you’ll be helping us encourage positive attendance habits and support student success.

Interested in sponsoring a month? Reach out to Mrs. Lukacsy at 815-667-4417 or mlukacsy@wesd185.org!

We’d love to partner with you to keep our students showing up and shining bright!