Wasco Weekly

Dear Families,

I'm excited to share highlights from our Town Hall assembly, where our entire school community comes together for engaging activities focused on social and emotional growth. Our January Town Hall centered on the theme of "Responsibility" – a life skill we're helping students develop. During the assembly, we:

• Read the inspiring book Because as a school community, which sparked thoughtful discussions about personal responsibility and how our actions can positively influence others.

• Engaged students in meaningful partner conversations exploring examples of responsibility from the story and discussing why being responsible matters in our daily lives.

• Facilitated mixed-age small group activities where students reflected on their own responsibilities and worked together on challenging tasks that required both teamwork and perseverance.

Town Hall assemblies are vital in building our school community and reinforcing important character traits. They provide opportunities for older and younger students to interact, learn from each other, and practice essential social-emotional skills in an engaging environment. We're immensely proud of how our students participated in this whole-school event and look forward to seeing how the lessons learned about responsibility continue to shape their actions both in and out of the classroom. Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your child's academic and character development.

Kind regards,

Mrs. Brennan

Principal, Wasco Elementary School

stephanie.brennan@d303.org

331-228-6294

Here are some of our students' insightful observations about responsibility. The kids said the character’s actions demonstrated responsibility by:

“When she saw them, she did something great.”

“One person can inspire somebody else.”

“They can watch you do important things like rehearse and then be inspired themselves.”

“She followed her dreams and was responsible for herself.”

Jan 20: MLK Jr. Holiday (No School)

Jan 24: PTO Snowball Dance (see ad below)

Jan 27: Donuts w/Grown Ups- 3rd Grade

Jan 29: Early Release @2:35pm

Organic Life is offering Plant Based options alongside traditional entrees on our menu.

This will include Plant Based meatballs, burgers, chicken nuggets, chicken patties and chicken tenders.

Grades K-5 menus will reflect the added options and students will be able to choose "Plant Based Entree E" in the morning when they choose their lunch entree in the classroom.

We are excited to take this step to provide Plant Based items to the students! If you have any questions please contact Kathie Travis at 331-228-5711 or kathie.travis@d303.org.

Happy New Year Wasco School! I hope that you enjoyed your time off with family and friends and are looking forward to all that the new year holds! The new year is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and the growth that we have made and look forward to setting goals for things that we want to accomplish in the future.

As you may know, I had surgery on my foot over the holiday break and I am currently in a “boot”. One of the many goals that I have set for myself is to be able to wear fancy high heel shoes to watch my daughter walk down the aisle to get married in May. I have broken this goal down into small, achievable steps. First, I want to be walking without crutches or a scooter by the end of January. Second, I want to be walking on a treadmill by February, slowly jogging my March, and playing pickleball by April. Each day, I will take baby steps (literally and figuratively) toward reaching this goal. If you see me in the hallways, be sure to ask about my progress. Your interest will encourage me to stay focused even when it is difficult. When we share our goals and progress with others, it keeps us accountable to our goals and helps us to stay focused on reaching them.

What is something that you want to work hard to achieve this year? Do you want to make a new friend? Focus more in class? Improve your reading comprehension? Master 2-digit subtraction? Participate more in classroom conversations? Learn a new sport? Share a hobby with your classmates? Develop better time management skills? The possibilities are endless! If you can dream it, you can achieve it!

I can’t wait to hear about your goals and check in on your progress!

Let’s make this the best year yet!

Amy Corda

Student Support Interventionist (SSI)

Madelynn and Jake were so excited and appreciative of the generous donations that were collected by the Spirit Club and Wasco families! They are packing it up and eager to share the items with the children of Malawi. Stay tuned for more pictures from Malawi!

The map below displays how Wasco organizes dismissal for car riders. We will be directing students to wait on our “front lawn” for their ride. If they see their families' vehicles, they can walk along the sidewalk and enter the stopped vehicle. If you would like to leave your car to pick up your child, you are free to park in the lot.

You can save this as a handy reference for your caregivers or visiting family members who do pick up as well!

District 303 is proud to partner with the Glenbard Parent Series (GPS) to offer our families broader access to information sessions and resources that support their child’s development.

For decades, GPS has been offering free programs that aim to empower and strengthen families, individuals and communities. As a partner organization, District 303 will support promoting upcoming programs and their importance to our local community.

Attention Parents!

Please be mindful of communications coming from “donotreply@d303.org”. This is the email address for our school newsletters and our all school emails. If you reply to this email address it will not be forwarded to office staff.

Office Contact Emails:

candace.thoke@d303.org

heather.kudabeck@d303.org

stephanie.brennan@d303.org

Email: heather.kudabeck@d303.org
Website: https://district.d303.org/
Location: 4N782 School Street, Wasco, IL, USA
Phone: 331-228-2900